Hextech Gunblade has been Akali's quintessential item for some time, having usurped the now ancient Rylai's into Lich Bane combo shortly after patch 105. It's easy to see why Gunblade is so critical to Akali; it provides her with a hefty 27.5% Spell Vamp, 65 Ability Power, and an extremely useful active. However, the recent cost reductions and buffs to Spirit of the Spectral Wraith have caused me to reconsider Gunblade's position when jungling Akali.
Compared head to head, Spectral Wraith is clearly inferior to Gunblade. The stats on Spectral Wraith are all lower, save for the addition of 10% Cooldown Reduction. Its passives, while nifty, can't adequately be compared to Gunblade's incredible Active. If asked to choose between the two any player worth their salt would pick Gunblade, it's simply the obvious choice.
Unfortunately for Gunblade, that head to head comparison is deeply flawed for one simple reason: cost. Spectral Wraith is 1400 gold cheaper than Gunblade, an absolutely staggering difference in price. Because Akali, like most junglers, starts Hunter's Machete she's also 300 gold closer to completing Spectral Wraith than she is Gunblade from the outset of the game. In short, Spectral Wraith can be completed 1700 gold sooner than Gunblade when jungling.
To call the gold gap between the two items significant would be an egregious understatement. 1700 gold is a large number even for champions or roles with top farm priority. For junglers, who often defer to everyone but supports, it's enormous. The size of this gap should immediately cause any veteran jungler to pause and question whether the stats and benefits of Gunblade are worth that cost.
It's a difficult question to evaluate because almost all of the stats involved defy typical cost-analysis. Mana Regeneration and Life Steal are essentially worthless to Akali, Attack Damage's value is confused by her passives, and most of the remaining stats have no clear basis for a gold value. To a significant extent it is subjective, a judgement based on one's jungling experience.
There are, however, a few ways of approaching the problem that are useful. Comparing builds first when Spectral Wraith is completed, and subsequently when Gunblade is completed, can give insight into the value of each.
The moment Spectral Wraith is finished Gunblade should have Machete, Revolver, and Long Sword with a little gold to spare. At this point the Spectral Wraith build has an additional 10 AP, 10% Cooldown Reduction, 6.33% Spell Vamp, and significantly faster jungle clears when compared to the Gunblade build. The mere 10 Attack Damage from Long Sword is hardly enough to match the power surge from completing Spectral Wraith.
This timing is important because of the opportunities it presents. Clearing faster makes it easier to farm while maintaining map presence, making it likely that Spectral Wraith Akali will begin earning gold faster than Gunblade Akali. At the same time the Gunblade build just entered a lull period as it invests the next 1435 gold into more Attack Damage and valueless Life Steal. Just as Spectral Wraith Akali starts taking off, Gunblade Akali is winding down.
When Gunblade finally finishes there are a number of ways the Spectral Wraith build could have allocated the 1700 gold (or more) difference. If Spectral Wraith Akali rushed a Kage's Lucky Pick, it's possible that she'll have both that and another Revolver completed (due to gold per 10). Alternatively, she could simply save up and buy a Needlessly Large Rod. She could also begin working toward Rylai's, sporting a Giant's Belt and possibly a Blasting Wand. In all cases Spectral Wraith Akali has a significant Ability Power advantage, and is well on her way to completing another key item. Gunblade Akali may be about to leverage a strong timing, but Spectral Wraith Akali is already more than halfway to her second.
It's this early impact followed by additional early timings which has lead me to significantly improve my appraisal of Spectral Wraith. The clear speed difference is extremely noticeable, enough so that I wouldn't be surprised if the Spectral Wraith Akali farmed a significant advantage. Factor in that both builds will likely want to finish Sorcerer's Shoes before Gunblade is finished, and there's plenty of time for Spectral Wraith Akali to pull well ahead with or without gold per 10.
For Akali, who depends heavily on turning early momentum into further power, the allure of Spectral Wraith is undeniable. Spending 500 gold for 10 AP, 8% Spell Vamp, 10% Cooldown Reduction, and ridiculously faster clears is obviously an efficient and valuable investment. The next time I jungle Akali, I'll be putting this through its paces.
Showing posts with label Akali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Akali. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Patch Day: 3.02
I'm much later than I wanted to be with this "patch day" analysis, but better late than never. Some people think Quinn will be coming out before 3.03, but I'm not so certain. For now, let's focus on what the patch notes themselves say.
There are a lot of quality of life changes and bug fixes this patch. While many champions have been affected, most of those changes aren't notable enough to be analyzed here.
Akali's passives no longer require a set amount of Attack Damage or Ability Power to activate. This is extremely useful for players who don't have many runes or rune pages, as it allows them to avoid dedicating an entire page to Akali. However, the best page for jungling hasn't changed; Spell Vamp Quintessences remain vital for sustain, Ability Power Glyphs remain vital for clear speed, and Attack Damage Marks remain vital for both.
Nasus' entirely balanced and not in any way abusive crit glitch has been fixed. Though I mourn the loss of my overpowered and unfair crits, it's entirely understandable. In return, Nasus gets some extremely valuable buffs. The mana cost reduction on Q is extremely useful for both laning and jungling, allowing him to farm his Q without worrying about mana. The cast and attack range changes on his ultimate may not seem like much, but being able to spam Wither from 900 range makes Nasus a nightmare for any carry not rocking Cleanse or Quicksilver Sash. He may not be able to one shot bots in Coop vs AI games anymore, but he's still significantly better off than he was a few patches ago.
According to LoLWiki Riven's new passive is actually 20-50% of total Attack Damage, not 15- 45%. The original numbers were probably too much of a punishment at early levels, and slightly too little later on. This should have the desired effect, as even at level 9 (when the passive reaches 35% of total Attack Damage) the new passive should be slightly stronger than before due to base Attack Damage.
There are significant changes to items as well this patch.
Cooldown Reduction got shuffled around a bit. Athene's Unholy Grail, Spirit Visage, and Zeke's Herald all saw increases, while Deathfire Grasp, Glacial Shroud, and Iceborn Gauntlet all saw decreases. This was one knob Riot very consciously turned to help balance overused and underused items.
Armor and Magic Resistance became cheaper. Stacking Health was the best option not only because it was cheap and easy, but because defensive stats were costly and difficult. In some cases items had their stats increased, and in other cases they had their costs reduced. Riot obviously wanted to make non-Health defensive items more competitive.
Liandry's Torment was modified slightly. Previously damage over time abilities or repeated casts munched some of the passive damage from this item. It's an old problem that used to plague Teemo and Nautilus, but no longer. The change, and the damage increase, should help make this item strong against Health-stacking opponents. Blade of the Ruined King received buffs as well with the same goal, but Riot is already playing around with a different iteration due to the insufficiency of the changes.
Ohmwrecker has been modified to try to appeal more to supports than tanks. Despite that, the gold cost is extremely steep. A lot of the cost comes from the Ability Power, which is arguably less than useful for supports. Riot seems to have forgotten that they nerfed the Ability Power ratios on supports long ago, making Ability Power a largely undesirable attribute for a role centered around ability actives and team utility.
All in all, not the most exciting patch, but a good one nonetheless. You'd think I'd be more thrilled about the Akali changes, but as I primarily jungle Akali rather than lane it didn't change all that much for me. It's the lane Akali players who can now run Magic Penetration who should be excited.
There are a lot of quality of life changes and bug fixes this patch. While many champions have been affected, most of those changes aren't notable enough to be analyzed here.
Akali's passives no longer require a set amount of Attack Damage or Ability Power to activate. This is extremely useful for players who don't have many runes or rune pages, as it allows them to avoid dedicating an entire page to Akali. However, the best page for jungling hasn't changed; Spell Vamp Quintessences remain vital for sustain, Ability Power Glyphs remain vital for clear speed, and Attack Damage Marks remain vital for both.
Nasus' entirely balanced and not in any way abusive crit glitch has been fixed. Though I mourn the loss of my overpowered and unfair crits, it's entirely understandable. In return, Nasus gets some extremely valuable buffs. The mana cost reduction on Q is extremely useful for both laning and jungling, allowing him to farm his Q without worrying about mana. The cast and attack range changes on his ultimate may not seem like much, but being able to spam Wither from 900 range makes Nasus a nightmare for any carry not rocking Cleanse or Quicksilver Sash. He may not be able to one shot bots in Coop vs AI games anymore, but he's still significantly better off than he was a few patches ago.
According to LoLWiki Riven's new passive is actually 20-50% of total Attack Damage, not 15- 45%. The original numbers were probably too much of a punishment at early levels, and slightly too little later on. This should have the desired effect, as even at level 9 (when the passive reaches 35% of total Attack Damage) the new passive should be slightly stronger than before due to base Attack Damage.
There are significant changes to items as well this patch.
Cooldown Reduction got shuffled around a bit. Athene's Unholy Grail, Spirit Visage, and Zeke's Herald all saw increases, while Deathfire Grasp, Glacial Shroud, and Iceborn Gauntlet all saw decreases. This was one knob Riot very consciously turned to help balance overused and underused items.
Armor and Magic Resistance became cheaper. Stacking Health was the best option not only because it was cheap and easy, but because defensive stats were costly and difficult. In some cases items had their stats increased, and in other cases they had their costs reduced. Riot obviously wanted to make non-Health defensive items more competitive.
Liandry's Torment was modified slightly. Previously damage over time abilities or repeated casts munched some of the passive damage from this item. It's an old problem that used to plague Teemo and Nautilus, but no longer. The change, and the damage increase, should help make this item strong against Health-stacking opponents. Blade of the Ruined King received buffs as well with the same goal, but Riot is already playing around with a different iteration due to the insufficiency of the changes.
Ohmwrecker has been modified to try to appeal more to supports than tanks. Despite that, the gold cost is extremely steep. A lot of the cost comes from the Ability Power, which is arguably less than useful for supports. Riot seems to have forgotten that they nerfed the Ability Power ratios on supports long ago, making Ability Power a largely undesirable attribute for a role centered around ability actives and team utility.
All in all, not the most exciting patch, but a good one nonetheless. You'd think I'd be more thrilled about the Akali changes, but as I primarily jungle Akali rather than lane it didn't change all that much for me. It's the lane Akali players who can now run Magic Penetration who should be excited.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Jungler: Akali (3.02 Update)
Patch day analysis will come tomorrow, for now I have some initial thoughts after taking advantage of the Akali changes.
It's not, unfortunately, very exciting news. While you can theoretically use other rune and mastery setups, my tests indicate that the same exact setup from before is the fastest, safest, and most effective in general. Other setups are functional, but inferior.
So if you really want to free up a rune page or modify one to be more general you can do so, just be aware that it will likely weaken any Akali jungling you plan on doing.
It's not, unfortunately, very exciting news. While you can theoretically use other rune and mastery setups, my tests indicate that the same exact setup from before is the fastest, safest, and most effective in general. Other setups are functional, but inferior.
So if you really want to free up a rune page or modify one to be more general you can do so, just be aware that it will likely weaken any Akali jungling you plan on doing.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Mechanics: Spell Vamp
Spell Vamp is an odd mechanic because it has a bunch of confusing rules as to its application. These rules have confounded and confused the community for some time because whenever someone asks, "Does Spell Vamp work on insert ability here?" they get 20 different answers. I hope to do my part in raising the general awareness of Spell Vamp's mechanics today.
Spell Vamp is actually a bit of a misnomer. "Spell" for many players implies "magic", and so they reasonably assume that Spell Vamp only works on magic damage. This is not the case, as Spell Vamp works on all cast abilities regardless of damage type (otherwise what would the point of Spell Vamp on Olaf or Lee Sin?). A more accurate name would be Ability Vamp, but Riot has never seen fit to change it.
So everything from Reckless Swing, to Noxious Trap, to Resonating Strike can make use of Spell Vamp, but there's plenty more confusion to be had. Spell Vamp's effectiveness is reduced by two-thirds on multi-target abilities. This is a necessary mechanic because otherwise a Morgana with no Ability Power at all could heal for 500+ Health with a single Tormented Soil. Still, it's something else for players to remember about Spell Vamp.
More confusion abounds because of Smite and Ignite. Because they are coded like abilities they actually work with Spell Vamp. You can, to this day, find threads where people ask whether these two Summoner Spells work with Spell Vamp, and get multiple answers. Rest assured, Spell Vamp definitely works with both (though it can be hard to notice for Ignite as its damage is done over time).
Then there are items like Hextech Gunblade and Deathfire Grasp. These too use Spell Vamp because their actives are also coded like abilities. These don't come up as often as Smite and Ignite, but they have classically been a point of confusion.
While damaging item actives do make use of Spell Vamp, on-hit effects from items do not. However, champion on-hit effects aren't so well delineated. Because the "on-hit" effects for many champions use backend code tricks to function, a number of them do work with Spell Vamp. Rather than have me list them all, you should refer to this list on the LoLWiki. When in doubt, you can always run your own tests, and then update the wiki as necessary.
As an aside the most Spell Vamp any champion can have in the game is 244.7%. It requires an Akali with 6 Gunblades, stacked buffs and is generally utterly implausible, but it's fun to imagine Akali Smiting something and healing for 2400 Health. A much more reasonable (relatively speaking) number is 153.5% (5 Gunblades + Runes/Masteries). It's overkill, you can solo Baron at 2 Gunblades, but it's fun overkill.
Hopefully that made Spell Vamp's mechanics slightly more clear. There are a lot of misconceptions about the mechanics of League of Legends, and while they may never be eliminated if I can reduce the cacophony of errant answers even slightly I'll be satisfied.
Spell Vamp is actually a bit of a misnomer. "Spell" for many players implies "magic", and so they reasonably assume that Spell Vamp only works on magic damage. This is not the case, as Spell Vamp works on all cast abilities regardless of damage type (otherwise what would the point of Spell Vamp on Olaf or Lee Sin?). A more accurate name would be Ability Vamp, but Riot has never seen fit to change it.
So everything from Reckless Swing, to Noxious Trap, to Resonating Strike can make use of Spell Vamp, but there's plenty more confusion to be had. Spell Vamp's effectiveness is reduced by two-thirds on multi-target abilities. This is a necessary mechanic because otherwise a Morgana with no Ability Power at all could heal for 500+ Health with a single Tormented Soil. Still, it's something else for players to remember about Spell Vamp.
More confusion abounds because of Smite and Ignite. Because they are coded like abilities they actually work with Spell Vamp. You can, to this day, find threads where people ask whether these two Summoner Spells work with Spell Vamp, and get multiple answers. Rest assured, Spell Vamp definitely works with both (though it can be hard to notice for Ignite as its damage is done over time).
Then there are items like Hextech Gunblade and Deathfire Grasp. These too use Spell Vamp because their actives are also coded like abilities. These don't come up as often as Smite and Ignite, but they have classically been a point of confusion.
While damaging item actives do make use of Spell Vamp, on-hit effects from items do not. However, champion on-hit effects aren't so well delineated. Because the "on-hit" effects for many champions use backend code tricks to function, a number of them do work with Spell Vamp. Rather than have me list them all, you should refer to this list on the LoLWiki. When in doubt, you can always run your own tests, and then update the wiki as necessary.
As an aside the most Spell Vamp any champion can have in the game is 244.7%. It requires an Akali with 6 Gunblades, stacked buffs and is generally utterly implausible, but it's fun to imagine Akali Smiting something and healing for 2400 Health. A much more reasonable (relatively speaking) number is 153.5% (5 Gunblades + Runes/Masteries). It's overkill, you can solo Baron at 2 Gunblades, but it's fun overkill.
Hopefully that made Spell Vamp's mechanics slightly more clear. There are a lot of misconceptions about the mechanics of League of Legends, and while they may never be eliminated if I can reduce the cacophony of errant answers even slightly I'll be satisfied.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Jungler: Akali (Season 3)
I've released a new jungle Akali video. It's just the basic route, but it still provides a good point of discussion.
It's been well over two years since I first started experimenting with jungle Akali. In that time she's gone from a joke, to low tier, to viable but inappropriate for the meta, to her current state. This slow but steady progression is fairly well documented in my numerous video guides archived on Youtube. It's funny to look back on her early jungling days, which were a very far cry the from the safe, fluid jungling she is now capable of.
Season 3 is perhaps the zenith of Akali's viability as a jungler. Dive compositions are becoming more popular due to the reduced effectiveness of tanks. At the same time early ganking junglers have much greater pressure to succeed, or else face falling behind their opponents who simply farmed for level 6 before ganking. That Akali has weak early ganks is no longer quite the handicap it once was.
Akali's weakest point is level 1, she does not do quite enough damage to clear a small camp before a buff spawns. With assistance at level 1 she can easily gain 10-20 seconds on her clear time. Add in Bladed Armor and taking Golems rather than Wolves before Red, and her clear speed is actually substantially faster than the video may lead you to believe. The video, however, was largely concerned with the basic, safest route and demonstrating Akali's strong sustain for the benefit of inexperienced junglers.
Whether jungling or laning, Hextech Gunblade is simply the best single item for Akali. Hitting 41% Spell Vamp turns Smite into a personal Heal when fighting near creeps. The slow is extremely good for chasing, especially with Akali's high single target damage. This also feeds into what I believe to be Akali's ideal build, Gunblade + Deathfire Grasp + Lich Bane. With those three items Akali can absolutely decimate any carry before they can react. The ideal build isn't possible in all games, but Gunblade is absolutely and irrefutably the core item.
Once you've hit level 6 or 7 on Akali you should be extremely aggressive, especially if you have enough gold for Sorcerer's Shoes or Hextech Revolver. Even without crowd control Akali's ganks are incredibly potent due to her extreme chase potential. So long as her opponents are not in the immediate vicinity of their towers Akali can easily force Flash and other summoners. She's absolutely terrifying one on one, capable of taking on practically any champion in the game (especially if she gets first strike). Your goal is to less to farm the jungle and more to farm the enemy team.
Your late-game role is the same as any assassin, be enough of a threat that if the enemy team doesn't pay attention to you and blows cooldowns on your allies they're guaranteed to lose one or more carries. The hardest targets to kill are typically carries with stuns and roots, as they can potentially use that time to flash out of your ultimate's range. Otherwise any target you have vision of is probably a dead target.
With the meta warping under the influence of Season 3, now is finally (I swear, really, this time it's true) Akali's chance to shine as a jungler. Try her out and enjoy emerging stealthily from the jungle to complete your covert assassination missions.
It's been well over two years since I first started experimenting with jungle Akali. In that time she's gone from a joke, to low tier, to viable but inappropriate for the meta, to her current state. This slow but steady progression is fairly well documented in my numerous video guides archived on Youtube. It's funny to look back on her early jungling days, which were a very far cry the from the safe, fluid jungling she is now capable of.
Season 3 is perhaps the zenith of Akali's viability as a jungler. Dive compositions are becoming more popular due to the reduced effectiveness of tanks. At the same time early ganking junglers have much greater pressure to succeed, or else face falling behind their opponents who simply farmed for level 6 before ganking. That Akali has weak early ganks is no longer quite the handicap it once was.
Akali's weakest point is level 1, she does not do quite enough damage to clear a small camp before a buff spawns. With assistance at level 1 she can easily gain 10-20 seconds on her clear time. Add in Bladed Armor and taking Golems rather than Wolves before Red, and her clear speed is actually substantially faster than the video may lead you to believe. The video, however, was largely concerned with the basic, safest route and demonstrating Akali's strong sustain for the benefit of inexperienced junglers.
Whether jungling or laning, Hextech Gunblade is simply the best single item for Akali. Hitting 41% Spell Vamp turns Smite into a personal Heal when fighting near creeps. The slow is extremely good for chasing, especially with Akali's high single target damage. This also feeds into what I believe to be Akali's ideal build, Gunblade + Deathfire Grasp + Lich Bane. With those three items Akali can absolutely decimate any carry before they can react. The ideal build isn't possible in all games, but Gunblade is absolutely and irrefutably the core item.
Once you've hit level 6 or 7 on Akali you should be extremely aggressive, especially if you have enough gold for Sorcerer's Shoes or Hextech Revolver. Even without crowd control Akali's ganks are incredibly potent due to her extreme chase potential. So long as her opponents are not in the immediate vicinity of their towers Akali can easily force Flash and other summoners. She's absolutely terrifying one on one, capable of taking on practically any champion in the game (especially if she gets first strike). Your goal is to less to farm the jungle and more to farm the enemy team.
Your late-game role is the same as any assassin, be enough of a threat that if the enemy team doesn't pay attention to you and blows cooldowns on your allies they're guaranteed to lose one or more carries. The hardest targets to kill are typically carries with stuns and roots, as they can potentially use that time to flash out of your ultimate's range. Otherwise any target you have vision of is probably a dead target.
With the meta warping under the influence of Season 3, now is finally (I swear, really, this time it's true) Akali's chance to shine as a jungler. Try her out and enjoy emerging stealthily from the jungle to complete your covert assassination missions.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Season 3: Hextech Gunblade
Hextech Gunblade: (3400g)
45 Attack Damage
65 Ability Power
10% Life Steal
20% Spell Vamp
Passive: UNIQUE - Reload: Your basic attacks and single target spells against champions reduce the cooldown of this item by 3 seconds.
Active: UNIQUE - Deals 150 + 40% of your Ability Power as magic damage and slows the target champion's Movement Speed by 40% for 2 seconds. 60 second cooldown.
While roughly the same, Gunblade has seen a little reshuffling in stats and costs. It lost 5% Life Steal but costs 200g less, and a little Ability Power was swapped for Attack Damage. While the shifting stats aren't particularly notable, the fact that the Spell Vamp is no longer unique heralds the return of Gunblade stacking (as much of a troll build as that may be).
The exciting changes aren't the stats but the new passive and revamped active. The base damage on the active was halved, but now has a 0.4 Ability Power ratio (breaking even at 375 Ability Power). The effect and duration of the slow were also reduced. All of those nerfs are to compensate for the new passive, Reload. There's no internal cooldown on Reload, and it has the potential to allow for multiple uses in a single teamfight, or repeated uses in lane.
Akali is one of the classic Gunblade champions, and Reload is obviously particularly effective on her. Mark of the Assassin procs Reload twice, once for the cast and once for consuming the Mark, meaning that Akali can easily remove half the cooldown in a single chase. Combined with the Artifacer mastery, Akali can easily reset the cooldown on Gunblade after a single kill.
Simply attacking fast can also do the trick. A champion with 2.0 Attack Speed and nothing else will reset Gunblade within 7-8 seconds. Jax' combination of fast attacks and single target abilities makes him similarly well attuned to this item.
Even if you won't be stacking Ability Power, the ability to potentially reuse the active multiple times in a fight is strong. Because Gunblade is still largely a hybrid item most champions may not find it very interesting or useful, but for those that do the changes are potent and compelling.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Thought: What Happens to Jungle Akali?
Over two years ago I started jungling Akali, and after a few months was confident enough to post my first guide. It was laughable, viable only in games with players as bad as I was, but as I grew and improved at the game my guide grew with me. Its current iteration is, in my conceited opinion, the definitive work on jungle Akali. The gravity of the situation should therefore be self-evident when I state that Diana, in all probability, makes jungle Akali obsolete.
I've long held that, given a different meta, jungle Akali would be a competitive option. For the past year the meta for junglers has changed several times, from early-gankers to fast-clearing farmers to tanky-cc. Akali, while an adept jungler, has never matched any of those paradigms and thus has remained in obscurity. Despite this it was still possible that arranged teams might break from the standard meta and use her. That possibility largely vanished with the introduction of Diana.
The problem is that Diana is essentially jungle Akali, only better. The draw of jungle Akali was largely her uniqueness as an AP jungler and assassin, in particular the power of her post-level-six ganks due to her extremely long range, gap-closing ultimate. While their ultimates are practically identical for the purposes of ganking Diana also can pull enemies to her and slow them, a form of crowd control many times more powerful than the slow on Akali's Twilight Shroud. Diana's ganks both before and after level six are significantly stronger.
In addition many of Akali's minor flaws are not shared with Diana. Akali is largely single target damage and her AoE ability is awkward when chasing down opponents. Diana is almost entirely AoE damage, ideal for jungling, and her AoE abilities have an integral role in how she chases. Diana also can reveal foes during ganks, making the brush in side lanes less of a safe haven. For all her viability as a jungler, Akali's skills are designed around laning more than jungling.
Akali does have a few notable advantages over Diana. Akali has built-in sustain, allowing her to enter the jungle and leave with significantly more health than she entered with, while Diana only has a shield. Akali also has a stealth ability, and despite being countered by Oracle's it has its advantages. Finally, Akali is mana-independent, meaning she doesn't have to itemize around mana or suffer when passing blue buff to an ally. These benefits don't make Akali better at jungling than Diana overall, but they are places where Akali is superior to her.
Those small advantages are possibly the saving grace for jungle Akali. Because many players will be trying out Diana in the jungle, some will possibly note the similarities between Diana and Akali and begin to consider Akali's viability. Perhaps jungle Akali can ride on Diana's coattails and break into the community mindscape. Someone cleverer than I might even demonstrate a niche for her that makes her more desirable than Diana. It might be wishful thinking, but it's not impossible.
For now Diana is, barring some critical flaw yet to be discovered, superior to jungle Akali. This won't stop me from keeping my guide updated or my skills sharp, but it's unlikely that my team will field my favorite ninja as a jungler anytime soon.
I've long held that, given a different meta, jungle Akali would be a competitive option. For the past year the meta for junglers has changed several times, from early-gankers to fast-clearing farmers to tanky-cc. Akali, while an adept jungler, has never matched any of those paradigms and thus has remained in obscurity. Despite this it was still possible that arranged teams might break from the standard meta and use her. That possibility largely vanished with the introduction of Diana.
The problem is that Diana is essentially jungle Akali, only better. The draw of jungle Akali was largely her uniqueness as an AP jungler and assassin, in particular the power of her post-level-six ganks due to her extremely long range, gap-closing ultimate. While their ultimates are practically identical for the purposes of ganking Diana also can pull enemies to her and slow them, a form of crowd control many times more powerful than the slow on Akali's Twilight Shroud. Diana's ganks both before and after level six are significantly stronger.
In addition many of Akali's minor flaws are not shared with Diana. Akali is largely single target damage and her AoE ability is awkward when chasing down opponents. Diana is almost entirely AoE damage, ideal for jungling, and her AoE abilities have an integral role in how she chases. Diana also can reveal foes during ganks, making the brush in side lanes less of a safe haven. For all her viability as a jungler, Akali's skills are designed around laning more than jungling.
Akali does have a few notable advantages over Diana. Akali has built-in sustain, allowing her to enter the jungle and leave with significantly more health than she entered with, while Diana only has a shield. Akali also has a stealth ability, and despite being countered by Oracle's it has its advantages. Finally, Akali is mana-independent, meaning she doesn't have to itemize around mana or suffer when passing blue buff to an ally. These benefits don't make Akali better at jungling than Diana overall, but they are places where Akali is superior to her.
Those small advantages are possibly the saving grace for jungle Akali. Because many players will be trying out Diana in the jungle, some will possibly note the similarities between Diana and Akali and begin to consider Akali's viability. Perhaps jungle Akali can ride on Diana's coattails and break into the community mindscape. Someone cleverer than I might even demonstrate a niche for her that makes her more desirable than Diana. It might be wishful thinking, but it's not impossible.
For now Diana is, barring some critical flaw yet to be discovered, superior to jungle Akali. This won't stop me from keeping my guide updated or my skills sharp, but it's unlikely that my team will field my favorite ninja as a jungler anytime soon.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Jungler: Akali (Part 2 of 2)
The revised jungle Akali video is out, which means it's time to talk about the specifics of her setups.
This is my first video with a leash. I did this specifically because I wanted to show the early gank potential of the setup. It's easy to say, "With a leash your health levels will remain high and you can transition straight into a gank" but many people need to see it to understand. It's still possible to complete the route without one, though it's obviously slower and you'll only be at half health by the end.
The setup shown in the new video was made possible by the buff to Flat AP Glyphs. Prior to this buff it was not possible to reach 19.5 AP with just one AP Quint unless you also put at least 19 points in Offense masteries. While a 21/X/X setup can work for jungle Akali, it's significantly less safe and misses out on the excellent Spell Vamp mastery in the Utility tree. The ability to choose from a wider variety of mastery setups is the most notable gain from before the patch.
I would only use this new setup, however, if I was intent on starting boots. Trading a Spell Vamp Quint for AP does not make sense when you're starting with an Amplifying Tome. The small amount of damage you gain early does not make up for the sustain and late-game usefulness of Spell Vamp.
While the new setup is novel I actually prefer the old setup. The extra sustain allows for a greater variety of item choices as it's easier to grab Sorc Boots or Sheen early instead of Hextech Revolver. You can still start boots as well if you use Ignite at level 1 in conjunction with the Offense mastery for its AD/AP boost, and Ignite will come off cooldown just in time for a level 4 gank. The old setup is simply is equal for the first clear, better thereafter, and more versatile overall.
In conclusion, jungle Akali has reached the point where there is no longer one preferred method. There are now multiple viable setups, and possibly many more I haven't discovered. While this doesn't make her any less of a black sheep, it seems less impossible that she might one day be recognized as a jungler.
This is my first video with a leash. I did this specifically because I wanted to show the early gank potential of the setup. It's easy to say, "With a leash your health levels will remain high and you can transition straight into a gank" but many people need to see it to understand. It's still possible to complete the route without one, though it's obviously slower and you'll only be at half health by the end.
The setup shown in the new video was made possible by the buff to Flat AP Glyphs. Prior to this buff it was not possible to reach 19.5 AP with just one AP Quint unless you also put at least 19 points in Offense masteries. While a 21/X/X setup can work for jungle Akali, it's significantly less safe and misses out on the excellent Spell Vamp mastery in the Utility tree. The ability to choose from a wider variety of mastery setups is the most notable gain from before the patch.
I would only use this new setup, however, if I was intent on starting boots. Trading a Spell Vamp Quint for AP does not make sense when you're starting with an Amplifying Tome. The small amount of damage you gain early does not make up for the sustain and late-game usefulness of Spell Vamp.
While the new setup is novel I actually prefer the old setup. The extra sustain allows for a greater variety of item choices as it's easier to grab Sorc Boots or Sheen early instead of Hextech Revolver. You can still start boots as well if you use Ignite at level 1 in conjunction with the Offense mastery for its AD/AP boost, and Ignite will come off cooldown just in time for a level 4 gank. The old setup is simply is equal for the first clear, better thereafter, and more versatile overall.
In conclusion, jungle Akali has reached the point where there is no longer one preferred method. There are now multiple viable setups, and possibly many more I haven't discovered. While this doesn't make her any less of a black sheep, it seems less impossible that she might one day be recognized as a jungler.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Jungler: Akali (Part 1 of 2)
I've completed a new jungle Akali video, but due to technical difficulties I wasn't able to upload it last night. The video showcases a new rune setup made possible by the changes in the Hecarim patch. I'll save the discussion of said setup until tomorrow. For now I'd like to talk less about the specifics of jungle Akali and more about the jungler herself.
Jungle Akali has been viable for a long, long time, yet is rarely played even by enthusiasts such as myself. Despite becoming stronger with the recent patch changes I doubt this state of affairs will change. For all her strengths and uniqueness, jungle Akali faces a number of problems which have held her back as a competitive pick.
The most crippling of these issues is her rune setup. Jungling as Akali requires a specifically tailored rune page just for her. While this rune page can be used by a handful of other junglers they are equally happy using any number of alternative rune pages. Moreover, the Spell Vamp Quintessences and Flat Ability Power Glyphs are not common runes, meaning jungle Akali requires a hefty investment of at least 16140 IP. For someone like me who has played the game forever and thus has had plenty of time to amass IP and rune pages that isn't a problem, but for the average player these costs are extremely prohibitive.
The second key factor is that of team composition; jungle Akali is hard to fit on a team. As the only AP assassin who can effectively jungle you might think she'd have a niche, but there simply isn't much demand for assassin junglers in general let alone a specialization within that category. The vast majority of junglers are bruiser/tanky types, so picking anything else defies expectations and requires your team adapt.
There are other, less critical factors, such as community awareness/preconceptions or Akali's window of effectiveness. However, these are relatively minor and many junglers have similar shortcomings without being left in obscurity.
In a vacuum jungle Akali is very strong. She clears and sustains well, can donate blue buff like all manaless junglers, has multiple routes, is a slippery duelist, and of all the junglers she even makes the best use of Smite because it acts as a self-heal once you've reached sufficient levels of Spell Vamp. She's also very fun, which is a critical component of any champion. However, we do not jungle in a vacuum, and so Akali isn't used because you can not separate her from her costs and composition troubles.
Someday Akali will be recognized as a good jungler. Until then she'll remain true to her ninja way, hidden in the shadows.
Jungle Akali has been viable for a long, long time, yet is rarely played even by enthusiasts such as myself. Despite becoming stronger with the recent patch changes I doubt this state of affairs will change. For all her strengths and uniqueness, jungle Akali faces a number of problems which have held her back as a competitive pick.
The most crippling of these issues is her rune setup. Jungling as Akali requires a specifically tailored rune page just for her. While this rune page can be used by a handful of other junglers they are equally happy using any number of alternative rune pages. Moreover, the Spell Vamp Quintessences and Flat Ability Power Glyphs are not common runes, meaning jungle Akali requires a hefty investment of at least 16140 IP. For someone like me who has played the game forever and thus has had plenty of time to amass IP and rune pages that isn't a problem, but for the average player these costs are extremely prohibitive.
The second key factor is that of team composition; jungle Akali is hard to fit on a team. As the only AP assassin who can effectively jungle you might think she'd have a niche, but there simply isn't much demand for assassin junglers in general let alone a specialization within that category. The vast majority of junglers are bruiser/tanky types, so picking anything else defies expectations and requires your team adapt.
There are other, less critical factors, such as community awareness/preconceptions or Akali's window of effectiveness. However, these are relatively minor and many junglers have similar shortcomings without being left in obscurity.
In a vacuum jungle Akali is very strong. She clears and sustains well, can donate blue buff like all manaless junglers, has multiple routes, is a slippery duelist, and of all the junglers she even makes the best use of Smite because it acts as a self-heal once you've reached sufficient levels of Spell Vamp. She's also very fun, which is a critical component of any champion. However, we do not jungle in a vacuum, and so Akali isn't used because you can not separate her from her costs and composition troubles.
Someday Akali will be recognized as a good jungler. Until then she'll remain true to her ninja way, hidden in the shadows.
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