After getting his cores(tear + roa)should you go for cdr or damage? I mostly play him in ARAM(if I get him there) but he is fun and I wanna try him in normals. I'm wondering what should I value more. Cdr to ult more often or dmg to deal more damage with my ult?(I'm getting both anyway but what first)
Nightmist Dark2 votesdmg
Chønklord2 votescheck out karthus mains subreddit, it has everything you ever need to know about karthus builds etc.
Personally, I have a few different ways I build karthus, depending on the matchups and the lane im in:
Mid/Top: dark seal + refillable start > Tear, Morello's, Sorc Boots, Abyssal. Then if I'm ahead with some kills, I might upgrade the dark seal to a Mejai's, then start building Liandry's and Void Staff. Then I'll finish off with some AP like DCap or Luden's.
If I'm behind or I'm getting bursted / caught before I can get some spells and ult off, then after the Abyssal I'll build some defensive items. Personally I hate getting zhonyas, I don't feel the few seconds of invulnerability do much for an immobile mage like Karthus. Personally I rather get some pure armor/hp items such as Hextech GLP-800 and Dead Man's Plate. If the enemy team is really sticky/fast and catching me out often, I would considering opting for a Rylai's... but I also feel Rylai's isn't the greatest anymore on Karth even with the slow. It really depends if you want to be more of a sustain / frontline mage or a backline burster with your Q , W and Ult.
Friendly Ram1 votesI normally go zhonyas and abyssal after the core.
Miror B1 votesYeah, getting tear is "kinda" a waste on him now as although the shield/extra ap is nice, you lose out on a ton of utility. Roa+rylai's is normally what I rush, as it gives your ulti a ton of immediate power and allows you to kite the crap out of people with your q (a lot like frozen hammer gnar).
Disulfiram1 votesDefinitely damage... cdr is nice if you can get it, but damage is generally more important.
is a great item on him, 
can be good, I generally prefer 
instead of 
.
Occasionally I also switch out 
for a 
, in case we REALLY need its grievous wounds.
RFPSHBYQl71 votesCan you explain the point of abyssal. Do you get it because of the resistances? It also does increase damage when near to enemies, but that doesn't affect his ult and it doesn't give too much ap. Isn't staff a better option?
Disulfiram1 votes[{quoted}](name=Darkest Death,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=EkzAp9TI,comment-id=00030000,timestamp=2017-03-23T12:08:33.679+0000)
Can you explain the point of abyssal.
Most of Karthus' damage in fights comes from E and Q; R is mostly a finisher/help for other lanes/KS tool, and if you use it after dying then chances are that the enemies are still close enough for it to benefit from Abyssal anyway too.
Also, Abyssal offers stats that Karthus can make good use of: AP and damage amp (which are the focus), CDR (which on Karthus is nice, even though it's not a priority), and MR (which in mid is often good to have).
Isn't staff a better option?
You can stack it with Abyssal if you need to. :p (= if they are stacking MR... also don't forget that Karthus' wall does give some free penetration)
RFPSHBYQl71 votesOkay thanks. But what do you think about him in low elo? Please don't say that "anything works in low elo stuff" I'm no high elo stuff. I have my own mistakes and so do my teammates. What I'm afraid is because I'm lowelo, I obviously need improvement in every aspect of the game, meaning my positioning will be bad. Not only that, but a lot of times tanks fail the job of protecting the squishy ones too(well because low elo). I know there might be some other midlaners better if you want to carry, but is Karthus good?
Disulfiram1 votes[{quoted}](name=Darkest Death,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=EkzAp9TI,comment-id=0003000000000000,timestamp=2017-03-23T14:28:38.144+0000)
Okay thanks. But what do you think about him in low elo? Please don't say that "anything works in low elo stuff" I'm no high elo stuff. I have my own mistakes and so do my teammates. What I'm afraid is because I'm lowelo, I obviously need improvement in every aspect of the game, meaning my positioning will be bad. Not only that, but a lot of times tanks fail the job of protecting the squishy ones too(well because low elo). I know there might be some other midlaners better if you want to carry, but is Karthus good?
And you ask me? I'm unranked* XD (*Mostly for lack of care though... could have started ranked years ago, just didn't care enough to actually do it)
You should just play what you like... imho winning by playing a champion you don't like is not worth the time spent.
Anyway, Karthus doesn't really need protection: he just needs to stay and die in the right place. What he does need from his team is that they keep the enemies close to him; so love allied Amumus and watch out from ally Jannas.
(A friendly Janna ulting where you are is one of the strongest Karthus' counters that I can think of)