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Katarina Build Guide by

Season 10 Beginner to Advanced Guide on Katarina Patch 10.7

Updated on

8.7

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League of Legends Build Guide Author Interference

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Katarina Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (1) More Katarina Guides

Runes: Conqueror 1

1 2 3 4 5

Precision

Conqueror

Triumph

Legend: Tenacity

Coup de Grace

Domination

Sudden Impact

Ravenous Hunter

Bonus:

+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10% Tenacity/Slow Resist

Spells:

1 2 3

Standard

Flash

Ignite

Items

Starting Items 1

Starting Items 2

Starting Items 3

Boots

Essential

When ahead

When behind

My full build

Ability Order Variation 1

1 2

Katarina Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Annie

Extreme

Fiddlesticks

Ideal

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Fiddlesticks

Ideal

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Champion Build Guide

1. Introduction

Hey everyone, I am Toniev and I am an aspiring Twitch Streamer, playing on the EUW server. I have been playing League of Legends since the release of and a bit before that. For all these years I’ve been playing mostly mid lane.

NEW: Updaded for patch 10.7!
Basically the guide is the same and the match-ups.

My peak ELO is Master tier, and back in the day I was in the D1 50+ lp bracket (before the invention of Master and Grandmaster tiers). is definitely my favorite champion in League of Legends. She is the first champion that I played for more than 6 years (since season 4). I‘ve always had positive win rate on her (55% and above) throughout all the seasons.

I decided to share my thoughts and opinion on this champion for all the new players or wannabe OTPs. This is going to be a rather short guide, but feel free to follow me on Instagram HERE and Twitch, HERE so you can ask more questions and watch me play some of the match-ups and scenarios.

2. Basic Skills & Combos

#1.
Basic Poke

Basic poke during the laning phase really depends on the match-up, but I favor just poking with , whenever possible. In some scenarios, which I will specify below in the section for Match-ups and Laning, you can do some more extended versions of poke with . The most basic short trade you can do is :

> > > >

The second cast of Shunpo is used to escape, NOT for DPS.

#2.
All-In Burst

The most commonly used burst all-in combo is going to be:

> > > >

This combo can be used when you want to quickly kill a priority target in teamfights or all-in your laning opponent. can be used as a finisher to make sure that your passive triggers. Be adviced that this is indeed an ALL-IN combo, meaning that the chances of survival are minimal at best if you into 2+ enemies. A pro tip on successfully utilizing the combo is to use your passive and jump on another enemy to extend the combo or jump on a close by ally to exit the fight.

#3.
Flashy Combo

The combo includes using the summoner spell to land yourself on an already prepared dagger from . This is a tricky combo to pull off since you need to simultaniously cast both and , in that order.

Messing up the timing will fail the combo and Katarina will only pick up one dagger.

> >

During close fights with melee champs, such as , , or , you can do the combo to catch both daggers at the same time for more burst when you are really close (in AA rage) to your target.
The combo requires a lot of practice, perfect timing on and very good mouse accuracy. Furthermore, the cast on both and need to be in proximity to range, but not so close to the enemy as to have the dager fly behind them.

If the combo is perfectly executed the cooldown on Shunpo is fully reset.

#4.
Preparation within Death Lotus

This combo is rather simble but efficient at squeezing a little bit extra damage in an engage. The combo needs to be executed in the given order, meaning, followed by .

If you try to cast Preparation in the middle of the Death Lotus channel, the ultimate will be interrupted.

You cannot cast in animation, but you CAN cast and it doesn’t stop the channeling.

You cannot proc Daggers while under the effect of , but you can set up a nice reset with . + + ( is used to escape or dodge a crucial skillshot).

You can use your on EVERYTHING that can be targeted – plants , ’s Flag , ’s Ghouls , Honeyfruit (those green things that drop healing blobs), Blast Cone, Scryer’s Bloom, ’s shrooms , ’s passive , ’s flowers , ’s tunnels etc.
is also an reset – which means you can cancel the wind-down animation of your by casting as soon as the damage of your goes through and it will make to again the same target (or the nearest) if you didn’t input another command alongside with the cast of E.

can be cast on every possible position around the target AND the Daggers! This is a very important note – never try to pick up daggers by their center, you can use on the edge of the Dagger and will still pick it up, deal damage from it and get the partial cooldown reset.
Your can be used throughout the whole game, not only for setting up a Dagger, but to gain some movement speed in order for you to dodge skillshots easier.

has a few other tricks and treats in her kit but to learn about them I advice checking out my stream over at Twitch. Be sure to follow for exclusive tips on , , , and other champions.

3. Skill Order

In most scenarios I max first then , as in most guides or videos you will find. In some scenarios I take 3 points in then proceed to max my .

At lvl 10 if you jump to a Dagger with and your Shunpo is Rank 5 by then, your cooldown of will be a bit less than 2 seconds. In games where you need to go in and out quickly and maneuver a lot, this is the better way to go when it comes to skill level-up order, because this extra 1 second is A LOT in this game, especially for champions such as .

4. Pros & Cons

PROS

+ low skill floor
+ very mobile
+ high burst damage
+ manaless
+ low ban / pick rates

is an increadible easy to pick up but hard to master champion. In a meta where speed and burst damage reign supreme, The Sinister Blade can get in and out of combat in a blink of an eye. Due to her passive she can reset her skills whenever she lands a kill or assist. This gives extremely high mobility and kill pressure in teamfights.

CONS

- squishy
- extremely hard to master
- vulnarable to CC
- countered by tanks
- low damage before level 16

relies mainly on the proper use of her passive . Unless she lands a kill or assist she will be stuck in the middle of the enemy team. Build path and build order are extremely important, based on match-ups. Timing plays an important role in successful plays. Knowing when to let your ultimate channel fully and when to interupt it can be the difference between a double kill and a pentakill .

5. Itemization

Hextech Gunblade

Sorcerer's Shoes

Death's Dance

is Essential. Without this item you’re like half a champion. A completed Gunblade is the first and probably the biggest power spike you will feel when you play . It synergizes so well with , because of the base stats it has – AD and AP, from both of which Katarina scales really well because she has AD and AP scaling on her , and .

Also the bonus damage from the active part of the item and the slow are really nice to have for an assassin that will try to burst one target down and continue with others, on top of the extra sustain it provides. It is an expensive but solid item. Also. in the early game those auto attacks hurt! After this you can build pretty much anything, as long as it’s not a complete troll build.

During the past 10 patches or so I’ve been building mainly like this:

6. Itemization Options

In most games I get to really late into the game, unless it’s a STOMP game. My play style is really weird when it comes to laning and teamfighting, because I can be as passive as possible and do pretty much nothing but shoot and maybe follow up (when possible) with and or . On the other side I can go full agro and into their whole team, burst the enemy AD Carry or AP carry (my juicy target) and then use or just try to leave with the Shunpo resets.

In some scenarios I go for over if the enemy team are really squishy. I can instantly pop them with one fast combo or when my team REALLY needs some healing reduction effect, besides the unreliable (even though it has higher percentage of healing reduction 60% instead of the standard 40%).

You can also go with full agro build which looks something like that:

7. Match-ups and Laning

Katarina

Diana

has always been considered a tough match-up for , although I slightly disagree with that. In the early game, especially pre-level 6, both of you have an equal chance of killing one another. After level 6 you should be a beast in teamfights compared to , because all you have to do is not to channel your ultimate near or before she uses her . This is her only spell to stop your channeling. Early game let her push and do whatever she wants, don’t eat too much poke from her . Don’t try to poke her with , because most of the time, if not all of the time, she will negate the poke damage with her and you will lose DPS on the minions and potential last hits.

Farm with safely from a distance, if your jungler has some sort of you can try to cooperate an early gank when you’re pushed almost under your turret. I usually start with if I want to fight her, combined with , or if I want to sustain enough to guarantee a later back for and , after which I will look to roam. If she goes to split-push don’t try to match her if you are even with her, only if you are ahead.

Katarina

Vladimir

is an interesting match-up before he gets 2 items for CDR. You can easily kill him before level 6, especially around levels 3 and 4. BEWARE his empowered , but luckily we have an yellow indicator to warn us when it’s about to happen. Usually you want to start in this match up with to negate the poke and harass from his Auto attacks and . Try to use your own minions as a shield when he charges up his . His combo with Empowered , , , and will be more than enough to kill with 1 magic resist small rune and with around 400 HP around levels 3 and 4.

If he’s playing with you will be annoyed and maybe not be able to kill him that easily, but he has a significantly lower chance to kill you during the laning phase. Play around his W cooldown, which is 28 seconds at rank 1 without any CDR! This is a huge window for you to go for trades or even all in. In teamfights don’t try to focus him first, because of his and possible which will negate your damage and potential reset.

Katarina

Kassadin

is probably the easiest match-up of all in the first 5 levels. You take , start with and you should be able to kill him with around level 3 or 4. You just have to make smart trades before that so you don’t lose too much HP.

Mid game and in teamfights try to kill him as soon as possible when he goes in, if he doesn’t have . If he goes to split push you should stay grouped with your team, because he cannot take turrets really fast before a completed , also his waveclear is bad without . Check out my stream to see exactly what I mean! TWITCH.TV

Katarina

Cassiopeia

is a really tricky match-up. You can start with here if you are looking to try and kill her before she gets her , but don’t attempt to kill her if she has . She is really difficult to deal with when she hits level 3 or 4 (whenever she levels up her ) and when she completes her first core item – . Early game she can go out of mana really REALLY fast if she doesn’t have or .

You can try to bait her to chase you down into your minion wave around level 2 or 3 and with you can kill her, because she will likely run out of mana and will be stuck between you and your minions which will attack her as soon as she fires her 1st E at you. In teamfights you should wait for her to use her because it negates your and possibilities. This ability can solo lose you the fight if you are not careful. It’s more dangerous than the stun from her ultimate in my opinion, so try to dodge her stun from and don’t step into the .

Katarina

Zed & Yasuo

and have one thing in common when it comes to laning phase and that is their Q abilities - and . If you dodge as many Qs as possible when playing versus or , you will be fine. Both of them I would rate with the same level of difficulty because it really depends on the player. If you are versus OTP or OTP you will notice a difference in the play style and in the itemization order as well as in landing their crucial skillshots – and . Early game you have a high chance of killing them around level 3 or 4. With the tricky part is to play around his passive shield and a bit careful with his , because it can negate the damage AND the Dagger from your . With you have to wait for him to use or even better – to use his and then you can go for all in. In both match-ups you can start with or . In my opinion both work really well no matter if you want to farm in the first levels of the game or you want to fight.

in these match-ups doesn’t put you too much behind in terms of damage output, because and are not really tanky in the early levels before their first back. In teamfights don’t try to burst because he will swap positions with his constantly unless you have some sort of hard (stun or suppression). In teamfights when there is in the other team, don’t get caught by any knocking up abilities and move around his before using your . During the laning phase you can use your to dodge their Qs and this should be the only time you use offensively. Also there is a small tip for playing against , and – there is a really sweet spot where you can stand while last hitting and if one of them tries to auto attack you or dash into you they will end up in the range of the turret…

Katarina

Syndra

is a really tough match-up. She can bully you even out of experience range during the laning phase and especially if she goes back around the 4th minion wave to get 2nd . If she is with and do not attempt to fight her. Avoid the laning phase by roaming whenever possible and try not to fight her at all costs. Try to dodge her Stun + combo, or + if she’s a more advanced player) during the laning phase and in teamfights.

Building around mid-game will be optimal for you so if she tries to burst you down with her Ultimate you can negate the whole damage and buy yourself a bit of time to orient yourself to what’s happening in the teamfight and what are your options. There is a bit similarity between and when it comes for mechanics and outplay potential – you can use your , if you are close enough, to dodge and move out of their stuns - + and .

Katarina

Twisted Fate

is one of the rarely seen match-ups but recently he might pick up some play rate and this is why I would like to mention him here. His recent buff may bring him back into the mid lane so beware. In this match-up I don’t think you need anything defensive or specific except for maybe swapping your with so you can negate partially his burst damage and effect of his when he uses the Yellow Card. They are good when there are other champions in the game such as for example in the opposing team.

When playing versus you should rush your Boots as soon as possible so you can try to match his roaming with his , or you should rush so you can wave clear faster and try to roam before he does or even kill him. With finished and a well executed combo you can kill before level 9 or so if he doesn’t have any items for magic resist or , or . Teamfighting should be easy for you – just stay grouped with your teammates, play around big objectives – , , or and try to focus him so he doesn’t use his stun more than 1 or 2 times in a fight.

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Season 10 Beginner to Advanced Guide on Katarina Patch 10.7

1. Introduction

2. Basic Skills & Combos

3. Skill Order

4. Pros & Cons

5. Itemization

6. Itemization Options

7. Match-ups and Laning

Season 10 Beginner to Advanced Guide on Katarina Patch 10.7

Season 10 Beginner to Advanced Guide on Katarina Patch 10.7

Runes: Conqueror 1

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Exhaust

Flash

Cleanse

Flash

Items

Ability Order Variation 1

Voracity (PASSIVE)

Bouncing Blades (Q)

Preparation (W)

Shunpo (E)

Death Lotus (R)

Voracity (PASSIVE)

Bouncing Blades (Q)

Preparation (W)

Shunpo (E)

Death Lotus (R)

Threats & Synergies

Ahri

Akali

Anivia

Annie

Aurelion Sol

Azir

Cassiopeia

Cho'Gath

Corki

Diana

Ekko

Fizz

Galio

Gangplank

Garen

Heimerdinger

Irelia

Jayce

Kassadin

Kayle

Kennen

Kog'Maw

LeBlanc

Lissandra

Lux

Malzahar

Mordekaiser

Orianna

Qiyana

Riven

Rumble

Ryze

Swain

Sylas

Talon

Syndra

Tristana

Twisted Fate

Veigar

Vel'Koz

Viktor

Ziggs

Zed

Yasuo

Vladimir

Xerath

Zoe

Aatrox

Ahri

Akali

Alistar

Anivia

Annie

Aphelios

Ashe

Aurelion Sol

Azir