Hey everyone! Welcome to my Akshan Guide! My name is Urason, I'm a Masters ADC main/small streamer who is trying to main Samira and Akshan. Before I do my even smaller intro, PLEASE READ THE NOTES ON STUFF, THATS WHERE A MAJORITY OF MY EXPLANATIONS ARE ;-;. -> I started playing Akshan back on the PBE and loved his grappling mechanic and amazing roam potential. His type of playstyle is something I always loved as an ADC but felt it was extremely difficult to pull off. Regardless, I'm always trying to look at new things to improve his build! This tends to happen with open discussion on the Akshan Main's discord as well as on my stream (for those who are interested). Nonetheless, let's get into the guide! Keep in mind that this guide still looks rough but I'm slowly learning to make it look nicer! For now, I want the information to be available <3

Pros:
+High snowball potential, if you get a lead, you can impact different parts of the map and sneak up on high priority targets
+High Mobility allows you to gank other lanes and dive on weak opponents
+You literally revive teammates?
+High skill ceiling which means you can always learn something new!
+Extremely Fun and Rewarding once you master him + who doesn't like grappling?

Cons:
-Useless when behind (Besides his Revive)
-Easily countered by Hard CC and other early game champs (Aka, Requires Discipline and thinking ahead)
-Extremely Hard to Master, especially bot lane
-Tends to create a permanently roam mindset which leads to low CS and mediocre kill participation.

Press the Attack is Akshan's best rune due to how it synergizes with both his passive and his E. Since you have a 3-hit passive AND your E can proc PTA, there's really no reason to go anything else. While there are other runes you can take, like Conqueror, this just tends to be the best across most games, especially due to your high single target DPS! However, don't be afraid to experiment on your own as this is a general guide! Feel free to tell me your experiments in the discussion section!


Presence of Mind is very useful on Akshan since it allows him to harass his laner with his Q AND get bonus mana after a successful kill. You have decently high mana costs early on and after a 2v2, the last thing you want is to not have enough mana to shove the wave! This rune is honestly a must have BUT, if you really don't want to take it, you can take Triumph (although, I personally don't recommend it)!


Legend: Bloodline is free stats that can help you have innate life steal later on. It's a great rune that pairs extremely well with Akshan's crit build since he'll be doing a ton of damage with his E. While you can also take Bloodline for the on-hit build, I tend to find it unnecessary as you tend to grab Bork or Shieldbow. Plus, your movement speed from your passive scales off Attack Speed which can be MASSIVE later on in the game when you're kiting away from the enemy!


Legend: Alacrity is one of the fastest scaling runes of the 3 legends. Not only do you get quite a bit of attack speed from this alone, but it also gives you it's maximum benefit fairly early on! Sure it may not offer the sustain that Bloodline does, but when it comes to the on-hit build (or comfortability), you won't be sorry that you took Alacrity.


Coup de Grace will be your default rune just because of the DPS it offers as you attempt to assassinate carries. While it's not always ideal, it fits well with your burst like playstyle, specifically if you're going the crit build! This pairs extremely well with Infinity Edge 3rd Item as you're looking to shred opponents down as soon as possible!


I recommend taking Cut Down if you're versus a team with a few tanks and/or Bruisers. It synergizes EXTREMELY well with Lord Dominik's Regards due to the % HP damage boost you get! If you're playing tank shred duty with Akshan, it's really the only chance you've got at dealing additional damage.

Taste of Blood is a necessity on Akshan because it gives him some much needed survivability in lane. Combined with PoM, you can harass with your Q to gain free HP back as the mana will be returned as well. Be sure to time your trades with not only your Taste of Blood cooldown, but your passive as well! If you can land your Q twice then auto for the 3rd proc of your passive, you'll come out on top every time!

Ravenous Hunter is what most people go on Akshan ADC and I agree it's powerful! It did get nerfed quite a bit and it's not as great as it used to be. It provides a decent amount of healing throughout the game and it best paired when team fights are going to be running long. This is what you'll be taking most of the time if you wanna autopilot your runes anyway. That being said, it's not what I go a majority of the time.

Relentless Hunter is my favorite to take on Akshan because I play a far more aggressive playstyle. I tend to kill my laners or crash massive slow pushes so that I can get a massive roam timer. With the additional movement speed AND your unlimited invisibility, you're able to create a lot of pressure for your mid laner as you can possible show up and claim the kill. This playstyle can be fairly difficult to be good at as if you take a bad roam, you'll fall massively behind. It's honestly safer to default to Ravenous Hunter and play like a normal ADC.

Flash is an essential Summoner Spell on nearly every champion. It's standard to take and it provides some additional mobility in situations where you mess up sooooo take it.

Heal is the standard on any and all ADCs due to the movement speed it provides and the heal to you and your support. That being said, I still think exhaust is better on Akshan due to your massive all-in potential.

Exhaust is a NECESSITY if you're going versus champions like Kai'sa, TRISTANA, multiple assassins, Olaf, etc. It can provide you with the upperhand in many of these match ups and remove a ton of the "skill oriented" portion of them! Plus, you should win nearly every 1v1 because of it!

Cleanse if you're versus Leona, Ashe, or Varus, don't make the mistake of not taking cleanse. There's 0 reason to leave it up to react timing when you can take this free get out of jail card. Esp since it offers CC reduction afterwards! Put your ego aside, even Pro's take cleanse in these matchups.

Mythic Items

Immortal Shieldbow: Shieldbow is an item that is loved by many and while it shouldn't be Akshan's first choice, don't be afraid to build it! It's great build path not only offers you the ability to grab early sustain with vamp scepter, but you also get a decently size shield that can protect you from burst. Your DPS will only suffer slightly in exchange for your newfound survivability.

Galeforce: This item offers Akshan some great mobility for dodging key skill shots or simply finding a better position during a fight. Plus, not only do you get a free Lucian dash, but Galeforce's active provides a nice chunk of damage for you to execute your enemy before they even know what hit them! While your DPS won't be as high, your burst should skyrocket if you use Galeforce offensively.

Kraken Slayer: Kraken Slayer has to be one of my favorite items on Akshan. Not only does it synergize extremely well due to your E and double-hit passive, but the attack speed scaling later on makes it a powerful kiting tool.

2nd Items

Guinsoo's Rageblade: Guinsoo's Rageblade is a key item when you're going on-hit Akshan. Not only does it offer a nice powerspike, but you deal consistently more DPS due to your crit being converted to on-hit. You can build rageknife and choose to not finish rageblade till later if you'd like!

The Collector: The Collector is a staple item for a lot of crit carries at the moment. It's ability to spike your build at a 2nd item and provide some lethality is really underestimated. While it's not an amazing item, it's the most optimal one we have at the moment for many carries.

Lord Dominik's Regards: Lord Dominik's Regards functions as an AMAZING 2nd item vs teams that have even just a few tanks/bruisers. It deals similar damage to collector with the trade off of additional tank shred. This is your tool to win mid game vs tanky teams (most games don't get to 3-4 items so building it late is useless)! With it's amazing buffs (and even though it's getting SMALL NERFS), it's a really good item 2nd on a ton of ADCs at the moment. Don't make the mistake of stalling this out!

Wit's End: Wit's is a great item for your on-hit build. It gives you magic resist, movement speed, great components, magic damage, etc. I mean, what else could you possibly want for it's great price point! If you're looking to go the on-hit build, Wit's can easily become a staple item in your build when you're looking to deal high DPS while also surviving an entire Syndra combo.

3rd Items

Infinity Edge: IE provides a lot of damage to your kit if you're looking to quickly cut enemies down with the crit build. This item is really good in a majority of games if you're looking to wipe teams as fast as possible. Aka, if team fights aren't stalling for super long, this is the item for you! This tends to be paired with Coup de Grace or Cut Down and your choice of Relentless Hunter or Ravenous Hunter. Don't forget that your E CAN crit and will deal a ton of damage!

Bloodthirster: While I don't think Bloodthirster is an amazing item, it definitely has it's time and place. If the enemy has no real burst or CC to kill you, BT will allow you to heavily sustain yourself through fights, especially if they don't bother to build anti-heal. I personally don't recommend it but it's a viable option.

Blade of the Ruined King: Bork is one of my favorite items when I'm playing on-hit Akshan. Not only does the movement speed help you a ton, but it'll also empower your damage by quite a bit. Plus, you get some lifesteal in your kit which, if you're going on-hit, you won't really have elsewhere!

Situationals

Mortal Reminder: Similar to BT, Mortal Reminder has a pretty specific time and place. It's pretty unlikely that you'll ever finish the entire item BUT, it's important to pick up an Executioners early on if your team needs anti-heal. Trust me. Grevious wounds early vs healing champions can be a massive game changer.

Mercurial Scimitar: I mean.... We all know what it does. Be sure to pick this up if the enemy has hard CC that can stop you in your tracks. Things like Skarner ult or Malzahar ult are nightmares to deal with, without this especially because you're short ranged!

Guardian Angel: GA is a great item if you feel like you only need a small bit of defense and want some additional damage. I personally enjoy buying the stopwatch before a big fight so that I can use it if needed. It's also good if your team has good peel + extended fights!

Boots

Berserker's Greaves: These tend to be my go-to unless I really need defense, which also tends to happen often. Keep in mind, that attack speed gives you Movement speed with passive. Plus, they're a nice spike!

Mercury's Treads: This is your MR and CC solution, it's not too great for laning phase unless you're vs mages, but it'll help a good bit if the enemy has AP mid and jg that can kill/CC-chain you!

Plated Steelcaps: Again, here's your armor option. This is really good vs auto attack reliant champs! Champions like Lucian, Rengar, Caitlyn, and even Vayne are dominated by this item until later on. It's a really good choice for some defensive stats early on!

Mobility Boots: Now, Mobility boots are my personally favorite when I'm playing with a snowbally mid laner AND can have easy lane priority bot lane. This playstyle can be incredibly difficult to manage as it takes a lot of game knowledge to roam properly without setting yourself behind, especially as an AD carry. That being said, these are powerful in the right situations. I wouldn't recommend them to a lot of people but I wanted to make note of them due to their potential to snowball your mid and JG under the correct circumstances!

Early Game

As Akshan, your early game is pretty strong when compared to other carries. That being said, it's best to not force too hard pre-first recall. Once you get some basic items (even a longsword will do), you can look to kill your laner with your support. You are ESPECIALLY powerful versus immobile, scaling carries. With just a small lead, you'll easily be able to kill them on spawn! Just be sure to play safe enough and wait for an opportunity as if you fall behind, it's pretty difficult to catch back up. That being said, your Q is great for sustain and poke but I wouldn't recommend using it for farming. If you're Q maxing, you can use your Q for nice harass and short, quick trades. Plus, it'll let you get lane priority for your jungler whenever needed. If you're E maxing, that means you're looking to dive on the enemy carry and burst them down quickly. The early game is when you're looking to gain leads wherever you can. Either on you, your jungler, or your mid laner. You can do this through CS leads, kill leads, vision control, ganks, etc.

Mid Game

Mid game is where Akshan really gets to shine. Not only does he have incredibly high damage at this point in the game, but he's able to assassinate carries that are left alone. You'll want to play with your team and look for picks whenever possible. Don't feel the need to force picks though, they're nice if you get them but they're not necessary. It's far more important for you to help your team siege and fight together for objectives. Keep your CS up! As an early-mid game champion, you'll fall off insanely fast if you don't keep your farm going. This means take good fights and avoid useless skirmishes. Have purpose with your engagements, we're not here to play team death match!

Late Game

At this point in the game, everyone has already scaled. Late game is difficult for Akshan due to his kit and range. While you'll still do quite a bit of DPS, it's much harder to dive onto enemies and properly burst them down. At this point, you'll want to play front to back with your team or help them pick off enemies. Your main goal is going to be cleaning up kills and reviving allies with your passive whenever possible. The longer the game goes on, the more powerful your revive becomes due to death timers being incredibly long!

I don't really have much more to say besides I hope this was beneficial! I've been spending hours testing damage (and my ranked games) to find the most optimal build for Akshan ADC. Regardless, I'm going to keep trying to update this the best I can! PLEASE feel free to leave comments on things you want to see more of/added so that I can work on them on my free time! If you have any questions, want to stay in touch, or let me know what you thought, come watch the stream so we can chat! Hope this was useful <3.

Hope to see you on the rift, summoners! <3 - Urason