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Maokai Update: What do we think of it?

AbiwonKenabi·11/11/2014, 4:02:00 PM·14 votes·8,731 views

Since the Maokai Update is now on PBE, I was interested to see what we all thought of it. What's the general opinion on new Maokai?

http://am.leagueoflegends.com/image?f=http://news.cdn.leagueoflegends.com/public/images/articles/2014/november_2014/CHAMPUP/maokaisquare.png&resize=1024 : http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tlNh_WBruL0/VGE38yqZI0I/AAAAAAAAdAQ/GET9T9xGI5g/s1600/mao2.jpg

Here's my personal thoughts on it. I had actually already written this, but then clicked submit, got logged out randomly and lost all my work, so forgive me if this seems rushed:

Overall, I am really happy with the upgrade. Maokai's textures are cleaned up and look more like bark. The lantern on his rear branch has realistic swinging animations. All of his particles are updated and look much more clear, especially his Twisted Advance which is much easier to track. Best of all, his walking animation was fixed to look much better and now he's a much bigger tree, as he should be.

Here come my complaints about the update, and there seem to be an awful lot for how much I actually like the update. For starters, while the new ability icons all look good, they're all blue. Take a look:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8xl7xxJXKPA/VF0s-SAgbvI/AAAAAAAAc3M/om4HKgL1lsc/s1600/Maokai_Passive.png http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GpdAe6AaEUc/VF0s-ZbNLAI/AAAAAAAAc2w/y47bpHjBSkM/s1600/Maokai_Q.png http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9XtHAwqGoPk/VF0s-8O6udI/AAAAAAAAc24/yC6k4_jelq8/s1600/Maokai_W.png http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9YH9NWb-_gE/VF0s-eIY_AI/AAAAAAAAc2s/EG0GxWVcgUA/s1600/Maokai_E.png http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YDmeyKBTXT0/VF0s-q_h7GI/AAAAAAAAc20/h-7O-pycjD4/s1600/Maokai_R.png

There's not a smidgeon of color in here other than ghost-y blue. Why? Maokai is a tree. And furthermore most of his new particles are green. Where's all this blue coming from? His ult is the only blue thing and I'm assuming that's for gameplay purposes. But why can't his ult be green also?

That brings up my second problem: his ult. It no longer spins around the area, which is great! It makes it much easier to read during an intense teamfight. However the icons that encircled the ult have been replaced by lame blue laser images:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xA4XvbbHgxs/VGFB1EtN9aI/AAAAAAAAdDE/0ZlX38jkf5Q/s1600/maoult.jpg

What's worse about this is that Charred and Totemic don't have unique icons anymore, which is a real shame. One of the cool things about Maokai skins was that each had a unique Vengeful Maelstrom icon, and now he doesn't have that anymore. Festive has a unique one though:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jm4jtun8Ha8/VGFVB5ETUxI/AAAAAAAAdFY/rs_K7NerV30/s1600/rxmas.jpg

Once again, why the blue? Can't we get just a little bit of red in there for the berry? Blue isn't the last color I think of for Christmas but it certainly isn't the first. I know this is for gameplay readability, a person needs to know on the fly whether this Mao ult is friendly or not, but all most abilities need for recognizability is a colored circle on the ground. Why take away his icons for lame blue laser images? I miss my Christmas Tree Cookie Maelstrom. :(

The one good thing I can say for the particles and ability icons is they match perfectly with Haunted Maokai. This skin got unique, suitably spooky particles and they look great. Twisted Advance has cool, creepy vine animations and the ult has spooky wind feel. I can still say I am happy to own Haunted Maokai.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H6WYB3h4Ec0/VGFf1ybqAMI/AAAAAAAAdF8/ktCVPzXw1H0/s1600/w4.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W-xdufVItfE/VGFf1593ASI/AAAAAAAAdF0/bfROCCJlJrg/s1600/WWWww.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1FST7UkP7rA/VGFQbURL7pI/AAAAAAAAdE8/4ODQghJaBik/s1600/rGYU.jpg

Speaking on Twisted Advance, I'm concerned if the root animation is less clear than live. Seeing as the main goal of this Model/Texture Update is gameplay visibility and most roots/snares have huge animations, the Twisted Advance branches seem kind of small and blend into the ground too much. I have Zyra's Grasping Roots and Morgana's Dark Binding below for reference:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k8xaoECx6iY/VGFB13sDjCI/AAAAAAAAdDU/3yBeOKC1mTM/s1600/wroot.jpg http://www.onrpgblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/GraspingRoots.jpg http://media-copper.cursecdn.com/attachments/29/227/morg_q.png

My last point concerns Totemic Maokai. He no longer looks like a totem pole and looks more like a scary east Asian mask. Don't get me wrong, new Totemic Maokai looks super cool, I'm just not sure if it looks "totemic" anymore. I'm not sure, it feels like something was missing from the skin in the first place, and this new version still didn't get the "totemic" feel. Here's a side-by-side, along with a totem pole to get a feel for the look:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lxmx_uAEkX0/VGE7IyZ5ZeI/AAAAAAAAdBY/a-KL8Xx67b0/s1600/totem1.jpg http://fishcreekalaska.com/bmz_cache/c/c8eb22aa5ef97bb087ece4036a0fa58c.image.350x495.jpg

Complaints aside, I actually do really like this update. He looks a ton better and is bigger, like a tree should be. I am really looking forward to playing Maokai with his nice new visuals!

What do you guys think?

27 Comments

Lisbeth11/11/2014, 4:23:57 PM3 votes

[deleted]

DynamiteGazelle11/11/2014, 4:30:56 PM3 votes

Great synopsis!

On the whole, I'm not a huge fan of the update. I'm really disappointed they changed the color scheme. Color palate is such an important part of character design, so it's sad to see it change so drastically. When you picture maokai what colors pop into your head? Purple and green. Well now he's blue for some reason. Not sinister seeming at all. It's probably because they want to visually unite the factions, but it's not like the shadow isles would be sure to coordinate outfits in the same way that demacia or noxus might. I'm totally against faction color coordination. I think it's way better to keep each champ unique.

The ult animation is also very disappointing. I don't understand why they couldn't have just kept it like before but fill in the circle like it is now. It seems to be in line with the new visual style of the game (double/triple/etc. signs), but in my mind it doesn't make sense to match an animation to the interface rather than the champion appearance itself. If I had any of the Maokai skins with alternate animations, I would be very sad about this change.

As far as the totemic skin, I completely agree with you. It's not a bad skin now (although I dont particularly care for it now) but it has absolutely nothing 'totemic' about it. It should be either native american or pacific islander in style ideally, but now it's definitely east asian in style. Isn't there enough asian themed stuff in this game already? I wish they would have taken it even more in a totem pole style than before.

Gapybo11/11/2014, 6:30:34 PM3 votes

Charred and totemic never had special ult particles .

Lt Cuddles11/11/2014, 6:37:34 PM3 votes

It is still on PBE, so it may (Hopefully.) change, mainly Charred and and Totemic, I still enjoy it~

MrRado11/11/2014, 9:08:45 PM3 votes

Love all of the skin updates. Would like to see more contrast (read: darker darks) on Totem and Charred. Love the big-hand.

Maokai has always been my favorite champion in the game and I think they've done him justice. And even though I own it, I've always hated the original Totemic Maokai skin.

Just give some more contrast and I'm good.

Edit - spell effects look good too. I approve.

4nth0l0gy11/11/2014, 5:59:15 PM2 votes

...My biggest complaint, honestly, is that his feet are too small now.

Oleandervine11/12/2014, 1:24:45 PM2 votes

Just for you guys' clarification a TOTEM =/= TOTEM POLE. A totem is simply an image or physical representation of a spirit, deity, etc, usually found in animistic beliefs. So those African masks, the heads on Easter Island, the giant masks of Hawaii are all totems, just like the various animals/faces on a totem pole (which is a collective of totems, not a totem itself). So Totemic Maokai is still very very much representative of a totem, even if he doesn't look enough like a totem pole for some of you. I personally think this is one of his best looking new skins, as they knocked it out of the ball park in evolving the dated look the older model had.

Narog11/11/2014, 8:23:39 PM2 votes

i just wanna know whats the deal with the change from evil face maokai Maokai to goofy face maokai.

DragonPup11/11/2014, 10:00:40 PM2 votes

Haunted Maokai...

Q: Should have more of a 'creepy' effect. Even just a color shift may be enough.

W: Looks nice, actual improvement

E: Looks the same.

R: The loss of the graves and dead leaves on the edge is a definite downgrade.

Festive Maokai just looks bad. The model looks cheap and lost character compared to the current. R looks bad for the same reason as Haunted Maokai's R looks worse.

Squeaky Dreemurr11/12/2014, 1:29:34 AM2 votes

You nailed all my thoughts, minus the one on Totemic Maokai... I think he looks amazing and totemic.

junglerboy1611/12/2014, 1:51:06 AM2 votes

I like most of his update, I only use his base skin and it looks like it will be a 100% improvement over the old one, but I have to say, for some reason, his run animation looks weirdly bouncy, not plodding and heavy like his old run (I get that that was mostly a stiff model though). I agree that instead of ghostly blue they should have chosen a more distinct green color palette, but I guess you can't have everything.

Mahnigguh11/11/2014, 4:33:08 PM2 votes

Mao is one of my fave characters ever. I am really looking forward to playing his update. i have only ever had the totem skin but you make me interested in getting the haunted skin.

InvalidGuest11/12/2014, 4:24:22 AM1 votes

I think i can explain the ability icons one...

The reason maokai's ability icon's are that ghost-blue color are because they are revamping all of the lores to remove the League and Institute, so during the Harrowing patch they revamped most of the Shadow Isle champion lores.

Because maokai's lore was heavily reliant on the League, they remade it so he is a tree from the shadow isles now during the Harrowing 2014 patch.

http://i.imgur.com/AtRCKzB.png http://i.imgur.com/HznPNIx.png http://i.imgur.com/pDWKkDi.png http://i.imgur.com/18ViqIa.png http://i.imgur.com/1W52zBr.png

"Maokai was once a peaceful nature spirit dwelling in an idyllic forest, but the arrogance of humans brought an end to that life. Now he is a gnarled shadow of his former self, twisted by dark magics that defied the natural order of life and death. Infused with power he never asked for, the mighty treant has become a vengeful force of nature, sundering his enemies with wild magic and iron-hard limbs as he searches Valoran for the means to restore the Shadow Isles to its former glory."

(full lore here)

So that's why they are the shadow isle-ish color

7ha7guy77711/11/2014, 4:36:38 PM1 votes

is it just me, or does haunted maokai look a bit like yorick in the pic where kat is rooted?

Sharjo11/12/2014, 3:20:13 AM1 votes

Overall I'm personally very happy with the update. I mean, they fixed his bloody walk cycle so he doesn't slide around all over the place, so immediately I'm loving it.

On the visuals though, for his base skin, blue is a very prominent colour because Maokai's a very spooky tree. I mean, he was warped by deathly magic when the Shadow Isles got absolutely wrecked. That's why he's the twisted treant in the first place. The blue you can actually see coming out of his lantern, hand face and little sapling dude. I would agree with you on Totemic and Charred's particles not being super great on the basis of a lacking colour scheme, but the skins are also really cheap skins. That may seem like a flimsy argument to make, but cheap skins generally don't include much beyond a model alteration, and this has always been the case.

If Maokai's particles were different on a skin by skin basis before though, for ALL of his skins, which I honestly don't know, then yeah I agree they should be changed.

Also yeah the root is really not prominent at all. Riot, there's not a lot of CLARITY here!

SecretAgentHulk11/11/2014, 8:43:47 PM1 votes

Maokai is now best red buff NA :P

Grouchy Poro11/14/2014, 7:50:11 PM1 votes

I completely agree wiith the totemic Maokai thing. I made my own thread to try and get someone who can answer these issues to notice here.

Ralantha11/12/2014, 4:10:29 AM1 votes

His update is incredible. I'm really impressed. Now if they could just tweak his charred skin.. add a bit orange to offset the pink/red :)

PhoenixSlayer1311/12/2014, 12:12:40 AM1 votes

I actually like most of the skin updates, though I do see how people could confuse Charred Maokai for Malphite. The coloring could be more intense than what it is currently.

As for his base... even though I'm very happy Maokai is getting some love, he just doesn't feel "twisted" anymore. The new base doesn't really feel "corrupted by magic" to me; it's more just a normal treant. I liked that Mao was more than "the tree guy," he was "the tree guy who represents corrupted nature."