PROS + excellent burst damage + has got a stealth ability ( Twilight Shroud ) + has got some escape mechanisms like Twilight Shroud and Shadow Dance + can farm really well with her Mark of the Assassin + has got ridiculously low cooldowns which allows her to get her victim low really fast. + as an assassin she can damage and chase her opponent with her Shadow Dance

CONS - Extremely squishy and most players focus on her in teamfights. - Has no Crowd Control. - Crowd Control is the worst enemy for akali. - Items like Oracle's Elixir and Vision Ward and skills like Tempest that grant vision in her Twilight Shroud counter her SO HARD.

The runes you see i take are the ones i think are the most suitable for a mid-laner akali assassin. I prefer going mid lane with akali and i think this is were she belongs (not at the top lane).

MARKS

As you can see here i have chosen 9x greater mark of hybrid penetration and i use them because they give you both some magic penetration and armor penetration and this is important because akali is not an assassin that bases ONLY on her skills and ability power.
However, taking 9x Greater Mark of Magic Penetration is an other choice and many people do use them while playing akali. They give you some more magic penetration but they dont give you any armor penetration.

SEALS

I have chosen 9x Greater Seal of Health because they give you some more sustainability but you can also rely on other seals that give you more ability power or more magic resist. I dont prefer seals of armor because mid lane is mostly a lane for ap champions.

GLYPHS

I have chosen 9x Greater Glyph of Magic Resist as well and i think they are the best choice for glyphs because they give you about 12 additional magic resist which will help you quite a lot especially at the start of the game.

QUINTESSENCES

For my quintessences i have chosen 3x Greater Quintessence of Ability Power which give you much flat Ability Power and are probably the best choise for every ap-based champion.

For spells i think 99% of akali players take are Flash and Ignite . Other spells that are possible are Cleanse if your laner has got really strong cc and you want to avoid this or ghost probably to chase someone leaving a fight. Heal and Barrier are really rarely seen at an akali, you may take them for some more survivability but they are not the best option.

The most basic skill for akali and the one you max by level 9 is her q ( Mark of the Assassin ) it makes some little damage when you throw it to your enemy but deal significant damage when you AA (AutoAttack) your marked target.
The skill you max second is your e ( Crescent Slash ) which is a skill that damages nearby enemies not for THAT much damage but most of all it consumes the mark from your marked target so this is important.
The skill you max last is your w ( Twilight Shroud ) which is probably the best-known ability of akali that allows her to get stealthed if she is on it. It is her way to escape, avoid some damage because her enemies can see her so they cant damage her with on-target abilities but however they can damage her with many skillshots. It also slows her enemies walking on it but it isn't something that much.
And the skill you put your points on every time you can (levels 6,11,16) is your r ( Shadow Dance ) which allows akali to damage her enemy and get next to him which means it is a skill that helps you chase your victim really well and the best thing is that you can have this skill ready to be casted (with its 2/1.5/1 cooldown) up to 3 times.

When you start your game with akali you get your q ( Mark of the Assassin ) on level 1 which can help you a lot with your early farming. You can throw it to minions you cant reach and are really low on hp, throw it to a minion and take it down almost immidiatelly or throw it to the opponent laner to harass him and force him to back off. However, when you try to force your opponent to back off so you can farm easily you either have to know what he is able to do to you (like his skills or any tricks he can do) or you will just do it and find it out yourself :P

While you are in the jungle you can do significant damage with your q followed by your e and repeat this a couple of times. Akali is quite fast at clearing the jungle however she cant be the jungler of a team (or it has just never been seen) because she doesnt have so much survivability or her spellvamp at the start of the game so she will be SO low at health. If you are trying to get a golem down you can try doing you r as well if you dont mind about its cooldown but NEVER put your w were you are farming in the jungle! Most of the times you will hit the creeps, do some good damage, then get stealthed for a bit and the creeps will go back and heal. So you understand it is not a good idea to place you Twilight Shroud in the spot you are farming unless you see an enemy and want to escape or something like this.

When you are in a teamfight your role is clear. You are an assassin, so you get inside the battle, get what you want (your kill or whatever) and then get out unless the fight is going really good and you are not hurt too much.
What you have to remember when fighting is to focus only one person at the time and first hitting your opponent with your Mark of the Assassin, then damaging and going next to him with your Shadow Dance where you can hit your Crescent Slash, do some AA (AutoAttacks) till your next Mark of the Assassin is ready for cast and repeat this as many times you can. Which means you do q-r-e-AA, q-r-e-AA, q-r-e-AA (and more times if you get your ult again by taking a kill or assist).
But most of all what you have to care about is focusing on the correct champion and predict the outcome of the fight. That's the first thing you have to know as an assassin which means you have to know who you are going to hit how much damage you are going to deal to him and if you are going to kill him but what he can do with his skills and attacks to you and how much damage you are going to take. These are things you will understand step-by-step while playing but you have to think about this and always remember you are looking for those squishy targets that deal the most damage ( the carries ).

At the start of the game i prefer taking Boots and 3x Health Potion. You can start with some wards and pots if you are afraid of the ganks or the Amplifying Tome and some pots as well but i dont recommend it.

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The first item i buy is the Hextech Revolver and procceed to the Hextech Gunblade it is the best item for akali. It gives her Ability Power and SpellVamp which are everyithing for her and some Attack Damage and Lifesteal as well which are also needed (for her E, or when her skills are on cooldown or she doesnt have energy) and finally what could be a better unique acitive for an assassin that wants to chase her victim to death or get away than this one?


Afterwards you buy your rabadons or your lich bane (the one you think you need the most).
The Rabadon's Deathcap is maybe the most bought item for ap-based champions will give you the Ability Power you need and increase it buy 30%.
The Lich Bane will give you some Ability Power and some movement speed which is needed because you are an assassin and it has got an incredible passive with a cooldown of just 2sec which is terrific for akali. I have seen SOOOO many people dont buy it and say it gives you 250 mana but you have energy so it is wasted gold, but i totally disagree. Everything except for the mana is perfect and most of all its passive that you cant find at an other item and synergizes with akali because of her q proc which deals equivalent damage based on you Ability Power with Lich Bane and she has got low CoolDowns.


At any point of the game you feel like you are behind and you are going dead very easy you can buy Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Zhonya's Hourglass , Abyssal Mask or Guardian Angel.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter is one of my favourite choices on akali since it provides her with health so she can survive for more and ability power too. As for its passive it helps you chase enemies and as you know you have got no cc so it's REALLY good and it's really worth buying.
Zhonya's Hourglass is maybe most known for its passive and most people buy it for this reason. It allows you not to take any damage for 2.5secs and not to deal any too. Most of the akali players buy it, rush in battle take down 1 or 2 easy targets and then press zhonyas and w to cover themselves. It can help you a lot if you use it smart and if you are looking for a lot more ability power and some more armor then it's the ideal item for you.
Abyssal Mask is an item that gives you some Ability Power, a bit of magic resist and reduces the magic resist of your enemies by 20 if you are close to them. You mostly buy this item if you are getting a lot of magic damage and you want to reduce that or if you dont do so much damage to your enemies and you see they have got a lot of magic resist.
Guardian Angel gives you quite a lot of armor and a bit of magic resist and offers you a great passive that lets you get reborn after you "die" (you haven't already been dead) and is a great buy if you are getting dead really easy.


Warmog's Armor is an item that is sheldom seen on akali because it only gives her some Health Points and nothing else she can base on. She is not a champion that is SO tanky and i wouldnt suggest it.
Spirit Visage gives you a bit of health, 20% CoolDown Reduction so your skills go much lower on cooldown, a lot of magic resist and a passive that i think can synergize with your spellvamp and lifesteal but it isnt such a big deal i guess. You can take this but it really is a situational item.


Finally, some items you can take as well are Void Staff, Liandry's Torment, Mejai's Soulstealer, and Deathfire Grasp.
Void Staff gives you some Ability Power but the reason you are going to take this is its passive. It gives you 35% Magic Penetration and you buy it mostly when you see your opponents going too tanky and taking much Magic Resist.
Liandry's Torment gives you a bit of health and Ability Power, a bit of flat magic penetration and its passive allows you to deal some additional damage after you do your spells based on your targets maximum health. Personally, i don't ever feel like buying this item on akali, there are many better items you can buy.
Mejai's Soulstealer isn't seen so often on akali i think but it can work really well. It's a really cheap item but gives you little Ability Power early-on but if you know you are going to take many kills or assists it's an item worth buying. When you have this item you get 1 stack every time you get an assist and 2 stacks everytime you get a kill. Each stack gives you 8 Ability power and you can have up to 20 stacks/160 ability power. When you reach 20 stacks you gain 15% CoolDown Reduction, too, but every time you die you lose a third of your stacks.
Deathfire Grasp gives you a lot of Ability Power and a bit of Cooldown Reduction that can help you and its passive can work particularly well because akali (as any other assassin) focuses only on one champion. With this passive you deal about 1/6 of your targets maximum health as magic damage and you make 20% more damage with your skills to him for 4secs which means you can get him down SO fast.


Last but not least, i take Sorcerer's Shoes 99% of the times because it's what you take on all Ability Power-based champions. If i have some extra gold (most of the times at the end of the game) I take the Elixir of Brilliance for some more Ability Power and some CoolDown Reduction, the red Enchantment: Furor if I want to chase easier, or the white Enchantment: Homeguard if there are fights close to my base or if i just wanna rush out of base.