Zoe vs Akali
Favorable matchup
You are stronger early. Look to snowball before your opponent scales.
Build vs Akali
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Zoe: Luden's Echo, Shadowflame, Rabadon's Deathcap, Sorcerer's Shoes, Lich Bane, Dark Seal, Zhonya's Hourglass, Stormsurge.
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 Zoe
Tips to maximize your impact
- Lengthen your star's path
Cast Paddle Star! (Q) behind you, then recast it toward your target: its damage grows with the distance the star travels.
- Poke from your Portal Jump
Cast Portal Jump (R) to poke from closer: you can cast your spells from there, and you blink back to your starting position 1 second later.
- Pick up spell shards
Pick up the shards enemies drop after using a summoner spell or an item active: Spell Thief (W) lets you cast that spell or item once.
- Sleep, then wake them with a big hit
Put your target to sleep with Sleepy Trouble Bubble (E), then wake them with your biggest hit, a long-range Paddle Star! (Q): the hit that wakes them deals double damage.
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 Zoe matchups
Patch 16.21.1