Champion Guide

Katarina Guide

By LoLSuggest

Mid

Katarina is a reset-based assassin who wins through map mobility, mechanical outplays and teamfight cleanup. She has no mana, no sustain, no hard crowd control and no defensive tools; instead, every takedown refunds most of her basic ability cooldowns, so she can chain Shunpo across a whole team if she sequences her daggers well. You do not play her to win lane: you survive it, roam at levels 4 and 6, and flip fights with Death Lotus.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Katarina build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Dark Seal and a Refillable Potion in easy matchups, Doran's Ring for poke, Doran's Blade for early kill pressure, or Doran's Shield in very hard lanes. The AP build is Lich Bane, Sorcerer's Shoes, Shadowflame and Rabadon's Deathcap, then Zhonya's Hourglass and Void Staff; Nashor's Tooth fits a more on-hit style, and an AD on-hit route with Kraken Slayer, Blade of the Ruined King and Hextech Gunblade exists for tanky enemy teams. Mercury's Treads or Plated Steelcaps replace Sorcerer's Shoes when you need defence. Run Electrocute with Sudden Impact, Grisly Mementos and Relentless Hunter, plus Triumph and Coup de Grace; swap the secondary to Bone Plating and Unflinching against burst, or Second Wind and Overgrowth in hard lanes. Take Flash with Ignite, or Teleport in bad matchups. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

The strongest reset mechanic in the game: one takedown can start a chain that wipes the enemy team.
Huge map mobility for roams to side lanes.
No mana, so she can keep fighting as long as her cooldowns allow.

Weaknesses

Loses most level 1 and 2 trades against a laner who plays correctly.
Hard crowd control cancels Death Lotus; Galio, Lissandra, Cassiopeia and teams with several point-and-click stuns are bad picks.
Mechanically demanding: dagger timings and cooldown tracking decide her games.

Laning Phase

Level 1, take Bouncing Blade, last-hit with attacks and let the enemy push toward you. At level 2 take Shunpo if you have kill pressure, or Preparation against champions like Galio, Kassadin or Lissandra; the all-in E, attack, Q, pick up the dagger, E, attack kills mispositioned squishy mages. Fight when the enemy's key ability is down, such as Lux after using E on the wave or Zed after his W. At levels 4 and 5 shove the wave and roam bot; even burning the enemy ADC's Flash is a win. At level 6, shove again and roam with Death Lotus ready, waiting for the enemy support's crowd control before you go in. Around 60 to 70 farm at 10 minutes is fine, because you trade farm for kills.

Mid & Late Game

Keep roaming and look for side-lane picks and skirmishes where the enemy's crowd control is already used. In teamfights never channel Death Lotus until you have seen the enemy's main crowd control go on cooldown; then Shunpo in, pick up your daggers and chain resets from one takedown to the next. Katarina is best into squishy teams with little crowd control, so pick your fights accordingly.

Key Tips

Preparation's dagger lands after 1.25 seconds; Shunpo onto it the moment it lands.
Picking up a dagger sharply reduces Shunpo's cooldown, letting you Shunpo several times in a single combo.
Preparation's movement speed is often more valuable for dodging and repositioning than its dagger damage.
Wait for the enemy's stuns, knock-ups or silences before pressing Death Lotus.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.