Mobile Legends Esmeralda guide: Best build, skills, emblem, combos

Updated on August 23, 11:45 a.m. (GMT+8): Adjusted best build and emblem based on MLBB patch 1.9.06B.

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The greatest astrologer in the Land of Dawn, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang hero Esmeralda vows to defeat the tyrant Khufra and seal him back to prison.

Esmeralda wields the power of Stardust and Frostmoon, shaping the arsenal that makes her both a lethal mage and a fearsome tank.

One of her defining features is her ability to absorb enemy shields and convert them into her own. This unique mechanic weakens her opponents and bolsters her survivability, allowing her to stay in fights longer and dish out sustained damage.

In this ONE Esports guide, we dive deeper into her abilities, strategies, and the best build to maximize her potential.

Esmeralda’s skills in Mobile Legends

Passive – Starmoon Casket

Esmeralda wields the powers of Stardust and Frostmoon. Stardust inflicts Physical Damage, while Frostmoon deals Magic Damage and grants a shield equal to a percentage of the damage dealt. Her Basic Attacks deal both Physical and Magic Damage.

Esmeralda’s attacks bypass all shield effects and gradually convert her shield into health, enhancing her durability and combat effectiveness.

• This passive makes Esmeralda a hard hero to counter since she can deal both Physical and Magic Damage.
• The ability to absorb enemy shields forces many changes in terms of the enemy’s itemization and hero composition.

First skill – Frostmoon Shield

Esmeralda gains a shield and extra Movement Speed which rapidly decays over its duration. Meanwhile, she gradually transforms the shields of her nearby enemies into her own shield, capped at a percentage of her Max HP.

• This skill is essential for trading blows in skirmishes and sustaining through prolonged engagements.
• For best results, activate this skill when engaging directly with enemies to absorb incoming damage while dishing out your own.
• The shield also scales with the damage dealt, so timing it right can significantly impact your survivability.

Second skill – Stardust Dance

Esmeralda waves Stardust and Frostmoon, dealing Physical Damage and Magic Damage to nearby enemies. Each time she deals damage to a hero, the cooldown of Frostmoon Shield is reduced and the enemy’s Movement Speed is reduced by a percentage for a duration.

• Its dual damage output and cooldown reduction are the keys to leveraging this skill.
• Use it frequently in battles to keep the pressure on your enemies and ensure that Esmeralda’s other abilities are available as often as possible.
• Positioning is critical. Aim to hit multiple enemies with each cast to maximize damage and cooldown benefits.

Ultimate – Falling Starmoon

Esmeralda coheres the power of Astrospace into her two weapons — Stardust and Frostmoon. The longer this skill is channeled, the longer the cast range.

Use Again: Esmeralda casts the Stardust at the target location, dealing Physical Damage, then blinks to the target location and casts Frostmoon, dealing Magic Damage and immobilizing enemies in the area.

• Her ultimate ability allows Esmeralda to jump into the fray, dealing massive area-of-effect damage and immobilizing enemies caught in the blast.
• This skill is perfect for initiating team fights or finishing off fleeing enemies.
• To maximize its effectiveness, use Falling Starmoon to disrupt the enemy formation and set up your team for follow-up attacks.

A comprehensive guide on how to play Esmeralda in Mobile Legends

Recommended battle spell

Vengeance enhances Esmeralda’s survivability and damage output during engagements.

When activated, it reflects a portion of the damage she receives back to her attackers and reduces incoming damage. The reflected damage helps chip away enemy health, making her a more formidable tank and brawler.

Another good battle spell option is Purify. Purify is essential for countering crowd control, especially for a front-line hero like Esmeralda.

Activating Purify removes all debuffs and grants temporary immunity to further CC effects. This allows you to maintain your aggression and sustain through fights without being easily disrupted by stuns, slows, or other control effects.

When playing Esmeralda as a jungler, Retribution is a must. It speeds up farming by dealing true damage to jungle monsters, helping you amass gold and experience faster.

Recommended emblem

Take the custom support emblem to get additional Healing Effect, Cooldown Reduction and Movement Speed. Agility Tenacity, and Lethal Ignition are among the best talents for Esmeralda, providing a balanced mix of durability, resilience, and damage output.

Agility increases Esmeralda’s Movement Speed, enhancing her overall mobility. As a hero who often dives into the thick of battles, having good mobility allows Esmeralda to sustain longer during engagements.

Tenacity is crucial as it improves your Physical and Magic Defense when your HP falls below a certain percentage. This ensures you can maintain an aggressive playstyle without getting easily picked off.

Alternatively, you can take Seasoned Hunter when playing her as a jungler. This allows you to damage the Turtle and the Lord more, increasing your jungling speed.

Lethal Ignition enhances Esmeralda’s offensive capabilities by increasing her Magic Damage output. This talent is beneficial because it applies Scorch Damage as you repeatedly activate Stardust Dance and Frostmoon Shield.

Esmeralda best build

Building the right items for Esmeralda is essential to harness her full potential.

After boots, prioritize getting Enchanted Talisman. It significantly reduces cooldown and mana regeneration, allowing you to activate her skills more frequently.

Next, get Dominance Ice, which is valuable for its armor, mana regeneration, and anti-heal capabilities.

The armor from the item adds to your durability, while the item’s passive allows you to brawl with other regen heroes better.

Transitioning to the mid-game, buy Oracle which significantly boosts your shield absorption and healing effects. Pair this with Bruteforce Breastplate which grants both Physical Defense and Movement Speed.

Finally, you can get Ice Queen Wand or Immortality as your final item. Both items allow you to play more aggressively and boost different stats.

If you’re playing as a jungler of the team, you can stock up on offensive Magic items. The best items for her are Starlium Scythe and Feather of Heaven in the early game.

Purchase Blood Wings and Holy Crystal to boost your Magic Damage in the mid-game, then get Immortality as your final item.

The best build for EXP lane Esmeralda in Mobile Legends

• Tough Boots
• Enchanted Talisman
• Dominance Ice
• Oracle
• Bruteforce Breastplate
• Ice Queen Wand

The best build for jungle Esmeralda in Mobile Legends

• Tough Boots (Ice Retribution)
• Feather of Heaven
• Starlium Scythe
• Holy Crystal
• Blood Wings
• Winter Crown

Tips and easy combos

Mastering her requires understanding the nuances of her skills and how they can be combined for maximum impact.

Esmeralda’s early game potential is strong due to her ability to absorb enemy shields and sustain through fights. Take advantage of this by playing aggressively in the laning phase.

When engaging enemies, always use your first skill before activating your second skill. This allows you to close the gap faster and gain a shield that absorbs incoming damage.

Master moving while using the first and second skill combo to maintain your proximity to your target.

You can also initiate fights using your ultimate. To maximize the Falling Star Moon ability, manually cast it, preferably to multiple targets for crowd control.

READ MORE: The secret to winning ranked! How to freeze lane in Mobile Legends and get an early game advantage