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Kali: The Godess of Underrated

0 2 9,440
by Nikodilay updated March 4, 2014

Smite God: Kali

Build Guide Discussion 8 More Guides
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Kali Build

Starting items

Build Item Bumba's Mask Bumba's Mask
Build Item Fist of the Gods Fist of the Gods
Build Item Potion of Power Potion of Power

During the match

Build Item Qin's Sais Qin's Sais
Build Item Hastened Fatalis Hastened Fatalis
Build Item Heartseeker Heartseeker
Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Malice Malice
Build Item Deathbringer Deathbringer

Kali's Skill Order

Nimble Strike

1 X Y
Nimble Strike
2 13 14 15 16

Lash

2 A B
Lash
1 4 6 7 9

Incense

3 B A
Incense
3 8 10 11 12

Destruction

4 Y X
Destruction
5 17 18 19 20
Nimble Strike
2 13 14 15 16

Nimble Strike

1 X
Kali leaps forward, damaging enemies in the target area. Kali additionally heals herself for a percent of a single enemy's missing Health. Kali always heals from the target that would heal her the most.

Ability Type: Circle, Leap, Damage
Damage: 85 / 135 / 185 / 235 / 285 (+80% of your Physical Power)
Heal: 15% of target's missing Health
Range: 55
Cost: 60
Cooldown: 12s
Lash
1 4 6 7 9

Lash

2 A
Kali throws several blades, that converge upon the target location. Each does damage and causes bleed. Kali gains Physical Lifesteal against targets affected by this Bleed.

Ability Type: Area, Buff, Damage
Damage Per Blade: 37 / 49 / 61 / 73 / 85 (+20% of your Physical Power)
Bleed Damage: 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 (+5% of your Physical Power) every .5s
Bleed Duration: 3s
Physical Lifesteal: 12 / 16.5 / 21 / 25.5 / 30%
Range: 70
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 12s
Incense
3 8 10 11 12

Incense

3 B
Kali hurls her incense at her feet, exploding it. Enemies hit are Stunned, while Kali gains a Physical Power bonus.

Ability Type: Circle, Stun
Stun Duration: 1.2s
Physical Power Buff: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30
Buff Duration: 4 / 4.5 / 5 / 5.5 / 6s
Radius: 20
Cost: 60
Cooldown: 14s
Destruction
5 17 18 19 20

Destruction

4 Y
Kali becomes an unstoppable force of destruction, creating a damage aura around her. During this time, she can be reduced to 1 Health, but cannot die. She is immune to Knockup, Slow effects, and protected from Root, but still vulnerable to Stuns. If Kali is under 15% of her total Health at the end of the duration, she will heal to 15% Health.

Ability Type: Circle, Buff, Damage
Damage: 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 45 (+8% of your Physical Power) every 0.5s
Duration: 3.5 / 3.75 / 4 / 4.25 / 4.5s
Radius: 20
Cost: 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100
Cooldown: 90s

Introduction

Hi! My name is TheNikodilay! (Though this site says i am only "Nikodilay") I made this guide for people who are thinking about using Kali in the jungle. I personally am a god rank 6 Kali, and I am climbing my way to the legendary god rank 10 as we speak! Hope you learn something



PRO'S
  • Snowballing potential
  • Her 1v1
  • Sustain
  • Burst damage

CON'S
  • Squishiness (Can be built tanky for more survivalbillity Runic Shield and Witch Stone )
  • Her terrible TERRIBLE early game

Skill order


Skill order:


First i go Lash, because it is the obvious choice. It is her most damaging ability, and it gives her lifesteal against creeps, meaning she has more sustain in the jungle

Secondly i choose Incense. When you stun someone, you get a window of freedom, where you can pound your damage on your target. The extra scaling physical power you get from Inscense is very good, when you want to burst your enemy down.

I choose Nimble Strike over Kali's ult, because, even though you upgrade her ult first, it's only gonna be 1 sec longer, and it's only gonna do 20 damage more per tick, even when it is fully upgraded. Nimble Strike is therefore better, because it is good for giving the killing blow on enemies, running away from you.

This is an amazing tower diving ability, and also does a little bit of damage. The specs you get from upgrading Destruction, are not that great. Therefore, it is the last skill I personally upgrade.

Items


Items:



Things to note!


NOTE! I have found not building crits on Kali worse, than buying other items.

NOTE2! Buy beads as second active. It was not on the item list, don't know why, but it synergises very well with her ult

Qin's Sais is almost bugged on Kali i think. Because of her hit chain, it is crazy good, and this is an item you wanna rush on her. When this item is finished, you are gonna do some killing

Hastened Fatalis is gonna make your hit chain faster and your movement awesome. It is gonna give your Qin's Sais hits, even more power. Hastened Fatalis also makes sure, you do NOT have to buy sprint on her, leaving an active slot open for beads.

Heartseeker gives you movement, which is crucial. And it is also the item that gives the most physical power in the game, when fully stacked. It gives you power!

People are going to disagree with me getting Warrior Tabi late, but I feel and i've found, that the other items are more important on Kali.

Malice is when you will being to crit. This is were you will build up your insane hyper carriness, mix this with Deathbringer , and you've got yourself a crazy cocktail.

Deathbringer is there to give you 50 extra physical power, and to give your crits extra damage, and more likeability to happen.

How should i play Kali?

!Note! Make sure to tell your team who your target is, so that they don't accidentely mean you die



How to act in teamfights


In teamfights you should not engage with your jump, that is your escape along with your ult. You want to try to get behind people and surprise them, and makes sure to try to pick people out because of your burst ability. This way you get the upperhand.


Ganking:


You should gank people with care early game. When you finish your Qin's Sais, that is when you can start being agressive. Ganking with her is pretty simple. Don't use your 1 to engage, use that as en escape or to finish someone off. Walk behind them, use your 3, and then 2 so that you gurantee to hit all 3 blades, and then just AA them to death. Always have your 1 ready to escape with if things get out of hand.


Clearing camps:


Clear the camps by attacking once to group them up, and then use your 2 to hit all 3 blades. Then just AA


Counters:


Any god that has Damage over time, such as Zhong Kui's 1 or Ao Kuang's 3, is very bad for Kali. Because if they hit you with that, and you ult. Even though you get away from them, they still kill you. Also anyone that counters your 3, thus CC immunity is bad for Kali.

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1
MadDanny (34) | March 4, 2014 8:01pm
Sometimes. You don't need Hastened if you have: a stun and a leap. Just don't try to initiate with leap if they have a leap swell
1
Chiulin (31) | March 4, 2014 6:46pm
I'm going to actually review this to give some tips that maybe haven't been covered.
Thanks to Subzero008 for the review format. :D

Build



So the build. You have zero lifesteal. I know that this isn't necessarily required, but it is helpful. You can't always rely on your passive, nor is Bumba's Mask going to help you the entire time. Once you get in teamfights. Well Bumba's is useless. You have Hastened Fatalis it could very easily be replaced with Asi for the attack speed and lifesteal. On top of that you get a decent amount of penetration which your build lacks.

That's the second problem. You have 1 penetration item. I know your passive helps with penetration, but you still need penetration items. The Executioner is amazing on AA gods like Kali. However it would bring you over the Attack speed cap. So Titan's Bane could be used as well.

Now your build is extremely inflexible. Heartseeker is definitely a situational item and should not be bought every time. Add more situationals. The way you made it seem. Qin's Sais, Deathbringer, Malice, and Warrior Tabi are your core build. Now your other 2 slots should be a mixture of situational items. What if their team is all CC. Maybe throw in a magi's blessing? A lot of defense on their team? Maybe an extra penetration item. So on and so forth.

Item Descriptions



Some of them are okay, like the Qin's Sais description. However, none of them are great and some of them are awful. Explain exactly why you need to buy these items. Not "People are going to disagree with me getting Warrior Tabi late, but I feel and i've found, that the other items are more important on Kali."

Skills



I haven't played much Kali. However, I don't really agree on not upgrading your ult whenever you can. As far as your descriptions on them, you don't describe how to use each one. That's not really a good thing. All you explain is why you upgrade them when you do. You need to explain how and when to use them.

Gameplay



This part is lacking greatly. You don't say anything about the laning phase and taking camps when and why. You don't mention how to start the game. Your teamfight section doesn't tell me who to attack first to be most effective. The counters part tells me almost nothing. It tells me the problems, not the solutions. This needs major improvement.

General



You listed situationals in the pros and cons. This really rustles my Jimmies.
The BBcoding isn't bad, but could use a little work.

That's about all I have to say. I'm going to have to downvote this. I hope you can improve on it so that I can possibly upvote it later.;)

Again thank you Subzero008 for your review format. First time I've actually used it since I asked for it. xD
1
Greenevers (105) | March 4, 2014 1:36pm
The build is so much better, but still isn't what I would use. You definitely could go boots+heartseeker but if I'm jungling, you already spent much money for bumba's and you have less room for other items. I usually don't get hastened fatalis/fatalis with kali because even if you build almost entirely power items, kali's basic attack chain progression is still incredibly fast(later game). And I would get either the boots or heartseeker earlier in the game, whichever you want. I suggest warrior tabi> heartseeker on kali though. Heartseeker is better with gods with good sustain and more focused cdr for escapes if you're squishy. Definitely still could pull it off. But you need the movement speed either way early game. Qin's Sais is also very expensive to finish if you're going to rush that as a jungler, along with heartseeker 200 more expensive than warrior tabi and its tier 3 perk comes up late after being expensive since you need to farm stacks. What about actives and such explaining what to do in other situations(other than your hog/fog)? I would have purification beads as a viable active item since her ult does not make Kali immune to stuns. Or a girdle of might or something for her high burst right before she pops her 3 to 3 hit that nigga

After your change, still don't agree with your skill numbering. I would start out with nimble strike if jungling for some sustain early game with the lifesteal and a handy dandy escape if you make a mistake. Then go lash/incense. I prefer maxing out incense for the nice buff after you pop it. And for most any god you should put a point in your ult whenever you can; 5,10,15, and 20. Instead of waiting for 17,18,19,20.

Even with changes, although a bit better, I find this guide lacking information and somewhat not good overall. Downvote for me :(. And gave you a rep for that Jordenito on point lol
1
Ant1FascistMilitant | March 4, 2014 5:16am
Thought Nu Wa was the goddess of underrated, ***** must be coming up.
1
Nikodilay | March 4, 2014 4:26am
Jordenito wrote:

Way wayyy to much attack speed. You'll be over the cap in no time if you buy Asi and Hastened Fatalis in the same build. I myself have a strict rule: Never get Asi and Hastened Fatalis in the same build. It's too much attack speed and you are missing on a lot of physical power with these two items. Additionally you put witch stone which I also think isn't a good idea if you get one/two of the above items.

eye of retaliation is more of a bruiser item than an Assassin item especially on Kali, who I'm pretty sure we can defy as a 'hyper-carry' (correct me if I'm wrong). Oh, and I just noticed you don't know this, but as of the recent Agni patch, eye of retaliation provides 40 physical power and 15 protections, while the passive grants you 20 physical power above 50% health and 20 protections when below 50% health. It's no longer a lifesteal item, and when it was, Bloodforge and devourer's gloves bested it every single time.

What about situational items?

Kali is a super-focused auto-attack god. You said it yourself. Than where are Malice & Deathbringer? For every auto-attack based carry, you need crit items.

I'm no Kali expert, but I think you should put a point into your ult whenever possible. The .25 seconds might not seem like much, but they sure do help, I can assure you. Needless to say, leveling her other skills isn't so useful because she is an AA based god. Lash is mainly for the early wave clear and sustain and Nimble Strike is for chasing and escaping. Incense is useful for the insane physical power bonus and the insane duration it has, but the stun doesn't scale.

The Pros and Cons are messed up. No, underrated isn't a pro, and she isn't underrated at all,. Just underplayed, that's all. Her general pros are her superb late game, her snowballing potential, her 1v1, sustain and her burst. Her general cons are her squishiness and her horrific early game. BTW, her damage overtime is one of the best in the game, because she is auto-attack based, she can constantly crit for 600 damage.

The items explanation is okay... though like I said, there's too much attack speed in your build. Also, Don't you think you should get Warrior Tabi earlier? I mean, sure Hastened Fatalis grants you some movement speed, but as a jungler, you should get shoes as first or second item. Needless to say, you are not Bakasura, you do not have high movement speed to begin with.


You don't put enough (if at all) emphasis on Kali's game phases. Unarguably, she has one of the terrifying late games. Up there with Chronos and Artemis. But, again, much like them, her early game is poor. She isn't worth sh!t early game.


This guide lacks overall. The build is bad, to say the least, the skill order, I don't agree with it... you don't explain much on how to play her, in team fights, her game phases... and it lacks some BBCoding.

A downvote from me. Sorry for the harsh criticism.

Here are some guides to help you out. Don't forget to upvote them if they've helped and you've liked them.

General Guide to making Guides

Beginner's BBCoding Guide


Hey thanks for the comment! I tried to fix some of the things you were talking about, and I looked at the BBC code thread. I changed some stuff that I realise is better for Kali, and even though you made some suggestions regarding the skill points, I kept it the way it was, seeing as it is the best way IMO.

Thanks for the help :)
1
Jordenito (66) | March 3, 2014 11:46am
Chiulin, you make me smile :)
1
Chiulin (31) | March 3, 2014 8:44am
I don't think it can be said any better Jordenito. You deserve a rep for this.
1
Jordenito (66) | March 3, 2014 4:24am
Way wayyy to much attack speed. You'll be over the cap in no time if you buy Asi and Hastened Fatalis in the same build. I myself have a strict rule: Never get Asi and Hastened Fatalis in the same build. It's too much attack speed and you are missing on a lot of physical power with these two items. Additionally you put witch stone which I also think isn't a good idea if you get one/two of the above items.

eye of retaliation is more of a bruiser item than an Assassin item especially on Kali, who I'm pretty sure we can defy as a 'hyper-carry' (correct me if I'm wrong). Oh, and I just noticed you don't know this, but as of the recent Agni patch, eye of retaliation provides 40 physical power and 15 protections, while the passive grants you 20 physical power above 50% health and 20 protections when below 50% health. It's no longer a lifesteal item, and when it was, Bloodforge and devourer's gloves bested it every single time.

What about situational items?

Kali is a super-focused auto-attack god. You said it yourself. Than where are Malice & Deathbringer? For every auto-attack based carry, you need crit items.

I'm no Kali expert, but I think you should put a point into your ult whenever possible. The .25 seconds might not seem like much, but they sure do help, I can assure you. Needless to say, leveling her other skills isn't so useful because she is an AA based god. Lash is mainly for the early wave clear and sustain and Nimble Strike is for chasing and escaping. Incense is useful for the insane physical power bonus and the insane duration it has, but the stun doesn't scale.

The Pros and Cons are messed up. No, underrated isn't a pro, and she isn't underrated at all,. Just underplayed, that's all. Her general pros are her superb late game, her snowballing potential, her 1v1, sustain and her burst. Her general cons are her squishiness and her horrific early game. BTW, her damage overtime is one of the best in the game, because she is auto-attack based, she can constantly crit for 600 damage.

The items explanation is okay... though like I said, there's too much attack speed in your build. Also, Don't you think you should get Warrior Tabi earlier? I mean, sure Hastened Fatalis grants you some movement speed, but as a jungler, you should get shoes as first or second item. Needless to say, you are not Bakasura, you do not have high movement speed to begin with.


You don't put enough (if at all) emphasis on Kali's game phases. Unarguably, she has one of the terrifying late games. Up there with Chronos and Artemis. But, again, much like them, her early game is poor. She isn't worth sh!t early game.


This guide lacks overall. The build is bad, to say the least, the skill order, I don't agree with it... you don't explain much on how to play her, in team fights, her game phases... and it lacks some BBCoding.

A downvote from me. Sorry for the harsh criticism.

Here are some guides to help you out. Don't forget to upvote them if they've helped and you've liked them.

General Guide to making Guides

Beginner's BBCoding Guide
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Nikodilay
Kali: The Godess of Underrated
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