Mobile Legends Nolan Build guide: Best items, skills, emblem, combos, and counters

Nolan is an assassin hero in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) who can easily go in and out of fights and deal massive burst damage. However, he does struggle in gaining momentum if he gets behind in level or resources. This is why you need to be very careful not to get picked off in the early game. 

This hero is far from popular. You won't see this hero much in competitive matches, especially in Mythic rank, due to how complicated his abilities are, similar to Fanny. Nonetheless, Nolan is a pocket pick for most jungle pro players.

If you want to know how to play this hero, here is a build guide for Nolan in MLBB, including the best items, emblem, combos, and hero counters.

Nolan charges in the target direction and slashes with his cosmic gauge, dealing Physical Damage to enemies in his path and leaving behind a Rift.

Nolan slices a rectangular area in front of him with his cosmic gauge, dealing Physical Damage and leaving a Rift at the first enemy struck.

Nolan dashes in the target direction and slashes with his cosmic gauge, dealing Physical Damage to enemies in his path while leaving behind a Rift.

Nolan slashes the target area several times, dealing Physical Damage with each hit while leaving behind multiple Rifts. Enemies hit are briefly slowed. The Rifts activate automatically as Nolan dashes backward.

Use this recommended item build for Nolan in Mobile Legends:

For starters, buy the base Boots with Ice Retribution before buying another item. Following this, prioritize building a Blade of the Heptaseas. For your boots upgrade, go for Tough Boots to reduce the duration of crowd control effects you receive. Add Hunter Strike as your third item to increase your single-target damage.

Once you hit mid-late game, buy Malefic Roar for the Physical Peneration. Follow it up with either Blade of Despair or Sea Halberd, depending on which item you need. Halberd can reduce enemy healing and shield regen effects, while BoD will significantly increase your damage against enemies with low HP.

If you are struggling to survive, swap your final item with either a Winter Crown or Immortality.

This emblem set should complement the item build for Nolan in Mobile Legends:

Use the Custom Assassin Emblem for Nolan. For the first slot, place Thrill for a bit of Adaptive Attack. It is mandatory to put Seasoned Hunter in the second slot if you are playing in the Jungle. This increases your damage against jungle creeps and major objectives. The final slot can be Lethal Ignition or War Cry for burst damage.

For the Battle Spell, you will always be equipping Retribution if you are playing in the Jungle. Otherwise, you won't be able to do your job of securing objectives or ganking lanes efficiently.

Nolan is not an easy hero to use in MLBB due to how his build requires you to be ahead in level. However, there is a combo that you can practice before going for the more complicated ones. The main premise of his combos is to stack at least two Rifts to make it explode and deal additional damage.

If your passive is up, you can use your basic attack to close the gap on your enemies and leave a rift on impact. You can then use your Skill 1 to add another Rift, followed by your Ultimate to add three more Rifts, then Nolan backs away. If you think this combo is not enough to kill the enemy, you can use your dash to get closer one more time and add another Rift before they all explode.

To put it simply, the combo is Enhanced Basic Attack > Skill 1 > Ultimate > Skill 2.

You need to do this quickly before the enemy escapes. Exploding Rifts create a brief vacuum that keeps enemies in place. However, they can easily escape this with dash skills or a Purify Battle Spell. This is why you need to know how big your damage will be upon completing a combo, so you can decide if you need to use your final dash to finish off enemies or use it to escape or chase them if they get away.

You can also use Nolan's dashes from Skill 2 or Ultimate to move through thin walls. This can help you rotate faster or surprise enemies. Don't be afraid to use any of your skills, as they have relatively low cooldowns. However, also consider if you might need them soon, especially when there are nearby enemies to kill or objectives to take.

That is the most basic Nolan combo you can do. Try and practice it in Training Mode, or play some classic matches so you can get used to the combo.

Now that you know our recommended item build for Nolan and how to use him in MLBB, it's time you know how to counter this hero.

If you are up against Nolan, you can use heroes like Phoveus. This hero benefits from fighting enemies with multiple dashes.

Khufra can stop Nolan's dashes with his Skill 1. Additionally, his Ultimate can stun enemies if you can push them towards a wall.

Franco can lock high-mobility heroes with his Ultimate. His Skill 1 can also hook target enemies and drag them towards you for an easy pick off.

Lastly, Minitthar can disable any form of mobility skills within his Ultimate's AoE range. Just like Franco, he also has a hool ability, but a bit shorter in range.

Considering how Nolan can easily one-shot you with his combo, you need items like Twilight Armor or Antique Cuirass if you are a Tank or Fighter.

For marksman heroes, go for Wind of Nature, but always stay behind your allies and never let any enemy close to you.

For mages, go for Winter Crown and use it when Nolan starts building up Rifts around you. As usual, stay at the back of your ally tanks and don't rotate alone.

That sums up our Mobile Legends build guide for the assassin hero Nolan. For more mobile gaming news, stick around on esports.gg.