Disclaimer: This is a build for the Akali masters out there. This is an ELO aimed guide. Where you aid your team. Yes you still do massive damage output. But you also have survivability and tower pushing ability!! Which is important in ELO.


Update 1.0.1: Morde middle complete
Update 1.0.2: Item build updated to be more cost efficient late game.
Update 1.0.3: Runes and masteries adapted to dorans blade being changed.
update 1.0.4: Item purchase changed for early game.
Update 1.0.5: New rune build added for use of smite + 20AP late game. Kudos to Georax.
level 1 section removed for re-calculation.
Update 1.0.6: Rageblade explanation clearer.
Update 1.0.7:Rabadon's deathcapadded.
Update 1.0.8:Situational chapter added.
Update 1.0.9:Spelling and grammar fixed. (UK spelling)
update 1.1.0:Build Updated!!!
Updare 1.1.1:Build September update!




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Hey chums, I've recently decided to update this guide. It was getting old and decreped. I have some brand spanking new changes and idea in store for you lucky assasins out there. Read on and enjoy.

Also, uploaded my ranked game wins; for you non-believers.

Akali has two passives, which when synergised correctly can BOTH be active at level 1.
I have never met an akali player who has both at level 1, which annoys me greatly as they are missing out on the bread and butter.


So, how do we activate said passives?

Build 1:

3 AP quintessences
9 AP/lvl glyphs
9 Magic Pen
9 Ap Glyphs

These are essential.

You can tinker if you wish. but why waste IP. these runes are tried and tested

Yo, and welcome to my updated. New. Inventive. N down right bad-*** akali build. Alot is the same as the old build, but what you will see is a new way to play akali that some of you will hate. But some of you will love.

We get dorans blade at level 1 to activate the spell vamp passive.

i suppose if you want you can get a long sword. But i would laugh. Why deny yourself HP and +spell vamp because you could build it into somthing ^^ doran is a master.

Hextech revolver:
20% + spell vamp at level 9ish. This is a must and when i talk about mid it's the difference between being able to kill your mid opponent and b or being able to kill your mid opponent and continue to farm.
EDIT: Since patch 1.0.0.105 The spell vamp has been increased by 5%. thanks riot :)... untill they changed it back. ghey!

sorcerer's shoes:
yea, you could go for mobility or swiftness. But, we have an ulti that takes care of the chase. I Personally like the magic pen. you ever seen a teemo cry more? It happens.


Sheen
I have been reading other Akali guides and talking to other akali players and the key debate i had with most was the use of sheen. So i tried it and liked it. but i was just debating where in the item set up it should go. So i played a 1v1.

Shout out to Georax for the awesome 1v1 game which has cemented the use of sheen in this guide. The damage output with it + revolver is just insane.
(If anyone else wishes for a 1v1 i play on eu servers under vortexi. The e is "CTRL+ALT+e")

spirit Visage:
I had a very long argument with someone about this. They told me that spirit visage was stupid. Mabye you will say the same. But that's my job. Just as my articles are, my guides give you a different point of view aswell.

Now down to the nitty gritty. The change of spell vamp and life steal a few patches ago has made spirit visage viable. why? Because now spirit visage works on akali. For 1550G we gain health, cd reduction (not that great on akali, but not bad) and now spirit visage effects life steal n spell vamp by 15%.

Also, akali's game has changed. With my experience with her i have found that she's changing into a more sustained assassin. Huge burst, with sustainability in team fights. This item gives you that mid game.

Then with my ryali's next you will have more than enough hp n sustainabality late game.

Rylai's crystal septer:
So, this item is awesome. Hp, slow and ap. Akali all over. Some of you might remember that i could never find room for this item, but with this new build ive managed to slot it in. With amazing results.

Rabadon's deathcap:
Wow. Just wow. I was absoluty blown away with this item. The AP you reviece is redicilious. With this build you will go from 190 ish to 402. Doubling your AP with 3300 gold.

This item has made soulstealer redundunt. No longer must you watch your stacks. This items passive is like having soulstealer as your extra item.

When i got to this stage i farmed like crazy untill i had enough. then making 2200g for lich bane was easy.


Lichbane:
Your bread and butter! I will farm like mad after i get my cap of death for this. Once you do... wow. 520+AP base. Not including the lich bane proc.... oh and did i mention 110% bonus magic damage to your auto attacks from you passive?!

WARNING: From here down is just a littel extra. Usualy in game i will try to buy these however see situation items for what you should build from here.

Hextech gunblade:
Due to the AP/gold % this item was moved up (cheers for the link ice) also with you lichbane and 500+AP the spell vamp + life steal will make you a 1v1 king (Queen.)

If you're reading this with this face >_<. Then i suggest you play another character. If, being the brown belt akali you are want to gain your black belt read this with this face :O and profit.

First off as i said in section 3. Hextech revolver is paramount. If i find out that you've read this guide. Gone mid with Akali and not brought a revolver i will backtrace your IP and send the internet police on you!

Beginner mode:

When i started akali mid i took twilight shroud as my first skill just to learn the ropes. i suggest you do the same so some teemo who you told to gtfo mid dosen't start QQ'ing on you.

Level 1
1.Throw down your shroud in the middle of enemy minions.
2.sit in the shroud
3.do nothing (you have 8seconds)
4.last hit mobs
5.Get to your end of the shrouf by the 7th second.
6.rinse amd repeat.

Level 2:
Same as level 1 except Q some mobs down fast.

level 3:
Start to q your opponent while inside your shroud. Dont forget that this breaks your stealth so i suggest you Run back as soon as you Q.
This works will with agro players. If a player likes to tower hug don't Q him. Instead throw down your shroud and just Q minions.

Level 6:
As soon as you hit 1200 b and get your relvolver. Teleport back in and go for that first kill. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AT LEAST 2 ESSENCE OF SHADDOWS! 1 for initiate 1 for the chase.

Expert mode:

Level 1:
Get mark of assassin and wait for mobs to get very low and q them. Sometimes u can run in and hit another low health mob provided your opponent isn't really agro.

Level 2:
Get your shroud!
1.Throw down your shroud BEHIEND enemy creeps when your creeps are at low health.
2.Run into it. and sit there.
The idea here is to deny xp from your opponent as much as possible.
3.If they get brash and run to the edge of your shroud make sure you punish them for it. Which with the runes, should hurt...(at level 3 :p)

Also when ever your minions are not at low health throw down the shroud to last hit. harrash the opposite player. (unless like i said in the beginner mode, they are playing def.)

Level 3:
Q should hurt alot. Same as level 2 but take more pot hits at the enemy champ in your shroud.

Level 6:
Same as beginner. note to add though is people often underestimate Akali's ultimate range If you can get a Q on the enemy before you ulti in then do it. But also wait for them to over extend.


best was to kill enemy champ:

Mark of assassin -> shadow dance -> twilight shroud -> auto hit -> crescent slash -> mark of assassin -> auto hit -> shadow dance .

In button speak:

Q -> R -> W -> RIGHT CLICK -> E -> [PAUSE] -> R

I right click because sometimes when entering into shroud you stop attacking.
Also, please don't button bash. Allow the auto hit to proc then E. Too many players make this mistake.

Easy

Twitch (wait for him to pop up then use your shroud and punish him for over extending; buy wards when u can but i like twitch so be over-zelous)
Teemo (buy ward for shrooms)
Ashe (wait for level 6. She is squishy. but you wont catch her before 6 unless she's stupid.)
Anivia
Akali You would think i would put this in medium. But as long as you are careful and smarter than the other akali you will win. My tricks are to count out his shroud. Remember his will be there for the same amount of time. around second 7 he will run out. at this point u can follow and get a cheeky Q on her.

Medium:

Annie Always keep an eye on her stun ring. When she has it you should always be careful. Last annie i played after 4minutes kept the stun ring around her. good times LOL!
Kog maw When kogmaw hits 6 you need to be aware of the range of his ultimate. Also, engage him away from creeps so when he dies you can Shadow dance to an enemy minion and not die.
Tristana
Vladimir Just because vlad can steal hp dosen't mean he's unbeatable. Keep harassing him and you will win.
ezeral Avoid and anticipate his attacks. stay behiend creeps and remember he has flash as a move so be weary when you use yours
Kassadin his silence has a greater range than your Q, so just be aware of that before engaging.
Malzhar
Catalyin her piltover spell reminds me of ezeral. Not a very hard champion as long as you stay to the edge of your shroud to avoid it. At level 6 as with many of the burst champs just go for it and kill.

Hard but do-able:

chogath Too much health. Last cho i played mid always made it to his tower. not to worried about him killing you though
Ryze I had an argument with my self over this one. Because ryze mid is pretty easy once you hit level 6 and have 70AP. But you have to be soo careful when you attack. I like to watch for when he uses spells on minions and just go for it.
Morde Read my section on him.
karthas The death thing annoys me the most. Make sure u have a jump ready for when he dies. Secondly. To beat karthas you have to be constantly moving. Be aware of where he bombs and try and work out the pattern. Also run around the edge of the shroud. They will most likely bomb the middle or the edge closest to them. When he figures out ur running down. Run up. BE AWARE. and karthas is a piece of cake.

Never lane against:

Nunu There's no point. The heals etc just make nunu very hard to mid against.

HOW TO BEAT MORDE!!!!

EDIT: Since the Morde nerf, i have been able to kill morde middle! Last time i blabbed on about what to do; now i'll just bullet point it.
1.run to the side of morde. (it's fine he's melee :p)
2.shroud behiend him.
3.Mark him
4.Stand facing your tower
5.KEEP MORDE FACING AWAY FROM CREEPS!!
6.Exaust him if u have it.
7. Kill him (might take 4/5 attempts but he goes down eventually. You just want to get him scared from coming near you. i.e. away from ur minions which is why morde is "OP" >.>
8. /all I AMMM KINGGG

I will submit a video of this when i can.

So we have the core build build that we want to aim for. But let's not lie, sometimes that banshee's veil or sunfire cap (yes sunfire) work wonderfully.

My suggestion for these items would be after you buy lich bane. Dont upgrade your hextech until you get your situational item.

Consumables

Elixir of fortitude: these are like wards. Most players will just see that 250G after buying an item and be like "oh, I'll save up for my next item" NO!! Elixirs are what separate the good players from the great players. Please buy this if you have the gold after getting an item. I beg you!

Elixir of brilliance: If the enemy gets baron buff. Buy this after a health pot. If your team gets baron BUY THIS FIRST AND FAST!!! You have a all round booster buff with baron. Why stop there. remember elixirs are cheep; especially late game.

vision ward: Against a teemo? against a good laning team? then buy this. Against a warding team 1ait until you see them put theirs down and then start your ward battle. Against teemo it will give you a huge edge over him around the kill point level. (6)

VS AP

Abssyal Scepter: This item is great all rounder for akali. More AP for you and your Lich Bane proc plus This item is great when facing AP heavy champs that aren't stacking magic resist.

banshee's veil: Banshee's For facing those pesky glass cannons. Really you shouldn't be in the team fight when Ryze is about to blow his load. but sometimes you can't help it. This item will buffer those blows. A nice bit of HP too.

VS Melee DPS

Sunfire cape: Shak3y, you've gone mad mate! No my sirs. you have 8 seconds of invisibility. 40 magic damage a second. That 320 magic AOE damage. In a team fight that's going to turn you into more than just an assassin. You're an invisible terror.

Randuin's omen: if you really are against a huge dps team. example: yi, xin etc. This will really work well not just for you. But your whole team. Your team will literally love you for this item.

VS Ranged DPS:

Zhonya's hourglass: A great item against a ranged team. Good good damage reduction along with your dodge chance from build 1 if you use to choose it. Also the activate will give you those precious seconds for your shroud to cooldown.

VS high HP/Tanks:

Black clever: Yes, i know, i know. There are others who this item is better on. But Against a tank team you have to rely on the black cleaver/rage blade combo.

Frozen mallet: if you can't beat em, join em. Stack health. Go into battle with them head on and outlast them. This is your last resort. Against a unstopable morde you will need this to slow and outlast him.

use your brain and your wit. He who adapts, wins.

Akali has a number of tricks she can do with her shroud. I suggest you youtube some of them as a video is 1000x better than me explaining them.
So you don't even have to search
(unknown embed type)Group combat with Akali- credit to kodama3d.
This is a prime example of how akali should be played in team fights.


I can't emphasis enough though the use of akali ultimate combined with shroud. if you needing to run. Run past the enemy mobs towards their base (or yours depending) Throw down your shroud and run into it then ultimate back towards the mobs. If you're the flash kinda player then you should never be caught. (i hope :p)

I hope this guide has been enlightening into the world of Akali and hopefully you will take the time to truely master her as i have done over the last 2 months. I hope you try Akali middle.I also hope this guide helps, if only by a small amount, improve your Akali play.


Yours,

Vortexi