Katarina combos

Overview

Katarina has a relatively straightforward combo game that, outside of CH 4, doesn't require a lot of execution to pull off optimally. Her combo damage is above-average, and since she doesn't get to combo often at high levels, extracting the maximum from your combos is vital. Part of this is successfully carrying opponents to the wall, since she does good damage at the wall, and does ridiculous damage when in rage. She has flexible ways to vary her wall carry, and outside of the extremely optimal, her combos are quite consistent on all characters. She can struggle a bit with off-axis combos.

Bread n' butter

Bread n' butter combos are juggles that:

Work on as many different launchers as possible
Work on all body sizes

Launchers that require unique combos go straight to § Staples.

Regular launch (e.g. uf+4,4): df+1 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

Launcher to HAR (e.g. CH 4,4,4,F): HAR.1 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

Instant screw (e.g. f,F+2,4): dash d+2,F HAR.1 4,4,4,F HAR.df+3

Crouching recovery (1) (e.g. CH FUFT.3): ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

Crouching recovery (2) (e.g. CH FUFA.3): cc d+3,4 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

Mini-combos

[14] CH HAR.1: [+41] dash b+1,F HAR.1 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]; [~+40] d+3,4 ...^[2]; [+38] f,F+3 dash OTG.d+3+4^[3]; [+34] f,F+3 ub+4^[4]^[5]

[24] CH HAR.df+3: [+22] dash OTG.d+3+4; [+18] ub+4^[5]; [+16] f,F+3^[6]

[28] CH FC df+4: [+22] dash OTG.d+3+4; [+18] ub+4^[5]; [+16] f,F+3^[6]

[25] CH df+3+4: [+22] dash OTG.d+3+4; [+18] ub+4^[5]; [+16] f,F+3^[6]

[20] HAR.3: [+22] dash OTG.d+3+4; [+18] ub+4^[5]; [+16] f,F+3^[6]

[37] b+4, 1+2
[24] CH d+1
[24] df+3,3^[7]
[21] CH (d+3),4
[20] CH (1,1),1
[20] CH 4^[8]
[20] f,F+3
[20] HAR.uf+3
[20] 1,1,3
[20] f+1+2
[20] CH (3,3,3,3),3: [+18] ub+4^[5]

[24] db+3: [+18] dash ub+4^[5]^[9]; [+18] ub+4^[7]

[30] uf+3+4: [+18] dash ub+4^[5]^[9]; [+16] f,F+3^[1]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 only on bears
↑ only with the wall on the left side
↑ OTG.d+3+4 can be evaded by bigs if they hold B. Allows a mixup between OTG.d+3+4 and b+2 (launch) or uf+3 (+21 dmg) if they hold B. Alisa can evade it with her special getup. Bears can avoid this mixup entirely by using their OTG.1+2 after getting hit by Kat's CH HAR.1, which causes the f,F+3 to CH and push them too far away for follow-ups to connect. See here for more details.
↑ follow-up is more consistent with a micro-SSL after f,F+3
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 ^5.4 ^5.5 ^5.6 ^5.7 leads to a mixup on hit
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 ^6.3 leads to a mixup on hit
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 only at the wall
↑ ub+4 needs to be done quickly; only adds +16 dmg
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 dash timing is strict; doesn't connect at tip ranges

Staples

Staple combos are juggles that:

Can be done consistently by a skilled player
Either work on all body sizes, or the characters it does work on are comprehensively listed
Are not strictly worse than another combo listed in terms of difficulty, damage, wall carry, and oki

uf+4,4: [72] dash 4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [71] iws4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [70] d+2,F HAR.D ws4 df+1 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [70] d+2 4,4,4,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]

ws2: [72] dash 4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[2]^[3]; [70] df+1 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

[27] CH f,F+3
[27] uf+3
[24] db+4
[24] CH HAR.uf+3
[24] CH HAR.2
[20] b+2
[20] CH (1,1),2
[0] low parry: [+52] 4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[4]; [+51] iws4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [+50] d+2,F HAR.D ws4 df+1 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [+50] d+2 4,4,4,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]

(1,1),4: [73] 4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]; [71] b+1,F HAR.D ws4 4,4,4,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [68] b+1,F HAR.D ws4 df+1 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

CH d+2,F: [72] HAR.D iws4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

[21] CH d+2
[20] CH df+4: [+52] 4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]; [+51] iws4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

[27] f,F+2,4
[24] CH (f,F+2),4
[24] CH (3),4: [+31] dash d+2,F HAR.1 4,4,4,F HAR.df+3; [+30] dash 4 b+1,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.4^[5]; [+30] dash df+4 b+1,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.4

CH b+4: [72] 4 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]^[6]; [70] d+2,F HAR.D ws4 df+1 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

CH f+3: [77] df+1 d+2,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [74] df+1 4,4,4,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

CH 4,4,4,F: [67] HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [63] HAR.1 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

CH 4,4,4: [69] d+2,F HAR.1 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [63] d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

CH 4,4: [68] b+1,F HAR.d ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [64] df+1 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

CH 4: [66] f,F+4 S! df+1 d+2,F HAR.1 b+1,F <HAR.1 ub+4^[7]; [63] f,F+2 df+1 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

[12] CH FUFT.3
[12] CH FDFA.3: [+48] ws4 b+1,F HAR.D ws4 d+2,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

[12] CH FUFA.3
[8] CH FDFT.3: [+43] cc d+3,4 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Does not work against bears
↑ dash is not visible, but necessary for 4 to connect
↑ can skip the dash for Bears and Miguel (and ??)
↑ b+2 requires an initial microdash for 4 to connect on bears
↑ good for wall carry
↑ only works on big-body types
↑ magic 4 must CH at point-blank range

Wall

Wall slump: [37] f+4 R.HAR.1+2; [28] f,F+3 ub+4^[1]

Regular carry (30% scaling): [43] df+1,1,F R.HAR.1+2^[2]; [41] b+1,F <R.HAR.1+2^[2]; [26] df+1 4^[3] 3,3,3,3,3; [23] 1^[4] df+1 3,3,3,3,3; [21] df+1^[4] 3,3,3,3,3; [21] df+1 1 1,1,1 ^[3]; [20] (4),4,4,F HAR.4^[5]; [20] ws1,1,F HAR.4; [18] df+1,1,F HAR.4; [16] 1 df+1 ub+4^[6]; [10] b+4,3+4^[6]; [7] uf+3+4^[6]

↑ After wall slump f,F+3 when off-axis, ub+4 can whiff. You have a few frames to sidestep and realign but this may still whiff. Doesn't work on a reverse splat, since f,F+3 only spikes vs face-up opponent.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 With a clean splat, b+1,F needs to delay rage drive slightly to hit the slump state. If the wall carry used up a wall hit by hitting the wall low, you need to do b+1,F~R.1+2 with no delays. Otherwise, df+1,1,F is more damage, but b+1,F is more range.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Only works vs Armor King, Bears, Bob, Ganryu, Gigas, Jack-7, King, and Marduk.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Skip the jab when you can't get to the wall in time.
↑ requires spacing out the first 4 to whiff
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 leads to a mixup situation if the opponent techrolls

Balcony Break

If a balcony is broken with a wall break move, follow-ups will hit at 50% scaling. Any combo that works for CH f,F+3 will work in this situation.

tailspin not used (24% scaling): [+12] df+2,4 wr3; [+11] 2,2 wr3

tailspin used (24% scaling): [+4] f+3^[1]; [+5] uf+3; [+5] f+4 HAR.4; [+6] wr3; [+8] dash d+2,F HAR.4

↑ a frequent mis-input for wr3

Floor Break

1+3 throw: [58] d+2 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! f,F+4; [58] d+2 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! f+4 HAR.4; [57] d+2 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! f+4 HAR.df+3; [57] df+2,4 S! df+1 b+1,F HAR.4; [54] df+2,4 S! f,F+4

FB! after 0 filler: [+22] d+2 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [+14] df+2,4 S! f,F+4

FB! after 1 filler: [+12] df+2,4 S! f,F+4; [+12] df+2,4 S! f+4 HAR.4; [+11] df+2,4 S! f+4 HAR.df+3

FB! after 2 filler: [+11] df+2,4 S! f+4 HAR.4; [+10] df+2,4 S! f+4 HAR.df+3

FB! after 3 filler: [+10] df+2,4 S! f+4 HAR.df+3

FB! after 4 filler or after tailspin: [+7] b+1,F HAR.4; [+6] b+1,F HAR.df+3; [+5] uf+3

FB! after W!^[1]: 4 W! df+1,1,F R.HAR.1+2; 4 W! SS^[2] f,F+3 ub+4; 4 W! df+1 4 3,3,3,3,3^[3]; 4 W! dash 1 df+1 3,3,3,3,3^[4]; 4 W! dash df+1,1,F HAR.4^[4]

↑ 1,2 can also be used instead of 4 for a re-wall splat (and +1 dmg), but it is less consistent
↑ SS direction should be that which re-aligns with the opponent
↑ Only works vs Armor King, Bears, Bob, Gigas, Jack-7, King, and Marduk.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 combo will whiff without the initial dash

Off-axis

Kat's combo tools are generally unstable on off-axis opponents. Useful pickup tools off-axis are b+1,F and df+1. Useful screw tools off-axis are HAR.df+2,3 and 2,2. Useful enders are b+1,F HAR.4, f,F+4 and d+2,F HAR.4. It is recommended to quickly step to re-align if possible (e.g. after a bound) before picking up from a launcher (e.g., after a SSL hopkick whiff punish, quickly do a SSR before d+2). It is *not* recommended to use Katarina's rage drive as an ender off-axis since it does not lead into the throw animation. It is instead recommended to use RA after the screw for more damage when in rage.

[20] uf+4,4: [+41] d+2 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! b+1,F HAR.4

[20] ws2: [+36] df+1 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! b+1,F HAR.4

After a bound on a backturned opponent, uf+4,4 d+2 will flip the opponent the right way up to continue the combo. A better option is to use a non-launching BT punisher.

Extras

Extra combos are juggles that are:

Strictly worse than one of the § Staples; or
Too inconsistent to be a staple; or
Joke combos for style points.

Max Damage

This section could do with more detail.

[20] uf+4,4: [+54] d+2 4 d+2,F HAR.1 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]; [+54] dash 4 d+2 4,4,4,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[2]

[20] CH df+4
[20] CH (1,1),2: [+54] dash 4 d+2 4,4,4,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[2]

[20] CH 4: [+49] f,F+2 df+1 d+2,F HAR.1 b+1,F <HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [+49] f,F+4 S! dash d+2,F HAR.1 4,4,4,F HAR.df+3

↑ does not work on bears
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 does not work on Bob, Dragunov, Gigas, Jack-7, King, Miguel, Marduk, Armor King or Fahkumram

BM

[20] CH df+4
[20] CH (1,1),2: [+50] 1+2+3 d+3,4 b+1,F HAR.D ws4 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4; [+49] 1+2+3 d+3,4 b+1,F HAR.1 b+1,F HAR.df+2,3 S! d+2,F HAR.4^[1]

↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjWqUOS9S3c&ab_channel=TeamKat

Tools

Pickup

Move	Notes
df+1	fastest, most consistent pickup tool; works on all body types; least damage
b+1,F	good pickup tool that works better than df+1 for off-axis situations and when the opponent is low to the ground; HAR dash adds good carry
d+2	used in most staple combos; good damage; causes bears to move too far away for pickup
d+3,4	useful pickup tool for late pickup situations e.g. CH d+2,F > HAR.1+2; the throw will whiff, but you can still pickup with d+3,4
iws4	must be done rapidly; high damage
4	highest damage; very finicky off-axis, on non-standard body types and on non-favourable juggle states; sometimes requires a microdash to pick up; highest damage

Filler

Move	Notes
df+1
b+1,F
4,4,4,F
d+2,F
ws4
HAR.1

Tailspin

Move	Notes
2,2	fast, very consistent screw option; least carry; least damage
3,4
df+2,4	slower screw option that can drop off-axis; medium carry; medium damage
HAR.df+2,3	need to be in HAR to perform (filler must transition to HAR); very finicky off-axis and on non-standard body types; generally requires a deep HAR dash; long carry; high damage
f,F+4	must be done before any filler hits, since it cannot be input fast enough otherwise; highest damage tailspin option; good for when you want shorter wall carry to get a wall splat

Ender

These moves are used after a tailspin.

Move	Notes
d+2,F > HAR.4	highest damage; balcony break; decent carry; can delay HAR.4 for more carry
b+1,1	good damage; high wall splat; longest carry
HAR.4	below average damage; consistent ender option for faraway screws
HAR.df+3	least damage; very consistent, long-range ender option for faraway screws
d+2,F > HAR.2	floor break
d+2,F > R.HAR.1+2	rage ender; less damage than doing rage art after tailspin

External links

[bears-only-1] 1.0 ^1.1 only on bears

[2] y with the wall on the left side

[3] OTG.d+3+4 can be evaded by bigs if they hold B. Allows a mixup between OTG.d+3+4 and b+2 (launch) or uf+3 (+21 dmg) if they hold B. Alisa can evade it with her special getup. Bears can avoid this mixup entirely by using their OTG.1+2 after getting hit by Kat's CH HAR.1, which causes the f,F+3 to CH and push them too far away for follow-ups to connect. See here for more details.

[4] w-up is more consistent with a micro-SSL after f,F+3

[ub4-mixup-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 ^5.4 ^5.5 ^5.6 ^5.7 leads to a mixup on hit

[ff3-mixup-6] 6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 ^6.3 leads to a mixup on hit

[wall-only-7] 7.0 ^7.1 only at the wall

[8] ub+4 needs to be done quickly; only adds +16 dmg

[dash-ub4-9] 9.0 ^9.1 dash timing is strict; doesn't connect at tip ranges

[no-bears-10] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 Does not work against bears

[ws2-4-pickup-11] sh is not visible, but necessary for 4 to connect

[no-dash-bigs-12] skip the dash for Bears and Miguel (and ??)

[bear-b2-dash-13] +2 requires an initial microdash for 4 to connect on bears

[wall-carry-14] r wall carry

[bigs-only-15] y works on big-body types

[ch-4-ff4-16] 4 must CH at point-blank range

[17] After wall slump f,F+3 when off-axis, ub+4 can whiff. You have a few frames to sidestep and realign but this may still whiff. Doesn't work on a reverse splat, since f,F+3 only spikes vs face-up opponent.

[rage-ender-18] 2.0 ^2.1 With a clean splat, b+1,F needs to delay rage drive slightly to hit the slump state. If the wall carry used up a wall hit by hitting the wall low, you need to do b+1,F~R.1+2 with no delays. Otherwise, df+1,1,F is more damage, but b+1,F is more range.

[bigs-only-19] 3.0 ^3.1 Only works vs Armor King, Bears, Bob, Ganryu, Gigas, Jack-7, King, and Marduk.

[regular-ender-20] 4.0 ^4.1 Skip the jab when you can't get to the wall in time.

[21] requires spacing out the first 4 to whiff

[flipover-22] 6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 leads to a mixup situation if the opponent techrolls

[23] requent mis-input for wr3

[24] 1,2 can also be used instead of 4 for a re-wall splat (and +1 dmg), but it is less consistent

[25] SS direction should be that which re-aligns with the opponent

[bigs-only-26] Only works vs Armor King, Bears, Bob, Gigas, Jack-7, King, and Marduk.

[dash-req-27] 4.0 ^4.1 combo will whiff without the initial dash

[no-bears-28] s not work on bears

[no-big-boys-29] 2.0 ^2.1 does not work on Bob, Dragunov, Gigas, Jack-7, King, Miguel, Marduk, Armor King or Fahkumram

[30] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjWqUOS9S3c&ab_channel=TeamKat

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