Welcome! to my first ever Mobafire guide. As a starting point I would like to inform you all that I am in no means a pro. I make dumb mistakes just like everyone out there. And do please leave constructive criticism as this is my first guide.


This guide is the Ability power way to play Akali which, in my opinon, is the best way to play Akali. Yes you can play her Hybrid, Yes you can play Akali AD. but i feel that AP is the best way to enhance her burst which is what she was meant

Pros

She has a GREAT early game, with an even better late game if farmed well
INSANE burst, maybe one of the best
Her passive is basically 2 in one!
Able to catch up with running enemy's easily due to her ultimate
Her stealth can be used in SO many ways to trick opponents

Cons
She is squishy, and is easily kill-able if focused
Her stealth is counter-able (as with all stealth champions)with oracles elixir or a Lee Sin who is even more dangerous due to his E having an AoE "oracles"
She is very dependant on her Twilight Shroud

My masteries are a basic 9/21/0 spec, becasue she is a melee and the defense tree benifits her much greatly than going 21 points into offense. I take all the necessary points in defense ( Ardor , Veteran's Scars ) and the basic resistance masteries.


What NOT to get
Strength of Spirit - you dont have mana...its useless
Will Power-You shouldn't be taking cleanse
Reinforce - Great if you're taking Fortify, but your not so its not tht great
Mender's Faith -You're not taking heal
Preservation -This benefits revive and if you're getting that....than u must be playing a odd champ
Offense Tree
Plentiful Bounty - only if you're jungling
Deadliness - You're NOT an auto attack champion
Alacrity -Again, you're NOT an auto attack champion
Burning Embers - Only if you're taking ignite instead of exhaust
Sunder - FOR THE THIRD TIME!!!, you're not an auto attacking champion!
Offensive Mastery - I assume this is for dps jungling champions? otherwise don't take it

My runes are pretty basic for any AP champion

- Standard on almost any AP champion, gives that extra UMPH to your abilities

- Flat AP seals for the extra AP at the start to help trigger you're ability power passive

- Flat AP quint's to trigger you're AP passive

- AP per level Glyphs to give you more AP as you go on further in the game, which is when you will need alot more AP to do any burst whatsoever


PS: If you look at my summoner Profile you will see my runes are horrible...I am not the best with rune buying but I that these runes work from looking at the stats of all the other runes there are, i just spend my IP on champs not runes at the moment.

Mandatory!
Flash-Akali has no natural escape ability except a stealth, you'll need this

Other options! Ignite-you can take this, but only if u take the point in the offensive tree for the extra 10 AP
Exhaust-I perfer this over ignite because of the damage reduction and slow.

Cleanse- Akali is really vulnerable to CC, so this is viable, but i dont like it

My items might look a little different than most builds, but before you downvote because it LOOKS odd, try it out first.


-I get this item first because with my runes, you can trigger Both of your passives at level 1, making you a BEAST early game.

- you need speed early game and this item has it for a cheap cost.

- this might be the most controversial item for Akali. Sheen gives you Ablity power, an excellent passive which helps your burst out IMMENSELY and mana which is totally useless, but for the other stats, you can overlook the useless mana.

- Akali is succeptable to CC so Mercury's treads gives you a counter to it.

- Akali NEEDS this item desperately,as she has no CC except a sub-par slow from her stealth and it gives her health and a good amount of AP.

- This item can be replaced for any situtional item. enemy AP raping you? get a banshee's veil. enemy AD champ critting you every hit? get randuins omen or thornmail. winning so badly that its sad? skip this and go immediatly into Rabadons deathcap.

- this is a GREAT item for any AP champ, gives you the most AP in one item in the game, and! its passive gives you even MORE AP on top!

- A great end to any akali build as it gives you more ap, a solid 7% movement speed bonus and an AMAZING effect that will increase your burst immensely
Situational items

get this item if you feel like you can own with no problem



Get this item if you need the extra survivablity in team fights

If you need another survivabilty item, the game has gone on for WAY to long (=D) and you might need to give up your AD passive for another survivability item

- This is akali's main damage output, as you can see it applies damage when u hit someone with the mark itself and TRIGGER it when you auto attack them( similar to Leblanc's sigil of silence. This is also a great harras tool as well as a last-hitting one.

- This might be one of the best stealths in game. Contrary to the normal stealth champions, ( Evelynn, Twitch)this one is stationary. As in it does NOT move. Now you might be thinking, "wth.....this is a total downside! I HATE AKALI *ragequit*"but this is not the case. you can pull off amazing jukes/tricks with this. Honestly, this is what makes akali's good (not sucking in general helps too =D). As i cannot really explain to you the tricks you can pull off with this, I will try to upload videos.

- this is akali's main way to farm any minion wave. but be careful! using it to much to clear minions can drastically drain your energy, making you useless if u get into a team fight. Plus, this ability has a short cast time, meaning it will not hit instantly. so if you're chasing an enemy, make sure you can hit them with this. it might take some time to get used to this, but its worth it

- this is what make Akali one of the best anti-carrys. This allows her to instantly jump to her target and deal a good amount of damage to them. Remember, you can use this defensively. If you're running away from a fight, try to R a enemy minion pushing your tower so you get to it quicker.

Fights with Akali can range from face roll easy to getting-out-of-Alcatraz hard.

Laning
Basicly, you want to harass/last hit with your [[Mark of the assassin] Once your opponent is at halfish, and you think you can kill them with a competent teammate by your side, go ahead and go for it, Q them and R in , only E if they are not running as it has a short cast time and if it doesnt hit, its a waste of energy.If you're pre 6 the same thing applies but without the R, as you dont have it and akali is somewhat dependant so i would wait to fight unless u have 2-3 stacks of your ult


Teamfights
In team fights you CANNOT initiate first, as you will die almost instantly. Wait till your tank rushes in than target the carry of the enemy team. Akali's role in a team fight is an ANTI-CARRY. for those of you who don't know what that is, its someone who takes down the enemy carry at all costs even for their life. Q them and E and R at the appropriate times to deal the maximum damage. If they have no support they are likely to die from your insane burst in about 5-7 seconds. Again, you are not invincible so don't charge in blindly into team fights, knowing you will lose.

Akali ,overall, is an amazing champion. Insane burst with a great stealth that you can easily juke with (practice makes perfect when it comes to juking with your stealth)

She should be played as an AP burst champ, not hybrid or AD. out of the two, hybrid is most viable over AD, but AP is the best. She will take a couple of games to get used to, so dont expect to own the first time you play as her. and she is very rune reliant. you can play her without runes, but it is not reccomended.

08/21/2011- Guide created
08/22/2011- changed mejai's soulstealer to situational items instead part of core build and moved mercury treads before rylai's as the CC reduction is needed before it. ( and thanks to the people that commented to help me realize this =D) I also added a skill usage section