Maokai

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.

Maokai 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.

Core

• Locket of the Iron Solari
• Boots of Swiftness (Boots)
• Bandlepipes

Situational

• Thornmail
• Spirit Visage
• Solstice Sleigh

Maokai Runes

The most popular rune page and summoner spells for Maokai in ranked games over the last 30 days.

Resolve + Inspiration · 50.4% WR · 7,876 games

• Aftershock
• Font of Life
• Bone Plating
• Unflinching
• Biscuit Delivery
• Cosmic Insight
• Adaptive Force
• Health Scaling
• Health Scaling

Summoner spells

Flash, Ignite

Maokai Skill Order

The recommended skill order for Maokai from ranked games over the last 90 days: the first three skill points, then the order to max abilities.

1. lvl 1: W
2. lvl 2: Q
3. lvl 3: E
4. max: Q
5. max: W
6. max: E

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

Several dive threats at once overwhelm the backline, because Maokai can only peel one target.

Best Synergies with Maokai

Team synergies and draft context

Hyper-carry ADCs thrive behind Maokai's protection, and the longer fights last, the more value you get. Assassins flank while you hold the enemy's attention at the front. Follow-up damage dealers capitalize on your engage and crowd control. AOE mages combine with your crowd control for wombo combos.

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