If you’ve spent your first few days in Mobile Legends grinding casual matches and testing out different heroes, you’ve probably wondered when you can finally jump into competitive play. A lot of new players hit a wall when they tap the Ranked tab only to get a notification that they don’t meet the requirements yet, and it can be frustrating when you’re ready to test your skills against similarly skilled opponents. We’ve put together this complete walkthrough to cover exactly how to unlock ranked in Mobile Legends, plus extra tips to make the process as smooth as possible so you can start climbing the ranks faster.
Core Requirements to Unlock Ranked in Mobile Legends
Moonton has set clear, non-negotiable requirements for accessing ranked play, and none of them can be skipped even if you spend real money on the game. These rules are in place to make sure new players have a basic understanding of game mechanics before they join matches that affect other players’ rank progress. You’ll need to hit all of the following marks before the Ranked tab unlocks for your account:
- Reach account Level 8: This is the minimum level threshold, and it usually takes 10 to 15 casual matches to hit if you don’t use XP boosters. You earn XP for every match you play, win or lose, so you don’t have to stress about a perfect win rate while you grind levels.
- Own at least 6 eligible heroes: Free trial heroes and weekly rotation heroes don’t count toward this requirement. You have to permanently own 6 heroes, either purchased with gold, tickets, or diamonds, or unlocked through event rewards. The first few heroes you get from the newbie rewards already count, so most players hit this requirement around the same time they hit level 8.
- Complete the ranked play tutorial: Once you hit level 8 and own 6 heroes, you’ll get a pop-up prompt for a short 2-minute tutorial that covers basic ranked rules, like draft pick, ban phase, and how rank points work. You have to finish this tutorial before you can enter your first ranked match.
A lot of new players make the mistake of buying expensive skins first before picking up cheap heroes, and that can delay your ranked unlock by a few days. Gold is easy to earn from daily matches and missions, so prioritize picking up 1,000 or 2,000 gold heroes first if you’re eager to get into ranked fast. You don’t have to be good at every hero you buy for this requirement, but it’s a good idea to test them out in casual matches first so you have a bigger pool to pick from during draft phase.
Fastest Ways to Meet Ranked Unlock Requirements
If you’re in a hurry to get into ranked play, you don’t have to grind random casual matches for hours on end. There are a few simple tricks to hit the level and hero requirements in half the time, and most of them don’t cost any real money. Following these tips will cut the time it takes to figure out how to unlock ranked in Mobile Legends by more than half for most new players.
First, make sure you claim all your daily login rewards and complete all newbie missions every day. Newbie missions give massive XP and gold bonuses, and many of them give free hero shards or even full heroes just for playing a couple of matches per day. You can also use XP boosters that you get from login rewards or event chests to double the XP you earn from every match for a set period of time. Stack a 2x XP booster with a 1.5x win XP bonus, and you can hit level 8 in as few as 7 matches if you win most of your games.
For the hero requirement, stick to cheap, low-gold heroes first instead of saving up for 32,000 gold meta heroes right away. Heroes like Layla, Zilong, and Eudora are cheap to buy, and they count toward the 6 hero requirement exactly the same as more expensive options. Don’t waste gold on skins before you hit the 6 hero requirement, since skins don’t give any substantial gameplay advantage, and you can always pick them up later once you’re already playing ranked regularly. If you do have a small amount of diamonds to spend, the cheapest hero bundles in the shop are almost always a better value than buying skins if your main goal is to unlock ranked quickly.
Common Mistakes That Delay Ranked Access
Even if you’re grinding matches every day, there are a few common missteps that can push back your ranked unlock by days or even a week. One of the most frequent mistakes we see new players make is ignoring the in-game tutorial pop-ups early on. The first few tutorials you get when you create an account give huge XP and gold rewards, and skipping them means you’re leaving a ton of free resources on the table that could cut your grind time in half.
Another big mistake is leaving match quests uncompleted. Every day, you get 3 daily match quests that give gold, XP, and ticket rewards for simple tasks like getting 2 kills or playing 2 matches as a mage. These quests take almost no extra effort to complete, and the combined rewards add up really fast over a couple of days. Never leave daily quests unclaimed before you log out for the day, because they reset at midnight server time and you can’t get the rewards from previous days once they’re gone.
A lot of new players also assume that weekly rotation heroes count toward the 6 hero requirement, but that’s not the case. You can test weekly rotation heroes all you want in casual matches, but only heroes you permanently own will count for ranked unlock. Trial heroes never count toward the ranked unlock hero requirement, even if you’ve used them for dozens of matches. I’ve seen a lot of new players message support confused about why they can’t access ranked even though they’ve played 10 different heroes, and 9 times out of 10 it’s because most of those heroes were trial or weekly rotation ones. If you’re running low on gold to buy your 6th hero, you can also use tickets to buy cheap heroes from the ticket shop instead of spending diamonds. Tickets are easy to earn from daily rewards and event chests, so you usually won’t have to spend real money to hit the hero requirement.
What to Do After You Unlock Ranked Play
Once you finally unlock the Ranked tab, you might be tempted to jump straight into your first match right away, but there are a few small steps you can take first to set yourself up for more wins and a smoother climb. First, take 10 minutes to look up the current meta for your main role, whether that’s tank, mage, marksman, assassin, or support. The meta shifts every few patches, so knowing which heroes are strong right now will help you pick characters that give you a better chance of winning your first few ranked matches.
Lock in 2 to 3 main heroes you’re comfortable with before you play your first ranked match. You don’t need a huge hero pool when you first start, but having a couple of reliable picks for your main role means you won’t be stuck playing a hero you’ve never used before if your first pick gets banned or picked by someone else. You should also take a minute to adjust your in-game settings if you haven’t already. Things like your skill cast range, camera sensitivity, and control layout can make a huge difference in how you perform in matches, and it’s better to tweak these in casual matches before you bring them into ranked.
Don’t stress too much about your win rate when you first start playing ranked. The first 10 placement matches are designed to figure out what skill bracket you belong in, so it’s normal to lose a few matches while the system adjusts your rank. You’ll start in the Warrior rank once your placement matches are done, and you can climb all the way up to Mythic as you win more matches and earn rank points. If you’re nervous about playing solo, you can also team up with 1 or 2 friends who are around the same skill level as you. Queuing with a team makes communication easier, and you can coordinate picks and rotations to win more matches than you would playing solo.
Unlocking ranked play doesn’t have to be a long, frustrating process if you know exactly what requirements to hit and how to grind them efficiently. Stick to the simple tips we’ve covered here, prioritize hitting level 8 and picking up 6 permanent heroes first, and you’ll be able to jump into competitive matches before you know it. Now that you know how to unlock ranked in Mobile Legends, you can start working your way up the ranks and testing your skills against players from all over the world.