I really don't think Maokai is as "safe" as Riot claims he is. Yes he can be very tanky and he has great sustain, but only if he builds that way. I could argue that Cho'gath is a safe pick due to all the sustain he gets from his passive and his tankiness. And true damage is never a bad thing to have either.
Godaren2 votesThey don't hate maokai but he is pretty boring to see him and azir every lcs game so both got nerfed.
The Yetii Rider1 votes"Only if he builds that way".
Riot assumes people are going to build correctly. They don't balance a champion around off-builds.
Maokai is a tank. If full tank Maokai is oppressive, Riot isn't going to be gentle about balancing him because it hurts AP Maokai more.
Cloud2731 votes"Only if he builds that way".
Riot assumes people are going to build correctly. They don't balance a champion around off-builds.
Maokai is a tank. If full tank Maokai is oppressive, Riot isn't going to be gentle about balancing him because it hurts AP Maokai more.
"Oppressive" is a pretty strong word. What exactly about Maokai do you think is "oppressive"? I consider a champion who pokes you all day, or who has very good harass, or true damage, or %health damage oppressive. Maokai is just very hard to force out of lane thanks to his sustain, but again a lot of champions have this. And unlike cho'gath, maokai will run out of mana eventually.
The Yetii Rider1 votes"Oppressive" is a pretty strong word. What exactly about Maokai do you think is "oppressive"? I consider a champion who pokes you all day, or who has very good harass, or true damage, or %health damage oppressive. Maokai is just very hard to force out of lane thanks to his sustain, but again a lot of champions have this. And unlike cho'gath, maokai will run out of mana eventually.
I don't think Maokai is oppressive, I just disagree entirely with your line of logic.
Riot nerfed Maokai because he was better than pretty much every other top laner in the LCS, because his ult was always up, which they stated plainly in the patch notes. It was basically "Ban Maokai, or you can just expect to be 50 CS behind at 20 minutes" for pro players.
djjomon1 votesLike NeoSeraphi said, if he can be built safely, he will be.
And if Cho become a problem for the same reason, Riot will address that too (in like 5 patches)
Sona Ping1 votesFirst, people doing something you personally don't like doesn't mean they "hate" them. Stop abusing the word and assigning motivations to others; it's pretty poor form.
Second, the "only if he builds that way" applies equally to Cho'gath and Maokai has percent max health regeneration as well. But Cho'gath doesn't have AoE damage reduction. There's plenty of valid reasons for him to be called safe.