Katarina AP Guide: Ultimate Assassin Build and Tips
A versatile assassin who excels in punishing mistakes, Katarina's effectiveness scales dramatically with experience. While she's mechanically demanding for beginners, mastering her reset mechanics can make her nearly unstoppable in teamfights.
Core Mechanics
Passive - Voracity
- Reduces ability cooldowns by 15 seconds when scoring takedowns
- Deals AoE magic damage when collecting daggers
- Dagger damage scales with AD, AP, and level
Key Abilities Priority
- Q (Dancing Blade)
- E (Shunpo)
- W (Preparation)
- R (Death Lotus) at levels 6/11/16
Standard Combos
Basic Combo (No Ult) E → Q → W → AA → Collect W dagger → E to Q dagger → AA → AA → E → AA
All-in Combo (With Ult) E → Q → W → R → Collect W dagger → E to Q dagger → AA → AA → E → AA
AP Build Path
Starting Items
- Dark Seal + Refillable Potion
- Doran's Shield (vs poke)
Core Items
- Hextech Rocketbelt
- Nashor's Tooth
- Rabadon's Deathcap
Situational Items
- Void Staff (vs MR)
- Zhonya's Hourglass (vs AD threats)
- Shadowflame (vs shields)
Strengths
- Exceptional reset potential
- Strong roaming
- High burst damage
- Flexible build paths
Weaknesses
- Vulnerable to CC
- Weak early laning
- Team-reliant for setup
- High skill floor
Pro Tips
- Prioritize roaming over farming
- Wait for key CC abilities before engaging
- Vary your Shunpo positions to be unpredictable
- Use daggers to zone enemies in lane
- Adapt build based on enemy composition (AP vs AD)
Focus on mechanical mastery and timing your engages properly. Success with Katarina comes from experience and understanding when to enter fights for maximum reset potential.
