Max — Patch 1.63 Verdict
[Web: C | Web: C | Web: C | Web: C] Ranked C on zathong.com. Ranked C on metatierlist.com. Ranked C on pillarofgaming.com. Ranked C on commonsensegamer.com.
Max — Warrior Guide
Key Insights
- Static Shock's 25% healing reduction lasts 3s and refreshes on every auto, so you permanently suppress sustain while in melee range.
- Bionic Blender stacks a movement speed buff up to 50% per enemy hit during the spin, so activate it before closing the gap, not after.
- Smooth Moves grants a 15% damage-reduction shield for 1s on cast, with a 4s recast window to dash a second time onto a different target.
- Liftoff's first activation fires a tracking rocket for team-wide vision; the second locks on and launches the dive with a knockback and CC resistance of 30%.
- A third R press mid-flight cancels the dive entirely, letting you abort if the target Flickers or the fight collapses before you land.
Strengths
Static Shock permanently suppresses healing with no anti-heal item needed.
Bionic Blender's speed stacks make Max nearly impossible to shake off.
Smooth Moves' double-dash dodges skills, vaults tanks, and keeps an escape.
Liftoff's tracking rocket gives vision and pick-off utility before the dive.
Weaknesses
- A mistimed Liftoff second activation leaves Max stranded mid-enemy-team.
- No percent-health damage; armored tanks outlast him without team follow-up.
- Pre-Broken Spear laning is weak; range pokes him out before items come online.
- CC that lands before Liftoff's shield activates shuts down the whole dive.
Matchups
Abilities
PStatic Shock
Each time Max attacks an enemy, he deals true damage over time and reduces the enemy's healing received by 25% for 3s.
1Bionic Blender
Max spins his mechanical arms around him, dealing physical damage. Each hit on an enemy increases his movement speed (up to 50%) for 4s.
2Smooth Moves
Max dashes toward a target and vaults over them. He gains a shield that blocks 15% damage for 1s. This ability can be recast within 4s.
RLiftoff
Max launches a homing rocket, revealing enemy positions to his team. Recast to lock onto and dash toward the target location (recast again while airborne to stop). Deals physical damage and knocks back enemies. Max gains a shield and 30% status resistance, and shocks nearby enemies.
Skill Order
Priority: R > Q > W| Skill | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bionic Blender | 1 | · | 3 | · | 5 | · | 7 | · | 9 | · | · | · | 13 | · | · |
| 2Smooth Moves | · | 2 | · | 4 | · | · | · | 8 | · | 10 | · | 12 | · | 14 | · |
| RLiftoff | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | · | · | · | · | 11 | · | · | · | 15 |
Loadout
Golden Body
Assassinate
Dragon's ClawStandard Build
1
2
3
4
5
6Core Combos
Standard Dive Combo
R12PUse this when the target is isolated. Fire Liftoff to track, activate Q mid-flight so the speed buff carries into landing, W behind them immediately on touchdown, then weave autos to keep Static Shock's healing reduction active.
Lane Burst Combo
21PSkip the ultimate entirely for quick all-ins in the slayer lane. Vault behind them with W to cut off their escape angle, pop Q for the spin damage and speed stack, then chain autos to proc and sustain Static Shock's true damage.
Flicker Cancel Dive
R21PSave this for enemies with displacement on short cooldown. Fire Liftoff's rocket, wait for them to burn their escape skill, then Flicker the gap and land W+Q before they can respond.
Double-W Pursuit
212PChain both W casts across two separate targets during a team fight. Vault the front-liner, proc Q speed, then immediately recast W onto the backline carry before the 4-second window runs out.
Expert Video Guide
ROV : มะเร็งตัวต่อไป! สอนเล่นแมกซ์แพทช์ใหม่ล่าสุด โคตรโหด โคตรโกง แรงจัด — บอมคนป่า
Gameplan
Max is genuinely weak pre-level 4: his Q mana cost is punishing and W alone won't sustain aggressive trades. His first spike is level 4 with Broken Spear done, where the armor pen turns his passive's true damage and his Q into a real threat against anyone without a full defensive item. He peaks hard at the two-item mark (Broken Spear plus Omni Arms), when his auto-weaving hits max efficiency and his movement-speed snowball feels oppressive. Late game with Fenrir's Tooth he becomes a crit threat, but he underperforms slightly in sustained 5v5 chaos compared to true tanks, so force picks and skirmishes over extended teamfights.
Early Game
Levels 1–6- →Play safe until level 3. Last-hit with autos and let Static Shock's healing reduction chip away on traded hits, but avoid extended all-ins without W ready.
- →Rush Sonic Boots first to cover the mobility gap before Broken Spear arrives; the movement speed helps you stick during Q and makes trading patterns less punishable.
- →At level 4, look for a W-into-Q trade on the enemy slayer when they step forward to CS. The vault puts you behind them and the speed buff stops them from escaping cleanly.
Mid Game
Post Broken Spear- →Rotate to dragon with Broken Spear completed; your passive's healing reduction is now strong enough that you win any 1v1 skirmish against sustain-based junglers contesting the objective.
- →Use Liftoff's first-stage vision rocket on roaming enemies before committing the dive. Don't waste the pick-off potential by rushing straight into a 1v2.
- →Keep constant pressure on the enemy slayer laner to deny rotations; Max's double-dash makes him a nightmare to gank because he can vault the ganker and re-engage on the original target.
Late Game
Teamfight phase- →With Fenrir's Tooth online, your job is picking off isolated carries. Use Liftoff's tracking vision to find overextended ADCs and dive them before the fight formally starts.
- →In 5v5 situations, dive the second-highest-priority target rather than the tank, apply Static Shock's healing debuff, and let your ranged damage dealers finish. Don't fight tanks alone.
- →If your team is behind, use the mid-flight Liftoff cancel to bait out enemy crowd control, then reposition and look for a W-Q engage rather than gambling on a full dive into five people.
Pro Tips
- →Use Liftoff's mid-flight cancel (third R press) as a deliberate bait: activate the dive toward a tank to pull their crowd control, cancel before landing, then immediately W onto their carry who is now sitting on cooldowns.
- →The Smooth Moves recast window is 4 seconds, long enough to activate Q and auto-attack twice before burning the second dash. Picking your recast target while the Q spin is running is what separates fluid Max play from button-mashing.
- →Static Shock's healing reduction is most useful in the first second of a trade. Auto-attack immediately on contact before Q or W, because the 3-second debuff window starts from that first hit and you want full uptime across your combo.
- →Against teams with long-range poke in the slayer lane, buy Sonic Boots first and use W to dodge skill shots rather than engage. Saving the recast for escape instead of burning it as an opener is usually the right call in bad matchups.
Max is the slayer pick for players who want to feel like the aggressor every second. His anti-sustain passive, relentless chase tools, and rocket dive make him one of the more satisfying warriors in the current roster. He suits players who can read a fight fast enough to decide, mid-air, whether to commit the Liftoff landing or abort. The single most important skill to develop is Liftoff discipline. Knowing when not to press R the second time wins more games than any mechanical trick in his kit.
Max — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Max good in the current ROV patch?+
Yes. Max is a solid A-tier pick on the Thai server right now. He doesn't dominate the ban phase like S-tier carries, so you'll get him most ranked games, and he over-performs in skirmish-heavy metas where his anti-sustain passive and double-dash kit do real work.
What is the best build for Max?+
Thai-server core is Sonic Boots, Broken Spear, Omni Arms, Fenrir's Tooth, Muramasa, Blade of Eternity. Broken Spear is the most important rush item; it turns on his passive's true damage and the armor-shred synergy with Q. Blade of Eternity is non-negotiable late given how often he dives into multi-target CC.
How do you counter Max?+
Pick heroes who dodge or shut down his Q auto pattern; Butterfly's evasion passive is the hardest counter in the game. Displacement that interrupts Liftoff mid-flight, like Allain's pull, punishes him hard. Burst assassins like Nakroth who deal full damage faster than his shield activates are also strong into him.
Is Max hard to play / good for beginners?+
Medium difficulty. His Q and W are intuitive enough for beginners to contribute, but Liftoff's two-stage activation with an optional cancel is genuinely punishing to misjudge at high rank. Diamond-and-above players get the most from him once they've internalized when to abort the dive. Before that point, he's a reliable but not dominant brawler.