Wild Rift Maokai Guide: Best Build, Runes, Items, Combos

Maokai is a powerful tank and crowd control champion in Wild Rift, perfect for players who love disrupting teamfights and locking down enemies. Whether you’re playing him in the Baron lane or as a support, Maokai’s sustain, engage tools, and zone control make him a top-tier pick in any meta. In this guide, you’ll learn the best Maokai build in Wild Rift, including the strongest runes, core items, and most effective combos to help you dominate teamfights, peel for your carries, and control the map with ease.

Maokai Abilities Overview in Wild Rift

Maokai’s abilities in Wild Rift are fully optimized for crowd control, sustain, and teamfight utility, making him one of the best tank champions in both Baron lane and support roles. His passive, Sap Magic, heals him after casting abilities or taking damage, giving him strong lane sustain and durability in extended fights. Bramble Smash (1st ability) deals damage, knocks enemies back, and slows them—perfect for disrupting dives, peeling for allies, or setting up engages. Twisted Advance (2nd ability) is Maokai’s primary engage tool; it roots the target and makes Maokai untargetable during the dash, making it ideal for locking down squishy carries or diving into the backline. Sapling Toss (3rd ability) throws a sapling that explodes on contact, dealing magic damage and slowing enemies—especially effective in bushes where it deals bonus damage, making it great for zoning, vision control, and objective setups. His ultimate, Nature’s Grasp, sends out a wide wave of brambles that roots all enemies it hits, offering a long-range teamfight initiation that can catch multiple targets. This Wild Rift Maokai abilities overview highlights his strength as a crowd-control-heavy tank who excels in teamfights, objective control, and protecting his backline with ease.

How To Play Maokai In Wild Rift

Best Summoner Spells For Maokai

The best summoner spells for Maokai in Wild Rift are optimized to boost his engage potential, lane control, and overall impact in teamfights, making him a top-tier pick in both Baron lane and support roles. Flash is the most essential summoner spell for Maokai, giving him instant mobility to engage with Twisted Advance or follow up with Nature’s Grasp for a powerful crowd-control combo. It also allows him to escape dangerous situations and reposition during fights. For support Maokai, Ignite is the best secondary spell—it adds kill pressure in lane, reduces enemy healing, and helps secure early advantages. If you’re playing Maokai jungle, Smite is mandatory. Choose Chilling Smite to slow enemies during ganks or Challenging Smite for better 1v1 dueling. These optimized Maokai Wild Rift summoner spells give you the tools to dominate in every role, from locking down carries to securing key objectives.

Best Runes For Maokai

The best runes for Maokai in Wild Rift are optimized to maximize his tank potential, crowd control impact, and teamfight presence, making him one of the strongest frontline champions in both Baron lane and support roles. Aftershock is the top keystone rune for Maokai, triggering when he immobilizes enemies with abilities like Twisted Advance or Nature’s Grasp, granting bonus resistances and dealing AoE damage—ideal for diving into fights and surviving while disrupting the enemy team. Weakness is a perfect secondary rune, increasing the damage enemies take after being controlled, which pairs perfectly with Maokai’s roots and slows to help your team burst targets faster. Second Wind boosts his sustain in lane by restoring health over time after taking damage, making trades easier and allowing him to stay healthy through poke and skirmishes. Overgrowth is the best scaling rune for Maokai, giving bonus max HP as nearby units die, further enhancing his durability into the late game. This fully optimized Wild Rift Maokai rune page gives you everything needed to engage confidently, tank efficiently, and dominate teamfights from early game to late game.

Best Build For Maokai

The best build for Maokai in Wild Rift is fully optimized to maximize his tankiness, crowd control, and utility in both Baron lane and support roles. Start with Sunfire Aegis, a core item that grants bonus health, armor, and an AoE burn effect that synergizes with Maokai’s close-range playstyle and sustained presence in teamfights. Follow up with Thornmail to counter AD champions and healing; it reflects damage and applies Grievous Wounds, making it essential against lifesteal-heavy enemies. Randuin’s Omen is another top-tier item, reducing critical damage and slowing enemies with its active, which is perfect for disrupting enemy carries. For magic resistance and healing amplification, Spirit Visage is a must—it boosts Maokai’s passive healing and increases his durability against AP threats. Add Abyssal Mask to reduce enemy magic resist and restore mana during fights, which enhances both your sustain and your team’s damage output. Complete your build with Plated Steelcaps or Mercury’s Treads depending on the enemy team composition, and choose Gargoyle Enchant for a massive tank boost during teamfights. This optimized Wild Rift Maokai build ensures you’re an unkillable frontliner who can initiate fights, peel for your team, and control objectives with ease.

Best Combos To Learn For Maokai

The best combos to learn for Maokai in Wild Rift are fully optimized to enhance his engage potential, crowd control, and utility in both teamfights and laning phase. These Maokai Wild Rift combos will help you dominate fights, lock down high-priority targets, and zone enemies effectively around objectives.

1. Standard Engage Combo:
Twisted Advance (2nd) → Bramble Smash (1st) → Sapling Toss (3rd)
This is Maokai’s most reliable combo for initiating trades or starting fights. Use Twisted Advance to root the enemy, follow up with Bramble Smash to knock them back and slow, and finish with Sapling Toss for extra damage and zoning. It’s the best combo for setting up ganks or engaging in lane.

2. Flash Engage Combo:
Flash → Twisted Advance (2nd) → Bramble Smash (1st)
This burst engage combo allows Maokai to catch squishy backliners or out-of-position enemies by surprise. Flash in, immediately root them with Twisted Advance, and knock them back with Bramble Smash. It’s perfect for quick picks and frontline dives.

3. Teamfight Combo with Ultimate:
Nature’s Grasp (Ultimate) → Twisted Advance (2nd) → Bramble Smash (1st) → Sapling Toss (3rd)
Start teamfights by casting Nature’s Grasp from a safe distance to root multiple enemies. As it closes in, use Twisted Advance to dive onto a key target, follow with Bramble Smash for disruption, and drop a sapling for extra magic damage. This is Maokai’s most effective teamfight combo for large-scale engages.

4. Zoning and Vision Control Combo:
Sapling Toss (3rd) → Bramble Smash (1st)
Throw saplings into bushes or jungle paths to provide vision and pressure, then use Bramble Smash if enemies walk into range. It’s great for securing objectives like Dragon and Baron or denying vision from the enemy team.

These optimized Maokai combos in Wild Rift give you the tools to control teamfights, set up plays, and become a dominant frontline tank in every match.

Conclusion

Maokai is one of the most dependable tanks in Wild Rift, offering game-changing crowd control, strong laning presence, and incredible teamfight utility. With the right build, runes, items, and combos, you can become an unstoppable frontline that locks down key targets, protects your team, and controls objectives with ease. Whether you’re diving into fights or zoning enemies with saplings, mastering Maokai will make you a powerful force in every match.