Hello, my name is 'Knightmarë', and I bring to you my take on Akali with the experience of quite of few games played with her.

My Take On Akali

Akali, a very situational champion that does exceptionally well in combat (one v. one), with a very versatile kit, which can be used for mobility, escape, and damage.

Akali, ever since I laid eyes on her (around level 10) had been a champion that I loved and adored, just everything! I have seen some enemy/ally use her time and time again. Being a sucker for the concept of stealth itself I wanted Akali (I also wanted Twitch, and Evelynn too). It was settled, I was going to buy her. With all the excitement on getting a new champion I had played tons of games, saving up 3150 Influence Points (IP), I finally had enough to buy her, and like you guys, searched up a guide to figure out her mechanics, item build, and whatever else I could learn about her. On to level 30, here's where I ended up, I STILL LOVE HER, to the 2 second burst of her Mark of the Assassin, all the way to her gap-closing Shadow Dance I knew she was the one, and I now present to you my love for Akali in a guide that will be pertaining to game-play, tips, itemization, and an in-depth analysis that gets straight to the point of Akali: The Fist of Shadow.
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SPACE

There exists an ancient order originating in the Ionian Isles dedicated to the preservation of balance. Order, chaos, light, darkness -- all things must exist in perfect harmony for such is the way of the universe. This order is known as the Kinkou and it employs a triumvirate of shadow warriors to uphold its causes in the world. Akali is one of these shadow warriors, entrusted with the sacred duty of Pruning the Tree - eliminating those who threaten the equilibrium of Valoran. A prodigal martial artist, Akali began training with her mother as soon as she could make a fist. Her mother's discipline was relentless and unforgiving, but predicated on the fundamental principle: ''We do that which must be done.'' When the Kinkou inducted her into the order at the age of fourteen, she could slice a dangling chain with a chop of her hand. There was no question - she would succeed her mother as the Fist of Shadow. She has had to do much in this role which others might find morally questionable, but to her it is in service of her mother's inviolable doctrine. She now works with her fellows Shen and Kennen to enforce the balance of Valoran. This hallowed pursuit has unsurprisingly led the triumvirate to the Fields of Justice. ''The Fist of Shadow strikes from the cover of death itself. Do not impede the balance.''

Pros + Has an insane amount of burst damage. + Can escape easily with Twilight Shroud & Shadow Dance. + Covers vasts amount of distance with her sheer mobility. + Attack animations allow you to farm easily. + Extremely versatile. + Snowballs if doing well.

SPACE

SPACECons - Higher learning curve. - Needs specific rune page for her passives. - Practically no crowd control. (Rylai's Crystal Scepter) - Crowd control rapes Akali. - Undoubtedly squishy. - One of the first targets people search for. - Items such as Vision Wards & Oracle's Elixir cripple her

Mark of the Assassin Mark of the Assassin is Akali's main farming tool. It is her only ranged attack so try to use it to your advantage. If you are laning against someone that you feel timid about, lay low and use Mark of the Assassin for farming. It has a quick cool-down and will give you that range you need. If you feel like you have the edge in your lane use this to farm and do some early harassing. It will cause them to be very weary and not be as aggressive which could possibly lose them precious gold and experience. Twilight Shroud Twilight Shroud is Akali's most known ability because it is great for several different things. You can use this to farm, escape, slow, and to even scare off the enemies. If you are being outlaned and they are at your turret, you can set this down to scare them away. Also, if the enemy is trying to run from you set this in front of their path to slow them down. This allows you to catch up to plant a solid combo of Mark of the Assassin, Crescent Slash, & Shadow Dance.

Crescent Slash Crescent Slash is another good farming tool. Although it wont do much damage until upgraded more, it is a good last hitting ability and also a good way to hit a massive amount of creeps at a time. Later in the game, this ability is great way to take out enemy champion's HP. Especially if you land the right combo. Shadow Dance Shadow Dance is what makes Akali the champion she is. With this ability you are able to cover tons of ground, lock onto champions so they cannot escape, and allow you to get away in those instances you are about to die. As you get a stack every few seconds depending which level it is on, don't be afraid to use it! Also, you gain a stack every time you get an assist or kill. Use this to your advantage to chase or escape.

Zoning is a very important part of controlling your lane, using your champion, abilities, brush can cause the enemy champion to play passively, where you come in and continue to deny said champion of experience and gold.

Don't ever hesitate to buy Sight Wards or Vision Wards as they can save your life or even take one. It also benefits your team by giving them map awareness, and who doesn't love that?


1st Priority -

Baron
Dragon
With Vision Wards so you can destroy the enemies Sight Ward Vision Ward that is also there.

2nd Priority -

Lizard Buff
Golem Buff

3rd Priority -

Bushes in middle lane.
The bushes along the river.

4th Priority -

The exit/entrance bushes from the jungle on top & bottom lane.
The bush next to the Wraith Camp.
The openings from the jungle towards the middle lane.

5th Priority -

Purely optional
The 2 bushes in top & bottom lane.
The bush near the 2nd turret in the jungle.

Even though his voice is very monotone, it's nevertheless informational, and provides an in-depth analysis of ward placement and its importance.
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Baron is the most important buff in the game, although he takes awhile to kill, it is entirely worth it to take down, providing the extra gold (global 300g), experience, and stats. Your team will have a major advantage against the other team, solely with this buff. So keeping track on this is a major priority by timing the death of Baron all the way to its re-spawn, so the enemy team doesn't get it at all, or get it again.

Dragon/Drake is the next important thing you should keep track of, giving an amount of global 190 gold, and experience to those who are near it can determine who wins games. You may think that 190 gold is not much, but in competitive matches any gold you have over your enemy is worth it. You often see team fights at Dragon/Drake solely for that purpose.


Red Buff is important for your jungler, it enable him to gank more efficiently in early levels due to the slow, deals true damage and creates a type of mini-ignite towards the selected opponent. After that it usually goes to an AD range carry such as Caitlyn, Vayne, Corki, etc. This helps tremendously in game-play overall, with a slow from just auto-attacking, a mini-ignite, and true damage, your team will be at a slight advantage if you control both red buffs.

Blue buff is another buff for a caster and sustaining jungle. Blue buff reduces your cooldown timer, and increases mana regeneration. Usually given to a caster after the jungler can sustain in the jungle with ease, with this buff on the caster, it becomes much more of a hassle in lane and overall. Spamming abilities with ease, placing this on your own caster, and denying it from your enemies can win games.

Nothing to really worry about, just might as well place it in. These give no buffs or major advantage in the game, but simply denying a jungler of this early game can cripple them hard, so make sure to protect these camps at level 1, in case of counter-jungling.

This video explains it all so a special thank you to MontgomeryLoL! For further questions about how to jungle please comment or private message.

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Why don't you always get Mejai's Soulstealer?

Answer

Mejai's Soulstealer is a high reward, high risk item, with the passive providing 8 ability power per stack you may think that's not bad and you're right. The only thing to it is you lose a third of your stacks when you die. Although you may be up in stacks early/mid game, this item can just cripple you late game because most likely the enemy team will do anything to remove your stacks, it's like a big target on your head. Mejai's Soulstealer is very situational, only get it if you know you'll do well, and the game will end quickly.

Is Akali a good jungler?

Akali is a decent jungler. I recommend more of the laning gameplay style then the jungling one with Akali. Although if you were to use Akali to jungle, start by upgrading her Crescent Slash.

How high does Twin Disciplines affect her?

I love this passive, with both up at level 1 you can dominate Early Game with a breeze, the use in each passive can determine the good Akalis from the bad. With the 8% Spell Vamp. it allows you to stay in the lane for as long as possible, and with the 8% Magic Damage increasing you'll be owning your lane. This passive is a great way to push, out lane, and even get fed early game.

A huge thank you to jhoijhoi for her amazing guide on how to make a guide! Definitely the best guide on Mobafire! It helped me with everything so thank you!

Another thank you to my three best friends, "Oppocaliptic", "greenlantern125", and "quail80", for introducing me to the game and making me the player I am today!

A final thank you to Akali for being an amazing champion ;]

Hope this guide has help you become a better player with Akali! Thank you so much for taking time to read! I hope you enjoyed. If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, feel free to leave a comment. Any criticism will help and I will try my best to answer your questions! Don't hesitate to add me on LoL, my summoner name is "Comehonor99". Also for all you Shaco lovers out there, here is a great guide my friend made that will help a lot: Shaco Guide With Jungle and Dominion