This guide will show you how to build and play AP katarina.
With this guide you will be able to finish a game with more then 30 kills and less then 5 deaths.

I will be glad to get comments to improve the guide.

Katarina is AP champion and that is the reason for the select of AP masteries,it will help you be stronger.
Katarina have no mana, so one of her biggest advantage is to make her cooldown be as short as you can so you will be able to do abillity after abillity and make the most DMG you can.

The runes selection have the same reason as the masteries selection.
With the magic penetration and the AP you will be able to do more DMG form the begining of the game.
The cooldown will help you make the abilities faster of course.
The last one is the health to make katarina less squishy.

I chose those spells because katarina is a squishy champ and she needs all the means to fall back and run off from the enemy.
Especially after you bought mejai's because you need save your stacks.

Passive: Voracity
After a kill or assist, Katarina gains 25 gold and her cooldowns are reduced by 15 seconds.

Q: Bouncing Blade
Katarina throws a dagger that hits up to 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 enemies, dealing magic damage equal to her attack damage plus 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 bonus damage to the primary target. Each subsequent hit deals 10% less damage.

Cooldown 10 / 9.5 / 9 / 8.5 / 8seconds
Range 600

Explanation:
This is the most important skill for the early game because you can make more money with last hits.
You can also hit enemies by throwing the bouncing blade through minions to the enemy and make some DMG without taking a risk to be hit by them.


W: Killer Instincts
Passive: Katarina's abilities and melee attacks deal 8 / 12 / 16 / 20 / 24 additional damage each hit.

Active: Katarina's next basic ability has a bonus effect.

Bouncing Blade: Deals full damage to every target it hits and applies 50% healing reduction for 5 seconds.

Shunpo: Katarina takes 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35% reduced damage from enemy attacks for 3 seconds.

Cooldown 22
/ 20 / 18 / 16 / 14seconds

Range 400


Explanation:
This passive will make your katarina stronger but is active will make the diffrent between kill or not.
When you use the skill with the bouncing blade you can hit an enemy with full DMG and make more money by hit all the minions in full DMG.
When you use the shunpo you will not need to worry from the enemy DMG because the effect of the active part of the skill.


E: Shunpo
Katarina moves to her target's location. If the target is an enemy, she deals 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 (+75% of ability power) magic damage to the target.

Cooldown 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6seconds
Range 700

Explanation:
The skill that no one can run away from.
Make good DMG and get you near the enemy so you can do some more DMG.
You can also use this skill to jump on minion or a friend to escape from enemy.


R: Death Lotus
Katarina goes into a state of extreme focus, throwing 10 daggers over 3 seconds at the closest 3 enemy champions. Each dagger deals 50 / 65 / 80 (+0.5 per bonus Attack Damage) (+25% of ability power) magic damage.

Cooldown 60 seconds

Range 550


Explanation:
This is the killing skill of katarina.
At late game you can make 300 DMG each dagger and you are throwing 10 so make the count.

You start with the bouncing blade because in early game it is good for killing minions and getting their money and for annoying the enemy champions.
After you rise the bouncing blade you rise up the shunpo because this skill allow you to jump on the enemy champion and make some nice DMG.
When you have too you rise the killer instincts because its less importent in early and mid game.
Of course you rise the ULT every time you can because this is the skill that you suppose to kill with and this is the skill you make the largest DMG with.

Ionian Boots Of Lucidity - more cooldown for katarina.
The Mejai's soulstealer - gives you a lot AP and cooldown redaction,also its a cheap item you can buy in early game.
The Rylai's crystal scepter - gives you some health to be less squishy, gives you some nice AP and it passive solws the targets movment so its harder to the enemy to escape from katarina's ULT range.
The Rabadon's deathcap - gives you the largest amount of AP from the whole items.
The will of the ancients - gives katarina spell vemp and AP so she can do more DMG and heal herself at the same time.
The abyssal scepter - gives her A[ and some megic resist so she will be less squishy.

The recommended items are the user choice and it depends on how the game goes and the enemy team.
(if they have a lot AP champs so take the Abbysal scepter for exemple)

MID

Use your bouncing blade every time you can last hit or to hit the enemy champ without the risk of taking any DMG.
At the early game you will have no adventage on the enemy in mid in most of the time because katarina is short range champ but the advantage will come when you will become lvl 6 before the other lanes champions in the MID game.

Be aware for ganks and try to stay as most time as you can to reach lvl 6 as fast as you can.

LANE

Do the same as i wrote in MID but after you have the shunpo try to low the enemy champs health and then gank with your partner.

In my opinion katarina's MID game should be focused on getting as much kills as you can to get stacks for the Megai's and to became stronger and stronger as fast as you can.

You suppose to stay in your lane and look on the other lines all the time to see optional kills and if you see one so go and finish the job.
you can also arrenge ganks to get kills or assists.

After you maxed your Mejai's stacks and you bought almost all of the items you need you should be strong enough to kill any enemy chemp or do a lot DMG.
Try to keep kill enemies so your team will be able to push and help in team fightes to reduce enemues health.

Becuse katarina is a squishy champ her part in team fight is to get in last, make the largest amount of DMG that you can do(and kill if you can as many as possible enemies) and right after run away until your ult is ready again and then get back into the fight(if it still going on).

I want everyone to remember that LOL is a team game and their is no KS as kill steal, from now on KS is Kill Secure because you cant let the enemy champs a chance to run from your allied.
(thanks to wRAthoFVuLK for his correct comment)

Thank you for reading the guide and i hope you enjoyd it.



If you have comments to improve the guide i will be glad,
and if you have any question i will answer it as fast as i can.