Talk:Maokai/@comment-74.96.1.65-20110629231737/@comment-99.186.244.42-20110706020922

You're going to get the pop-up from Smash anyway during a gank. The additional slow effect is the only comparative benefit. During a gank, you probably won't have the opportunity to Smash twice, unless you're getting counter-ganked.

At level 4, if you're ganking (for example, common with Maokai jungling), you're trading 40* damage for 7% more slow. At 9, you're trading 230* damage for 21% slow, but also keep in mind the slow's duration is fairly low (especially after the .4-.5 seconds or so of knockup is considered).

The way I look at it, killing them faster is better CC, but I don't begrudge others for their opinions.


 * (Not taking into account AP, which I often won't get if jungling, at least not very quickly.)