Loading...
Playing Against Katarina
MidPatch 16.2.1
What They Do
High-mobility reset assassin. Katarina relies on picking up daggers from the ground to deal AoE damage and reset her blink cooldown. She snowballs through skirmishes and teamfight kills using to wipe entire teams.
Abilities (What to Watch For)
| Ability | What You'll See | What It Means For You |
|---|---|---|
| A red spinning slash when she steps on a dagger | Picking up a dagger deals massive AoE damage and reduces cooldown. If she gets a kill, ALL her cooldowns are reduced via . | |
| A dagger that bounces between 3 targets | The dagger always lands on the ground 350 units behind the first target hit. Watch the landing spot and do not stand near it. | |
| She throws a dagger straight up and gains speed | She uses this to set up an instant proc or as a movement boost to escape/chase. Don't stand on her original location. | |
| An instant blink to a target or dagger | Her main gap closer. Picking up daggers from or reduces this cooldown by 78-96%. Only safe to chase when she has no daggers nearby. | |
| A rapid spinning circle of daggers | Stationary channel that hits the 3 nearest champions. It applies Grievous Wounds and high damage. It MUST be interrupted by hard CC immediately. |
Respect
- !Daggers on the ground→Standing near a dropped dagger is an invitation for her to onto it, dealing huge damage and resetting her jump.
- !The Level 2-3 All-in→She can a minion, to the dagger, and for a second proc. Combined with Ignite, she has very high early kill pressure.
- !Bot lane roams→Even if she loses lane, a double kill bot lane gives her enough gold and resets to take over the game.
- !Uninterrupted →If you have no CC, her ultimate will shred your entire team's health bar in 2.5 seconds.
Punish
- +is used without a dagger→Early game, the cooldown is roughly 14s. If she blinks to a minion to farm and misses a dagger, all-in her immediately while she is immobile.
- +Level 1→She is incredibly weak and has no mobility. Poke her heavily with ranged autos or spells every time she tries to last hit.
- +She just missed a →Without her dagger on the ground, she has much less zone control. Trade with her while it is on its ~11s cooldown.
- +Mid-channel →Use any Stun, Silence, or Knock-up to cancel her ultimate. This removes over 50% of her total combo damage.
Laning Tips
- •Stand to the side of your minion wave, not behind it. This forces her to choose between using to farm or to poke you.
- •The dagger lands 350 units behind the first target. Walk toward her or horizontally to avoid the landing zone.
- •Save your hard CC specifically for her . Do not waste it on her earlier in the trade or she will just ult safely.
- •Ping 'Missing' the moment she leaves vision. She relies on roaming to stay relevant if she can't kill you in lane.
- •Consider an early Negatron Cloak or Hexdrinker. Katarina's damage is purely magic and she struggles against early MR.
- •Watch your own low-health minions. She will often to a dying minion to surprise you with a trade.
Teamfight Warning
- ⚠Do not stack. Her spin damage and daggers are AoE; clumping gives her instant resets.
- ⚠Wait for her to jump in before using your primary defensive tools. She is waiting for you to 'waste' your CC on the tank.
- ⚠Focus her the second she enters the fray. She is a glass cannon and cannot survive focused fire if she doesn't get a reset.
- ⚠Avoid fighting in tight jungle corridors where her daggers are impossible to sidestep.
- ⚠Vision is key. She will try to flank and onto your backline while your front line is distracted.
AI-generated counterplay guide • Patch 16.2.1 • Cached