In this guide I will attempt to show you the way that I play Akali; The Anti-Carry, as The Anti-Anything. (And yes, I do mean ANYTHING.) Many People play Akali, and have their own ways, ideas and techniques to play her. This guide contains mine, and what works for me. When I play as Akali, I usually have a very high KDR with her, if not the highest. (7/10 games) When Akali is free, weather she is on my team or not; They usually become food for the opposing team. I usually assume this is because of a lack of understanding of her, and that is the aim of this guide, to provide understanding.

As such a versatile champion, Akali can be played a vast number of ways.


AP Akali, being most people's favorite. Yes the burst damage is quite lovely, thought it sucks when you run out of energy and are vulnerable for that few seconds. Thats long enough for the AVERAGE player to get killed. Yes AP Akali works for some people, but like everything it has its flaws. Normal attacks are part of your burst rotation. and just the little bit of AD from a gunblade isn't sufficient enough for those more hefty build characters. its fine on squishies, but not as effective on the more durable Tanky people.

Then there is the Pure AD Akali, Yes her normal attacks were hitting rather hard, but then her ABILITIES were lacking the damage they should be doing. Yes they could kill thy just were not as proficient. And Yes a Pure AD Akali, would lose vs a pure AP Akali. Both typed of stats will only get a person so far having just one On AD Akali, you could not tell someone had been struck with MoA without seeing the spinning mark on the person.


There is the Snowballing Akali too. Now this method is rather something to be feared if they can get and keep full stacks on all items. 20 Stacks on Mejai, Sword of the Occult and on Levaitian Ouch, ouch and more ouch. I've only ever seen this Akali type once and it was ferocious. Now this has its flaws also, obviously, not getting all your stacks can be a problem or if you keep getting focused down ad are unable to get stacks. This does happen, to even the best players. imo NO BODY is above getting ganked.

Then there is the Hybrid Akali. now here I feel that there are Two variations of this: your regular Hybrid, Where the player gets one item with the other stat they aren't focusing on, usually a Gunblade, then getting back on AP items. (Or the reverse) People getting A Deathcap (Or Mejai's) and focusing on their AD.

Then There is the Balanced Hybrid Where the AP and AD ranges are never too far apart from each other The build sufficiently supports both stats and damage types for more effective bursts against all character types verses only being able to pick off the squishies. (Again, what if there are no "Squishies" for you to pick off?)

This is not something you can just look at and judge "Oh that's bad" or see some one else say it and it alter YOUR opinion. Its genuinely something you have to go try for yourself. I'll come back with scores and things like that soonish. This build works out too well for it to be "wrong" And also maybe some people should Re watch the Riot Games Champion Spotlight. Phreak says she is hybrid "Akali plays as a Ninja-Assassin, dashing in and out of battles, dealing tons of Damage. She's intended to be Damage / Ability power champion..." As Said by Phreak of Riot Games. Play Video
Ever run out of energy in a fight then someone gets away because you cant use an ability to get them and your ignite is in Cool down? Ya know what helps save you there? AP bursts are nifty but AD can serve a good use too. Give it an honest try. If your a skilled player I promise you will do exceptionally well!

Pros:
*High damage output AP and AD bursting
*Can still fight effectivley for that minute without energy in intense team fights!
*Great offense early game
*Excellent Harasser (and Farmer)
*Great Escape Artist (and chaser)

Cons:
- Squishy Melee (only if focused ad cc'd to hell and back)
- Picked on by Rangers early game
- Skill usage is limited due to Energy
- Very likely to get focused on

This is an explication of her skills and the order I max them in. But this guide is not heavily biased on the order of the skills. Some people prefer to rank Crescent Slash first. To each their own. Its all gonna be maxed by level 18 anyway. Have fun with it.

Q Akali spins her kama at a target enemy to deal 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 additional damage and restore Energy.
Akali throws her kama at a target enemy to deal 50/75/100/125/150 (+0.4) magic damage and mark the target for //// seconds.

Akali's melee attacks against a marked target will consume the mark to cause 50/75/100/125/150 (+0.4) magic damage and restore 20/25/30/35/40 Energy.
Now this is usually what I max first for more bonus damage when you jump on somebody. and I spam this to no end early game to harass people, its actually quite nice before you have your full combo.

W
Akali throws down a cover of smoke. While inside the area, Akali gains Armor and Magic Resist and becomes stealthed. Attacking or using abilities will briefly reveal her. Enemies inside the smoke have their Movement Speed reduced.
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 are slowed by 14/18/22/26/30%.
I tend to rank this skill last because the way I play if your play style is different and you want to rank it sooner for that nifty armor, go for it. People tend to only use this to engage or only to run its lovely for both, This is a pretty decent counter when uses his Paranoia, throwing this down near a bush can possibly save your life in most situations.

E
Akali flourishes her kamas, dealing damage based on her Attack Damage and Ability Power.
Akali flourishes her kamas, slicing nearby enemy units for 30/55/80/105/130 (+) (+0.3) physical damage.
I usually max this skill second for higher damage and bursts, The range of the spin with this is actually pretty wide and its a pretty nice way to proc your marks if you don't have a charge on Shadow dance (or if your target is not fleeing)

R
Akali moves through shadows to quickly strike her target, dealing damage and consuming an Essence of Shadow charge. Akali recharges Essence of Shadow charges both periodically and upon kills and assists, max 3 stacks.
Akali moves through shadows to quickly strike her target, dealing 100/175/250 (+0.5) magic damage.

Akali stores an Essence of Shadow on kills and assists as well as every seconds up to 3/3/3 total.
Her ultimate, is what makes her so great for chasing and escaping (especially with wise use of and Well placed Wards (although a lot of people don't buy them) The damage potential of this skill with a good portion of both AP and AD is truly insane. On the average character. (any type) If you use this to proc a Mark of the Assassin, that going to be one of the higher bursts and a very noticeable chunk missing from their HP.

Usually with Akali, I take
and

Ignite is just all around a great spell. Someone Looks like they might get away? Pop them with ignite. "An enemy has been slain..." This is good before you have your ult, if Flash is in cool down, or if your ult has no stacks at the moment.

Flash is a very versatile spell. Great for chasing or escaping a nasty looking situation. I recommend this the most to accent ignite because not any other spells will work AS well with this build.

These are the two most effective spells to use for Akali with THIS BUILD. There are other options of course. (Clense is ok, so is Teleport. Ghost and Exhaust are also Petty nifty too though. )


Though I do not recommended using Smite, because this is NOT a Jugling build.
Dont get Clarity either its useless, she has No mana.
Rally and Fortify don't help her either. (No one gets fortify anyway)

The rest of the spells are a no go.You should not need heal for Akali either. (It does not give back that much HP and it would mean you lose Ignite or Flash which are MUCH more useful.

In my runes I focused Penetration of both types, being Akali is a Hybrid character.

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration x9 Basic Magic Penetration. It helps her hurt a lot more.

Greater Seal of Evasion x9 I go with dodge seals on her because they work well with the mastereies in dodge and nimbleness in conjunction with the So your a bit of a pain to hit for the other team.

Greater Glyph of Ability Power x9 Basic Ability Power Glyphs. I feel it helps her out a lot more in early game. Although they are not listed o here, a good switch out would be Flat Energy or even one of the AP Growth Glyphs

Greater Quintessence of Desolation x3 Armor Penetration on the Quints, With this There wont be much you can't rip apart to start with.

For This I take a Standard 21 - 9 - 0 Tree, making sure to take the points in Dodge and Nimbleness under the Defensive Tree. The M-Resist and Armor are pretty Nifty too.

I lean most of the points into Offense because Akali is an offensive Character. The Points in sorcery help add more M-Pen to your skills.

I do not recommended changing the points in the defensive tree around because they all work together to make up on her squishyness.

I usually Start with and x3 Then later turn them into I start with the boots for that extra little bit of movement and the 3 potions for the ability to stay in the lane longer.

After finishing my boots I usually get the first part of my Typically I get the first After completing this: (The Rageblade) I move onto my next item.

I begin to work on the On this item, again I get the before the which leads into my Now The Gunblade Should be complete and you can move onto your next item.

Now I begin working to get my the first part of my This item is a bit of a biggie, one of the more pricey items to get, though well worth the investment.

Ok you have all this Attack its time for a little magical Oomf. Whats the best source of a lot of Ability Power(with no catch? That's right. A On this item I purchase the first.

After completing my 5th item, typically I lean toward the as my last item, providing its a normal game. The critical hits and damage are simply beautiful. As usual get the biggest item of a recipe first. This means you go buy another then buy the rest of the fully made item when you can.

After completing your build go ahead and just buy Elixirs with whatever you have left. They are a very nice little last push for anyone.

(Now a normal game is defines by no characters you need to special counter. Like or

Some people would think it odd to start with boots and 3 hp pots. I know her second passive is not activated yet, but with 3 hp pots and a little speed, you should be able to stay in lane long enough to earn the gold for the pick axe. once you have your rageblade you should start ganking for easy kills.

is a great way to harass enemies early game, due to the fact that she has energy and not mana. When enemies attempt to turret dive a good tactic would be to throw down and stay still. By them being slowed makes them an easy target for your lane partner and the turret. This will get you through the early game.

For the Mid - End game you go around ganking and killing people simple as that. That is your job as an assassin. Let the DPS and the Tanks worry about the towers. (Help if you have a chance to.) Akali is a brutal Killing Machine. Play her as such. Jump on a person and do not be afraid to use your To stick to someone! Use too if you have to.