[5.0] Queen of Blades - Katarina Guide
Queen of Blades - Katarina Guide
Pros
- High mobility
- She can hit invisible champions
- A ton of gameplay
- Hybrid, lots of damage
- Manaless
- Killing machine in teamfights
Cons
- Easily can countered
- Very squishy
- If you don't snowball you'll be trash
- Very hard to learn
- Ultra weak to CC
- Very easy to keep out of the game
Katarina Build
Best Build Guide for Katarina
Item Build Description
Additional information on the items
STARTING ITEMS
Long Sword : This is only for your basic attacks, your skills won't have enough damage. It can help you play against Zed and Yasuo
Amplifying Tome : In early game you should stay back and farm with Bouncing Blade . Since it gives magic damage this is best starting item for Katarina .
MAIN ITEMS
Infinity Orb : This is best first item for Katarina and must have on her. It gives magic penetration and movement speed, abilities crit for 20% bonus damage against enemies below 35% health. Amazingly oneshots low health enemies.
Rabadon's Deathcap : No words, must for every mage. Buy this after Infinity Orb
Riftmaker : Health, abilty haste, omnivamp and true damage...flawless
Liandry's Torment : It gives health, can help for your sustainability. Also dealing ability damage burns enemies, It's amazing item against tanks. Also it can help you against Yasuo because of his shield.
Void Staff : Removed (25th October)
SITUATIONAL ITEMS
Death's Dance : Actually this is for its passive, goes very well with Triumph . Both of them heal you after takedowns. Also armor can help you against AD enemies.
Guardian Angel : Perfect for hard matches because enemies always use their crowd control on Katarina . When she goes in she can easily fail, especially against Rammus , Galio ...
Both of Death's Dance and Guardian Angel gives AD that increase her [Katarina:passive] damage. So she can deal lots of damage when she picks up a dagger.
Crystalline Reflector : AP version of Thornmail without grievous wounds. Good against heavy AD enemies like Yasuo , Yone , Zed
Rylai's Crystal Scepter : Sometimes it is really infuriating when they leave the area of Death Lotus . Good against high mobility champions.qa
Morellonomicon : Death Lotus is already applies grievous wounds, it is unnecessary I think. This may only help you with ability haste.
BOOTS
Mercury's Treads : Katarina is very weak against crowd control. This is best boot for her.
Plated Steelcaps : This boot is great for a full stack of AD enemy champions.
Gluttonous Greaves : When you want go for vamp and survive for a longer time you should buy it. Goes awesome with Riftmaker and Hunter Vampirism
[Stasis Enchant]: Her Death Lotus literally says "Hey I'm squishy even if I'm fed so just cc me" so you need this in teamfights and against all matchups, especially Fizz and Zed
Gargoyle Enchant : If you are playing against full tank & cc combo team like Rammus , Nunu & Willump , Galio , Amumu ...They don't let you use Death Lotus and you can easily go to gray screen. This is perfect to protect yourself.
Katarina Runes
Best Runes for Katarina
Conqueror : Best keystone rune for her. She is able to get the 6 stacks quickly. She can deal more damage and get a lot of omnivamp when fully stacked.
Electrocute : Single burst only good for assassination, good against squishy team. But less effective in teamfights, you won't earn extra AP and vamp.
Triumph : Perfect combo with Infinity Orb , best domination rune for her.
Sudden Impact : Electrocute compliments Sudden Impact nicely. But Triumph better suits Katarina 's playstyle.
Sweet Tooth : Extra heal may help you in lane. Also it gives gold, so yummy.
Hunter Titan , Hunter Vampirism , Hunter Genius , Ultimate Shield : Removed (Patch 4.2)
Skill Order
How to distribute skill points
Summoner Spells
When to take which summoners
Combos
Learn how to maximize the champions potential
Bouncing Blade + Shunpo + AA to enemy ➠ dodge skill with Preparation ➠ Shunpo to Preparation 's dagger ➠ Death Lotus
Shunpo + Preparation + AA + Death Lotus ➠ follow enemy with Bouncing Blade + Shunpo
Short lane combo
Use Preparation as back ➠ Bouncing Blade + Shunpo + AA to enemy ➠ go back to Preparation 's dagger with Shunpo
Bouncing Blade + Shunpo + AA to enemy ➠ Preparation + Flash for dodge CC ➠ Shunpo to Preparation 's dagger ➠ Death Lotus
Katarina Matchups & Counters
Detailed information on how to play matchups and counters
Since her abilities are skillshot it's easy to win lane against her. She is easy target.
If you use your Shunpo to dodge all Light Binding , her Final Spark is not that problem.
She can hurt you especially when she buys Luden's Echo + Rabadon's Deathcap . So Mercury's Treads is good against her.
Death Lotus Fact
Death Lotus one of the channel abilities. All channels are interrupted by the following forms of crowd control:
- Knock aside, knock up, pull, charm, taunt, flee, polymorph, silence, sleep, stun, suspension and suppression.
- Akali , Akshan , Caitlyn , Ezreal , Graves , Gwen , Jhin , Jinx , Kai'sa , Katarina , Kayle , Kha'Zix , Lucian , Lux , Master Yi , Miss Fortune , Nasus , Olaf , Rengar , Samira , Senna , Teemo , Twitch , Tryndamere , Varus , Vladimir , Xayah , Yuumi , Zed and Zeri are only champions can't interrupt Death Lotus
Tips & Tricks
- Katarina is truly the embodiment of the phrase feast or famine; crushing entire fights in a second of button mashing, or throwing limp daggers in a poor attempt to contribute from behind. When she goes in, she will gets many kills or fails without any kills.
- Katarina has one of the most unplayable laning phases in the game, she counters a very few set of champions. So roam is very important. If she can't take a kill, she will be trash. Don't forget to push wave before roaming.
- Try to be creative with her, she has a ton of outplay.
- Take position; once you know to be in the right place at the right moment, you will always win.
- Shunpo can be used on minions, champions, monsters, scryer’s bloom, honeyfruit, blast cone, Teemo 's Noxious Trap , Jhin 's Captive Audience and Jarvan Iv 's dagger.
- Never go in first because the enemy team is surely waiting for you so they can counter your ultimate.
- A fully channeled Death Lotus could quickly reduce a team to ashes, but a well-timed interrupt from a canny defender could quickly transform Katarina from a maelstrom of death into an easy kill.
- No matter how good a player you are, If the enemy has good positioning and doesn't make mistakes there's little to no chance of Katarina being relevant.
- Learn your limits, Katarina is very punishing. A single mistake will cost you your life.
- Aim to assassinate the most important/squishy target first.
- Katarina is one of the hardest champions in game. She requires a lot of practice in order to master.
- If she do 1-2 mistakes at early game is almost over the rest of the game.
- Bait the enemy’s abilities as much as possible and once they use their important ability.
- In the late game, you have to be patient in picking your battles. Be opportunistic. Track your opponents and take a mental note if they have used their crowd control.
- It's very difficult to engage in teamfights against champions with heavy cc like Blitzcrank , Wukong , Galio , Alistar , Rakan ...They will give you very hard time. You should wait for their cc.
Consequently, a good mentality is required to play Katarina , otherwise the match can be a nightmare in case of demoralization or lack of focus.
My Matches
Synergies
Amumu : Sad Mummy is Katarina 's best friend. His Curse Of The Sad Mummy works amazingly in teamfights.
Malphite : He is the only tank in the game that lacks hard crowd control on his basic abilities.But his Unstoppable Force one of the best ultimates in game.
Alistar : His crowd controls are a great help for Katarina . His abilities are on a low cooldown so he is able to support her on consecutive small skirmishes and turret dives.
Rakan : His Grand Entrance and The Quickness combo prepares a good area for Katarina and can heal her. Both of you dominate teamfights.
Katarina's History
EARLY LIFE
Katarina was born the eldest daughter of Marcus Du Couteau often won the attention of their mother (Soreana Du Couteau), Katarina was raised under the tutelage and guidance of her father to become one of the most precise assassins in all of Noxus. General Du Couteau was a strict teacher who was difficult to impress, and after years of training Katarina hoped to win her father's approval and the approval of the empire by performing exceedingly complex missions, even testing different poisons on herself to test her own resistance to them. One day, Katarina was tasked with assassinating an enemy line officer known as Demetrius, but seeing the task as a waste of her talents, Katarina disobeyed orders and instead assassinated the enemy commander. However, this proved to be a terrible error of judgment, as Demetrius took charge of the enemy forces and killed dozens of Noxian soldiers, nearly costing the general his life. Furious with his daughter's disobedience, Marcus sent his adoptive son and protégé, the assassin known as Talon, to kill Katarina . Their battle was brief and Katarina left the encounter with her life intact, but with a new scar over her left eye. Six hours later, Katarina killed Demetrius as a recognition of her own failure, with her scar as a permanent reminder of it. Humbled by the consequences, Katarina realized she had lost her father's favor, but hoped to someday redeem herself in both his eyes and the empire by putting her talents to good use.
CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
Following a coup, Grand General Boram Darkwill was publicly executed by the demonic magic of Swain, who seized power and established the Trifarix in Darkwill's place. Four years later, Katarina 's father mysteriously went missing, and Katarina assumed he had been killed. Still, as a supporter of the new regime, Katarina made certain to make her skills known to Swain, and in time, rose to a position as one of his most loyal and deadly assassins. She spent the next few years eliminating Swain's political rivals, cutting down rogue warbands, and silencing those who still believed in Darkwill's reign. This, Katarina believed, was to ensure a brighter future for a Noxus without tyrants or prejudice, where all people in the empire would be given the chance to thrive.
RECENT EVENTS
Katarina was assigned a covert mission to the Great City of Demacia, where she was to assassinate Lux and King Jarvan III during the chaos of Sylas' Mage Rebellion. Before setting out, she was shocked to discover that her father, Marcus Du Couteau, had in fact faked his own death on Swain's order. Mistrustful of Swain, Marcus advised Katarina that the Grand General had betrayed them both and intended for her to die. Still, Katarina decided to follow through on her mission anyway, as succeeding an impossible mission would ensure her family's safety from Swain's regime. Upon finding Lux , who Swain had deemed a threat to Noxus, Katarina decided against killing her, as she sympathized with the rejection the young mage felt from her family and realized Lux did not agree with the corrupt Demacian hierarchy. Nonetheless, she judged Jarvan III to be both a tyrant and a traitor to his people, as he oppressed mages just because they had the strength to overthrow him. After sneaking into his saferoom, Katarina killed the king and escaped undetected by the surviving Demacian guards, who then pinned the assassination on Sylas and his rebellion.
Last Words
Thank you for reading my guide ❤️⚔️