Talk:Katarina/@comment-96.28.105.235-20120306201205/@comment-131.156.211.13-20120306230842

I have tried and tried to enjoy Katarina, despite her flaws. But apart from Pubstomping she is just so TERRIBLE. There comes a point where you stop questioning your skill, and start questioning the champ; especially since I have the same problems with her no matter how I build her.

Her Shunpo and Bouncing Dagger are fine skills in their own right. They're simple and fun to use, especially with the added element of Killer Instinct. They're effective and fair, IMO. The problem is that by far, in fights and ganks, most of her damage doesn't come from those, but from Death Lotus. And Death Lotus is probably one of the biggest gamble-skills in the game if not THE biggest.

Pros: DL can do tremendous/lethal damage to 3 champions. Cons: It probably won't even do mediocre damage due to inconsistencies and bad matchups.

1) It's just way too easy to counter with CC. Most CC types will flat-out cancel it; everything but Blinds and Slows. Even nudges like Anivia's Wall interrupts channeling skills. 2) Flash or any similar skill can rapidly mitigate the damage, or evade it completely. Just having a high movespeed will cut the damage down significantly. 3) Death Lotus is singularly devoid of any utility and flexibility. It is not only relatively short-range, but Katarina is rooted to the spot, and cannot take action. So not only are you always going to be in range of all the CC that cancels your ultimate, but you can't do anything to prevent that once it begins, short of begging Morgana to Black Shield you.

And in any situation where Katarina could own with a good team, there is another champ more consistent than her elsewhere; someone better at her job. Talon is far better over all, and doesn't really care about the cost of mana. Pantheon is tougher, gets actual CC, and chases very well (his Ultimate is also inconsistent, at least it has utility!).

These are problems that NO AMOUNT of skill or practice can mitigate or eliminate, because you can't eliminate bad match ups, and Kat has so many (more than any other champ I can think of). It's a lack of consistency that makes her one of the worst, and I really don't want to hate on her because she is fun to play and is still a cool champ overall.

I think her Ultimate needs a rework, not mere tweaking. Her passive might need a rework or perhaps adjustments to allow for more balance/design space if you rework Death Lotus.