First off, this is my first guide ^^ so please leave any feedback if u think this guide can be improved more ;)

Akali is seen often being built as a hybrid, and is one of the best burst damage dealer in the game. At level 3 (if you followed my skill build), she can bring down any champion to at least half or more of their hp.

However, she can be countered easily by CC, is squishy and any champion with Oracle's Elixir can disrupt her stealth.

As my main, she is very fun to play as!! Once you got the hang of her combo, you can unleash crazy damage and with most of your items, you can kill a squishy champion in less than 5 seconds if you're super fed :D

PROS:

- Anti-squishy
-has the uncanny ability to faceroll enemies when fed
-has escape mechanisms
-excellent at harassing and zoning

CONS:

-is a squishy herself
-when enemies become smart enough to focus her, you're going to have a hard time
-CC can totally destroy her
- champions like Lee Sin is a TOTAL COUNTER to Akali because of his Tempest and other champs with AoE damage ( Singed with his Poison Trail )

Summoner Spells

I take offensive summoner spells rather than defensive because I find it comfortable and suits my playstyle despite her squishiness. Here i list 3 SETS that will suit Akali

SET NO.1:

This is my main set, but due to recent patches it is not viable anymore. Use only if it really fits you ( like me :) )


- Ignite - It helps with your combo when your combo just brought your opponent with just a tad bit of hp and you pop ignite up. Guaranteed kill xD

- Exhaust - Slows opponents and lets u extend your combo :)

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This is the common set for Akali and i suggest you to use this first.

SET NO. 2:

Flash - Provides another escape mechanism for Akali :)


Ignite - same as set no. 1

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Another main set, and is good if you prefer to chase down opponents rather than Ignite them and run back.


SET NO. 3

Flash - same as set no. 2


Exhaust - Same as set no. 1

OTHER VIABLE CHOICES, like

- Cleanse - Can be used both offensively and defensively xD

- Ghost - Though i don't see much Akali users use this, it IS a good
choice, but it doesnt help out that much comparing with other summoner spells.

SPELLS YOU SHOULD NOT TAKE. EVER.

-

I swear if ever i see an Akali player with this....they are screwed up people --

-

It MAY work, but I TOTALLY go against it. It's completely ruining Akali's potential and capabality.

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Masteries

I build an offensive21/6/3 for Akali for increasing the damage on her combo an as well as some points in defense for some durability.

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Runes

Here i explain why i chose these runes. Although there are other choices as well and those will be listed as highlighted.


Marks:
This helps your passive and it gives you spell vamp. Imagine you deal 450 magic damage from your Mark of the Assassin, and say you have around 21% spell vamp. Now let's do some math:

450 x 21% = 95

It may not look that much, but combined with your Hextech Gunblade, which gives off lifesteal too, you get a chunk of hp back from that very same combo aswell!

Other marks, such as magic pens, armor pens work too, so you can try them out and see which one do you like.

Seals:
This makes Akali more durable in teamfights. Dodge Seals works well with Akali too.

Glyphs:
Boosts your AP buff and you deal bonus magic damage with that buff. CD reduction works well, but i rarely use them :P

Quints:
Same as Glyph. Flat magic pens works too, along with flat health for durability.

Abilites

Passive:
Twin Disciplines - This passive is what makes Akali a Ninja. You give her AP, she deals BONUS magic damage with her basic attacks, while you give her AD, she gains spell vamp. If you follow my runes, both buffs will be activated upon the starting of the game.

1st Skill:
Mark of the Assassin
This is Akali's main source of damage output. Early game you would want to harass champions with this skill and once you can unleash your full combo, that's just some crazy damage.

2nd Skill:
Twilight Shroud
Her stealth bubble :P

This skill can be used both offensively and defensively, as enemy units that are inside the bubble are slowed, and Akali gains bonus armor and magic resist. Also, in a big teamfight, you can go in and out of battle with this skill and also escape when low...Ninja style :P

3rd skill:
Crescent Slash
Her AOE ability. This is a good farming skill as well as supporting your first skill in your burst damage. Due to its short range, it is hard to deal damage to champions as they constantly move (unless you unleash your combo on them).

Ultimate:
Shadow Dance
Ahh, This is what makes me LOVE akali <3

There are TONS of ways to use this ability both offensively and defnsively. Hide in a brush and use this skill to catch your target off guard, last hitting minions, chase , KS :P, etc.

On the defensive side, you can use this skill to escape from champions by targeting their minions that are FAR from them. You might even kill the minion for gold ;)

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Combo order:

= autoattack

AS OF PATCH v.1.0.0.121, Akali will now try to ATTACK her target with her as soon as she lands on the target. This means that if you would have marked a unit with your Mark of the Assassin, Mark of the Assassinwill now try to autotrigger upon using , Ideally, the new combo will be:

-> -> - > -> -> (optional)

BUT since she will ATTEMPT, which is different from WILL, the combo above MAY or NOT be successful. Therefore, in order to be on the safe side, try to land a basic attack as soon u land upon a marked champion with your Shadow Dance, which will be like this


-> -> -> - > -> -> (optional)



alternative: combo: -> -> (This combo is mainly for harassing)

CORE ITEMS
Your "Big Three" for Akali ;)

- -> all your abilites will apply slows, thus making it easier to kill
- -> Deals even more crazy damage and also boosts your AP passive ALOT.
- - Helps your passive alot and also increases Akali's killing prowess x)

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Situational items
- -> will help your AP teammates since you lower surrounding enemy units' MR and you are melee ;)

- -> Getting this will help you from being targeted with its spell block and also gives you a pretty good amount of MR


- -> Buy only when the game is really long, like 40+ minutes into game and when the team depends on you to ace the enemy team. Gives great Armor and magic resist and a free revive every 5 minutes.

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Luxury items

- -> getting this adds more magic penetration and thus helps you damage more :)

- -> This item does not impress me much, but after i few games with it i liked the way it worked for Akali :P, so basically the more you attack or cast spells the more attack speed and ability power you get.

- OR -> Either item benefits Akali in either AD or AP. Since she IS a hybrid, You can decide on which item you would want to take ;)



To keep things simple, here are the complete item builds that i would recommend for Akali ( in no particular order )

PURE AP BUILD

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HYBRID BUILD ( AP focused )

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AD ( WITH SLIGHT DPS and AP ) BUILD



OR <- This item looks fun for her if your going with an AD build :D

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TANKY AP BUILD




OR

PLUS

( THIS USES THE PURE AP BUILD )

EARLY GAME

I tend to take bot in 5v5, but she excels in any lane imo. Start off with your Amplifying Tome to boost your bonus damage. DO NOT attempt to kill, just farm and harass first. use Twilight Shroud to help your farming and harassing more. A tip for your mark: Since the cooldown of your mark is SHORTER than the duration of the buff, this can allow Akali to perfrom a double mark combo: Pop your Mark of the Assassin and wait for the cooldown to reach at least 1, then Vorpal Blade and use Mark of the Assassin again. This deals INSANE damgage early. If, instead, are in the other two lanes, try coordinating with your partner in lane to harass hard and if there is a sure chance of killing. Focusing more on farming and harassing is the main priority on this stage. Also, make sure you watch out your energy bar as well, since her icon=Twilight Shroud costs almost half of your whole energy.



Once you make your first recall back to base, buy your Boots and your Health Potion if you have the money. If not, at least have money to buy your Boots and Health Potion. Although this STILL doesnt give Akali enough survivability yet, She can harass more and you can try to attempt to kill when you have Shadow Dance ready. If necessary, try ganking either top or bot if your laning in mid. If not, then once you have your ult up.

MID GAME

Once mid game starts, upgrade your boots to Sorcerers shoes, but depending on the situation, when there are alot of CCs in the enemy team, then upgrade it to Mercury treads instead.

Among all the core items i have picked, i build in this order:

-> -> -> -> Luxuries in any order you want

OR

replace Hextech Revolver with situational items

This is also the time where Akali starts fliipin out on squishies, gank and harass as much as possible and make all the squishies' life hell. Once they become smart enough to target you in teamfights, pop ur bubble at the SIDE, not the MIDDLE! This way you can see Akali and position yourself to prepare to dart into the battle again. If your low, then run at the back of your teammates. IF the fight is in your favor, then you can still kill, but be more careful. Otherwise, retreat. If there is champion with an oracle, then coordinate with your teammates to take him/her down first. Also start working towards your Frozen Mallet. If your losing mid game, its wise to opt for items depending on the situation ( ex: getting more Magic Resist if an AP champ got fed, etc )

LATE GAME

Once your done with Hextech Gunblade, Start earning dough from your kills/assists/etc for your Rabadon's Deathcap. This give both what your passive wants. Once again, your job is to take out the squishies without the tank, main dps noticing if you can (i pulled that one off once :P)

In teamfights, DO NOT INITIATE!!! If you do, Akali will melt from all those damage by 3-5 champs. Let your teammates initiate first, then strike at the squishies. Pop ur shroud when necessary. If you spot a champ with an oracle, then priotize in killing him/her first, BUT
if the holder of the oracle has CC, then take extra caution while killing him/her. And trust me, Akalis in teamfights are a menace! leave her alone and they will notice that two of their allies are already elmianted by you and then you can kill them even before they can finish saying, "where the f*ck are my carries!?" XD

In this Chapter I will show the Champs that you should be laning and who you should avoid laning against with.

YOUR LANING BUDDIES

First off, I will show you the ALLIED champions that you would want to lane with early game as follows.

Tanks, especially:

These tanks can really help you gain early kills and also farm well, since Shen can use his Vorpal Blade to harass and heal yourself, Singed with his Poison Trail and Fling to harass enemy champs and Amumuwith his Bandage Tossto allow you to do your combo to the target, while Taric can stun AND heal you.

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Harassers, CC champs and Zoners, like

Generally, Champions that can harass and zone enemy champions are one of your best laning buddies. And these kind of champions are also champs that excels in mid.

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CHAMPS THAT YOU WILL WANT TO AVOID LANING WITH

Here, I will show you the ENEMY champions that you would not want to lane against with, like

Harassers, CC champs and Zoners like

These champs are the champs that you should 100 percent avoid laning against. Why? Because they will make your laning phase like hell. Period.

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Support Champs, especially

They will just heal their laning partner over and over again, thus making your attempt to harass near to impossible.

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Early game Damage dealers like

These champs take advantage of your low armor and they have skills that will, too, make your laning phase hell.

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AND FINALLY,



Yes. It's like making you eat your own medicine and two smoke bubbles in the middle of the lane is totally annoying ESPECIALLY IN TEAMFIGHTS.

Here I show you pictures of the range of Akali's abilites and where you should place your Twilight Shroud during laning phases.


This is the range of all of Akali's abilities.

Mark of the Assassin:

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Twilight Shroud

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Crescent Slash

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Shadow Dance

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Proper usage of Twilight Shroud

Here i will show you pictures of where you should place your Twilight Shroud

1st: During laning phases

-While pushing lane



This way it will cause your laning enemies to stay away from the minions, thus denying them from experience. This is called ZONING. Akali excels at zoning, but be wary for champions like Lee Sin, Singed, or any AoE damage champions, as they will simply target you inside the Twilight Shroud.





-While defending



Placing your Twilight Shroud at the SIDES of the lane helps alot more better rather than placing it in the MIDDLE because this causes the enemy champions to stray away from the turrets more than the Twilight Shroud being in the middle. Here you can harass with your Mark of the Assassin or farm their minions.

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Here i will show you a situation where you're low on health and let's say there are some champions that are aware of that and stay close to your Twilight Shroud.






(NOTE: THIS PICTURE IS JUST AN EXAMPLE!! IT DOESNT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE SORAKA OR BEING IN TOP LANE :P)



Here in the picture above Im low on health and placed my Twilight Shroud at the back of Soraka. Since she has her Starcall, She can just spam it over and over and you'll be dead. Lucky for you, her minions are facing away from her, thus, having maximized your Shadow Dance stacks, You can JUKE her using Shadow Dance.


During a teamfight, where you are low, TRY YOUR BEST TO FIND MINIONS THAT ARE AWAY FROM THE TEAMFIGHT,so that you can use your Shadow Dance. However, if you have no stacks, then you'll just have to settle for the usual = running away like crazy :)

Final Reminders

-Last hit, harass and zone = Making your opponent go nuts
-Try buying HP and AP elixir if you can early to mid game
-Target squishies!!!
-Buy pots every time you recall during early to mid
-Juke when necessary with Shadow Dance and Twilight shroud
-DO NOT INITIATE
-prioritize the oracle holder unless it's a tank
-Have fun!!! XD



Last words
Once again, this is my first guide, so dont expect much ^^
Thanks so much for reading
try it out and gimme feedback about it :P

v1.04b Reworked some parts due to recent patcheds and nerfs. Still reworking.
v.1.04a Changed pictures
v.1.04 Unarchived!! Special thanks to Rudmed for his suggestion on items and jhoijhoi for the criticism and coding issues again xD
v.1.03c Archived guide for major rework
v.1.03b Reworked the guide, added new chapter with the help of jhoijhoi's criticism.
v1.03a replaced Mejai's Soulstealer with Frozen Mallet in core items.
v.1.02 Reworked some parts and added features for readers convenience ( i hope ;) )
v.1.01 Edited guide due to a change of my item path
v.1.00 Published guide