Karma Build Guide by Egypsian_Lover

@shamwoww

Tested out Karma twice, she easily clears minion waves by herself. Gold items would set her back as the cost would set her mid game items back a little, and that would be troublesome as you already have a costly build. Its like a carry taking up Avarice but not Yommuu's Ghostblade, Phil stone but not Shurelya's etc

First off, thank you for your guide, it's been a great help and one of the reasons I picked Karma up in the first place.

Here's something I've been encountering that I'm not sure how to work around. Say you're in bot lane as Karma with a friend you queued with, who is capable of last-hitting extremely consistently well, and is also playing somebody with a higher base AD than you, making it extremely difficult if not impossible to get any last hits in. For some supports (Soraka, Sona, Janna, etcetera), it's perfectly reasonable and even expected to get gold/5 items and let your laning partner get all the farm, but this seems like a suboptimal way of playing Karma in particular, because items make a huge difference on her. In my case, I'm specifically talking about normal games only, not ranked games - I know she doesn't fit into the current ranked support meta.

I'm wondering if I should be trying to convince my laning partner(s) to allow me to pick up minion kills as well during the laning phase, or if I should somehow try to make up for it later on (she's extremely fast at bursting down entire minion waves, but having the opportunity to do so is very situational).

Well thank you so so much :) I really appreciate all that :) Yeah, every game will always be a struggle, that's the way the matching system works, eh!

Well, as Karma says, "Peace begins within" haha. Honestly, I'm super competetive and still get frustrated at times... it can get hard to keep things in perspective when it's your 6th or 7th loss in a row. We've all had those days.




^^^^ this. Karma's closer to Morg, Lux, or Orianna than pure supports like Soraka, Janna, and Sona. As such, her laning role is not as clear cut. Check out the 501 section under "Metagame support strategy" for more info.



First off, thank you for your positive feedback :) Be sure to upvote while you're here! ;)

So, when you speak of your friend who is capable of last-hitting "extremely consistently well" as you put it, I'm picturing a Vayne or a Teemo or an Ashe, some sort of ranged carry with good early AD. You are entirely correct in your observations about how full supports like Soraka, Sona, and Janna are expected to build and play. These champions fit neatly into their box which makes them popular picks in the metagame where carries are expected to be given all the farm in their respective lanes. If you're looking at the classical American metagame, you'll be with a tank who can build gold/5 while you clear waves with your skills so it's not as much of a worry. If you're talking about the European metagame, you will be babysitting your carry (as you are now) and are expected to give deferential treatment to your carry.

Karma is like Ori, Morg, and Lux in that she isn't full support, she has very strong support characteristics but doesn't fit conveniently into the "full support" box, so yes you'll see her less often in ranked support play. But, that doesn't mean she NEVER fits in, just that she fits in best with certain arrangements and not well with others and thus is opted for less frequently. Think of it this way... how often do you see Swain? Very rarely... but with the right team composition, he's fantastic. The 2 times he popped up at dreamhack, he absolutely owned his lane because he was chosen strategically on teams with which he was compatible to counter enemy teams against which he had great viability.

I'd say, like I suggested to the last poster, check out the 501 section under "Metagame Support Strategy." I repeat a lot of this there but I go more in depth about how I choose who to lane with.

Good luck! Please come back and let me know how it goes and be sure to ask any more questions :) Or feel free to add me and I'll lane with you as a tank and you can have all the last hits your heart desires.

-Egy

To be honest I haven't ever played Karma and rarely see her so feel free to correct me if I'm horribly wrong :P

In my opinion it seems that 99% of the time Karma is suboptimal pick for the duo bot, because she isn't allowed to farm which she needs to be effective. It is just more effective to have a carry fully farmed than having the CS been split with support. There's a huge difference if enemy Ashe has a BF Sword when ours has only double dorans.

But what are your thoughts about picking her for solo top? Then se would be able to farm enough to perform any role needed. How would se do against common solo top champs like Morde, Jarvan, Irelia, Udyr, Lanewick etc.?

The problem with Karma, and why she isn't seen in ranked, is her kit. She indeed is jack of all trades, but her skillset doesn't allow her to perform any role effectively enough to justify her to be picked over some other champs. Sure she can do some damage, but she lacks the burst of, let say Annie or Brand. She can't heal like Soraka or Sona, and she doesn't have any hard CC like Sona and Taric. This makes hard to place her to any team composition.

At least for me it seems that Karma can be played two ways. She can either be a full support, with minimal CS, when she isn't used up to her full potential, or perhaps she can fit into that "5th champ" role and go solo top. I'll definately give her a shot when she is free again.

This guide created another Karma player, and according to myself I'm pretty good +1

This guide has got to be one of the best guides (if not THE best guide) on Mobafire that I have ever read. Keep up the good work! :)

I just have a question though. Even though I read the Karma 501 section, I am still unclear about what to do in bot lane with a carry if I am not allowed to take their last hits.

P.S. I made this account just to comment on your guide. You did a fantastic job! +1

Greeaaat, greeatt guide! Nice work gg

Check out the comment reply just above yours, see if that's any help :) If not, let me know :)





Thank you :) and thanks for taking the time to leave me feedback and comment and upvote :)





Awe, thank you very very much sir :) And thanks for taking the time to make an account and upvote me :) I appreciate that a lot.

I think a big part of the take-away lesson from the 501 section is that Karma's not best-suited to babysit every carry, Karma/ Ashe for example is a sub-optimal combo. She needs gold, whether through assists or minion kills. You can easily duo queue with most tanks or solomid, but it will work to babysit a carry only when you're able to harass the enemies to the point where you can zone them out of last-hits. Yeah, you'll be starved, but it's ok for you to be starved if they are more starved. Play around with laning combinations and figure out what works and what doesn't. Let me know how it goes and if you have any more questions :)




Thank you very much sir :)

epic guide. love it how you tell the item selection. it really helps alot. i see often noobs who are dedicated to their builds. still need to read alot but you alreeady got a +1 from me.

Well thank you very much :) I'm glad it was helpful and thanks for taking the time to register and upvote and comment :)