Maokai is an amazing tank in LoL Arena mode. His sustain, crowd control, and general kit make him an excellent pick, allowing him to survive until the end.
From building him properly, understanding which augments to take, and knowing which champions he doesn’t play well against, Maokai takes a strong understanding to master in the new League of Legends Arena mode.
[Related: Arena Mode patch notes]
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These picks counter Maokai pretty hard. Heimerdinger’s turrets are impossible to deal with, since Maokai doesn’t deal great ranged burst damage. This thereby allows the turrets to essentially shred through his health.
Vayne is also a hard counter, since the champion deals phenomenal damage scaling with maximum health of her enemies. In addition, it’s difficult to catch up to her.
Maokai plays best with either another tank, such as Alistar, or a damage dealer. This is because Maokai is meant to just be a meat tank, lasting until the very end of the game. Therefore, having another partner to do so is also quite nice — while he can also synergize great with damage dealer as well.
Ex: Alistar, Kai’Sa, Udyr
But for those not wanting to synergize, don’t worry too much. The Maokai pick in general is super strong, so player should be okay just going in relatively blind.
The item build for Maokai is essentially just to survive as long as possible. Therefore, build whatever defensive items deemed fit against the enemy. And since Arena Mode is a bit luck based, there’s a probability that the enemy places a primarily AD or AP team.
Just build items catered to the enemy, especially during the late game.
Try to get as many augments targeted towards survivability as possible. This makes Courage of the Colossus a fantastic augment on the champion, since it grants a shield which refreshes incredibly often.
Spirit Link is also great, since it synergizes well when playing Maokai with a hypercarry since it allows him to protect them.
These runes prioritize synergizing with Maokai’s tanky build. Therefore, go for Rabble Rousing so he can heal, and Willing Sacrifice to help his hyper carries, since he plays wonderfully with damage carries.
But if not possible to get these two, go for anything that works with a typical tanky champion, catered to individual play style alongside team synergy.
Ocean Soul is generally a fantastic rune for tanks. The regeneration goes a long way throughout the fight, and Guilty Pleasure is also a great choice, since Maokai has a lot of crowd control. Tormentor synergizes well as well, especially when playing against other champions with a lot of regen.
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