That's weird. I've had the opposite experience. I love both champions and play them in ranked, but I've never lost to Kat as Akali.

If we take out personal skill as a factor, I think anyone can objectively see that Katarina triumphs in team fights at the expense of her laning phase and one on one capabilities - something Akali easily takes advantage of post-6. Akali's sustain and one-on-one power far surpasses anything Katarina can trade.

For example;
1. Katarina generally needs to poke the enemy low enough (bout 50 percent) before a full on commitment to get a kill. Akali quickly recoups any lost health by mitigation (shroud) or spell and health vamp (built in + supplemented with items).

2. Katarina needs a stationary target to fully benefit from her ult. Akali is slippery. She can ult out of, or just walk, Katarina's ult by targeting a minion and ulting back in with 1 charge to spare.

3. Katarina needs items to do a lot of damage with her ult. In the levels of 6-11, Katarina is still ramping up. Her power comes from her capacity to farm easily and acquire the funds she needs for bigger items that provide AP or Magic Pen. Not counting kills in other lanes by roaming or jungler help, Katarina just doesn't have the juice to take out Akali. In contrast, Akali's power AND mobility take a sharp upturn at 6.

In short, it's my opinion that notwithstanding player skill, roaming, and jungler help, Katarina is designed by Riot to ramp up over the games time limit and become strong for team fights.

In contrast, Akali, a champion gated by energy instead of cooldowns, is designed by Riot to deliver upfront early and mid-game damage at the expense of her late game. Late game is when anyone is liable to be running around with pink wards. Also, champion health and resistances are increased much too high for Akali to one shot and isolate - her preferred method of killing. Hence, her lane dominance.

depends on the build for both really, like i dont build akali at all like the recommended build neither do i do what most other do, so hard to say. i have never had problems with kat when i play akali, i shut her down with in moments

in my opinion most people dont utilize akali to the fullest, and most people play kat like drones, every one doing the same thing.

I disagree with your build. Katarina should never build gunblade or rylai's. Because of Katarina's ratios, Gunblade's AD simply isn't effective. Katarina doesn't need rylai's either because she's meant to immediately burst down an enemy, not slow them and deal consistent damage.

A lot of people saying gunblade is bad for kat right now, so I guess it's really not on kat's must have list anymore. If that's the truth, I would think rylai is still good for kat. So is Liandry's Torment. Rylai not only provide the slow for kat and her teammates, also provide the extra HP that kat needed for surviving in team fights.

Unlike other APCs that can burst enemy down from safe distance, kat (and akali) must charge into enemy team to do the most damage. Any smart team playing against kat or akali would save at least one CC just for them.

If you just build pure class canon, you will get burst down very quick once you got cc'ed.

Well. Here's my opinion and you're free to disagree with it. But the point of Katarina is to jump in, burst down the most important champ on the other team(Usually the ADC), and then jump out, unless she can continue her combo by taking advantage of her passive. I never found it necessary to build HP, as I can usually out-cs the other mid-laner which puts me ahead. However, I guess if HP is needed, Rylai's could be built.

Playing as Akali, I've pretty much always won against Kat in lane...but that may be just because they were worse than me. I can certainly see how Kat would be strong against Akali, what with being able to still hit her in shroud.

So, the only thing Akali wins out Kat is that Akali's skins are prettier than Kat?

The only way akali wins is if you get lucky like I did and she blows her ult and you constantly get away with 100 health because then you can ult to her without worry

Akali every time. Before 6 Kat has a slight advantage and unless you are at full health you should not fight her at 6 because she can burst her entire load faster. Once you both go back for the first time though, Akali should win every time. Kat can't burst down Akali in one combo so all Akali has to do is burst her once and if Kat tries to harrass back she is dead. After that Kat is very easy to zone as Akali has greater sustain. Akali single target burst > Kat aoe burst. This is only in lane though and an equally fed Kat will be better in team fights.

Although I'm a gold player who fell down to the 1200s so it may just be a skill difference.

akali but a good kat could force akali to ruin her stealth then burst her later.