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Katarina Build Guide by Kazega

Katarina: Playing with Knives

Katarina: Playing with Knives

Updated on December 8, 2011
7.6
13
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Kazega Build Guide By Kazega 13 4 34,617 Views 26 Comments
13 4 34,617 Views 26 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Kazega Katarina Build Guide By Kazega Updated on December 8, 2011
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1
princessmisery (12) | December 12, 2011 8:30am
Ok I have to got to say something here...

WHY THE HELL ISN'T THIS GUIDE #1!?!?!?! You've put TONS of work into this guide. I can genuinely tell you have put your time into this champion. And the format of this guide is so structured and perfect. I love this guide so much. Definitely +1.
1
Kazega (75) | December 8, 2011 10:30pm
Quoted:

- Please recommend and rank your summoner spells and runes. It doesn't matter if they're great, but if I'm a newb and want to quickly choose something, I won't have time to read the guide.

What I personally use is in the Cheat, it is what it is there for and all the seals glyphs and what not are "Recommended" which is why I am listing them and talking about how they work on Katarina

Quoted:
- Don't put the utility set-up if it's not viable. If I was skimming for builds I would choose it thinking it's okay since it's there. Please remove it and just put a small blurb about *non viable builds*

- Please give the masteries and skill sequences titles for easier reading

Noted

Quoted:
- Why not add a gameplay video of solo/lane Katarina. It would be great to see your build in action and would shatter doubt against your builds

It in there: I have a set of videos on a Random shuffle, ONE of them out of 5 or so is a Solo Mid game. I like it the way it is because i can show a lot more without it seeming like I'm shoving Youtube videos down your throat. I think about some ways to work around it but I Do link to my Youtube Channel
1
abzilla (18) | December 8, 2011 8:28pm
Hey, noticed some stuff when I was reviewing you guide:

- Please recommend and rank your summoner spells and runes. It doesn't matter if they're great, but if I'm a newb and want to quickly choose something, I won't have time to read the guide.

- Don't put the utility set-up if it's not viable. If I was skimming for builds I would choose it thinking it's okay since it's there. Please remove it and just put a small blurb about *non viable builds*

- Please give the masteries and skill sequences titles for easier reading

- Why not add a gameplay video of solo/lane Katarina. It would be great to see your build in action and would shatter doubt against your builds

I really like your guide, and other than what I noted it's really good. I'll gladly help your guide ryze up ;)
1
Kazega (75) | November 10, 2011 10:09am
Epic Response time:

The very first thing I noticed is that you don't have Flash in your cheat sheet.
True: Flash is great on Katarina. in fact I use it all the time on Dominon with her. I just like Ghost better on Summoner's Rift is all. Flash may be better but I think Ghost allows you to do more.


You also have a strange ability sequence, taking 2 points into Preparation before maxing out Bouncing Blades. You then proceed to max Shunpo.
Strange doesn't mean Bad. Strange just means Strange. I like how this sequence works for me: I solo mid Kat. so it makes sense for me to put points into Bouncing Blades to optimize the Harassing potential. I go for Killer instincts at 8 instead of Shunpo to get a slight boost in its benefits before the team fights start. I max Bouncing Blades fist on Summoners Rift to maximise your Lane Pressence in Solo Mid


Your guide did teach me something: I never knew that summoner spells didn't stop her Death Lotus. At first, I was going to be negative about your choice in Heal. After learning this, I will withhold my judgements about it.
Controversy isn't a bad thing: being Normal is Overrated anyway. I used to Rely on Heal for my Early snowballing a lot.



I feel Kat is an early game champion.
Yep me too


Because of this, I feel Greater Glyph of Ability Power would be optimal for Katarina. I use Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction when I play her, but I also run Ionian Boots of Lucidity to keep my Shunpo doing about 400 damage every 3 seconds.
I dislike CDR in Katarina: it is Redundant, so I try to stay away from that. I would rather put my focus in being able to kill so that I don't need CDR to Shunpo often when my passive does it for me. and I take Force glyphs because I Solo Mid: I level faster so it doesn't take long for them to benifit from my leveling

I can tell by your setup that you don't rely on Shunpo for optimal damage. When playing, you like to have your team 4v5 so that the enemy team burns all their cc, then Shunpo in, Ignite, start spinning and ace the team. I play a much different way, utilizing Rylai's to make sure I can constantly Shunpo them. If I see alot of enemy champions, I then Shunpo in, pop my ult, and Shunpo through the stragglers as I get the double, triple, then quadra kills. The difference? Your style is completely reliant on your teammates. Mine is more meant for 1v1s and getting myself fed. This means my style favors solo-queue, while yours favors arranged teams. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more people are stuck with solo-queue than arranged. With a good team, your build dominates. With a bad one.. I think you catch my drift. However, this doesn't necessarily make your guide bad. In fact, it's unique, bringing a new playstyle to Katarina.
I said before I will say it again: Being normal is Overrated. I grew into what I am now playing Kaarina. most of my early game was spent Duo Queuing with my brother and his friend. because of that they know my tendencies and build and play to compliment me because the three of us are a kickass team. Shunpo has good starting damage and most Solo Mids are squishy. I don't need to put too much investment in that.
Another note: Using Shunpo quite effectively puts you in range of the enemy. Katarina herself is very squishy.


Overall, I like the guide. Very nice formatting, and a nice amount of color. I also like the way you have random Katarina pictures scrambled through the guide. It's not symmetrical, but it's unique, and it gives me a nostalgic feeling while I read through the guide. Definitely a +1 from me.
Thank you very much. and I think you might want to try my way a little. a Maxed Shunpo early on is a good on Paper, but in practice I've found that it doesn't really work out.
1
SirSpankAlot (106) | November 10, 2011 8:11am
You. Fixed . Everything . Said enough.
Please request in the format. And isn't this the third time that i'm checking this?
1
Icuonuez (36) | November 10, 2011 2:57am
The very first thing I noticed is that you don't have Flash in your cheat sheet. Katarina synergizes so well with Flash that it's almost detrimental to her success. I used to main Katarina, as she was my very first assassin, and I really loved playing her. I even got the occasional "I wish I could flash halfway across the map" comment. The synergy Shunpo holds with Flash is amazing, and should be utilized in any given opportunity.

You also have a strange ability sequence, taking 2 points into Preparation before maxing out Bouncing Blades. You then proceed to max Shunpo, finishing Preparation last. In most guides I see, I notice Shunpo being maxed first, as it scales with AP much better than any of her other abilities. I can understand getting Bouncing Dagger at level 1, but maxing it first, I don't understand.

Your guide did teach me something: I never knew that summoner spells didn't stop her Death Lotus. At first, I was going to be negative about your choice in Heal. After learning this, I will withhold my judgements about it.

I feel Kat is an early game champion. Her dominance is completely reliant on how well she does early on. Getting a double kill at level 4? You're probably going to snowball very well. you're 0/1 at level 8? You're probably not going anywhere. Because of this, I feel Greater Glyph of Ability Power would be optimal for Katarina. I use Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction when I play her, but I also run Ionian Boots of Lucidity to keep my Shunpo doing about 400 damage every 3 seconds.

I can tell by your setup that you don't rely on Shunpo for optimal damage. When playing, you like to have your team 4v5 so that the enemy team burns all their cc, then Shunpo in, Ignite, start spinning and ace the team. I play a much different way, utilizing Rylai's to make sure I can constantly Shunpo them. If I see alot of enemy champions, I then Shunpo in, pop my ult, and Shunpo through the stragglers as I get the double, triple, then quadra kills. The difference? Your style is completely reliant on your teammates. Mine is more meant for 1v1s and getting myself fed. This means my style favors solo-queue, while yours favors arranged teams. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more people are stuck with solo-queue than arranged. With a good team, your build dominates. With a bad one.. I think you catch my drift. However, this doesn't necessarily make your guide bad. In fact, it's unique, bringing a new playstyle to Katarina.

Overall, I like the guide. Very nice formatting, and a nice amount of color. I also like the way you have random Katarina pictures scrambled through the guide. It's not symmetrical, but it's unique, and it gives me a nostalgic feeling while I read through the guide. Definitely a +1 from me. Also, one more thing. Standard Kat uses Ionian Boots of Lucidityfor more Shunpo.
1
Adonikam (162) | October 27, 2011 2:52pm
I have reviewed this guide in my guide review thread :)
1
Kazega (75) | October 20, 2011 8:56pm
I'll try to work with Flash... but I still like Heal on Kat since it wont stop Death Lotus. I'm not sure if Flash does or not so I will run a couple tests.


but I will change up the cheat sheet to use Ghost instead of Heal. I'll ask for a formal review once I feel you will like it enough to recommend it :P
1
jhoijhoi (2057) | October 20, 2011 8:07pm
I promise you Heal will not get you upvotes. Use it, as you said, each to their own, just don't display it in the cheat sheet. When I first started with Ashe, I'd run Heal and Ghost. I never changed these summoners, ever, even when I hit level 30 because a clutch Heal is fantastic.

Then I realised how silly I was being. Once I learnt the possibilities of Flash, I dropped Heal straight away. Flash is a better clutch spell than Heal. Give it a go. In the meantime, I sincerely suggest swapping out the Heal for Flash. Your guide is in-depth and well written, but as soon as people see Heal they will classify you as noob. No matter what. I'm not saying you are, but for the sake of your guide, just drop the Heal.
1
Kazega (75) | October 14, 2011 3:49pm

Constructive critism:
  • Please don't list heal as recommended summoner spell, people who only check builds will downvote instantly(Change it to viable spell).
  • I think full offense masteries aren't fit for kat, defensive masteries will let you take heal and increased AP. I recommend 9/21/0 , this is my own preference.
  • Rylai's crystal scepter , said enough.
  • Needs more section for viable builds.

Compliments:
  • Great writing style
  • Great formatting
  • You know what katarina does and is.
I truly love this guide due to the nice writing style and the fact that you were confident about your guide.


Thanks for the Comments. I got a few words of Rebuttal:
  • Why not use Heal? because it creates controversy? This guide was written and inspired by my personal playstyle of Katarina. If I change it up a little I will change the guide.
  • Masteries are a personal choice. I don't see anything below Evasion that works with Kat, or at least my idea of Kat so I will Spec into the other trees instead. how you feel is totally different and that is OK.
  • Still not Convinced by Rylai's it will take more than three words to convince me otherwise. with this build every piece of gold is used towards making Katarina a better killer. Rylai's isn't the most efficient item for that goal.
  • I don't NEED more viable build space, you just want me to write a section on Alternate item choices.

+rep though. Challenging my builds is a good thing. it makes me think about why I do what I do. I will look into changing some stuff up but as of right now don't really count on me talking about Rylai's
1
SirSpankAlot (106) | October 14, 2011 8:09am
Constructive critism:
  • Please don't list heal as recommended summoner spell, people who only check builds will downvote instantly(Change it to viable spell).
  • I think full offense masteries aren't fit for kat, defensive masteries will let you take heal and increased AP. I recommend 9/21/0 , this is my own preference.
  • Rylai's crystal scepter , said enough.
  • Needs more section for viable builds.

Compliments:
  • Great writing style
  • Great formatting
  • You know what katarina does and is.
I truly love this guide due to the nice writing style and the fact that you were confident about your guide.
1
Kazega (75) | October 13, 2011 9:09pm
Thanks for the upvotes all. I Really appreciate you guys taking the time to tell me I'm doing a great job when I spent so much time workign on this.
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