Three days prior to the start of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League-Philippines’ sixth week, game developer Moonton released its optimization project called Project NEXT.
One of the biggest updates in recent history, many saw Project NEXT as a game-changer throughout the league. The patch changed the different mechanics of the game by including a gold and experience lane, along with various changes in the jungle area.
Eyebrows also raised, with most fans questioning the timing of the patch considering that Mobile Legends professional leagues in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia/Singapore are all in the middle of their respective seasons.
Tiebreaker Times sought comments from the coaches of the MPL-PH’s top four squads. BREN Esports’ Francis “Duckey” Glindro, Aura PH’s Michael “Arcadia” Bocado, Blacklist International’s Bon “BONN CHAN” Ricaplaza, and Smart Omega’s Steven “Daledalus” Vitug all weighed in on the recent patch.
Glindro, who was a part of the Evos Legends coaching staff that won it all in the M1 World Champions, admitted that he felt fairly disappointed with the timing of the patch.
“I am fairly disappointed with this patch being dropped mid-season. These big mechanic changes have been proven time and time again, in any game, to have endless bugs and gameplay imbalances. This would mean that all teams are back to the drawing board,” bared Glindro.
BREN Esports was one of the first teams to dip their feet in the new patch. And the MPL-PH Season Five third placer had a tough time dealing with the changes, suffering their first loss to Smart Omega via sweep.
But the squad — mostly composed of members of the Philippine national team — showed great promise. They humiliated Nexplay Solid, 2-0, two days after their shocking loss.
Meanwhile, both Ricaplaza and Bocado agreed with Glindro that updates as big as Project NEXT are prone to bugs, which can bring technical difficulties for the teams.
Nevertheless, the two have no problems with the patch being released mid-season. Ricaplaza even cited Valve. which is known to drop big patches in the middle of the Dota Pro Circuit.
“Actually, controversial rin talaga siya right now. Some are fine with it and some are not. Ako, personally okay lang sa akin since I find it challenging and it inspires me. Siguro ang negative effect lang ng mga large patches like this is that is prone to bugs and that might affect the league,” said Bocado, as Aura PH dominated its lone assignment in the week against Blacklist International.
“Okay lang naman kung ire-release nila ang patch mid-season — it happens to all MOBA games including Dota. But sana ‘yung polished na and wala ng bugs,” said Ricaplaza.
Vitug and Bocado, on the other hand, agreed that the patch will bring only good things for the community in the long run. They hope it will give players, both casual and professional, the chance to explore different approaches to the game.
“First thoughts ko sa bagong patch, maraming pumapasok sa isip ko kung ano magandang gawin, if same lang ba ito ng meta [dati], sino-sinong mga hero ang na-nerf at na-buff, ‘yung rotation paano? Ganiyan mga tumakbo sa isip ko,” said Vitug, whose Smart Omega became winners of week six after taking down BREN and Cignal Ultra via 2-0 decisions.
“My initial thoughts regarding doon sa patch is that it will definitely change how the teams approach the game. Maraming kasing changes sa technicalities ng game which encourages the teams to use different strategies,” Bocado echoed.
But at the end of the day, everyone has to adjust to what Project NEXT brings.
