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Akali Build Guide by ZeRbErUs666

AP Carry [5.7] Akali aka. OMG

AP Carry [5.7] Akali aka. OMG

Updated on September 12, 2015
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League of Legends Build Guide Author ZeRbErUs666 Build Guide By ZeRbErUs666 133,667 Views 4 Comments
133,667 Views 4 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author ZeRbErUs666 Akali Build Guide By ZeRbErUs666 Updated on September 12, 2015
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Spells:

LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite

Ignite

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Intro

Hi my Name is ZeRbErUs666. I am a gold ranked EUW player and I play since end of season 3.
Why i write a Akali Guide? - Because I think she is a very strong champion even if she has some problems in teamfights.
I would be very proud if you guys give me some hints in the comments if you find mistakes (Also spelling-mistakes etc. :D).

Okay let's start:
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Update

Hey guys. In this section I want to list all things I changed in the guide if I do so. I want that you guys see at one view what I have changed. If you didn't read the guide yet you just can skip this chapter.
Changes:
  • March 31th 2015: Matchups: Zed is downranked to 2 and more matchup informations are added.

I also want to list you what I want to add in future.
Future Content:
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About Akali

Why to play Akali:
  • She has mobility ( Twilight Shroud and Shadow Dance)
  • She has tons of damage
  • If she get early kills she can easily snowball
  • No Mana
  • Sustain of doom (Especially with Hextech Revolver)
  • Easy ganks when roaming
  • Easy to learn
  • Fun to master
  • And of course: "So many noobs, will matchmaking ever find its balance."
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Spells


Twin Disciplines

The passive on Akali gives her 2 things:
  • For every 6 AP her autoattacks will deal additionally 1% magic damage. This effects start with 6% (so if you got 0 AP your aa's deal 6% more magic damage, if you got 6 AP 7% and so on...)
  • For every 6 BONUS AD Akali gains 1% spell vamp. Also this effect starts with 6%. With my build you will build up to 6% bonus spell vamp by bonus AD. So you gain 12% spell vamp from the passive and 20% from Hextech Gunblade. That gives you a total of 32% spell vamp what is a huge amount. Sometimes this passive is so strong that you can kill other champs by "facerolling" because the healing is so huge.

Mark of the Assassin

Mark of the Assassin allows you to throw your kama at a target and to deal magic damage. The kama will mark the target for 6 seconds. If Akali autoattacks the target within the 6 seconds the mark will detonate and dealing damage to the target. The second damage is huger than the first one so your enemies will be scared of you while they are marked. The best thing of Mark of the Assassin is, that it only has a cooldown of 6 seconds at rank one without CDR. So it is possible to throw your kama and wait the CD of Mark of the Assassin. When your CD is up again you can deal two times the proc damage to the enemy by AAing Qing and AAing again wich will deal "tons of damage".

Twin Disciplines

Twilight Shroud allows you to throw down a circle of smoke. The smoke will give you vision over the area so you can use your Twilight Shroud for checking bushes. When Akali is in the smoke, she will hide and become stealthed. When you use an ability or autoattack the stealth will be broken. Akali will reenter the stealth after 0.65 seconds without casting an ability or autoattacking. Every time when Akali enters the stealth she will gain movementspeed wich decays slowly over 1 second. On top of that were all enemies within the circle slowed.

Crescent Slash

Crescent Slash is a AoE spell, wich deals PHYSICAL damage to all enemies surrounding you. Just always use this spell for damaging enemy champions or for last hitting. The CD of Crescent Slash is a little bit longer than Sheen/ Lich Bane so you can permanently use the effect of the item. You also get much more pressure on turrets by constantly using your Crescent Slash so they will be destroyed faster. This also works with Baron/Drake so use it!

Shadow Dance

Shadow Dance is the reason why I love Akali. She has so much mobility because of this ability. There are not so many champions in LoL who can escape from an Akali because she can jump 3 times to a target whenever she wants to. In difference to Ahri's ultimate Akali must not use all 3 stacks within a few seconds. No, the ultimate will stack like Teemo's mushrooms. This is a big advantage because you can for example jump to the canon minion if you else would miss it without wasting a whole minute or longer without ultimate. Or you can escape in jungle by jumping over a wall by using your Twilight Shroud for vision and ulting the monsters behind the wall. The only weakness is when hitting level 6 because you only get 1 stack. Because of this I recommend to instantly go back to base and go shopping. If you are back to lane you got all 3 stacks.

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About the build

Now I want to show you why I think that my build is a very useful build on Akali. First I talk about the skill sequence, then about the runes, then about the masteries and lastly about the items.
Let's get started with the skill sequence:
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Skill Sequence

Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Why am I starting with the Mark of the Assassin?
Because it's your main damage output in the whole game. On top of this, you can start poking and zoning your enemy at level 1 wich is very useful.

Why take Twilight Shroud at level 2?
Because it's your only defensive spell and Akali is very weak before she hits level 6. So the stealth allows you safe farming, zoning and poking for 8 seconds what is a very long time. If you have a very easy lane you also can skill Crescent Slash for more damage on level 2 and Twilight Shroud on level 3 or 4.

Why take Crescent Slash at level 3 and not Mark of the Assassin again?
Because of simple math:
The damage from Mark of the Assassin would increase by 50 damage (from rank one to two)
The damage from Crescent Slash will give you 30 base damage + 30% of AP (wich is 10 damage) + 60% of ad (wich are 38 damage). That equals 78 damage wich is much more than 50 damage. So if your lane opponent is trading you, you can give him a much harder punch into his face.
But what I also have to mention is when you won't get into meele range when trading with your opponent, then you also can skill Crescent Slash at level 4, because you don't have the advantage of popping Mark of the Assassin with your Crescent Slash anymore.

Why first maxing Mark of the Assassin, then Crescent Slash and last Twilight Shroud?
Because this is what gives you the most damage. Because you are an assassin and you have to kill the enemy carries instantly, you have to deal as much damage as you can.
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Runes

Runes

Precision
Fleet Footwork
Phase Rush
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power: Just for maximum damage output.

Greater Seal of Health:I take them to have some defense in early game. You also can use Greater Seal of Armor but against a Xerath they won't help you that much. Because you can't have all runes I prefer the Greater Seal of Health because they are in every situation useful. If you think you can play Akali in early very safe then you can go for Greater Seal of Scaling Health. They will be as strong as the nonscaling ones at level 6 and at level 7 stronger.

greater mark of hybrid penetration: These are for insane damage in midgame. I prefer the hybrid ones, because as Akali you have to work with your AA's and thanks to Hextech Gunblade they aren't that weak. Also it will increase the damage of Crescent Slash, wich deals physical damage.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: I go for these, so you will have maximum protection in late game. If you play against a high magic damage dealing lane opponent you also can take the nonscaling one, but as I said: you can't have all runes.
Why I don't take armor runes but magic resistance? - Because with my build I have to build Zhonya's Hourglass wich gives me a fine amount of armor.
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Masteries

Double-Edged Sword
This mastery will increase your damage output. So it is very useful to nuke down enemy carries.
Sorcery
I prefer the CDR more than the attackspeed, because one more AA won't change the game. But one more Mark of the Assassin coould change it. I think it is smarter to take the free CDR because in your build you don't have any CDR so you can't waste any CDR by going over the 40%. On top you have to take at least 2 in CDR or AS so i prefer the CDR ones. If you want to you also can pick if you are weak in lasthitting and the other point in wich also can increase your damage output. I don't take because you nuke most enemies within one rotation wich only contains 1 AA so you would deal only 1% more damage at the end of the rotation wich isn't that strong.
Expose Weakness
This mastery will increase your and your teammates damage output so you can kill enemies faster wich is your main goal.
AP Stuff
More AP equals more damage equals faster kills.
Executioner
More damage to targets under 50% is exactly what you are looking for.
Devastating Strikes
More penetration = more damage. This mastery fits on Akali perfect because she deals both, magic and physical damage.
Arcane Blade
Also this mastery has a very huge synergy with Akali. Because of her passive you will hurt your enemies with your Autoattacks, like hitting them a football into their balls.
Havoc
3% more damage. Enough said.
Block
Very nice in early game, because your opponent can't poke you that well.
Recovery
This gives you some sustain for the laning phase so you can stay in lane as long as you can.
Unyielding
This gives you some defensive against your opponent so he can't kill you that easy.
Some Health
This gives you more Health wich is very important in early and in late game.



Why don't you pick other masteries in Offensive Tree?
Because I don't think that there are any other masteries in that tree wich would fit on Akali very well. It isn't the best to pick much AD because you scale much better with AP and also the AS isn't "the yellow from the egg" (german for: "The greatest thing since sliced bread").

Why don't you pick other masteries in Defensive Tree?
Because I can. No, because the opportunity of more BONUS armor and magic resist doesn't fit you because you don't build that much armor or magic resistance. I also don't recommend the 3% from "slowed" enemies because your only slow is your Twilight Shroud (and your Hextech Gunblade) and if you are in your shroud you won't get any damage because the enemy team can't attack you at all. And +2 armor or +2 magic resist is nothing we have to talk about ;).
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Main Items

In this section I will show you why I build these items on Akali.

Hextech Gunblade
This item is a real must have on Akali. What it brings to you:
  • Attack Damage: This increases your damage output of your AA's and of your Crescent Slash. On top of that you gain 6% Spell vamp thanks to your passive.
  • Ability Power: This increases your damage output of all your spells (but your W). On top your AA's deal more damage on the one hand thanks to your passive and on the other thanks to Luden's Tempest// Sheen/ Lich Bane.
  • Spell Vamp: This allows insane selfhealing. Thanks to your passive you will stack up to 32% spell vamp. So you will heal yourself about 1/3 of the damage you dealt with your abilities.
  • Life Steal: Okay 10% of your AA's damage isn't the best but better than nothing.
  • Slow: You can slow a single target for 2 seconds by 40%. This is insane. Your victims can't run away from you anymore. If you have jumped to a target they can't escape as long as you got at least one stack of Shadow Dance for the case they should flash. This active has a cooldown of 60 seconds but you can reduce it by 3 seconds by using your Q and R and AAing.
  • Damage: By activating this item you deal 150+40% of AP as magical damage.
When shall I use the active?
I use it normally right after jumping onto my target so they can't escape. Since Riot reduced the range of Shadow Dance I sometimes you it to get in range to jump onto my target.
When shall I buy this item?
I buy this item in every single game with Akali because it is so insane. For usual I build Hextech Revolver (Not the whole gunblade) as soon as possible (so when I hit level 6) because with the Spell Vamp you got such a nice sustain in lane. If everything is good then I build as fast as I can the complete Hextech Gunblade, so I can easier go roaming (because of the slow). In some cases I first build Zhonya's Hourglass because with that you can survive teamfights much easier and you even counter some champions (e.g. Zed).

Zhonya's Hourglass
This item is very important on Akali while Teamfighting. What it brings to you:
  • Ability Power: This increases your damage output of all your spells (but your W). On top your AA's deal more damage on the one hand thanks to your passive and on the other thanks to Luden's Tempest// Sheen/ Lich Bane.
  • Armor: This increases your resistance to physical damage. It is very useful against ADC's or AD-Caster (e.g. Caitlyn, Zed).
  • Inviolableness: This is why this item is so important. You can make yourself invulnerable for 2.5 seconds. This is amazing. Because Akali is very squishy you can survive teamfights with this item. You can wait your cooldowns while you are in the inviolableness and jump to the next target afterwards.
When shall I use the active?
The best ways of using it is
1) In teamfight
1.1) Negate as much damage as possible (e.g. incoming Caitlyn, Zed ultimates]]
1.2) Avoid CC (e.g. incoming Leona ultimate)
1.3) Avoid being focused
1.4) Wait your cooldowns
2) In outplaying (It would be better to keep the active for a teamfight, so don't use it if you can survive/escape)
When shall I buy this item?
Simple question. As soon as possible. Only reason why you won't build it as first item: You can snowball harder with the other items. So if you are sure that there won't be any teamfights and that you can snowball hard then you can go first for Lich Bane or other damage increasing items. If you have a weak early game and your team has to group and force teamfights it might be useful to build Zhonya's Hourglass as first item.

Luden's Tempest
This item is a very nice one on Akali because it supports your burst damage well and gives you some AoE (Area of Effect) damage. What it brings to you:
  • Ability Power: This increases your damage output of all your spells (but your W). On top your AA's deal more damage on the one hand thanks Twin Disciplines and on the other thanks to Luden's Tempest's passive.
  • Movementspeed: You can move faster. So you can better doge skillshots. You also can better catch enemy's carries in teamfights.
  • Damage: Passive: By moving or by casting abilities you gain stacks (20 per ability). When you reach 100 stacks your next AA will cause an AoE damage wich will hit up to 4 enemies. The damage is 100 + 30% of AP as magic damage per target.
When shall I use the passive?
I guess in difference to Lich Bane you can't control the passive that hard. Usual your first AA in teamfight will pop it because for normal you will start with 100 stacks. Then you have to wait until you casted 3-5 abilities until your next AA will pop it again.
When shall I buy this item?
Buy it instead of Lich Bane. The moment is the same. As early as you can afford it but not too early because you might lose teamfights because you got no Zhonya's Hourglass. For more information see "When shall I buy this item?" of Lich Bane

Lich Bane
This item is very strong on Akali because of the passive. But first: What it brings to you:
  • Ability Power: This increases your damage output of all your spells (but your W). On top your AA's deal more damage on the one hand thanks to your passive and on the other thanks to Sheen/ Lich Bane.
  • Mana: This is your main stat try to gain as much as possible of it..... =D (Because this is a guide: This is a joke. It won't give you anything.)
  • Movementspeed: You can move faster. So you can better doge skillshots. You also can better catch enemy's carries in teamfights.
  • Damage: Passive: When ever you activate an ability your next autoattack deals much more damage. How much is much more? - 75% of base attackdamage + 50% of Ability Power as magic damage. This passive as a cooldown of 2 seconds.
When shall I use the active?
Stupid Question -> Stupid Answer

When shall I use the passive?
That sounds much better. Okay as I said above. Try to use it as often as you can. In other words: ALWAYS when it is up. ALWAYS! There is no reason why you shouldn't. And remember that it also deals damage to all objective. TO ALL! And with all I mean all (e.g. Drake, Baron, Blue Buff (these are obvious), turrets, laserturrets, inhibitors, nexus'(what is the plural of one nexus?))
But how can I use a passive? - By using your abilities. (e.g. if you are in front of a turret just spam your "E" as often as you can. Advanced mode: Also use your "Q" on minions or "W" if you don't got all 5 points in "E" because then the cooldown is much higher then the one of Sheen/ Lich Bane)
When shall I buy this item?
Because of the insane damage output I would recommend to build it as 3rd item. Reasons why to build it earlier are: If you can snowball and if you aren't afraid of teamfights (only if you are ahead).

Rabadon's Deathcap
This item is very strong on all AP champions because it boosts your damage output hard. What it brings to you:
  • Ability Power: This increases your damage output of all your spells (but your W). On top your AA's deal more damage on the one hand thanks to your passive and on the other thanks to Luden's Tempest// Sheen/ Lich Bane.
  • More Ability Power: Passive: Your Ability Power is increased by 30%. Gives you a huge powerspike.
When shall I buy this item?
I would recommend to buy it after you got your burst item ( Luden's Tempest or Lich Bane) because the burst damage is more insane than the 30% more AP because you don't got that much AP early.
First Rabadon's Deathcap or Abyssal Mask/ Void Staff?
Depends on the game. If your enemies have started to stack MR then go for the MR Reduction/Penetration. Else Rabadon's.

Abyssal Mask
Insert your own cool introduction. What it brings to you:
  • Ability Power: This increases your damage output of all your spells (but your W). On top your AA's deal more damage on the one hand thanks to your passive and on the other thanks to Luden's Tempest// Sheen/ Lich Bane.
  • Magic Resistance: This decreases the magic damage an enemy can deal to you. This is very useful against AP champions (e.g. Xerath, Ahri)
  • Reduction of Magic Resistance: This decreases the Magic Resistance of all enemies surrounding you within 700 (length)units. This increases your damage output and your teammates'.
When shall I buy this item?
I recommend to build Abyssal Mask or Void Staff. I prefer Abyssal Mask when/because of:
  • Enemy has (a lot of) magic damage. So magic resistance might be better than a bit more damage.
  • Enemy don't stack much magic resistance. Abyssal Mask deals more damage until the enemy got more than 57 magic resistance.
  • It is Magic Reduction (not Penetration), so your whole team will say thanks to you.
For a detailed "Wich item is better?" see the same-named chapter.
First Rabadon's Deathcap or Abyssal Mask/ Void Staff?
Depends on the game. If your enemies have started to stack MR then go for the MR Reduction/Penetration. Else Rabadon's.

Void Staff
This item is cool, because it can negate most of enemies' Magic Resistance. What it brings to you:
  • Ability Power: This increases your damage output of all your spells (but your W). On top your AA's deal more damage on the one hand thanks to your passive and on the other thanks to Luden's Tempest// Sheen/ Lich Bane.
  • Magic Penetration This ignores 35% of the enemies' Magic Resistance. This item will only increase your own damage output not your teammates'.
When shall I buy this item?
I would recommend to buy this item after you got your burst item (e.g. Luden's Tempest).
I only would buy this item when the enemy team has no/not much magic damage and is stacking much Magic Resistance. (Maybe I think another way after finishing the Abyssal Mask vs. Void Staff)
First Rabadon's Deathcap or Abyssal Mask/ Void Staff?
Depends on the game. If your enemies have started to stack MR then go for the MR Reduction/Penetration. Else Rabadon's.

Sorcerer's Shoes
We are a woman. So we need boots. What it brings to you:
  • Movementspeed: You can move faster. So you can better doge skillshots. You also can better catch enemy's carries in teamfights.
  • Magic Penetration: This allows you to deal more damage to your opponents. Your teammates won't deal more damage to your targets.
When shall I buy this item?
I would recommend to buy Boots very early. Most time I start with these. If you don't I would recommend to build them while or right after you build Hextech Gunblade.

Mobility Boots
We are a woman. So we need boots. What it brings to you:
  • Movementspeed: You can move faster. So you can better doge skillshots. You also can better catch enemy's carries in teamfights.
When shall I buy this item?
I would recommend to buy Boots very early. Most time I start with these. If you don't I would recommend to build them while or right after you build Hextech Gunblade.
I would buy this item if I want to go roaming a lot. So you can help other lanes if they might lose it. With these boots you are way faster so you won't miss that much CS compared to other boots.

Mercury's Treads
We are a woman. So we need boots. What it brings to you:
  • Movementspeed: You can move faster. So you can better doge skillshots. You also can better catch enemy's carries in teamfights.
  • Tenacity: This will reduce the time of CC. So you won't be out of the game that long.
When shall I buy this item?
I would recommend to buy Boots very early. Most time I start with these. If you don't I would recommend to build them while or right after you build Hextech Gunblade.
I would buy this item if the enemy team has a lot of magic damage and a lot of CC.
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Wich item is better?

In this section I want to show you wich item is in wich situation the better one.

Luden's echo vs Lich Bane


Both items are more ore less the same. They both give you AP and MS and damage on hit. And the last point is the big difference between both items. You can read what both passives are doing up there in this chapter or by using the mousover in the heading, I won't explain them again!
Okay let's start by taking a look at the stats. I made a virtual Akali for you so we see the difference. If there are any mistakes in the calculation then tell me in the comments :) Because LoL is a very complex game I guess this calculation isn't 100% right but it will give at least an overview about the builds.

The numbers are outdated because of the changes to [Luden's Echo]
Example Build Stats:Luden's Echo instead of Lich Bane
Both builds are full builds. So we have a level 18 Akali with Hextech Gunblade, Sorcerer's Shoes, Zhonya's Hourglass, Rabadon's Deathcap, Abyssal Mask and Lich Bane/ Luden's Tempest.
So as you can see Luden's Tempest is stronger in stats than Lich Bane (you don't say... that's obvious...). We gain an extra of 54 Ability Power and 8 Movementspeed.
This means: Our abilities will deal more damage.
Twin Disciplines: 10
Mark of the Assassin: 49
Crescent Slash: 16
Shadow Dance: 27
With the "Q -> Wait for the CD of Q -> R -> AA -> Q -> AA -> E" (See Chapter "Gameplay - After Laning Phase (From hitting level 6 to midgame)") we will deal additional 161 damage.
Summary: Luden's Tempest's passive stats will deal in one rotation additional 161 damage.
But what is with the passives?! - Yeah, dude. Chill down. I won't forget about it.
Instead to Lich Bane Luden's Tempest will deal more damage when more enemies are in the area because it will deal AoE damage.
On single target
Easy case. Lich Bane's passive will deal 431 damage.
Luden's Tempest's passive will deal 212 damage. Plus the damage of the stats, we got 373 damage.
Difference: 58 damage -> Only 60 damage will get lost with Luden's Tempest on single target.
I guess you can imagine that Luden's Tempest will deal more damage when the passive hits 2 enemies. BUT! We only watched on popping the passive once. In a longer teamfight you will pop the passive of Lich Bane much often and Luden's Tempest 3 or 4 times. Because I can't play LoL atm I can't tell you exactly wich item is better! But because of the numbers I gave you I would say:
Conclusion
Luden's Tempest is stronger as Lich Bane because it has better stats. So you will deal more sustained damage all the time. AND it has a better AoE passive without losing much single target burst damage. AND you only have to pay 100 more gold for it :D
One bad thing of Luden's Tempest: You can't proc it on turrets so if you have to splitpush then Lich Bane is way better because you will deal much more damage to turrets.


Void Staff vs Abyssal Scepter



First I talk about the passive stats. In this point wins the Abyssal Mask because both items are equal in Ability Power but the scepter has additionally 50 magic resistance wich is insane.
And again the big difference are the passives. Abyssal Mask will give you 20 Magic Resistance Reduction to all enemies surrounding you(!) and Void Staff will give you 35% of Magic Penetration. Abyssal Mask will have the same effect on the enemies all the time. It reduces the Magic Resistance by 20. The bonus damage output by the Magic Resistance Reduction will decrease the more Magic Resistance the enemy has (because the first 10 Magic Resist are more effective then then second (e.g. 10 MR = 9.1% less damage; 20 MR = 16.7% less damage (and not 18.2%). In other words: The more MR the enemy has the less damage will be dealt by the reduction!
The big advantages of this items are: It could give the enemy negative MR (You can deal more than 100% damage) and all your teammates will make use of the reduction! So this item will increase the damage output of your whole team.

Void Staff Coming soon!
Update: The new " Lich Bane vs Luden's Tempest" is released! Next goal: " Abyssal Mask vs Void Staff"
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Gameplay

Within the next 3 chapters I want to explain you how to play Akali in the different stages of the game. First I talk about the very early game, then about the time between hitting level 6 and teamfighting and last about the teamfights.
Ok, here we go:
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Laning Phase (From 1 to 6)

General


When you first time play Akali you will recognize that her early game isn't the best. So just play S A F E.
Your first goal is not to die till you reach 6. Even if you have to stand under your turret all the time because your lane opponent will bully you out of the lane.
Your second goal is to reach 1200 (765 if you start with an Amplifying Tome) gold when you hit level 6 so you can instantly go back to base and afford a Hextech Revolver.

How to use your abilities


Passive Twin Disciplines
I really recommend to use your passive as often as possible. This allows you to get some healing wich will help you to get more sustain so you can better archive the 2 goals.
But how to "use it as often as possible"? - That's an easy one. Just use your abilities (q and e) on the minions.
You can maximize this effect by: 1) Last hitting Minions with your Mark of the Assassin PROC 2) Try to hit as many minions as you can with your Crescent Slash

Q Mark of the Assassin
You can use your Mark of the Assassin in 4 different ways:
1) "Poke" the enemy champion and zone them.
Just throw your Mark of the Assassin on your opponent. Because he doesn't want you to be able to pop your mark, you will be able to zone them. This way of zoning got nerved within the last few patches because you cant pop your Mark with your Crescent Slash.
2) Zoning
Just throw your Mark of the Assassin and keep the enemy away from his farm.
3) Farming
You can use your Mark of the Assassin for farming. Simply try to lasthit minions with your Q. Try to kill the minions without popping the mark so you don't push the lane.
4) Healing
Sounds strange but when you lasthit minions with popping the Mark of the Assassin you gain more health back. But as I said, I only recommend this method when you need to heal yourself because you will push the lane.

W Twilight Shroud
Like Mark of the Assassin you can use your Twilight Shroud in many (3) different ways:
1) Trading/"Poke"
First throw your Mark of the Assassin then land your Twilight Shroud between you and your opponent, so it will slow him and boost you so you can get in Autoattack range. Then simply auttoattack and Crescent Slash and go back in stealth and run back to a safe place. Optional you can wait your CD of Mark of the Assassin and go for a "Q -> W -> AA -> Q -> AA -> E"-Combo. This gives you tons of damage and will outtrade most Laneenemies. But be aware that you need a few seconds until you got your Mark of the Assassin up again and that the enemy could run away.
2) Zoning
Just throw your Twilight Shroud over all minions. Most enemies will go away from your shroud and won't be able to get CS while your Twilight Shroud lies on the ground. This also allows you safe farming because you always can get back to stealth if you need it.
3) Safing from a gank
You are in around the middle of your Lane and get ganked by a Vi? Just lay your Twilight Shroud between you and your turret (so that you are in the shroud ofc) and go back in stealth to your turret. If they don't got a pink (or if they are not Lee Sin ;) ) they wont find you and you are safe from now on.
If you have your lane hard pushed and you are not safe at the end of the shroud, just Flash out of the shroud so that you are in a safe position. Mostly it is worth.

E Crescent Slash
Your Crescent Slash isn't that interesting like your Mark of the Assassin or Twilight Shroud just use it for assisting the trading, pocking, and healing. I guess I mentioned on top enough about the Crescent Slash.

So let's go on for the next stage:
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After Laning Phase (From hitting level 6 to midgame)

General


If you hit level 6 and got your 1200 gold, then go back to base. No matter what happens just go back. Because Hextech Revolver will give you such a huge powerspike and in the time you go shopping and running back to lane you will stack all 3 of your Shadow Dance stacks.
Then you can go for an all-in if your laneopponent gives you the chance for (e.g. Morgana missing her binding). In most times this will lead to a first kill for you.
Then push the wave as fast as you can and go roaming. Go to your bot lane and get the double kill. Go back to your lane and take the farm and heal up again. Maybe your laneopponent is back again but you don't care because you got such a huge amount of spellvamp that you are at 100% health again.
If there is a chance go and kill him again or go ganking. If have 1400 gold or even 2200 go back to base and build for your Hextech Gunblade. If you have this item you can rape nearly everybody and everything so go roaming and assist the other lanes.

How to use your abilities


Okay this time I don't explain every single ability. But I will give you some basic combos you will have to know.

The "Q -> R -> AA -> E"


Okay I guess this is the most common combo you can imagine on Akali. I only use this combo if I have to react quickly if the enemy tries to trade me or if I got 3 stacks of my Shadow Dance and don't rally want to kill the enemy and he could run away from the next combo.

The "Q -> Wait for the CD of Q -> R -> AA -> Q -> AA -> E" aka "The Tons of Damage Combo"


This combo is, why I love Akali. The reason why this combo is so strong and will outtrade everybody is, because the mark of Mark of the Assassin rests longer on the target than the CD of Mark of the Assassin.
If you think your Mark of the Assassin (and popping it) deals much damage, then imagine what would happen if you have it twice within one second. And don't forget that you will heal yourself for 18% of the damage done.

[role]

Short math


On level 6 Akali with Hextech Revolver: (All numbers are not 100% exactly)
Mark of the Assassin will deal 230 damage.
Crescent Slash will deal 90 damage.
Shadow Dance will deal 135 damage.
Autoattacks will deal 75 damage.

"Q -> R -> AA -> E"
560 damage in total.
If the enemy got 40 MR we deal 400 damage to him. For a lvl 6 Zed this would be over 40% of his life. Within one second.
Healing done: 72 (1/2 pot) (bit less because the AA's don't count)

"Q -> Wait for the CD of Q -> R -> AA -> Q -> AA -> E"
835 damage in total.
If the enemy got 40 MR we deal 600 damage to him. For a lvl 6 Zed this would be over 60% of his life. Within one maybe one and a half seconds.
Healing done: 108 (2/3 of a pot) (bit less because the AA's don't count)
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Teamfight

Okay, this one is a realy tough one. Because we are an assassin we have to go very deep into the enemy team. But what is there? - Right the enemy players, who are waiting to kill you. So you have to wait till the hard CC's are out of the game until you can go deep, to kill the enemie's carries.
If a Vi or Leona ult hits you, then you are dead faster than you can say: "deterioration". So care.
What you should have before joining teamfight is Zhonya's Hourglass. Because of the active you can go very deep, kill a carry and survive until you have your CD's up again so you can jump to the next carry.
I give you some examples so you understand what I mean.
1) Good Teamfight
Your team engages. The enemy team panicly hard CC's the engagers so that they are on cooldown. Now you can easily join the teamfight by ulting onto the enemy adc. He is instantly dead, because the enemy adc cant get away from you. You activate your Zhonya's (or your shroud) so that your CD's will be up again when you are out of the Zhonya's. Then you jump to your next target (e.g. enemy apc) and kill him. Now it is easy teamfight and your team can win it.
2) Bad Teamfights
  • Enemy team engages on you. You get hard CCed and die instantly.
  • You engage, get CCed and die instantly.
  • You join the Teamfight but the enemy Vi was smart enough to wait with her ult for you. You get hard CCed and focused by the enemy team.
  • You are afraid of the enemies and don't join teamfight.

Okay I guess that you understood what I wanted to tell you. So be aware that you are squishy. Very squishy.
Here are some Tipps and Tricks:
  • Don't engage. Just don't. The only reason for you to engage is, when your team hard sucks in engaging and you know that you can survive because of Zhonya's/ Twilight Shroud. But for usual: DON'T ENGAGE!
  • Be aware of the enemy matchup and CC's. E.g. Enemy Team got a Lee Sin. Now you should shortly think about his kit. (Wait for it). And then you should be able to say: "Yep, he can "break" my stealth. So without Zhonya's in teamfight I am dead"
  • You got 2 defenses in teamfight. Twilight Shroud and Zhonya's Hourglass. If the enemy team has no way to break your stealth you can survive 10.5 seconds between them. So don't use both at once. I recommend to use Twilight Shroud first, because if they got a pink ward and they see you, you still have the chance of going into Zhonya's. But if your Zhonya's is on CD and they break your stealth, then you are simply "dead as yesterday".
  • Your shroud placement is very important. I give you later a whole chapter about it.
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Thanks

Thank you so much for reading the guide :) I hope you enjoyed reading it and that you have learned something.
If you found any mistakes or got still any questions feel free to use the comments (I won't bite you... Only if you are made out of chocolate).

Keep rocking and what i have to do now is to buy the new headhunterskin.... see you later :)
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WORK IN PROGRESS

I will complete this Guide within the next few weeks (few doesn't mean in 1 or 2 but maybe in 5 weeks). So hang out and keep on rocking :) #smiteandignite
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League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide