Talk:Karthus/@comment-24992423-20150311234219/@comment-24613667-20150313174942

Karthus is a very slow burn, he takes a long time to build up power so you need to play smart to reach your power spike. It's best to get a Tear and Catalyst (finish Rod of Ages first item) as early as possible in order to maximize your tankiness and sustained damage potential. Focus on farming and harrassing your lane opponent, not necessarily killing them, and keep an eye on other lanes to see if you can clean up any kills with your ultimate (or just help influence a fight).

Keep in mind that your Q deals double damage if it hits a single target, so practice landing it on minions on the outer edge of the cluster and against your lane opponent if they step to the side (don't be afraid to hit multiple targets though, it still deals damage). The passive on your E will also restore mana when killing any enemy unit (only when toggled Off), so killing multiple units with your Q will make it very cost efficient and give you more sustain (Karthus does have an auto-attack, so remember to use it too). Also, be aware of E's active mana cost as it can drain your mana very quickly, save it mostly for fights (start fights with W's slow, E, then chase targets or activate E if you get jumped, as a deterrent). And, when using your ult, keep in mind that it can be cancelled if you're stunned or killed during the channel; it's guaranteed to go off if you're in your passive state though (as long as you have enough time to complete the channel), so sometimes it's okay to just go full ham, suicide, and pop your ult while "dead".

Recommended skill order: R > Q > E > W

Basically, just farm up a storm, constantly whittle down opponents so that they can't do much, and make it your goal to become a threat eventually (late-game Karthus is scary). Dying isn't the worst thing for Karthus, but don't just give up free kills, die tactically (ie: get an objective out of it).