I mained Akali all the way through my 20s, she was the first champion I got a rune page for (Which is funny because Akali needed a special rune page that worked on no other champions lol). I had at a time started writing a full guide for Akali awhile back, but I did not in the end as I did not feel I was experienced enough as I was low ELO and Still was really learning the game. She is still very fun to play and strong even after the nerfs. She is a strong champion for anyone who wants to spend the time learning a "main".


Akali is an assassin champion, who can instakill enemy carrys, cause confusion, and sustain like a boss and she does all this from the safety of her stealth. Akali has no CC and would much rather fight in small skirmishes over large teamfights, She has the capability to kamikaze and take 1-2 of the enemy carries with her in fights. She is an energy champion with a low CD burst damage ultimate that is a gap closer with an insane range. Akali despite popular belief is not an EZ win champion, as she requires strategy and timing to play. Skill is what separates the mindless killers from the mastermind assassins here.
TO BE USED TO HER FULL EFFECTIVENESS AKALI REQUIRES VERY SPECIFIC SETS OF RUNES . YOU WILL NEED TO COMBINE YOUR RUNES AND MASTERIES TO GET HER PASSIVES UP TO BE EFFECTIVE.

Passive: Twin Disciplines- Upon obtaining 20 additional ability power, Akali's hits deal 8% bonus magic damage, increasing by 1% for every 6 ability power gained thereafter. Upon obtaining 10 additional attack damage, Akali gains 8% Spell Vamp, increasing by an additional 1% for every 6 attack damage gained thereafter.
This passive is very nice as it gives you a good amount of bonus damage on your auto attks when you build AP (Which makes building AP make your Autos stronger) and Gives you Spell Vamp when you build AD (Sustain off your Magic Damage spells by building AD.) Utilizing these passives with runes, masteries, and in the items you build will be an important part for any good Akali player.

Q: Mark of the Assassin- Akali spins her kama at a target enemy to deal 45 / 70 / 95 / 120 / 145 (+40% of ability power) magic damage and mark the target for 6 seconds. Akali's melee attacks against a marked target will trigger and consume the mark to cause 45 / 70 / 95 / 120 / 145 (+40% of ability power) magic damage and restore 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 energy. Cost 60 energy. Range 600.
This is your first skill, and the mastery of this skill is going to be where the majority of your burst comes from. The throw damage on this skill is ok but if that was it it would leave you VERY underwhelmed. The true power of this skill lies in the fact you can detonate it to deal TONS OF DAMAGE!
Note:The way you can maximize your burst is to Q, and back off. Once your Q comes back off CD, you should dash in (Your auto after your dash will detonate the first Q) then instantly fire off your second Q (The one that just had came off CD) and detonate that one too. This combo if done right can catch enemies by surprise and burst out enemies not expecting it. NINJAD!

W: Twilight Shroud- Akali throws down a cover of smoke that lasts for 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 seconds. While inside the area, Akali gains 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 armor and magic resist and becomes stealthed. Attacking or using abilities will briefly reveal her. Enemies inside the smoke have their movement speed reduced by 14 / 18 / 22 / 26 / 30%. Cost 80 / 75 / 70 / 65 / 60 energy. Range 700.
This is the skill that makes you a Ninja, forget kamas, spinning, or flying kicks. This is your stealth, your veil of night, your greatest weapon! You lay a circle of awesomeness, making you God of all non AoE champions standing in your circle, free to come and go with damage as you please. Be the judge and executioner of anyone in your circle. This skill allows you to play aggressive and stay safe as it gives you a mini brush that only you can use and enemies can never enter AS WELL AS giving you armor/MR while in it. Even if they buy an oracles or a vision ward the bonus stats still make it worth it to fight in your circle if you are going to fight.y
Note:Attack this skill to brushes if possible, it gives you plenty of ways to outmaneuver and juke the enemy.

E: Crescent Slash- Akali flourishes her kamas, hitting nearby units for 30 / 55 / 80 / 105 / 130 physical damage (+30% of ability power) + 60% Attack Damage. Cost 60 energy. Range 325.
You Spin, Weeee. Mostly a waste of energy in an actual fight as it is high cost and low damage. Your main use for this skill will simply be farming.

R: Shadow Dance- Akali moves through shadows to quickly strike her target, dealing 100 / 175 / 250 (+50% of ability power) magic damage. Akali stores an Essence of Shadow on kills and assists as well as every 25 / 20 / 15 seconds up to 3 total. Cost 1 Essence of Shadow. Range 800.

STRIKE FROM THE SHADOWS. This skill is the number 1 assassination move in the game. Good damage, snowbally refresh, low CD, 3 stacks, and long range. No matter what champion they are they cannot escape 3 gap closers longer then flash im sorry. Ahri? NOPE. Ezreal? NOPE.
Teemo? WTF! This skills primary use will be the detonation of your Q marks. Remember if you are getting chased by enemies or become a center of attention you can dash to a different enemy or minion and be safe before coming back in to clean house!


Skill Sequence:
Combo:

Q-(wait for Q to be up again)-R-Q-auto-(W when they turn to focus or for the slow)-
Q-R in sucession for the kill- (E only to kill the enemy or in a really close engagement.)


Teemo (Though considered a counter by many it is only really pre-6, after which you should destroy him, use your first Q to bait out his blind and back off which you would do anyway. When Q comes back up destroy him.), Nidalee (You burst her to hard, she cant sustain and she cant escape), Vladimir (Weak lower levels as well, you will love this lane. Wreck him at 6), Gangplank (pre-6 his pistol is annoying post 6 blow him up), Irelia (You have the advantage early on if you do not use it this will snowball out of control, but if you do it is pretty easy.), Nasus (yea, free kills and he gets no farm), Olaf (cant burst what he cant see, wreck him before he buys an oracles because he will buy an oracles lol), and Jarvan IV (ye he cant auto through your shroud and if he dunks himself in it so be.)

Udyr (Yea, Udyr...), Lee Sin (hes blind, so he sees you. This matchup is not really hard to lane against as you can burst him if he makes you visible with E and just dodge his Qs. It gets hard when his whole team can see you in teamfights because a free oracles is always nice.), Garen (Spins like a boss in your circle, silences you when you come out.), Renekton (Wins like Garen, except hes an interior crocodile alligator), Wukong (Hes a monkey, Hes king, And he has a really big stick. Get owned.), Riven (A good riven will block your Qs with her shield, stun you when you try to detonate, and just wreck you with ult when you try to live), Sion (shield explosion=pain, stun=your death) and Mordekaiser (Numero uno Hue).

Gameplay Example Akali vs Darius:

Play Video
Me as akali top lane vs a Darius. I play this matchup decently. This matchup involves alot of skill. The CS missing is not the skill I mean in this video,just uh... Don't look at that. xD.

• Use your shroud for jukes and other cool things. Remember it also has a slowing component so if you go on the opposite side as your enemy you get a distance lead.
• Murder the person with oracles. MURDER!!!!!!
• Throw your Q then wait for its Cd to come back before engaging if possible.

• You see that circle, don't stand in it!
• Buying a vision ward or an oracles can be a good investment if you know you win in a straight up fight.
• Do not let an Akali reach your squishes or you will not have carrys for the fight.

REMEMBER AKALI'S PASSIVE AS YOU BUY FOR HER IT GIVES YOU ALOT OF GOLD VALUE IF YOU ITEMIZE RIGHT.

Mejai's Soulstealer- Good if you pull ahead in your lane and are just stomping your enemy, turn your amp tome for your revolver to this.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter- Slow, Tankyness, and damage. CORE!

Hextech Gunblade- Gives you a slow, more damage, and sustain. The stats give bonuses in both your passives making this item give you ALOT.

Zhonya's Hourglass- Good if they see you in your shroud and you start to get focused. Gives your team time to react and change the enemy aggro.

Guardian Angel- Im taking you down with me. x2.

Void Staff-OMG they actually bought items to counter me! Better counter them back xD.

Assassins typically will shine in soloQ. There will typically not be enough focus to stop them and take them out, especially Akali with her shroud. If you get ahead in lane you can decimate the enemy carries like it is nobody's buisness. Akali shines on a team with a lot of CC and initiation power.

Akali can Work here, but you need to have a comp centered on the fact you have an Akali. People will be more organized with visions oracles ETC, and will just generally shut you down. You can do well here however if your team has the hard initiate and the coordination to prevent that. Akali is a good pick if the enemy team picks up alot of squishy hard carries like a Vayne or an Ahri (The latter you can chase down all day long).

That is it for the top facts on Akali. Akali is a very strong underused champion. She has a very good carry potential for a player who is skilled enough to learn her in and out and know how to coordinate with their team (and not just run in and die like alot of assassins do). As always summoners I hope you have a good day, good luck on the fields of justice, and have a good 2x IP weekend :P.

SERIES UPDATE:
I plan on releasing these every day/other day until I get all of the top lane picks in the league ( about 50-60 of them) if there are any requests leave in the comments below and ill work on them. I want to make this series for others to better understand the champions of top lane. Once I am done (Or once I have a few top facts out) I will release some Facts about top lane mechanics, eventually I will probably put everything into one generic top lane guide, however until I do that I will continue to watch and update my blogs as needed. Tips and tricks I missed under my Top Facts would be helpful if you put anything I don't have in the comments I will be sure to add it. I will be forming a guide called The complete guide to Top lane or something in that nature. The intention of this series is not as a "Build guide" or a "play guide", these are more like facts you should know about the champion. These are to inspire people to think of new champion possibilities they might not have thought of or to help a new player with the champion. I do not list runes masteries or a set build ( I give a kind of recommended items) in here due to the fact I want people to think of that for themselves and try new things. This series is an attempt for the LOL community to try new things and have fun in a fun game. Thank you for reading and have a nice day :P