Her spells aren't rewarded if combo'd correctly (she's sort of like a mage version of rengar in a sense)
If you snare someone and Mantra Q them you just caused more damage. Rengar's Ferocity Q does more damage AND provides attack speed. I believe Karma's mantra needs more on her mantra Q. Such as a stun + radius increase on her mantra Q rather than damage. This would add skillful comboing to her mantra Q feel rewarding rather than a bonus just there.
BardDecisions2 votesI might be mistaken here, but the slow part of the spell is greatly increased if you use Mantra on it. It also creates a slow AoE and a 1.5 second zoning potential because people probably aren't dumb enough to step in the AoE to eat the delayed damage.
She's already extremely potent, she doesn't need Utility or Damage buffs, she needs QoL buffs like a better managed passive for instance.
FF12241 votesA 1.5 second zoning potential sounds great in theory, but look at other champions such as viktor or ziggs who have several seconds zoning potential. While I agree the slow is very strong. Karma has great kiting potential already but she has no way to truely ensure a kill. Karma needs a little more in her mantra Q that helps her secure kills. The only real way to get kills on Karma live is when the enemy overextendeds or underestimates you, very little skillful play occurs while playing Karma. I'm not saying a stun is the perfect solution but I believe it is a good solution.
That's my opinion balance-wise, I believe it would also make her more engaging and fun to play which is the overall goal that needs to be worked on for Karma.
BardDecisions2 votesShe shouldn't need to secure kills too easily, that's the problem with your mindset here. She's not supposed to be a burst carry, or a DPS carry, she's a Utility focused Carry.
If you care about it, go seach on youtube if you can find Pr0lly's demo games on Karma. It's actually extremely easy to abuse your level 2-3 power, and you can effectively zone out your opponent due to your E being OP mainly.
I agree that she might not be the funniest Champion to play, but she does have some interesting play potential. Also most people don't even know how impactful she can be.