Why is Lanlingwang getting weaker? You don't even need items like the Master's Sword or Moon's Grace; the Ninja Boots are enough to counter him.

I wonder if you've encountered Lanlingwang in recent games. This hero was previously very popular, but with each update, his performance seems to have declined. He might gain a slight advantage in the early game, but he becomes weak in the mid-to-late stages. If he doesn't secure an advantage in the early game, he might have no presence throughout the entire match. So why is Lanlingwang's performance getting worse?

Let's first talk about Lanlingwang's signature skill—his core mechanic is stealth. The skill "Secret Technique: Invisibility" allows him to become invisible. When approaching an enemy hero while invisible, an exclamation mark appears above the enemy's head. If he stays near the enemy for more than 3 seconds, the stealth is automatically canceled. His passive "Secret Technique: Swiftness" grants him 15% to 30% movement speed when moving toward enemy heroes. This works with his second skill "Secret Technique: Shadow Erosion," which slows and marks the target. The mark lasts for 3 seconds, and upon expiration, it deals damage based on the target's missing health. Lanlingwang's first attack on a marked target inflicts a 1-second stun and restores HP. His first skill "Secret Technique: Clone Strike" slashes nearby enemies, summoning a shadow clone that randomly attacks a nearby enemy, prioritizing low-health heroes. His ultimate skill "Secret Technique: Dark Assault" cancels stealth and charges forward. This combo, when he has an economic lead in the early game, leaves squishy heroes with no time to react. This is the foundation of Lanlingwang's strength as an early-game tempo jungler.

However, the problem lies in this stealth mechanism. The developers previously optimized it, changing the exclamation mark to indicate distance. The deeper the color of the exclamation mark, the closer Lanlingwang is to the target. This change means enemies not only know that Lanlingwang is coming but also can roughly gauge his distance, making it easier to counter him.

Moreover, there are now many more ways to counter stealth. The Supporter item "Eye of the Sun" is almost a must-have for supports—activating it reveals nearby invisible units. As for heroes, there are many: Li Yuanfang's passive can detect nearby stealthed units, Bai Li Shouyue's first skill can place a vision device to guard the river, and Wu Zetian's ultimate is a full-map homing attack. In a lineup with these heroes, Lanlingwang finds it much harder to reach the backline compared to previous seasons.

Even if Lanlingwang manages to get close to his target, current marksmen and mages are not as easy to kill as before. Normally, if a mage buys Ninja Boots, Lanlingwang's combo cannot one-shot them, and he might even be counter-killed. Especially for tanky mages like Chang'e, once she gets Ninja Boots, she can chase Lanlingwang from level 4 to level 15. If the game drags on, survival items like The Book of the Dead and Moon's Grace become more common. As for marksmen, the recent buff to the Master's Sword has improved their survivability, and in the last few seasons, a new item, the Shadow Dagger, has further enhanced their durability.

After Lanlingwang uses his full combo, if he fails to kill the target instantly, he's in an awkward position. His only mobility comes from his ultimate's charge, and after using all his skills, he has no means of escape. Standing still makes him an easy target for counterattacks. Honestly, this is why many players feel he requires a lot of skill to play—his margin for error is quite low.

Another perspective on why Lanlingwang has become weaker is that a large part of his strength lies in his stealth mechanism. To balance this absolute first-strike advantage and vision control, his base stats have been kept conservative. The developers are reluctant to give him high early damage, because if he could one-shot easily, the hero would seem both cheap and overpowered. Thus, Lanlingwang's role is quite awkward—now he can only bully immobile marksmen and mages.

Those are some observations about Lanlingwang's current situation. The stealth mechanism is still the same, but there are increasingly more ways to counter him: cloth armor boots, survival items, stealth detection, along with issues in early-game stats and jungle clear speed. These shortcomings add up, making his position somewhat awkward. What do you all think—can Lanlingwang still be played effectively now?

*This article is published with permission from Tian Cai Shao Nü Ji.