A Catherine mirror probably won't be able to do anything to you. Ignore her and focus down her teammates. Build a Crucible quickly to stop her ult and stuns.
1
Phinn
Phinn really won't be able to touch you. Just make sure you don't let your allies get pulled in by Forced Accord.
2
SAW
Saw isn't really that big of a threat to you due to Stormguard. If he's weapon, build an Atlas Pauldron to slow him down- and try to deal with him before your Stormguard goes down.
2
Ardan
Not that big of a threat. He'll beat you 1v1, but if you only engage as a team (Like you should be doing!) he won't be an issue- remember to build a crucible to negate his ult.
2
Ozo
Not dangerous unless the Ozo is extremely good, in which case focusing him is a good idea. Otherwise, focus the other carry first. Build a Crucible to block his Ult.
2
Taka
Taka's an annoying bastard, but can't do shit to you. If he attacks you, just stun him and pop Stormguard, and drop a flare so he can't sneak away.
3
Celeste
Very powerful, but very squishy. Stick to her and try to stop her from landing Core Collapse- stun her if you see it coming. Heliogenesis and Solar Storm are hard countered by Stormguard.
3
Fortress
Not a threat to you, but avoid teamfights when his ult is up- he becomes deadly, and my God are his wolves annoying.
3
Kestrel
Not a huge threat to you, but she can burst down your teammates very quickly. Carry flares, and try to body block her ult/glimmershots with stormguard to keep your allies alive. Stun her and she's probably dead, because she's ridiculously frail.
3
Reim
His abilities will reflect back more damage to him if he hits you with Stormguard up. Stun him often and try to avoid his spires to stop him getting reinforced health. Don't get cocky though- if your Stormguard goes down, you will not be able to escape, and you will die.
3
Ringo
Not a huge threat to you, but he can be very annoying for your teammates. Build a crucible to save your teammates from the burns of his ult.
3
Rona
Not that scary for you, but she can destroy your teammates if played right. Save your stuns for her ult if possible and build an atlas to slow down her attacks.
3
Grumpjaw
Grumpjaw's attack is nothing special, so as long as you're not being a moron you should be fine. Watch out for his Ult, regardless of who it's targeting it can end a teamfight before it begins. Stun him to stop that from happening, and be ready with a crucible to block it.
3
Flicker
Is he dangerous to you? No. Is he dangerous to your allies? HELL YES. He can anticipate your ambushes, ambush you, set up invisibility for the entire enemy team, and slow your allies to the point of no escape. Flare up, you're gonna need it.
4
Adagio
Get a crucible to block the stun from his ult. Ignore if he's a roamer, but if he's a carry stick to him like glue.
4
Alpha
There's not a ton that Alpha can do to you in a teamfight- just don't get caught alone with her. Watch out for her ult- pop Stormguard if you see it coming.
4
Blackfeather
Build an Atlas. Stick to him, but don't solo him- stun him often to stop him from shredding your teammates. If he targets you in a teamfight he's screwed.
4
Joule
Your Stormguard will totally negate her ult and Thunderstrike. Stun her when she starts up her ult, or if your allies aren't in it you can keep Stormguard up and stand in it to reflect a ton of damage back to her team- your choice.
4
Krul
1v1 he'll annihilate you, but if you're fighting a Krul 1v1 you're playing Catherine wrong. Carry flares so he can't ambush you, and build an atlas so you can slow his attacks down. Stun often.
4
Lance
Roots, stuns, and rolls (oh my!). Lance has a ton of utility as a roamer, with decent damage to boot. If Lance is roaming, DO NOT FOCUS ON HIM. He'll tank it all and your allies will get murdered by their carries. As a roam, he's pretty much useless alone. If he's laning, silence him and focus their other carry first. If he's jungling, kill their carry and then work on him.
4
Gwen
Gwen is a massive pain in the ass. Her Buckshot Bonanza will ruin your ambushes, and if she's crystal it'll also hit like a truck. She's frail, so kill her quickly in a teamfight. You'll also have to plan your ambushes around her A, so sit further back in the bush until the moment before you strike to avoid buckshot to the face.
4
Baron
Baron can either be a godsend or a nightmare for you to face. If he's crystal, you're fine. Walk into his Ult and A with Stormguard up and watch his allies run. (Make sure Stormguard doesn't run out before it hits!) If he's weapon, stun him and kill him quickly, he can burst down your carries. Do NOT group up when facing him, or his attacks will hit all of you.
4
Samuel
Samuel's a pain in the ass, but not super dangerous if played against correctly. Keep your eyes peeled for his ult and avoid it (Crucible to save your allies if necessary) and body-block his A when necessary (preferably with Stormguard up).
5
Idris
Idris is a mixed bag as an opponent. If he's good, he'll stick to your carries like glue, avoid their attacks, and take them out. If he's bad, he'll get killed almost instantly or hang so far back that he's useless. Depending on his skill level, focus him or the carry. If by some chance you're facing him alone, run.
6
Glaive
Stun him often, and build atlas and crucible to negate him. The biggest risk is that he'll separate you from your teammates- don't let it happen. Stun him out of Afterburn or Crucible it.
6
Koshka
With recent updates, Koshka has become a pain in the ass to deal with. Focus her down, because her burst damage will shed your carry in no time flat.
6
Lyra
Lyra is a nightmare to face as a roamer. She can heal her opponents, give them speed boosts, slow your allies, and still pop off decent damage with an AC. If her allies aren't well-fed, stun her and silence her while your allies target their carries. Otherwise, focus down her carries quickly. If she's a laner, KILL HER QUICKLY- she'll be rather frail.
6
Vox
Vox is one of the more dangerous heroes for you to face in a teamfight. If your allies group up, his resonance will quickly deplete your Stormguard, leaving you vulnerable. Stay out of Resonance range of you allies, and stun him quickly.
7
No Threat
8
No Threat
9
No Threat
10
Petal
Petal is one of the deadliest characters Catherine can face. If she is Crystal Power, she'll deplete your Stormguard almost immediately with her munions. If she's Weapon Power, her munions will slip under your Stormguard and shred you. Be very careful when playing against her.
10
Skaarf
Skaarf is one of the biggest pains in the ass to face as a Catherine. His flames ignore your Stormguard, and he can wear you down very quickly. Stun him out of his ult, and focus him down- he'll go down very quickly.
10
Skye
Her Forward Barrage slips right under your Stormguard, allowing her to shred you very quickly. Stun her if possible, and avoid her Forward Barrage if it's prudent (but body block if necessary)
This is a fairly comprehensive guide to Catherine, one of my personal favorite heroes. I've done my best to make this beginner-friendly, but there is also a lot of info for more advanced players as well. Hope you enjoy it!
Catherine is one of the most underused roamers in the game at the moment, but still one of the most useful. Thanks to Captain of the Guard, her sustainability increases drastically as the game drags on. She can stun very consistently with Merciless Pursuit, she can take a ton of punishment once she has an upgraded Stormguard, and her Blast Tremor is one of the best initiator moves in the game. Let's break her abilities down now. (Hover over icons to see description)
Catherine's Heroic Perk, Captain of the Guard, is an extraordinarily useful late-game ability for Catherine as a roamer. Every time Catherine stuns or silences an enemy hero, she gains 1 additional permanent armor and shield. Due to this heroic perk, it is essential for Catherine to use her Merciless Pursuit and Blast Tremor efficiently, so as to maximize her sustainability late game. A good Catherine player can often get 50+ stacks of Captain of the Guard during a game, dramatically increasing her bulkiness.
Merciless Pursuit is Catherine's bread and butter. It stuns opponents and simultaneously buffs her tankiness through Captain of the Guard. When activated, Merciless Pursuit gives Catherine a burst of move speed and replaces her next attack with a more powerful stun attack, dealing 10-170 bonus damage (+100% Crystal Ratio). While it may be tempting to use Merciless Pursuit with abandon, it drains energy rather quickly. Thus, Merciless Pursuit should be used prudently- don't use it if it won't benefit you or your team, or will put you in a worse position. Use it often- but use it intelligently.
Even though Captain of the Guard gives Catherine an edge over other roamers when it comes to bulk, Stormguard is the real reason Catherine is such a danger in teamfights. When Stormguard is activated, a bubble forms around Catherine that lasts for 6 seconds. Any damage dealt to Catherine while Stormguard is up that is greater than 77 (+7 per level, so 144 at level 12) is deflected back to any nearby enemies, while decreasing the remaining duration of Stormguard by 0.5 seconds. This means that Catherine is nearly impervious to any attack that deals damage all at once, allowing her to easily tank moves such as Kestrel's One Shot One Kill, Joule's Big Red Button, or SAW's Roadie Run. This opens up a myriad of possibilities for body blocking, and ensures that Catherine can stick around and keep stunning and tanking for the duration of any teamfight.
Blast Tremor is a ridiculously powerful move, capable of changing the trajectory of an entire teamfight within the span of a second. When Blast Tremor is activated, Catherine slams the ground in front of her, damaging and silencing enemies in a large cone in front of her. Blast Tremor does 375-625 damage (+130% Crystal Ratio), which is a respectable amount of damage. However, the reason Blast Tremor is so dangerous is not the damage, but rather the silence (lasting 2.5-3.5 seconds) it inflicts, and it should not be used primarily to damage opponents. If Catherine can catch 2 or 3 opponents in this at the beginning of a teamfight, it is often enough for her carries to burst down one or more enemies, practically guaranteeing a successful teamfight and possibly an ace. Blast Tremor should only ever be used on one opponent if doing so will secure an ace or an essential kill. In lower tiers (1-6), it is generally advisable to open a teamfight with this in order to incapacitate the entire team. However, in higher tiers (7-10), roamers are often prepared for Catherine's silence, and will block it with Crucible. In fights at this tier, it is advisable to either ambush them from a bush, depriving them of the opportunity to anticipate and block the silence, or wait until the fight is underway and their roamer is paying less attention to you.
Playstyle
Catherine is a roamer, NOT A CARRY! This means that you have obligations to your team that you wouldn't as a jungler or laner. In addition, Catherine is a very defensive hero, even as far as roamers go. She is mostly incapable of heavily damaging heroes (exceptions are when she activates Blast Tremor, as discussed above, and when she has Aftershock). Her main perks are mostly focused on increasing her bulk or incapacitating her opponents so her allies can kill them. She is very defensive, and should be played as such. If you find yourself building offensive items on Catherine, then you're playing her wrong (exceptions discussed below). Her job is to support and protect her teammates, not to kill the opponents.
Obligations as a Roamer
"Seeing an enemy isn't a problem. It becomes a problem when they disappear"
Vision, Vision, Vision: Always have Scout Traps and Flares on hand, and use them often- it's your job to know where your allies and enemies (as much as possible) are at all times! If the enemy keeps triggering your Scout Traps, mix up their placement in the bushes- but make sure you replace them!
Bodyblocking and General Sacrifice: Your life is worth much less than your teammates'- always block moves like Skye's Forward Barrage, and sacrifice yourself so your allies can escape if necessary
Ganking: Gank the enemy laner often. Catherine makes an excellent ganker with her Merciless Pursuit- if you can keep a fairly regular threat in lane it will be much harder for the opposing laner to farm. Ganking is important for all roamers, but it is essential for Catherine, in order to allow her to consistently stack Captain of the Guard
Positioning: Simply put, be where your team needs you most. Most games, you'll be in the jungle 80-90% of the time early game, but if your laner is getting destroyed in lane you may have to spend most of your time there
Teamwide Items: Your job is to keep your allies alive, not yourself. NEVER build items like Metal Jacket that only benefit yourself- build items that keep your teammates alive! In addition, get really good at timing items like Crucible and Fountain of Renewal
Other Playstyle Notes
"You were an adequate meatshield, and no one can ever take that away from you"
Focus on the better-fed or more dangerous enemy carry during a teamfight. Stun them, and stick to them like glue- ping your team to focus them as well. Do NOT target the enemy roam (unless their name is Lyra, in which case you have to make a judgement call as to which will benefit your team more)
Keep track of your allies' health, and remember to use your items to keep them alive
Don't 1v1 an opponent unless absolutely necessary- you do almost no damage on your own, and you should always be out supporting your teammates
Remember to avoid overextending, and to coordinate with your teammates
Whenever you walk into a bush, always check for enemy Scout Traps, and refresh yours if they were triggered
In update 1.19, SEMC changed the mechanics of roam quite a bit. They drastically reworked Ironguard Contract, making ambient gold a feature independent of items, as well as adding Dragonblood Contract and Protector Contract. This leads to a few new strategies and questions regarding roam that every Catherine player should know the answer to. Before reading, watch this video (while it is a little dated, it gets the point across nicely):
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the producer of this video, I am using it purely because it very aptly demonstrates the points I am trying to make
In essence:
The jungler should now be the one to tank the minions, not the roamer
If your jungler does not want to tank, you can force them to by engaging the minions and then leaving their aggro range
In the video, two types of rotations were discussed: Standard and Advanced. As of 2.2, these rotations are now obsolete. Given that their is no jungle shop until four minutes, you and your allies should immediately rush to the bottom outside camps and take your minions there first. From there, either take the shop monster or rotate back up (this will be discussed in more detail later)
New Optimal First Item Choices
Based on the above video, the best three items for most roamers to pick from are as follows: Oakheart, Dragonblood Contract, and Protector Contract. In general, the best first item for a Catherine to get is Oakheart. This is because the increased utility you will gain throughout the game from ramping health early (increased durability in fights, improved bodyblocking) will almost always outweigh the very temporary early game bonuses gained from Dragonblood Contract or Protector Contract. The only time you should ever be buying a contract is if your opponents can snowball you early (looking at you, Koshka) or if you know your jungler is an overaggressive moron but you can't afford to let them die. In addition, it is generally wise to pick up a Hourglass as well for the energy regen, as the initial gold for each character is now 625.
Although everyone has their own unique style with any hero, Catherine's optimal build as a support generally looks something similar to this.
Purchase Walkthrough
This is the path that you should be trying to follow throughout the game. Remember, every battle is different- feel free to mix this up a bit if it's beneficial to your team!
As any roamer (but especially Catherine), you want to rush Fountain of Renewal first. Fountain is an extremely useful item in teamfights, and allows your opponents to keep fighting for much longer. This can give you a massive edge in early teamfights, especially if the enemy roamer doesn't have it. When you visit the shop the first time, you should have enough to buy Fountain of Renewal, Sprint Boots, and a few Scout Traps and Flares. Use the Scout Traps often, and stay stocked up.
Early Game (4:00-8:00)
THis part of the game is possibly the most dangerous for Catherine, as she has high-energy costing abilities but little energy reserves or regen. If you're having trouble keeping enough energy, you can pick up an Energy Battery. Ideally, you won't have to do this, but occasionally it's necessary. As always, keep stocked on Flares and Scout Traps. By 8:00 you should have completed, or be close to completing, this section of the build.
Midgame
By this point, you should have picked up a Crucible (sub for a Contraption if you're facing a Kestrel, a Flicker, or a Taka, or sub for an Atlas Pauldron if facing SAW, Blackfeather, Glaive, or Krul) and War Treads for team repositioning. Again, pick up an Energy Battery if necessary to keep up with the increased cost of your abilities- if you run out of energy during a teamfight you're nearly useless. By 15:00 you should have completed or be close to completing this part of the build
Late Game (15:00-Game End)
The essential items for you to have built are Fountain of Renewal, Crucible, War Treads, and Contraption. Stormcrown and Atlas Pauldron can be subbed out situationally (discussed below). Work to max your build as fast as possible in order to maximize your utility for your team. Crystal Infusions can be used after your entire build is maxed- NEVER BEFORE.
Situational
Aftershock: Aftershock can be subbed out for Stormcrown if you are steamrolling the enemy team and would like some burst damage, but it does reduce cooldowns less and doesn't give any additional energy
Bonesaw: If multiple opponents are building armor and your weapon carry (or carries, if your teammates are morons) are having a really tough time, Bonesaw is an acceptable substitute for Stormcrown to shred opponents' armor and give them a hand
Shiversteel: Personally, I dislike Shiversteel, but if your allies are having trouble sticking to your opponents and Atlas Pauldron is not necessary (e.g. there are no weapon power enemies or crystal power enemies that rely on basic attacks), then Shiversteel is a passable alternative
Nullwave Gauntlet: Personally, I found Nullwave Gauntlet to be kind of underwhelming in a fight on Catherine, as Catherine has a built in upgraded version with Blast Tremor. However, if you're finding that three seconds of silence isn't enough to give you the edge in a fight before the opposing roam starts healing your opponents, then you can consider Nullwave Gauntlet as an option
Echo: While fun to mess around with, you shouldn't need 7 seconds of silence to win a match- and given that Echo will only benefit you a couple times a game, it's a pretty heavy sacrifice to switch out a different item for it. If you do choose to use it, switch it for Stormcrown so your energy needs are covered, but not overly so
IMPORTANT: In an earlier version of this guide, I stated that Clockwork was the superior alternative to Stormcrown in most cases. However, with new updates buffing Stormcrown and with a bit more playtime with it, it is almost definitive that Stormcrown is objectively better on Catherine than Clockwork. This is for a few main reasons: The cooldown decrease on Clockwork is no longer significantly better than on Stormcrown, Stormcrown gives additional health (which is never bad on Catherine), and most importantly, Stormcrown in tandem with Contraption should be giving you all the energy regen you need. You should never run out of energy once those two items are built- if you find yourself running out consistently, you need to reevaluate how you use your abilities. Work smarter, not harder.
Fountain of Renewal is a staple of all roam builds, regardless of hero, for obvious reasons. It allows you to heal your allies when they are on low health, giving them a second wind. It is more effective the less health they are on, so try to time it so that your allies are on fairly low health when you use it- but not low enough that they'll die before it takes effect! Remember, Fountain of Renewal is for your teammates- don't just use it on yourself!
Another staple of most roam builds, War Treads are incredibly useful for your team. They can be used to chase after fleeing opponents, to disengage from a teamfight that your team might otherwise lose, or to help your allies relocate to a more advantageous position during a teamfight. Do not underestimate the utility of War Treads- and once again, remember: They're for your team, not you!
Crucible is an essential item for Catherine to build to protect her teammates. It is one of the most versatile defense items in the game, able to be used to escape Ardan's Gauntlet, Lyra's Bright Bulwark, other Catherine's Blast Tremors, among other moves. It can also be used to save a teammate from dying by giving them a little extra health at a crucial moment. Use it wisely- the cooldown is long enough that it can only be used once a teamfight.
Stormcrown can be subbed for alternative items as listed above, but it is the preferred item in this build for a few reasons. It gives Catherine enough energy to reasonably never run out during the middle of a teamfight, ensuring her utility. It also reduces cooldowns by 30%, meaning that in tandem with Contraption Catherine's Stormguard will only take 3 seconds to reactivate once it goes down, and making her Blast Tremor usable much more often. It also aids tremendously in taking objectives quickly, and gives Catherine a little bite during teamfights. Stormcrown increases Catherine's utility by a very large margin.
Atlas Pauldron is probably the item that can be most easily subbed out on this set, but against many opponents it is essential. Atlas Pauldron cripples many attack speed based heroes, such as Krul, Glaive, SAW, Ringo, and Blackfeather. Really, it is a solid pick against any weapon power hero, so unless your opponents are all crystal power Atlas Pauldron is a solid, or even essential, pick.
Contraption ensures that Catherine can perform one of the main duties of a roamer: Preventing her team from getting ambushed, and increasing her map awareness. Contraption is especially important against heroes such as Taka and Kestrel that can disappear but are revealed by Scout Traps and Flares. It's also very useful against any hero (but especially Krul) ambushes. Contraption has one other crucial use- cooldown. It now reduces cooldown by as much as Clockwork, but is still actually useful for Catherine! Contraption is key to being a good roamer.
It is generally accepted that Catherine should overdrive her Stormguard over her Merciless Pursuit, but the gist of the argument will be explained here. (Note: Blast Tremor is always maxed simply because it is too good not to max- the additional cooldown from overdriving it is immensely beneficial)
Beginning Catherine players often max Merciless Pursuit for two main reasons. The first is that the damage increases from 130 to 170, enhancing Catherine's ability to chase and finish low-health opponents. This, while useful, is a negligible increase in damage at level 12, meaning that there is little benefit from upgrading Merciless Pursuit from a damage perspective. The other reason Merciless Pursuit gets maxed is that the stun is increased from 1 second to 1.2 seconds. However, an extra 0.2 seconds of stun are hardly ever going to tip the balance of an engagement, and as such there is no real point to maxing Merciless Pursuit.
Stormguard is what makes Catherine so immensely tanky, and as such should be upgraded as often as possible. Stormguard reflects back all damage over a set limit to nearby enemies. For levels 1-4, the damage is simply reflected, not modified. However, when Stormguard is overdrived, its reflected damage then deals an addition 25% damage to nearby enemies. By maxing Stormguard, Catherine has the potential to deal much more damage to enemies than she ever could with Merciless Pursuit.
"It's not important to win. It's important to make the other guy lose."
Early Game (0:00-8:00)
Start out by immediately running to the jungle camp closest to where the shop spawns, and take those minions first. As the minions spawn, flare the opponents' shop bush to check if they're taking their minions. If they aren't, bait the shop monster to your side and kill it. If they are, call your laner down and pull the shop monster over. If they engage in a fight, harass their jungler so your allies can take the shop monster, then iget out[/i], unless they're getting annihilated. Catherine has a weak early game, so for the first ten minutes or so, try to avoid unnecessary teamfights and rotate between jungling with your jungler and ganking in lane, staying with one or the other more as necessary. As of 2.2, you'll generally want to stay in lane more, since jungle fights are a bit less in meta at the moment, and with the Crystal Miner even a semi-competent jungler should be able to take care of themselves. Remember to constantly refresh Scout Traps, and use Flares to avoid getting ambushed.
Mid Game (8:00-15:00)
By this point you should have a few tier 3 items. Try to keep your team together (especially when you go down to the jungle together) and remember to keep refreshing vision. Use Flares, and if you get the chance to ambush one enemy alone as a team, do it- it will make it much easier to win a teamfight or take objectives. Pick and choose when you initiate teamfights- if it's not advantageous to start one, just back off.
Late Game (15:00-Game End)
You should have a maxed build by 20:00-25:00, and with that you should be able to tank a lot of damage. From here, you need to always stay with your team- DO NOT split up, as it is likely one of you will be ambushed and killed, meaning you will lose any teamfight until they respawn. Move with a lot of caution, using Contraption to ensure you don't walk into an ambush. Try to catch one enemy alone and kill them- if you succeed, track down the others and kill them, and then get Kraken and push. Be very careful when initiating teamfights- if you don't think you'll win, STAY AWAY. An ace this late in the game can easily lose you the game.
On Jungle Fighting
With the advent of the new Crystal Miner, jungle fights have taken a turn. To put it simply, do not ever engage opponents in their own jungle unless you have overwhelming numerical superiority (3:1), they are all almost dead with ults and items exhausted (and your team isn't), or their Crystal Miner is dead. Engaging under any other circumstances is a great way to get your *** handed to you on a silver platter. On a similar note, if your team is being annihilated pull back to your jungle with War Treads to give yourselves an edge.
How to Place Scout Traps (And Why They're Important) Top
"Knowing is half the battle!"
Scout Traps are one of your best tools as a roamer. Why? Because Scout Traps allow you to know where your opponents are, and by extension, where they are not. With vision, you and your teammates can avoid traps, set ambushes, and play at a higher level than is possible without vision. Scout Traps are essentially stationary Flares, which makes them much more cost-effective when placed correctly. (Unless you're facing opponents who go out of their way to trigger them). This means that the best placement for a Scout Trap is one where it never gets triggered. With that in mind, here's a map of some of the best Scout Trap placements and their priority. This assumes that your team is on the left.
Green: Green locations are the highest priority locations for scout traps. You should always (within reason) have Scout Traps roughly where the green dots are located. Remember, if the opposing team keeps triggering them, feel free to mix up the location. In addition, the tribush Scout Trap can be located in any of the three corners, that one just happens to be most optimal.
Blue: Blue locations are the next highest priority. Place these within reason, but don't go overboard. The reason these locations are so useful is that they allow you to read the enemy team and know where they are. By knowing where they are, you can better protect your teammates and ambush your opponents.
Yellow: Yellow Scout Traps should be placed if you're winning and want a bit more of an edge, or just have the money to burn. These are more useful late game, when you need a more nuanced knowledge of your opponents' movements and have a bit more cash to burn.
Red: Red should only be used if you are worried about your opponents ambushing you in your own jungle. This will only ever occur late game after the Crystal Miner is gone, so there's no real need to stress over these ones.
Remember: only buy Scout Traps within reason. You need to keep getting permanent items, or you'll become a burden to your team. If your opponents keep triggering your Scout Traps, switch up their locations. If that doesn't work, consider switching to Flares until you get the much more cost effective Contraption.
The threat list at the top of this guide deals with the relative danger of enemies to Catherine. However, since Catherine is a roamer and is obligated to protect her team as well, this section looks at enemy heroes and the threat they pose to your team. Remember: Much of this is dependent on the skill of the opponent, as well as the skill of your team. This is also extremely dependent on the current meta, so take this with a grain of salt. When in doubt, target the higher damage dealer.
Adagio|Threat to Team: Medium
If Adagio is going weapon power, treat him similarly to Ringo or Saw. Pick up an Atlas Pauldron and move on with your life. If he's going Crystal Power roam, however, you'll have to stun and distract him while your allies finish off his carries, or he'll heal them and they'll kill your team. If he's going Crystal Power carry, finish him quickly before he can spam Gift of Fire. Try to stun him out of his Ultimate, but just in case pick up a reflex block so you can block its stun for your team.
Alpha|Threat to Team: Medium
Alpha can burst down your allies quickly, and her ult can destroy your entire team. When she's channeling her ult, pop Stormguard and stun her near the end of it so she can't jump to your teammates- as a bonus, you'll reflect a lot of damage back at her team. Stick to her if possible, and stun her often to keep her from annihilating your allies.
Ardan|Threat to Team: Low
Ardan is a hero that you will often encounter in the current meta. Most of the time, he won't be able to do a ton to your team, but Blood for Blood can leave a mark, especially on squishier attackers. Keep a Crucible handy for his Gauntlet, and try to burst down his carries.
Baron|Threat to Team: Medium
Baron can shred your allies in a second if he makes contact, but luckily his abilities are insanely predictable. So long as your allies aren't morons, you'll be fine. However, since you can't rely on your teammates not to be stupid, stick to the Baron like glue if they show even the tiniest shred of competence. Make him target you, not your allies.
Blackfeather|Threat to Team: High
Able to burst down your allies very quickly and chase them across the map, Blackfeather is a menace to play against. He can use his Rose Offensive to avoid your Merciless Pursuit and Blast Tremor, so you'll have to be smart and try to outpredict him to stop him from killing your allies. Pick up an Atlas Pauldron if he is Weapon Power to make him more managable.
Catherine|Threat to Team: Medium
Other Catherines will most likely be incapable of dealing much damage to your allies. Get a Crucible early to block her Blast Tremor, and don't waste it on blocking her Merciless Pursuit unless it will save one of your allies. Try to get her to focus her stuns on you. If she does, congratulations! You're enemy is a moron!
Celeste|Threat to Team: Medium
Celeste can nuke your team if left undisturbed. Don't leave her undisturbed. She's extraordinarily squishy, so focus her first to remove her damage from the teamfight. Whenever possible, block Solar Storm so your teammates don't get shredded.
Flicker|Threat to Team: High
Flicker is a nightmare to face as a roamer. He can ambush your allies, slow them so they can't escape, root them, ruin your ambushes, and even turn his entire team invisible to ambush yours. Flare the **** up, you're gonna need it. Kill his allies quickly, focusing him is a waste of time.*
Fortress|Threat to Team: Medium
Fortress is a dangerous hero, not just for what he can do alone, but for what his abilities do for his team. Truth of the Tooth and Law of the Claw are dangerous if landed on an ally, and Attack of the Pack can singlehandedly turn teamfights around. If he's a roamer, burst his carries down. If he's a jungler, stun him to stop him from landing his abilities. Try to avoid engaging him if Attack of the Pack is active.
Glaive|Threat to Team: Medium
Glaive's Afterburns can completely seperate your teammates from you, so you should attempt to stun him out of it (this will take practice). Once he's used Afterburn, however, he won't be able to use it for a few seconds, so it's not necessary to focus him unless he's the main carry for the opposing team.
Grumpjaw|Threat to Team: Low
Grumpjaw isn't especially dangerous with his basic attacks, and even his Hangry ability isn't frightening unless your allies are stupidly frail. (Even then, a Merciless Pursuit is usually enough to save your allies.) The only thing to watch out for with Grumpjaw is his ult- it can give your opponents the numerical superiority they need to win. Luckily, Catherine can either stun him out of his ult or Crucible and save your allies- so there's really not much Grumpjaw can do to your team.
Gwen|Threat to Team: High
Depending on how frail your allies are, Gwen can either be a joke or a nightmare. If you have frail teammates, she'll rip right through them, so you'll have to do what you can to stop her. Unfortunately, she can avoid your stuns with Skedaddle, so you'll have to body block her A with Stormguard up to deter her attacks. Outside of that, there's not much you can do to stop her except target her down, because she can shake off pretty much everything you can do with no trouble at all.
Idris|Threat to Team: Medium
Idris poses a serious danger to unskilled opponents, as he can avoid ever taking damage from them if played correctly. Luckily, there is a solution! Stun him, and he'll go down in a heartbeat. So long as you play carefully, he won't be able to shred your carry.
Joule|Threat to Team: Medium
Her stuns can be painful for your team, but once you've stunned her she's pretty much a goner. Consider building Bonesaw to counter her heroic perk, and stay in front of her to keep her from using Thunderstrike or Big Red Button on your allies. Stun her out of her Ult if possible.
Kestrel|Threat to Team: Medium
Capable of ridiculous sustain damage if Weapon Power or prolonged invisibility and insane burst damage if Crystal Power, Kestrel is not to be trifled with. If facing a Weapon Kestrel, use Stormguard and body block her Glimmershots and One Shot One Kill so she can't kill your allies. If facing a Crystal Kestrel, cover the ground in Scout Traps. Get Contraption as fast as possible, and place them everywhere- in every bush, in lane, in chokepoints- stop her from ambushing your team if at all possible. Stun her and she's probably dead though, because she's ridiculously frail.
Koshka|Threat to Team: Medium
Koshka's powerful early game no longer drops off hard in the midgame and endgame. She can shred your team through most of the game if you don't have extremely bulky allies, so stun her if at all possible. 9 out of 10 times, you're gonna want to focus her down first. Don't engage her early if you can avoid it, and pick up a Crucible for her. If you have noting more important to block (e.g. Gauntlet, Blast Tremor), you can block her ult when she targets your teammates.
Krul|Threat to Team: Medium
First off, don't let him ambush you. Build Contraption quickly, and flare every bush before your team enters it mid-late game. If you facecheck a bush that Krul is in, you might lose your face. Krul is deadly in 1v1s, but in a teamfight he is fairly easy to negate if handled properly. Build Crucible to block his Ult, Atlas Pauldron to slow his attacks, and pressure him with stuns to try to get him to focus you- or at least stop him from building weakness stacks on someone else. Ping your team to focus him down- Krul excels in sustained fights.
Lance|Threat to Team: High
If Lance is going weapon lane, focus the other carry first and then him. If he's roaming, stun him while your allies focus on his carries. He's very mobile, and can stun or root your allies, so you'll need to stun him and screw up his positioning. A helpful combo is Merciless Pursuit + War Treads so your allies can shuffle their positioning while he's stunned.
Lyra|Threat to Team: High
Lyra is a ridiculously versatile hero. As a laner, she hits ridiculously hard with her basic attacks. You'll have to stun her and burst her down extremely quickly. A good combo is Blast Tremor from the bushes + Merciless Pursuit, while your allies focus her. KILL HER FIRST, WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE. If she's roaming, often you'll want to incapacitate her while your allies burst down her carries. If your team fails to burst her carries, she can heal them and teleport them away. Again, Blast Tremor from bushes + Merciless Pursuit works well.
Ozo|Threat to Team: Low
Unless the Ozo is extremely good, he's not that big of a threat. Don't group up with your team to minimize his lifesteal from Three Ring Circus. If he's annihilating your team, focus him. Otherwise, leave him to his monkey business and focus the other carry.
Petal|Threat to Team: Medium
Although dangerous to Catherine, Petal will go down quickly in a teamfight. Watch out for her Ult, and try to get her to focus you so your allies don't have to worry about her Munions. Stunning her is useful, but the mother of all plays against Petal is to absorb her Spontaneous Combustion with Stormguard and throw it back at her team.
Phinn|Threat to Team: Low
Phinn is as bulky as they come, and with his passive he gains even more health as the game goes on. However, he can't hit your allies for a lot of damage (Unless they are super squishy and slow, it's easy to avoid Quibble), and he is very slow. Build Crucible early in order to protect your teammates from his Forced Accord, don't let your allies focus him, and you'll do just fine. For God's sake, please just don't try to stun him.
Reim|Threat to Team: Medium
Reim is slow, but very dangerous if left alone. His spires give him an insane amount of reinforced health, making him hard to kill. Stun him and avoid his spires while having a ranged ally kite him to death.
Ringo|Threat to Team: Medium
Very squishy. If he's going heavy weapon, take him down first. Pressure him and try to get him to focus you, as Stormguard will mitigate most of his damage.
Rona|Threat to Team: Medium
Rona's Ult is dangerous, and her slow is difficult to avoid. Focus her and have your ranged hero take her down, or she'll lifesteal more than you can do to her. Do your best to stun her out of her Ult.
Samuel|Threat to Team: Medium
Two words: splash damage. Samuel's A can burst down your entire team while healing him (thanks, Eve of Harvest) if you group up with your allies. The easiest solution? Don't get hit! The realistic solution (because people are incompetent)? Body block, preferably with Stormguard. This negates most of his healing and should send the greater part of his attack back at him. If you don't have Stormguard up, still body block to save an ally, but try not to make a habit of it, as giving opponents free health is generally frowned upon.
Saw|Threat to Team: Medium
Saw can shred through unprepared teams in a matter of seconds, but with a little preparation it's pretty easy to neuter him, so long as you remember to always focus him first. Pick up an Atlas Pauldron early if he's Weapon Power to shut him down, and consistently stun him to kill his Spin Up stacks. Try to force him to target you- he can quite easily kill himself on your Stormguard if he's not careful.
Skaarf|Threat to Team: Medium
The king of poke. Skaarf can melt through your team with his Ult, and he can poke your allies to death from far away. On the other hand, he's very squishy- he can be bursted down quite easily. During a teamfight, target him down and stun him. Body block his Spitfire. Do your best to stun him out of his Ult when he is channeling it or using it. However, at higher tiers Skaarf will reflex block while channeling and an ally will crucible while he is using it. In that case, use War Treads to get the hell out before you all burn to death.
Skye|Threat to Team: High
Skye is an absolute monster to face. She can shred your team with Forward Barrage, and reposition across the battle with Suri Strike. Stun her, silence her, body block her Forward Barrage if possible. Kill her quickly or your team will die.
Taka|Threat to Team: High
Able to assassinate your allies in the blink of an eye and then disappear to regain health, Taka may not pose much of a threat to you, but he can annihilate your squishier teammates if you're not careful. Carry lots of Flares and Scout Traps, and build Contraption early to really ruin his day. As soon as he disappears, drop a Flare- be careful, he may double back towards you in an attempt to trick you. If possible, don't use Merciless Pursuit on him instantly when you see him- wait until he has used his Kaiten so he can't avoid your stun.
Vox|Threat to Team: High
When facing Vox, you have to keep your entire team out of Resonance range. This leads to potential issues like allies being out of range of your Fountain/Crucible, so you'll have to be careful. If you go too close together, he can shred all of you simultaneously. Pick up a Crucible for his Ult to stop the silence (note: it will still apply Resonance). Stun him quickly and stick to him.
Catherine pairs well with a lot of heroes, especially skillshot-reliant heroes due to her ability to lock them in place. Notable pairs are listed below.
Joule: Another skillshot-reliant hero, Joule appreciates Catherine's lockdown capabilities for her Thunderstrikes and Big Red Buttons, allowing her to melt right through squishier carries. Joule and Catherine can also chain stuns to incapacitate enemies for quite a long time.
Glaive: Glaive can chain stuns with Catherine as well, allowing him plenty of time to shred through opponents
Baron: Baron works extremely well with Catherine, as he can nuke a stunned hero. Do your best to coordinate with Baron, and you can erase opponents in an instant.
Grumpjaw: Although Grumpjaw isn't great on its own, by combining his ult with Catherine's disruption, you can wreck an enemy team and clear the way for your carry to shred them one by one. Also notable is the turretcarry comp, where Grumpjaw grabs a hero and brings them under your turret, and then Catherine stuns them to ensure their death.
Really, Catherine synergizes well with most heroes- no ally is going to object to a stun or a silence or a meatshield. Played properly, she is a valuable asset to any team.
Catherine is an extraordinarily rewarding roamer to play once you get good with her, and she is one of the most fun characters in the game to play. She is incredibly versatile, and has great synergy with a lot of common carries. Catherine is a uniquely defensive hero, and should be played as such. Even though she's not very common in the meta right now, she's still a solid pick in most (if not all) games.
Hey guys, AzureAbsolution here. If you made it this far, thanks for reading my guide! If you have questions, suggestions, feedback, or there's something else you'd like to see, please leave a comment! I'll be updating this periodically, so make sure to check back! Thanks for reading!
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One Shot One Kill
Big Red Button
Roadie Run
Forward Barrage
Ironguard Contract
Energy Battery
Clockwork
Gauntlet
Bright Bulwark
Glimmershot
Heliogenesis
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