Maloch — Patch 1.63 Verdict
[Liquipedia RPL: B | Web: S | Web: S | Web: A | Web: B | Web: S] Pro play (RPL 2026): 38 picks, 44.7% WR, 17.5% pick/ban rate. Note: pro meta may differ from ranked. Ranked S on zathong.com. Ranked S on metatierlist.com. Ranked A on pillarofgaming.com. Ranked B on commonsensegamer.com. Ranked S on 1v9.gg.
Maloch — Warrior Guide
Key Insights
- Plunder empowered autos deal true damage and heal 2% missing HP per hit, so the lower his health, the faster it climbs.
- Cleave empowers Maloch on any hero hit; each additional hero hit stacks 6% missing-HP recovery, capped at 4 heroes for 24% total.
- Souleater's 30% movement-speed slow lasts 3 seconds and its soul shield scales with nearby enemies hit, maxing at 4 souls.
- Shock has travel time after marking the ground, so aim ahead of moving targets or use it on clustered enemies who can't scatter cleanly.
- Shock's real power is landing it mid-fight after Q has already empowered you, not as a cold engage opener from the edge.
Strengths
Cleave heals up to 24% missing HP per cast in multi-hero fights.- Extended passive range lets him lane bully without overextending.
Souleater slow plus 
Shock knockup means built-in peel and initiation.- Empowered autos deal true damage, punishing defensive itemization.
Weaknesses
- Cleave heal requires hitting heroes; poke comps deny the sustain loop.
- Shock's ground marker is telegraphed; mobile carries dodge it easily.
- Without his empowered state he is a slow tank with no kill threat.
- No gap-closer means he gets kited to death when Flicker is down.
Matchups
Abilities
PPlunder
Maloch has extended attack range compared to other melee heroes. While empowered, auto attacks deal true damage equal to Attack Power and restore 2% of missing HP.
1Cleave
Maloch slashes his sword dealing physical damage. If the attack hits a hero, he gains weapon empowerment to deal true damage. Additionally, for each hero hit, he restores 6% of missing HP (max 24%).
2Souleater
Maloch seizes souls from nearby enemies, dealing minor physical damage and reducing their movement speed by 30% for 3s. Seized souls become a shield for him. The soul shield can absorb damage from a maximum of 4 souls.
RShock
Maloch marks a target area and leaps down to attack from above, launching all enemies in range into the air and dealing physical damage. Enemies entering or leaving the area have reduced movement speed.
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Cleave | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
| 2Souleater | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
| RShock | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Golden Body
Assassinate
ProwessStandard Build
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard Trade
12The bread-and-butter lane combo: Q to proc empowerment, two true-damage autos while the window is live, then W to slow the target so they can't disengage before you land a third.
Full Engage
R12Use this when diving the backline in a teamfight: R to knock up clustered enemies, immediately Q mid-air so the swing connects on landing, then W to harvest souls and slow everyone trying to flee while you pour empowered autos into the priority target.
Flicker Ambush
R12Save this for situations where the enemy is grouped around an objective and no one expects an engage. Flicker over a wall to place the R marker at point-blank range, cutting all reaction time, then follow the full engage chain.
Anti-Dive Reversal
21RWhen an enemy assassin dives onto you under tower, W first to shield up and slow them, Q to empower, then R to knock them airborne and pin them under tower for tower shots while you keep landing empowered autos.
Expert Video Guide
เกือบโดนเปิด! สอนเล่นมาลอชแอบบัพมาใหม่แพทช์ล่าสุด โคตรแกร่งโคตรแรง — บอมคนป่า
Gameplan
Maloch's first spike is level 4, when Shock comes online and he can threaten a kill in lane. He doesn't win every trade before that, so play safe until level 4. The item that changes games is Frost Cape: once it lands, every empowered auto after a skill hit slows the target, turning his long auto range into a permanent chase tool. He is strongest between 12 and 20 minutes, when his tank items let him dive freely but enemies haven't stacked enough armor to blunt his true damage. Ultra-late he stays useful as a frontline but loses the window to solo-kill carries.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Use your extended passive range to auto-trade in the slayer lane without committing to full engagements. Chip the opponent's HP before level 4 rather than hunting for kills.
- →Prioritise reaching level 4 safely. Once Shock is available, look for the first all-in only if the enemy is below 70% HP or has already burned their escape ability.
- →Rotate to the nearest crab camp after a clear whenever the lane opponent recalls. Maloch's clear speed is average and you want to avoid falling behind on gold before Frost Cape.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →After Frost Cape completes, start joining Dragon and mid-lane skirmishes where multiple enemies cluster. That is the exact scenario your Q sustain is built for.
- →Use Shock to contest objectives by jumping into the back of the enemy team rather than the front. The knockup scatters their formation and lets your carries clean up.
- →Peel your own carries by dropping W on divers immediately. Your slow buys your ADC enough space to kite, and the soul shield keeps you healthy enough to keep fighting.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →In late-game teamfights your job is to reach the enemy carry with R and Q before they can kite. Accept that you will absorb two or three abilities en route, trusting Plunder's healing to keep you functional.
- →If the enemy team has multiple dashes that neutralize your R knockup, switch to using Shock as a zone tool on choke points rather than a guaranteed airborne, forcing enemies to choose between eating the slow or repositioning.
- →Never use Flicker offensively in the final push. Keep it as a bail-out to survive the dive after your burst window closes, so you remain a persistent frontline threat.
Pro Tips
- →Walk slightly past the target before casting Q. The swing arc fires in front of Maloch, so standing at maximum range sends the blade over the enemy model rather than through it.
- →In the slayer lane, deliberately let your HP drop to 50-60% before looking for a trade. Q and passive healing return more absolute HP at lower health, so you out-sustain opponents most efficiently when you look like you're losing.
- →The slow zone from Shock's landing area lingers and catches re-entrants. After jumping into a teamfight, kite backward into your own Shock zone to slow chasing enemies without spending any extra abilities.
- →Against poke mages in dragon lane skirmishes, use W before closing the gap rather than after. The soul shield absorbs the burst they throw mid-dash and lets you arrive at melee range with your health bar intact.
Maloch is for tank-warrior players who want real outplay potential, not just a body that absorbs damage. His sustain ceiling in multi-hero brawls is among the highest in the slayer lane, and Frost Cape keeps him a threat all game. The habit to build is patience with Shock: hold it until you are already empowered and inside the enemy team, not as a cold opener from the edge. Master that and his A-tier rating undersells how oppressive he feels to play against.
Maloch — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Maloch good in the current ROV patch?+
Maloch is a solid A-tier pick on the current Thai server with a 13.3% pick rate, popular enough to draft confidently but not banned away. His 44.7% win rate sits just below break-even, mostly because players use Shock as an opener instead of a fight-extender. Mechanically sound players beat that baseline consistently.
What is the best build for Maloch?+
High-elo standard is Sonic Boots, The Aegis, Frost Cape, Mail of Pain, Medallion of Troy, Blade of Eternity. Frost Cape is the critical spike: its ability-to-auto slow chains with Maloch's long range and makes him nearly impossible to disengage from. Don't skip or delay it.
How do you counter Maloch?+
Pick heroes with dashes that sidestep the Shock ground marker. Butterfly, Florentino, and Murad are the most effective. More broadly, kite him away from grouped fights: his Q sustain only works on multiple heroes, so spreading out and poking from range stops him entering the healing loop that makes him so difficult to kill.
Is Maloch hard to play / good for beginners?+
Medium. The basic Q-into-empowered-autos loop is intuitive for newer players, but getting full value requires knowing when not to use Shock, which is counterintuitive. Beginners find him survivable and fun, but at Diamond the gap between average and excellent Maloch is almost entirely Shock placement and timing.