Hi!! I'm Icemperor2 (NA). I have been playing Akali for a few weeks and wanted to make a guide on how I play her! I am a versatile Mid and Support main, so just add me if you want to queue together. I am currently trying to climb to gold, but I'm hardstuck Silver, and am currently in the process of taking my Akali to ranked! Don't let my rank deter you, though, as I usually go 10+ kills each game, and I truly believe I know what I'm talking about. :) enjoy the guide!

(Flash - Teleport)
I take teleport most of the time. This is the summoner spell that most pros take, as they can get back to lane if they are poked out to buy items. Also, you can tp to a ward bot lane and then get a double kill if you see the opportunity, so this is a great versatile rune.

(Flash - Ignite)
I take ignite against matchups where I can snowball. I also take ignite against very volatile lanes, such as Zed or Katarina, so I can get an early kill and snowball.

~Early Game:
So. If you go Doran's Shield you will be tankier, but lack a bit of early damage. I would go Doran's Shield if you are up against big poke champs, like Leblanc, Zoe, etc. I would go Doran's Ring against close, volatile matchups, like Katarina or Zed. The pot and ward are just standard after that.

~Standard AP Akali:
This item build is the standard build you wanna go for, this will give you good damage with the magic pen. You want to build left-to-right, so start with Gunblade and so on. You can go Rabadon's early if they do not have lifesteal.

~On-Hit Akali:
This build is OP!! Mostly against squishy champs such as other assasins, or spellcasters. Each auto can do up to 700 damage once you have Duskblade. On a good game you can get Duskblade at around 25-30 mins. If you find you are catching out champs in the jungles, then go Sanguine Blade. If not, then just go Rabadons or maybe zhonya's for extra safety. You could also go Morel. for magic pen, but its rare since you already have armor+magic pen from Duskblade and Lich.

Akali's Passive: Akali's Passive is Assassin's Mark. After an ability is cast, A green ring appears around the enemy. If akali exits the ring, she will empower her next auto attack. It will grant her extra Energy, and grant her a boost of MS towards the target she marked. Her next auto will also do greatly increased damage. This is her main tool for damage early through mid-late game.

Akali's Q: Akali's Q is a mid to close range ability that shoots out 5 Kunai (daggers). At the tip, there is a hitbox that slows enemies.

Akali's W: Akali's W is a smoke bomb that, once placed, creates an expanding ring of smoke that lingers for a few seconds. If Akali stays passively inside the Smoke, she becomes untargetable and invisible. She can still be hit by Turret shots, Aoe, and Aoe CC. If Akali attacks or uses other abilities, she is revealed for a short duration. When akali uses the ability, she gains a burst of movement speed.

Akali's E: Akali's E is a two-part ability. The first part is a projectile that she throws forward while flipping backwards. If the projectile hits an enemy it deals damage, and she can recast the ability to dash to the target, dealing damage.

Akali's R: Akali's R is a two-part ability. The first part does damage based on Attack Damage, and the second part does damage based on the target's Missing Health and Ability Power. The first cast is a champion-targeted leap that allows Akali to deal damage and leap to and slightly over the target, and a few seconds later (2.5)... she can recast the ability to strike through all targets in a line, dashing through them and dealing damage.

~Tip: All of Akali's damaging abilities scale with Attack Damage and Ability Power, allowing Akali to be very versatile with her builds, however she will not benefit from Mana-increasing/Mana-regen items, as she uses Energy.

I take Q first, for extra poke. Akali's poke combo is Q -> AA, Q -> AA. You have to make sure you empower your first AA, so that you get extra damage, ms, and energy. Once you get close with the AA, hit it and then Q again. Ideally, you should empower and then hit another auto, but somethimes its just better to hit the wave if you don't want to risk another auto.

At level 2, you have a lot more options and you can be way more aggro. Your main combo at level 2 will be
Q-> AA, (W), Q, W, AA... Q->AA. If you hit everything, this could kill really squishy champs, especially with Ignite. Since W restores your energy, you will want to use it when you no longer have enough energy to hit Q. This might be before you can hit 2 Qs, so just be mindful of when to use W. The goal is after every AA, to retreat back into the shroud so you don't take damage. Also, try not to be predictable with your placement, like go into a few weird spots so you aren't targeted by AOE or CC, but stay close enough for Q.

~Tip: Sometimes, if you are the right distance away, you can hit Q and immediately get an empowered AA.

At level 3, E is a really important tool to either exit battle, finish enemies, or engage. A good engage combo would start with E, E-dash, then AA, then Q->AA, then W, then Q->AA to finish. Since E procs the passive empowered AA, it is really important for damage. Use E mid-fight if you need to get away from CC or AOE. You can also use E at the end of a fight to pretend like you are running away, but really you E, dash E, and then AA finish.

~Tip: Also, You can E your W shroud, and then dash back into the shroud. In addition, E can take you over most walls, except for the really thick ones. E wall hops work on Baron, Dragon, Midlane Bush walls, and most others. The surprising ones are Baron and the thick Midlane bush walls, so use this to your advantage by tricking the enemy and then quickly escaping or ganking using a backwards E.

At level 6, you unlock your Ulti. This is Akali's most useful tool for securing kills. You can start your combos with R to gap-close, and then do one of the above combos, and end with the R-recast. The lower your enemy is, the more likely they are to die of R-recast (dmg based on missing health). The R-recast can also be used out of Zhonya's to escape, or just used to escape. The most useful way to escape using R Recast is to cast it over walls. R-recast can take Akali over (almost) any wall in summoners rift. A useful way to use R is to cast it, and then while you are vaulting over the enemy, E in their direction. This allows you to gap close even better and get an AA off, then continue with an above mentioned combo, and then end with R.

~Tip: Akali's R can be used to Tower dive, secure a kill, and then get out of turret range with R-recast.

~Conqueror:
Conq. gives Akali damage and healing through long trades. POM is a necessity for Akali as it increases her energy amounts the more kills she gets. I like Tenacity as it allows Akali to stay mobile even if she's CC'd, as she has a lot of escapes. Coup De Grace is good for finishing off enemies. I use Sudden Impact for extra damage. Since Akali has 5 ways to use Sudden impact. with W Stealth, E and E-recast, and R and R-recast. Ravenous Hunter is really good for Akali as it allows her to heal a LOT. You could go Ultimate Hunter, but this is risky and you could end up flopping and feeding instead of using your Ult at oppurtune moments. Using Ultimate Hunter makes you a bit lazier with your Ult, which I don't like. Extra Ap/Ad early is good, and depending who you are against go with Armor or Magic resist.

~Electrocute:
I use Electrocute against squishy champions that I won't have long trades with, more just quick bursty poke. Electrocute does a lot of damage, especially with Coup De Grace under 50% health. I use the other runes for the same reason as above. Eyeball Collection is really good to snowball, but you can also use Ghost Poro if you are afraid of ganks and want to get a lot of vision. Armor or Magic resist depending, and early Ap/Ad is good.