FULL KATARINA GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

What do I know about Katarina?

I have played Katarina in all sorts of elo from bronze to gold and I have a lot of experience with her in that elo range.

What is Katarina?

Katarina is a AP assassin with a high burst pontential she is really good in low elo since people do not know how to counter her and what items to buy.

How To Play Katarina

To play Katarina you must know how much damage she outputs and how long enemy cooldowns are. If you know both of those you will be able to know when to engage and kill the enemy team and when to disengage so that u won't get caught up by the enemy team.

CoolDowns

Cooldowns are essential, to master Katarina. You must know when the enemy has a cooldown up so they won't cancel your ultimate the second you press R. You must also know about how long your own cooldowns are so u will know how much damage you will out put and if you pick up your dagger(after u Q) in time which gets into my next point of Damage Outputs

Damage Output

To play Katarina, you must know how much damage your combos will do so if u will kill the enemy and get your resets or not.


Passive

Resets is apart of Katarina's Passive Voracity the reset work like this: Whenever an enemy champion dies within 3 seconds of Katarina damaging them, her cooldowns are reduced by 15 seconds. Another part of Katarinas passive is Whenever Katarina catches a Dagger or picks it up from the ground, she uses it to slash through all nearby enemies, dealing 75 - 287 (based on level) (+ 100% bonus AD) (+ 55 / 70 / 85 / 100% AP) magic damage and reducing Shunpo's cooldown by 78 / 84 / 90 / 96%. The Dagger Lats 4 seconds once it hits the floor. you can also e to it before the dagger hits the floor.

COMBOS!!

Katarina has a lot of combos and you have to know when to use them in different situations.

(Q+E+W+R+E)

This combo is the most basic combo while playing Katarina. You Q them and you pick up the dagger for the aoe damage I personally would only use this combo if the enemy isn't an assassin and is very trying to all in you.

[You Q them then you E onto the dagger where your q landed and try to hit them with it. Next you press W then R quickly if they survive with a bit of hp left E onto them and put in a few AA's if you don't think u can kill them just E out to a jungle plant, monster, minion or a ally champion.]


E+W+Q+R+E+E or E+W+Q+E+R+E

This is the essential combo for Katarina it is usally used to catch up to them if they are trying to run away from you. it also outputs a lot of damage at a fast pace.

[You E onto the enemy and press W quickly then you Q them and immediately press R after they are about to leave your dagger range froom your Q quickly E onto the dagger from the Q. If you can kill them with a e and a few AA's go for it, if not e away.


You can use these combos pre 6 just take out the R from it :)[/color

KEEP IN MIND!!

Remember, you don't always have to use the combos I told u to. These combos are the most convenient and output a great amount of damage in a short amount of time. If you can kill them with a different combo you know, go all for it. Since i'm not sitting right beside you and telling you what to do i won't know what kind of situation u are in and the combos I told you may just end up killing you and costing the game which, I don't want to be responsible for just do your own combo if you think its the right thing to do!


Pros:[/b]
-High damage output in a short time
-aoe damage output
-hard carry champ if fed
-cleanup team fights really easily
-doesn't take too long to master/very easy to learn if u put some some and effort in it

Cons:
-Very squishy
-Can be punished hard if made a mistake
-provides 0 cc to team
-can be destroyed if enemy team has heavy cc
-need to know a lot of game knowledge(cooldowns, damage outputs, lane control ex.)

TIPS

-Try and Q the enemy when you have the chance to in laning phase
-If the enemy or enemy team does not have any abilitys with cc up than u can go all in and R them
-MAKE SURE TO USE HEXTECH GUNBLADE BEFORE YOU ULT SINCE IT SLOWS THEM DOWN SO THEY WILL BE IN YOUR ULT LONGER
-You shouldn't be starting the team fight, you should go in when the enemy has used up most of there ability and summoner spells so u can all in them without them escaping
-the only time u go in first is if you that you can kill them before they cc and kill you.
-RESETS ARE ESSENTIAL MAKE SURE TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT
-If you know your q is going to kill them u can follow the next enemy since u get your ability's reseted
-your Q will always land straight from where u were facing when u pressed Q
-dont be afraid to kill tanks after u have got your magic pen items but u should still let your team handle them unless you are very fed.
-remember to look for potential kills on the map, every kill counts
-make sure to know if enemy summoner spells are up so u will be able to know when to all in them and when not to.
-ping your team when u are going to gank for a higher success rate
-make sure to follow your laner if they are roaming bot you should also roam bot since Katarina is one of the best roamers in league BUT make sure your lane is pushed out first unless u know u will get some kills out of the roam.
-you can ignite while using ultimate it will not cancel it but, hextech gunblade, zhonyas hourglass, flash and teleport will cancel the ultimate.
-you are very valuble to the team late game so try not to get caught by csing, warding or face checking bushes
-try to get farsight as soon as possible

Farming/Laning Phase
Katarina is a close combat AD farmer so it may be hard to farm in the lane phase especially from level 1-2 but once u hit level 3 u can basically always out trade the enemy as long as u can dodge the skill shots u win since you don't have any skill shots. Also, if the enemy is zoning u out cs at level 1-2 u don't have to force your self to get it, its ok to miss like 1, 5 or 10 cs in the early game as long as u just don't die and roam other lanes at level 6 or kill your laner you will be all fine. If u kill your laner once or twice 99% of the time they would be scared of you so just zone them off cs and ward the enemy jungle camps so you know when you are going to be ganked

OVERALL

Overall, if you have a lot of game knowledge than mastering Katarina should be a walk in the park. Even if you don't know a lot about the game, it's ok we are all learning still. I found Katarina to be really easy to climb out of bronze and silver since she has a high carry potential. If you are look for a way to climb out of bronze and silver Katarina the THE SINISTER BLADE is the way to go.

GL IN THE RIFT SUMMONERS