Bronze noob need karthus nashors advice.

SwiftCrane·3/31/2017, 10:36:04 PM·1 votes·384 views

So I was playing Karthus a lot recently because I really like his ult and his Q and I really like getting multikills with the ult :D

So my build is as follows (not in any particular order): item 3151 item 3089 item 3165 item 3135 item 3020 item 3115

Here's the problem. item 3115 gives good AP and 20% CDR to complete my 40% CDR (which I need to use my ult because I love it). The problem is it comes with an attack speed increase which I never use and a passive for my basic attacks, which I also never use.

The problem is, if I want to keep item 3020 for full magic pen, I only have one item to complete my 40% CDR because I can't sacrifice item 3089 , since it is too much AP.

So is it worth having item 3115 just for the 20% CDR? There's no other item with 20% CDR that has good stats or usable passives besides item 3165 which I already have.

Obviously it's a somewhat gimmicky build made for high ult damage, but I feel like in my low league I can afford to have some fun with it. However I'm not sure about the item 3115 , maybe it's making me severely weaker than if I said screw it to the CDR and got item 3040 instead of it and maybe even item 3285 instead of item 3020 . Any help is appreciated.

I also have 15 MPen from runes, so maybe the boots are overkill?

9 Comments

Eunson3/31/2017, 10:36:58 PM2 votes

Karthus is bad if you're planning to climb. You should also never buy Nashors on Karthus if u plan to climb...If you're playing for fun then I'd recommend nashors but you should never really be using auto attacks. Replace Nashors with item 3116

Edit* If you go item 3285 you can select who your ult procs on. You do this by holding tab and moving your intended target to the top of the score board

BBag0hxULG3/31/2017, 10:43:12 PM2 votes

This is the best build for CDR cap. item 3165 item 3020 item 3116 item 3157 item 3001 item 3089

This is the best build for Penetration. item 3165 item 3040 item 3020 item 3116 item 3151 item 3135

Best survivability build. item 3027 item 3040 item 3020 item 3116 item 3157 item 3151

Hope this helped.

PlsCheckThisBush3/31/2017, 10:57:51 PM1 votes

Flat Magic Pen is extremely useful, I'd definitely recommend keeping the boots along with Liandry's if the situation calls for it. It's not uncommon for you to end up with 43+ Flat Penetration (which causes your spells to deal nearly 100% Damage to carries without MR). I would definitely recommend dropping Nashor's Tooth as the only people I can foresee using it well is pure scripters that weave Auto-Attacks in perfectly. The Ratio's just aren't there, and the CDR could easily be built from an item 3001 ,item 3157 , and Runes/Masteries (check out Scaling CDR Glyphs, with 6 of them you're looking at +10% CDR at max level while you're able to run 3 MR/Scaling MR Glyphs to maintain somewhat of resistance against AP Mid-laners if you're desperately looking for that CDR). You can certainly drop your Sorcerer's Shoes once you're max build (provided you have a Void Staff for %Penetration) although that is FAR into the game. While CDR is useful on Karthus for that sweet, sweet, cleanup, being able to provide long-term accessible damage is FAR more useful. Try it out in ARAM as suicide Karthus (provided your team is in a position to make use of your immense AoE control) and build Flat penetration first. Literally run into the enemy team with your E up and watch as they are unable to simply cope with your base numbers early game. Forcing carries to build early MR GREATLY hinders their ability to do damage and your personal numbers will be through the roof. Just make sure you're into a position when you die to be able to do damage, being killed by a Jinx R 500 feet away from their team makes your passive useless, and the enemy team will certainly collapse without your incredibly zone control.

TheHappyReaperz3/31/2017, 11:00:16 PM1 votes

item 3152 and item 3100 aren't that bad of options when you are looking for CDR. It'll bring you up to 30%, and you can get the last 10% from your Blues/Quints. Protobelt is especially fun to play with, since the dash allows you to get into position better, while giving you some decent AOE damages. Quite a bit of people, at least from what I've seen, will tell you to build Rylai's. There's nothing wrong with that, but its a pretty terrible item, stats-wise, and when you're skilled, or in an unskilled environment, you don't need it.

Dolasaur3/31/2017, 11:10:26 PM1 votes

Consider why you're looking to get a lot of CDR on Karthus. Two of his abilities don't benefit from it in any meaningful way. His ult has a long cooldown, yes, but it's much less important to his team fight pattern than many other midlaners (like combo casters Brand/Vel'Koz/Cassi or most assassins).

PlsCheckThisBush's advice for how to get that remaining 20% (Abyssal and Zhonya's both have great synergy with Karthus, and scaling CDR runes are awesome) is good. But you might find the survivability from RoA/Rylai's helps a lot more than having your ult up 15 seconds earlier.

GankedByWindows3/31/2017, 11:15:46 PM1 votes

If you really want 40%, go Lucidity boots and a Zhonyas hourglass.

I would definitely get a Zhonyas instead of the Nashor ' because Karthus wants to be in the middle of the fight so his passive goes to good use, and Zhonyas can help extend the time you live. Karthus also can't auto at all

Similarly, I would go ROA instead of Morellos to help you live longer. I know that would take away your 40%, but Karthus doesn't really use CDR that well. E isn't affected at all, and Q is barely affected. It is nice for your ult, but if you're building CDR just for one spell it is a waste.

For reference, the standard Karthus build is ROA>Zhonya>Sorc boots> Void> Deathcap> Rylai