Naafiri vs Akali
Build vs Akali
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Naafiri: Voltaic Cyclosword, Black Cleaver, Death's Dance, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Guardian Angel, Edge of Night, Youmuu's Ghostblade.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
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 Naafiri
Tips to maximize your impact
- Second dagger on a bleeding target
Recast Darkin Daggers (Q) on a target that's already bleeding: the second dagger deals the rest of the bleed plus damage based on their missing health, and heals you.
- Call your pack back to heal it
When your pack has taken hits, cast Eviscerate (E): your packmates come back to you at full health.
- Empower your pack before you engage
Cast The Call of the Pack (W) just before you engage: you're briefly untargetable, your pack grows, and you gain AD and move speed.
- Push, then look for an isolated target
Push your wave, then roam toward an isolated champion: with Hounds' Pursuit (R), you and your pack dash onto them, and a takedown lets you recast it.
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 Naafiri matchups
Patch 16.21.1