Akali Build Guide by Zandurk

Introduction

Hey this is my Akali guide. I have to mention that it is a guide on how i play Akali.

This is a video i made for this guide, enjoy!:)

This build will in no time turn you in to a true Akali master. Playing Akali is quite simple when you've just picked up the habit, enemies will drop like flies.

Pros/Cons

Pros:
Really fun to play
High burst damage
Great ganking ability
Strong sololaner if played well
Can turn invisible
Can Jungle but it is very difficult and im not going to explain how you do it in this guide.


Cons:
Squishy melee
CC disables her
Very team dependent
Requires good judgement

Skill Sequence

First you need a overview over Akali spells.
Passive Ability:


Upon obtaining 19.5 ability power, Akali's hits deal 10% bonus magic damage, increasing by 1% for every 5 ability power gained thereafter. (Magic damage doesn't affect towers, but it affects other structures.)

Upon obtaining 9.5 attack damage, Akali gains 10% Spell Vamp, increasing by an additional 1% for every 5 attack damage gained thereafter.

Q:
Mark of the Assassin
Akali spins her kama at a target enemy to deal 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 (+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 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 (+40% of ability power) magic damage and restore 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 energy.
Cooldown: 6/5.5/5/4.5/4
Range: 600
Cost:60

W:
Akali throws down a cover of smoke that lasts for 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%.
Cooldown:20
Range: 700
Cost:80/75/70/65/60


E:
Akali flourishes her kamas, hitting nearby units for 30 / 55 / 80 / 105 / 130 physical damage (+30% of ability power) + 60% Attack Damage.
Cooldown:7/6/5/4/3
Range:325
Cost:60


R:
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.
Cooldown:2/1.5/1
Range:800
Cost:0




Akalis skill sequence is not simple at all, it sounds simple when i say tha all you have to do is just spamming your Q.

Here's is what you do.
1v1: Taking any squishy down 1v1 should be easy as Akali there's just some champions you all ways should avoid, but this is only after lvl 6, pre-lvl 6 Akali can take almost everyone down 1v1 especially if you take exhasut .

The champions you should avoid is and his stupid ulti , - if he goes AP you stand a chance against him, if not he'll just turn on ulti and he'll absorb all your damage. And after lvl 6 you want to keep your distance from high damage bursters as Veigar (), LeBlanc (Her combo can burst 80% of your HP in the matter of seconds.)

Your skill sequence as Akali is in any fight:
-> -> Land a autoattack to procc the -> or if you have them up from CD -> -> again, and if they're fleeing use to catch them. If you have your passive slow from that will help you catch them even faster. You keep doing the same rotation until you have finished them off.
-> ->Land a autoattack to procc the -> then repeat.

Summoner Spells

Usually i take Exhaust and Flash . Flash is a must have as Akali, she's just too squishy without any easy get away. Exhaust lets you catch up to enemies, and you can 1v1 enemies alot easier with exhaust.

Other options:
Ignite : Finishes off that enemy teemo running away with 50 hp left. Can be very useful in some situations. Remember if you use then take a point in on the mastery tree.

CV : Well it is normally a support spell, but can be very helpfull when youre in the jungle, and the whole enemy team is chasing you, then make a cv on the other side of the wall and ulti too a minion.

Cleanse : Youre a assassin, and if youre playing against a team like: Galio , Malzahar , WW etc, you can escape quickly, and avoid dying from ganks.

Ghost : With this you can easily gank enemy champions, and escape easily through the jungle.

Masteries

21/0/9 - Alot of people like to take Defensive masteries to Akali, and if you want to do that, go for it. Personally i just like the extra XP boost, you get from utility, better.

Runes

My goal with these runes is to procc both side of her passive ability at lvl 1, so basically you can buy whatever you want at lvl 1, when you have both sides of her passive.
I believe that Im the only one who have chosen to run a build that procc's both sides of Akali's passive ability. You can aswell, if you like the health in the beggining grab a
It gives you a early advantage, over your enemies, and maybe the enemy Akali.
When you both side of your passive ability procced before you enter the game, you can also buy a
Depends on the enemy team, but i often like too buy or Dorans blade , and if it makes you feel better you could buy a Amplifying Tome too give extra lvl 1 burst.

Item Choises

Core: Akalis Core items is and .

Boots: Normally i get either or .
Mercs for the tenacity, and Soreceres for the MP.

Lich Bane : This is for burst Akali, and this adds ALOT of damage too your Q, a must have for any Akali.

Guinsoo Rageblade : Alot of people get this item with Akali, and there's a reason for it. It is a very good item on Akali, but normally i only buy this if the enemy team have alot of tanky dps(Irelia, Sion, etc.) that is the only way you can keep the 8 stacks.
But notice that this item doesn't support your role as a assassin as good as other items.
It will help you in some situations.

Rabadon's Deathcap : This item almost doubles the damage of Akalis burst, and it helps you take down enemies very fast, but i prefer buying this in the mid/late game depending on how many kills you have. Often you dont get to buy Deathcap because they surrender way before you can finish it.


Void Staff : You burst alot more with this because of the passive. 40% MP is pretty good if they havealot of MR.

Items you might want to consider buying:

Zhonyas Hourglass : The enemy team have alot of AD champs? Get this, 50 armor + a nice passive to survive a Karthus ult.

Quicksilver Sash : A very good and underrated item. This item removes ALL EFFECTS from your champion, get this if they have alot of CC.

Guardian Angel : Alot of casters on the enemy team? Get this and a very nice passive, again you can survive a Karthus ulti.

Banshee's Veil : Blocks a enemy spell. Playing against a Blitzcrank, Anivia, LeBlanc and so on, then get this.

Mejai's Soulstealer : A game going very well, get this and have double up on ability power.

Ninja Tabi : Playing against a heavy melee team, then get this and you will survive alot of thier ganks.

Will of the Ancients : Increases your spell vamp, making you a exceptional laner.

Abyssal Scepter : Gives you a lot of MR and it reduces MR of any nearby champions. You can always use extra AP as Akali.

Spirit Visage : Increased healing, MR, do i need to say more + and it doesn't cost that much.
Note: If you dont like that i use Guinsoo's Rageblade, please dont vote the guide down. Try the guide out with one of the other items suggested above:).


, and .

: I just want to got a little in depth with this item. It has certian uses to it. is a wonderfull item in the right hands. The 4% increased attackspeed and the 6 extra ability power per stack can be a advantage over enemies and even another . The only problem is; the stacks is so hard to maintain, especially as , since she's a AP burst champion and not a melee fighter champion. It's your decision if you like, then take it. If you don't buy some defensive to cover up for the missing damage.

vs
There's a huge discussion going on between players about these two items. A lot of them say that is the right way to go and then you buy a . I think it's a personal choice. I like to start with a and then a both of the increases your damage output, the only difference is the 15% AoE slow, and the 500 health the offers. Compared too the 500 hp is quite usefull. The slow is usefull to, but 's passive provides a slow that will allow you to catch up to a single fleeing enemy. There's not one of these items that is better than the other, it's a personal choice, and a situational choice, buy if they have to much damage and you need more hp. Buy if they're completely ignoring you, the damage provides is better than the damage has to offer. Surviveability vs. damageoutput? Match it to the way the game progresses.

Farming/Laning(Top, Bot, Mid)

Top or Bot lane:
Farming as Akali is easy. Last as many minions as possible. Spam your abilities, they will probably harras you very much, thinking that you will go back to your base. Well you've procced both passives from lvl 1 so you have a bit of spell vamp(and life steal if you bought Dorans Blade .)

That basically what you have to do. If possible, if you have a good lanepartner then push with your , the invisibility normally frightens the enemy.
Remember: Allway buy wards, it can make your escape alot easier.

Solo or mid:

Mid: When you mid with Akali allways keep in your mind that you with 100% garanty are playing against a champion whom can burst you down very easily and quickly(Annie, LeBlanc, Swain.)
If youre against a high burst champion mid, then you should totally ignore the enemy champion and only focus on last hitting minions.

Anivia: I often play against Anivia in mid as Akali, and what i do is i push with my , then when she enters the i land a Q on her dropping her health two bars. I keep doing that untill she have to recall(I last hit minions simultaneously). Once i reach lvl 6 i charge in with a Q and a R, then i exhaust her, while i keep spamming me E And my Q, the once her eggs pops i finish her off with a Q and a E <- You can do this with a lot of champions just avoid thos you know can burst you down.
But normally as Akali your damage output is HUGE in the beggining of the game. If you use your shroud correctly you should be able to keep them at low health almost the whole laning phase, or if they're scared they'll get underfed, and then you will have an advantage over them anyway.

Solo lane Akali:

As sololane you start off with a pair of Boot's of speed and three healing potions. As solo lane Akali you let them push your turret, the kill the minionwave, while they're pushing your turret remember to thrown down your W
right on the enemy minions, doing this the two champs your laning against(sometimes one) can not attack your turret. When they are pushing you this far back, you just sit back, keep lasthitting minions and wait for a gank.

Champions Akali work well with:
Swain, or any chapion with a snare/stun(Anivia , Lux , Brand , Fiddlesticks , Morgana , Sion and Veigar ).
These champions all have CC, and if youre fast enough the stun will give you time to land a Q and a E:.
That combo should drop any squishy below 50% health.
Any support champion like Soraka , Sona etc.

Cassiopiea: This is special, i have a friend who's really good at playing Cassiopiea. The damage output with these two champions is just insane.(A link to his Cassiopiea guide here!)

Who you wan't to play against and who you don't want to lane against.

Champions Akali has a hard time countering:

Vladimir : A melee champion should never be able to kill Vladimir.
What he does is -> and -> , at this time you should only be able to land a single and you should be around 50% hp, still dropping. Then he uses his a ability that makes him untargetable and then you should be dead.

Lee Sin : He has two abilities that makes you visible when youre sitting in your . Usually he goes offtank. So you have no chance at all.

Pantheon : He'll use his combo and and then you should be dead already, remember Akali is squishy as hell.

Malzahar : Before lvl 6, he should be as easy as cake to kill, but after lvl 6 he'll just use and then you should be dead. Unless you have or .


Annie : As long as her stun is up, you don't want to touch her. Simple. If her stun isn't ready just nuke her down, and start by using .

LeBlanc : Akali have a major problem with LeBlanc. Damage. Her damage is insane, and she'll nuke you down in less than a second. But pre lvl 6 she shouldn't be any problem. She's still one of the most squishy champions in the game.

Kennen : Way too much stun. Before lvl 6 he shouldn't be a problem. Just avoid his harrasment.

Leona : This champion, is the only champion Akali can't counter at all, you can use . She'll slaughter you. When she's normally laning with a burst champion, or any champion with a lot of damage she's a dealy cocktail for you. Leona isn't a damage dealer, and therefore she isn't able to put down a lot of damage, but once she reaches lvl 6. The three stuns and any lanepartner will kill you. Keep this in mind when you play against , but if your lane partner is good, then she shoulnd't be a problem. The low damage wont hurt two people. Just don't go one vs one with her. She'll either stunlock you and wait for her team, or she's tanky enough to totally ignore you.

Xin Zhao , Master Yi , Sion , Udyr : Akali is not a tank. These guys are Autoattack champions. DON'T EVER GO 1v1 WITH A AUTOATTACK CHAMPION AS AKALI. These guys are made for 1v1's, Akali is too, but it isn't with these guys because they'll tear you apart, and absorb all your damage with life steal.
Most of them have a stun. Stun is deadly to Akali, if you get hit by as stun, your as good as dead.

Swain : Before lvl 6 you should play very aggressive, but still avoid being hit by anything, especially his . If you get hit by that twice, your dead. Trust me i've tried it. Before lvl 6 Swain doesn't heal enough to outheal your insane damage output, he'll die if you get your combo in twice. is the best way to counter

Fiddlesticks : He isn't so hard to counter, the only problem is , Akali has no CC at all. Which means she isn't able to counter his . So don't go 1v1 with Fiddlesticks as Akali. He's squishy but he'll outheal your damage exactly like

Caitlyn : Caitlyn isn't a problem 1v1 unless she's really fat.
But when you're solo laning as Akali she's a huge problem due to her long autoattack range.
You should try to stay out of the range at all time's.

Heimerdinger : He's made too crush melee champions as Akali . Normally his turret's will crush you before you reach him. When and if you reach him he'll just throw out a CH-1 Concussion Grenade, that blinds you and then you're dead. If his turret's isn't up then he's a noob and you should kill him right away.

Veigar : Veigar is the anti-AP champion, you don't want to play against him as any AP champion. 'nuff said.

Tyndamere : Hes normally build with crit chance. If you get the chance to get him low, he'll just pop his and kill you anyway.




Champions you want to play against:

Ashe : Ashe should be a easykill, and if she's fat, then throw a on her. She's squishy enough for Akali to nuke her down in a second.

Miss Fortune : Repeat the "Ashe technique".

Anivia : She's easy to kill. She's the most squishy champion in League of Legends. A single should drop her to ~60% hp. Just keep harrassing her and avoid her harrasment. And you'll have first blood at lvl 4.

Teemo : In the firts 15 minutes of the game Teemo does no damage at all. That means free Teemo farming for Akali, because he's as squishy as Anivia.

Brand : Repeat the thing described above. Just remember that Brand actually does some damage(sometimes too much damage.), and if he land's his stun on you then you're dead.

Zilean , Sona and Soraka + more: Im gonna make a main rule now. Akali is strong against any support champion. She'll nuke through their healing, and kill them.

Cassiopiea she's kind of a rare champion, but when you meet her, she will harras you really bad, and you can't do anything(except avoiding her skill shots.) to her. When you reach lvl 6 you just have to avoid her stun, otherwise she's a easykill.
(This is a maybe, for skilled Akali players, you want to go against her as she's squishy as hell).



Basically you want to go against champions with no HP and a lot of damage.
That why i grab it makes it alot easier to kill the squishy champions.
It is easy anyway because that's the propose of an assassin.
As Akali you always want to go against squishies, champions similar to them mentioned above.

Teamfights, Focusing and more.

Akali is a hard champion in a teamfight, but what you want to do. Is wait 'till the tank on your team initiates, then immediately jump in, using the Skill Sequence described above( -> -> When you have procced your then immediately, and i mean immediately throw down your .)

Remember, Akali is very squishy, and you want to avoid all sorts of damage in a teamfight always wait untill the right moment. If you jump in too early you'll get focused. Normally all AoE spells is used in the beggining of a teamfight. That's why you either wait and let the tank ulti them all(for example Amumu's or Galio's .
When youre in the teamfight, sitting in the shroud, always remember too focus the Carry(the one with most kills on the enemy team.), then squishies. Ignore tanks, and dont EVER go 1v1 against champions like Xin Zhao , Master Yi , Tryndamere (DPS/offtanks).(They're what i like too call anti-assassin champs, normally a or a would tear you apart.)
Akali is one of the best champions at doing this, she isn't limited by mana as many other champions. She is an energy champion, which means that you want the blue buff as often as possible. Blue buff increases your energy regeneration, which is very helpfull when you're either sololaning or ganking.

Most people would say that the red buff belongs to a (AD)melee assassin on the team, or the AD carry, well Akali can use it too, the slow is very effective with , and this makes it alot easier to catch up on fleeing champions.

You should focus:
1. The Carry(Caitlyn , Ashe etc.)
2. The squishies(Anivia , LeBlanc , Lux and more)
3. The melee offtanks(assassins)(Xin Zhao , Irelia and any champions like these two.)
4. The tank (Rammus , Amumu .)
btw. DONT EVER FOCUS THE TANK, NO MATTER WHO YOURE PLAYING.

Ranked Play

Ranked play with Akali. When you play ranked with Akali, you almost always, unless your team fails completely, are going to be either mid or top solo lane. In a ranked game you always want to start with and three healing potions.

When you lane you obviously want to play defensive, and defend your turret. So always throw down your behind the enemy minions. In that way you deny your opponent from experience. Remember while your in your shroud() you can still be hit be AoE spells. If your enemies comes to close to you, punish them with a . When your jungler comes to gank, you always want to jump in immediately when the jungler lands his CC. When the CC has worn off you want to use your right away. This should make it almost impossible for the victim to escape.
What you should remember is too always last hit minions; do this while youre sitting in your(Your as a very good last hitting tool, time it right and you can last hit several minions at the time.

When you play ranked as you should do the same focusing as i explained in the focusing section. Many people think that the support always have to buy wards, this is not correct, ofc the support should buy the most, as the DPS's and so on needs items quickly. But if you buy wards as Akali, it can help you escape, and often save you from death. So always remember to buy wardsSight Ward.

Ganking and Turretdiving.

Ganking with Akali is quite simple. Akali have absolutely no CC, except her W's slow. What you want to do is wait untill you reach lvl 6. Whan you have your fully stacked, then you jump in with your combo, and use immediately. If your lanepartner knows how to play this game he/she would focus down the most squishy champion on the lane, you should do this to. Always try to get a second kill if it's possible. Remember to gank often with Akali.

Turretdiving

Dominion

How to play in Dominion as :
First you get Boot's of mobility and three healing potions.
After that you should just get the normal build.

The important thing in Dominion is to capture points, the great thing about is that her damage output from the beginning to the end is very high. Usually you play against high mobility champions like etc.
is free kill for .
What you always want to do is to take points when no one's looking, or watching over it.
Remember is one of the best champions to get away from ganks and such. Take a base, then disappear(hide) and when a enemy champion comes back to take the base, jump on him/her, and use the turret's increased damage to take the enemy down. As soon as your channeling, to take over a point, a enemy champion immediately comes to stop you, take him/her down and continue.

New items in Dominion, that can be usefull for
Hextech Sweeper can be usefull if youre playing against a stealth champion like .

, it's like so this can always be usefull.

: 15% capture rate, always usefull as well as the active.. plus the price is low.

How to get away with Akali

As you can see my flash wasn't up from CD at that moment, but on my right i had the most of my team, and we would eventually win the teamfight. Running downwards would be pretty stupid as there's no way to go there. Going upwards is the best way too flee in this situation, i could have chosen too run with the rest of the team, but then the enemy team would catch up on me and i would die anyway.

What you wanna do when you flee as Akali, is always too confuse your enemy, and gives you the ability to do that with Akali.


As you can see, this time i had my flash up, so the smartest way to run would be down, and the n flash over the wall.
The two other arrow would lead me straight to my second upper lane turret, but that way would be more risky as Galio with a certain garanty had his ultimate up from CD. So he would flash and taunt me immediately.

A final note

This guide is not completely done yet, im going to record some of my games with Akali, and then throw them in too this guide.

Leave any suggestions for things i could have done better. Thanks for reading, if you like please vote it up, if you dont, tell me why!:)
My favorite Swain Build
HF and GL, Zandurk

PS. Dominion Update will come soon, involving new playmode, build etc.

P.S: Please leave a comment on why you vote down, if you do so.