Hello, this is my first attempt at a guide, and I have to say this seems like a lot of work from the introductory chapter. Hopefully in the end I'll be able to share my thoughts with you! I have been playing Akali from when I first started League of Legends, and I have to say at first I wasn't quite sold. I left her alone for a while, but eventually thought "hey, why not give her a shot again". Ever since that day I been in love with this champion. Anyways, on to more important things. Akali is a situational attacker. For example, if and enemy team has high crowd control then Akali probably isn't the champion for you! She should focus on attacking the enemy teams carriers and how to take them down quick and clean. This guide will put more of a (AP/Debuffer) spin on Akali then normal. Please leave comments, I'd love to hear what people have to say. If you down vote please leave me a quick paragraph "why" you found this guide unsatisfying or maybe what I could change for the future. Enjoy!

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 and 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
+ Has amazing burst damage, especially with high AP.
+ Can escape easily with & .
+ Covers ground quickly.
+ Farms lane efficiently.
+ Very well-rounded. Can play top, middle, bottom, or jungle and be successful.
+ Snowballs nicely.

Cons
- Terrible against teams with high crowd control.
- Undoubtedly squishy.
- Targeted first in team fights.
- Enemy sight wards, oracle elixir, etc. cripple her, considering she is a champion of surprise.

Since we aren't building a hybrid Akali, I would recommend it. The extra 7.83 points of magic penetration make a significant difference in her playing style and her damage dealt.

This rune is great because she is a squishy to begin with. The extra 174.96 health adds the "intimidation" factor and frankly a little extra health at level 18 wouldn't hurt.

This grants an additional 27.54 ability power which is great for Akali. This will grant extra damage on ability hits and devastate the enemy team carry.

This rune grants 14.85 ability power. This will also help eliminate the enemy players quickly, efficiently and hopefully without cause of death.

A good choice if you are laning against a high burst ability power champion like . This rune will help reduce the damage taken from these deadly champions, and hopefully give you greater situational survivability.

I recommend the armor seals if you're laning against AD champions that go mid or top like . Personally, I hate it when I lane against these champions just because they are so versatile, and being prepared never hurt anybody.

These runes are great if you're laning mid a lot, but I personally still recommend because Akali is squishy champion, so health is great.

These runes are great if you are attempting to counter high burst champions like because we all know she's no fun when she is fed!

This rune will allow you to counter AP champions late game rather than early. Quite honestly, late game is when Akali is at her prime, so if you were going to resist high burst champions these are the runes I would get.

These quintessences are used late game, and combine well with items like or .

These runes are best used against skill shot champions like , which we all know is a champion we hate. These runes will also allows quick lane ganks and high jungle maneuverability.

Works well with . This would give an extra 78 health, which isn't that huge, but if you insist on having health then I suggest these quintessences.

This increases ability power by 5, which can be really helpful early game. Personally I think this one is great choice because you're stacking ability power for maximum damage when fighting enemies.

Increases your attack speed 2%. I think this one is a good option because it enables you to kill those pesty minions faster and last hit for kill steals.

Decreases your cool-downs by 4%.This mastery is extremely helpful early game for those long ability cool-downs. This should help with farm, pushing and combat.

Scales ability power until level 18 giving you 18 extra ability power points, which again is great for this build considering we are building ability power.

Gives an additional 8% magic penetration. Honestly, this mastery is one of my favorites, it adds additional magic penetration on top of your runes and all together creating some hefty damage.

This mastery gives you moooooooore ability power, by this point you're probably asking yourself "why". Well it's just because we want to mess with those overpowered carries. Kill them, and then get fed like a black man at KFC.

Putting points in this skill will give you an extra 5% ability power. This skill is better for levels 1 through 10. After level 10, it doesn't make a huge difference, but is still great to have.

You gain an additional 5% damage on enemies below 50% health. After spending all that time acquiring all your other offensive masteries, why stop here? This mastery works great with and it will ensure your kill and sometimes other peoples kills!

This gives you an additional 108 at level 18, which all in all is pretty nice considering you don't have to use runes. This mastery is also great if you want to intimidate your lane, players get scared of champions with high health because they are harder to kill and normally are more fed.

Since this build is mainly for solo-top, I would highly encourage you to use this mastery. This will decrease damage taken from enemy champions and are used against a bruiser and offtanks such as and .

This mastery is greatly recommended if you're laning against champions who scales magic damage. For example if you were laning against a or a .

This mastery is pretty plain and rather boring. It gives you 30 additional flat health which isn't a whole lot, but what are you going to do? Reduce damage from turrets?

Ignite is what I prefer, it gives you that little bit of hope you need after you die or just when someone is a trickster and tries to outplay you with low health.

This summoner spell is used to escape enemy pursuits, which comes in handed more often then not. It works well after you've dunked a turret and you're at low health or to pursue/ escape your enemy. I would recommend using to attack/evade an enemy and then toward/away from them.

I recommend to use it to slow the enemy down so that you can catch up and Shadow Dance Size them. It can also decreases damage dealt to you so you can escape enemy pursuits with a higher rate of survival. (Bonus)!

This spell allows you to gain additional movement speed to chase/escape an enemy. It also helps that you can run over those pesty minions, and the enemy must run around.

This spell is very useful to protect your turret(s) or even an ally(s) in high tension situations. For example. You're at your Nexus buying some items with the profit you've made for being a pimp on the battle field and all of a sudden your teammate dies and your teams bottom turret is at 250 health and that beastly is shooting his poison darts at mach 5 speeds. You Teleport to the boss and kill him with your skills you've spend so much of you're life wasting to get. In the end though, you save the day! For now.

Use this summoner spell if the enemy team has a lot of crowd control, which we all know Akali is "sooooooo great against".

Order of Importance

This passive will allow you to gains 6% (+1 per 6 ability power), which give you bonus magic damage! She also gain 6% (+1 per 6 attack damage) spell vamp. The passives were currently changed, you no longer have to use up your runes. This makes Akali a more versatile champion and allows you to spend your runes elsewhere.



This is your main harass in early game and is Akali only ranged ability. This skill lacks in range, but works well in top lane against champions like who need to be very close to hit you. After you harass the enemy it is recommended to fall back from the enemy, back behind your minions. Sometimes if you're lucky the enemy will be timid and move away, causing loss of farm and gold. If you're shy about harassing the enemy, just use this to farm. The cool-down is short and you use energy, so there is no reason to be trying to conserve this ability.



This is her smoke cloud, the one move everyone is terrified of. You can use this ability to farm, escape, slow, and scare off enemies. Before using this high cost skill, think to yourself "do I really need this, can I survive without it?" This skill is also a priority in your combo, and remember to play smart and zone your enemies with , it is super effective and will scare the hell out the opposing enemy.



Another farming tool, use this to last hit or damage surrounding champions. Personally, this is still an important skill, except it has terribly low damage. It is normally used second in your combo sequence to slow the enemy with , so you can catch up and continue your combo.



This IS Akali. You cover an insane amount of ground with this skill, and with your boots and flash. WOAH! As you get a stack every 14-25 seconds,up to 3 stacks this spell is scary good. You also, you gain a stack every time you get and Assist or Kill, but don't kill steal because people get mad. Make sure to use this move to Chase/Escape your enemies.

Recommended Combo

You should adapt this into your build when enemies are nearby, so they cannot attack you and if you need to escape you are able to run away successfully. (Remember to use zoning).



Hit the enemies with to get close, then throw down your . While they are slow by your shroud, hit them with . Proceed to use to slow them with passive and do extra damage caused by the mark from .

Twilight Shroud size50 are Akali's bread and butter and her give you many possible options for ganking/juking enemy players. Here are some Standard Twilight Shroud size50 placements. Hope this helps!

The differences between being great and mediocre, is the tiny details people like to ignore because they are "tedious". Most people who play Akali are scrubs and randomly throw down their shrouds, but with the right placement it will be extremely confusing and difficult for enemies to catch/find you. The point is to use the ridges and curbs to your advantage, this should separate the . This will force forcing the enemy to make a difficult choice. Here are some placements I like and have seen in other's guides, but all in all they are all right and should probably be memorized before deciding to play ranked matches.

When using the "shroud" escape method there are a number of ways to go, but the best part about these placements is that your enemy has to decide which way you went! With the walls and bushes surrounding you it makes their decision difficult because they know you only went one way. What I normally do is wait in and wait for the enemy to make his choice, and with a few seconds remaining, I simply run the opposite way.
NOTE: Sometimes the enemies will give you idea they gave up on looking for you so that they can kill you when your shroud is down. If that doesn't happen you are very lucky and need to count your blessings. The other thing could happen is they could begin to attack into the center of the circle(if you're at low health). You should always run on the outer rim of the shroud, so they bare less likely to hit you.

Always remain to the outer rims of your in case the opponent uses his blinds/stuns, he will normally aim for the center.

Don't face check your bushes, use .

slows your enemies, use this to your advantage. Help teammates at low health who are being pursued, helps you escape easily without concern, or merely just to slow them so you can catch up to use your combo sequence.

If you decide to throw down your to harass an enemy, I would strongly suggest to wait out your cool-down, to reduce the amount of unneeded damage.

There are many zones in summoner's rift, it is up to you to know where they are and how to use them to your advantage. Here is an example of the zones in top lane considering you're going to be top most of the time. I added a little extra too, using twilightshroud seen these in other builds so thought I'd make my own. I'd like to give a thank you to OneSadBanana for being my test subject, make sure to check out his build at http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/teemo-the-hefty-yordle-ap-and-ad-builds-season-3-310794

I used and placed it behind my bro, OneSadBanana. This will force him to move forward, or try to escape around or through the shroud, sometimes into the depths of the jungle. You can use this time to harass them and teach them a lesson on overextending.

I placed a right on top of my pesty minions. When sees me go in the bubble, he will probably back off and lose some gold and minion farm. If he is wanted to proceed through my shroud, I would attack him and punish him for being a greedy American.

When tries to push to my turret, I used in front of the turret. This would make back off a little, hopefully.

was used when dived me. When he attacked I used and waited while he got hit by turret aggro or just continues lingering. When he least expects it I pounce him, which makes him attack me, but he's slowed by my shroud taking damage from my turret.

This is one of the best use of zoning. When a wave of minions come close to your turret, make sure they don't get caught by the cross fire of your turret and you're golden. You have complete lane dominance, otherwise known as "lane freezing". At this point you're going to want to last hit all the minions, maybe use your . This causes the enemy to acquire less farm, and they will be afraid to move toward you because they will be in the "danger" zone and have a risk of the turret or you attacking them or more often then not expect a gank.

In ranked matches, I suggest that every time you recall or re-spawn you buy your items first, then with the extra money try and buy two sight ward. Place them accordingly.

Usually I pick because of the Magic Penetration it gives, but your choice depends on the other team. If you want some Magic Resistance and Tenancy, get Mercenary Treads


This item gives you some Spell Vamp, Ability Power, Attack Damage and Life Steal. Great for Akali

Rabadan Deathcap
All champions that use Ability Power get this item. YOU NEED IT!!! No exceptions.

Lichbane
This is a very useful item because when you auto attack you do MAX. Damage. It also gives you Ability Power and Movement Speed.


This can help you chase your opponents easier and it gives you health which works great with your runes.


I use this because it's just a fantastic little staff. I gives you ability power and reduces enemy magic resistance. Two in one package!

This item CAN be more rewarding than . If the enemy team has less then 100 Magic Resistance use this.


This item gives you the ability to rock team fights, but there are other items I would choose first.


This one is just fun to use. It's not to great if you're a newer Akali, but it's great for experienced players.


This brings back the dead. It's great if you don't want to break you killing rampage.


Since you're playing Akali you probably get targeted a lot, but this should help with your first world problems.


If you find yourself losing health quickly you may want to consider this item, although you shouldn't have a problem after you get your .


If you're team is desperate build this item, this would also be my first choice if you're losing health quickly. I'd take this over .