Sora has quickly become one of the most oppressive heroes in Mobile Legends due to his transformation-based kit and explosive ultimate potential. Many players struggle against him because once he gains momentum, he can easily take over team fights and snowball games. However, despite his strength, Sora is far from unbeatable when you understand how his mechanics work.
In this guide, we’ll break down Sora’s abilities, explain his biggest weaknesses, and highlight specific heroes that can shut him down. More importantly, you’ll learn practical counterplay strategies that focus on denying his stacks, surviving his burst, and stopping his ultimate before it decides the fight.
Understanding Sora’s Transformation Mechanics
Before countering Sora, you must understand how his power actually works. Sora relies heavily on his transformation forms to unlock his full potential. When he switches to Thunder Form, he becomes a high-damage threat capable of bursting down squishy heroes. Meanwhile, Torrent Form turns him into a crowd control specialist that can disrupt entire team fights.
However, both forms share a critical weakness. Sora must land his transformed skills to gain stacks. These stacks are required to activate his transformation ultimate—Heaven’s Wrath in Thunder Form and Stormbind in Torrent Form. Without enough stacks, Sora loses access to his strongest abilities, significantly reducing his impact.
As a result, the most effective way to counter Sora is not to fight him head-on, but to prevent him from building stacks in the first place.
Denying Stacks by Dodging His Skills
Since Sora depends on skill hits, heroes with mobility and precise timing can punish him hard. If Sora misses his transformed abilities, he gains nothing—and without stacks, his ultimate is completely locked out.
This is where positioning and awareness become crucial. By baiting his skills and forcing him to miss, you effectively neutralize his transformation pressure and limit his threat during skirmishes and team fights.
Why Arlott Is One of Sora’s Best Counters
Among all heroes, Arlott stands out as one of the most effective counters to Sora. Thanks to his dash-based kit, Arlott can reposition quickly and avoid Sora’s Skill 1 and Skill 2 during transformation mode.
When Arlott times his dashes correctly, Sora’s abilities fail to connect, meaning no stacks are gained. Consequently, Sora becomes unable to activate his transformation ultimate, turning what should be a deadly engage into a wasted opportunity. Over time, this constant denial forces Sora to play defensively instead of aggressively.
Sustaining Through Sora’s Damage with Ruby
If dodging isn’t your preferred playstyle, sustaining through Sora’s damage is another viable option. Ruby excels in this role due to her exceptional lifesteal and crowd control.
Even if Ruby absorbs Sora’s full skill combo, her sustain allows her to survive and continue fighting. This makes her particularly effective in prolonged engagements where Sora expects to secure quick eliminations. That said, this strategy works best when Ruby is not significantly behind in gold, as item advantage plays a major role in her survivability.
Using Suppression to Shut Down Sora’s Ultimate
Another crucial weakness in Sora’s kit is often overlooked. His transformation ultimate grants him crowd control immunity, but it does not protect him from suppression. This distinction opens the door to hard counters that can completely stop his momentum.
Heroes like Kaja and Franco excel in this scenario. Their suppression skills can lock Sora down mid-ultimate, preventing him from executing his combo and exposing him to immediate follow-up damage. In coordinated team fights, this single interaction can decide the outcome of an entire match.
Turning Sora’s Strength into a Weakness
Sora may look overwhelming at first, but his reliance on stacks and transformation timing makes him surprisingly vulnerable. By dodging his skills, sustaining his burst, or suppressing his ultimate, you strip away the very tools that make him dangerous. Once his momentum is gone, Sora struggles to regain control, allowing your team to dominate fights and objectives.
FAQs
What is the best overall counter to Sora?
Arlott is one of the strongest counters because his mobility allows him to consistently dodge Sora’s skills, preventing stack generation and ultimate activation.
Can tanky heroes counter Sora?
Yes, heroes with strong sustain like Ruby can survive Sora’s burst, especially when they are not behind in gold and items.
Does crowd control work against Sora’s ultimate?
Regular crowd control does not work, but suppression skills from heroes like Kaja and Franco can fully stop Sora’s ultimate.
Is Sora still dangerous if he misses his skills?
Not really. Without landing his transformed abilities, Sora cannot gain stacks, which severely limits his damage and team fight presence.
Should I counter Sora in lane or team fights?
Ideally, you should pressure him early in lane to delay his items, then continue denying his stacks during team fights to keep him from snowballing.
