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Karma: Too Weak, or Stuck in Rut?

Elsewise·9/3/2017, 6:40:40 PM·3 votes·722 views

Personally, I think if people are struggling on Karma, they should rethink how they're playing her. Not to say she hasn't been stronger, but on the whole she's actually in a decent spot. I think with some experimenting, people can find ways around her weaknesses in certain matchups and situations.

To further illustrate what I mean, let's say I've been having trouble with traditional Karma mage builds (as an example.) Something I hadn't thought about before was how Mantra (R) works. It cools down faster based on abilities and auto attacks landed. Auto attacks huh? Have I been auto attacking enough during fights to refresh Mantra? Is there a way to capitalize on this aspect?

item 3115 The quintessential AP attack speed item. Gives me great CDR, decent AP, gives a second AP ratio, and improves attack speed, so we can auto more, and therefore get more Mantras off. Not too hard to build either. Second or third item, I could fit this in. But is there a way to REALLY double down on this aspect, maximizing the mantra turn over in such a way that rewards aggression to the fullest? Maybe something to cement a lead I got early? item 3124 Ah, here we go. This one's a risk, but the pay off is huge. Nearly as much AP as Nashor's, but more attack speed and bonus AD. The real kicker is that Guinsoo's Rage. It procs Mantra's cooldown reduction twice every other auto. A perfect item for extended fights, the reward can be worth the risk.

This is, of course, just an example about how you can think differently with your approach to Karma. Tank Karma is also a popular (and more well tested) variant build that has seen situational success. It just takes some different thinking. Also, did you know? Karma can proc item 3504 off of Stoneborn Pact. Anyone who auto attacks an enemy hit by Q or W gets the buff! Also adds a bit of healing to her kit. Different, but cool and possibly effective. These are the kinds of things Karma mains need to be aware of when saying she's struggling. Sometimes all it takes is looking at it a different way.

11 Comments

IxtaliKing9/3/2017, 11:20:12 PM5 votes

No, there's no other way of looking at it. Karma needs to be fixed. According to champion.gg she's currently the worst champ in the game bar Ornn. Suggesting that Karma mains should just adopt an unhealthy niche playstyle like her Tank build or some hybrid AP AS build imo is ludicrous.

Friendly Ram9/4/2017, 12:42:53 AM3 votes

i like what the spellthief questline did to buff her but feel she still needs polish between her battlemage and tank identities.

chipndip19/16/2017, 2:53:11 PM2 votes

  1. Your build ideas are horrible. Absolutely horrible. Offensive, even.

  2. Karma needs a full on game play update. Hell, every enchanter does at this point. No one appreciates being a shield bot all game. I was saying this a year ago and no one paid me any mind.

Darkdemon6539/3/2017, 11:23:10 PM1 votes

Neither

She's fine, although your build suggestion would make her far below fine.

jocomotion9/16/2017, 3:31:45 AM1 votes

First off, Karma's problem is a lack of uniqueness in her kit, making her never really fill a role well, and a lack of decision making in a champ who's gameplay revolves around choosing the right ability and at the right time, instead a majority of her power is in her numbers, like Q damage, E shield, root heal, ect.. and in a supportive mage like karma that's not healthy

People have played with karma builds before, tank karma top lane? Full AP karma mid? Full shield karma, full movespeed karma, and many others. She's not in a "rut" she needs her problems fixed, like lack of unique utility in a utility mage, too much reliance on her Q for damage, her wonky RW scaling, the lack of skill expression in her shields, ect...