When we start stepping into the realms of the Epic ranks and beyond, we will start playing with the Draft Pick mode. With it comes new and unfamiliar terms that we’ll usually read when we pick and ban heroes – S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5.
Knowing these key terms will improve team communication and coordination during the Draft Pick phase, especially if you play solo with strangers or with friends.
In this article, let’s talk about what these numbered letters mean and what you should do in-game, especially if it’s your first time hearing these S-es.
S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5: What does the ‘S’ mean in ML?
The “S” in S1 to S5 means either “Slot” or “Seat,” depending on who you ask. During the game, you can’t see the other team’s IGNs. Instead, you can only see their slots as Player 1 through 5. But for uniformity, we’ll use slot for the rest of this article as it is more commonly used in the game.
These slots are a player’s position during the Draft pick, with the S1 being the player at the top-most position, followed by S2, S3, and so on, with S5 at the bottom of the order. These numbers also indicate which players will ban heroes during the banning phase, as well as the order of picking.
It’s also important to note that the slot where you’re positioned during the draft pick is randomized. So, even if you play with a team and arrange yourselves in the lobby according to your preferred slot numbers, you will still be shuffled during the game.
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What is the importance of knowing your MLBB slots?
Knowing your slot number, whether you’re the S1, S2, S3, S4, or S5, is crucial because it will indicate the chronological order of picking and banning, which is an important strategy for building your team.
Some players who are not aware of their slot numbers will usually miss their chance of banning or picking heroes, which annoys a lot of players because they want to avoid some heroes.
For simplicity and understanding, let’s take two hypothetical teams, Team A and Team B, to illustrate the importance of knowing your slot.
During the banning phase
During the Banning Phase, each team will take turns. If Team A is the first team to ban, their S3 will choose the first hero to remove from play. This is followed by Team B’s S3 and S4, banning two additional heroes from the pool. Afterward, the banning phase returns to Team A, with S4 and S5 selecting another two heroes to exclude. Finally, the last ban goes to Team B’s S5.
So, suppose you’re slotted from S3 to S5. In that case, you have the responsibility of banning and must be ready because banning is time-constrained. If you miss your chance, you can’t make up for it, which may result in some trash-talking from teammates.
During the picking phase
After both teams complete the banning phase by each team’s S3 to S5, where they can ban up to six heroes (3 on each side), the hero-picking commences.
From our example, since Team B’s S5 was the last to ban, the first pick goes to Team A’s S1. Followed by two picks from Team B’s S1 and S2, Team A’s S2 and S3, Team B’s S3 and S4, and so on, until everyone has picked their heroes.
Swapping your ML heroes
The top slots (S1 and S2) are the first to pick during the picking phase. However, they can swap positions with the players in the lower slots, especially if they want to overtake the other team by selecting open, strong heroes.
Now that you understand the meaning of S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, you can easily identify when you’re being called out to ban or pick a hero. These slots are important when choosing your team’s sequence.