Karthus Build Guide

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Karthus, The Deathsinger

The vast quantities of magical energy that have been released during Valoran's numerous Rune Wars have scarred much of Valoran. Many remote locales continue to be twisted by residual magic, making them places where few dare to go. The Howling Marsh is one of these places, and the self-appointed overlord of this land is the lich known as Karthus. Some speculate that Karthus was a mage who, in life, was foolish enough to enter the fetid waters seeking his fortune, and that he was forever transformed by whatever dark magic permeates the swamp. On the darkest of nights, Karthus is said to sing the tales of those who have succumbed to the swamp, past and present.Karthus has come to the League of Legends seeking personal magical power and influence. While not entirely as malevolent as an undead lich, he cares little for the consequences of death upon the living. Karthus can make the ground beneath his foes erupt, causing massive damage to those caught in the blast. He can create a wall of tangible pain, crippling foes who are foolish enough to pass through it. Being a lich, he feeds off the misery of others in two different ways either by defiling the environment around him or by feasting on the magical essence of those he fells in combat. Karthus may also sing the song of death itself; those who hear his baleful dirge are wounded to their very soul, and it is nearly impossible to escape this woeful aria.

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Karthus Stats

    • Health Lvl 1 p/Lvl Lvl 18
    • Health 465 75 1,740
    • Health Regen p/1 1.21 0.11 3.08
    • Health Regen p/5 6.05 0.55 15.40
    • Effective Health
    • Physical Damage Health 3,028 3,028 3,028
    • Magical Damage Health 2,262 2,262 2,262
    • Effective Hit Points 2,645 2,645 2,645
    • Attack Base p/Lvl Lvl 18
    • Attck Speed (p/Sec) 0.625 2.110% 0.849
    • Lvl 1 p/Lvl Lvl 18
    • Physical Damage 45 3 101
    • Critical Strike Chance (%) 0 0 0
    • Critical Strike Damage (%) 200 0 2
    • Resistances
    • Armor 15 4 74
    • Magic Resist 30 0 30
    • Spell Pool Lvl 1 p/Lvl Lvl 18
    • Mana 331 61 1368
    • Mana Regen p/1 0.88 0.08 2.24
    • Mana Regen p/5 4.40 0.40 11.2
    • Utility
    • Movement Speed 310 0 310
    • Cooldown Reduction 0 0 0
    • Range 450 0 450

Karthus Spells

  • (Passive) Death Defied

    Upon dying, Karthus enters a spirit form allowing him to continue casting spells while dead for 7 seconds.
  • (Q) Lay Waste

    • Cooldown:
    • 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 sec

    • Cost:
    • 20 / 26 / 32 / 38 / 44

    Creates a delayed blast at Karthus' cursor position. After 0.5 seconds, deals (40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120) (+(0.6 per ability power point)) magic damage to each nearby enemy, this deals double damage if it hits only a single unit.
  • (W) Wall of Pain

    • Cooldown:
    • 18 / 18 / 18 / 18 / 18 sec

    • Cost:
    • 100 / 100 / 100 / 100 / 100

    Creates a (800 / 900 / 1000 / 1100 / 1200) distance wide wall at target location that lasts for (5) seconds. Enemies that pass through the wall have their Armor and Magic Resist reduced by (15)% and Movement Speed reduced by (40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80)% for (5) seconds (their Movement Speed gradually recovers over the duration).
  • (E) Defile

    • Cooldown:
    • 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 / 0.5 sec

    • Cost:
    • 30 / 42 / 54 / 66 / 78

    Toggle Off: When Karthus kills a unit, he restores (20 / 27 / 34 / 41 / 48) mana.

    Toggle On: Drains (30 / 42 / 54 / 66 / 78) Mana to deal (30 / 50 / 70 / 90 / 110) (+(0.25 per ability power point)) magic damage to nearby enemies each second.
  • (R) Requiem

    • Cooldown:
    • 200 / 180 / 160 sec

    • Cost:
    • 150 / 175 / 200

    After channeling for 3 seconds, Karthus deals (250 / 400 / 550) (+(0.6 per ability power point)) magic damage to all enemy champions (regardless of distance).


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Patch notes

v1.0.0.130 (29th Nov, 2011)
  • Wall of Pain
    • Wall duration reduced to 5 seconds from 7
    • Now only affects a target once (instead of reapplying every pass through)
  • Fixed a bug where Leona's passive and the Dominion center Sigil could cause an immediate double kill against Karthus


v1.0.0.126 (05th Oct, 2011)
  • Fixed a bug where Requiem would sometimes not finish channeling when cast during Death Defied


v1.0.0.105 (15th Nov, 2010)
  • Clarified Wall of Pain's tooltip slightly to emphasize that target movement speeds are restored over time


v1.0.0.103 (18th Oct, 2010)
  • Lay Waste mana cost reduced to 20/26/32/38/44 from 20/28/36/44/52
  • Wall of Pain cooldown reduced to 18 from 22
  • Death Defied now allows all spells to be free to cast while defying death
  • Fixed several usability bugs with Death Defied


v1.0.0.101 (21st Sep, 2010)
  • Death Defied (passive) has been remade to fix some of the bugs and usability issues
  • Death Defied now also grants 20% death timer reduction to compensate for the 8 seconds Karthus is active after dying


v1.0.0.100 (08th Sep, 2010)
  • Wall of Pain's level up tooltip now correctly states the increased slow amount


v1.0.0.99 (24th Aug, 2010)
  • Requiem mana cost reduced to 150/175/200 from 200/300/400


v1.0.0.86 (01st Jun, 2010)
  • Fixed a bug with the tooltip for Lay Waste to display the correct Ability Power coefficient


v1.0.0.75 (24th Feb, 2010)
  • Updated the icon for Death Defied


v1.0.0.70 (13th Jan, 2010)
  • Lay Waste Range increased to 875 from 825
  • Lay Waste Mana cost decreased to 20/28/36/44/52 from 24/32/40/48/54
  • Base Armor Per Level increased to 3.5 from 3.0


v1.0.0.63 (17th Dec, 2009)
  • Requiem no longer reveals Karthus to enemies when cast
  • Basic Attack Projectile Speed increased to 1200 from 800
  • Lay Waste Ability Power coefficient increased to .3/.6 from .25/.5
  • Lay Waste Damage increased to 40/60/80/100/120 (x2) from 35/55/75/95/115
  • Defile Ability Power coefficient increased to .25 from .2


v1.0.0.61 (02nd Dec, 2009)
  • Lay Waste Ability Power ratio increased to .25/.5 from .2/.4


v1.0.0.52 (11th Nov, 2009)


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