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Adapting Akali's play style to the new patch.

Belisarius09·1/30/2015, 7:44:10 PM·1 votes·740 views

I've been playing Akali since S2. I know her like the back of my hand. I've been weighing some options, and I'd like to know what others think.

We all know the change to E is actually just reverting E to its original state. E didn't proc Q originally. However, this is the first time we have the original E with the new shroud. Naturally the nerfs to Akali's ult are a bummer, but thats not what this topic is about.

Shroud lost it's resistances for the MS buff. The more you level shroud, the greater the MS buff.

Many people point out that E no longer detonating the mark on Q reduce Akali's effectiveness in successfully detonating said mark. This is true for the most part particularly in the laning phase before Akali has ult. It's true the AA range is less than the AOE on E. If Akali can't detonate her mark she can't trade, and she gets bullied out of lane.

My thoughts, what if we prioritize leveling up shroud instead of crescent slash? E is a fairly useless ability as is, a low damage AOE nuke. The increases in MS from shroud should help Akali proc her Q more effectively, at the cost of reducing her overall burst potential. I don't think Akali faces a problem of lack of burst damage, I think Akali's greatest weakness is her weak laning phase (and late game team fights but that's another discussion).

So what do you think? Level up W instead of E?

P.S. I've been communicating with Westrice, and he's expressed that he believes Akali is still strong following this 5.2 patch. So, cheer up Akali players, where there's a will there's a way. Look on the bright side, at least we didn't get ahri'd or olaf'd. xD

3 Comments

Yulen Xoshxius1/30/2015, 7:52:43 PM1 votes

I already do this in most of my games as her. E helps her and her team out before she gets good items by slowing down enemies who pass, giving her a speed boost, and making her invisible within the shroud. I still get Q before it however. Keep in mind I mostly play ARAM or bots, so most of what I say means nothing.

Belisarius091/30/2015, 7:55:57 PM1 votes

I think you meant to say "W"slows down enemies who pass.

But agreed, W definitely brings some useful utility to the table. I've saved allies many times without even throwing any damage down on their pursuer simply because I threw down shroud and slowed the opponent. It can also be useful for disengaging team fights.

I'm wondering more along the lines of her laning phase though, and whether this would be the better play.