how the hell are you supposed to fight akali as a melee mid/top?

Fabulous Velour·3/20/2019, 4:52:40 AM·7 votes·5,205 views

I mainly play bruisers top and I've been really struggling to figure out how to play against Akali. She just spams q on you any time you get near the creep wave, which is basically impossible to dodge. This slows you, while speeding her up so there's no way to stop her from getting her higher dmg auto attack. Because of that there's no way to try to trade with her because she will always out damage you, or drop shroud. You have to wait for her to use it against a minion, but by that point q is off cooldown, and here we go again.

What are you supposed to do against her, I'm really at a loss. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

16 Comments

Anime Fizz3/20/2019, 4:53:27 AM2 votes

You basically just lose lane as melee vs akali, unless shes very bad.

You have to kind of survive and then you outscale her very hard.

Malix Farwin3/20/2019, 5:35:32 PM2 votes

Top lane in general feels terrible to play, if one side gets even a slight lead or advantage from picks they can hard freeze and if you do not get a gank then you are done up there.

The Ecdysiast3/20/2019, 5:33:56 AM1 votes

So I checked it, just so we didn't have to waste time with you commenting the response, and you play Sion and Garen. Both of which have plenty of tools to deal with Akali.

Garen If you're fighting Akali so often that you know she's going to Q you when you try to farm, use your W. If it's timed well, you may not need to use your Q at all. But even if not, you can still use your Q to cleanse the slow and attack her. Then if she trying to E you you just turn your E on. Bing bang boom you've won every single trade. And if you find that you're not doing enough damage with Doran Shield, go for Doran Blade instead. If you find you're taking too much damage with Trinity, build Cleaver. Sterak's doesn't give base AD any more specifically because it was too strong with Trinity Force, so having them together isn't as strong as it used to be. (Nevermind the fact you're dropping the gold efficiency of Sheen by buying it on a manaless champ, so you should only go for Trinity if you're already ahead). You'd do especially well to opt for Cleaver into Visage since he benefits from the heal boost.

Sion Just... shield yourself. And if she does try to get in close for the auto-attack, hit her with your E Q. She may be able to drop a shroud, but it doesn't blink any more. Like with Garen, go for Doran Blade instead of Shield. And never buy Sunfire Cape first against anyone. It is the worst first buy in the game. (Here's the comparison for you, since I already did it in a different thread: https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/EPkAL1Az-sunfire-cape-is-not-a-fair-first-item-for-top-lane-tanks-a-cost-and-usage-analysis?show=flat )

You'd probably fair far better going for Cleaver first regardless of the matchup, since it provides health and CDR. But if you must buy a defensive item, go for Visage. It's far more gold efficient AND has higher HP than Helm and works with Grasp. So Visage is better against magic poke and early fights. Helm is only good against specific champs like Karthus, Teemo, or Rumble, since otherwise it doesn't have a passive until the enemy has high enough CDR for it to activate. And while Akali does have short enough cooldowns from the get-go, the actual amount of damage blocked at that point will be very low.

Zdiddy5133/20/2019, 7:32:26 AM1 votes

Diana reks her and every other mid lane assassin. Start w, get a couple levels in it before maxing q, rush banshees (or zhonyas vs ad) and you will no longer take damage while being able to 100-0 them in 1 combo.

Afk on Lane3/20/2019, 3:22:47 PM1 votes

I dont know if i am right, dont play akali much , but she has to quit circle which is on the enemy champion after a spell to use empowered aa. When i played nasus vs her i bought oracle lens, and was just chasing her after smoke and was close enough to not let her quit this circle. U force her to use her e or r right now to quit circle. If she misses her e u are gucci, she will has to waste r engaging into u or to go out for a passive. U can outplay her with with Yasuo Riven Kled Jax i think. Of course u are at disadvantage in short trades but overall u can win all in with her, just stick to her as much as possible.

Sometimes Fizz3/20/2019, 5:22:09 PM1 votes

Pick up Rumble - he is super oppressive

CLG Factor3/20/2019, 5:24:13 PM1 votes

Pick Pantheon and fuck her shit up

Akali is SO HOT3/21/2019, 2:11:53 AM1 votes

Sylas, Panth, Yorick, Illaoi, Nasus, and GP all shit on her super hard. Her empowered autos make it hard to trade with her and if she is going the trinity build with phage rush you probably are gonna have a hard time getting to her. You are just gonna have to back off a little if she gets her empowered auto from her passive activated. Trading with her when she's low on energy is really good and is even better if shroud is on cooldown. There isn't too much you can do against Akali top as a melee so just try to survive lane. Get your jungler to gank and hope for the best. She is complete ass come late game so just wait until then and be more useful than her.

If you really don't like her then just pick a ranged champion. Vlad, Jayce, Kennen, and Quinn will tilt the shit outta them. Especially Vlad.

ThıghConnoısseur3/20/2019, 6:41:32 PM1 votes

A lot of really niche picks can take out akali

Rumble is good

TahmKench is good

Gnar is ok (technically melee and ranged but you get the point)

Tailypo3/20/2019, 6:47:50 PM1 votes

I played quite a bit of akali top, and I can tell you Nasus and esp Renekton crap all over her (even before their respective buffs / nerfs).

5050BS3/20/2019, 7:07:24 PM1 votes

Classic CT crap design.

I play Reksai vs her or illaoi

PeachBuns3/21/2019, 1:42:50 AM1 votes

Play Garen, u would sht on her.

Yboat3/21/2019, 2:04:07 AM1 votes

Garen is just down right funny. Kled, jax and and susan are also funny.

Silly Neeko3/20/2019, 5:12:56 AM1 votes

Do you play Mordekaiser? Or near literally anyone who has damage that is not directly linked to targetted abilities/auto attacks?

Tends to be the best way to go. Also, building MR first item tends to help.... though depending on the champ determines what item would be best... but yeah.

Either that.... or just outscale her with champions like Nasus or possibly Renekton.