Karthus Build Guide

Karthus Build

Table of Contents

Introduction

1

Pros / Cons

2

Abilities

3

Skilling Order

4

Masteries + Runes

5

Items

6

Summoner Abilities

7

Playstye (unfinished)

8

Farming

9

• Introduction

  This isn't a char you will be using if you want easy deaths (unless ur goal is KS) nor if you want the best survival, this is a char you choose if want to help your team and learn how to move the mouse arround and calculate your opponent's moves

• Pros / Cons

  Pros:
  -All screen AoE
  -Nice damage
  -You die you can still kill them for a while
  -Nice mana management
  -Spammable skill
  
  Cons:
  -Spamable skill is skillshot
  -some ppl will hate your KS

• Abilities

  Death Defied

  Your passive, let's hope you won't need it, but if you do, make good use of it, start by activating defile, then there are 2 choices: -if a champion u were fighing with(or a chanpion that has ran beyond reach from one of your alies) was already low life and can kill with ult, cast it as soon as you can -spam Lay Waste as fast as you can targeting watever enemy forces are near

  Lay Waste

  Your spamable skill, great to kill running champions or to farm minions from safe range, watch out early game as your mana regeneration may not be enuth yet to spam it, but later ingame don't fear and use it as often as u can, if using against a champion remember it will have more effect if the champ is alone and if it's running try to guess it's path and place a bit furter from current point

  Wall of Pain

  This one can b tricky, use it before starting a battle to slow your opoonent so u can spam Lay Waste or use it to slow a running enemy

  Defile

  Your main mana management, with this passive you can farm minion waves like they were nothing, spaming Lay Waste over and over, the skill itself ain't that great because it's too costy, but if you find yourself: -needing to defend a turret with too many minions closing by -fighting the entire oposite team -dead (free cast) -destroying enemy base (with all minions spawns you likely get enuth energy to keep it up) use it

  Requiem

  And Kaboom baby, this is the reason some like having a Karthus on the team but also the reason why many hate having one, this skill hits ALL alive champions, regardless of where they are so: -warn alies whenever u have this ready, if they let a champ go past safe reach and left it low life they will simply have to call u and won't risk their char -use whenever u feel not safe for u to chase but can already kill with it -WARNING: some will hate u for this

• Skilling Order

  (you can skip Wall of Pain if you take (and are used to)Exhaust)
  so: Requiem> Lay Waste> Defile> Wall of Pain
  - Requiem will help u kill opp's anywhere or even help your alies starting battles in deiferent lanes (unadvised) as so will give it priority
  - Lay Waste will be great farming minions, also god when killing a champion as if u hit it alone you deal double dmg
  - Defile will be usefull to keep your mana up with all Lay waste casts you'll be doing (if you find yourself in lack of mana, i find it unlikely, go to wolfs or wairths in forest and kill them, with this skill u shall get enuth to stay in batle for a litle longer)
  - Wall of Pain will help you killing enemy champions by getting your damage closer to true damage and also allowing you to more easly place your skillshot ( Lay Waste)

• Masteries + Runes

  In runes I personally like:
  - Greater Mark of Insight x9 + Greater Quintessence of Insight x3 - these will help you penetrate the opponent's defenses dealing more dmg with Lay Waste and especially Requiem (it still won't be true damage, but with Wall of Pain you get it in most champs who havent bought any magic res items, but for this you would need the oponent to get close)
  - Greater Seal of Replenishment x9 - these runes are mostly optional they will help u having a more energetic start of battle as they make Lay Waste spamable from begin so you can farm minion waves easly, Greater Seal of Focus will be a better option if you want more power on late game (explained below)
  - Greater Glyph of Focus x9 - these will reduce all your cooldowns, what does it mean?
  > Lay Waste has near o cooldown so becomes spamable for real (make a path in front of a running champion for the lulz)
  > Wall of Painhas a better effect as you will likely be able to use in in both begin and end of the fight (champ is coming and u reduce, sees no chance and bam, slowed and reduced defenses, dead)
  > Defile no effectt, it already has a low cooldown and as active spell you won't need to cast it often
  > Requiem this is where you can notice the effect, it's cooldown will be nicely reduced allowing you to cast it more often in battle getting the risky kills or champions alies can't chase.
  
  As for masteries i use 9/0/21
  the offensive part is obviously to get the magic penetration helping in your damage, the utility will help with your mana regeneration and again cooldowns (we want to cast Requiem as often as possible don't we?) also a bit more speed is always nice for you as if chasing an oponent you'll try to place Wall of Pain and Lay Waste in front of it

• Items

  My choice goes to:
  Start with Meki Pendant, this will allow u to cast more often in begin
  1st recall get Tear of the Goddess and, if possible Boots of Speed
  Rush for Archangel's Staff, this will increase your mana for more casts and give you a nice AP boost
  From there start getting Void Staff then upgrade your boots to Sorcerer's Shoes, you'll be dealing true damage or close now
  You should now rush for a cooldown reduction item s make your choice between [item=Morello's Evil Tome] and Deathfire Grasp
  Now, you got true damage, small cooldown what else? time to get a Rabadon's Deathcap if you want even more killing power or Will of the Ancients if you want survival (i often skip this one)
  
  Other items i'd advise:
  Hextech Gunblade this won't have as much vampirism, is more expensive and has 5 less AP but still will be able to slow your oponent allowing you to kill it more easly, if getting this don't get Will of the Ancients
  Zhonya's Hourglass this item will give you a nice amount of AP and make u invlunerable for 2 seconds, make sure you cast Defile before activating unless you're running low on mana
  Boots of Swiftness this will be alternative to Sorcerer's Shoes, most likely you'll be already able to deal close to true damage with Void Staff so these will help u chasing a champion untill the point u can Requiem kill them if they get past turret

• Summoner Abilities

  Exhaust this will be usefull, as you shall have seen i placed 1 point in it's mastery, with that point and the penetration runes said earlier you will be dealing true damage to the oponent, i advise it
  
  Ghost chasing and running away the typical duo you can do with this, wouldn't advise
  
  Heal ok you want to survive, but why if u can kill them right when you die.
  
  Revive this is a possible choice, i know most people hate it but look at this char, you die and get free casts, as long as don't die while this is in cooldown you'll b having a 7sec invlunerable and high casting time and respawn right away
  
  Smiteno, you're no jungler
  
  Teleport get back in base for shoping or death, get back in action fast, a possible choice
  
  Cleanse can help you surviving and casting more BUT it won't save you that much not my choice
  
  [spell=Fortify] planning on stay nearby turrets? not that often i'd say, unless team needs a turret defender don't take this
  
  Clarity this will help you staying in fight and especially with early farming, this is a nice choice if not used to mana management
  
  Ignite u can use this to make sure they don't recover before you can use your nuke, pretty nice choice
  
  [spell=Rally] NO! simply you're not a physical character to need damage
  
  Clairvoyance not a bad choice, check if the champion who ran is still on low life or make sure they aren't comming to gank
  
  Flash escaping or chasing skill, a good choice (make sure to get it's mastery if chosen)

• Playstye (unfinished)

  Early game:
  You want to start farming minions, as so wait for the minion groups to get together and Lay Waste in the middle (watch out your mana as early you won't have such easy time keeping it up), stay behind a minions wall to get some defense against the other champ, when get lvl6 warn your allies so they can all you to use Requiem, remember to keep this spell until you are nearly sure you can kill the opponents (i hate those who keep 1hp left...)
  
  Mid game
  Now you are doing true damage against many opponents, make sure to take advantage of this and try to get in team battles casting Wall of Pain as a secondary initiator (if you got a rammus or sheen and they make the opp pass inside this will fairly reduce the opp's defense as so allowing your team to gank better) afterwards just keep spamming Lay Waste in the middle of your opponents (if you hit 3 at once, or more, you will have advantage placing at middle, but if you only hit 2 and can hit only 1, then go for 1, as will take fairly more dmg, hit only 1 if the carry is alone)
  
  End game
  Will be pretty much the same as mid game, if not taken all towers and know locations of all opponents you can easily push lanes, this time i'd advise the use of Defile

• Farming

  just spam Lay Waste in the minions wave, and attack if see low mana, but mosr often your mana regen combined with Defile's passive will keep you up