Hi! I’m Mike “Wickd” Petersen. I’ve been playing League since Beta, have been Challenger every season, peaked rank 1 world, played professionally as a top laner for 6-7 years and had the honour of competing in Worlds twice.
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This guide has been written in collaboration with Thaumin, a part-time Akali main and a full-time Baguette King.
We are confident this guide will help you gain elo with Akali. Considering how high-quality her rework has proven to be, be assured: you’ll have fun doing so.

The new, reworked Akali is a highly mobile assassin. Her skillset boasts three dashes, an execute, as well as a brand new mechanic: obscured. It rewards a hit and run playstyle: dash, weave in and out of cover, and execute your foes as you dominate – and stylishly at that! – the Rift.

Flash

Flash reinforces Akali’s already mobile skillset. Close the gap to reach your fleeing enemies or escape with ease a deadly gank.

Ignite

With her rework, Akali boasts one of the strongest early games on the Rift. Keep in mind she does need her shroud (W) as well as her Five Point Strike (Q) to be truly effective. Ignite allows you to snowball from her level 2, and from there, take control of the game and carry your team to victory.

A. Domination Path
Electrocute. – Five Point Strike’s (Q) low cooldown and slow, combined with the increased range she gets from her passive, allows Akali to consistently proc Electrocute. Q, passive auto, and Q again for free damage, over and over, in the laning phase.

Sudden Impact. – Akali has three dashes: Shuriken Flip (E), and the two part Perfect Execution (R). She can also enter and leave stealth repeatedly with Twilight Shroud (W). All of this procs Sudden Impact, making it the strongest available rune to use.

Eyeball Collection. – As an assassin dominating the early and mid game, Akali should be able to quickly gather those Eyeball Collection stacks and snowball the game out of control with the bonus stats.

Ravenous Hunter. – My build strengthens Akali’s built in healing. Pick up Ravenous Hunter to improve even further her healing kit. Temporizing with her shroud to heal with a fully charged Five Point Strike (Q) is vital in those mid game skirmishes and late game teamfights.

B. Sorcery Path
Celerity. – Movement speed is an incredibly strong stat on Akali. It fits right in with her playstyle, allowing here to weave in and out of combat and utilize her Twilight Shroud (W) effectively. This makes Celerity an very useful rune to pick up.

Scorch. – Again, in the early game, Akali slowly wilts away her enemy’s health pool. Scorch really adds up after those multiple trades.

Assassin’s Mark (P). – Damaging a champion with an ability creates a ring around him.
(1) Akali gains a burst of movement speed as she runs towards the edge of the ring. Once she crosses the edge of the ring, she gains another burst of movement speed towards enemy champions.
(2) Crossing the ring doubles the range and increases the damage of her next attack (by [39 - 180 based on level] + 90% bonus AD + 70% AP). Landing the attack will restore a small amount of energy (10 - 30 based on level). If Akali doesn’t land the empowered attack, the effect will wear off after a short delay.
Be aware: Assassin’s Mark (P) is a key component of Akali’s early game power. Consistently landing the empowered attack without placing yourself in danger makes all the difference between a bad and a good Akali.
When trading, keep in mind the combination of the movement speed burst when weaving out and back in the zone, with her increased range, allows you to stay just out of reach of all melee opponents and win every single trade.

Five Point Strike (Q). – Akali slings her kunais in a narrow arc, damaging enemies caught in the small AOE. This ability has an insanely low cooldown (1.5 s) but costs quite a lot of energy (100 at level 1 – 80 at level 5).
(1) Five Point Strike (Q) briefly slows and deals bonus damage to enemies hit at maximum range.
(2) When cast near full energy (180 or more out of 200), Five Point Strike (Q) heals Akali (for 5 - 20 based on level + 80% AD + 20% AP). Her energy bars will change colour when the healing effect is available.
(3) At maximum rank, Five Point Strike (Q) deals extra damage to minions and monsters (+ 65% AD + 25% AP). In the late game, this allows Akali to clear minion waves and split push effectively.

Five Point Strike (Q) is an incredibly versatile tool. Do not throw kunais randomly, hoping to deal as much damage as you can. Five Point Strike (Q) rewards a well thought out laning strategy. Keep in mind the following key points:
(1) Five Point Strike (Q) has a deceivingly small range. If you use smart-cast, train yourself to consistently land those Qs at max range. Not only will you proc the slow, but you will be closer to your passive ring’s edge, making it easier to get, and land, your empowered attack.
(2) If you are in a matchup where you can get away with level 1 trading, try opening the laning phase with a Q -> empowered auto -> Q -> empowered auto combo. Generally, this is the foundation of all of Akali’s combos.
(3) If you are in a more difficult matchup, consider waiting for the healing effect to survive the laning phase. This may seem obvious, but the low cooldown of Five Point Strike (Q) makes it tempting to spam. Learn to refrain yourself from abusing this ability. Very much like good wine, Akali’s Q is something to enjoy with parsimony.
(4) Keep in mind the basic principles of lane management. Using Five Point Strike (Q), especially when maxed, will push out your lane.

Twilight Shroud (W). – Ah. A key component of Akali’s skillset. Upon using Twilight Shroud (W), Akali drops a smoke bomb.
(1) While inside the shroud, Akali is obscured and gains movement speed. Attacking or using abilities will briefly reveal her.
Obscured is a new mechanic unique to Akali. While obscured Akali is stealthed and cannot be selected by hostile spells or attacks, including towers. Under true sight, Akali will be seen inside her shroud – she still cannot, however, be selected. So point and click abilities will not go through. However, she will get hit by AOE effects.
(2) The cover of smoke spreads out over time but cannot go over terrain. Be wary: after a short delay, the original spot where you dropped your shroud will be uncovered. Don’t get caught with your pants down! This is especially annoying if you are stunned as soon as you drop your shroud: should the stun last too long, you will soon be uncovered.
(3) Moving in and out of the shroud will extend its duration by 0.5 seconds, up to 8 seconds.
(4) Twilight Shroud (W) costs no energy. It instead restores 40 to 80 energy based on rank.

Twilight Shroud (W) is Akali’s most distinctive ability and a skilled player’s best friend. Keep in mind the following elements:
(1) Twilight Shroud (W) rewards players who keep moving close to the edge of the shroud. You can easily extend the shroud’s duration by weaving in and out of cover and will not get caught unaware by the shroud’s movements.
(2) Using the Five Point Strike (Q) -> Assassin’s Mark (P) empowered auto combos is so much easier when utilizing the additional movement speed and cover of Twilight Shroud (W). You should never lose a trade when your shroud is up.
(3) If you need some quick healing, consider using shroud to max out your energy and cast a fully charged Five Point Strike (Q).
(4) Knowing all of that, smart enemies will try to bait out your shroud and trade while it’s on cooldown. Position adequately when your shroud is down.

Shuriken Flip (E). – Akali flips backwards and fires a shuriken forward. The shuriken is a slow moving, medium range projectile that marks the first enemy or shroud position it hits, dealing a small amount of damage.
Akali can re-cast this ability to dash to the marked target, dealing the same damage.
I have found Akali’s Shuriken Flip (E) to be difficult to hit aggressively (i.e. to chase down an enemy). It has, however, two very strong uses:
(1) Stunned targets – by an ally champion or by Akali’s Perfect Execution (R) – can easily be hit. Consider using Shuriken Flip (E) just after the micro-stun of Perfect Execution (R) to catch an enemy fleeing your deadly finisher.
(2) The back flip can bring you over terrain, making Shuriken Flip (E) a very useful tool to escape dangerous situations. Furthermore, the fact that Akali can mark her shroud allows for amazing outplay potential while fleeing or to reposition yourself in a skirmish.

Perfect Execution (R). – Perfect Execution (R) is a two-part dash. Akali vaults in a straight line, micro-stunning (0.5 s) and damaging enemies she strikes (120/180/240 + 50% bonus AD). Akali can re-cast that ability to thrust through enemies, executing them (120/180/240 + 30% AP to 300/450/600 + 90% AP based on missing health).
Perfect Execution (R) is the perfect finisher and rounds up the Rogue Assassin’s kit. Do not be afraid however to use your ultimate to escape a fishy situation.

Starting items. – Generally speaking, you have two great choices:

(1) The Dark Seal + Refillable Potion is a very strong opener against most matchups even though you don’t benefit from the additional 100 mana. You get 15 AP as well as a 25% increased healing from your Refillable which, with your fully charged Five Point Strike (Q) should be enough to sustain throughout laning phase. Additionally, the Dread passive gives you 3 AP per stack of Glory (2 stacks per kill, 1 stack for an assist), which gives you free stats should you start snowballing.

(2) Doran’s Shield + 1 Health Potion is a perfectly legitimate opener against champions you find difficult to lane against. With the additional health and sustain from Doran’s Shield you should cruise to level 6 from whence you can dominate most match-ups.

Boots. – Boots are and remain a situational item.
(1) Ionian Boots of Lucidity synergizes strongly with Akali’s skillset and playstyle. Any additional cooldown reduction helps.
(2) Against an AP or CC heavy team, Mercury’s Threads are definitely necessary.
(3) Against an AD heavy team, or when facing a lane opponent hitting hard with basic attacks, consider building Ninja Tabi – which have the additional bonus of being very thematic.

Hextech Gunblade. – Gunblade remains a core item for Akali. It offers 80 AP and 40 AD, which both strengthen significantly Akali’s skills who have AP and AD ratios. The passive improves Akali innate healing […]

Liandry’s Torment. – Liandry’s Torment is a great item to pick up for Akali. Not only does it increase her damage (80 AP), but the 300 health bonus cannot be overlooked as you enter those mid-game skirmishes. Furthermore, both of Liandry’s passives fit right in Akali’s kit:
(1) Madness increases your damage when attacking in a quick succession for a maximum 10% damage bonus. This scales with your ultimate: Perfect Execution (R) for a massive finisher.
(2) Torment’s over time damage doubles to 6% of target’s maximum health against slowed units. This combines perfectly with a max range Five Point Strike (Q).
Morellonomicon. – Consider Morellonomicon as an alternative to Liandry’s Torment if you need the added magic penetration as well as the Grievous Wounds effect.

Rylai’s Crystal Sceptre. – Rylai’s follows the same rationale as before: 90 AP and 300 health to max out your damage and survivability in extended trades and epic mid game team fights. The additional slow combines really well with Liandry’s Torment passive and makes chasing down a juicy target or escaping a maddening crowd chasing your lovely self so much easier.

Spirit Visage. – A great defence item that synergises really well with your kit, making so much more durable in late game team fights. No way you’re getting one shot by an angry enemy mage with this bad boy! 10% cooldown reduction, 450 health, +100% base health regeneration, 55 magic resistance and an amazing passive that increases effectiveness of all sources of health restoration by 30%. All sources: that’s your Gunblade, that’s your Five Point Strike (Q). With Spirit Visage, you can disengage a fight and, 5 seconds later, jump back into the fray completely healed. A must buy.

Zhonya’s Hourglass. – With the additional resistance items you get with this build, I don’t feel like rushing Zhonya’s is really necessary. However if the game goes into prolongations, the additional 75 AP, 45 armour and 10% cooldown reduction does help – especially against AD heavy compositions. Stasis also combines really well with your Twilight Shroud (W): activate it at the edge of the zone, to make sure you leave stasis obscured.