Akali, The Fist of Shadow.

I updated the masteries to 15 / 15 / 0

PLEASE RATE MY GUIDE! BE GENTLE :)

The build isn't completely finished, it's not very colorful however if you read it, it WILL help with your grasp on things. I will continue to update.

This champion is not as easy as people think. When you run in to a good Akali people rage at you and claim she is an easy champion but, that is not the truth at all. To be a good Akali you need to be able to use Mark of the Assassin like a pro, and also Twilight Shroud.

The key component to Akali is knowing when you should be coming in to the fight and when to drop your Twilight Shroud. This will be discussed later in the guide.

Items are very crucial on Akali. However the way you get them does not have to be. If you are playing a decently squishy team, build the way you see above. If you encounter a heavy CC team, buy a quicksilver sash to minimize their CC on you. USE quicksilver - it is so underrated, it is cheap, and you want all of your money going in to offensive items!

Rylai's - This is your "bread and butter" item, it slows them and allows you to hit the opponent with your autoattack which is where all of your damage comes from.

Sheen - Very Crucial item if you want to watch your opponent carrys and squishies drop like flies. Especially good early game top and middle lane, you are able to 1v1 most of them with little trouble.

A quick explanation of her skills are essential for any new Akali.

I generally grab Ghost and Flash, in the past I used Ghost and Ignite which is fine as well. Some use Flash and Ignite which again is perfectly fine. I've just found that I do not need Ignite, I would prefer to have ghost as a way of escaping a fight.

The use of Ghost is mainly to get away from fights. (Defensive Use)

The use of Flash is almost purely offensive, I use it to tower dive hardcore anytime after level 6. If you aren't quite close enough to the opponent, flash towards them, q + r + auto attack = dead!

When going into a fight, you will want to cast as follows..

1v1 Fight Champion Low HP - Q => R => Autoattack.. Continue that, but it shouldn't go past the first casting sequence however, if it does, just repeat.

1v1 Fight Champion Mid to High HP - Q => R => Autoattack.. If they decide to run, just continue to cast the first sequence, however if they choose to fight, lay your Twilight Shroud, then continue with your original casting sequence.

Team Fight - If you are not being a janitor and want to be involved with the entire team fight, you will want to cast as follows. Q => R => Autoattack => W => E.. Upon casting that you normally will run around your shroud using your Q => Autoattack, saving your ult for runners when champions are low in HP.

Akali is very rune dependent. As you can see you will be playing a very squishy champion early game. Akali's early game is very weak and, this is the part of her gameplay that needs modification from the runes. Almost everything is about maximizing damage early game for Akali, this is why you grab MPen marks, AP glyphs and quints. The only survivability I have for Akali is the Dodge seals, this is due to the fact that I heavily rely on Twilight Shroud to stay alive.

Your masteries is a place where you can deviate from mine a small amount.

You will at least want 15 points in your Offensive Masteries due to the fact that you will be trying to get all 3 points from Brute Force. Upon doing so will allow you to get your second passive from dorans blade. And with your runes you will in turn have BOTH passives active from the beginning.

As for your other masteries, I prefer to put the rest in defensive to optimize my dodge chances as well as grab some extra HP for the first of the game.

You will be grabbing Akali's bread and butter skill(Q) at the first of the game, with that you will be focusing on marking CREEP (not players) to last hit. Akali hits fairly hard on creep and it is not difficult to rack up the CS score quickly.

Twilight Shroud is an excellent way of positioning yourself to grab quick CS, it is also a way of zoning out and harassing your lane opponent. DO NOT continuously do this if you are losing out on last hitting.

Farming is essential for Akali early game due to the fact that you will be rushing your Sheen, always keep that in mind.

Akali is an assassin which essentially means she is a Killstealer, YES a KS'r. She is extremely good at doing this. I normally wait for the team fight to begin. Watch it happen and wait and try to position either in behind to kill their squishies that normally position in back, or wait for their beefy champs get low and sneak in for the kill. Dropping your Twilight Shroud at crucial times is the way Akali gets out alive so much!

If you are going to be targetting dps or casters you will want to wait for them to use their skills on the other team UNLESS you are sure you can rip them apart (Irelia, Caitlyn, Kog Maw). The main point you will want to focus on is if their stuns are up, stuns are Akali's cryptonite.

As much as you will want to run into a team fight first with a fed Akali, DON'T. I sometimes get carried away and do this and more often than not you find yourself watching the team fight from the Death Screen.