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Before I start, let me show you some of the things that Akali can do...
If you guys have any requests for me to provide my thoughts on any champions, or even create a build, please leave a comment!
Level: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Skill (QWER=1234)1 2 1 3 1 4 1 3 1 2 4 3 3 2 2 4 3 2
First, we take a point in Mark of the Assasin: This skill is very useful in early game skirmishes, and there's many times in which I killed both of the champions in a lane, especially with the damage it can do after you hit the "Marked" champion. Max this as soon as possible.
Then we take a point in Twilight Veil. In my opinion, this skill is one of the best "W" skills in the game: You can farm very efficiently without champions like Caitlyn harassing you, and you can juke, this increases Akali's survivability by a lot.
For the third skill, Crescent slash, we will put a point that whenever we can.
Akali's ultimate really makes her very unique and very useful in a team fight, especially since you get a stack by getting a kill or an assist. Chasing almost isn't a problem for Akali, because you can easily chase them without any problems.
In a team fight, you want to try and be in the back, going in and out with Shadow Dance doing a ton of damage and going back. Being a burst champion, Akali really isn't a tank, and you want to stay alive as much as posslbe, because you are many times one of your team's many sources of damage.
In a fight, you want to use this following skill sequence:
Q to first mark them if you can
If theyr're running you want to use R to chase them, autoattack, and E
If they're staying in the fight, you want to throw down your veil because the veil can reduce much of the damage and you can get away easily.
Then use E>R>Q and so on to burst out a ton of damage.
Summoner Spells:
Ignite & Ghost is the best combination. Period. I've tried out many different ones before.
Ignite helps you get those early kills and kill off stragglers, which you really need. Flash is meant for you to get away quickly, and setup your veil, wait for teammates, or run.
However, if you don't have flash, Ghost is an [b]okay[/b] replacement, but it really isn't nearly as effective, because flash does the same thing and you can juke them. Ghost doesn't do that as well, and Shadow Dance is a lot more useful than the other advantage Ghost gives.
Exhaust might be useful to chase people or to not die, but I find that with Twilight Veil, you can juke them, and Shadow Dance provies the chasing.
Items:
Doran's Blade>Hextech Revolver>Mercury Treads>Guinsoo's Rageblade>Lich Bane>Rylai's Crystal Sceptre>Hextech Gunblade>Rabadon's Deathcap
We start off with a Doran's Blade to activate one passive (Without AP runes), you would want to buy runes so you have two attack damage, that's a very good investment, and it's only a couple hundred IP, so you can use Doran's Blade. On your first trip back, ideally, you would want to buy a hextech revolver and boots of speed. However, if that's not the case, prioritize Hextech Revolver and buy health pots and wards situationally. Now boots are a debatable part of Akali, I take Mercury Treads, because once Akali is CC'd or silenced, she's screwed. Sure Flash is an option, but Mercury Treads really is the best option in 80% of the games. However, Ionian boots of Lucidity and Boots of Swiftness are also options, and buy them situationally. Your next item would be Guinsoo's Rageblade, this is probably one of the best items for Akali. Since you're a burst champion, the Rageblade stacks really matter and can decide whether you win or lose fights. However, if you're doing really poorly, grab a Rylai's Crystal Sceptre, because many times with Akali, being in the background, when people are not focusing you, you can make great comebacks. There are many games in which I start off 0-1 or 0-2, or even 0-3, and getting 15+ kills in those games, without dying once or twice more. However, with that in mind, you would want to play a lot more conservatively and strike at more decisive moments than you would if you were well farmed and maybe have a few kills or assists under your belt.
Next we grab a Sheen, then a Lich Bane. This is probably the second most important part about this item listl, because the Sheen really lets you vomit out damage, because of Mark of the Assasin. Lich Bane is crucial in the late game, because it really can decide teamfights and battles, because you really need that extra percent of damage for your team to win.
We then proceed to finish our Hextech Gunblade, and this should help you get even more damage out in your burst.
Finally, to cap it all off, we get a Rabadon's Deathcap, for that huge chunk of AP.
Thoughts on other items and item build:
Sheen: I've seen some guides that put a Sheen before Rageblade. I think that both of these options are viable, but I personally do a lot better with Rageblade because the fights usually last longer, and that Rageblade really helps you in the long run.
Mejai's Soulstealer: I'm not going to say what everyone says about Mejai's, but get it if you're doing fairly well. However, you also become a target when people spot your stacks.
If you want me to test out any more items or put my thoughts on other items, please leave a comment!!!
Farming:
I'm not that great of a player, but how do I do not bad and hold my own? Farming. It is the most important part with Akali. Keeping up with the farm even though you have a few kills is very important, because if you think about it, a kill is only about 15 minion kills. You want to last hit and use the Mark of the Assasin wisely, because it can almost kill a melee minion at level 1. One of the techniques that work exceptionally well is throwing down a Twilight Veil between the Caster minions and the Melee minions. The other champion(s) usually will back off, and you can deny them of exp and gold, while farming yourself without any harassment.
Mid-game & Late-game:
The mid-game is when you reign supreme, because the other champions' are still laning, and are still very squishy. This is when you pick them off and slowly get your way to being fed. Even if you had a bad laning phase, you can still try and gank and pick up some assists and kills. If you do well in the mid-game, you'll have a lot easier time in the late game.
The late game is when Akali is great, but just not to the point where the other team can't do anything, then can shut you down a lot easier. You want to slow down during the late-game, because the opposing team usually clumps up, and do what you do best, go in there, throw out your burst, and go out. Rinse & Repeat.
Smart Choices and How to make them:
I shouldn't be talking about smart choices, because I don't make them very often, turret diving a champion with flash & ghost, and more often than not, it's sheer luck that I live. What you want to do with Akali, is not be noticed, if you can help it. However, if you're being fed like no tommorow, go ahead, dive that turret! If you're not being fed and the other team are doing fairly well, you want to just focus on farming and waiting for the right oppurtunity. How do you know, a lot of pros will tell you that vision is everything, buy a couple of wards to deflect ganks as well as look around the map. I really can't teach you about awareness, I think it's an acquired skill, but just look around the map next time you play. Now back to not being noticed, you don't want the other team to ping you and 1v5 you every time they spot you on the map, you want to slowly farm up, and deliver the killing blow that shifts the momentum of the game!
Thanks for reading about my thoughts and partial guide on Akali. Please leave a comment if you disagree, have any suggestions, or have anything you want me to include!
If you guys have any requests for me to provide my thoughts on any champions, or even create a build, please leave a comment!
