Kassadin vs Akali
Skill matchup
You are stronger late game. Farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Akali
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Kassadin: Tear of the Goddess, Rod of Ages, Seraph's Embrace, Sorcerer's Shoes, Malignance, Dark Seal, Zhonya's Hourglass, Rabadon's Deathcap.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Akali's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Dealing spell damage to a champion creates a ring of energy around them. Exiting that ring empowers Akali's next Attack with bonus range and damage.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1.5s | 20s | 16s | – |
| 6 | 1.5s | 20s | 16s | 2m |
| 9 | 1.5s | 19s | 16s | 2m |
| 11 | 1.5s | 18s | 16s | 1m30 |
| 16 | 1.5s | 16s | 13s | 1m |
| 18 | 1.5s | 16s | 10s | 1m |
Playing as Kassadin
Tips to maximize your impact
- Trade with Q against mages
Against a mage, take your trades with Null Sphere (Q): it gives you a magic damage shield for 1.5 seconds and interrupts channels.
- Restore mana with your W
Restore mana with Nether Blade (W): your next auto restores part of your missing mana, more on a champion.
- Farm while you wait for Riftwalk
Farm safely early on: your power comes from ranks in Riftwalk (R), whose cooldown drops from 5 to 2 seconds.
- Watch your mana when chaining R
Chain Riftwalk (R) in teamfights while watching your mana: each quick recast adds damage, but doubles its mana cost.
Playing against Akali
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Trade after her smoke
Take a trade once Twilight Shroud (W) is used: she can't vanish again until its 20 to 16 second cooldown is over.
- Play hard before she hits 6
Play hard before she hits level 6: without Perfect Execution (R), her only spell to get back on you is Shuriken Flip (E), on a 16 to 10 second cooldown.
- Fire into her smoke
If you have AoE spells or skillshots, throw them into the Twilight Shroud (W) smoke: they hit her even while she's invisible, whereas targeted spells can't be cast on her.
- Punish her when she's low on energy
Take a trade when she has just cast Five Point Strike (Q) several times: each cast costs 110 to 70 energy depending on rank, from a base pool of 200.
- Hit her between her two dashes
Hit her right after the first dash of Perfect Execution (R): she has to wait a moment before she can cast the second.
Other Kassadin matchups
Patch 16.21.1