When the tank jungle meta surfaced a few months ago, Akai immediately became a priority pick in both ranked and competitive play.

Aside from his recent revamp that improved his offensive capabilities, he was also the answer to nimble assassin heroes because of his impactful ultimate, Heavy Spin.

He is so popular, in fact, that even professional players who are known for playing assassins such as ONIC Esports’ Kairi “Kairi” Rayosdelsol and RRQ Hoshi’s Albert “Alberttt” Iskandar have picked the Panda Warrior in pro play.

But like all heroes in the Land of Dawn, everyone has a weakness. Here are three heroes that counter Akai, the Panda Warrior, in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.


3 counters to Akai in Mobile Legends

Baxia

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang hero, Baxia
Credit: Moonton

Baxia is a tank hero that also recently became popular due to the tank jungle meta. Aside from having one of the highest base defense stats in the game, he also has one of the best mobility skills in Baxia-Shield Unity.

What makes him perfect against Akai is that Baxia is difficult to pin down. Once the Panda Warrior enters the fight with Headbutt and Heavy Spin, Baxia can activate Tortoise’s Puissance to increase his movement speed while also dealing damage and decreasing the movement speed of enemies caught in a poison trail he leaves behind.

When setting up team fights with Baxia, make sure to have at least one damage dealer following you around, as Baxia doesn’t have enough damage to kill another tank hero in a 1v1 fight.


Claude

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang skin, Golden Bullet Claude
Credit: Moonton

Claude is one of the hardest marksman heroes to kill in the game because of his Battle Image Mirror skill, which allows him to quickly jump from one area to another twice, much like a Flicker battle spell but with a 10-second cooldown.

Despite having a slow jungle clear speed in the early game, he can easily deal with tanks once he completes Demon Hunter Sword, the most important item any Claude player should have. If you are up against Akai, get the Purify battle spell in case he catches you with Heavy Spin.

Once you activate Purify, get out of Heavy Spin’s range with Battle Image Mirror. The moment Akai stops spinning, activate Battle Mirror Image again to go back to your original position with your ultimate, Blazing Duet.



Valir

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang skin, Valir
Credit: Moonton

Mage hero Valir’s skill set is the perfect counter to Akai.

Since Akai only has one mobility skill, Valir can spam Burst Fireball to slow him down and deal constant damage. If the Panda Warrior gets too close in a fight, he can use Searing Torrent to knock him back.

Valir’s ultimate, Vengeance Flame also acts like a Purify battle spell, as it removes all crowd control effects thrown at him. This means that he can use his ultimate to get out of Heavy Spin without having to be too cautious about his positioning.

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