Akali

There exists an ancient order originating in the Ionian Isles dedicated to the preservation of balance. Order, chaos, light, darkness -- all things must exist in perfect harmony for such is the way of the universe. This order is known as the Kinkou and it employs a triumvirate of shadow warriors to uphold its causes in the world. Akali is one of these shadow warriors, entrusted with the sacred duty of Pruning the Tree; eliminating those who threaten the equilibrium of Valoran.

A prodigal martial artist, Akali began training with her mother as soon as she could make a fist. Her mother's discipline was relentless and unforgiving, but predicated on the fundamental principle: "We do that which must be done." When the Kinkou inducted her into the order at the age of fourteen, she could slice a dangling chain with a chop of her hand. There was no question; she would succeed her mother as the Fist of Shadow. She has had to do much in this role which others might find morally questionable, but to her it is in service of her mother's inviolable doctrine. She now works with her fellows Shen and Kennen to enforce the balance of Valoran. This hallowed pursuit has unsurprisingly led the triumvirate to the Fields of Justice.

"The Fist of Shadow strikes from the cover of death itself. Do not impede the balance."

Tags : Assassin, Stealth, Melee, Farmer

Twin Disciplines (Passive)

 * Discpline of Force: Upon obtaining 20 ability power, Akali's hits deal 10% bonus magic damage, increasing by 1% for every 5 Ability Power gained thereafter.

Discipline of Might: Upon obtaining +10 Attack Damage, Akali gains 10% spell vamp, increasing by 1% for every 10 damage gained thereafter. This does not include base damage.

Mark of the Assassin (Q)

 * Cooldown: 6/5.5/5/4.5/4 Seconds
 * Cost: 60 Energy
 * Akali spins her kama at a target enemy to deal 50/75/100/125/150 (+0) magic damage and mark the target for 6 seconds.

Akali's melee attacks against a marked target will trigger and consume the mark to cause 50/75/100/125/150 (+0) magic damage and restore 40 energy.

Twilight Shroud (W)

 * Cooldown: 20 Seconds
 * Cost: 80/75/70/65/60 Energy
 * Akali throws down a cover of smoke that lasts for 8 seconds. While inside the area, Akali gains 10/20/30/40/50 armor and magic resist and becomes stealthed. Attacking or using abilities will briefly reveal her.

Enemies inside the smoke have their movement speed reduced by 14/18/22/26/30%.

Crescent Slash (E)

 * Cooldown: 7/6/5/4/3 Seconds
 * Cost: 60 Energy
 * Akali flourishes her kamas, hitting nearby units for 30/55/80/105/130 (+0) physical damage.

Shadow Dance (R)

 * Ultimate Ability
 * Cooldown: 2/1.5/1 Second(s)
 * Cost: 1 
 * Akali moves through shadows to quickly strike her target, dealing 100/175/250 (+0) magic damage.

Akali stores an Essence of Shadow on kills and assists as well as every 25/20/15 seconds up to 3 total.

Twin Disciplines

 * You need at least a +10 increase to AP for .
 * You need at least a +10 increase to Attack Damage for .

Mark of the Assassin

 * Always attack a champion with this ability first. It increases the damage of your next ability or attack.
 * Early Game: Main source of DPS. Always use this on a champion when they are too far to attack with melee attacks, or if they are close enough to combo Mark of the Assassin with either a normal attack or Crescent Slash.
 * Mid-Game: Use Shadow Dance to gank, follow it with Mark of the Assassin, and Shadow Dance again for huge damage!
 * Late Game: Use the Shadow Dance combo.
 * Never combo with Crescent Slash unless it is early game or you have Rylai's Scepter.

Twilight Shroud

 * Never start a gank with this ability. Enemy champions will run away before you can hurt them.
 * Use this on champions who are running away, or are chasing you.
 * Early Game: Mainly used for running away or for slowing enemy champions.
 * Mid-Game: Start a gank with Shadow Dance, followed by Twilight Shroud, Mark of the Assassin, then Shadow Dance again.
 * Late Game: Use the Shadow Dance + Mark of the Assassin combo.
 * Never use near a turret. The turret will still see you and other champions can see what the turret sees.

Crescent Slash

 * Never use this in a combo UNLESS it is early game.
 * Crescent Slash is your farming ability.
 * Early Game: Used for killing minions and to combo with Mark of the Assassin on champions.
 * Mid-Game: Only used for killing minions and killing monsters.
 * Late Game: Only used for killing minions and killing monsters.

Shadow Dance

 * Ultimate ability.
 * Used for ganking, nuking, and running away.
 * Early Game: Not very powerful. Only use if an enemy champion is about to die AND is not near a turret.
 * Mid-Game: Can be used to gank. Follow it with Mark of the Assassin and Twilight Shroud to ensure an even more powerful Shadow Dance.
 * Late Game: By late game, this + Mark of the Assassin will be nuking almost all the life out of other champions.
 * If you are low on life, and you don't think you can finish your enemy off, find a distant enemy minion and Shadow Dance to it. You will kill the minion and be out of harms way.

Preparation Guides
Akali is best played being built into Ability Power. It is wise to also get at least one piece of gear with +10 Attack Damage, to benefit from .

Spells: Ghost, Heal

Quick Item List

 * 1) Mercury's Treads
 * 2) Hextech Gunblade
 * 3) Rylai's Crystal Scepter
 * 4) Lich Bane
 * 5) Will of the Ancients
 * 6) Rabadon's Deathcap

Items

 * 1) Your gonna want to grab Boots of Speed and one Health Potion at the start of the game. The boots will help with movement and the potion will help with survival.
 * 2) Once you make enough money (400 to 850 gold) return to base and purchase either Null-Magic Mantle for 400 gold and a Health Potion or Mercury's Treads for 850 gold. If you have enough, purchase a Health Potion with Mercury's Treads. Mercury's Treads will reduce magic damage taken (same for Null-Magic Mantle) and it also reduces the duration of crowd control abilities making survival much easier throughout the game.
 * 3) The next item you want is called Pickaxe and that cost 975 gold. Save up until you can afford it.
 * 4) Save up 450 gold for a Vampiric Scepter.
 * 5) Once you have 400 gold, or more, head back to base and get Bilgewater Cutlass. If you have 435 extra gold after that purchase, pick up an Amplifying Tome.
 * 6) At 765 gold, head back to base and get the Hextech Revolver.
 * 7) Now that you have the prime components, you can make a Hextech Gunblade for only 600 gold. Buy that once you have the money, and if you have a little extra, invest in another Amplifying Tome (435 gold).
 * 8) Once you have 860 gold, return to base and pick up a Blasting Wand.
 * 9) Get a Giant's Belt for 1110 gold.
 * 10) Time to upgrade to Rylai's Scepter. It should only cost 700 gold at this point.
 * 11) Although this may seem worthless, pick up Sapphire Crystal for 400 gold. If you have more then that, try to purcahse another Amplifying Tome (435 gold).
 * 12) Now you can purchase Sheen. The mana may seem worthless, but the item's ability is worth it. It should cost 425 gold.
 * 13) With 400 gold, purchase another Null-Magic Mantle. If you have much more, purchase another Blasting Wand (860 gold) while your at base.
 * 14) You should be able to afford Lich Bane by now, which is now only 950 gold. Lich Bane has the worthless mana but it's passive ability is great for Akali to use in combos.
 * 15) At this point it seems pointless to buy smaller components to make larger items. Purchase the Hextech Revolver (1200 gold) and if you have extra, buy another Amplifying Tome (435 gold).
 * 16) Now buy Will of the Ancients for 465 gold.
 * 17) You should only have one item slot open at this point. If games last this long, purchase a Needlessly Large Rod for 1600 gold.
 * 18) The last item you will get is Rabadon's Deathcap for 1800 gold.

Runes
The runes you will be using are:
 * x3 Greater Quintessence of Vigor (+8.1 HP/5)
 * x9 Greater Mark of Insight (+8.55 Magic Penetration)
 * x9 Greater Seal of Evasion (+6.75% Dodge)
 * x9 Greater Glyph of Force (+1.53 AP per lvl)

Masteries
The mastery you will be using is: 9/21/0

Offense: 9

 * Cripple (1/1)
 * Archmage's Savvy (3/3)
 * Sorcery (4/4)
 * Archaic Knowledge (1/1)

Defense: 21

 * Resistance (3/3)
 * Hardiness (3/3)
 * Evasion (4/4)
 * Nimbleness (1/1)
 * Harden Skin (2/3)
 * Veteran's Scar (4/4)
 * Ardor (3/3)
 * Tenacity (1/1)

Pre-Game

 * Always remember to have runes and masteries set to who you are playing as.
 * Always attempt to get friends to join you in games, and be sure they are the same account level as you or a few digits off (1 or 2 levels lower/higher).
 * A good connection guarantees that you will be able to play accurately. Also, a good connection will help you not disconnect from the game as well as not get yelled at by team mates. Make sure all other programs are off before starting a game.

Early Game

 * The first ability to get as Akali is: Mark of the Assassin
 * The second ability to get as Akali is: Crescent Slash
 * Level 3: Mark of the Assassin
 * Level 4: Mark of the Assassin
 * Level 5: Twilight Shroud
 * Level 6: Shadow Dance
 * Early game usually lasts until you reach level 6 (unless you solo lane, which would be around level 9).
 * Level 7: Mark of the Assassin
 * Level 8: Mark of the Assassin
 * Level 9: Crescent Slash
 * Always focus DPS or AP champions first. Tanks can't do much without them (unless the tank is Mordekaiser, Garen, or Vladimir.)
 * The only focus of early game is to reach level 6/9. Once you reach level 6/9, your mid-game starts.

Mid-Game

 * Level 10: Crescent Slash
 * Level 11: Shadow Dance
 * Level 12: Twilight Shroud
 * Level 13: Crescent Slash
 * Level 14: Crescent Slash
 * Level 15: Twilight Shroud
 * Level 16: Shadow Dance
 * Mid-game ends usually when a player hits level 16.
 * At this point Tanks will attempt to make you focus them while their DPS and AP champion partners kill you. Always remember never to focus tank unless the DPS and AP champions are dead. If a DPS or AP champion runs away, do not chase them or think they have left for good. 90% of the time they will have partners kill you (if you chase) or have the tank hurt you enough to where they can finish you off.
 * You will also need to worry about gank during mid-game.
 * Mid-game's main focus is to take out as many turrets as you can before hitting level 16.

Late Game

 * Level 17: Twilight Shroud
 * Level 18: Twilight Shroud
 * Late game is usually reached when the timer reaches 30 minutes. Anyone who is not level 16 at this point will be the focus of your opponents, as well as your team's focus.
 * Unless the tank is horribly low level, don't focus the tank even if it is lower level then DPS or AP champions.
 * Late game's focus is team battles and pushing the last of the turrets.
 * If you have max gear, it is wise to kill NPCs who offer buffs.