Karma Build Guide by Eightbyte

0.0 - Introduction (DONE)

What is up men and women, Eightbyte here, with my first guide on MOBAFIRE.

Without further ado, let's get on with it!

P.s. the Glossary can be found at the bottom of this guide.

0.1 - Changelog (DONE)

120921

• First release; Still lots of work to do;

120920

• Started layout of the guide;

120919

• Started compiling guide.

1.0 - Information about GP10 (Mid) (DONE)

1.0.1 - Passive Gold Generation:
Gold generation starts when minions spawn (1:30).
The natural gold generation is 13 GP10.
Each Greater Seal of Gold provides 0.25 GP10, this totals it to 9 x 0.25 = 2.25 GP10.
Each Greater Quintessence of Gold provides 1 GP10, this totals it to 3 x 1 = 3 GP10.
The Greed mastery in utility tree provides up to 2 GP10.
Avarice Blade, Kage's Lucky Pick, Heart of Gold and Philosopher's Stone each provide 5 GP10.

1.0.2 - Costs / Benefits:
When you choose to go for a GP10 runepage, you will be trading GP10 Seals and Quintessences for other stats, for instance:

• 9x Greater Seal of Gold replaces either 3.69 MP5 or 12.69 Armor;
• 3x Greater Quintessence of Gold replaces either 15 AP, 4,5% MS or 78 HP.

Most of these stats, with the exception of MS, can easily be compensated through the generated gold:

• Doran's Ring + Doran's Ring = +160 HP, +10 MP5 and +30 AP;
• Kage's Lucky Pick + Philosopher's Stone = +15 HP5, +8 MP5 and +25 AP;
• Heart of Gold + Philosopher's Stone = +200 HP, +15 HP5 and +8 MP5.

If you feel that HP will be more valuable than HP5/MP5 or AP, for instance when facing a burst damage champion, you can always change the build order, cause obviously build orders are (usually) always dynamic.

Until you get your Rabadon's Deathcap, you will be slightly weaker than if you were to use a regular build. Play safe, keep map awareness in mind, do not overextend when you got no summoner spells left, unless you have an alternative.

If you follow all this, you should have no issues in the early laning phase.

1.0.3 - Some facts about GP10:

• Normal passive gold generation is 78 GPM;
• With runes + 2 items, you get 91.5 GPM, that is basically like killing a dragon every 2 minutes or getting a kill every 3.5 minutes;
• With runes + masteries + 3 items, this number will increase to 133.5 GPM, that is like killing a dragon every 1.5 minutes or getting a kill every 2.5 minutes.

Basically this means YOU have ZERO excuses not to buy Sight Wards!

1.0.4 - Some more information/facts about GP10:

• The GP10 route delays your core build by about 1-2 minute(s);
• However good or bad your CS is, if you are not building a Will of the Ancients early, GP10 will ALWAYS allow you to get to Rabadon's Deathcap earlier;
• The worse your CS is, the more interesting the GP10 way will be for you;
• GP10 WILL get you to Void Staff and Zhonya's Hourglass earlier. You can get them up to 5 minutes earlier
• Most of the gold benefits are provided by the rune setup and two GP10 items. Adding in another GP10 item and going 9/0/21 masteries will only have a marginal effect.

2.0 - Masteries (DONE)

2.0.1 - What masteries to run:
For masteries I prefer running 9/0/21 with the GP10 build. MS, GP10, MP5, Extra EXP, Lower CD on Flash and Ignite and the Longer Buff Duration are way more beneficial than just a few extra points of AP. Everything in the utility tree that is used are things that are extremely essential/vital for Karma.

2.0.2 - Some useful information:

• MS - If you're fast, you can avoid ganks and make plays through chasing people down.
• MP5 - The flat MP5 at the start really helps Karma's early game sustain before purchasing a Philosopher's Stone;
• GP10 - The added 2 GP10 is really nice (does this even need an explanation?!);
• Longer Buff Duration - Very important on mana hungry champions that rely on blue buff a lot.
• Extra XP: This will ensure that you will hit 6 before your opponent, and may even set you up for an early kill.
• Lower CD on Summoner Spells - This one is simply great. More Flashes equals more kills and give you a lot more survivability. This is obviously WAY better than the 6% extra damage to low hp targets.

2.0.3 - Oh yeah:
You CAN go 21/0/9, but with this build, it is NOT nearly as effective as 9/0/21!

2.1 - Runes

2.1.1 - Sooo, Runes:
Marks and Glyphs are fairly standard for any caster. The MPen will make you penetrate their magic. The Quintessences and Seals however ..

2.1.2 - Avarice Runes?!:
Yes. Avarice Runes are extremely potent on champions that fulfill other roles than support. Starting with approximately 7 GP10 at level 1 is really sweet, since it will help you snowball to your first GP10 item. Let's just take a look at what we would take instead of Avarice Runes and write down why Avarice Runes are better:

• greater seal of replenishment - Karma can sustain her mana by just getting a Philosopher's Stone and by using her skills wisely. Philosopher's Stone in conjunction with Blue Buff is all the mana sustain she really needs;
  
• Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - 15 AP?! That is only 3/4th of the AP an Amplifying Tome gives you. Amplifying Tome = 435 gold for 20 AP - 435 x .75 = 326 gold. 326 gold for 15 AP. So Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - 3 GP10 - 30 minute game x 60 seconds = 1800 seconds. 1800 seconds / 10 = 180 x 3 gold = 540 gold. This means that you will earn more than an Amplifying Tome in a 30 minute game from your quintessences alone;
  
• Greater Quintessence of Gold will snowball your early game into your first GP10 item, 15 AP typically won't 'make or break' your early game. Basically the case is that you WILL have more AP than you know what to do with mid game.

2.2 - Summoner Spells

2.2.1 - Alright, time for the Summoner Spells:

Flash is pretty much standard. Flash will be used to escape or secure kills, and Ignite to secure kills.

Exhaust is very viable for almost any mid. It will add CC to your combo, help you secure a kill for your jungler when you don't have any other form of CC available, and it can help you escape ganks by exhausting the correct target, mitigating their damage.

Please don't be tempted to run Teleport. Why would you?! Karma is really not the best (read: moderately bad) ganker in the game.

2.3 - Skills

2.2.1 - Now then, time for the Skills:
Passive: Inner Flame
(Innate): Karma gains up to 30 / 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 / 130 increased ability power corresponding to her percentage of missing health.

Explanation:
Karma's passive is easily one of the best passive abilities in the game. Many champions have unnoticeable passives that are generally useless or that don't fit their champion. Karma on the other hand, has a passive that scales and increases her potency greatly depending on how low her health is. Any other AP champion would die for this passive. This passive is very deceiving on Karma because when she is low on health, she can Mantra (R) + Heavenly Wave (Q) to heal herself back up for a huge amount.

Q: Heavenly Wave
(Active): Karma sends forth a wave of hidden blades from her fans, dealing magic damage to units in a cone in front of her.

Mantra Bonus: In addition to dealing damage to enemies, Heavenly Wave will also heal Karma and her allies in the cone. An additional 5% (+1% per 50 ability power above 25) of health the targets are missing is added to the heal.

• Cooldown: 6 seconds
• Range: 650
• Cone Width: 60º
• Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 / 95 mana
• Magic Damage: 70 / 110 / 150 / 190 / 230 / 270 (+0.6 per ability power)
• Base Heal: 35 / 55 / 75 / 95 / 115 / 135

Explanation:
This ability is very useful for farming, healing, and killing enemy champions. The only drawback about Heavenly Wave (Q) is that it has such a short range. Its short range makes it difficult to harass with this ability against most champions. Doing so will put you in a dangerous position. This ability truly shines in team fights when everyone is bunched up together. It does a small cone of AoE damage and when used with Mantra (R), it will heal your allies as well.

W: Spirit Bond
(Active): Karma creates a beam between her and an ally or enemy unit for up to 5 seconds. Allied anchors move faster and enemy anchors are slowed. The beam deals magic damage to enemies and applies the same movement speed adjustment anchors receive to any champion it passes through for 3 seconds. The beam breaks if the bonded target is stealthed.

Mantra Bonus: Karma strengthens the bond to double the effect of the movement speed modifier.

• Range: 800
• Leash range: 1000
• Cost: 65 / 75 / 85 / 95 / 105 / 115 mana
• Cooldown: 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 seconds
• Movement Speed Modifier: 10 / 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 / 20 %
• Magic Damage: 80 / 125 / 170 / 215 / 260 / 305 (+0.7 per ability power)

Explanation:
This ability has many uses. It can speed up Karma's movement, speed up an ally, slow down an enemy, and deal damage. This ability is best used for its utility in altering movement speeds rather than dealing damage. The damage is mediocre and in order for it to do damage the bond has to pass through enemy units, which can put you and your team in a bad position. It can be used to clear creep waves in certain situations, but should not be used to clear creep waves in lane because of the bad positioning that it can put you in. When Spirit Bond (W) is coupled with Mantra (R), it increases the movement speed modifier by a high amount. Using Mantra (R) with Spirit Bond (W) is very situational. Usually, Mantra (R) should be saved for her other abilities unless you really need the speed boost to slow an enemy, to catch up to an enemy, or to escape. Spirit Bond (W) can be lashed onto any allied or enemy unit. This allows for a good mix up of speed alterations as needed.

E: Soul Shield
(Active): Karma summons a protective shield on an ally or herself that absorbs damage for 5 seconds.

Mantra Bonus: In addition to casting the shield, a surge of energy bursts out from the shield dealing magic damage to enemy units around her target.

• Cooldown: 10 seconds
• Range: 650
• Diameter of Damage AoE: 600
• Cost: 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 mana
• Shield Strength & Magic Damage: 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 / 280 (+0.8 per ability power)

Explanation:
This is Karma's most powerful ability. It has the power to save your team and destroy enemies. It does a huge amount of damage and shields for a lot. In order to get the best out of this ability, positioning is critical. When used normally, this ability shields you, an allied champion, or an allied unit. When used with Mantra (R), this ability shields and does a huge amount of AoE burst damage. This ability can clear creep waves very fast with Mantra (R). In team fights, it is best to use this ability on whoever is being focused to shield your ally; and if they are around a bunch of enemies, then use Mantra (R) as well to unleash tons of pain.

R: Mantra
(Active): Karma empowers her next ability to do an additional effect. Karma gains a charge over time and stores up to 2 charges. The refresh rate is reduced by cooldown reduction and does not progress when having max charges. Both charges may be queued for application on the next 2 abilities. Reload begins when Mantra is activated, not when the charge is applied to another ability. When Mantra is activated it will last for up to 8 seconds, or until it's used with another ability.

• No cost
• Cooldown: 0.25 seconds
• Mantra is available from level 1 and does not require skill points. The time needed to load a charge is reduced at level 7 and 13.
• Charge Reload Time: 30 / 25 / 20 seconds

Explanation:
Mantra (R) does nothing by itself. It has to be coupled with Karma's other abilities in order for it to do something. It gives each of her regular abilities a second effect. It has a relatively low charge time but it's not low enough to be spammable. Thus, Mantra (R) should be used wisely and conservatively during team fights. One important thing to note about Mantra (R) is to know what you plan to do before you hit it. It is impossible to proc Mantra (R) twice without even using a spell and you will waste one of your charges.

2.4 - Item Builds

THIS BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

3.0 - Matchups

THIS BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

4.0 - Early Game

THIS BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

4.1 - Mid Game

THIS BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

4.2 - Late Game

THIS BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

4.3 - Team Fights

THIS BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

5.0 - Glossary

* GP10 - Gold per 10 seconds;
* MP5 - Mana Regen per 5 seconds;
* HP5 - Health Regen per 5 seconds;
* AP - Ability Power;
* HP - Hit Points;
* MS - Movement Speed;
* GPM - Gold per minute;
* CD - Cooldown;
* CC - Crowd Control;
* AoE - Area of Effect.

x.x - Last Words (DONE)

If you like Karma as much as I do, you will notice that this build breathes new life into an otherwise undervalued and underplayed champion. If you feel like down-voting, please leave constructive criticism while you're at it. Also, do not down-vote unless you have legitimately tried the build.

Thank you!