Tank · Vanguard · Support, Jungle
Prepare for battle with Maokai — master their strengths and exploit their weaknesses before the game starts.
Playstyle Profile
Maokai is a protector — defends carries by neutralizing incoming threats
- Teamfight Role
- Backline Protector
- Power Spike
- Mid game
- Split Threat
- None
- Backline Access
- Low
Maokai's Strengths
- Keeps carries alive through burst — Maokai's peel makes hyper-carries nearly unkillable in teamfights
How to Play Maokai
Champion-specific pre-match tips
Gameplay tips on Summoner's Rift
Lane Phase
Toss your E into river or lane brushes before starting an early skirmish to secure vision and create empowered traps that zone enemies.
Lane Phase
Weave a basic attack immediately after landing your W to trigger your passive heal and win the short trade.
Lane Phase
Cast Q the moment an enemy steps into melee range to knock them backward and interrupt their attack animation.
Mid Game
Stack multiple E saplings in the jungle brushes surrounding a major objective thirty seconds before it spawns to chunk approaching enemies.
Mid Game
Target an enemy with W the moment they cast a crucial crowd control spell to dodge the effect using your brief untargetability.
Mid Game
Channel your ult from behind a wall or out of vision right as a teamfight begins to trap the enemy team inside a narrow choke point.
Late Game
Cast your ult diagonally across lanes or jungle corridors to maximize the root's spread and guarantee you hit multiple spread-out targets.
Late Game
Save your W and Q exclusively to lock down diving assassins once they commit onto your backline carries.
Late Game
Strike the nearest target with a basic attack every time your passive comes off cooldown to out-sustain enemy damage in extended 5v5 fights.
For matchup-tailored tips, download Baron Buff's AI Coach & Companion App.
Gameplay tips in Arena
- Seed saplings in brush and around plants before combat, use W only when your partner is in range, and Q the target toward your duo rather than away.
- Build Unending Despair, Sunfire Aegis, Spirit Visage, and Cruelty. Sustain and matched resistance keep you controlling space; Liandry's Torment is the damage option into tanks.
- Prioritize Courage of the Colossus, Guilty Pleasure, Slow Cooker, and Tormentor. Repeated roots and proximity damage should make every plant contest unfavorable.
Baron Build
This might not be your familiar build. We look at ranked games after each item was bought. If the player or team gained ground in gold, we rate that item higher.
- Locket of the Iron Solari — 2,200
- Plated Steelcaps (Boots) — 1,200
- Solstice Sleigh — 400
- Unending Despair — 2,800
- Sunfire Aegis — 2,800
- Thornmail — 2,450
total: 11,850
How to Counter Maokai
Counter strategies and draft context
build percent-health damage, kite effectively, or bypass them entirely to reach carries
- Struggles against multi-angle pressure — Maokai can't peel multiple threats at once
- Split-push threats that avoid 5v5 team fights entirely
- Compositions with strong disengage to negate engage windows
- Picks that bypass the frontline to reach backline carries directly
Maokai's Weaknesses
- Multiple dive threats at once — Maokai can only peel one target, and coordinated dives overwhelm the backline
Best Synergies with Maokai
Team synergies and draft context
- Hyper-carry ADCs that thrive behind Maokai's protection — the longer fights last, the more value you get
- Assassins that flank while you hold enemy attention at the front
- Follow-up damage dealers that capitalize on your engage and CC
- AOE mages that combo with your crowd control for wombo setups
Draft Context
- Drafts only squishies — Maokai can peel, but there's nothing to absorb damage in the frontline
Learning Curve
Based on 1.2M+ matches across all ranked elos, showing how Maokai's win rate changes with mastery level
Maokai has exceptional depth — there is always something new to learn, but getting results takes patience. Expect lower win rates early while building the experience to unlock this champion's potential.
- Skill Cap
- Very High
- Cost of Learning
- High
| Mastery Level | Win Rate |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 49.3% |
| 3-4 | 49.3% |
| 5-6 | 50.9% |
| 7-8 | 50.9% |
| 9-12 * | 56.9% |
| 13-16 | 56.9% |
| 17+ | 56.9% |