Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

Akali's Identity

Mk2Chieftain·7/18/2017, 6:47:02 PM·8 votes·656 views

Since the Kayn release I can't help but feel like Akali is even more thematically lacking than before. With a VGU coming in a year or so I thought I would go though what I think makes Akali unique and should be improved upon.

Title/Lore - "The Fist of Shadow": That is her title yet she does not punch in her gameplay. I wouldn't consider this core as a lot of other champions fulfill the martial art fantasy and Akali isn't too much of an AA oriented assassin unlike some(Yi, Vayne, Yas).

Weapons - Twin Kama: Basically two mini scythes. Personally I think the Kama aren't very unique considering Kayn so they aren't too important.

Passive - Twin Disciplines: This indicates that Akali has had training from two different schools of fighting which is reflected in her hybrid dmg. I really like this idea on Akali as if I am correct she has trained under Zed before she switched over to Shen's side. I feel like this is very core to her identity and should be built upon in her VGU.

Q - Mark of The Assassin: She throws her kama at a target marking them which can then be triggered to deal more dmg. Personally this is one of the more lackluster parts of her kit both thematically and gameplay wise. Of course a ninja would have a throwing weapon but both Kennen and Olaf better execute such with Kennen shuriken and Olaf axes which he can pick up. The mark on the other hand is interesting as she can pick her target but I feel it is already better executed on Kindred, Garen, and Kha in their own ways.

W - Twilight Shroud: She throws down a smoke screen allowing her to go in or escape an engagement. Very unique to Akali but currently lackluster leaving room for so much more.

E - Crescent Slash: Spins in a circle slashing all those around her. Very dull and doesn't make much sense thematically.

R - Shadow Dance: Akali dashes to an enemy dealing dmg. Can hold multiple charges. This ability fits her thematic idea of chasing down her marks but the name doesn't really fit too well.

My idea is that Akali should stay a hybrid assassin playing around weaving in and out of fights with an updated Twilight Shroud and Shadow Dance. Her Q and E should be changed to better reflect an updated lore that focuses more on her walking the middle road between Shen and Zed.

TLDR: Keep but update W, R, and Hybrid dmg. Change her weapons if others can better fit an updated lore. Change Q and E to reflect weapon change.

I'd like to hear all that yall have to say so say it.

5 Comments

Monotachi7/18/2017, 9:22:25 PM4 votes

Personally I don't think the addition of Kayn has detracted from Akali's identity, it adds more depth - especially lorewise. With the release of Kayn and his two forms, he shares the idea of using double techniques with Akali as well. It is also interesting that both have one side that deals bonus magic damage and the other side gives sustain - spellvamp (Akali used to for the majority of the time). This adds some connection between Kayn and Akali through Zed, since they are/were students of his hence his influence on them.

Gameplay wise, their passives serve different purposes. Kayn has only one of them active depending on the form he chooses for the match. Whereas Akali gets to have both at the same time due to it being a dual scaling passive which fits her hybrid identity.

I agree with your other points:

Akali's core identities of equal importance are:

  • Dual hybrid scaling passive 'Twin Disciplines' - goes with her theme around duality, using double techniques - her role in Kinkou is all about balance and she talks alot about it.
  • Smoke bomb 'Twilight Shroud' - classic tool for a ninja, her hallmark ability that no other champion has. Tons of potential.
  • Multiple jumps 'Shadow Dance' - ninjas are agile and mobile, multiple dashes achieve this fantasy.

Weapons: A kama isn't actually a scythe, so there is a difference but overall, it doesn't really matter if her weapons changed or not. Her weapon of choice doesn't affect her gameplay at all.

E is very dull and should be merged with her other abilities. It only serves as a waveclearing tool but consumes a slot just for this skill.

Q makes sense thematically and gameplay-wise. Thematically, Assassins take out targets that are deemed high priority, hence Q being named 'Mark of the Assassin' captures this notion. Gameplay-wise, it splits the damage components of the skill into two parts (one ranged, one melee) - allowing room to add skill expression in applying damage. Less reward for landing only the ranged damage component, big reward for triggering the melee damage component. It's better than having front-loaded damage skillshots which are either hit or miss.

PhantomGG7/18/2017, 10:30:26 PM2 votes

honestly all my thoughts are literally here, and I feel story wise Kayn is very unique, but he doesn't rob from Akali just makes it clear how lacking she is.

https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/kEPI3FJF-my-thoughts-on-the-eventual-akali-rework-super-detailed-topic

AmetDeCrypt7/18/2017, 7:23:41 PM1 votes

basically she's just really boring to play as and against oh your adc got within range of her? good luck peeling her off because her tank build is still meta and she has an endless supply of gapclosers. oh she took damage? nah heal back 500 per skill or auto. oh she was gonna get a rework? nah let's do ryze first.

Killaburn7/18/2017, 8:01:19 PM1 votes

i just hope her q and e are combined in her VGU if riot doesn't want to remove them and her w should be more of an escape bomb like when akali uses her w she can become invi fo 1.5 secs so that she can build/think more assassination plans like: i'm invi gonna escape and not go into my bomb because health problems and its too obvious, im invi! gonna go to the bomb to hide for surprise attacks and if you're playing against her you may get terrified by this because she really needs to be a really well played assassin. and if she ever needs to have a new weapon maybe give her a **Chain Masaki ** with her 2 Kusarigama Sickle like this watch it but it has 1 sickle only and her CC you when she hit you with that but i think its OP? lol

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO7/18/2017, 8:35:00 PM1 votes

I'm confident that when they decide on a direction for her that they will inform us