Hello and welcome to my first rendition of Akali: The Fist of Shadow. In this guide I will describe how Akali should be played in LoL for 3s and 5s later in my next installment. But for now I will go about how you should work with your Akali so you can start pwning face in the games.

New update for the patch will include some new items and a change in my build and runes.

Pros:
1. Insane amounts of burst dps
2. Easily avoid death if used correctly.
3. Great chaser.
4. Extra Health for laning longer.

Cons:
1. Difficult to use her abilities well.
2. Still squishy but alot better now.

Masteries:

I tend to play with a 21/9/0 build for straight up damage output and less survivability.

Now I have been working on my 9/21/0 build for DPS and survivability and find that this is the best way to go. I say this because 3/3 into Ardor helps with the AP output late game. And since I always go with AP Akali this helps me out even more with surviving a fight. More HP for early game assaults and I wouldn't have to worry about obtaining Rylai's Crystal Scepter early game.

Spells:
YES:
1. Flash = get out of tight situations and escape with ease.
2. Exhaust = to slow down those pesky get aaways and get some extra 10 armor and MR debuff along with shroud.
(NOTE: Exhaust has been nerfed to do 70% less damage to the target making this useless for Akali)
OTHERS:
1. Cleanse = remove certain debuffs that will cause you to die
2. Ghost = for fast get aways
3. Ignite = if you are going for a 21/9/0 build get this with the Burning Embers mastery for extra AP (of course the 50% healing reduction is a bonus)
4. Teleport = for when u hate losing the experience of a life time.
NO:
Everything else that is not the ones I described above...can just sit tight and never be touched for you have no use for such useless spells.

Runes:
1. Marks = x9 Greater Mark of Insight (for the extra magic penetration if you are going full blown AP)
2. Seals = x5 Greater Seal of Strength and x4 Greater Seal of Potency
3. Glyphs = x9 Greater Glyphs of Potency
4. Quintessence = x2 Greater Quintessence of Potency and x1 Greater Quintessence of Fortitude.

ok with this rune build I am able to get 20 AP so i can get my passive right away then with Doran's Blade I am able to get both passives with extra life steal. 700 HP at the start to stay in lanes longer and most likely and early kill if i have a squishy opponent but don't feel too overconfident.

Item Build (what to focus on):
1.Ionia Boots
2.Guinsoo's Rageblade
3.Hextech Gunblade
4.Rylai's Crystal Sceptor (or you may get this first or second)
4.Lich Bane or Rabadon's Deathcap (or vice versa)

Those are your primary items after that you can obtain any other AP item. Go with the outcome of the game. Whether you need more MR resistance then go with Abyssal Sceptor. Need more Magic Pen then Void Staff.

Skills:

For the start I always pick Mark of the Assassin for early game assaults and damage. This is because if you are soloing you can have that range to finish off that minion and not have to worry about getting hit by the enemies ranged hero, and for early ganks as well. Then Twilight Shroud, I use this spell to go into the group of minions and force the opponent to go back losing their experience and gold if I can followed with a MotA. At lvl 3 get MotA again and then Crescent Slash. After that Shadow Dance > MotA > Crescent > Shroud.

Playing Off with Akali! (3vs3)

Early Game:

First buy yourself an Amplifying Tomb with a Health Pot. I've seen other players buy Long Swords , Doran's Blade or a Doran's Shield. If you want to be a great Akali I suggest to you to buy a Tomb. The reason is that you should have Mark of the Assassin as your first Skill and that scales with your AP so having a AP item at the start will help you get that First Blood sooner. Regen Items are, IMO, useless since you have to get into melee range with your opponent and if you are soloing then you will be taking the hits before you can even get 12hp back from a 100 hp lost. Aggressive play is my way of playing as Akali, just go in with a MotA on a hero or killing blow to a minion for money. Dive in and out when you can to kill the minions quicker when you know the enemy is occupied with something else.

Once you hit level two then the bombardment begins! Use your shroud past the front line minions and head straight into the shroud and make sure the enemy hero is in it to slow them down and hit them with MotA then a auto attack. Force the player to retreat out of the experience site and gold. This will push them back and give you more of an opportunity for that First Blood. At level 3 just get another MotA and keep the same pace up till you have money to buy 2 or maybe 3 items.

When you have reached lvl 6 you should be able to kill your opponent with great ease with a good Shadow dance, MotA and auto attack with shroud for cover and penetration.

Mid Game:

By now at level 7 you should have enough for some Boots and a Blasting Wand buy these items. Head back into your lane and start harassing the opponent and gaining some extra cash. Follow the early game steps and you should be able to win another few kills. If your solo laning make sure to help out your bottom lane so your teams can start catching up or surpassing your opponent. Keep laning and ganking as much as you can and buy a Guinsoo's Rageblade soon. After this you may start jungling for extra cash and easy experience. I would fight the dragon when you have a Hextech Revolver for some extra spell vamp.

Remember that Shadow Dance > MotA > Crescent Slash > Twilight Shroud.

keep fighting until you can obtain your Hextech Gunblade and then after this you should be able to take on most enemy heros and don't forget to use your Hextech Gunblade's ACTIVE. 300 damage and a slow really helps out alot. Rylai's Crystal Sceptor is basically MY next item but you may pick this as your first item of choice. Especially if your opponents have ghost.

Late Game:

If you have done everything correctly you should be ahead in kills and items. This is when you hit lvl 13-15 and you should be working on either your Lich Bane or Rabadon's Deathcap. If your opponent is caught up with you in items and level stay and work as a team and I guarantee you will be able to kill 2 if not all 3 heroes.

For your remaining items I'd go with AP items MR and MagicPen for your defence and offence, but again the choice is yours.

Strategy:

Here I will show you how you can use Akalis Spells and Abilities to her fullest and easily avoid death and retreat to a safe spot.

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As you can see the purple circle represent Akali's Twilight Shroud and the green squares represent the brush. the areas I have marked are good spots for retreating when jungling and when to run away from a foe. the basic idea is to place a shroud in a place with multiple exits and placing the shroud in the right spot to hug a corner of a wall so the enemy doesn't see you when you retreat.
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This next picture are for those Flash users, each red line represent jumping points to retreatto a safe distance or to ambush another player.

Thank you for reading my guide to Akali, The Fist of Shadow and I hope that you will find this guide to be of great use to your battles in the future. Of course my item build is different to those of other guides but i guarantee that you will not go mad when you see just how great of a harassing player she really is.