Maokai’s abilities are all strong at one point, so you can start with different abilities at level 1 in different games. The “Winding Advance” (W) is particularly good if you set off into the enemy jungle with the whole team at level 1, as you can use it to prepare a kill on a single opponent, especially in combination with your own “Blitz”.

However, if you expect the enemies to come walking towards you in the jungle, you can use the “Sprout Throw” (E) to locate the enemies without having to use eyes, or set a trap with them if you are waiting for the enemies as a team.

Finally, there is a “Thorn Strike” (Q) which not only slows down enemies that are hit, but also pushes them away from you if they are in close proximity, making this an ability that has both defensive and offensive capabilities and is therefore usually the best choice for a quiet start to the game.

However, the advantage of having 3 inherently good abilities usually comes with the disadvantage that such an ability does not benefit much from points. And since this is the case with all of Maokai’s abilities, you usually take the ones that still get the most from further levels, which in this case is the “Thorn Strike” (Q) and the “Winding Advance” (W). Between these two, Thorn Strike has the advantage of becoming a good source of damage, so you can also ensure that intercepted enemies are more likely to die.

Interestingly, Maokai’s passive ability “Leach Magic” (P) is probably the one that gains the most potency over the course of the game. This allows Maokai to periodically heal himself with his next normal attack. This healing increases the more health points Maokai has in total, and the cooldown of the ability is also reduced whenever Maokai uses an ability himself or is hit by an opponent’s ability, which means that the healing will often be available in team fights and you should therefore not forget your own normal attacks.

Finally, there is his strongest ability: “Root Catch” (R). Maokai uses this to send out 5 large roots, each of which holds an enemy on contact and holds them for longer the longer they have been on the move. However, because the roots are relatively slow, their best use is when you can use them to follow the CC of a team member. The direction in which you use the ability is also important – you can hit enemies shorter, but faster and more reliably if you use the ability at an angle of (up to) 90 degrees to the target.