Looking for a champion that deals both burst damage and sustained consistent damage? Want to play a champion that has stealth? Do you have a fondness for ninjas? Then you came to the right place! In this guide we’ll show you everything you need to know to get you started playing the Rogue Assassin.

Akali is one of the four ninjas you can play as in League of Legends. She is mostly played in the Top or the Mid lane. She is a very difficult champion to learn but if you have enough patience to learn her kit, you’ll be rewarded with a champion that can hard carry games. Her abilities offer tons of outplay potential and she can be played as a burst damage champion or even as a durable offtank that can deal sustained damage. For this guide, however, we’ll be focusing on her as a burst damage dealer since this is the easiest way to familiarize yourself with what she can do as a champion.

Abilities

Akali’s abilities are all about dealing burst damage and being extremely mobile.

Passive – Assassin’s Mark

Dealing spell damage to a champion reveals an energy ring around them. When Akali crosses the ring, she extends her kama and empowers it. Her next attack has doubled range and deals bonus magic damage. When the ring forms, Akali gains a burst of speed toward it for 2 seconds. Once she crosses the ring, Akali gains a burst of speed toward enemies for 2 seconds.

Assassin’s Mark is a key part of Akali’s kit. You’ll need to be aware of utilizing this ability whenever you plan on trading with enemies. Luckily, you can easily proc it using your Q and E abilities.

Q – Five Point Strike

Slings kunai in an arc, dealing magic damage. Enemies at the tip are briefly slowed by 50%.

Five Point Strike is your bread and butter. You’ll begin your combos mostly using this ability. It’s very spammable and your source of sustained damage. Enemies hit at the tip are hit with a crowd control in the form of a 50% slow.

W – Twilight Shroud

Drops a smoke bomb, unleashing a spreading cover of smoke that obscures Akali from enemy vision and grants her Movement Speed, decaying over 2 seconds and increases her maximum Energy by 80. Entering or exiting extends Shroud’s duration by 3 seconds. While invisible, Akali is stealthed and cannot be selected by hostile spells or attacks, even if revealed – except turrets.

This is the source of Akali’s stealth. Twilight Shroud gives you invisibility and increased movement speed that will help you reposition or to outplay enemies. The best part is that when you’re stealthed, the enemy cannot target you with any of their abilities or attacks.

E – Shuriken Flip

Active: Flip backward and fire a shuriken forward, dealing magic damage and marking the first enemy or smoke cloud hit.

Re-cast: Dash to the marked target, dealing the same damage.

Shuriken Flip is your main source of mobility. It’s essentially a dash that you can use to outplay or to stick to an enemy. It’s a good source of burst damage and you’ll primarily be using this ability to initiate a trade or an all in on an enemy.

R – Perfect Execution

Two dashes: The first vaults over enemies, dealing magical damage. The second is a piercing thrust that executes, dealing magic damage based on missing health.

Perfect Execution is your best ability. It deals a huge amount of damage on a single target on its second dash. Try to be creative and combo this ability with Shuriken Flip to maximize your damage output.

Runes and Item Builds

When it comes to items, your focus on Akali should be to increase her ability power. This, in turn, will increase her overall magic damage.

Starting Items

For your starting items, you have two choices. What you choose should depend on the lane you’re going on. If you’re playing up top, you’ll need Doran’s Shield to go toe to toe with the bruisers, tanks, and fighters you’ll be facing off against. When you’re going mid, you’ll need Doran’s Ring since you’ll mostly be up against mages who’ll be dealing damage from afar. In a melee matchup, however, you can swap Doran’s Ring for Doran’s Shield.

Mythic Item

When it comes to your Mythic item, you have two choices. The best choice overall is Hextech Rocketbelt since it gives you all the stats you need plus an active dash that helps you gain more mobility. The other good option is Night Harvester. This item will give you more burst damage but sacrifices the mobility and durability that Rocketbelt can provide.

Full Build

After purchasing your desired Mythic, it’s time to upgrade your boots. Since you’re a mage, go for Sorcerer’s Shoes. Next, you’ll need Shadowflame to increase your damage by a huge margin and let you deal magic damage based on a percentage of your target’s health. Next, go for Zhonya’s Hourglass for more ability power and more opportunities to outplay your opponents thanks to the stasis active. Up next, go for Morellonomicon for the grievous wounds that you’ll apply whenever you damage opponents with your abilities. Finally, finish off your build with Lich Bane to increase the damage of your next basic attack after using an ability.

Runes

For your runes, go with the Precision tree and take Conqueror as your keystone. This will increase your damage and sustain in extended fights. Next, take Presence of Mind to restore your energy, Legend: Tenacity to help you stick to your targets, and Coup De Grace to help you deal more damage to low health champions. For secondaries, go with Bone Plating and Overgrowth from the Resolve tree. Bone Plating improves your resistances while Overgrowth increases your health when minions or monsters die near you. For rune shards, take double Adaptive Force and Magic Resist.

Useful Tips

1. Akali is an assassin. So this means that she excels at killing squishy targets. Try to focus on the enemy team’s backline whenever you are in a fight. Use all the tools and tricks in your arsenal to get as close to them as you possibly can.
2. Akali is countered by Azir, Zed, Qiyana, Akshan, and Anivia. If you’re matched up against these champions, try to play it safe instead of being aggressive.
3. For your summoner spells, take Flash and Ignite to give you more utility and to help you secure early leads. If you want to play it safe, you can swap out Ignite for Teleport, Barrier, or Cleanse.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Akali in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!