Matchup
You are stronger late game — farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Katarina
Build adapted to this matchup
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
65%
17%Anti AD
Anti CC
Anti Tank
DPS
Precision
Conqueror
Presence of Mind
Legend: Alacrity
Last Stand
Resolve
Unflinching
Bone Plating
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Gwen
KatarinaKatarina's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Whenever an enemy champion dies that Katarina has damaged recently, her remaining ability cooldowns are dramatically reduced.If Katarina picks up a Dagger, she uses it to slash through all nearby enemies, dealing magic damage.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 11s | 15s | 12s | – |
| 6 | 9s | 15s | 12s | 1m15 |
| 9 | 7s | 14s | 12s | 1m15 |
| 11 | 7s | 13s | 12s | 1m |
| 16 | 7s | 11s | 10s | 45s |
| 18 | 7s | 11s | 8s | 45s |
Playing against Katarina
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
Save a CC to interrupt her R (Death Lotus) — she's very vulnerable during the channel.
Avoid daggers on the ground: don't walk over them and stay away from where they land.
Katarina is weak before level 6 and in short trades without her daggers — punish her early.
Buy MR: her damage is almost 100% magic, even in on-hit builds.
Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 9, 2026