Akali Build Guide by iwontdominatelol

✧༺♥༻∞About me∞༺♥༻✧ Hi everyone ! My name is iwontdominatelol, and I'm an Akali OTP. I've been one-tricking her since I first started playing league back in june 2019. Thousands of games and 1 million mastery points later, I've finally reached plat 2 (EUW) earlier mid season 10 with only Akali. If I did it, then so can you !! I've always wanted to share my League of Legends journey and teach the basics but also all the little details about my favorite champion, so this guide is the perfect opportunity for me! I've compiled all the knowledge I've gathered in the past year to write this guide, in hopes of helping you reach your desired rank and learn more about midlane fundamentals and the best assassin in the game : Akali ~~

				Champion Overview So, let’s start from scratch. Akali is a mid/top AP assassin. She is pretty weak pre-six, as her ult is her primary source of damage. However, coming into the mid game is where she shines best. As an assassin, Akali can easily one-shot squishes, thanks to her burst damage. She also excels at snowballing leads: one kill leads to another, which translates into gold and therefore more stats to take over the map and destroy the Nexus. However, one bad fight can lead to her downfall. Her playstyle is generally very aggressive, especially when she reaches her powerspikes at level 6 and later at 1 item. That’s when you want to look to fight for objectives and dominate your lane opponent (if you haven’t already). Though it all goes downhill once late game starts. Even when fed, Akali has struggle to keep up with late game hypercarries, especially in season 11, as games have become more fast-paced, due to the new Mythic Items passives.

PROS + very mobile+ high burst damage+ insane outplay potential+ great engage and disengage+ good at getting into the backline

CONS - hard to master- melee midlaner- hard to comeback- squishy champion- very vulnerable to CC

Akali is quite an interesting champion. Given her high skill cap and, to some, overwhelming kit, most people tend to give her a try once then never touch her again. The truth is, the more you will play her and get better at her, the more you will have fun and enjoy her. Her high mobility and insane burst damage make her extremely thrilling and exciting. Akali is very rewarding and fun once you actually learn how to play her. But, don't get too cocky ! One failed flashy combo or dive resulting in your death in the earlier stages could easily put you far behind your lane opponent and make the game unnecessarily harder to play. Her role in teamfights is to shred the enemy backline into pieces, which could prove to be a challenge, as a lot of champions have hard CC in their kit. One mistake of engaging at a bad time could cause you to get CC-locked leading to an unavoidable death.

Being the assassin she is, Akali thrives off one-shotting squishy champions, which explains why she is at her strongest in the mid game : most champions have not built MR yet, making them very vulnerable to Akali's strong burst. On top of that, it's extremely easy for Akali to abuse melee champions early on (pre-3), allowing her to get the upper hand on her opponent for the rest of the laning phase by having lane priority and, often, kill pressure.

~My team lacks AP damage ~Enemy team has a lot of squishies ~Against melee champs

As mentioned earlier, Akali's greatest asset is her ability to 100 to 0 champions, which, of course, you cannot achieve against tanks, especially if they have stacked MR. If you're an OTP, and your team comp doesn't match well with your playstyle (little to no engage/ no peel..), while the enemy team's comp is absolutely godlike, then don't hesitate to dodge ! One thing to keep in mind is that Akali's W can be revealed by some champions abilities. Here's the complete list of those abilities. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Abilities that can reveal you while invisible ◆ Aatrox's W ◆ Caitlyn's W ◆ Fiddlesticks's Passive and W ◆ Fizz's R ◆ Garen's R ◆ Illaoi's E ◆ Kai'Sa's W ◆ Karma's W ◆ Kayn's R ◆ Kled's Q and E ◆ LeBlanc's E ◆ Lee Sin's Q and E◆ Lulu's E ◆ Malzahar's R◆ Morgana's R ◆ Nidalee's Passive◆ Rengar's R ◆ Sett's R◆ Skarner's R ◆ Thresh's Q◆ Twisted Fate's R ◆ Urgot's R◆ Vi's R ◆ Warwick's R◆ Zac's Q ◆ Zyra's W

~My team has 3 or more AP champs ~Enemy team is very tanky ~Enemy team has tons of hard CC

FLASH: This spell is heavily relied on by the majority of champions, and Akali is no exception. Whether it be to engage onto the enemy backline in teamfights with ult+ flash combo, or to dodge a skillshot and escape from a guaranteed death, you will ALWAYS need this summoner spell.

		IGNITE: I personally take ignite every game, as a bit of extra true damage is always useful to secure kills. Plus most champions have some sort of health regenerating tool, so the 40% healing reduction ignite gives often comes in handy.
		TELEPORT: Usually taken by toplaners, but also good in mid. Teleport is basically a free out-of-jail card when you're getting constantly harassed by a lane bully. It also makes split-pushing a more viable option, as it enables you to flank and join in fights from the other side of the map.

DOMINATION

Electrocute is my go-to keystone against a squishy team. Very useful in early game trades, as you will come out on top 90% of the time against melee opponents. Electrocute paired with ignite offers insane burst damage that your enemies often won't see coming. It gives you kill pressure on your opponent, allowing you to have complete control of the lane. I strongly recommend this rune in lower elos.

The healing Taste of Blood gives you is really good for trading in the laning phase and provides decent sustain. Sudden impact could be a good option, as you can easily proc it and it has low cooldown.

Best option out of the three. Good snowballing potential and damage. Scales well with Electrocute. As an assassin, you are more than likely to pick up a lot of kills/assists here and there, so you'll have no difficulty stacking this rune and using it to its full potential.

Omnivamp is basically lifesteal but better. It works on all damage output and allows for INSANE healing later in the game, once you get enough stacks.

PRECISION

Triumph feels really good on Electrocute. However, since Riot decided to gut Akali again by increasing the Q energy cost, Presence of mind is now much more valuable.

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Both Coup de Grâce and Tenacity are good options. Take Coup de Grâce for more damage to finish off enemies quicker, or Tenacity to avoid getting CC'd for too long (a must against heavy CC).

PRECISION

Conqueror is such a good keystone on Akali. Not only does it grant insane amounts of sustain and healing in teamfights, but it also highers your damage output by a ton. You would generally take Conqueror in lanes where extended trades will happen more often, allowing you to stack it comfortably. It's great against bruisers and tanky teams aswell, but it's viable in literally any situation.

The extra energy you get from Presence of Mind works extremely well with Conqueror. More energy = more abilities you can use = more stacks = more damage = more healing. In short, don't think twice before taking this rune.

Tenacity is really good against heavy CC. Scales pretty well and gives great stats.

Last stand synergizes REALLY well with Conqueror. I personally think it's better than Coup de Grâce in this case, but it all just comes down to preference.

DOMINATION

You can take Sudden impact here aswell for more magic penetration. But, I personally find Taste of Blood to be far more effective.

Ravenous Hunter is incredibly good when running Conqueror as it stacks really well with Riftmaker.

PRECISION

I would only recommend Fleet Footwork in tough lane matchups, against really heavy poke mages like Syndra or Orianna. This is not the type of rune you want to take to carry. But it's great if your goal is to get through the laning phase and survive till its end without losing too much.

Presence of Mind is the safest option here. Gives you a little more energy to work with at all stages of the game.

Still the best option out of the three. However, you could potentially run Alacrity if enemies lack CC, so you can proc your Passive faster.

Poke mages are usually VERY squishy, so you'd wanna take Coup de Grâce over Last stand. Since your ult is an execute, it works really well with Coup de Grâce.

RESOLVE

Second Wind with Doran's shield will make your opponents lose their mind due to the amount of health regen. Take Bone Plating against burst, Second Wind against poke.

Unflinching is insanely good and matches well with Tenacity. Take Overgrowth if you don't need the cc and slow resistance.

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Take either Magic Resist or Armor depending on lane matchup.

NAME: Doran's Shield COST: 450 gold TYPE: Defensive

Perfect for sustain in the laning phase. I usually take this against poke mages (ex: Vel'Koz / Azir) and burst champions (ex: Fizz / LeBlanc).

NAME: Doran's Ring COST: 400 gold TYPE: Offensive

A more aggressive option. Take this in confident matchups (ex: Sylas or Yasuo).

NAME: Amplifying Tome COST: 435 gold TYPE: Ability Power

Usually on your first back, you'd want to buy at least one Amplifying Tome (or two if you are going Night Harvester as Mythic Item), as it builds into literally every AP item.

NAME: Refillable Potion COST: 150 gold TYPE: Sustain

If you've used all your potions, and know you're going to need a bit of extra health for the rest of the laning phase, buy Refillables.

NAME: Dark Seal COST: 350 gold TYPE: Snowball

You're stomping the enemy midlaner, and you know you can hard carry this game? Start snowballing even more and take Dark Seal !

NAME: Boots COST: 300 gold TYPE: Mobility

I generally wouldn't recommend buying boots on your first back, as you want to reach your 1st item powerspike as soon as possible. But you can still buy boots if the enemy midlaner relies a lot on landing their skillshots to win trades.

NAME: Control Ward COST: 75 gold TYPE: Vision

If you have 75 extra gold in your pocket, don't forget to grab a control ward ! Vision is a crucial part of midlane, something a lot of people tend to overlook.

NAME: Night Harvester COST: 3200gold TYPE: Multi-kill

I ABSOLUTELY love this item. Always my go-to when i'm running Electrocute. Allows for good stats and deals tremendous amounts of damage as soon as you get it. You can literally 1v5 with Night Harvester.

NAME: Hextech Alternator COST: 1050 gold TYPE: Offensive

You always want to rush Hextech Alternator, preferably on your first base. It gives a really good mini powerspike, as the bonus damage helps a lot when trading in lane, and in early game skirmishes.

NAME: Riftmaker COST: 3200gold TYPE: Omnivamp

If you have Conqueror, Riftmaker is the best choice, especially against tankier teams, as the more you're in a fight, the more damage you will deal. Offers a ton of sustain, thanks to omnivamp, and good defensive stats.

NAME: Leeching Leer COST: 1300 gold TYPE: Omnivamp

Even though the percentage of omnivamp you get from Leeching Leer has been nerfed from 10% to 5% as of patch [11.3], it's still recommanded and you should always look to rush it.

NAME: Sorcerer's Shoes COST: 1100 gold TYPE: Magic Pen

I always complete boots right after buying a Mythic Item. You can't go wrong with Sorcerer's Shoes. I personally take it pretty much every game. The flat magic penetration is really good against squishy teams.

NAME: Mercury's Treads COST: 1100 gold TYPE: Magic Resist

Great when against full AP team and/or a team with very heavy CC (ex: Ashe + Morgana, Sejuani+ Neeko).

NAME: Plated Steelcaps COST: 1100 gold TYPE: Armor

Great against full AD team, or enemy team has a lot of champions who rely on auto-attacks to deal damage.

NAME: Demonic Embrace COST: 3000 gold TYPE: Sustained Damage

Riftmaker and Demonic Embrace is an incredibly good combination for tankiness and survivability in teamfights. You could still buy this item with the Night Harvester build, though you're gonna sacrifice a lot of damage, so it's not optimal.

NAME: Zhonya's Hourglass COST: 2500 gold TYPE: Survive Burst

Very useful stasis in teamfights as it allows you to gain some time when you get collapsed on by the enemy. Plus it's a great counter to some champions' abilities like Zed's ult or Morgana's ult. I usually build Zhonya's Hourglass as 2nd or sometimes 3rd item.

NAME: Stopwatch COST: 650 gold TYPE: Survive Burst

Basically a mini Zhonya's. I'd normally build this after i've completed my 1st item and when a fight is very likely to occur soon(ex: a fight for dragon or rift herald).

NAME: Seeker's Armguard COST: 900 gold TYPE: Armor

If you're up against an AD midlaner (ex: Talon, Yone) and an AD jungler (ex: Kha'Zix, Lee Sin) , rush Seeker's Armguard!! This item is VERY cost-efficient and provides really good stats.

NAME: Lich Bane COST: 3000 gold TYPE: Burst Damage

Perfect for an Electrocute one-shot build. Lich Bane gives an incredible amount of damage, that you can very easily proc with any basic Akali combo. I still pretty much always buy this item even when i'm running Conqueror with the Riftmaker build.

NAME: Rabadon's Deathcap COST: 3800 gold TYPE: Magic Amp

Even though Rabadon's Deathcap has been nerfed this pre-season (higher cost and lower bonus damage), it's still a must for most AP assassins. However it's quite pricey, and gives no defensive stats whatsoever. I would generally build this as a 4th or 5th item.

NAME: Mejai's Soulstealer COST: 1600 gold TYPE: Snowball

When ahead, you should always consider buying Mejai's Soulstealer. However, this item can very quickly go from giving you 125 bonus AP at 25 stacks to becoming a waste of gold at 0. Be careful !

NAME: Morellonomicon COST: 2500 gold TYPE: Anti-heal

ALWAYS build Morellonomicon if enemy team has 2 or more heavy healing champions (ex: Warwick, Dr. Mundo), or champions who build healing items (ex: Ravenous Hydra, Immortal Shieldbow)or have healing runes ( Conqueror)

NAME: Oblivion Orb COST: 800 gold TYPE: Anti-Heal

Build Oblivion Orb if you're laning against a healing champion (ex: Sylas, Vladimir) or enemy team has healers (ex: Soraka, Yuumi).

NAME: Void Staff COST: 2500 gold TYPE: Magic Pen

Usually a late game item. By this point, enemy team surely has bought a good amount of magic resist to negate your damage, especially hypercarries, so Void Staff becomes necessary.

NAME: Ravenous Hydra COST: 3300 gold TYPE: AoE Vamp

The bonus Omnivamp this item gives is such a good enhancement to Akali's Conqueror + Riftmaker build. There's no downside to buying this item, though other items are often prioritized and less pricey.

NAME: Hexdrinker COST: 1300 gold TYPE: Magic Resist

Just as Seeker's armguard, you'd want to rush Hexdrinker early against burst AP midlaners (ex: Fizz, Zoe) and AP junglers (ex: Evelynn, Ekko)

NAME: Quicksilver Sash COST: 1300 gold TYPE: Removes Disables

Quicksilver Sash is the only item in the game that can disable suppression (ex: Malzahar's ult, Skarner's ult). I only recommend building it when you're fed, and you know you're a high-priority target for the enemy team.

NAME: Banshee's Veil COST: 2500 gold TYPE: Spellshield

Great against heavy AP, especially if enemy team has a fed mage or AP assassin for example. If there's a specific ability you'd like to block (ex: Ahri's E, Fiddlesticks's ult), Banshee's is the right choice.

NAME: Guardian Angel COST: 2800 gold TYPE: Revive

I personally never build this item, but it could be a good option against a full AD team, simply for the bonus 40 armor, though you would sacrifice a significant amount of damage. The revive passive is also a very useful feature that's important to note.

❤ Every damaging ability can proc Akali’s passive which comprises : Q, E1,E2, R1 ,R2. ❤ This passive is very useful when trading in lane and deals tons of damage especially once you get Lich Bane. ❤ When your lane opponent is going for cs, look to proc Assassin's Mark (usually with Q) to put pressure and to try and deny them the minion.

Description: Assassin's Mark basically gives an empowered auto-attack that provides bonus movement speed towards enemy champions and has longer range. Plus it restores a bit of energy, which will significantly increase your damage output, as you will be able to spam your Q more often.

❤ You can get an instant Passive proc by standing slightly outside of your Q range, then E'ing backwards and throwing Q (only works when you're on blue side though). Instant passive with E+Q ❤ If you are running Fleet, you can proc Assassin's Mark faster by autoattacking the enemy champion. This is especially useful when they are running away from you. Faster Passive proc with Fleet

❤ Hitting Five Point Strike at the tip slows the enemy, making it easier to land your E and the rest of your combo. ❤ During the laning phase, you want to look to harass your opponent with this ability, ESPECIALLY if they are melee. Do not let them cs for free without losing anything. ❤ This is your main waveclear ability, though it's not the most efficient in the game. But if you position yourself correctly, you can hit both caster and melee minions with your Q.

Description: Five Point Strike is Akali’s main ability and trading tool in the laning phase. It's also her primary source of damage pre-6 and the base to a large number of combos. It has very low cooldown, allowing you to use it pretty often, though it costs half your energy at ranks 1 -> 3.

❤ Casting Q at max range instantly gives you a Passive proc.
❤ Casting Q diagonally will extend its range.

❤ Your shroud is one of your two main tools to escaping ganks, along with Shuriken Flip, plus it got a relatively long cooldown. Care not to waste it in lane. Play safe and don't go for extended trades if it's not up, as you won't be able to do much without the extra energy and invisibility. ❤ You can hide in your W to cancel and dodge abilities, or when you're rooted to negate any incoming damage and gain time.

Description: Akali’s W is extremely important to her kit. Not only does it give her invisibility and movement speed, but also restores energy (enough for another Q+AA combo).

❤ Throwing your shroud in a teamfight in the middle of 4 or 5 people creates immense pressure, and allows you to reposition yourself correctly and choose your target (usually the adc).

❤ You can Teleport while in your shroud.
❤ Your W will always adapt to the terrain's shape. So using it in the jungle will give you a huge advantage as your shroud will expand and therefore, offer you more room.

❤ YourE2 will follow anyone, anywhere, no matter the distance. This means that you can follow a TP, a Twisted Fate Ult or even a Ryze Ult with the second part of this ability. ❤ Stuns and roots can interrupt yoursecond dash. ❤ Hitting E is often crucial to landing a clean combo. Only throw it when you're 99% sure you're not going to miss it. ❤ Just like Lee Sin with his Q, you can hit jungle camps or minions with E to run away.

Description: Since the physical damage on Shuriken Flip has been converted to magic damage, this ability does INSANE amounts of damage since you benefit from all the AP items. This is your only skillshot, and missing it could be fatal. It's also a great escape tool.

❤ Always E backwards and W as you're coming out of the fountain to get back faster to lane. Another trick you can do when missing some gold to build a certain item and/or waiting to heal up, is throw your W outside of fountain, then marking it with E. Saving time when leaving the fountain ❤ Even when Twilight Shroud ends, the marked section with E will still linger for the marks duration. You can also take advantage of the fact that you can mark your shroud with E to steal an objective/get kills and get away with it. This is a very important mechanic that every Akali player should know. Drake steal Dive ❤ Shuriken flip's hitbox begins right behind your character. So even if someone dashes behind you (like a Katarina for example), you can still hit them with E. E hitbox ❤ E'ing then Flashing will change Shuriken Flip's projectile direction, but it will not change the original landing spot. E+Flash ❤ You can cast ANY of your abilities during E1 andE2. ❤ With E1, mark champions who can go invisible (ex: Shaco, LeBlanc ) before they disappear, especially if they have a clone so you can identify which one is which once the invisibilty wears off. ❤ There are a lot of walls you can cross with E that you probably didn't know about. This could be very useful when you're stuck in a sticky situation and have no other way out, or if you want to join a fight faster. However the angle you throw your E in is very important when going through certain walls. *Note that you can hit the Baron, but not the Herald with E1*. Map showcasing all the thick walls you can go through with E Clips showing the most important ones to know

❤ SinceR2 is an execute, you'd only want to use it at the end of you combo, or just before the timer ends. ❤ If you position yourself correctly, you can go through walls with R1 and escape from an unwanted fight. To achieve that, you have to stand in a linear line between yourself, the enemy and a close thin wall. Direct Perfect Execution towards the other side of the wall, then cast it onto the enemy. You can use this same pattern to engage on an enemy who's on the other side of the wall, as long as it's within your R range.

Description: Perfect execution is composed of 2 dashes : The first one being targeted and dealing physical damage. The second one is an execute, dealing magic damage. This means that the lower health your enemy is, the more damage you will inflict them.

❤ To guarantee hitting your E, you can throw it right as you cast your first point and click dash. This will used a lot in the combos section. ❤ The hitbox onR2 actually starts behind your character, just like Shuriken Flip. This means that you canR2 before reaching your target and still deal damage on your way out. ❤ If timed correctly, you can dodge some abilities like Malphite's Ult with R1. ❤ You can extend both of your dashes with Flash, by casting it near their end. R1+FLASH / R2+FLASH ❤ You can cancelE2 with both of your dashes. E2 CANCEL WITH R1 E2 CANCEL WITH R2

This is the ability you will use the most, as it's your main damage and waveclear tool. Always level up and max Five Point Strike first.

Some people would level up Twilight Shroud second, but I personally recommend against it. You get so much more value out of leveling up Shuriken Flip instead. It gives you more pressure as you get to do much more damage earlier on and it can also help with farming from a distance in tough matchups. You always max it second.

As literally any other champion, you want to put a point on your ultimate whenever you can. You get more damage, more range, but above all, you get to use it more often due to lower cooldowns. You always max it third.

Even though your smoke is an important part of your kit, you don't gain much by maxing it, apart from an increase in the movement speed burst and in shroud duration. It's not worth maxing over the other abilities, which is why you always max it fourth.

The easiest and most basic Akali combo you can do. You have no skillshots to land, just Q then passive proc. Keep your W to when you run out of energy, or to dodge a certain skillshot, utilizing the burst of movement speed. The more points you have in your Q, the less energy it will cost and therefore you'll be able to spam it more. If the enemy is freezing the wave and you don't wanna miss the cannon minion, then you can use this combo to quickly last hit it and at the same time trade with your lane opponent. However this combo is very inefficient as you're wasting and not utilizing your E and your W. This is the best and most common all-in combo before level 6. You want to E right after Q to give your opponent no time to react. Generally they would be running away from you, allowing you to hit a max range Q and slow them. After you E1, you need to wait for your cooldowns before flying back in. Keep in mind that there's a 2.5 seconds interval between R1 andR2. (Note: if you have low FPS just like in this clip, R1+ E1 combo will look a bit iffy and won't be as smooth as it is in the other clips) To do this combo, all you need to do is cancel R1 animation with E, and throw your Q as you're flipping backwards. This a great combo for a quick and clean assassination. The reason you Q first then Flash is to give your opponnent less reaction time. This is the all-in combo you'd want to use against a tankier champion, as it requires a lot to actually take him down. Of course you don't need to flash if you're already in range lol. When the enemy adc is clearly out of position, do not hesitate to instantly use this combo on him. R+ Flash is such an insanely good gap closer, I use it often to catch my opponents off guard and take their health bar away while giving them no chance to fight back or escape. Once you've gotten your enemy low enough, you can look to dive them with this combo. This is the easiest one to do. However, keep in mind that you will take two to three turret shots, so be careful ! Remember to Q right before Ult'ing away for more dps. Ignite is optional, but you will probably need it most of the time. As the ignite clock is ticking, leading your opponent to an inevitable death, the emote/Mastery 7 spam is very important. Now this is a very hard to pull off combo. You could use it in case you're diving the enemy but you need to reposition yourself to avoid receiving a fatal turret shot. But honestly you could stick to Standard Dive and Quick Dive, this is just for the highlight clips :D

Trading Stance • What is the "Trading Stance" about?" Trading Stance is a way to get the upper hand on your lane opponent, by harassing them whenever they go for last-hits. Essentially, it's about creating pressure, securing CS while denying it to your enemy. This is a quite simple yet extremely hard to master concept. • How do you use the Trading Stance to your advantage in a melee matchup? As Akali, you often have a range advantage over your opponent, thanks to Five Point Strike. Always keep an eye on your minion’s health bar. As soon as they’re about to die, just know that the enemy will try to go for it, which of course, you cannot let them do freely. Your main harassing tool will always be your Q+ AA combo. Ideally, you'd want to secure cs AND at the same time deny last-hits. You should retreat right after you’ve finished trading successfully, to prevent them from harassing you back. But if you know you can go for more than just a simple Q+ AA combo, due to the enemy jungler being on the other side of the map, and knowing that you outdamage your opponent for example, then you can look for an all-in and potentially get a kill if you’ve gotten your target low enough from earlier trades.

• What if I’m against a ranged champion? Now this is more complicated. You won’t always be able to utilize this concept, just like in this case, where your opponent is the one to have a range advantage. However, depending on the matchup, what you can do is create a freeze (go to Wave Management section). The enemy will be forced into a bad position and will often try to break the freeze. You can then zone them out of the minion wave and threaten an all-in if they go for cs. Akali excels at dueling and punishing mistakes, especially post-6, which gives her insane kill pressure and lane dominance, if played correctly. One particular mistake you're looking for, is when your opponent wastes their main escape/CC ability. (ex: Lucian's Relentless Pursuit or Ahri's Charm)

Retaliation TradingRetaliation trading is technically the opposite of trading stance, as you’re not the one to initiate the skirmish, but the one to fight back. The point of it is to prevent your opponent from getting a lead, to have equal if not more pressure than your enemy. But you need to remember that there are a few things to take into consideration before choosing to fight back, instead of simply retreating. • Who deals more damage? This is all about knowing the matchup, your damage potential but also your opponent’s. At level 6, Akali should be able to take down most squishy champions. But keep in mind that a lot of variables come into play, not just damage output. • Who has more sustain? Let’s say you’re up against a Vladimir. Chances are, even if you choose to fight back and end up winning the trade, he’s just going to heal everything back up with Transfusion. Same thing will occur when your opponent has a potions or even a TP advantage.

• Where is their jungler? Where is mine? Is the 1v2 winnable ? This all comes down to map awareness and vision control. Knowing where the enemy jungler is at all times is impossible, but you always need to at least have an idea of where they could be. Depending on your jungler’s champion and theirs, you should be able to tell who comes out on top in a 2v2 situation. However, you should always be mindful of Akali’s strengths, especially post-6. Sometimes, the enemy midlaner might try to bait you into what seems to be a free fight while their jungler is patiently waiting in the bush. What they don’t realize is how good your 1v2 potential actually is, and how easy it is for you to one-shot champions and escape, especially in lower elos. • What cooldowns do they have? Do I have any? How much mana/energy do they have? It’s extremely important to know what tools your enemy can fight you with, to determine whether a trade is worth taking or not. Let’s say both your Flash and Ignite are on cooldown, while the enemy Zed has both his summoner spells and has hit level 6 before you, then it’s always safer to just E out and hide under turret, rather than taking a clearly unwinnable fight. • Who has a minion advantage? One thing to watch out for is minion aggro, especially in very early levels. One trade might look good on paper but once you execute it, you realize that you’ve taken more damage from the wave than from the enemy themselves. As a rule of thumb, never fight when the enemy has a big minion wave advantage for two main reasons : They will be able to hide behind their minions and protect themselves from your E. You will take a lot of damage from the wave and most likely lose the trade.

The Importance of Map Awareness Checking the minimap/scoreboard frequently is essential to having good macro. There's so much information you can draw that allows you to take more appropriate decisions. Having bad map awareness is failing to understand the state of the game. But taking a quick glance is not enough! There are a few things you should be focusing on to improve your map awareness and win more games.

What to look for• Your jungler/The enemy jungler During the laning phase, it's extremely important to keep track of the enemy jungler pathing, especially when playing a champion as aggressive as Akali. It will help you determine whether to play safe or not, and prevent you from playing overly offensive and getting punished for it. Likewise, you'd want to pay attention to your jungler's pathing, and what their next move is. Are they looking to invade ? Can you help with the invade ? Is the scuttle crab fight winnable or should you ping them back ? Are they in a position where they can help you, or is it wiser to just not force a gank and wait for better opportunities ? This is what should be going through your mind when evaluating the situation. • Unfolding fights More often than not, your teammates will not bother pinging you to alert you of fights breaking down in river, or enemies

roaming. Whatever the cause, a skirmish may be randomly taking place in the river. Even if her early game isn't the best, Akali is an excellent skirmisher post-6, due to her countless escape tools and high damage output. Another reason for you to keep a close eye on the map, otherwise you might miss out on some kills, or cause the death of a teammate when you could've easily saved them. • Missing Enemies The jungler isn't the only person you should be careful of. Any one could be looking to gank your lane, whether it'd the support, sometimes accompanied by their adc, or even the toplaner. This is EXTREMELY important at all stages of the game, not just during the laning phase. Look at the map, and always ask yourself : Which enemies are missing ? How many are they ? Can my allies help or should I simply retreat ? • Your opponents' items It's incredibly important to press tab and check what the enemy is building. Firstly, to be able to itemize accordingly. Is the enemy team stacking MR ? Start building Void Staff. Secondly, to know what to expect. Your lane opponent has bought Stopwatch or Hexdrinker ? Don't get baited and go for risky plays where you dive them and expect to one-shot them, but end up dying instead. • Upcoming wave Knowing that the next minion wave is a cannon one enables you to suitingly make decisions. At this point, if the enemy laner is missing, you should look to quickly shove the current wave and choose to either roam, get vision, get picks in the jungle (if ahead and area is warded), create pressure or simply just recall if you have nothing else to do.

Stealth Wards

•Blue side

•Red side

❤ The yellow wards are the most useful and common safe wards. Whenever you can, you'd want to place one of these. It's preferable to never sit on 2 trinkets. ❤ The purple ones are deep wards that you'd set in the jungle. These give crucial vision but are more risky and require more time to put down. Look to place these wards when your lane opponent is stuck under his turret clearing the wave. If you run into the enemy jungler, you can try to fight him, especially if no one can help him, or if you can simply one-shot him. I wouldn't recommend doing that if you're not familiar/experienced enough with Akali. ❤ The green ward is a ward you'd mostly want to place against junglers who can counter the normal lane brush ward. This includes fast champions like Rammus, Hecarim or Nunu & Willump, and other champions like Zac (who'd E from the other side of the wall) or Shaco (who'd Q over the wall). Note that the raptors ward is also specifically good against Fiddlesticks and Zac, but careful not to get caught as you're placing it! ❤ You could also put a ward in the middle of the lane, just outside of turret range against champions who love to roam like Talon or Katarina, so you can determine which way they went. ❤ If you're roaming a lot, your opponent might use the same trick and put a ward in the middle of the lane. Don't hesitate to remove it with either Oracle Lens or a Control Ward ! Vision denial is super important.

Control Wards

•Blue side

•Red side

❤ The blue wards are neutral wards. When placing a control ward in the lane brush, you always want to put it the closest to you, so you can better defend it. ❤ The red wards are offensive wards. Only put these when you are ahead and able to protect them. ❤ The pink wards are defensive wards. If your whole team is behind, or the enemy jungler keeps invading yours, then warding defensively become necessary. Oherwise your control wards are just going to get destroyed over and over again. ❤ Always look to ward the side the next objective in on. As an example, if the drake is spawning soon, then you'd want to put your control ward in the bot side, and your stealth wards the deepest you can in their jungle. I will go more into detail about this subject later on (go to Establishing vision/map control section). ❤ If someone is removing your control ward, you can instantly put another one down to deny them the xp and gold.

Types of Junglers • Ganking junglers It's important to know what jungler you're up against to adjust your playstyle accordingly. Champions like Xin Zhao, Lee Sin, Rek'Sai, Elise etc.. have very strong early game power and will most likely be looking to gank more than farm. These junglers' gameplan is generally to get their level 3 powerspike first then gank. However, you should always watch out for level 2 cheese ganks, especially against champions like Shaco or Jarvan IV. In this case, even if you're laning against someone you can abuse early on, do not play aggressive. If harassing with Five Point Strike will make you push the wave, then don't do it. It's far from worth it. • Powerfarming junglers Now these champions will look to farm and get their level/item powerspikes as soon as possible to start making an impact on the game. This includes hyperscalers like Master Yi and Karthus, but also champions that can only gank effectively once they get level 6: Evelynn, Nocturne, Fiddlesticks, Shyvana etc.. You can look to ward their jungle, and invade them by yourself (or preferably with your jungler) to delay their powerspikes. However, make sure you're not just going into a straight 1v3 against the enemy jungle and bot. Always watch your minimap and read the game state.

• Control junglers These champions will try to make your jungler's life a living hell. Their main goal is counter jungling and maintaining map control, by constantly invading the side your jungler is not on, and stealing their camps all while establishing vision control. We'd generally put in this category fast farming champions with high mobility like Graves, Nunu & Willump, Nidalee, Kindred, Udyr etc.. Against these junglers, what you want to do as a midlaner is help your jungler as much as possible, by keeping your jungle warded and punishing whenever the enemy invades at a bad time.

Jungle Pathing • Red/Blue start In most cases, you should be able to tell where the enemy jungler started. Having this info will help you better anticipate when they might gank you and from where. As an example, if their toplaner came late to lane and/or with missing hp/mana, then you can safely assume that the jungler started topside. This often entails that if you get ganked next, it's most likely going to come from botside. In that case, ward and hug the topside of the map to give yourself more reaction time to escape and make it near impossible for the enemy jungler to successfully gank your lane. Keep in mind that sometimes, junglers like Kayn would start raptors or wolves, meaning that they won't need a leash, and therefore making it harder to predict their pathing. • Jungle clear You can determine what clear a jungler did by looking at their CS. Every camp gives 4 CS, this means that if they show up on the map and have 24 cs, then they did 6 camps, so a fulll clear. Knowing what clear they did will enable you to more accurately predict what their next move is, and be prepared to counter it. Usually, junglers would recall at 4:00 to match their camps respawn, which is 2 minutes for normal camps. This sometimes means that their next gank might come between the 4:30 to 5:00 minute window. The 1st Buff respawn should be at the 7:00 minute mark. If the enemy jungler is behind while you're fairly ahead, you can look to cheese him at his camp. Set up vision with control wards and Oracle Lens first, then you can surprise him at his own buff and put him even further behind.

Make sure your laners have priority, or that his allies cannot rotate quickly enough to help.

• Bot/Top Scuttle Crab At the 3:15 minute mark, the Scuttle Crab will spawn. If your jungler is doing the top scuttle, then you know for a fact that the enemy jungler is on bot scuttle. As this objective is coming up, you should be pinging your jungler if you cannot help them contest it. If a fight does occur and you end up winning the 2v2, then again, you can be 100% sure that the enemy jungler is heading to bot crab next.

Why should you roam ? • Have an impact on the map Roaming is an excellent way to get ahead and help your allies. Even though Akali's has little to no CC in her kit, she's still really good at ganking other lanes and create leads for herself and her team. In fact, there are often high chances of you scoring a kill or two when roaming, which would greatly enhance and speed up your snowballing process. • Secure objectives Getting a double kill botlane just as the dragon is spawning would be completely detrimental to the enemy team. Additionally, you get to establish vision control and set a strong foundation for the rest of the laning phase and the game entirely. • Apply pressure If you're dominating your lane opponent, then suddenly disappear off the enemy team's minimap, you become a threat to them. They will be forced to respect you and play safe, until they know more about your whereabouts. Even if you're not planning to fully commit to a roam, you can just go ward/remove wards, or simply hide in a bush in case someone has the misfortune to cross paths with you.

When to roam ? Committing to a roam that ends up failing for a reason or another could be a disaster for both you and your teammates. To avoid that, there are a few things you need to be careful of before deciding to roam. • Lane state First things first, ALWAYS push the minion wave before roaming, to minimize the loss of gold and experience. Plus, it gives you a head start on your lane opponent who will be stuck under his turret clearing waves. However, if an ally is fighting in the river/jungle very close to you, stop everything you're doing and go help them, unless you're outnumbered and the fight is clearly unwinnable. The biggest green flag that an enemy is gankable is when they are constantly hard pushing the wave. This is your best opportunity to punish them for overextending by paying them a visit or two. Try to scout for vision first, you don't want to waste time ganking a well-warded area. But keep in mind that the lower the elo, the less the enemy will ward and watch the map, the easier it is to succesfully roam. • Allies/Enemies' strengths You always need to check you team's resources before ganking a lane. Do your laners/enemy laners have their ultimates/summoner spells ? Do you have yours ? How much mana does your laners have ? If the answers to these questions are favorable for your team, then you know what to do. Note that it's also better to gank lanes with good engage and especially strong CC, since you don't have any yourself.

• Your jungler/The enemy jungler's positions More often than not, it's preferable to gank the side your jungler is on, for better back up and higher chances of success. You should always keep track of where the enemy jungler could be, to avoid unpleasant surprises. However, as stated earlier in this guide, starting from level 6 Akali is an excellent skirmisher, that can take down multiple targets by herself. Let's say the enemy jungler was top not too long ago and your botlane is hard pushing, then there are high chances of him ganking bot next. In this case, you can look to roam to counter-gank, and potentially get a HUGE lead for your team, especially if you're already ahead. In a 3v3 situation bot(or even 3v4 if the enemy midlaner follows your roam) where both teams are even, you can undoubtedly carry the fight alone. But if you think that there's a slight chance of this roam failing, then don't commit and wait for better opportunities to present themselves.

Roaming Routes

• Roaming from lane

•Blue side

•Red side

❤ The blue and red lines on each side are the normal paths you would take when roaming from lane. ❤ The purple lines represent dangerous paths that you can only take when ahead and able to fight the enemy jungler and/or escape, or if you know for a fact their jungler cannot be there. Make sure your E is up to hop over any nearby wall in case you get caught. ❤ The yellow lines are walls you can cross with E to either get there faster, or to avoid warded areas. However if you think you might need your E to win the fight, then don't use it to go through walls when you're approaching your destination. • Roaming from base These shouldn't be your default roaming routes. However, you can take them if you have just respawned and :

There's a fight happening in river, so you want to take shortcuts to get there faster. You're unsure if the lane you want to go to is actually gankable. So even if half way there you realize you can't make a play happen, you can just head back to midlane. The enemy is overextending and won't see your gank coming. Usually, if your lane opponent has seen you recall, they don't expect you to go straight to bot / top right as you respawn. Therefore, they won't be pinging their teammates to back off, since they think they know your whereabouts, when in reality they don't !

Now this is the most complex part of the game. I couldn't make a midlane guide without talking about ✨The Wondrous World of Wave Management✨. However, I will not be covering every single aspect of it. Instead, I will list the 3 main wave control techniques and explain them in order to lay a solid basis for anyone who wishes to improve their laning phase. If you would like to know more about Wave Management, I'd recommend watching this Youtube video from Blitz Esports LoL, and if you got a little more time, here's a more detailed video with in game examples, made by Coach Curtis. Full credits to them !

Freezing • What's Freezing ? What's Freezing Freezing is a type of wave management in which you hold the minions near your turret, allowing you to last-hit safely and protect yourself from ganks. On top of that, freezing will make it way harder for the enemy to cs, as they'd have to overextend, making them very vulnerable. However, this technique is very situational and especially hard to achieve in the midlane in a melee vs ranged matchup. • How to Freeze ? How to freeze In order to set up a freeze, what you need is a lane pushing towards you with a minion advantage. Only last hit the minions while letting your own die, then prevent the remaining minions from reaching your turret by tanking and dragging them towards bot or top river until your next wave arrives. The number of minions you would be tanking depends on how far from the center of the lane you want your freezing spot to be. The closer the freeze is to your turret, the more minions you need. If the enemy wave is too big, you need to thin it a bit first before attempting to freeze it, otherwise you won't be able to, as you will be tanking a lot of damage. • When to Freeze ? when to freeze You could freeze the lane when you are stronger than your opponent and want to deny them as much farm and cs as possible, especially if they are melee. As an assassin, Akali needs room for better all-in potential and chance of killing her target. Freezing is a great way to achieve that and force your opponent to risk their lives to cs. You can look to freeze when no major objectives are up, and therefore no reason to be fighting. Freezing is also a good option when you are behind and want to farm from the safety of your turret, aswell as when you are getting camped. If your jungler is pathing towards your lane, it allows for a great gank set up as your opponent will surely lose patience and end up overextending to cs, making it an easy target. • When NOT to Freeze ? When not to freeze Don't try to freeze against poke champions with really good waveclear, such as Viktor, Anivia, Xerath, Ziggs etc.. They will not let you freeze freely, and will easily break it, making you lose a ton of your health with no rewards in return. Freezing isn't really ideal when you're ahead, especially in lower elo. In most cases, it's better to expand your leads and get your teammates ahead aswell, instead of just sitting there in midlane while your opponent is roaming and impacting the map.

Fast Pushing • What's Fast Pushing ? what's fast pushing Fast Pushing is about clearing the wave as quickly as you can, and crashing it under the enemy's turret. It's a simple concept that creates pressure, while giving you time to leave the lane for whatever reason. • How to Fast Push ? how to fast push All you have to do to fast push is use your abilities on the minions (mainly Five Point Strike) and crash them under the enemy's turret. • When to Fast Push ? When to FAST PUSH The main instance when you'd want to fast push is while the enemy is gone. You want to punish your opponent by making them lose as much gold and xp as possible when they are missing. On top of that, by fast pushing you will be applying immediate pressure and force someone to come pick up the wave, or prevent the enemy from roaming. Additionally, it gives you the opportunity to leave the lane, to maybe follow a roam, go set up deep vision, recall or even fight for an objective. Another reason you'd want to fast push the wave is to set up a dive. Enemy is low, with no summoner spells, hiding under their turret. Plus, their jungler is nowhere near to help, while yours is right next to you. At this point, if the enemy doesn't recall, then they're literally asking for you to dive and kill them. However, you might not be able to execute this against champions with good waveclear, unless you somehow outplay them without the help of your minions to tank the turret. When you're opponent is freezing the wave, you'd want to reset it. To achieve that, you can look to fast push and crash the wave. If the turret clears all the minions before the next wave arrives, then both upcoming minion waves will meet in the middle, causing a reset. However this could prove to be a challenge if the enemy doesn't let you approach the wave in the first place, a method commonly refered to as zoning. In this case, you will probably not be able to break the freeze without losing half your hp. Call your jungler for help, or look to roam and create pressure elsewhere. • When NOT to Fast Push ? when not to fast push Before deciding to fast push with the sole purpose of recalling, you need to be aware of your deficient waveclear as Akali. Let's say you have killed the enemy midlaner early on, but you're not able to crash the wave under turret in time. In this case, you should just freeze the wave by leaving 3 caster minions alive and held outside your turret range instead of pushing. Then you can safely recall and come back to a frozen lane in your favor. Don't push the wave if you are not planning to leave the lane. You put yourself in a vulnerable position, where you can get ganked. In some cases, you might even give your opponent the chance to freeze, which could be devastating if they are a lane bully that will harass you whenever you go for a last-hit.

Slow Pushing • What's Slow Pushing ? what's slow pushing Slow pushing is a wave management technique that basically revolves around creating big waves in order to put pressure and give yourself time to go around the map for extended periods. • How to Slow Push ? how to slow pushing To achieve a slow push, all you have to do kill the caster minions (since they deal more damage than melee minions) and wait for your wave to build up. Whenever you have a minion advantage, or the wave is towards your side of the lane, it will always slow push towards the enemy's side. • When to Slow Push ? when to slow push If you're planning to roam once your Perfect Execution is back up in 30 secs for example, preparing a slow push is an ideal way to create longer roam timers. It's better than a simple fast push, as it will take longer for the turret/enemy to clear it, and therefore give you more time to make plays elsewhere. A big wave will also protect you from any all-ins, since your opponent will have to tank a lot of unnecessary damage and will most likely lose the fight. Once the wave reaches the turret, you could even look to harass the enemy while they're farming. You can cast Five Point Strike at max range to avoid turret shots, then go for a quick empowered autoattack as they're desperately trying to get as much cs as they can. Plus, if you actually manage to kill them under turret, they will lose a MASSIVE amount of gold and xp. On top of that, slow pushing is a great tool to get lane priority and fight for objectives. This strategy is not just viable in the laning phase. It's actually a lot more used in the later stages of the game, as objectives become more and more important. Creating big waves in the mid or late game will pressure turrets and force someone to respond. • When NOT to Slow Push ? When not to slow push By slow pushing you will open yourself up to ganks. Make sure the area is well warded whenever pushing. Don't do it if you're getting a lot of attention from the enemy's jungler, or if you think he might be nearby. When you're against a ranged champion, it's almost impossible to slow push without losing half your health. Same thing applies against midlaners with very good waveclear, since they can just thin out the wave in a matter of seconds.