Skip to content
Riftback

Katarina

the Sinister Blade

AClassic SRMidAssassin · MagePre-rework kit
Patch 26.19 · updated 2026-09-23

Quick build

AP Assassin

Full build
MidClassic SR21/9/0 masteries
Max
FlashIgnite

First buy

  1. Doran's Ring
  2. Health Potion, 2 of them

Katarina pays no mana for anything, so this is a plain stat start: 60 health and 15 ability power.

Core

  • Deathfire Grasp
  • Sorcerer's Shoes
  • Rabadon's Deathcap

Loadout

Mid · AP Standard · 21/9/0 masteries

Report an error

Overview

Difficulty
Difficulty 6 of 10
Class
Assassin, Mage
Released
· original roster

Base stats

Health
505+80
HP regen
1.5+0.11
Attack
56.2+3.2
Armor
24.5+3.5
MR
31.25+1.25
Move speed
345
Range
125
Attack speed
0.658+2.74%

Abilities

P, Voracity

Description

Innate: Champion takedowns and assists reduce Katarina's cooldowns by 15 seconds.

Build

This build as its own page: AP Assassin (Mid)

MidClassic SR
Max
FlashIgnite

  1. First buy

    1. Doran's Ring
    2. Health Potion, 2 of them

    Katarina pays no mana for anything, so this is a plain stat start: 60 health and 15 ability power.

    Alternative start:
    1. Boots of Speed
    2. Health Potion, 4 of them

    Shunpo needs a target inside 725 units, so against a mid laner who stays back Katarina walks instead.

    Alternative start:
    1. Null-Magic Mantle
    2. Health Potion, 2 of them

    Into an AP lane, a melee mid eats chip damage she cannot dodge; that is what the 20 magic resist is for.

  2. Early

    • Needlessly Large Rod
    • Fiendish Codex

    Needlessly Large Rod into Deathfire Grasp.

  3. Core

    • Deathfire Grasp
    • Sorcerer's Shoes
    • Rabadon's Deathcap

  4. Late

    • Zhonya's Hourglass
    • Liandry's Torment
    • Abyssal Scepter

  5. Full build

    • Deathfire Grasp
    • Sorcerer's Shoes
    • Rabadon's Deathcap
    • Zhonya's Hourglass
    • Liandry's Torment
    • Abyssal Scepter

Runes & masteries

21/9/0 · Mid

AP Standard

Marks
  • 9× +1 Magic Penetration
Seals
  • 9× +1 Armor
Glyphs
  • 9× +0.2 Ability Power per level
Quintessences
  • 3× +5 Ability Power

Page total

Ability Power
+15
Ability Power per level
+1.8
Armor
+9
Magic Penetration
+9
Summoner's Wrath (1 of 1 ranks)Summoner's Wrath1 / 1 ranksImproves the Summoner Spells Exhaust, Ignite, Ghost, Surge, Rally, and PromoteFuryFuryUp to 4 ranks+1% Attack Speed per rankSorcery (3 of 4 ranks)Sorcery3 / 4 ranks+1% Cooldown Reduction per rankButcherButcherUp to 2 ranksBasic attacks deal 2/4 bonus damage to minions and monsters
DeadlinessDeadlinessUp to 4 ranks+0.166/0.333/0.498/0.664 Attack Damage per levelBlast (4 of 4 ranks)Blast4 / 4 ranks+0.25/0.5/0.75/1 Ability Power per levelDestructionDestructionUp to 1 rankIncrease damage to turrets by 5%
Havoc (3 of 3 ranks)Havoc3 / 3 ranksIncreases damage dealt by 0.67%/1.33%/2%Weapon ExpertiseWeapon ExpertiseUp to 1 rank+8% Armor PenetrationArcane Knowledge (1 of 1 ranks)Arcane Knowledge1 / 1 ranks+8% Magic Penetration
LethalityLethalityUp to 2 ranks+2.5%/5% Critical Strike Damage (5%/10% for melee)Brute ForceBrute ForceUp to 2 ranks+1.5/3 Attack DamageMental Force (3 of 3 ranks)Mental Force3 / 3 ranks+2/4/6 Ability PowerSpellsword (1 of 1 ranks)Spellsword1 / 1 ranksDeals 5% of your Ability Power as magic damage on basic attacks
FrenzyFrenzyUp to 1 rankGrants 10% attack speed for 2 seconds after landing a critical hitSunderSunderUp to 3 ranks+2/4/6 LethalityArchmage (4 of 4 ranks)Archmage4 / 4 ranksIncreases Ability Power by 1.25%/2.5%/3.75%/5%
Executioner (1 of 1 ranks)Executioner1 / 1 ranks · CapstoneIncreases damage dealt by 5% to targets below 50% Health

offense21

Summoner's ResolveSummoner's ResolveUp to 1 rankImproves the Summoner Spells Cleanse, Heal, Smite, Barrier, and FortifyPerseverancePerseveranceUp to 3 ranksGrants up to +2/4/6 Health Regen per 5 seconds based on missing HealthDurability (4 of 4 ranks)Durability4 / 4 ranks+1.5/3/4.5/6 Health per levelTough SkinTough SkinUp to 2 ranksReduces damage taken from monsters by 1/2
Hardiness (1 of 3 ranks)Hardiness1 / 3 ranks+2/4/6 ArmorResistance (3 of 3 ranks)Resistance3 / 3 ranks+2/4/6 Magic ResistBladed ArmorBladed ArmorUp to 1 rankDeals 6 damage to any enemy monster that attacks you
UnyieldingUnyieldingUp to 2 ranksReduces damage taken from enemy champions by 1/2RelentlessRelentlessUp to 2 ranksReduces the effectiveness of slows by 7.5%/15%Veteran's Scars (1 of 1 ranks)Veteran's Scars1 / 1 ranks+30 HealthSafeguardSafeguardUp to 1 rankReduces damage taken from turrets by 5%
BlockBlockUp to 1 rankReduces damage taken from champion basic attacks by 3TenaciousTenaciousUp to 3 ranksReduces the duration of crowd control effects by 5%/10%/15%JuggernautJuggernautUp to 3 ranksIncreases your maximum Health by 1.5%/2.75%/4%
DefenderDefenderUp to 1 rankGrants +1 Armor and Magic Resist for each nearby enemy championLegendary ArmorLegendary ArmorUp to 3 ranksIncreases bonus Armor and Magic Resist by +2%/4%/6%Good HandsGood HandsUp to 1 rankReduce time spent dead by 10%Reinforced ArmorReinforced ArmorUp to 1 rankReduce damage taken from critical strikes by 10%
Honor GuardHonor GuardUp to 1 rank · CapstoneReduces damage taken from all sources by 3%

defense9

Summoner's InsightSummoner's InsightUp to 1 rankImproves the Summoner Spells Teleport, Flash, Clarity, Revive, and Clairvoyance.WandererWandererUp to 3 ranksGrants +0.66%/1.33%/2% increased Movement Speed when out of combatMeditationMeditationUp to 3 ranks+1/2/3 Mana Regen per 5 secondsImproved RecallImproved RecallUp to 1 rankReduces the cast time of Recall by 1 second
ScoutScoutUp to 1 rankWards gain 25% increased vision range for the first 3 seconds after placing themMastermindMastermindUp to 3 ranksReduces the cooldown of Summoner Spells by 4%/7%/10%Expanded MindExpanded MindUp to 3 ranks+4/7/10 mana per levelArtificerArtificerUp to 2 ranksReduces the cooldown of activated items by 7.5%/15%
GreedGreedUp to 4 ranksGrants an additional +0.5/1/1.5/2 gold every 10 secondsRunic AffinityRunic AffinityUp to 1 rankIncreases the duration of neutral monster buffs by 20%VampirismVampirismUp to 3 ranks+1%/2%/3% Lifesteal and Spell VampBiscuiteerBiscuiteerUp to 1 rankStart the game with a regenerative biscuit that restores 80 Health and 50 Mana over 10 seconds
WealthWealthUp to 2 ranksIncreases starting gold by 40/75AwarenessAwarenessUp to 4 ranksIncreases Experience earned by 1.25%/2.5%/3.75%/5%Strength of SpiritStrength of SpiritUp to 3 ranksUp to +1/2/3 Health Regen per 5 seconds for each 400 Mana you possessExplorerExplorerUp to 1 rankStart the game with an Explorer's Ward.
PickpocketPickpocketUp to 1 rankGrants 5 gold (melee) or 3 gold (ranged) each time you basic attack an enemy champion (5s cooldown)IntelligenceIntelligenceUp to 3 ranks+2%/4%/6% Cooldown Reduction
NimbleNimbleUp to 1 rank · CapstoneGrants 3% increased Movement Speed

utility0

Skill order

Max order››
Skill order by level for AP Assassin
Lv123456789101112131415161718
Q1Q at level 14Q at level 45Q at level 57Q at level 79Q at level 9
W3W at level 314W at level 1415W at level 1517W at level 1718W at level 18
E2E at level 28E at level 810E at level 1012E at level 1213E at level 13
R6R at level 611R at level 1116R at level 16

Matchups

Strong against

  • VeigarVeigarKatarina's takedown resets snowball through immobile casters like Veigar, who cannot disengage from her Death LotusDeath LotusRKatarina throws daggers at up to three nearby enemy Champions, dealing magic damage and applying Grievous Wounds. pick.Full matchup page
  • HeimerdingerHeimerdingerHeimerdinger can move neither his nest nor himself in time: Katarina resets off kills repeatedly.Full matchup page
  • KarthusKarthusKarthus's immobility makes him vulnerable to Katarina's snowballing burst and resets.Full matchup page

Weak against

  • LeonaLeonaLeona's point-and-click stun can shut Katarina down, though in practice Katarina often gets a kill before the CC even connects because her damage is so fast.Full matchup page
  • AmumuAmumuAmumu's CC is a similar hard counter on paper, but Katarina's burst speed often lets her win the trade before the CC lands.Full matchup page
  • KassadinKassadinKassadin matches her burst with RiftwalkRiftwalkRActive: Kassadin blinks toward the target location, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies upon arrival. He then gains a stack of Riftwalk for 8 seconds, refreshing on subsequent casts and stacking up to 10 times. Riftwalk: For each stack, Riftwalk deals 60 bonus magic damage at an increased 100 mana cost. mobility, and Null SphereNull SphereQActive: Kassadin fires an orb of void energy at the target enemy that deals magic damage and silences them.'s silence cancels Death LotusDeath LotusRKatarina throws daggers at up to three nearby enemy Champions, dealing magic damage and applying Grievous Wounds. - the one mid she cannot out-rotate.Full matchup page
  • SionSionAP Sion's Q/W rotation does roughly half of Katarina's 400 HP in one hit, making it difficult for her to even walk up and farm.Full matchup page

Classic vs modern5 recorded kit changes

Source kit

League Classic

5 changes

Compared with

Current League

Classic

Voracity

Innate: Champion takedowns and assists reduce Katarina's cooldowns by 15 seconds.

Current League

Voracity

Whenever an enemy champion dies that Katarina has damaged recently, her remaining ability cooldowns are dramatically reduced. If Katarina picks up a Dagger, she uses it to slash through all nearby enemies, dealing magic damage.

Coming from current LeagueDaggers never hit the ground; the reset engine is takedowns (passive) and the Q mark is consumed by her own attacks and abilities, so the combo is Q into anything she does, not Q into dagger pickup.
Remembering Katarina in 2013Shunpo is a positional tool with a defensive buff, not a spammable reset.

The reset comes from kills/assists only.

Base-stat shifts10
Base health
Classic: 505Current League: 672
Health per level
Classic: 80Current League: 108
Health regen
Classic: 1.5Current League: 7.5
Base attack damage
Classic: 56.2Current League: 58
Attack damage per level
Classic: 3.2Current League: 0
Base armor
Classic: 24.5Current League: 32
Armor per level
Classic: 3.5Current League: 4.7
Base magic resist
Classic: 31.25Current League: 32
Magic resist per level
Classic: 1.25Current League: 2.05
Move speed
Classic: 345Current League: 335

Skins

  • Katarina

  • Mercenary Katarina

  • PROJECT: Katarina

  • Battle Queen Katarina

  • Faerie Court Katarina

  • Prestige Faerie Court Katarina

Katarina has 1 more skin in Classic with no English name, not shown here.

History & Notes

Released 2009-09-19, one of the original forty champions. Classic ships the pre-rework kit, frozen at patch 3.13.24. The modern game plays a different champion, compared under “Vs. modern”. Riot's next 3 balance steps after the freeze are listed below.

Changed after 3.13

  1. V4.5
    • Stats, Base armor increased to 21 from 17.
  2. V4.15
    • Shunpo, Removed: No longer benefits from spell vamp on wards.
  3. V4.20
    • Death Lotus, Base damage reduced to 350/550/750 from 400/575/750.
    • Death Lotus, Cooldown increased to 90/60/45 seconds from 60/52.5/45.
Contributors
Reio