Hello everyone!

Since Akali's Rework, I practiced her in Custom games on the PBE whenever I could. However, I could not get my hand on Akali in a Normal Game... I waited for her Live Release, and I love her. She is one of my favorite champions now.

I really like Akali's rework, and I'm currently trying to make her one of my main champions. I am no Akali master, but I want to completely understand her potential, and I'm pretty devoted on that goal.

I would like to share with you the knowledge I have for now on her. I'll do a quick recap of her kit.

This is a very, very long thread! There is quite a lot to read folks. ( I'm that much in love with her. I don't even care spending 2 hours writing this )

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#Akali's Kit

Passive : Assassin's Mark

INNATE: Akali's ability damage against enemy champions creates a 500-unit ring around them for 5 seconds, granting her 35% / 40% / 45% / 50% bonus movement speed for 1 / 2 / 3 seconds while moving towards the edge of the ring.

When Akali is outside the ring, she regains the bonus movement speed towards enemy champions and gains SWINGING KAMA for 4 seconds.

SWINGING KAMA: Akali's next basic attack gains Range icon 125 bonus range, deals 39 - 180 (based on level) (+ 90% bonus AD) (+ 70% AP) Ability power bonus magic damage and restores 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 energy.

TLDR : Each time you hit an ability on an ennemy champion, a ring forms itself around you. Cross the ring, and Akali will gain a burst of movement speed and also empowers her next auto-attack, gaining double the range of her basic attack and also bonus damage. This passive doesn't have a cooldown, you can reactivate it as long as you've crossed the ring and procced the empower auto. The empowered auto can be used on anything and it will deal bonus damage to anything you'll hit. ( champions, minions, objectives )

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#Q : Five Point Strike

ACTIVE: Akali throws a flurry of kunais in the target direction, dealing magic damage to enemies hit. Enemies hit at maximum range are also slowed by 50% for 0.5 seconds.

MAGIC DAMAGE: 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 (+ 65% AD) (+ 50% AP) If the kunais hit at least one unit at 180 energy or above, Akali also Heal power heals for a percentage of Five Point Strike's premitigation damage.

HEALING PERCENTAGE 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% At rank 5, deals 33.3% bonus damage to minions and monsters.

TLDR : It is a basic skillshot that will allow you to farm in any kind of matchup. Nothing special, but remember that it heals you when you are nearly full energy ( when your energy meter is orange ) and, at rank 5, it deals bonus damage to minions and monsters. It is also her primary source of damage, since the cooldown is really low.

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#W : Twilight Shroud

ACTIVE: Akali restores energy and detonates a smoke bomb in the target direction, creating a circular shroud that expands over the next 5 seconds into a ring. The shroud does not permeate terrain.

ENERGY RESTORED: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80

BASE DURATION: 5 / 5.5 / 6 / 6.5 / 7

Entering the shroud renders invisible, gaining Movement speed icon bonus movement speed and causing all sources of true sight (including Towers Destroyed icon turrets) to grant obscured vision instead.

BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40%

Akali's basic attacks and abilities will break the invisibility for 0.65 seconds. Twilight Shroud's duration is extended by 0.5 seconds whenever she breaks from the shroud, for a maximum bonus duration of 3 seconds.

The Shuriken Flip marked section of Twilight Shroud's will linger for the mark's duration, even after the shroud ends.

TLDR : Compared to the old shroud, this one expands over time, taking the shape of the surroundings ( if there is terrain that is near the shroud ) and will take a ring-shaped form. You gain "True Stealth", also knows as "obscured" : you can't be revealed by any means, except if you are under an ennemy turret, or you're hit by a skillshot/AoE that will reveal you briefly, but you will remain untargetable by any kind of point an click/auto-attacks. You gain movement speed inside the shroud, and you can mark your shroud with your E, in order to get back to your shroud safely. However, the ennemy can see that you marked your shroud, so be careful with that. Also, it restores your energy!

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#E : Shuriken Flip

FIRST ACTIVE: Akali Dash flips backward and fires a shuriken forward, dealing Attack damage physical damage to the first enemy hit and marking them.

PHYSICAL DAMAGE: 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+ 70% bonus AD)

If the Shuriken reaches maximum range without hitting an enemy, or kills its enemy, it will mark the last portion of Twilight Shroud Twilight Shroud hit, if applicable. While a target is marked, Akali can reactivate Shuriken Flip within the next 3 seconds.

SECOND ACTIVE: Akali Dash dashes towards the marked target, dealing the same initial damage.

**TLDR **: This ability is either your engage tool or disengage tool. You can try to mark your ennemy with it, then reactivate the ability to begin a full combo, or you can use it in the opposite direction to get closer to your target before going all-in. Also, it it really useful to go through thin walls without using flash. As said before, you can mark your shroud with it ; but it takes quite come practice. ( in order to pull off a succesful combo and get away with it without taking too much damage or escaping ) You can also use it to dodge/get away quickly.

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#R : Perfect Execution

FIRST ACTIVE: Akali Dash dashes in the target direction, dealing physical damage and stunning enemies hit for 0.5 seconds.

PHYSICAL DAMAGE: 120 / 180 / 240 (+ 50% bonus AD)

After 2.5 seconds, Perfect Execution can be reactivated within the following 7.5 seconds.

SECOND ACTIVE: Akali Dash dashes in the target direction, dealing magic damage to enemies hit. The base damage is increased by 0% - 150% (based on target's missing health), and the scaling damage is increased by 0% - 200% (based on target's missing health).

TLDR : Akali's ultimate is two dashes. The first one is your engage tool, stunning briefly your target. It is shorter than the second, but both go through your target. Before being able to use the second one, you have room to use all of your other abilities ( Q and E, including your AA that you can empower ) and then striking down your target with the second dash, that deals massive damage, as an execute.

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#STRATEGY

What abilities should I rank up first? In what order?

• Level 1 : Begin with your Q. It is your farming tool for any matchup.
• Level 2 : Take W. This will allow you to be defensive if needed, or simply a mean to restore your energy when you're running out of it.
• From this point, take E at level 3. This also means you get your power spike, and you can actually look for a heavy trade , or even a kill if you can execute your abilities correctly. ( + Ignite and Electrocute )
• Max Q first : you will gain bonus damage on minions, thus, clearing the wave faster.
• Then, max your W. Your E is only a gap closer/engaging tool. It doesn't scale with AP, so no need to max it. Your Shroud will give you the energy you need in order to sustain in lane ( with the healing of your Q ) or can be used to play defensive if needed. The cooldown reduction is a must on this ability.
• Max your R, then lastly, your E.

**Complete path : **

https://i.imgur.com/aW2ZB9V.png/img]

Playing around Akali's Passive and Twilight Shroud

Whenever you're using your shroud, you need to move a lot in order to be efficient. That's why the Shroud itself forms a ring : it forces Akali to move in order to not get caught by an AoE/Skillshot. Your shroud can be used in many ways.

• ** Zoning the ennemy with your Twilight Shroud** If you want to farm without being bothered by your laner, and being able to poke safely with your Q, use your W in the middle of the lane. Walk aroud, take the CS, poke your laner if he gets too close. Use the movement speed to walk away if someone ganks you. You can also use your shroud when you are taking an objective such as a Drake, or Baron when you know it is ontested, however, dropping W too early might be useless if you want to use it effectively. Keep in mind that walls mean little to nothing to you if you have your E and your R.

• During a combo If you landed your E on your laner, wait a bit ( around 2 seconds, to get an idea of your surroundings before going in ) then reactivate your E. Auto-attack to proc' Electrocute with your Empowered AA. Use W immediately in order to cancel any kind of retaliation from your laner. Then, proceed to Q, R, proc your empowered Auto, Q again, then R once more. This combo should kill your laner. Drop the Ignite if needed. Your Shroud should last long enough to get back to it if your target doesn't die after all your combo. This combo can still work if your opponent has Flash, but it will be more "free" if your laner doesn't have Flash.

• Using your Passive effectively In order to get the best damage output possible, you need to proc your passive as much as you can. The burst of movement speed is ideal when you cross the ring of your passive. Don't go for a passive proc onto your laner if you didn't push your wave enough ( aka clear the wave ) or you will be in a weak position. ( I'll tell more about my experience with the Mid matchups ) Your E is a useful tool to cross the ring of your passive, right after your Q. Don't forget your Shroud, that gives you movement speed and allows you to quickly move around and giving you free AA.

• ** Engaging as Akali** You have a few ways to engage your laner. You can cast your Q, then your W to give you movement speed, proc' your empowered AA, use E, reactivate it, then Q. You can use your E, mark your laner, reactivate it, then immediately use AA, W, Q, AA, R, AA, Q, AA, R. However, landing your E will prove to be difficult, so you can actually use your E on a minion close to your target, then execute most of the combo I just said. E a minion, E again, Q, AA, W, R, AA, Q, AA, R. You can add Ignite whenever you feel like it could be a kill. You can actually E backwards, Q, AA, W, E1, E2, AA, Q, R, AA, Q, AA, R. People don't often expect an Akali to E backwards to engage. Also, your first R is a really good to engage your target, followed by an all-in. With the micro-stun, you can go from there and AA, Q, AA, E1, E2, AA, W, Q, AA, R. Remember to keep your shroud for the towerdive if you want to engage with your first R. That will help in order to not get tower aggro.

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#Midlane Matchups : General tips

• Ranged

You will have an early disadvantage, so just chill in the back of your wave, soak up experience, and Q the wave to take the farm. You WILL miss CS, so don't even try to get everything. Your ranged laner will most likely try to poke you at any given occasion, but the experienced midlaners will only try to use their abilities when you're trying to last hit.

Midlaners with a good waveclear will most likely try to shove their wave quickly in order to make you lose farm. Remember that until level 2/3, you can't go for a trade. You have the advantage of having energy, which regens faster than mana. Basically, you want to bait the abilities of your laner in order to get him low on mana. This way, you won't have much trouble to get a decent trade, even a kill! Just keep in mind that you are stronger when you get level 3, and there is a kill potential with your all-in, Electrocute and Ignite.

Don't forget to work with your jungler if you struggle to kill your midlaner by yourself. Remember that your shroud is your best bet to farm safely.

Your mobility is your power. Most midlaners ( ranged ) are immobile. They have CC in order to set up kills or save themselves, but your mobility counters their CC easily. However, a champion like Ahri will be more difficult to deal with, since she's a Mage/Assassin. You'll have to wait for her charm to be down in order to trade with a good all-in.

People tend to complain about it, but your Shroud is your best ally to survive in lane! However, you shouldn't use it too much. Either use it in a combo, or to clear the wave and heal out of it. Remember that the cooldown on your W is disgustingly high at early levels, so be careful!

• ** Melee**

This will be always a skill matchup. Both of you have a gap closer, for the most part. ( most melees in midlane, that is ) The one that will be the most aggressive will win the lane, and basically most of the trades. I'm not quite used to a melee matchup, and I clearly need to play more of those to be able to give clear advice/good feedback on this matchup. All in all, your midlaner and you have the same goal ; the one that will be able to execute it first will win the lane.

However, you still have your W that can keep you alive in a lot of cases, so losing lane isn't the end of the world, since you can easily avoid death with your W, E, and even R, without even taking in account Flash.

#What Runes should I take?

The Primary Runes will always be the same, the Secondary will change depending on your matchup/playstyle.

• ** Electrocute**
  • Your combos can easily procc Electrocute, you must have this Rune
  • Relentless Hunter will synergize with your Q, and also your Gunblade to give you a good sustain
  • You can either choose Relentless Hunter or Ultimate Hunter, depending on your choice. Both are good for Akali, but I'd rather have more sustain.

https://i.imgur.com/b6xGYnz.png/img]

• Resolve
  • Ideal to sustain in lane against Ranged champions
  • A more defensive approach that will reward you if you lane well

https://i.imgur.com/m3A0UBV.png/img]

• Precision
  • Ideal to deal more damage when you're looking for an all in, and even a kill with your ultimate
  • Triumph can come in handy after a risky kill/towerdive to regen some health

https://i.imgur.com/KEA4evk.png/img]

• Sorcery
  • Celerity will synergize well with the MS given by your W, and later your Lich Bane
  • Gathering Storm will allow you to scale disgunstingly well in the late game. However, your goal is to burst people so quickly that they don't have time to scale...

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#What should I buy for Akali as a Midlaner?

This is my personal item page whenever I play Akali. I'm sure it could use some improvement, but let me show you!

Starting Items :

• _ Option 1_ :

  • Take these if you want to play aggressive, or when you know that you're going to win your lane and your trades.
  • The Dark Seal passive will help you sustain easily whith your potions, and with your Q. Plus, it will refill itself each time you will recall!

• If you're able to kill your laner, the jungler, or execute a good roam, you will snowball quickly ; and be ahead with a Mejai's

• Option 2 :

  • I consider it to be a must if you're against a ranged champion that can easily poke you ; you will sustain with it's passive and your Q combined
  • Taking Doran's Shield is ideal when you just want your opponent to waste his mana, while you're waiting for a good occasion to trade
  • After your first back, you can take and to make your sustain even better IF you're struggling.

Rush :

Not much to say about this ; you basically want to get your as soon as possible.

Boot option :

• Option 1:

  • Take these if you are ahead, otherwise, you should adapt your choice depending on the ennemy team comp

• _Option 2 _:

  • Against heavy CC comp, this is a must. Not much else to say!

• Option 3 :

  • Against heavy AD comp, this will do nicely. Espescially if you have a hard time against them.

Core Damage :

: A must for Akali, as it has always been the case. The healing synergizes perfectly with her own sustain, and it gives both AD and AP, a perfect match for someone like her, whith a dual scaling. The Unique Active is also sweet to catch anyone and kill them with ease, since Akali can chase anyone with her kit, given her mobility.

: Also a must for our assassin : it gives ability power, armor, and the Unique Active Stasis that will come in handy if you're caught in a bad spot, or save yourself from a gank. You can also use it in the heart of a teamfight, once you did your job. Most AP midlaners will get this item to save themselves anyways.

: It's passive synergizes perfectly with Akali's passive. Basically, your empowered AA will hit like a truck once you get this item. And you get 10% CDR and 7% MS! It's a perfect fit for someone that needs to burst down their target quickly, and the MS is a nice addition for Akali.

: Useful to shred through MR, also very useful in order to counter champions that have Lifesteal. To be honest, however, I don't buy this item often...I even wonder if I bought it on Akali.

Situational Items :

> : A basic if you have your AP Assassin/Mage that is ahead of you, and is hurting like a truck. Buy this item if there is at least 2 Magical Damage Threat in the ennemy team. The passive will possibly save your life, and you won't regret buying it. When you get Hexdrinker in hand, don't forget to build it into Maw, so that you get 50 AD and MR, and also 10% CDR.

: It is in situational, depending on how well you will perform in your game. Basically if you are ahead and the ennemy team didn't buy enough MR to stop your burst. It's a must for any AP based champion, but remember that Akali can do fine without it. At least, when the late mid/ Late game didn't kick in yet.

: If the ennemy team is building MR to counter your burst, consider buying this item to counter them! Not much to say about it.

: Really situational...If you think that you need a second chance whenever you want to do some damage in a teamfight and that you die too quickly....then buy this item. However, this item should really be considered when you struggle consistenly in teamfights, and in the very late game. Litterally when each team doesn't win a single fight. I'd say that this item would be ideal in the top lane, but not as Akali mid.

: If the ennemy team has a fed AP Assassin/Mage and that you litterally die in a few seconds, consider this item. It will make you more tanky, and your sustain will be good to keep you alive, since it's passive synergizes with your Q. The 10% CDR is pretty sweet as well.

Standard Build :

This should be your build in most games, if everything goes your way.

Versus Heavy Magic Damage :

Title speaks for itself.

When Ahead :

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#Akali's Potential

[click on the pictures to see the gifs ]

https://i.imgur.com/RBwtk2k.gifv

Analysis :

• Early W in order to position myself in a good spot, where I can actually try to use my E on Syndra
• Once I landed my E, I immediately reactivated it, then I used Q and procced my empowered AA ( I could have procced it twice, but it is not a mechanical reflex that I have integrated yet )
• Afterwards, I use my first R, dodging Syndra's E, that could have stopped my combo
• I procc my empowered AA again, use Q and AA her to death.

Important sidenotes :

• During the laning phase, Syndra kept making mistakes : she wasted her mana to poke me while I was chilling in the back of my own wave, farming with Q.
• Even when she shoved her wave in my tower, she didn't try to get vision in our jungle or in the river, or even try to roam. She kept waiting for me to clear my own wave under my own turret, and then proceeded to farm again. She gave up the idea of poking me under turret since I could use my W.
• In this clip, you'll notice that I was 1 level ahead. It may not look like much, but I was winning my lane. I could solo kill Syndra if she made just 1 mistake. Which she did.
• She used her R and Ignited me in an desperate attempt to kill me, but thanks to my secondary Runes Resolve and my Doran's Shield ( I think I also had Gunblade at this point ) I took all the damage and I was fine.
• I forgot to use my second R to execute her, so this kill looks messy. Even quite disrespectful. That was totally my bad.
• This was only the 2nd time I played Akali on the Live Server. I only played her once in the PBE against players. ( practicing against AI doesn't help you to get better, you can just understand what your champion does, but you have to play against real players to learn the matchups )

https://i.imgur.com/YsQrizD.gifv

Analysis :

• Syndra is obviously baiting me to attack her. She is recalling beside her minion wave, totally exposed. First, I ignore her. Then, I use my E to mark her. I wait a few moments before reactivating it.
• I immediately use Q and R once I get to Syndra, Electrocute proccs. She just used Flash, and also her E, which failed, supposed to push me away. Her bait turned out to be an opportunity for me to kill her. Notice that I use my Ult backwards, in order to drop tower aggro.
• I decide to fully commit on my engage, since I used my first R. I use my W in order to not get tower aggro and set up the kill.
• Since Syndra can see me thanks to the tower's True Sight, I decide to surprise her and Flash, R and then Q to secure the kill. I forgot to procc my empowered AA, again, a mechanical combo that I have to learn.
• Once more, Syndra didn't respect the threat that I was. She thought she could handle me under her own Turret, however, it seems that she forgot I could just be smart and not try to get free damage from her turret. She is a Mage, thus, I'm at an advantage since I have all this mobility and burst. Like I said : 1 mistake, and Syndra dies.

https://i.imgur.com/jg5AUew.gifv

_Analysis : _

• I noticed that Fiora and Gragas were going to contest the Rift Herald that my team ( Shen and Camille ) was already doing
• I walk in the river, unaware that Fiora hid in the bush. She ults me, and Gragas focuses me as well
• I panicked, and used W, then proceeded to use E on my Shroud. Fiora is trying to proc all the Vitals on me, but I get away when I reactivated my E, hiding safely in my Shroud.
• Fiora and Gragas can't kill me anymore since I'm hidden. They turn towards Camille and Shen. Shen taunts both of them, allowing Camille and Shen to put in some more damage.However, I'm still here, waiting for an opportunity to strike back. I Q Gragas and Fiora while my Shroud is still up to add damage. Camille is taking aggro from the Rift.
• Gragas uses his ult, bringing Camille closer to me. She is low, however. Fiora goes in and tries to kill Camille. I decide to show up and put in some damage to save my jungler. The unexpected burst with Electrocute kills Fiora, turning a losing 3v2 into a 3v1. Thanks to Trimph, Camille gains a bit of Health.
• Gragas is scared, he flashes out. We chase him. He tries to Bodyslam me, but once again, I use my Q and AA, it kills Gragas. I gain double buffs, and we can take the Rift Herald.

This clip alone shows the outplay potential of the W + E combo. Sure, it wasn't some kind of epic fight, but I was happy that I could pull that off. For any Akali player, I think this is something to really keep in mind. To be honest, I did this combo purely on accident. I panicked W and E, and noticed I could reactivate it, so I did. I didn't plan any of this.

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I am currently training in Normal Games and grinding my Mastery 5 before trying out Ranked as Akali mid. I want to be sure that I played her enough to know most of the matchups, or at the very least, know what to do against most midlaners. I know I'm still missing out on so many stuff, but I'm learning every game I play with her. And I'm having so much fun as Akali! I know that I'm Unranked and stuff, but I thought it would be nice to share my take on Akali, for the casual player that I am, and that now, I want to become better at the game and even play Ranked, and climb.

This will be the first online game I actually invest myself that much in.

Please share your tips, experience, anything when it comes to playing Akali. If you have any tips to the games in Ranked, or just your own experience, please feel free to share it!