Akali Build Guide by Scrim Bro Joe

Introduction

Hello! This is my first build here on Mobafire. Just so you know this build wont be all that effective unless you know what you are doing. The reason I say this is because if you don't get fed, the build isn't very effective. Normally, when someone is fed you build against them. With this build, that just won't work. In normal play, this build is put to waste because usually nobody wants to stray from their build. That is why this build is a little picky. Many people tell me all of the time that Akali is "Over Powered". This is not true. This Champion is very easy to shut down early game and is very easy to counter at top/mid lane. All it takes to shut her down is just one kill and she will be left behind. Akali is only "Over Powered" if she is fed, but then again so is any other Champ. Read on and enjoy!

Change-Log

This guide will be updated heavily throughout the first week or so. Expect more changes coming later and more coding/gameplay and explanations.

PreSeason 3 update done! Tell me any other things I should change, gimme some feedback it really helps! I also added a counter chapter, go check it out. I'm having trouble with the masteries, I forget how to edit the coding. If anybody can help please tell me in comments!

I will be adding MUCH more bbcoding and other changes that I feel necessary. I've already got a few comments that have some great ideas and I will be adding a lot of new things into my build. So you will be seeing large amounts of bbcoding in the future. Alternative/Situational Items, Masteries, and Runes coming soon! Also I'm working on a Galio build right now and will be updating this build frequently.

Your Role

Okay! First things first, your role as Akali. When you get to around level 6, if you haven't gotten a kill or two yet than abort this build and go AP. I say this because this build is no good if you are not fed. You want to primarily play mid because chances are you will be against a squishy champ. Your close-quarters attacks will burst them down to nothing. Top is still viable, but not as effective. Now you are level 6 and you have a kill under your belt, its time to gank. Move to another lane if you can and ult in on the enemy champion. This should be easy if they didn't ward. The game should continue like this, with you ending the laning phase. Remember you are the assassin that runs in, gets a kill and runs out. Lets move on to team fights. In team fights your role is to run in, focus and kill the carry, and to not die. That is probably the most important thing to do with Akali. If you die then you probably wont be able to get fed, and being so squishy you will fall behind and will be no use to your team. Remember, Akali can snowball both ways. Remember, you are a clean-up champ, not a tank!

Counters

Akali is countered by pretty much anybody with a lot of health. Skilled players can beat high health champs, but the one thing Akali can't do is fight champs with a jump.
COUNTERED BY:
Jax is all around a hard champion to outplay. If you are hoping to beat him top, don't. Everything about him counters Akali. His jump, high damage, and high hp. AVOID THIS CHAMPION.

Lee Sin is another counter. He is self explanatory. The only way you might even be able to do anything is by staying behind minions and keeping to your turret, but he would just eventually out farm you.

Darius will shred Akali. When you go up to Q him he would just pull you in and that would be the end of it.

So pretty much every single AD bruiser or anybody tanky in general counters Akali. In that case anybody with a jump as well. That is why I don't play her top. There are all together more viable champions to play that aren't as easy to counter. If she is played at top your team also won't be as tanky. It's almost like playing viegar in the jungle just because he has a stun and an AoE.

Gragas although melee, is too much for Akali. After a while she won't be able to do enough damage to him. He also has too much harass with his barrels and too much sustain. I don't recommend going against this champion.

Mordekaiser counters for the same reason as Gragas.

Malzahar counters Akali mainly because of his poke. Everything in general about him counters her, except his health. He will absolutely destroy her at mid.

COUNTERS:

Any champion like Lux, Ahri, and Orianna are countered by Akali. When they throw their orbs/stun they are completely opened for an initiation. They also can't really stop you from poking and farming. Once level 6 they will stand no chance against you. Akali's jump is the perfect initiator to get them.

Teemo is a tricky choice for going against. You will have to play defensive early because his poison and Q will do a ton of damage. If you can get to level 6 you shouldn't have a problem though.

For more counters look at lolcounter.com.

Mid

Middle is relatively simple and is where I usually lane. Even against high range champions Akali is very useful. Lets say you're going against an Anivia and you're worried that you're going to get picked off by her ranged moves. All you need to do is stay back around your turret and farm minions with Mark of the Assassin while always keeping a lot of distance between you and your opponent. Keep doing this until your jungler comes into the lane. Once you get your first kill you should have no problems getting yourself fed.

Top Laning

I've found that Akali top is more popular than mid. If you want to play top then this is what I recommend. You will need a bruiser/tank in the Jungle: i.e Rammus, Wukong, Olaf, or Volibear. I also recommend having a tanky mid: i.e Gragas or Mordekaiser. I say this because your team shouldn't have more than two squishy Champions. I will include a build for top if your mid is going to be squishy: i.e Veigar, Ahri. Otherwise stick to the build I came up with. Your Jungler should also be able to do some early ganks, but will need to be tanky. Rengar fits the bill, he should be able to let you get the kill and throw in a few more stray ganks and your lane will be fine. Farming at top is the next thing. It's exactly the same as you would do mid. Use Mark of the Assassin to farm and keep your distance from the enemy champion and stay close to your turret. If you try to harass early you will be an easy gank, besides chances are a bruiser will be top and you wont be doing much damage anyways. I myself would just rather have bruiser top altogether. You wont be doing much damage to anybody who isn't squishy untill later game when you have some penetration.

Why Hybrid Akali?

If you play high level game play then I'm sure you have at one point had to build against somebody. Maybe it was the carry, or maybe it was the mid. Once you've done that they aren't really that much of a threat anymore(unless they got super fed!). In this build if you get fed you will do ridiculous amounts of damage. Penetration is also proven to deal more damage than just flat damage. I will also include an AP build just in case this fails for anybody. That is usually what I do when I fall behind. This build is also leaned more towards AP so the only real AD you get is from The Black Cleaver. I find that Akali doesn't need anymore AD, which I will explain in the items section. I find that normal AP isn't as good. Her passive is also wasted without some AD, and The Black Cleaver fits the bill.

Pros / Cons

PROS:
Awesome AD and AP damage.

Is very hard to build against.

Crazy Armour and Magic Pen.

Very hard to 1v1.

CONS:

Not as much burst damage as a flat AP build.

Isn't as effective if you're not fed.

You will get flamed for buying The Black Cleaver.

Very item dependant. (Who isn't?)

You aren't as tanky as you normally would be going AP.

The enemy team will surrender at 20 minutes. :D

Items

The ideal starting items would be Boots of Speed and 3 Health Potion. Other Possibilities would be:

Regrowth Pendant

Doran's Shield


Or any other items that will give your sustain. Akali really needs this sustain for early game, where she is weakest.

Next on the list is Sorcerer's Shoes , Malady and Long Sword. These are the first few damage items you will purchase. If you are getting too CC'ed then run a Mercury's Treads. You will find that you will need to build tanky on Akali. Malady is your first source of real damage. It also complements your Sorcerer's Shoes. Now get your Giant's Belt which builds into Rylai's Crystal Scepter later on.

Now get Lich Bane, although the mana goes to waste its the passive and AP you are buying it for. After you hit your q this item will dish out crazy damage.

The Black Cleaver and Blackfire Torch are self explanatory, more damage and pen plus some needed health. Both passives burn away at health and will make your burst a lot stronger. Last but not least is Rylai's Crystal Scepter. You may or may not need to get this item earlier.

Let's talk about switching out some items. I find that sometimes switching out Rylai's Crystal Scepter for a Warmog's Armor can be helpful due to the fact that you might need some more health for survivability. You should of course adapt your build to the match you are playing in, as well as your playing style. I just want to add in that the Malady and The Black Cleaver combo is insane. You will be hacking away at their MR and well as their armor at the same time, making you a formidable foe to 1v1. Another question might be why the only item I have for defense is Rylai's Crystal Scepter. The reason
is it really isn't needed on Akali if you use the correct masteries. I only recommend using another defensive item if you really need it. Another question is "Why not Hextech Gunblade?" The reason for this is that frankly, it is really expensive. All of the AD you will need comes from The Black Cleaver. Its better to get an AP item. I will add that getting a Giant's Belt early on is mandatory and you will not regret it.

Summoner Spells

For Summoner Spells I prefer Heal and Flash. Both spells I think are great on Akali. Flash for basic use and Heal for more sustain, which you will need.
Other possibilities would be Teleport which is good for top laning if you know you will need to recall a lot. Ignite is viable and it's good for your burst, and you will have to use it most games in order to pick up some kills. Exhaust is a great spell to use on her if you're top and want that kill on a gank early in. It's very helpful in getting you fed so you can jump in and demolish. The last spell I want to talk about it Cleanse. I really hate this Spell. If you really want it just buy a Quicksilver Sash and there is your Cleanse.

Masteries

|Top Lane|
I recommend using these masteries if you are going top, you will have to be tanky anyways. The health, armor, and MR are needed since most top lanes are bruisers. This should help you get past early game until your Giant's Belt

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|Mid Lane|
For mid lane, I went with 21/9 just because the damage will help you blow through the opposing mid player. Once you get Shadow Dance you should be able to initiate a fight every time you can,(depending if you're winning/losing). I'M HAVING SOME DIFFICULTIES ON CODING THE PICTURES SO PLEASE WAIT FOR MY NEXT UPDATE, THANK YOU.

Runes

For runes, I went with Greater Mark of Magic Penetration, Greater Seal of Armor, Greater Glyph of Magic Resist, and Greater Quintessence of Desolation. The runes themselves are quite self-explanatory. Greater Mark of Magic Penetration For the magic penetration to deal more damage. Greater Seal of Armor for armor to help compensate for your squishy early game. Greater Glyph of Magic Resist for magic resistance for the same reasons as the armor. I went with flat MR because if an enemy champ gets fed, they will tear you to shreds in the early game. If more MR is needed, an Abyssal Scepter is always an option. Greater Quintessence of Desolation is just to help you deal more auto attack damage and in combination with the The Black Cleaver will give your passive a big boost, adding large amounts of damage to enemy champs in a 1-v-1 situation. Additional rune builds will be put in at a later date.

Skill Sequence

|Ability Combos/Maxing Order|
You should always max out your Mark of the Assassin, then Crescent Slash, and your Twilight Shroud last. Obviously get Shadow Dance whenever you can. Your main combo is Mark of the Assassin, Auto Attack, Shadow Dance, Twilight Shroud, Crescent Slash. After that keep chasing your target down with Shadow Dance. You really only use your Twilight Shroud for slowing and getting away, in this case slowing.


|Escaping|
If you're trying to get away, Shadow Dance to a minion to gain some distance and throw your Twilight Shroud to slow the enemy. If they are still right behind you, sit in Twilight Shroud for awhile then Shadow Dance or Flash away in the opposite direction from the enemy.

|Farming|
For farming, you mainly want to last hit minions with your Mark of the Assassin since you have energy instead of mana and it has decent range. This will keep you out of the attack radius of the enemy champ. If there is a large group of minions right in front of you, using Crescent Slash will damage them all. This will just increase your farming speed.

|Other Combos|
For a combo against a champ far away from you, start with Shadow Dance in order to get right on top of the enemy, then hit them with Mark of the Assassin, followed by an auto attack. Next hit them with Crescent Slash, Twilight Shroud (To slow, make sure to place this in front of the opponent). Then chase down with the rest of your Shadow Dance stacks, auto attacks, and Ignite if you brought it.

Final Thoughts

I hope you really enjoyed what you just read. I didn't include every detail because I'm sure most people will just say tl;dr. I didn't go into extensive thought with skills mainly because you will learn everything about Akali mainly by playing her, not just reading a guide on her. Thank you for checking out my build! Big thanks to jhoijhoi for help with coding and Zaums11 for encouragement and ideas. GLHF