MaokaiHow to Play: Tips & Power Spikes
How to play Maokai in Patch 26.19, built from ranked games: power spikes, the lane plan, how leads convert, and the habits that separate Maokai wins from losses.
- Max order
- Q > W > E
- First item
- Locket of the Iron Solari12.8 min
- Gold vs lane at 15
- −129
- Win rate 1k gold ahead
- 73.8%
- Win rate 1k gold behind
- 31.2%
Maokai Power Spikes (Patch 26.19)
SupportWhen Maokai Support gets stronger, in the order it happens in a typical ranked game: ability unlocks from the most common skill order, item spikes at the median minute players finish them, and the game length Maokai wins most.
- Lv 3All three basic abilities at level 3Maokai's full combo is online — the first point where trading all-in is realistic.
- Lv 6Ultimate rank 1 at level 6The biggest early spike: look for a kill or a roam as soon as Maokai hits it.
- Lv 11Ultimate rank 2 at level 11Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Maokai can start or win.
- Lv 16Ultimate rank 3 at level 16Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Maokai can start or win.
- 12.8 minFirst item at 12.8 min
Locket of the Iron Solari is done — Maokai's first real damage or durability spike. - 21.5 minTwo items at 21.5 min
Locket of the Iron Solari + Bandlepipes: the window to group and take objectives. - 29.0 minThree-item core at 29.0 min
Locket of the Iron Solari + Bandlepipes + Thornmail completes Maokai's core build. - 35 minStrongest in games of about 35 minutesMaokai wins 50.3% of games that end around this point.
Item timings are medians: half of players finish later. Fall behind in farm and every item spike moves back with it.
Maokai Support Laning Plan
Maokai plays an even lane: no extreme in gold, leads or scaling, so the matchup decides how hard to push. On average Maokai Support is 129 gold behind the lane opponent at 15 minutes and ahead in only 44% of games. A 1,000-gold lead at 15 turns into a 74% win rate; a 1,000-gold deficit leaves 31%. Maokai averages 0.06 solo kills by 15 minutes.
Maokai Mid and Late Game
What Maokai does better or worse than other champions after laning, from this patch's ranked games — percentiles where 100 is the highest of every champion.
Play to these strengths
- Maokai brings crowd control (percentile 99): start the fight or follow up on a teammate's engage.
- Maokai out-wards most champions (percentile 84): keep owning vision around the next objective.
- Maokai soaks damage well (percentile 81): stand between the enemy and your carries.
Mistakes to avoid
- Maokai is not a damage carry (14/100): don't take fights expecting Maokai to win them alone.
These expert Maokai tips are generated by MetaBot's advanced analysis of thousands of Maokai games. Learn the best strategies, ability combos, and gameplay tactics to master Maokai and climb the ranked ladder. Follow these tips to maximize your Maokai performance.
- Maokai is able to soak a lot of damage, making them much more viable in the frontline taking damage to protect less tanky teammates.
- Maokai secures less objectives than most champions. Your value may be better oriented towards helping other champions secure objectives.
- Maokai has more base attack damage than most champions, so they should be trading autos aggressively in lane.
Playing Maokai
- Saplings can be tossed into brush for empowered effect - but don't stack well.
- Try looking for flanks or other situations where Nature's Grasp is unavoidable or takes enemies by surprise.
- Maokai's passive makes him extremely durable against focus fire from spells - so long as he can still basic attack something.
Playing Against Maokai
- Saplings will chase the first enemy that gets too close, but detonate after a few seconds or if they collide with other enemies. Be especially careful around brush sapling, as they are much more dange
- The cooldown on Maokai's self healing is heavily gated on how many time you hit him with spells. Careful about wasting abilities on him.
- Maokai will avoid taking damage while he's using Twisted Advance, so don't waste your spells.
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How to Play Maokai FAQ - Patch 26.19
When does Maokai power spike?
Maokai's spikes in a typical ranked game: All three basic abilities at level 3; Ultimate rank 1 at level 6; Ultimate rank 2 at level 11; Ultimate rank 3 at level 16; First item at 12.8 min.
Can Maokai come back from behind?
Maokai wins 41% of games when behind in gold at 15 minutes (over 1,093 games), against 60% when ahead — so a lost lane costs Maokai games, but it is not decisive.
What is Maokai's first item?
Most Maokai players finish Locket of the Iron Solari first, at a median of 12.8 minutes.
Which lanes are hardest for Maokai?
By gold at 15 minutes, Maokai falls furthest behind against Pantheon, Swain, Vel'Koz. Play those lanes safe and scale.
How do you play Maokai Support?
From this patch's ranked data, Maokai wins by playing to these strengths: start fights with crowd control; control vision; front-line for your carries.