Maokai's slower W was actually a huge buff...

Warpes·May 8, 2017·3 votes·485 views

Against any champion with a blink, dash, or flash...

Now you have to WAIT for it to land before you can blink/dash/flash away, otherwise it's extremely slow speed follows you and roots you, giving him a much better engage and lockdown.

Obviously this was something old maokai could do, but the thing was, it was something he WANTED to happen, as the team's engager/stick champ. But it was much more difficult.

And it is now much easier to do because...

most people react instantly, and thus try to dodge an immediate engage, and now that it's slower the fast reaction actually works against them... taking a longer time to get to the champ than before.
if you wait for it to land first, which was (in most cases) the correct response to old Maokai, you're now more vulnerable to enemy damage/cc in the meantime, which means a much easier death at their hands.

5 Comments

LordGeovanniMay 9, 20172 votes

Now you can drag him into the middle of your team to be focused when he was trying to initiate

ChaddyFantomeMay 8, 20171 votes

It also means he remains untargetable for longer.

LordGeovanniMay 9, 20171 votes

You want your tank out of the fight for longer and not tanking not that he has ult anymore

ChaddyFantomeMay 9, 20171 votes

Being untargetable effectively gives him temporary invincibility and invincibility is the best way to tank something.

LordGeovanniMay 10, 20171 votes

Invincibility is the best way to tank something but how maokai does it you can only tank things already going for him longer invulnerablity serves no purpose except to delay his damage and leave his team a man down not to mention a tank down for the increased duration. Though i hear the travel time was reverted