Starter Guide: AP Reset Katarina (Mid) Mid

AP Reset Katarina turns one kill into the next one. Voracity takes 20 seconds off her cooldowns on a kill or assist, and from there it is bouncing blades, Shunpo ward-hops and a Death Lotus (R) that will not stop.

Katarina has no mana bar, so the only thing rationing her is cooldowns, and Voracity keeps removing those. A kill or assist takes 20 seconds off everything, which is how one pick in a Season 3 teamfight becomes a chain of Shunpo (E) and Death Lotus (R) casts back to back.

• Starting Items: Boots of Speed and 4 Health Potions for early movement speed and dodge capability.
• Core Build Rush: Sorcerer's Shoes (maximizes base magic pen to make Bouncing Blades Q and Sinister Steel W clear waves and poke effectively), Deathfire Grasp (active 15% max HP nuke amplifies Shunpo E + Death Lotus R damage, securing immediate first kills to trigger Voracity 20s cooldown resets), Rabadon's Deathcap (a large AP boost to scale all four spell damage ratios), and Zhonya's Hourglass (protects Katarina after jumping into 5 enemies if Death Lotus is interrupted by CC, allowing her team to finish targets for resets).
• Situational Options: Void Staff, Abyssal Scepter, Liandry's Torment, and Guardian Angel.

• Flash (for Flash + Shunpo distance closes) and Ignite.
• Max Q (Bouncing Blades) first for range poke and last-hitting. Max W (Sinister Steel) second for AoE movement speed and waveclear. Max E (Shunpo) third for damage reduction.

Combos worth drilling

• Reset Chain Combo: Q (Bouncing Blades) -> E (Shunpo) to target -> W (Sinister Steel) -> R (Death Lotus). Upon kill/assist (Voracity reset), Shunpo immediately to next target.
• Ward-Hop Escape: Drop Sight Ward over wall -> E Shunpo to ward to escape ganks.

Mistakes to avoid

• Don't jump in before hard CC is used: If enemy team holds stuns/silences, they will interrupt Death Lotus immediately. Wait for stuns to blow first.
• Don't Shunpo without a reset plan: Always target low-HP enemies to guarantee Voracity 20s CD resets.

• Early Game (Levels 1-5): Farm from safety using Q Bouncing Blades. Shunpo (E) to allied minions to dodge enemy skillshots.
• Mid Game (Levels 6-11): Track enemy hard CC cooldowns. Once enemy stuns/silences are used, Shunpo in and channel Death Lotus (R) for rapid kills and Voracity resets.
• Late Game (Levels 12+): Wait out the initial teamfight clash. Once a target drops below 30% HP, Shunpo in with DFG, execute them, and chain resets through their entire team.