Tank Akali

TaoistMaster·Feb 23, 2016·58 votes·6,937 views

Why do I keep seeing this?

122 Comments

ItsCalledALanceFeb 23, 201626 votes

Voyboy.

Yuumi or LoseFeb 23, 201617 votes

I thought it was the Koreans that made it popular.

Vellich0rFeb 23, 201615 votes

It was the koreans

LadyRenlyFeb 23, 20163 votes

{quoted}

Voyboy.

It's been a thing longer than voyboy

DorkunedAurasFeb 23, 20162 votes

Voyboy brought it west

blueberrypancakeFeb 23, 20161 votes

Like tank Katarina

Spaceman5pffFeb 23, 20161 votes

And then there was Nightblue3 with tank rengar and tank fizz

Auz the RipperFeb 23, 20165 votes

Tank and/or bruiser rengar has always been at least somewhat of a thing

LegitBacon66Feb 23, 201619 votes

It sad to see that Akali has to be played tank to be fun and viable

YuGiHoFeb 23, 201617 votes

{quoted}

It sad to see that Akali has to be played tank to be fun and viable

have you seen this assassin ? Evelynn .

Only Play DariusFeb 23, 20169 votes

I don't even call her an assassin anymore.

LittleBlastFeb 23, 201610 votes

I get it :D

The Yetii RiderFeb 23, 201619 votes

The reason tank Akali (and tank Ekko, tank Rengar, tank Kha'Zix and tank Elise) works is because assassins have exorbitantly high base damage in order to help them get fed earlier. Because of this, they don't need to build damage to deal damage, and are much better off building penetration, CDR and tank to make sure they live long enough to get multiple rotations.

invisiblecat1Feb 23, 20163 votes

Elise as a Tank makes it so she has less burst, while all the others just have too much damage to be considered a tank, but then they build tank and still have good damage which makes them too strong

Serika ZeroFeb 23, 20169 votes

Because the AP itemization for assassins sucks.

AlexThePuppy x3Feb 23, 20167 votes

and because everyone wants a rework for her..she become boring to play...so I think it helps if u change the play style with her idk...riot rework her as fast as possible pls :)

Critmaster GarenFeb 23, 20164 votes

the change to her e. she only needs 1 point in it now to get the full energy return. means she can spam q + e and repeat as much as she wants to. consistent physical damage.

its less of a tank build and more of a bruiser build.

ExcalibaitFeb 23, 20162 votes

It's the Q that restores her Energy by flat 40 at any ranks, so you can max out E first now and spam a Skill with a 1 Sec CD like there's no tomorrow while your Q provides all the Energy you need for it.

Funnily enough, you put points in Q at lv. 1, 8 and the rest at the very end, as it's base numbers are that solid that you can easily max out her Shroud second.

Truly PridefulFeb 23, 20164 votes

I wish it wasn't a thing. My teammates keep picking it and just feed hard. Can't say I'll be sad when it dies off.

MCBiggah99Feb 23, 20162 votes

It's really fuckin' strong if done well. It's a build from Korea which might be a factor too.

TaoistMasterFeb 23, 201611 votes

Started popping up in my friends games last night over and over.

Got so annoying we just started banning Akali

Stuff catches on quick.

ForeverLaxxFeb 23, 20163 votes

It's not even really a "stuff catches on quick" in this case. What it seems to me is that people see it as a way to gain freelo. Most players just want something easy to spam for wins, even if it's not going to be terribly effective with their team or against the enemy team.

And honestly, looking at the build, it just looks like more Bruiser Itemization abuse.

Dar RaksadaFeb 23, 20161 votes

{quoted}

It's not even really a "stuff catches on quick" in this case. What it seems to me is that people see it as a way to gain freelo. Most players just want something easy to spam for wins, even if it's not going to be terribly effective with their team or against the enemy team.

And honestly, looking at the build, it just looks like more Bruiser Itemization abuse.

Bruiser itemization abuse seems to happen a lot, like on Fiora and Yi.

YumaS2AstralFeb 24, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dar Raksada,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=sO7s62F1,comment-id=0003000000000000,timestamp=2016-02-23T19:25:57.606+0000)

Bruiser itemization abuse seems to happen a lot, like on Fiora and Yi.

Bruisers can't have good itemization. Otherwise, assassins abuse them. ADCs too

Dar RaksadaFeb 24, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Bruisers can't have good itemization. Otherwise, assassins abuse them. ADCs too

And light fighters as shown by Yi and Fiora. Maybe bruiser items shoul work differently?,

YumaS2AstralFeb 24, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dar Raksada,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=sO7s62F1,comment-id=000300000000000000000000,timestamp=2016-02-24T11:39:25.555+0000)

And light fighters as shown by Yi and Fiora. Maybe bruiser items shoul work differently?,

Yes. In the past, tanks also used to have that same problem; whenever their itemization was good, fighters would abuse it. Riot then had to nerf all tank items and make them work only by stacking lots of defensive items together (see: Thornmail, Cinderhulk, Warmog, etc) this way you are forced to build really tanky to take advantage of those items, thus preventing fighter abuse because fighters generally want to first build either damage or damage/tanky items, not dedicated tanky items.

KrugLyfeFeb 23, 20161 votes

Yeah it's really strong but it can be weak if you get behind

KaisadiIIaFeb 23, 20161 votes

What is not weak if you get behind?

The Bearded BardFeb 23, 20162 votes

Veigar Annie Soraka Orianna etc

Still gonna be strong when behind because of their base numbers/cc/utility.

KrugLyfeFeb 23, 20166 votes

Malphite

CherysseFeb 23, 20162 votes

Which items does she use?

Valhalla RisingFeb 23, 20162 votes

{quoted}

Which items does she use?

item 3146 item 3020 item 3157 item 3065 item 3124 item 3116 is what I build now. can be tankier jsut replace ryilais and or rageblade with a ga/anything.

mogonkFeb 23, 201647 votes

{quoted}

is what I build now. can be tankier jsut replace ryilais and or rageblade with a ga/anything.

No, the tank Akali build they're talking about is item 3748 item 3065 item 3068 item 3075 item 3111 item 3053

It's not a "tanky" Akali build. It's a TANK Akali build.

AMYS GRAVEFeb 23, 20162 votes

Bruiser itemization is so strong that most assassins when built bruiser are annoying af to deal with. They have the mobility and stickiness that makes them do as much damage as juggernauts while being nearly impossible to kite/peel. It's not just akali either, just waiting for people to figure out bruiser zed/talon/rengar is as broken as bruiser fiora.

MegaManYYZFeb 23, 20164 votes

bruiser/tank rengar has been a thing for awhile... definitely not new.

yay nibbersFeb 24, 20161 votes

Except that, with Akali and maybe Rengar being the exceptions, they're all okay at best and mediocre most of the time. Akali works because her E is so spammable and her ult makes her incredibly sticky, giving her decent sustained damage with just one or two damage items (Titanic and Rylai's). Zed and Talon's cooldowns are too high to do anything with if they don't kill their opponent right away and neither are as sticky as Akali. Not to mention Zed's ult is practically useless if he can't burst his enemy low during mark (which he won't if he only builds titanic hydra for damage).

AMYS GRAVEFeb 24, 20161 votes

Tank Zed uses his ult for a gap closer/engage not a damage dealing ability.

yay nibbersFeb 24, 20161 votes

It's only good as a gap closer though. Engaging isn't just gap closing, there has to be more to it than that. His ult as no CC of any kind and without meaningful damage it's literally just a gap closer, something that many champs can do just as well. All it does is put him in the middle of the enemy team, and when they realize he does no damage and has practically no CC (one pitiful slow is nothing) they'll ignore him for real threats thus making him nearly worthless as a tank.

AMYS GRAVEFeb 24, 20161 votes

Bruiser zed is a split pusher, not a teamfight starter. He plays more like a mobile juggernaut compared to a cc tank.

WadeWilson1337Feb 23, 20162 votes

This is more of a problem with the fact bruiser itemization (mostly hydra) is so strong rather than Akali simply abusing it. Several champions abuse them, Akali is just one of those champions people miss because Riot overnerfed her, so they play a cheesy build to make them even remotely viable. This is the same as the tank Katarina as well as the infamous Rumble Jungle right now. Alot of people simply like certain champions, and have to get creative for them to be okay picks simply because they are just not very good at the moment

Dat Ashe HDFeb 23, 20161 votes

Easy to deal with. She maybe tank and is not easy to take down but what Akali want is to assassinate, if she cant assassinate in à short window of time before enemy can react she will get kited to death. With the rise of Kog'Maw and peeling support, im not even scared about tank Akali. It won't go far.

YuGiHoFeb 23, 20165 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dat Ashe HD,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=sO7s62F1,comment-id=0011,timestamp=2016-02-23T16:33:05.063+0000)

Easy to deal with. She maybe tank and is not easy to take down but what Akali want is to assassinate, if she cant assassinate in à short window of time before enemy can react she will get kited to death. With the rise of Kog'Maw and peeling support, im not even scared about tank Akali. It won't go far.

how exactly do you kite an akali? also with grasp+ item 3748 an akali spaming her e and r on a squishy mage or marksman can still kill them pretty quick, and vs more durable targets the Ad from hydra provides her with the spellvamp necessary to out sustain them in most duels.

MelledoneusFeb 23, 20161 votes

Whenever I see tank Akali, I consider it another free lane for Shenpai.

My Waifu VanillaFeb 23, 20161 votes

And you both free farm and she out scales you since neither of you can kill each other?

MelledoneusFeb 23, 20162 votes

More like I bully her out of lane and I free farm until she gives up and roams. And you know how effective roaming is against Shen.

LlaniteFeb 24, 20161 votes

She's blow the crap out of you while vamping all her health back. There is no way Shen beats her without seriously lead.

KillerKellFeb 24, 20161 votes

Old Shen did, but that's because he could Sustain.

I hate New Shen.

MelledoneusFeb 24, 20161 votes

If you play it enough, you actually grow to love it. It's just getting used to change, which I understand is something people don't do often.

KillerKellFeb 24, 20161 votes

I really don't think I will. They completely ruined a champion for me, and it sucks because it was by far my best Champion (with Braum coming in 2nd).

His Shield now has to be proc'd by an Ability landing... what if I'm running from that Cait Ult out in the open? I guess I just eat it. Instead of being able to use Reflexes to deny a portion of the damage and perhaps live. Many times I survived by seeing the incoming damage, tossing up W, landing a Q on a Minion and getting a hit off to grab some HP.

And the idea of making him some 3 Hit Mechanic True Damage thing is idiotic. Shen (1) already did enough damage in his old form and (2) is an ENGAGE TANK, so wtf does he need a crap ton of damage? Even as a Split Pusher it was SUSTAINED DAMAGE that would win for him... so why are we handing Shen BURST DAMAGE?

Then the conceptual idea of a Ninja running around placing a Sword on the Ground to set up his fights is beyond idiotic. You want a Spirit Sword? Cool. But the way they did this Spirit Sword is beyond dumb. Activate it for more Damage and Melee Range... or you want the Dodge effect then have your Spirit Sword PARRY attacks away. But placing something in a location then pulling it to a new location... dumb. Nothing Ninja about that.

I've tried man, and I think Shen and me are over. Completely ruined.

All they had to do was rework the W... or move the W to the Passive (although I liked the Passive... it was that small boost of Damage he needed over the course of the game that did allow his Damage to be viable) and make his New W some Parry/Dodge mechanic. Or keep the W but change it to Scale on HP instead of AP.

MelledoneusFeb 24, 20161 votes

At first, I didn't like the new Shen. In fact, I HATED it. But little by little, I realized that he's become more of an engage tank who pokes with clever position of his sword and weaving between minions. His new Q is kess burst than old Shen, as it is spread across 3 auto attacks rather than 1. (Also, it's magic damage, not true damage, and it's so much better at taking out targets than his old passive)

You wanted an HP scaling shield. You got it, and it is spammable as all hell. I have gotten away from so many ganks and caitlyn ultimates by activating my Q for a quick shield. It doesn't have to land to proc the shield.

In terms of conceptuality, old Shen was basically a dude with the most awkward way of striking people who could teleport. Now, he feels like a true warrior who can ward away enemies and bring the pain to them. The sword is a manifestation of his spirit, demonstrating his power as The Eye of Twilight. He's not your typical sneaky ninja, he's the leader of a clan that houses ninjas, sneaky or not.

You may not believe me, but you have to play it for a while to actually start loving it. But boy, once you get it down he feels so much better. His shields make up for his lack of sustain, his Q more than makes up for his scrapped passive. Hell, they're even making his E affect jungle monsters now!

You got to try it before you bash on it. If you don't want to play Shen because he no longer heals for 16 HP over 3 seconds from an ability in lane, to each their own. It's just that most of your reasons sound like you judged it off the Boards' reaction rather than your own experience.