author: Miriam Moszczynska
LoL Community Worried About Maokai; Character Hardly Ever Appears
There are currently 159 heroes in League of Legends, which means, more or less, that some of them are becoming forgotten. One of these is Maokai, who is rarely seen on Summoner's Rift.
League of Legends currently has 159 heroes, and as you might guess, not all of them are equally popular with players. One of the unlucky ones is Maokai, whose popularity is currently below 2%. What is the reason for this?
It's hard to make all characters popular
To be clear, Maokai is not the only hero whose pick rate is currently below 2%.. He is accompanied by, for example, Skarner, Aurelion Sol, Taric, Olaf, Ivern, Heimerdinger, Udyr. There are several reasons for this.
The first may be the current meta in LoL, which does not seem to favor characters like Maokai. What's more, players point out that the character hasn't had the easiest life as a top laner since Season 6 (we're currently in Season 12).
Maokai, on the other hand, received a rework in season seven that many players felt broke the character, and the item changes introduced in season 11 only made matters worse.
"I have played Maokai on top many times before the item updates. I don't play him anymore because he is too dependent on the team. You used to be able to take out people with 1 or 2 and a half items. You were a Summoner's Rift god when you put together your build and were really able to lead lousy players to victory. You were still vulnerable in early game and had some nasty counters, but for the most part the game was a lot of fun."
After all, there are other lanes
There's moreto playing LoL than top lane, and if a particular hero is no longer suitable for his original position, they can always find another job. This is the case with Maokai, who despite his low popularity is much better as a support than as a standalone top laner..
"As a support main I think Maokai's new ult is very strong when it comes to keeping junglers at bay while your team is achieving objectives. It is good, but more situational than other heroes' abilities."
What's more, in the latest patch Maokai received a slight buff, although it didn't concern Summoner's Rift, but the ARAM mode, where the character performs much better due to his area ult, which covers practically the entire bridge to Howling Abbyss.
Still, there is a golden rule that applies to every hero, even the least playable one - if they are in good hands, the current meta doesn't matter that much. Also, it's going to be hard to top Skarner in terms of being ignored by players, who has reached memetic status in the community.
