MLBB New Project NEXT 2025 Maps Explained – Who Wins, Who Loses in the Meta

The annual Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Project NEXT update is coming this Sept. 17, 2025. One of the most significant changes arriving with the patch is the four new maps that will definitely change how you play every match. These maps are chosen at random during the drafting phase, incentivizing players to adjust their hero picks based on the terrain. 

Esports.gg spoke with Aurora Gaming MLBB’s head coach, Aniel "Master the Basics" (MTB) Jiandani, about the upcoming patch update. According to him, it’s a welcome addition in terms of casual and ranked matches. As for pro play, it’s a pain to deal with, as it will be implemented in the middle of the league season. With that said, it’s definitely going to spice up the competition, whether we like it or not. 

To get you prepped up for the new patch, let’s take a dive into the new maps added in the MLBB Project NEXT update.

Upon entering the drafting phase in MLBB, one of the four new Project NEXT maps will be randomly chosen. This allows you to know beforehand what battlefield effects will be active during the match. This incentivises players to adjust the draft depending on the selected map. You can also check what type of map is active in the game by checking the sign found in your base's spawn area.

If you are not familiar with the new maps yet, you can read more below.

The first map, and possibly going to be a fan-favourite, is the Dangerous Grass map. Overgrown bushes will sprout on the battlefield. This is where pick-off type heroes thrive, as they can easily ambush players in a lot of areas of the map. 

Some assassin standouts include Saber, Natalia, Karina, Arlott, and even Helcurt, who can go in and out of an ambush quickly. A good support pick is Mathilda, as she can help heroes engage for a pick-off or escape dangerous situations with her Guiding Wind skill.

This map also adds even more purpose for heroes who can provide visions. This includes Popol and Kupa, Diggie, and Selena, who can place traps that mark hidden heroes who step on them. But that’s not all. Heroes that have wide-range vision abilities, like Novaria, Yi Sun-shin, and Zetian, might also be a meta pick for this map in terms of vision control. Even  Chip, who is usually just a pocket pick, will have a place in this map, as there are a lot of possible areas to set up an ambush.

Due to the nature of the new map, heroes who have little to no mobility are greatly affected. Heroes like Cecilion, Tigreal, Gord, and Estes will have a hard time moving around the map as they have no dash or blink skills. With that said, heroes with little to no mobility who are walking alone in this map are easy pick-offs.

If you think Dangerous Grass is already a headache, the Broken Walls map will make you doubt whether you are recalling a safe spot. This new Project NEXT map in MLBB opens a lot of walled areas in the jungle zone. This makes for faster jungle clearing and rotations for most heroes without a dash or blink ability. 

Johnson is probably the hero who can benefit the most from this new map. His main gameplay mechanic is driving around a map, looking for potential pick-offs, and providing vision. The new map basically gives him a ton of new routes and shortcuts to take, making him even more unpredictable. 

Heroes with little to no mobility can take advantage of the broken walls, especially roamers that are usually ignored in the high-ranked meta. This includes Tigreal, Belerick, and Minotaur. As for EXP Laners, heroes like Freya, Hilda, and Uranus will have a field day. The shortcuts will let them respond to ganks much faster without having to rely on the river as the shortest route possible. 

With that said, every hero will benefit from this new map, one way or another, especially those who already have mobility skills. The only problem is that the middle turrets are no longer a safe spot to recall. With the sidelane walls now open, enemies will have an easier time sneaking up on you.

The Flying Cloud map lets you ride a cloud directly to your desired location, up to a specific range. You can’t ride it straight to the river or to the enemy jungle camps. Its range limit is where the purple and red buffs spawn. Finally, Sun gets to ride a Flying Nimbus, if you know what I mean.

This mechanic allows all heroes to maximize their laning presence as it is still faster than walking back to your lane. Meaning, you won’t have to sacrifice a minion wave if you need to recall for health. On top of that, you can easily respond to team fights that are within the cloud’s range. This further increases your territory control.

Most heroes that require intensive farming to scale will enjoy this new map. Heroes like Cecilion, Granger, and Aldous can use this to quickly get back to farming waves after a quick recall to replenish health or mana. Speaking of farming, Gold Laners will definitely enjoy the Flying Cloud map, especially heroes like Ixia, Layla, and Natan, heroes with no spammable mobility skill. Basically, you will use heroes that will thrive in sustained farming situations.

If you know how to rotate properly in the game, you’ll love the Expanding River map. Everyone’s favourite location, the River has, well, expanded, with water currents now flowing around jungle camps whenever a Lord spawns and is defeated. Following these currents will provide a movement speed boost, similar to how it is when running through the river. 

Obviously, every hero will benefit from this new map, especially those who are already agile, like Yi Sun-shin, Nolan, Lancelot, Wanwan, Thamuz, and Zilong. However, it will make for some interesting interactions with heroes with abilities that are affected by movement speed. A good example is the Deadly Catch Ultimate of Bane, which can move faster with a movement speed buff. Combo it with Hylos’ Glorious Pathway, and you’re on a high-speed chase with sharks. Heroes and abilities that are affected by Movement Speed buffs are some of the most fun mechanics to play around with in this map.

However, heroes who don’t rely too much on the River buff to thrive might be affected negatively. Heroes like Ling might have to make more effort in chasing after already agile heroes following the river currents. 

That’s it for all four new maps in the MLBB Project NEXT 2025 update. Since the patch just dropped, the meta is still fresh. Expect new strategies and discoveries to emerge as players continue to explore. Keep an eye out for our MLBB Hero Tier List as we constantly update it as we discover new meta picks.

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