Talk:Katarina/@comment-151.84.88.33-20130208155506/@comment-24.196.31.55-20130215181614

Sometimes I explain my thoughts terribly, so I will try my best to clarify some less-than-stellar points. Also, note that I am not ranked (but hoping to get my team together soon!), so I am just passing on things I have found helpful. I am not the Kat Gospel (and I am aware that I am not) XD



Maxing W before E helps you in the laning phase, which if arguably Kat's weakest state. In the typical laning phase, your goal is to collect as many minions as you can quicker before your opponent can. Hording money = itemization outclassing. You get upgraded boots before they can. Each item you obtain before they do helps you pull further and further ahead. Shunpo keeps you safe but doesn’t help you get minions. An argument can be made that it helps you acquire a kill, but at that point the cooldown has refreshed and you can still be safe from ganks. I feel that it is a loss of damage to put ranks into E when you could have placed it in W (or Q).

With regards to Q vs W, as I mentioned, it does depend on the opponent and their play style (and yours, of course). I am assuming you are playing against someone who knows Kat's spells modestly and won't be an idiot to stand beside their minions, which forces the player to choose between trying to last hit with Q or get one "okay" shot at them. I feel W can get you the minions but also punish someone coming in for trades by the fact that they can't escape your speed and range.



Conserve vs Spam

Don't misunderstand my favoring W for hating Q and E. I adore all of her spells and what they can provide. In fact, I used to be a Q-all-the-way Katarina, but I would feel like I was lacking something whenever my Q was on cooldown and the enemy would poke freely at me because they knew my cooldown as well.

My playstle now requires me to be a bully. I poke at them and, while they partially retreat, get between them and their minions. I like to keep Q to have a long-ranged poke (because they probably hide under the turret), but quickly cleaning up minions and netting gold faster is more important for late game. With W, using it smarter can be the same as using it more often simply because you have nothing to lose by having it on cooldown (since the duration is very short). Not having E available is the difference between life and death. Not having Q available is the difference between a kill and letting the killing spree continue. There is no benefit to preserving W, as there is no mana to worry about either, so why sit on it? While you are being conscientious about Q and E, your W makes up for the lost time/damage in the lane.

While it seems I contradicted myself by saying Shunpo/Bouncing Blades should be used smarter not more often but suggesting to spam W, those are,in fact, two different situations. I never believe that using Q and E like a spam-bot wins the lane. I view W, however, as the main way to rack up the minions, hand over the gold to the shop, and keep pulling ahead of the enemy. I suggested that W comes up far more often than E will and will thus provide more damage. I also said W comes up more often than Q can will provide more damage, but it depends on the feel of the lane which may be best to take. If you feel that Q is your way to win, then don't listen to me and run with it! The biggest take-home message of this should be to *not* level Shunpo all the way before maxing Q or W.

(Ah, I see now the part that may have troubled you.) In the part where I said "spam Q and W" until the opponents reach an "optimal health level," this part was specifically geared to the teamfight section. In a lane, spamming doesn't help you win, but in a teamfight where someone else can chip in with damage can off-set your vulnerability (in the sense that your abilities are on cooldown and have nothing to offer for a time) and secure your reset may not be as big of a deal (but I suppose it depends on the dynamics of your team and their team). Sorry once more for not connecting my thoughts well!

So, in a quick nutshell, you are correct that Q has an excellent farm potential and can will be "up as often as you can safely reach your opponent and harass with W," but I meant to explain in my original post (my apologies) that W is fantastic for minion-clearing with the added benefits of dodging skill shots, outrunning/catching your opponents, and nice aoe damage. Also, Q and W are far more advantageous to max first than to max Shunpo as E is more about the amazing utility it provides.



If this didn't clear up some of your questions/comments/dissatisfaction, then please feel free to point out things for me to better clarify. I do ramble more about one thing and less about another, so I don't find it offensive when people point out things to zero in on. I am more than happy to recognize that these are my opinions and not facts. I wish you the best of luck with playing Katarina <3