Hallo all, and welcome to my guide about Akali.

I've played Akali quite alot the last 2-3 months.. Atleast 100 games anyway ;)

That made me think, why not share my experiences with players who doesn't know Akali as well as I do, so here I am.

Here is a set of games with the use of my build:

I've decided to add a changelog for the build. I'll update the build if I find things to improve, bugs or so. And ofc. I'll notice any little change that is made on Akali or her items on patches etc.

Changelog~
29.01.11 - Added the Changelog function
29.01.11 - Added a descriptive Early Game guide.
29.01.11 - Added Zhonya's Hourglass on the item list
29.01.11 - Added way better tips for Akali players
01.02.11 - *Twin Disciplines no longer deals bonus damage to towers* - Champ nerf
01.02.11 - *Rabadon's Deathcap cost increased to 3600 from 3400*
04.02.11 - Design changed in chapters

Pros/Cons for akali

Pros:
INSANE nuker!
Great farming spells
Anti-escape char
Great surviability spells
Spell Vamp

Cons:
Squishy in beginning
Focused badly by other team
Silence destroys her
No prober teamfight spells, more of a 1v1 char

First I'll start out explaining my choise of runes for you. I've chosen AD instead of the usual Magic Penetration in Marks, cause I find it very useful NOT to need to buy an un-needed item as first one. In my seals I'm going for the extra hp boost, since it's very useful in the beginning where Akali is soooooo squishy. Glyph + Quintesses I choosed flat AP, to get the biggest effect as possible in the early games, which have brought me many first bloods, double kills etc. inside the first 5 minutes :)

In my masteries I've done the 21-0-9, I need atleast 1 AD from the Brute Force mastery, and then I've chosen to go for Havoc for the increased damage. My Utility masteries is set for XP-increase, and then the sweet buff-increasing effect as my last mastery

Okay, this is the funny part :)

I've chosen my itemlist to be able to nuke them before they'll even get a chance to surrender. If you play Akali right, then you'll have more AP than the mages on your-/the other team. This is great, cause with her Lich Bane, her bursts will do so insane amounts of damage. Won't take more than 2 sec to take opposite squishies down.

- This item will provide you with 20 Ability Power (AP)
This will make you have 44 AP in level 1, before laning, and when you pop your ignite you will turn out with an amazing 54 AP! This is pulling your opponents teeths out!

- Obvious item, will make you last longer


- This will increase your mobility.
That will make it easier to chase combined with your
Twillight Shroud Twillight Shroud's slow


- VERY Important item for Akali. Gives you AP based on stacks
With this item you can stack up 20 stacks giving you an amazing 160 AP + the 20 base AP on the item. Will make you untouchable. As a bonus, you will have 15% reduced cooldowns at 20 stacks.


- Gives you increased movement speed, and some magic penetration. Sweet if you're enemies already begins to buy magic resist.


- This will provide you with 40 AP + 15% Spell Vamp
The spell vamp will (togheter with your spell vamp passive) make you able to dive people, even with very low HP, since you will regenerate SO incrediable much HP by spellvamping.


- Provides you more damage, more AP, more spell vamp and more life steal
PERFECT item for Akali, already now she will be overpowered (if you've reached it fast enough). You can do the buffs without any problems at all, and when you're on low HP you'll just have to go to the jungle to kill some creeps in order to regenerate life.


- This Passive.. GOSH! It will make you deal your AP + your normal hit damage to the target, every 2 seconds. It's getting triggered every time you cast a spell, and since Akali is spellspammer...


- This item is made for akali nukers.. SO amazing with the 155 AP + 30% Total AP.. By this point you should have so much AP that most of the enemy team won't even blink before they're death.

6th Item
I chosed to take Zhonya's Hourglass as the recommended one, since it will boost your bursts + give you extra surviability. But this item proberbly won't have any effect, since the opponent often will have surrendered or you've won/lost. But I've still had some games where it was needed, so here is my suggestion for what items you should go for:

- If you're OP and want to be even more OP?? Best AP item in game.


- If you want to deal more damage, and also be more resistant to their carry (Ashe, Yi, Trynda to name a few). Therefore I've suggested it as my pick.


- If you're against a bunch of AP nukers, this item is lovely.

- Giving you 70 AP and 40% Magic Penetration, if your enemies are having magic resist, this is a good choise

Items to chose

- Giving you better map control, since you can run across the map on no time

- Great if you have problems with stuns, snares, slows etc. Could be picked against a team of great stunners.

All by all, i wouldn't even consider getting rit of the Lich Bane, he Rabadon or the Hextech. Main items for Akali.

I haven't chosed to get Rylai's, because I don't need it. They will be nuked before they could even think of escaping, and anyway else, you will have a red buff to slow them (if you play wisely)

Summoner Spells

- Ye.. This is the greatest summoner spell in game, I love the possibility to fly over walls just when the enemies are trying to gank you. Use your Twillight Shroud Twillight Shroud (W), and then think of the best way to flash out of the gank.

- AP boost in beginning, easy way to finish off people that's running.. Ye, I like it :)

This build is made for very offensive Akali players. You will need to get the stacks for your Mejai, and anyway else she is just a pro nuker, so use the nuke you've got, for god sake!

Early Game:

Farming and items:

When you bought your Amplifying Tome , you can immidiatly go to a lane (Any lane, Akali can handle mid easily too). Use your Mark of Assasin (Q) to lasthit minions, and earn gold. When you got about 1150-2000 gold, go back in order to grab the Mejai + Boots , and eventually Sorcerer's shoes . Also a couple of Healing Pots can be great. When you reached level 6 (If you haven't done already), then you should be able to pwn some serious ***.

Against heroes:

Specially in middle, Akali can be a pain in the *** against the opponent team. Akali's dream-situation is to be 1v1 against another player, and since you'll always have that in middle, then why not going there? Use your Mark of Assasin (Q) on the enemy champ if you get the chance. Just be careful not risking too much for casting it. You can combine this very well by using the Twillight Shroud (W) Twillight Shroud a little behind them, so they'll get slowed by trying to go back. Afterwards you go into the circle, toss your Mark of Assasin (Q) onto the enemy, hit him and trigger the mark, and then BAM, about 2-3 bars of health disapeared. Do this combo over and over, and I promise you, the enemy champ will be ready to kill you for any price (which is perfect for you). If you spot that you nearly can take him down on your next spell combo, then go ahead, use the combo and pop the ignite to finish him off. This way is great to get first bloods :). Before entering middle game, you should already have about 5-10 stacks on your mejai, and be on a great killing spree.
If you reach level 6 before going back, I would suggest the following spellcombo:
Shadow dance (R) -> Mark of Assasin (Q) -> Normal hit (to trigger mark) -> Crescent Slash (E) -> Twillight Shroud (W) Twillight Shroud -> 2nd Shadow Dance (or Ignite, matters of situation).

After casting the 2nd Shadow Dance, you can just repeat the spell combo over and over again, and in that way tear your opponents apart. Possibly you should use the Twillight Shroud (W) Twillight Shroud before, in order to gain more survibiality (extra armor + magic resistance + ability to stealth)

Mid game:

At about 1200 gold (or more) You can go back again, in order to grab your Spell Vamp (Hextech Revolver) . This will make you able to do the jungling job and also get the buffs. Go farm and kill your enemies, in order to pick up more stacks for the Mejai Upgrade the Revolver to a Hextech Gunblade , and you will be able to pwn even harder.

Same spellcombo should be used. Should still be able to do a very hard damage on the opponent, since your AP should be boosted alot more than early game.

Late game:

Pick up the Lich Bane and say HALLO LATE GAME!
Lich Bane will make your bursts go INSANE, and when you got money, then get the Deathcap.. That will make you OP! Now you're free to carry your team BIG time, and proberbly also win the game. Last item is of your choise.

Surprise the opponent!

As Akali, you got a great opportunity to scare the **** out of your opponent, by flying out from a bush with your Shadow Dance (R) , followed by some of the heaviest damage in the game.

Counter-attack!

You're also able to make a GREAT counter-attack. If you've gone through the first part of the game greatly, and got your Hextech Gunblade , then you've got a great portion of spellvamp (both your passive and your hextech gives you that). Let's take an example. You've just been ganked, but you managed to escape from them with 200-300 hp. You look back and see that Master Yi with ulti on is hunting you. You might now get the thought "Damn, I'm dead". DONT! If you got a bush nearby, then run into that and await him, giving him a surprise with your spell combo and HUGE spellvamp. Unless he got 3000 hp, he will be dead by this point. If you doesn't have a bush nearby, consider using your Shadow Dance (R) to fly in his head, and spam your spells till your keyboard is nearly destroyed. In many situations you will actually manage to kill him before he kills you, leaving him with the "OMFG, Akali is such a low ******ed ****py sucky newbed champ that only bad players play"

Twillight Shroud - The Akali Masterpiece

Twillight Shroud (W) Twillight Shroud is the difference between good and bad Akali players. It got so many usefull effects for skilled players. You can use it for slowing your opponent, combined with your skill combos. You can use it for gaining an overview of the situation, before flashing out or running away from a gank. You can use it to cover yourself while you're waiting for your cooldowns to be done. All by all, this thing is wonderful!

Escaping ganks

As i mentioned just before, then you're Twillight Shroud (W) Twillight Shroud is perfect to survive a gank. If you're near a lane, consider using your Shadow Dance (R) on a minion, in order to fly out of the opponent stunners, slowers etc.'s castrange. If you're in the forrest, then you should cast your Twillight Shroud (W) Twillight Shroud and gain an overview of the situation. Find the best way to run from your Shroud, through a bush, and out behind the enemies without them noticing. If this is not possible, you should look for a wall to flash over, and thereby run away.

That was my 50 cent for Akali

As you might notice in the screenshots at the top, then Akali can be VERY great, its just about finding the style for her, and this is my style.

I hope you liked my guide, I appreciate comments on my build, and if you vote for the build, please vote together with a comment telling me 1) Things to improve, 2) Questions or 3) Your experiences with the build. If you like it, please thumb it up :)

Regards