They both snowball really hard if they get even a single kill, but Riot seems to despise Akali more than any other assassin. I'm guessing it's because of her sustain, and Riot hates sustain of any kind. I'm not saying I hate Katarina or anything, but I also don't think it's fair that she's allowed to stay strong while other assassins keep getting nerfed.
MarkedOfKane2 votesIts not that riot despises akali. Its that Katarina is Riot's posterchild.
TeemoJenkins2 votesI still ban Akali, her nerf slowed her down, didn't completely gimp her. She's still super viable imho.
Linkttp1 votesI promise you she's not. Zone her out use your Free sweeper trinket (which upgrading is now cheaper than ever!) or Buy a pink. She really doesn't do All that much when she can't two cycle you.
ModAcademy Kayn2 votesAkali was much harder to deal with in a 1v1 situation. Stun Kat in her ult and she is useless. Stun akali 1v1 and she'll take the punishment, smokescreen, and come right back at you.
IcyPepper3 votesOr you can buy a pink ward and slap it down right in the middle of the lane. It sounds stupid, but that's how you get it done.
ModAcademy Kayn1 votesBut considering her Cd's on Q and E, she doesn't have to wait long since, A. you had just stunned her, and B. the amount of time it takes to register to place a pink. Kat's extra damage has about a ten second cd. Akali's is much shorter.
IcyPepper2 votesThen you got to either be fast, or think strategically. If Akali uses her smokescreen defensively, then it's time to use the pink. If she's playing offensively, not only is she wasting energy on boosted speed, but you just have to back off in lane. During a teamfight though, it's all about positioning. Assassins eat squishies for breakfast, and Akali's range is not the best, so make sure she can't reach the squishies without dealing with the tanks or bruisers first.
ModAcademy Kayn1 votesIm talking bout 1v1 early game, since this is when she gets fed. Early game mages don't have as good cds as an akali, which means akali can abuse you a lot during that team with no abilities to use. She only needs to survive one set of abilities from you to survive, while you need to survive all 3 sets. Not to mention smokescreen slows ya, so she'll have that on you.
IcyPepper2 votesHm... in champion select, you want to counterpick, but... If I recall correctly, assassins are useless if not fed because of their poor farming ability. The best thing I can think of is every time Akali comes close to take cs, you poke her. You don't go ham, hoping to kill her, you poke her down and play a bit passively until it's time. A good jungler ganks Akali often, because she's next to useless when underfed, so consider that.
Assassins don't have as good waveclear and cs as mages (not that they can't, but it's not as good), so one idea is to out-farm her without taking damage as much as possible (remember, 18 cs = 1 kill or so). Then build a mix of offense and defense, denying her those much needed kills. As long as everyone is warding properly, she shouldn't be able to get free kills at bot lane if she's desperate enough to try.
One great counter against Zed and Akali is silver sash. Seriously, that item almost as core as Zhonya's, plus it gives magic resist.
ModAcademy Kayn1 votesA. Im sorry how am I supposed to counter in Blind Pick? Just play Champs that happen to counter Akali, in the case where I actually face one? B. I understand the QSS, but that would only work against, say 1 q against Akali, other then the extra MR. In Otherwords, I don't understand how that'd help.
IcyPepper2 votesModAcademy Kayn1 votes"Don't pick something so easily countered in Blind Pick"
Oh, well excuse me for playing champs that are fun, and not preparing against a single champion. I forget there are people that don't choose Akali and play champs that counter Akali's counters. My bad.
IcyPepper2 votesshrugs
It was just a suggestion. Choose your champion to have fun. Maybe find a fun Akali counter if you want, do what you like.
Not blind, but in draft pick you won't believe the number of times I've seen first pick choose something with incredibly obvious counters, though.
Linkttp1 votesWaiiit wait wait wait wait.. Are you claiming Akali has a good early game.. AKALI for crying out loud. I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw this. Akali's early game is ABYSMAL. If you lose to Akali early Game then You need to make some changes. Bad.
cuddlykitten43 votesThis is easily one of the most underestimated strategies that no one ever thinks about. In bot lane? Fighting a Twitch? Is that pesky bugger going invisible and popping up just to ruin your day? Wait til he disappears, throw down a pink, drop him before he even realizes what's going on. Or Eve. Or Shaco. Well, you get the idea.
ccseancc1432 votesAkali is still strong just not as strong as before.
Linkttp1 votesStrong... (Cough cough) Pfffft LOL. Nope. Not even A little. Notice the winrate hovering between 42% and 44%? Akali makes urgot look op.
ModKnightsKemplar2 votesIt's because Katarina still has counterplay if she's fed. Stun her out of ult, and she doesn't do damage. Akali can still faceroll you after she comes out of stun, and if she's low, she can stealth. She has more tools than Kata.
Karlyr1 votesShe is getting nerfed next patch. PBE nerf is on the way currently. Stop crying.
Cloud2731 votesShe is getting nerfed next patch. PBE nerf is on the way currently. Stop crying.
I never said Katarina should be nerfed. I just want Riot to treat her the way they're treating other assassins. She's getting special treatment while everyone else is getting hammered with nerfs.
Sirsir1 votesPeople whine about Akali and demand nerfs > OMG Y NERF AKALI!? This is why Riot doesn't listen to the boards when it comes to balance...
Anyway Akali has so much more in her kit than Kat. All katarina has is damage, a mid range mobility spell, and resets.
Akali has Kats damage, stealth, 3 mid range gap closers that reset, innate Spellvamp with plenty of single target skills to proc it.