Maokai Scaling: Grade D
No. Maokai gets noticeably worse as the game goes long. Grade D, Very bad late, in The Scaling Codex.
Reviewed for League of Legends Season 16 (2026).
Verdict. Same issue as Malphite. Slightly better as a tank than AP, but he suffers from the tank issue without having an instant ultimate. His saplings become useless later on as well unfortunately.
A travelling ultimate at the wrong stage
He has the tank problem without the tank's excuse. Champions in this bucket at least get one instant fight-starting button to justify the body. His ultimate travels, and anything that travels at forty minutes gets walked out of. The enemy sees the roots coming and is not there when they arrive.
The saplings retire too. Their zone control and brush checks stop mattering once full-build players can eat one and keep walking.
Items answer damage, and damage was never his shortfall
Nothing in the shop makes a slow ultimate arrive sooner or turns ignored durability into pressure.
Save the lockdown for the diver who has already committed, because he is the only one who cannot walk away from it.
Common questions about Maokai scaling
Does Maokai scale well into the late game?
No. Maokai gets noticeably worse as the game goes long. Grade D, Very bad late, in The Scaling Codex.
Why does Maokai fall off late?
Nothing in the shop makes a slow ultimate arrive sooner or turns ignored durability into pressure.
What is the late-game rule for Maokai?
Save the lockdown for the diver who has already committed, because he is the only one who cannot walk away from it.
How this grade was judged
The grade weighs range, target access, sustained and burst damage, crowd control, mobility, durability, healing and shielding, resets, cooldown structure, objective and formation control, split pressure, and how well the champion survives a long fight. Builds and forms that scale differently are graded separately. This is Vambient's gameplay evaluation of coordinated late-game fights, not a win-rate calculation. Full methodology.
Related champions
- Why Akali is also Grade D
- Why Alistar is also Grade D
- Why Amumu is also Grade D
- Why Bard is also Grade D
- See the full Grade D tier
The grade measures one thing: how much a champion can influence a coordinated late-game objective fight once both teams reach full builds. It does not measure early strength, snowballing, or win rate. A weak late-game champion still wins by ending the game first, which is what the rest of the library teaches. How the grades are decided.