Qiyana vs Akali
You are stronger late game. Farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Akali
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Qiyana: Voltaic Cyclosword, Bastionbreaker, Edge of Night, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Serylda's Grudge, Serpent's Fang, Guardian Angel, Youmuu's Ghostblade.
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 Qiyana
Tips to maximize your impact
- Pick your element for the job
Pick your Terrashape (W) element for the job: river for an Ice root, terrain for Rock's bonus damage on low-health targets, brush for Wild's invisibility.
- Two Elemental Wraths with Terrashape
Cast Terrashape (W) right after Elemental Wrath (Q): the dash resets its cooldown, so you can recast it in the same combo.
- Slam them against a wall
Cast Supreme Display of Talent (R) toward a wall near the enemies: the explosion runs along the whole edge of the obstacle, and any river or brush it crosses explodes too.
- Roam with the brush element
Roam with Wild, the brush element: Elemental Wrath (Q) then leaves a trail that makes you invisible and speeds you up.
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 Qiyana matchups
Patch 16.21.1