Who am I?
Hi, I'm ShockStrikes, welcome to my Akali Mid and Top guide. I am an ADC/Mid main. I play many champions. I play Yasuo, Akali, Fizz and Taliyah for the Middle Lane. I also play Ezreal, Kai'Sa and Vayne for the Bottom lane. The only champion I play Top lane is Akali. I love to try out new, wacky builds in normals. I am a very aggressive player and love champions with high burst damage or champions that offer high-risk, high-reward, essentially champions that run Dark Seal. I used to main support but drifted away from it as I started to learn more about the game. I really enjoy playing League of Legends and has been my go-to game for a while, I hope you enjoy my guide, hopefully, you'll learn some tips and tricks.
Why Akali?
When I first got Akali I didn't really play her much, Akali was my only Mid and Top lane champion in case I ever got auto-filled apart from ADC or Support. I wasn't good with her at all, I would always die under tower when diving with her, allow the enemy to poke, use my E2 when I shouldn't. It was a mess, and so I refunded her. However, I started to watch Professor Akali and noticed how clean her combos were. I then refunded Katarina in order to purchase Akali again, and it wasn't a mistake at all. Akali was the reason I became a Mid and Top lane main because I didn't know how fun Mid and Top lane champions were. Akali has a lot of mobility, high damage outputs and good scaling on her abilities. While it is no doubt that Akali isn't in her prime, she is still incredibly fun to play.
Is this guide for me?
This guide is for anyone really, I'm just trying to help people get a grasp of Akali and what is best to use with her. Maybe there might be something you didn't know about Akali even if you're good with her!

My personal preference in the Mid lane is taking Domination with Inspiration.

Domination Tree

Electrocute - Electrocute has always been a good pick for burst assassins. Akali can easily proc Electrocute with her Q, E and auto attacks. It doesn't scale so well into the late game, however, in the early game it can dish out a lot of damage.

Sudden Impact - I would then go with Sudden Impact, I prefer this over Taste of Blood in this build because our sustain is coming from Time Warp Tonic and Ravenous Hunter, Taste of Blood's healing is satisfactory compared to those two runes. You can proc Sudden Impact with your E and R. The extra lethality and Magic Penetration come in handy in a fight, especially in a 1v1.

Eyeball Collection - I would then go with Eyeball Collection, Ghost Poro is fine as well too though. They both provide that extra AP. I wouldn't go with Zombie Ward only because you won't be building Oracle Lens or even Duskblade of Draktharr.

Ravenous Hunter - Lastly, I would pick Ravenous Hunter. This is essential, this rune provides quite the amount of healing. Ever since the removal of the healing from Five Point Strike, she has not received any compensation buff. I wouldn't mind taking Ingenious Hunter either because Akali builds two items with active passives Zhonya's Hourglass and Hextech Gunblade.

Inspiration Tree
We are limited to two options, in this case, I would take Perfect Timing and Time Warp Tonic.

Time Warp Tonic - I take Time-Warp Tonic because it provides incredible sustain when combined with Refillable Potions, and for a further step, The Dark Seal. I always make sure to grab a Refillable Potion on my first back as they are very gold efficient.

Perfect Timing - Perfect Timing is a great rune for Akali. Not only does it reduce the cost of Zhonya's by 250 gold, but it also reduces the cooldown of Zhonya's Hourglass by 15%, when combined with Ingenious Hunter could lead to a whopping 55% cooldown on Zhonya's Hourglass when fully stacked. Also, it provides you with at free stopwatch at the 10-minute mark! If you don't build Zhonya's Hourglass but rather Guardian Angel the cooldown buff still applies to Guardian Angel.

Stat Runes
I would simply take two Adaptive Force and one of either Armor or Magic Resistance based on who you are against in the laning phase. The only time I would do utilize different stat runes is when their team is surprisingly majority AD or majority AP, in this case building double Armor or double Magic Resistance. Majority meaning at least 4 players of their team.

My personal preference in the Top lane is taking Precision with Domination.

Precision Tree

Conqueror - Conqueror is a great pick for Akali in the Top lane. You can proc Conqueror with both Spells and Basic Attacks. Akali does a lot of the two, her main source of harass coming from Five Point Strike, and Assassin's Mark. Yes, Conqueror does stack from the Assassin's Mark auto attacks. When fully stacked, Conqueror converts 10% of your damage to true damage. Note, this means that any source of damage has 10% of it converted to true damage. Not only that but Conqueror heals you for 10% of the pre-mitigation damage done. Conqueror just really helps with your all-in.

Triumph - Triumph is a great rune to have, after Akali's Perfect Execution cooldown was buffed there is no longer any need to run Presence of Mind. Triumph can help you live after going in for tower dives, and 1v1's. It also heals you crazy in team fights. Triumph provides an additional 20 gold per takedown, which is always a nice little add-on.

Legend: Tenacity - Legend: Tenacity is the dominant rune in this section, Akali doesn't benefit from Alacrity or Bloodline. Tenacity will help reduce the duration of any sort of crowd control except suppression, stasis, and displacement. Yeah, you will always have to build Quicksilver Sash against Malzahar. Legend: Tenacity will provide a maximum of 30% reduction when fully stacked. When combined with Mercury Treads could lead to a whole 51% crowd control duration reduction, pretty neat, eh?

Coup de Grace - Coup de Grace simply outmatches other runes in this section. Akali is an assassin, she will be looking for easy picks and finishes. Coup de Grace provides an 8% increase in damage towards those who are under 40% HP. This can help dish out extra damage in your all-in, or just help you get some easy picks. Coup de Grace will help you kill your target faster, this can ultimately decide the fate of the battle. If you aren't able to eliminate the enemy fast enough, they might be able to get to safety, forcing you to back off or force the dive.

Domination Tree
We are limited to two options, in this case, I would take Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter. We are giving up the early game sustain from Time Warp Tonic so we cannot take Sudden Impact or it will make the laning phase tougher.

Taste of Blood - Taste of Blood provides some nice healing during the laning phase. Taste of Blood has a 20-second cooldown and can only be proced by damaging an enemy champion. It doesn't scale too well but it gets the job done in the early game, especially because Akali will be looking to poke using her Five Point Strike and Assassin's Mark.

Ravenous Hunter - Lastly, I would pick Ravenous Hunter. This is essential, this rune provides quite the amount of healing. Ever since the removal of the healing from Five Point Strike, she has not received any compensation buff. I wouldn't mind taking Ingenious Hunter either because Akali builds two items with active passives Zhonya's Hourglass and Hextech Gunblade.

Stat Runes
I would simply take two Adaptive Force and one of either Armor or Magic Resistance based on who you are against in the laning phase. The only time I would do utilize different stat runes is when their team is surprisingly majority AD or majority AP, in this case building double Armor or double Magic Resistance. Majority meaning at least 4 players of their team.

Fleet Footwork, a safe choice in both the Top and Mid lane.

This rune page is the same as the Conqueror rune page listed above, the only difference is the keystone, in that being Fleet Footwork. Many people have converted to Fleet Footwork because of the sustain and reliability it has in the lane. It works well with Akali because of her recent removal of her Five Point Strike healing. Fleet Footwork scales nicely with Akali, especially well when into the late game. The movement speed can also be the factor of you escaping from the enemy or being able to finish off the enemy. It just feels good to run Fleet Footwork, it is really satisfying. Moreover, it does reduce your all-in potential. Therefore, Fleet Footwork is my go to Keystone against some of Akali's tougher matchups.

Domination primary, precision secondary; a rune page for more experienced Akali players.

This rune page is very similar to the Electrocute rune page listed above, the only exception being that we use Precision secondary rather than Inspiration. The two runes that are to be used in the precision section are Triumph and Coup de Grace. This is a great pick for those who wish to dive under tower more often. Coup de Grace will allow you to finish off enemies quicker than usual while Triumph will help you survive that remaining damage from Ignite or even a tower shot. I cannot count the number of times Triumph has helped save me in a fight. In this rune page, we are giving up a lot of sustain. We are going full burst with more tower dive potential. I wouldn't recommend going Taste of Blood here because it diminishes the purpose of this rune page. I rarely ever pick this rune page, unless it is against one of my easier matchups or if I am confident I can kill the enemy laner. I always make sure to go Dark Seal or Long Sword with this rune page rather than Doran's Shield

Flash is a must-have summoner spell on Akali. Flash is almost taken with every champion nowadays. Flash can enable you to access greater mobility to increase your outplay potential by being able to secure kills, escape ganks. Flash synergizes well with Akali's Perfect Execution and Shuriken Flip as well. Flash is mandatory in both the Top and Mid lane.

Teleport is a safe pick in both the Top and Mid lane. I prefer taking it in the Top lane because the distance between the base and Top tower is greater than that of the Mid lane. Teleport can help you get back to lane faster, keep up with your enemy, have greater map presence and allows you to roam without fear of taking a long time to get back to lane.

Ignite is a great pick in the Mid lane. Ignite is not as reliable in the Top lane, however. If the enemy is running Teleport the enemy will have the advantage of getting to the lane quicker, grabbing more CS and even platings. Ignite also inflicts Grievous Wounds which reduces the healing of the enemy champion by 40%. Ignite helps you finish off enemies who are low, which is great for assassins.

Cleanse is a summoner spell that I would only ever take in the Mid lane, giving up Teleport is too valuable in the Top lane. Cleanse allows you to break free of any Crowd Control, excluding suppression and airborne. This is great when you are at risk of facing both the heavy crowd control of the Mid Lane and Jungler or if the enemy team as a whole has heavy crowd control.

Assassin's Mark - Damaging a champion with an ability creates a ring around them. When the ring forms, Akali gains a burst of movement speed towards it. Once she crosses the ring, Akali gains another burst of movement speed towards the enemy. Crossing the ring also empowers her kama, which increases the range and damage of her next attack. This attack also restores a small amount of energy.

Five Point Strike - Akali throws five kunai in a narrow arc, damaging enemies directly in front of her and slowing those at maximum range. At rank 5, Five Point Strike deals extra damage to minions and monsters.

Twilight Shroud - Akali restores energy and creates a cloud of smoke, which slowly spreads to cover a ring-shaped area. While in the smoke, Akali is obscured and has increased movement speed. While obscured, Akali is stealthed and though her position can be revealed, Akali herself can't be—meaning she can't be targeted by abilities or attacks. Akali can leave the cloud of smoke once to extend its duration.

Shuriken Flip - Akali backflips and throws a shuriken forward, damaging and marking the first enemy hit. The shuriken can also hit and mark the smoke from Twilight Shroud. Akali can reactivate Shuriken Flip to dash to the marked target, damaging enemies she passes through.

Perfect Execution - Akali dashes up to two times, with a slight delay between. The first dash deals physical damage and briefly stuns, while the second dash deals magic damage based on the missing health of the enemy.