Sorry, but the new Totemic Maokai skin is hideous

Pyrrasu·11/10/2014, 10:54:28 PM·10 votes·9,442 views

Now, Maokai is one of my oldest and favorite champs. I was really excited for his VU and he looks great. However, I was disappointed to see that my favorite skin in the game has been redesigned for some reason.

Here's the new skin, and then a comparison with the old skin: http://i.imgur.com/yEqck41.jpg http://i.imgur.com/Pa4VpHo.jpg

So my first question is: Why was it changed to look like a snub-nosed man with a mustache and beard? It looks like a hobo costume or something. I really think the red looked better than this orange, too. Also, because of the new shape of the mouth, you can't really see his bottom jaw or fangs at all in-game. It ends up looking more like he's missing some teeth. The old facial patterns were really just better in every way. Some of it could definitely be simplified, but the new one is TOO simplified. It just looks like a white mask with facial hair and green eyebrows, rather than looking tribal.

Also, his arm shield is much smaller compared to both the old design and to all of Maokai's other skins. The new arm face design isn't that bad, though I'd suggest putting some white around the outside of the green part. I do like his new back spines better than the old design.

Summary of my issues with the new design:

  1. Face looks like creepy hobo with facial hair
  2. Old mask design was more interesting
  3. New mask shape looks less menacing, can't see jaw
  4. Old color scheme was better
  5. Arm shield too small
  6. He is no longer wearing nail polish (I REALLY MISS THIS)

To prove how much I love this skin, I actually dressed up as it for Halloween two years ago, which involved making myself the mask: http://i.imgur.com/MjWgZo2.png

Please change the design back!

17 Comments

ForFoxSakes11/10/2014, 11:08:49 PM6 votes

festive looks better, haunted basically the same; this one and charred updates look atrocious

Featherztorm11/11/2014, 12:02:57 AM5 votes

Why was it changed to look like a snub-nosed man with a mustache and beard?

Most totem poles IRL are bright, and exhibit vibrant colors, with exaggerated faces that resemble mostly animals with human like qualities. The original skin resembled the charred skin too much in terms of colors and style. Sometimes I'll mistake someone having the totem skin for the charred at first glance. The only thing about his original skin that resembled anything close to a Totem pole was his shield.
http://static2.mydestination.com/library/images/5096_745_800.jpg http://hannahsartclub.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/totem-pole.jpg

You'll see a lot of them that have wide open mouths - I didn't include a picture - like our maokai here.

Duke Anax11/11/2014, 12:02:50 AM5 votes

I thought about buying this skin, now I'm glad that I haven't.

Variks the Loyal11/11/2014, 1:17:22 PM4 votes

Sorry, but the new totemic Maokai skin is GLORIOUS!

Gunpoint11/10/2014, 11:26:47 PM4 votes

Wow, this is stupid as hell. Thank god I didn't buy this skin.

NaCl Shaker11/11/2014, 12:05:00 AM3 votes

This skin upgrade is actually amazing and makes it worth the money.

Ya'll just like bitching.

This is pretty great.

Sharjo11/10/2014, 11:18:34 PM3 votes

The new Totemic Maokai is bawler is hell I don't get what ya'll are complainin' about.

Grouchy Poro11/12/2014, 1:25:43 AM2 votes

I get what Riot was going for here but they dropped the ball in my opinion. If they were renaming it to 'tiki Maokai' then it might make sense but they're not. It doesn't look like a living and ancient totem pole like the old one did and I don't like it. I might end up asking for a refund if they don't change anything because I actually don't like it as much as I did. The new base skin is more attractive to me honestly.

catraven11/14/2014, 2:42:05 PM1 votes

i have haunted....i'm damn lucky by the look of it.... i feel bad for you guys xD

DwarvenGiant11/11/2014, 1:13:18 PM1 votes

I actually find it quite cool. :)

I dunno if it's cooler than before, but I really want to buy it now. It just feels really unique, IMO.

Siachi11/11/2014, 7:25:39 PM1 votes

I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me. That being said, I still think it could be better, but for making changes to his model, the skin's pretty freaking cheap. I would like to see a change in his color palette, though: Either making the colors more vibrant (Might not be the right word), or more markings, maybe. The colors now look fairly dull for what I'd expect of a totem pole.

I can agree that the arm-face thing looks small, though.

Arduno11/12/2014, 5:05:02 AM1 votes

I love the skin!!