Akali, ever since I laid eyes on her (around level 10) had been a champion that I loved and adored, just everything! Now that she's been branded FOTM (Favorite of the Month), 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

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 & Cons

Pros / Cons

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





space
Cons



- // 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.

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.



Credits to Dotter & KaOticLegends for giving me the idea, and da_neo & Panglot for the information.


General Jungle Knowledge

I know, I know. Akali isn't as viable in the jungle as other champs. That is true, BUT it is important to your team and yourself to keep track of the times of each neutral camp.

Baron Nashor

Initial Spawn: (15:00) Respawn Time: (7:00)

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

Initial Spawn: (2:30) Respawn Time: (6:00)

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

Initial Spawn: (1:55) Respawn Time: (5:00)

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

Initial Spawn: (1:55) Respawn Time: (5:00)

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.

Wolves, Wraiths, & Small Golems

Initial Spawn: (1:40) Respawn Time: (1:00)

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.


All credit goes towards Hahano - Jungling 202: Beyond The Basics. His guide is extremely helpful to new junglers and to people who just want pure knowledge about the jungle overall!


Tips & Tricks



Through levels 1-5 be sure to strictly farm and harass when you can, once you are/reach level 6 you can start playing aggressively. (Unless your enemy sucks.)

If you have the chance to solo top or middle lane always take it! Top lanes' brush and its layout - although similar to bottoms' - is better, and if you are in middle harassing correctly and farming you can deprive the enemy.

Always try to obtain the Red buff whenever you can, the slow and extra damage can help a lot when you don't have Rylai's Crystal Scepter yet.

Make sure to grab an Elixir of Fortitude whenever you have extra gold lying around, with the extra Health and attack damage, you gain survivability and more damage for Crescent Slash[E].