League Of Legends New Class: Maokai, The Twisted Treant

Recently released on February 15th, if you’ve been away for a short while, League of Legends has a new “tanking” class for your enjoyment. It’s OK if you’ve missed it – a complete description lies ahead.



Lore:

The twisting magical energies unleashed by mages during the Rune Wars caused an incredible amount
of devastation to the natural world. The League was established to control the use of this magic by
confining it to the Fields of Justice. By limiting its use to there, they thought that they could prevent it
from doing further harm to the environment. It seemed that they were successful until Maokai came
into being. During a League match on The Twisted Treeline, Maokai, an ancient oak that stood above
the upper jungle, spontaneously roared to life. Ripped from the natural balance by arcane forces, his
sentience was forged in chaos. Before the Adjudicators of the League could step in and suppress him,
he slew all six champions participating in the match. The scholars of the Arcanum Majoris took a keen
interest in him, as they were eager to discover the secrets of his animation.

Maokai was furious, however. He abhorred the existence that was thrust upon him; he felt it was a
corruption of nature. He learned to communicate with people in hopes of finding a way to be returned
to his former, true state. Seizing the opportunity, the League offered a trade. They would research a
way to revert him so long as he agreed to fight in the League of Legends. Maokai was indifferent to
verdicts rendered by the League, but he was eager to punish summoners for their wanton use of magic.
He agreed to the terms under one condition: once they learned how to turn him back, they would never
animate another tree again. He wears a lantern on the Fields of Justice to set him apart from the other
trees, and as a warning to the “animals” that would do him harm. “I will use this power until I am free of it.” –Maokai



Abilities:

Arcane Smash: Maokai slams the ground, the force of which knocks nearby enemies back and sends an
arcane shockwave forward damaging and slowing his enemies.

Twisted Advance: Maokai dissolves into a cloud of arcane energies. He regrows near a target enemy,
dealing damage and rooting it in place.

Sapling Toss: Maokai hurls a sapling, dealing damage on impact. The sapling becomes implanted in the
ground warding a nearby area. When enemies approach, the sapling attacks, exploding in an arcane
blast that damages enemies.

Vengeful Maelstrom (Ultimate): Maokai shields his allies by drawing power from hostile spells and
attacks, reducing non-tower damage done to allied champions in the area. Maokai can prolong the
effect as long as he has mana to spend on it. When the effect ends, Maokai unleashes the absorbed
energy to deal damage to enemies within the vortex.

Sap Magic (Passive): Each time a champion near Maokai casts a spell, he gains a charge of Magical Sap.
When he has 5 charges, his next melee attack drains energy from his target, healing Maokai for a
percentage of his maximum HP