So I used to play Akali a lot a long time ago. I felt that she was most powerful built as a Hybrid, as her champion's passive benefited quite well from it, allowing her to deal quite a scary bit of damage simply from autoattacking and making her quite a decent pusher. (200+ dmg and 200+ magic damage per hit, AS: 1.6s) This was my core item build:

Boots of Swiftness
Hextech Revolver
Rylai's Scepter
Guinsoo's Rageblade
Banshee's Veil
Trinity Force
Hextech Gunblade

I haven't played Akali since Rabaddon's Deathcap was added though, so I'm wondering if this build might be better.

Mercury Treads
Hextech Revolver
Rylai's Scepter
Lich's Bane
Rabaddon's Deathcap
Hextech Gunblade
Void Staff


Can any veteran Akali players advice me? Thanks.

She's not a good Hybrid champion. Your second build is much better than the first.

I prefer AP > Hybrid.

Mostly because I can't stand buying 2 different kinds of items.

AP Akali can destroy towers through Lich Bane procs. Hybrid builds were good pushers before they changed Akali's passive so that it didn't damage towers.

Hybrid builds in Akali generally devolve into stacking 2-3 Gunblades and then picking up survivability, and then more Gunblades. There really isn't a hybrid item that's better for Akali than Gunblades.

Ap is all that's worth anything anymore. Maybe Gunblade.

AP Akali scales into lategame, hybrid Akali doesn't

AP is much better

Akali is an assassin. Hybrid is worthless because spellvamp is for people that stay in fights and because by the time you get your stacks up on Rageblade you should already be running away.

One gunblade and that will be all the AD you will ever need.

Go AP and get Gunblade as luxury item.

Stacking rageblade is not good because Akali really does not synergize much with attack speed and she can kill before you get to 8 stacks.

Okay holy ****. I just tried out the AP Akali build out just now and it freaking owns. Just a Shadow Dance, Lich Bane + Mark was enough to take most people to half HP. A 2nd combo would usually kill them. There was a semi-tanky Cho Gath and Xin Zhao and they both died relatively quickly to me too while barely scratching me.

Start with doran's blade to activate passive.
Mejai's if you're doing good
Sheen
Merc treads
Rylai's
Hextech revolver if you need more spell vamp
Lich bane
Abyssal Scepter/Zhonyas hourglass
Upgrade revolver to gunblade

So long as you have sheen (for the burst) and rylai's (for the slow) you're pretty much golden. Everyting else is just gravy on top. Check out the Akali By the Numbers guide on leaguecraft.com for some nice theorycrafting.