Loading...
Katarina
Patch 16.3.1
MidDifficulty
Very Hard
Strength
Early
Mid
Late
Win Condition
Look for roams to bot lane to pick up easy double kills. In teamfights, stay hidden and wait for the enemy to use their CC on your tanks, then sweep the backline using resets.
Playstyle
High-octane reset assassin. You play like a vulture, hovering the edges of a fight until you see a low-health target, then you dive in to trigger your passive chain.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- +Unrivaled snowball potential due to resets
- +Massive AOE damage output in mid-game skirmishes
- +High mobility with constant refreshes
- +Manaless kit allows for infinite map uptime
Weaknesses
- -Extremely vulnerable to hard CC (stuns/silences) during
- -Weak laning phase against most meta mid-laners
- -Telegraphed damage relies on enemies standing near / daggers
- -Useless when behind as she provides zero utility to the team
Abilities
Takedowns reduce ability cooldowns by 15s. Picking up a dagger deals AOE damage. This is your primary damage source—catching a dagger at the right time is the difference between a kill and a death.
Throws a dagger that bounces and lands 350 units behind the first target. Use this to set up zones where the enemy wants to stand. It always takes the same amount of time to land, so time your accordingly.
Drops a dagger at your feet and gives a burst of speed. Use this to dodge skillshots or to leave an 'escape' dagger behind you before you into a trade.
An instant blink to a target or dagger. Picking up a dagger reduces this cooldown by 78-96% depending on level. You can choose which side of the target you land on—use this to dodge skillshots while engaging.
Channels a flurry of blades hitting up to 3 nearby enemies. It applies on-hit effects and Grievous Wounds. You are stationary during the channel; cancel it early with if the target moves out of the circle.
Teamfight Role
Clean-up Assassin / Janitor
Your job is not to start the fight. Wait for health bars to drop to 40%. Enter the fight once the primary CC threats are on cooldown. Use to bounce between targets as they die.
If you are massively ahead, you can initiate with + + Zhonya's to bait out enemy ultimates for your team.
Combos
Standard Lane Trade
→ to dagger → proc → Auto → back to minion
The safest way to poke. Use the Q dagger to get in, proc your passive, and use the reset to blink out before they can trade back.
The Fast All-In
to enemy → → →
Used when you are already in range. The W dagger drops instantly, giving you a reset quickly, while the Q dagger provides a follow-up if they Flash away.
Long Distance Engage
a minion → to Q dagger → →
Use a minion as a bridge to get close to the enemy carry. This catches people off guard who think they are at a safe distance.
The Full Reset Chain
→ → → → → Takedown → to next target
Your teamfight bread and butter. Once a target dies, your cooldowns reset—immediately E to the next dagger or enemy to keep the momentum.
Power Spikes
| Spike | Why |
|---|---|
| Level 2 | You get your first reset potential with and . Most players underestimate your level 2 burst. |
| Level 3 | Full basic ability rotation unlocked. You can now use for movement speed and a second dagger proc. |
| Level 6 | adds massive kill pressure, especially in 2v2 skirmishes with your jungler. |
| Level 11 | Rank 2 and higher reset percentage makes your mid-game teamfighting terrifying. |
| Level 16 | Max rank and instant resets on dagger pickup allows for 'infinite' blinks. |
Tips & Tricks
- •You can to plants (Blast Cone, Honeyfruit) to escape through walls.
- • resets your auto-attack timer—always try to sneak an auto in before picking up a dagger.
- •You can choose where to land around a target with . Land behind them to pick up a dagger faster.
- • gives a burst of movement speed even if you don't use the dagger. Use it to dodge skillshots like Lux E or Ahri E.
- • grants 'True Sight' of the 3 targets it is hitting—this reveals champions in bushes or stealth (like Shaco or Talon).
- •The dagger from always lands 350 units behind the first target hit, regardless of where they move after it's thrown.
Common Mistakes
- ✕Entering a fight first→You will be focused and CC'd immediately, ending your reset chain before it starts.
- ✕Channeling for the full duration→Enemies will walk out of the radius. It is usually better to cancel it and to a new dagger for more burst.
- ✕Picking up daggers too early→If you jump on a dagger before the enemy is in range, you waste the damage and your mobility reset.
- ✕Ignoring the auto-attack reset on →You lose about 15-20% of your early game total damage, often leaving enemies with 10 HP.
- ✕Blindly following daggers→The enemy knows where that dagger is landing. They will aim their skillshots exactly on top of it, baiting you into a death.
AI-generated guide • Patch 16.3.1 • Generated