Karma: how to use

[quote=AlenkoN89]Hello there ! It's been an year that i play LoL and my main role is support (I am not a pro player at all, just silver). Even if i'm not a new player, there are still a lot of things that i have to improve. From time to time i use Karma, but i've never been able to play her with a good performance and the guides didn't really help with that: apparently, every other support is good enough to counter Karma; i mean, she can really do a loto of damage in early game, but from my experience, she become pretty useless in late game. Her shield doesn't protect enough and her slow is quite embarrasing. Moreover, i don't really know what kind of build should i use: a 0/9/21, that works really great with others AP support can come in handy just to survive in early game; from the other hand, if i choose for a 9/0/21 or a 21/9/0 farming can become a problem and her defences are nonexistent. Do you have any suggestion ? Because i'm pretty sure that she can be a great support, but i haven't figured out how to use her. Thank you and sorry for my english[/quote]

[quote=BlueArtist]How to use her, as in, playstyle? Builds?[/quote]

[quote=AlenkoN89]Basically yes... if you read my post, i've already wrote that there are tons of guides, but from my point of view non of them is really helpful...[/quote]

[quote=Janitsu]I run 9/0/21 on her she doesn't really become useless in the late game Try to go for cheap but efficient items ([[Haunting guise]], [[Mikael's Crucible]] etc.)[/quote]

[quote=buttercup][font=georgia][size=5][i][color=#0080ff]About Karma[/color][/i][/size][/font] Karma is arguably one of the strongest Damage/Utility champions in the game. Being able to unlock 3 ultimates at lvl 3 is underrated. :p Technically, when I run [[Karma]], I plan to do damage. I run 21/0/9 or 21/9/0. A well aimed [[Soulflare]] at level 1 is very devastating, and if you can pull it off correctly and consistently, you can gain advantage off of that and win your lane. If you're winning, you should be building more AP, which makes you out-damage the enemy even more. (It's called snowballing.) [font=georgia][size=5][i][color=#0080ff]Items[/color][/i][/size][/font] Your main priority is [[Frostfang]] for max g-gen+ [[Sightstone]] for vision control+ [[Mikael's Crucible]] for that emergency cc removal. After that you can build AP items. If you want to provide utility, get utility items that gives AP. AP-Utility Items (For you and your team, this is generally ok items) [list] [*][[Frost Queen's Claim]] [*][[Morellonomicon]] [*][[Twin Shadows]] [*][[Abyssal Scepter]] [*][[Rylai's Crystal Scepter]] [/list] AP Items for snowballing (You should only do this if you're stomping your opponent. The more you can cripple them, the more they will be unable to initiate a comeback.) [list] [*][[Rabadon's Deathcap]] [*][[Void Staff]] [*][[Liandry's Torment]] [*][[Zhonya's Hourglass]] [*][[Seraph's Embrace]] [/list] Try to find a mixture between both lists. It's mostly preference though. [font=georgia][size=5][i][color=#0080ff]Abilities:[/color][/i][/size][/font] You max Q and you can almost wipe half an enemy carry's hp with [[Soulflare]] in mid game with a couple AP+ Penetration items. If you are playing well, the same goes for late game. [[Karma]] scales very well with AP items so this should always be expected. Also your [[Inspire]] is mostly for the speed buff, not really the shield. It won't absorb like 1k damage, but it will still block a decent amount of damage. You also mentioned that the slow is embarrassing, but Karma is godly for kiting for days out to those who doesn't have any jumps. (Come at me [[Udyr]]/[[Volibear]].) Even if they jump your carry, Use that snare. It's targeted and if you use your Q to slow them, you ensure that the snare lands. You have bought time for your carry. Also, try to master your [[Mantra]] usage. [list] [*]P- Your poke reduces your ultimate cooldown. Underrated. You hit hella people with it, CD goes farther down. [*]Q-Your main damage. It deals a crap ton of damage, and the Mantra slow is 2x stronger than just Q. [*]W- It heals you for 20% of your missing health. It can clutch save you if you use it at the right moment. [*]E-You have a very strong speed boost that you can use to chase or run with the whole team. [/list] [font=georgia][size=5][i][color=#0080ff]Basic Support Snaredown Combo[/color][/i][/size][/font] [list] [*]Walk up to them and lead with W. [*]Use E to catch up and absorb minion aggro or returning damage. [*]When your duration is almost over, Cast Mantra+Q. [*]First part of the Slow will ensure your snare. [*]That snare will ensure the second part of your damage circle procs. [/list] Note: Your Q may hit minions if you do it amongst a wave. Try to factor in Aggro, how many people are in your team. Your teammates are following up or not, etc. Just be sure you're doing it at the right time. [font=georgia][size=5][i][color=#0080ff]Thanks for reading![/color][/i][/size][/font] So that concludes my comment of how strong [[Karma]] is. Don't give up and keep practicing! Hope that helped you :) [size=1][color=#800080]+Rep[/color] is not required but very much appreciated if I helped you <3[/size][/quote]

[quote=AlenkoN89]Thank you @Buttercup that was really helpful[/quote]

[quote=buttercup]You're welcome! :D[/quote]

[quote=NorthernRedStar]Don't forget to keep auto-attacking even in the middle of teamfights, as it will reduce the cooldown of your ultimate, making it possible to use more than one [[Mantra]]s in a fight. [quote]•Walk up to them and lead with W. •Use E to catch up and absorb minion aggro or returning damage. •When your duration is almost over, Cast Mantra+Q. •First part of the Slow will ensure your snare. •That snare will ensure the second part of your damage circle procs. [/quote] If possible, it'd be even better to start with Q to be able to pull off 2 of them overall. If they don't blink they're unlikely to get out of the snare in time anyways. You can also use [[Exhaust]] as a supplement. Other than that, this is a well-backed combo. You should build a mixture of tanky and damage items since you need to be able to be in the middle of teamfights in order to take full advantage of your kits special effects, as well as for being able to stick to targets and chase without dying. In theory, [[Iceborn Gauntlet]] is a really good item for [[Karma]]. Imo, Mikael's is a must-build for her. 9/0/21 masteries, hybrid pen marks, health seals, magic res glyphs, armor quints.[/quote]

[quote=Omnislash GG]You can always choose [[Karma]] if you're going against a typical top laner. Just to mix it up sometimes. She just destroys with her Q and can easily get away from pretty much any gank.[/quote]

[quote=Mooninites]9/0/21 or 21/0/9 Max Q first, E second Magic Pen or Dual Pen reds, armor yellows, flat AP blues and quints A lot of the items Buttercup recommended I completely disagree with, [[Morellonomicon]] and [[Twin Shadows]] are good, but [[Rylai's Crystal Scepter]] is pointless, your [[Inner flame]]/[[soulflare]] already slow them, and its pretty much your only form of harass. Rylais just isn't that effective imo, definitely not worth a spot. [[Abyssal Scepter]] isn't very good, pretty short range and [[Athene's Unholy Grail]] is a strictly better AP/MR item. I used to like [[Liandry's Torment]] but I kind of don't really care for it anymore. I'd rather spend 3k on big ticket AP items like Deathcap, Zhonya's, or Void Staff. Never build [[Tear of the Goddess]]/[[Seraph's Embrace]] on a support.[/quote]