Mobile Legend Basic Tutorial Mastering the Game
Embark on a journey into the exciting world of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang with this comprehensive basic tutorial. We’ll unravel the core mechanics, guide you through character selection, and equip you with the strategies needed to dominate the battlefield. From understanding the user interface to mastering team coordination, this tutorial provides a solid foundation for new players and a helpful refresher for those seeking to improve their gameplay.
This guide covers everything from the fundamental controls and movement techniques to advanced strategies for item building and team coordination. We’ll explore the diverse roles within the game, delve into effective farming methods, and highlight common pitfalls to avoid. By the end, you’ll possess the knowledge and skills to confidently navigate the complexities of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and achieve victory.
Game Overview and Interface

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game where two teams of five players compete to destroy the enemy team’s base. The game blends strategic team play with fast-paced action, requiring players to coordinate their heroes’ abilities and work together to achieve victory. Understanding the game’s core mechanics and interface is crucial for success.
Core Gameplay Mechanics
The core gameplay revolves around controlling a chosen hero, each possessing unique abilities and roles (e.g., Tank, Fighter, Mage, Marksman, Assassin, Support). Players earn gold by defeating enemy minions and heroes, using this gold to purchase items that enhance their hero’s stats. The objective is to push lanes, destroy enemy towers, and ultimately, destroy the enemy base. Strategic map awareness, teamwork, and effective use of abilities are key to winning. Successful ganking (ambushing and killing enemy heroes) and objective control (securing buffs and Lord) are also vital components of winning strategies.
User Interface Elements
The MLBB interface provides players with all the necessary information and controls. The mini-map displays the overall battlefield, showing the location of allies, enemies, and objectives. The hero’s health and mana bars are prominently displayed, along with the current level and available skills. The item slots allow players to equip purchased items. The chat function enables communication with teammates, and the shop allows for the purchase of items during the game. The controls for movement, attacking, and using skills are typically customizable to suit individual preferences. Understanding these elements allows for efficient gameplay and quick reactions.
Navigating the Main Menu
The main menu provides access to various game features. Upon launching the game, players will see options such as “Play,” “Shop,” “Hero,” “Profile,” and “Settings.” Selecting “Play” allows players to choose a game mode. “Shop” allows players to purchase heroes, skins, and other in-game items. “Hero” displays the player’s owned heroes and allows access to hero details. “Profile” shows the player’s profile information, including rank and achievements. “Settings” allows customization of game controls, graphics, and audio.
Game Modes Comparison
Game Mode | Description | Team Size | Objective |
---|---|---|---|
Classic | Standard 5v5 match on the classic map. | 5 vs 5 | Destroy the enemy base. |
Ranked | Competitive 5v5 match affecting rank. | 5 vs 5 | Destroy the enemy base and gain rank points. |
Brawl | 3v3v3 match on a smaller map. | 3 vs 3 vs 3 | Control the central area and defeat enemy teams. |
Magic Chess | Auto-battler mode where players build a team of heroes. | 8 players | Be the last player standing. |
Character Selection and Roles
Choosing the right hero is crucial for success in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Understanding the different hero roles and their respective strengths and weaknesses allows for effective team composition and strategic gameplay. This section will delve into the six primary roles, providing examples and insights into their optimal usage.
Hero Roles and Their Characteristics
Mobile Legends features six core hero roles: Tank, Fighter, Assassin, Mage, Marksman, and Support. Each role possesses unique strengths and weaknesses, impacting their effectiveness in various game scenarios. A balanced team composition usually incorporates heroes from multiple roles to cover various combat situations.
Tank Heroes
Tank heroes are the frontline defenders, absorbing damage and protecting their teammates. They typically possess high health points (HP), strong defense, and crowd control abilities. Popular examples include Grock, who excels at initiating team fights with his ultimate, and Uranus, known for his exceptional sustain and durability. Tanks are essential for initiating team fights and protecting vulnerable damage dealers.
Fighter Heroes
Fighter heroes are versatile, combining offensive and defensive capabilities. They can deal significant damage while also enduring a fair amount of punishment. Popular fighters include Chou, renowned for his high mobility and crowd control, and Sun, who can create multiple copies of himself to confuse and overwhelm opponents. Fighters often act as a bridge between the front and back lines.
Assassin Heroes
Assassin heroes specialize in quickly eliminating high-value targets, such as enemy mages or marksmen. They typically possess high burst damage and strong mobility but often have low HP and defense. Popular examples include Natalia, a stealth assassin who can easily ambush unsuspecting enemies, and Lancelot, known for his high burst damage and ability to quickly eliminate targets. Their role is to disrupt the enemy team’s composition.
Mage Heroes
Mage heroes are ranged damage dealers who excel at dealing area-of-effect (AoE) damage. They usually have high magical power but are often fragile and vulnerable to physical attacks. Popular examples include Eudora, whose powerful burst damage can quickly eliminate enemies, and Kagura, known for her high mobility and control over the battlefield. Mages are crucial for dealing sustained magical damage.
Marksman Heroes
Marksman heroes are ranged physical damage dealers, specializing in dealing sustained damage over time. They are typically very vulnerable in the early game but become extremely powerful in the late game. Popular examples include Claude, known for his high attack speed and mobility, and Layla, a high-damage marksman who excels at long-range engagements. Marksmen provide consistent damage output.
Support Heroes
Support heroes focus on assisting their teammates, providing buffs, heals, and crowd control. They typically have low damage output but offer invaluable support in team fights. Popular examples include Estes, a powerful healer who can keep his teammates alive, and Angela, who can attach herself to a teammate, providing them with additional protection and magical power. Supports are essential for team survivability and coordination.
Team Composition and Hero Selection
Choosing heroes based on team composition is vital. A balanced team should ideally include a tank, a fighter, an assassin or mage, a marksman, and a support. This ensures a diverse range of skills and capabilities, allowing the team to effectively address various combat situations. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your teammates’ chosen heroes to create synergistic compositions. Avoid having too many heroes with similar roles, as this can lead to inefficiencies.
Basic Hero Stats by Role
Role | HP | Attack | Defense | Mobility |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tank | High | Low | High | Medium |
Fighter | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Assassin | Low | High | Low | High |
Mage | Low | High (Magical) | Low | Medium |
Marksman | Low | High | Low | Low to Medium |
Support | Medium | Low | Low to Medium | Medium |
Basic Controls and Movement

Mastering movement and basic controls is fundamental to success in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Understanding how to navigate the battlefield effectively, coupled with precise attacks and skill usage, will significantly improve your gameplay and contribute to your team’s victory. This section will guide you through the core mechanics of movement and combat.
Mobile Legends utilizes a virtual joystick for movement and buttons for attacking and using skills. The virtual joystick, typically located on the left side of the screen, allows you to control your hero’s movement direction. The attack button, usually on the right, initiates basic attacks. Skill buttons, also on the right, activate your hero’s unique abilities. The precise location and arrangement of these controls may vary slightly depending on your device and in-game settings, but the core functionality remains consistent.
Basic Attacking and Skill Usage
Basic attacks are crucial for last hitting minions and dealing damage to enemy heroes. Effectively utilizing basic attacks in conjunction with your skills is key to maximizing your damage output. Your hero’s basic attack range and attack speed will influence how quickly you can deal damage. Skills, on the other hand, offer a variety of effects, from dealing burst damage to providing crowd control or enhancing your survivability. Understanding the cooldown periods of your skills and their effective ranges is critical for optimal combat performance. For example, a hero with a short-range burst skill might need to position themselves close to the enemy, while a hero with a long-range skill can engage from a safe distance.
Map Awareness and Strategic Positioning
Maintaining awareness of your surroundings is paramount in Mobile Legends. Constantly scanning the mini-map allows you to anticipate enemy movements, track objectives, and support your teammates effectively. Strategic positioning involves choosing locations that maximize your effectiveness while minimizing your vulnerability. This includes considering your hero’s range, abilities, and the surrounding terrain. For example, a hero with a high attack range might choose to position themselves behind the minion wave to avoid enemy attacks while still dealing damage.
Last Hitting and Farming Techniques
Efficient last hitting involves dealing the final blow to enemy minions to secure gold and experience. This is crucial for maintaining a steady economic advantage and leveling up faster. Farming refers to the process of acquiring gold and experience by eliminating enemy minions and jungle monsters. Effective farming techniques involve utilizing your hero’s abilities and movement to maximize your efficiency. For instance, using area-of-effect skills to clear multiple minions at once can significantly speed up your farming.
Movement Abilities and Their Uses
Many heroes possess movement abilities, such as dashes, blinks, or jumps. These abilities allow for quick repositioning, escaping dangerous situations, or initiating attacks. Understanding the range, cooldown, and any additional effects of these abilities is crucial for maximizing their utility. A dash ability might be used to quickly close the distance to an enemy or to evade an incoming attack. A blink ability often offers greater mobility, allowing for more unpredictable movements and tactical positioning. The specific use of these abilities varies greatly depending on the hero and the situation.
Understanding Items and Builds

Item builds are crucial for success in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Choosing the right items significantly enhances your hero’s strengths and mitigates their weaknesses, allowing you to effectively contribute to your team’s victory. Understanding item categories and their effects is key to building effective loadouts.
Mobile Legends offers a wide variety of items, each categorized by the buffs they provide. These categories generally focus on enhancing specific attributes like physical or magical power, defense, movement speed, and utility effects. Effective item builds strategically combine items from different categories to create a synergistic effect, optimizing your hero’s performance in a given match.
Item Categories and Their Effects
Items are broadly categorized to boost specific aspects of a hero’s capabilities. These categories are not mutually exclusive; many items offer benefits across multiple categories.
- Offensive Items: These items primarily increase a hero’s damage output, be it physical or magical. Examples include Blade of Despair (increases physical attack based on enemy’s missing HP), and Holy Crystal (increases magical power). These are core to damage dealers.
- Defensive Items: These items enhance a hero’s survivability by increasing their health, armor, or magic resistance. Examples include Athena’s Shield (reduces incoming magic damage), and Antique Cuirass (reduces physical attack of the attacker).
- Support Items: These items focus on improving a hero’s utility and support capabilities, often providing crowd control, healing, or movement speed boosts. Examples include Courage Mask (increases HP regeneration and movement speed for nearby allies), and Dominance Ice (reduces enemy attack speed and movement speed).
- Movement Items: These items directly increase movement speed, allowing for quicker rotations and map traversal. Examples include Swift Boots (increases movement speed) and Demon Shoes (increases mana regeneration).
Common Item Builds for Different Hero Roles
Optimal item builds vary significantly depending on the hero’s role and playstyle. Here are examples of common builds for different roles, keeping in mind that these are not fixed and should be adjusted based on the game situation.
- Marksman: A typical Marksman build might include Berserker’s Fury (critical strike chance and physical attack), Demon Hunter Sword (physical attack and lifesteal), and Windtalker (attack speed and movement speed). This build focuses on maximizing damage output and attack speed.
- Mage: A common Mage build could incorporate items like Concentrated Energy (increases magic power based on mana), Holy Crystal (increases magic power), and Lightning Truncheon (increases magic power and adds a chain lightning effect). This build aims for high burst damage.
- Tank: A Tank build usually includes items like Dominance Ice (reduces enemy attack speed and movement speed), Athena’s Shield (reduces incoming magic damage), and Antique Cuirass (reduces physical attack of the attacker). The focus here is on survivability and disrupting the enemy team.
Adapting Item Builds Based on Enemy Team Composition
Adaptability is crucial in item building. Observing the enemy team composition allows you to counter their strengths and exploit their weaknesses. For example, if the enemy team has many physical damage dealers, prioritizing defensive items that increase armor becomes essential. Conversely, if the enemy team is heavily reliant on magic damage, focusing on magic resistance items is vital.
Core Item Stats and Passive Effects
Understanding the core stats and passive effects of common items is crucial for effective itemization.
Item Name | Stats | Passive Effect | Category |
---|---|---|---|
Blade of Despair | +160 Physical ATK | Increases Physical ATK by 25% when attacking enemies with less than 50% HP. | Offensive |
Athena’s Shield | +900 HP, +62 Magic RES | Absorbs 462-1020 Magic DMG (scales with level) | Defensive |
Dominance Ice | +70 Physical DEF, +500 Mana | Reduces enemy ATK SPD by 30% and Movement SPD by 10%. | Defensive/Support |
Holy Crystal | +100 Magic Power | Increases Magic Power by 21%-35% (scales with level) | Offensive |
Team Strategies and Teamwork
Effective teamwork is paramount to success in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Winning games isn’t solely about individual skill; it hinges on coordinated efforts, strategic decision-making, and clear communication among team members. Understanding your role within the team and collaborating with others is crucial for achieving victory.
Teamwork involves a shared understanding of objectives and a coordinated approach to achieving them. This encompasses strategic planning, effective communication, and adapting to the changing dynamics of the match. Successful teams leverage each hero’s strengths, compensate for weaknesses, and maintain a cohesive approach throughout the game.
Effective Communication and Coordination
Clear and concise communication is essential for successful team coordination. This includes using the in-game chat to relay information about enemy movements, objectives, and potential threats. Pre-game strategies, such as lane assignments and objective prioritization, should be discussed to ensure everyone is on the same page. Efficient communication helps to avoid misunderstandings and ensures everyone is working towards the same goals. For example, calling out “Enemy Jungler Mid” can prevent a teammate from being ambushed, while “Lord is spawning in 30 seconds” prompts a coordinated push.
Team Strategies for Different Game Modes
Team strategies vary depending on the game mode. In Classic mode, a common strategy involves a combination of early game aggression to secure objectives and late-game team fighting to secure victory. In Ranked mode, team composition and strategic planning become even more crucial, often requiring a more measured approach and a greater focus on team synergy. Adaptability is key, as teams need to adjust their strategy based on the enemy team’s composition and playstyle. For instance, a team with strong early-game heroes might focus on securing turrets early, while a team with scaling heroes might prioritize farming and securing objectives later in the game.
Role of Each Hero in Achieving Team Objectives
Each hero plays a vital role in achieving team objectives. Tanks initiate fights, absorb damage, and protect their teammates. Fighters deal significant damage while being relatively durable. Assassins focus on eliminating high-value targets, while mages provide area-of-effect damage and crowd control. Marksmen deal sustained high damage from a safe distance, and supports provide crucial utility, healing, and crowd control. Understanding these roles and how they interact is critical for team success. For example, a well-coordinated team might have the tank initiate a team fight, followed by the assassin targeting the enemy mage, while the marksman deals sustained damage from the backline.
Effective Callouts and Communication Strategies
Effective callouts are concise and informative. Instead of saying “They’re there!”, try “Enemy team pushing mid lane”. Use pings strategically to indicate enemy locations or objectives. Avoid excessive or unnecessary communication that can clutter the chat. Establish a common understanding of abbreviations or terms to streamline communication. For example, using abbreviations like “OT” (On the way), “SS” (Support Support), or “Gank Mid” significantly improves the speed and efficiency of communication. Prioritizing important information over less urgent details ensures clear and concise communication that is easier to process during the intensity of the game.
Gameplay Tips and Tricks

Mastering Mobile Legends: Bang Bang requires understanding core mechanics and implementing effective strategies. This section delves into advanced techniques to elevate your gameplay, focusing on efficient farming, skillful escapes, strategic jungle utilization, and effective objective control. These techniques will significantly improve your overall performance and contribute to victory.
Last Hitting and Farming
Efficient last-hitting and farming are crucial for securing gold and experience, allowing you to purchase items and level up faster than your opponents. Focus on dealing the final blow to enemy minions and jungle creeps to maximize your gold income. Practice your timing and damage output to consistently secure last hits without wasting unnecessary abilities. Pay attention to the health bars of enemy units; a well-timed basic attack can make the difference between a successful last hit and wasted damage. Prioritize farming in safe areas and utilize your hero’s abilities strategically to clear waves quickly while minimizing risk. For instance, a mage with AoE abilities can clear minion waves efficiently, while a marksman may need to focus on single-target attacks for last hitting.
Escaping Ganks and Ambushes
Knowing how to escape ganks and ambushes is a vital skill for survival and maintaining your effectiveness in the game. Utilize your hero’s abilities and movement skills to create distance from pursuing enemies. Awareness of your surroundings and the enemy team’s movements is crucial. If you anticipate an ambush, try to position yourself strategically, avoiding areas with limited escape routes. Utilizing walls and terrain to break line of sight can also help. For example, a hero with a blink ability can use it to escape a gank, while a hero with a high mobility skill can use it to kite the enemy. Always be mindful of your health and mana levels; running away when necessary is sometimes the best strategy.
Utilizing Jungle Camps
Jungle camps provide significant gold and experience, giving you an early advantage over your opponents. Efficiently clearing jungle camps requires understanding your hero’s abilities and the camp’s mechanics. Some heroes are better suited for jungle clearing than others. Prioritize camps that provide the most gold and experience based on your hero’s needs. Consider the timing of your jungle rotations, coordinating with your team to ensure map control and avoid unnecessary risks. For example, a hero with strong area-of-effect abilities can clear camps quickly, allowing for faster rotations and greater map presence. Timing your jungle clears to coincide with lane pushes can create opportunities for ganks or securing objectives.
Pushing Lanes and Taking Objectives
Effective pushing and objective control are critical for securing victory. Prioritize pushing lanes to secure towers and inhibitors, creating pressure on the enemy team. Coordinate with your team to push lanes strategically, focusing on objectives such as turrets, Lord, and Turtle. Consider your team composition and the enemy team’s position when deciding which lanes to push and which objectives to target. A coordinated push with multiple heroes can overwhelm enemy defenses, leading to a significant advantage. For instance, focusing on pushing the side lane while simultaneously securing Lord can create a powerful offensive push towards the enemy base. Always be mindful of the enemy team’s movements and position, adjusting your strategy as needed to avoid ambushes or counter-pushes.
Understanding the Minimap and Objectives

Mastering Mobile Legends involves more than just skillful hero control; it demands a keen awareness of the battlefield’s overall state. Constant monitoring of the minimap is crucial for success, providing vital information about enemy movements, objective control, and the overall flow of the game. Understanding and utilizing this information effectively can significantly improve your win rate.
The minimap is a small map located in the corner of your screen, showing a simplified overview of the entire battlefield. It displays the locations of your teammates and enemies, along with crucial objectives like turrets and the Lord. By regularly glancing at the minimap, you gain a strategic advantage, enabling proactive decision-making and informed gameplay.
Minimap Monitoring and its Importance
Regularly checking the minimap is not just helpful; it’s essential. Failing to do so leaves you vulnerable to ambushes and ganks, potentially losing crucial objectives or even teamfights. By consistently observing the minimap, you can anticipate enemy movements, track their jungle rotations, and coordinate with your team to secure objectives or counter enemy pushes. Even a quick glance every few seconds can make a huge difference. For example, noticing an enemy disappearing from their lane and heading towards your jungle on the minimap allows you to prepare defensively, possibly even setting an ambush.
Securing Objectives: Turrets and Lord
Objectives are crucial for victory in Mobile Legends. Turrets provide defensive layers protecting your base, while the Lord is a powerful monster that, when defeated, grants significant advantages to your team, such as a powerful minion wave that can push lanes rapidly and demolish turrets. Securing these objectives requires coordination and strategic thinking. Knowing when and how to attack turrets depends on your team’s composition and the enemy’s position, as shown on the minimap. Similarly, taking the Lord requires a coordinated effort to defeat it and then use its buff effectively.
Anticipating Enemy Movements
The minimap is your primary tool for predicting enemy actions. By observing patterns in enemy movements, you can anticipate ganks, rotations, and pushes. For example, if you see multiple enemies suddenly converging in a particular lane, it’s likely they’re planning a push or an ambush. This allows you to either reinforce your teammates or prepare a counter-strategy. Conversely, noticing an enemy missing from their lane for an extended period could indicate they’re attempting a sneaky gank on another lane. Using this information to preemptively reposition or warn your teammates is a valuable skill.
Typical Game Map and Key Areas
Imagine a symmetrical map with three lanes: top, mid, and bottom. Each lane has several turrets defending the base. The jungle area is located between the lanes, containing monsters that provide buffs and gold. Key areas include the Lord pit, usually located in the center jungle, and the turtle pit, located in a similar position in the opposite side of the map. The base, protected by multiple turrets, is located at opposite ends of the map. The minimap would show these locations in a simplified form, with icons representing heroes, turrets, and objectives. The Lord pit and turtle pit would be clearly marked, indicating their strategic importance. The lanes would be represented by paths, and the jungle would be a shaded area. The relative positions of heroes would show their proximity to objectives and potential engagements.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, while seemingly straightforward, presents several common pitfalls for new players. Understanding these mistakes and implementing preventative strategies is crucial for improving gameplay and achieving victory. Mastering the game involves not only learning the mechanics but also recognizing and correcting frequent errors. This section will Artikel some of the most prevalent mistakes and offer effective solutions.
Ignoring the Minimap
Failing to consistently check the minimap is a significant handicap. The minimap provides vital information about enemy movements, objective control, and potential ganks. Neglecting it leaves players vulnerable to surprise attacks and missed opportunities. Players often focus solely on their immediate surroundings, losing sight of the larger battlefield picture. This can lead to being caught out of position, ambushed by roaming heroes, or missing crucial team fights around objectives. Regularly glancing at the minimap, even for a few seconds, provides a strategic advantage, allowing for proactive positioning and informed decision-making.
Poor Item Building
Constructing an ineffective item build significantly hinders a hero’s potential. Choosing items without considering the hero’s role, the enemy team composition, or the current game stage can severely impact performance. For example, building full damage on a tank hero renders them ineffective in their primary role of absorbing damage. Conversely, building full defense on an assassin reduces their damage output and diminishes their effectiveness in eliminating key targets. A well-thought-out item build should complement the hero’s strengths and address weaknesses, adapting to the evolving game dynamics. Consulting online guides or researching optimal builds for specific heroes can significantly improve itemization strategies.
Uncoordinated Team Play
Lack of communication and coordination amongst team members often results in defeat. Independent actions without considering team objectives or strategies lead to disorganized pushes and missed opportunities. For instance, all five players pushing a single lane without securing objectives leaves other lanes vulnerable. Conversely, focusing on objectives without proper coordination can lead to losing team fights and losing the objective anyway. Effective team play necessitates clear communication, strategic coordination, and a shared understanding of team objectives. Using in-game chat to communicate intentions and coordinate strategies is crucial for successful teamwork.
Overextending and Poor Positioning
Aggressively pushing too far ahead of the team, or staying in unfavorable positions, often results in easy kills for the enemy team. This overextension exposes players to ganks and leaves them vulnerable to attacks. For instance, a lone hero pushing into enemy territory without vision or support is easily ambushed and eliminated. Maintaining awareness of surroundings, coordinating with teammates, and avoiding isolated positions significantly reduces the risk of being caught out. Prioritizing safety and maintaining a strategic position contributes significantly to team success.
Ignoring Hero Synergies and Counters
Failing to consider hero synergies and counters within team composition can lead to significant disadvantages. Choosing heroes without considering their strengths and weaknesses against the opposing team can result in a losing battle from the start. For example, selecting multiple heroes vulnerable to crowd control against an enemy team with many crowd control heroes will likely result in an unfavorable outcome. Understanding hero synergies and counters allows for strategic team composition, maximizing the team’s strengths and mitigating weaknesses. Researching hero matchups and considering counter-picks before the match can drastically improve the team’s chances of victory.
Epilogue

Mastering Mobile Legends: Bang Bang requires dedication and practice, but with the foundational knowledge gained from this tutorial, you’ll be well-equipped to face any challenge. Remember to utilize the tips and strategies Artikeld here, and most importantly, practice consistently to hone your skills. The path to becoming a formidable Mobile Legends player begins with understanding the basics, and this tutorial serves as your essential first step towards achieving dominance in the Land of Dawn.
Essential Questionnaire
What is the best hero for beginners?
Many heroes are beginner-friendly, but those with straightforward abilities and high survivability, like Layla (Marksman) or Balmond (Fighter), are often recommended.
How do I improve my KDA (Kills, Deaths, Assists)?
Focus on farming efficiently, playing defensively when necessary, and prioritizing team objectives over individual kills. Effective teamwork also significantly boosts KDA.
What are the most important items to buy early game?
Early game item choices vary by hero role, but generally, items that boost health, mana regeneration, or attack speed are crucial for early-game survivability and effectiveness.
How can I improve my map awareness?
Constantly check the minimap, pay attention to missing enemies, and learn to predict enemy movements based on their last known location and the game’s flow.