Katarina vs Zoe

Katarina
vs
55.1%

over 760 games

Zoe

Favorable matchup

High burstHeavy AP damageCountered by spell shieldHeavy poke

You are stronger early. Look to snowball before your opponent scales.

Build vs Zoe

Build adapted to this matchup

Recommended items for Katarina: Lich Bane, Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass, Sorcerer's Shoes, Dark Seal, Rabadon's Deathcap, Kraken Slayer, Hextech Gunblade.

Starting items

Dark Seal
Refillable Potion

Core build

Lich Bane
1
Shadowflame
2
Zhonya's Hourglass
3

Standard

Sorcerer's Shoes
4Magic pen
Dark Seal
5

Summoner spells

FlashDot91%
BoostFlash4%

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Dark Seal
Rabadon's Deathcap
Kraken Slayer
Hextech Gunblade
Terminus
Blade of The Ruined King
Mejai's Soulstealer
Void Staff
Nashor's Tooth
Seeker's Armguard
Death's Dance
Banshee's Veil
Stormsurge
Jak'Sho, The Protean
Wit's End
Experimental Hexplate
Tiamat
Guardian Angel
Stridebreaker
Titanic Hydra
Liandry's Torment
53.7% WR108 games
DominationDomination
ElectrocuteElectrocute
Sudden ImpactSudden Impact
Grisly MementosGrisly Mementos
Relentless HunterRelentless Hunter
PrecisionPrecision
Coup de GraceCoup de Grace
TriumphTriumph
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Zoe's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

More Sparkles! (P)

Zoe's next basic attack after casting a spell deals bonus magic damage.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
38.5s0.25s18s–
67.5s0.25s18s11s
96.5s0.25s18s11s
116.5s0.25s18s8s
166.5s0.25s16s5s
186.5s0.25s14s5s

Playing as Katarina

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Pick up your daggers

    Pick up your daggers in trades and teamfights: Voracity (passive) then hits every nearby enemy, and each dagger picked up lowers the cooldown of Shunpo (E).

  2. Shunpo to your Q dagger

    After Bouncing Blade (Q), blink to its dagger with Shunpo (E): it lands behind your target, and picking it up triggers Voracity (passive).

  3. Hit everyone before the kills

    In teamfights, hit as many champions as you can before they go down: when one of them dies, Voracity (passive) sharply lowers all your cooldowns.

  4. Death Lotus after their CC

    Cast Death Lotus (R) once the enemy CC is used: it's a channel, and a single CC is enough to cancel it.

Playing against Zoe

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Dodge her bubble

    Dodge Sleepy Trouble Bubble (E): asleep, you take double damage from the hit that wakes you, often her Paddle Star! (Q).

  2. Aim at her return point

    During Portal Jump (R), aim at her starting position: she returns there after 1 second, and can't move in the meantime.

  3. Don't step on her bubbles

    Don't walk onto a bubble left on the ground: a Sleepy Trouble Bubble (E) that hits nothing turns into a trap.

  4. Ward behind the walls

    Ward the hidden spots behind walls near your lane: Sleepy Trouble Bubble (E) reaches farther over a wall, and Zoe hides there to set it up.

Patch 16.21.1