Champion Guide

Akali Guide

By LoLSuggest

Mid

Akali is an AP assassin who is weak before level 6 but snowballs from her ultimate and first item, one-shotting squishies through the mid game. Our guide emphasizes Q harassment in lane, side-laning for income, and far more careful play once the late game arrives.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Akali build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Electrocute with a Resolve secondary is the default into squishy teams; take Conqueror (with Presence of Mind, Legend: Haste and Last Stand) when fights will last longer or against tanks, and Fleet Footwork only for brutal poke lanes. Rush Hextech Gunblade, aiming for Hextech Alternator on the first back, then go Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass, Rabadon's Deathcap and Void Staff. Liandry's Torment suits the Conqueror build, while Banshee's Veil or Seeker's Armguard cover heavy AP or AD threats.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Strengths

Huge burst that deletes squishy carries, especially before they buy magic resist.
Very mobile, and bullies melee laners early with Q harassment.
An excellent duelist who turns one kill into map-wide pressure.

Weaknesses

Weak before level 6, since her ultimate is a big part of her damage.
Gets outscaled late and struggles against tanks and magic-resist stacking.
Hard crowd control and true-sight effects can catch her in shroud; one bad engage is fatal.

Laning Phase

Never let the enemy farm for free: harass with Q and your passive's empowered auto whenever they walk up to last-hit, then step back before they can answer. Against ranged mages, freeze the wave so they have to walk into you to break it. Watch for mistakes like a wasted escape or crowd-control ability, track the jungler, and remember Akali's real kill pressure starts at level 6.

Mid & Late Game

Once the first tower falls, take a side lane to maximise income — especially when behind — and keep building damage rather than going tanky. Don't fight tanks on the side, and don't split if your team isn't active. When ahead, group if your team needs you to win fights, unless Teleport lets you split and still join. Late game be far more selective: avoid the fog of war, prioritise Baron and Elder, and disengage with E or R2 when a fight turns.

Key Tips

Hitting Q at maximum range slows the target and makes E much easier to land.
R1 into E and Q, or R into Flash, are strong ways to catch an out-of-position carry.
Save W for when you run out of energy or need to dodge a key skillshot.
Shroud is revealed by true-sight effects, so check the enemy team before relying on it.