- Win Rate
- 48.9%
- Pick Rate
- 1.0%
- Ban Rate
- 0.5%
Karthus Skill Order, Abilities & Cooldowns
- Patch
- 26.19
- Games
- 937
- Lane
- All Lanes
- Tier
- All Tiers
- Last Updated
- Oct 4, 2026 UTC
- Methodology
- Data Methodology
- Author
- Dakota Chinnick
Karthus's abilities include Lay Waste, Wall of Pain, Defile, Requiem, Death Defied. Learn how to use Karthus's Passive, Q, W, E, and R abilities effectively in League of Legends patch 26.19.
- Max order
- Q > E > W
- Levels 1-3
- Q > E > Q
- Ultimate at level
- 6 / 11 / 16
- R cooldown
- 200/180/160s
Death Defied
Karthus Skill Order (Patch 26.19)
1,273 games
Q
E
WKarthus Jungle maxes Q (Lay Waste) → E (Defile) → W (Wall of Pain): 97% of players use this order and win 49.3% of 1,273 games. The usual first three levels are Q → E → Q. Ultimate points go in at levels 6, 11, 16.
QEWKarthus Bot maxes Q (Lay Waste) → E (Defile) → W (Wall of Pain): 97% of players use this order and win 58.8% of 306 games. The usual first three levels are Q → E → Q. Ultimate points go in at levels 6, 11, 16.
QEWKarthus Mid maxes Q (Lay Waste) → E (Defile) → W (Wall of Pain): 91% of players use this order and win 52% of 173 games.
QEWKarthus Top maxes Q (Lay Waste) → E (Defile) → W (Wall of Pain): 89% of players use this order and win 42.6% of 54 games. The usual first three levels are Q → E → W. Ultimate points go in at levels 6, 11, 16.
QEWKarthus Support maxes Q (Lay Waste) → E (Defile) → W (Wall of Pain): 83% of players use this order and win 44.9% of 49 games. The usual first three levels are Q → E → W. Ultimate points go in at levels 6, 11, 16.
Skill order comes from the level-up timeline of every ranked game this patch. The level grid shows the most common path among players who used the top max order.
Karthus Passive: Death Defied
Upon dying, Karthus enters a spirit form that allows him to continue casting spells.
Karthus Q: Lay Waste
Karthus unleashes a delayed blast at a location, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Deals increased damage to isolated enemies.
Ranked up at levels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 in the usual skill order.
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost (Mana) | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 |
| Range | 875 | 875 | 875 | 875 | 875 |
Karthus W: Wall of Pain
Cooldown 15sKarthus creates a passable screen of leeching energy. Any enemy units that walk through the screen have their Move Speed and Magic Resist reduced for a period.
Ranked up at levels 4, 14, 15, 17, 18 in the usual skill order.
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooldown | 15s | 15s | 15s | 15s | 15s |
| Cost (Mana) | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| Range | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Cooldown at 100 ability haste | 7.5s | 7.5s | 7.5s | 7.5s | 7.5s |
Karthus E: Defile
Cooldown 1sKarthus passively steals energy from his victims, gaining Mana on each kill. Alternatively, Karthus can surround himself in the souls of his prey, dealing damage to nearby enemies, but quickly draining his own Mana.
Ranked up at levels 2, 8, 10, 12, 13 in the usual skill order.
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooldown | 1s | 1s | 1s | 1s | 1s |
| Cost (Mana) | 30 | 42 | 54 | 66 | 78 |
| Range | 550 | 550 | 550 | 550 | 550 |
| Cooldown at 100 ability haste | 0.5s | 0.5s | 0.5s | 0.5s | 0.5s |
Karthus R: Requiem
Cooldown 200/180/160s
After channeling for 3 seconds, Karthus deals damage to all enemy champions.
Ranked up at levels 6, 11, 16 in the usual skill order.
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooldown | 200s | 180s | 160s |
| Cost (Mana) | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Range | Global | ||
| Cooldown at 100 ability haste | 100s | 90s | 80s |
Karthus Cooldowns with Ability Haste
Ability haste lowers every cooldown by the same rule: cooldown × 100 / (100 + haste). 50 haste cuts cooldowns by a third and 100 haste halves them. Here are Karthus's max-rank cooldowns at common haste values — drag the slider to try your own build.
| Ability (max rank) | 0 haste | 50 haste | 100 haste |
|---|---|---|---|
| W · Wall of Pain | 15s | 10s | 7.5s |
| E · Defile | 1s | 0.7s | 0.5s |
| R · Requiem | 160s | 106.7s | 80s |
Ability haste cooldown calculator
| Ability (max rank) | Rank 1 | Rank 2 | Rank 3 | Rank 4 | Rank 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W · Wall of Pain | 15s | 15s | 15s | 15s | 15s |
| E · Defile | 1s | 1s | 1s | 1s | 1s |
| R · Requiem | 200s | 180s | 160s |
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Karthus Abilities FAQ - Patch 26.19
What should I max first on Karthus?
Most Karthus Jungle players max Q (Lay Waste), E (Defile), W (Wall of Pain) in that order — 97% of ranked games this patch, with a 49.3% win rate.
What is Karthus's ultimate cooldown?
Karthus's ultimate, Requiem, has a 200 / 180 / 160 second cooldown at ranks 1, 2 and 3. With 100 ability haste the max-rank cooldown drops to 80 seconds.
When should I level Karthus's ultimate?
At levels 6, 11, 16, as soon as each rank unlocks — that is what the most common Karthus skill order does.
What does Karthus's passive do?
Karthus's passive is Death Defied. Upon dying, Karthus enters a spirit form that allows him to continue casting spells.