Karma Guide - How to Play Karma in Season S12

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Karma Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

Karma can deal a lot of damage in the early game with her empowered Mantra R Inner Flame Q. This will help to get the enemy low for an all-in.

Thanks to her Ultimate Mantra R, she can give her allies a huge shield Inspire E buff that will protect them from incoming damage. It also gives a lot of movement speed which will help her team disengage if needed.

Karma basically has 6 abilities which offer her a ton of different counterplay. Depending on what she needs, she can use either one of her empowered Mantra R abilities.

Weaknesses

Whenever Karma’s Inspire E is down, she is vulnerable to attack and will need to play safely while it’s on cooldown. Karma is squishy, and if she looks to fight when it’s down, she is going to come worse off than the enemy.

Unlike most champions, Karma unlocks her Ultimate Mantra R at level 1. This means that at level 6, she doesn’t have as much pressure in comparison to a lot of other Supports. Pre-6, this isn’t a problem though.

In team fights you need to ensure that you use your empowered Inspire E on your allies and avoid using your Inner Flame Q. Using the wrong empowerment can cost you the team fight.

Game plan

Early game
0 - 15 min

Karma is Strong

Poke the enemy as much as possible with your Inner Flame Q to get them low. Use your early lane dominance to gain a health advantage over the enemy.

Watch your positioning at all times. Karma is super squishy and will easily die if she walks too far forward.

Make sure you place vision around your lane to keep you and your ADC safe. Staying alive is key to winning in the later parts of the game.

Mid game
15 - 25 min

Karma is Average

Go to the mid lane after destroying or losing the bottom lane tower. Rotate with your ADC or hold hands with your Mid laner to prevent the enemy from taking the mid lane tower.

In team fights, use your empowered Inspire E to provide a large shield to your allies. Unless you need to use your Inner Flame Qor Focused Resolve W, you should try to use your Inspire E to help them survive.

Stay with your allies in the mid-game. Do not move too far away from them at any given time as you’ll be an easy target for the enemy. Similarly, do not go to ward unless your allies are nearby and able to help you.

Late game
25+ min

Karma is Weak

Stay with your team in the late game. Getting caught out will result in the enemy forcing a fight or taking the Baron. Avoid straying too far away from them.

Protect your allies as much as possible in team fights. Keeping them alive for as long as possible while dealing damage will increase your chances of winning the game.

In team fights, use your empowered Inspire E to provide a large shield to your allies. Unless you need to use your Inner Flame Q or Focused Resolve W, you should try to use your Inspire E to help them survive.

Power Spikes

Early game0 - 15 min

Karma has a lot of poke damage on her Inner Flame Q, and she can easily CC someone with her Focused Resolve W. Using the lane brushes to land free poke on her enemy laner will allow her to assert dominance in this lane.

Since Karma has her Ultimate Mantra R from the beginning, she won't be spiking too hard at 6. To compensate, Karma will have to play the early laning phase aggressively to completely dismantle the enemy bot lane.

The first item component will increase her poke damage and her mana (using a regeneration or pure mana pool). It will allow her to sustain herself for a longer duration in the lane. It will let her poke her enemies relentlessly.

Mid game15 - 25 min

Karma has a lot of poke damage and utility to offer during the mid-game. It makes her really potent when it comes to dealing with enemies who are always grouped up.

At level eleven, she will have her first ability maxed out. Depending on the ability she maxes, she will either be dealing a lot of burst damage to the enemies, or she will be peeling for her carries very effectively.

Karma shines during mid-game fights as she can keep her entire team safe at any given moment while dealing consistent damage to the enemy. This makes her a really viable choice when dealing with heavy engagers.

Late game25+ min

Karma is quite decent in late-game fights as her kit provides a lot of utility and damage at the same time. This is perfect for her team, especially because her abilities will almost always be up.

She will offer a lot of utility during the late game, especially in neutral, objective fights. Team fights will be really useful due to her Inspire E.

She will have two of her abilities maxed out at level 13, which will give her a huge damage boost and will let her peel for her carries effortlessly. It will be really helpful in winning fights.