esports
What do League of Legends pros think of the exciting Akali rework?
Hiprain, Wunder and Damonte deliver their verdict on the Rogue Assassin's new kit.
Riot’s Rogue Assassin has been roaming around the Rift since late 2010, but her glaring weaknesses always forced her away from pro play. However, the recent rework to Akali’s kit has led to an increase in her popularity among League of Legends’ best players. It’s still early days for the shadowy assassin and many teams have been keen to utilise her hit-and-run tactics, while others have simply banned her from LCS play altogether.
League of Legends caster Jake 'Hiprain' Matthews, G2 Esports’ Martin 'Wunder' Hansen, and Echo Fox’s Tanner 'Damonte' Damonte gave us their insights on the recently revitalised assassin.
She was never good enough for pro play, but after a week of playing, it feels really good to go against and play as Akali.
What do you think of the latest Akali rework?
Wunder: I think she has a bigger skill ceiling and has way more depth to her kit, so it’s personally more fun to play than the old Akali.
Hiprain: I really like the changes to Akali. She was hard to balance in her old state and she was either insanely strong or very underwhelming.
Damonte: I think that the Akali rework is really healthy for the game. Overall, I feel like the old Akali lacked identity and was a champion that only a couple of people played. She was never good enough for pro play, but after a week of playing, it feels really good to go against and play as Akali.
Do you think Akali is competitively viable?
Wunder: I think there’s a big chance since her kit has more mobility. She is generally a safer laner than before, especially with her new W and her E/R being able to dash without having targets.
Hiprain: It’s hard to say in the current meta, but in the game’s current state a snowballing assassin who can get going early with her ability to tower dive makes her a scary concept.
Damonte: Akali will definitely be competitively viable because of the mobility and escape tools she now has. It now feels like the champion really excels when split pushing, so there will be a lot of uses for her in competitive play. You’ll probably see her in mid or top-lane, and I think both will be good!
Damonte believes Akali is now competitively viable
© Riot Games Flickr
What are Akali’s main strengths and weaknesses?
Wunder: I think just like the old Akali she has issues against certain champions, especially ones with hard crowd control, so picking her early in draft can be an issue. It also seems like her matchups are a bit tougher against champions who can hit her in her shroud like Rumble with his Q.
Hiprain: Skill. She seems so far to be a champion that cannot just be picked up and played. I think she needs a bit of investment and mastery before picking her up.
Damonte: Akali’s strengths seem to be that she’s really hard to kill in lane as she has three different dashes and invisibility, so she can get away from literally anything. Her strengths definitely come down to being slippery as a champion, but I think her weakness comes in teamfights. It's pretty hard to teamfight as Akali unless you're playing perfectly or you’re really far ahead, so I think overall she’s strong where she needs to be and weak where she needs to be. If a good player is playing as Akali it should be very balanced.
She was either way too strong or super weak – she's now flexible enough play safe and has a strong laning phase.
Do you think the rework has improved or hindered Akali’s competitive performance?
Wunder: It’s an improvement for sure. There’s more room for outplays and even if you fall behind or are in an unfavourable matchup, you can still make comeback plays.
Wunder thinks Akali's rework has increased her outplay potential
© Riot Games Flickr
Hiprain: Yeah, it’s a massive improvement. Like I said, she was either way too strong or super weak, she's now flexible enough to play safe and has a strong laning phase.
Damonte: I think new Akali is much better. The old Akali felt really one-dimensional, but now you have a lot of different skills in her kit that allow her to go in or out of fights – whereas before, she could only go in. I think the new rework is super healthy.
What has your experience been like when playing new Akali?
Wunder: I feel like she’s pretty strong, especially in soloq where a lot of people don’t really know what her kit does yet. Also, the added mobility and one shot potential makes the enemy ADC very sad.
Hiprain: Still not got my hands on her yet – she’s always banned!
Damonte: Playing the new Akali is super fun and I think there is so much more room to outplay your opponent. In fact, she reminds me of champions like Zed or Fizz, because if you're playing correctly and going even in the first couple of levels, you're going to be strong enough to outplay the enemy. Also, if you're the better player, then most of the time you're going to have a lead in your game.
Have you encountered any difficulties with her reworked kit?
Wunder: The fact that Akali's E and her first use of R doesn’t have any AP ratio makes it feel a bit weird, especially when you’re later in the game with full AP.
Damonte: I think the biggest issue everyone has with Akali’s kit right now is her Twilight Shroud, as it feels like there's not too much counterplay to it. Nothing really reveals her while she's in the shroud, but at the same time, she can't really do too much either. I think making her easier to spot would be a decent change, but she’s a pretty good champion in general.
What champions and team comps do you think will work well with Akali?
Wunder: Mainly champions that dive in and engage for her. You really don't want to have to solo engage and jump in with your E as Akali.
Hiprain: I expect to see split push comps work well with her. Teamfighting on assassins can always be a little tricky, but with her increased mobility, she can constantly look to pop an ADC and quickly leave the fight.
Damonte: It seems like everyone will be able to work well with Akali. She's able to survive against so many people at once, especially when getting collapsed on in a side lane. Because of this, I think Akali works well in most teams, but it's just going to come down to team style and how your team plays around mid or top-lane.
Hiprain expects to see a lot more from the Rogue Assassin during the LCS
© Riot Games Flickr
Lastly, what’s your favourite thing about the new rework?
The pro scene has been really lacking in assassin champs for a while and as a viewer it's super exciting to watch.
Wunder: She’s more skillful!
Hiprain: Bloodmoon Akali. It was one of my favourite skins in League and now it looks even better both in-game and on the splash.
Damonte: I think my favourite thing is just having the addition of a new assassin in the meta. The pro scene has been really lacking in assassin champs for a while and as a viewer it's super exciting to watch. Having the chance to just one shot another player is super high and it's a defining moment for a lot of LCS viewers.
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