Help with Akali and Elise?

AravyreGellan·8/21/2014, 8:00:17 AM·1 votes·1,075 views

I have recently acquired Akali and Elise and I was wondering what kind of builds/what items people recommend.

So far for Akali I have: Hextech Gunblade, basic Ionian boots, Infinity Edge, Rabadon's Deathcap, Trinity Force, and Guinsoo's Rageblade. For Elise: Abyssal Scepter and Zhonya's Hourglass.

The items for Akali have been working, but they're so expensive (that and I don't really know how to play her so I die and fall behind). As for Elise, I have yet to try her out. Both item sets were suggested by a friend who's a much better player than myself so I trust his judgement. Please, when you reply, do not use the icons to tell me an item set, names are preferred. Please and thank you!

~Aravyre

7 Comments

skippersd8/21/2014, 8:59:21 AM5 votes

Hy there:

Akali: Gunblade is a solid choice. Forget Infinity Edge (it's for marksman) Ionian boots (she runs out of energy if you stack CDR) and Rageblade (it's a REALLY nieche item). I'd recommend the following:

Boots + 4 HP pots start against guys who have skillshots that you can avoid. Cloth armor + 5 HP pots against AD.
Hextech revolver ASAP. Try to farm up to 1200 g before you go back.
if you're losing: lane opponeit does magic damage get a negatron cloak if he does physical damage get a Seeker's armguard next.
If you are winning finish the hextech gunblade

At this point, you should have the following build: item 1001 item 3146 with item 1057 OR item 3191

Next on the list is Sorcerer's shoes

Check out who is doing well at the enemy team. If it's an AD champ, get Zhonya's Hourglass item 3157 , if it's an AP champ, get Abyssal scepter item 3001 .

IF you are getting fed, get a Deathcap , if not so fed, Sheen . That will be either a Trinity force or a Lich bane later.

A final build should look like: item 3020 item 3001 item 3157 item 3146 item 3089 and for last item item 3078 OR item 3100 for more damage, or Guardian angel item 3026 if you are afraid of dieing.

Notes on proper Akali play:

Max Q first. Be careful with lvl1 trading, you are weaker than most champions.
Get W at lvl 2 if you are losing, E if you are winning.
Once you got 2 points in Q, use the following trade method: Q the enemy, and wait for the CD. Once it's nearly up, walk to them, AA to proc the mark, Q again, proc the mark (either AA or E). Use W to retreat, or wait for cd. *Once you get lvl 6, wait for AT LEAST 2 charges. Use the previous method with ult. Q wait, R, AA, Q,E. If they are low HP, wait for Q cd, then R, Q, AA.
As akali has good in-fight sustain, you want armor and MR more than you want HP. Only get HP if you are against true damage, or you are getting killed instantly (even then GA is better).
DON'T go in first. Wait for someone to get low HP, jump in, kill that guy, press W. You are an assassin, you want to finish off the guy. Some may say it's kill stealing, but its better to steal a kill than the guy getting away with low HP.

And as a last note. Both Gunblade and Zhonya has active effects. Don't forget to use them.

Cheers.

12tales8/21/2014, 8:42:13 AM4 votes

Thinking in terms of 'builds for champions' is hurting your development as a player. Builds are always situational, and you should always try to tailor your itemization to the game at hand.

That said - if you want to play Elise in the top lane (which I don't suggest, but w/e), you should generally find the most success with bruiser AP items like those you mention, alongside Liandry's and Rylai's. Elise as a champion has very high base damages but very mediocre scaling, which makes magic penetration the best offensive stat on her.

If you want to play Elise in the jungle, you'll almost always want to build Spectral Wraith, and maybe a bit of magic pen before building defensively. CDR is particularly high priority on her.

Shrikesnest8/21/2014, 5:03:18 PM1 votes

The others have left some great advice here. I'll just add that Akali is a snowball champion, so what you're experiencing isn't abnormal on that front. Her items are expensive, and she really can't do her thing unless she gets a couple of early kills. What most Akali players do is just passively farm until they reach 6th level while trying to whittle their opponent down with the occasional Q, then try to dive on their opponent the moment they hit 6th level and get a kill. Then they'll try to gank a lane and get a second kill. If you get those first two kills without giving up any deaths, you will be very hard to stop afterward.

Phazeor8/25/2014, 5:47:22 AM1 votes

Coming from a S3 Elise main I have a few tips i can offer you.

First keep in mind that you deal a large amount of your damage through %hp. To increase the %HP scaling requires a lot of ap and gold that can be used to bolster your surviveability mid game. Therefore I usally build an Abyssal Scepter item 3001 , Rylai's Crystal Scepter item 3116 , Zhonya's Hourglass item 3157 , Sorc Boots item 3020 Liandry's Torment item 3151 and Warmogs item 3083

Note: This works well against bruisers and allows you to be somewhat tanky for team fights with your spider forme.

Also the magic penetration will amplify the damage you deal to tanks

Linkttp2/20/2015, 11:49:14 PM1 votes

I wouldn't play Akali for a bit She just became REALLY clunky. Wait for (hopefully) next patch where they will likely undo nerfs and implement something like a spell vamp ratio decrease.

ThePlanetEarth11/10/2015, 8:39:33 PM1 votes

Hi there, i see you are having a bit of trouble with Akali, well almost every Alkali player has trouble with her in first few games.

In terms of build, always get Hextech Gunblade first as it provides OP sustain and give you a bit of Ability to increase, q and e and ult damage. I would then buy Crystal Sceptre as it gives Ability and Health to give Alkali that bit more health needed in clutch fights. I would then get Rabadon's Deathcap as is gives so much Ability and by then you will have carry potential. Then get Ludens Echo for movement speed, over Lich Bane and then get Zhonyas Hourglass and finally Sorcerers.

At the start of the game, Akali is a mid lane or solo top, well that how its played mostly so you need to ask junglers and top and bot to give frequent ganks and just try to get as much farm as possible and never give early kills. Never fall behind in cs, it will cost you dearly. Over all you need to be really careful pre level 6 an once you hit level six and have Hextech Gunblade, you can start roaming and helping top and bot. You just need to get fed and that is your ticket to Alkali carry, get fed by early banks as I already said and kill or assist it doesn't matter, you still get gold and Akali has an extremely expensive build with almost all of her items exceeding 3k gold.

Do not EVER give up on Akali, just stick to her and she will save you a lot. Always target the squishy champs first as you don't want to mess with tanks.

All in all have fun with Akali because she kicks ass and wrecks teams, I myself have carried countless games as Akali and GOOD LUCK :D