Akali lane damage is Q plus whether you actually cash the passive ring afterward, so play for max-range Q, step out cleanly, and make the opponent answer that repeated pattern instead of forcing full commits too early.
Do not autopilot E2—the mark itself already forces movement and panic, and strong Akali play is often waiting out the dash, charm, stun, or peel spell before deciding whether the recast is still good.
Akali's best recent games come from making mid lane and nearby skirmishes unsafe with self-made kill pressure, and W is a big part of that because it buys time, energy, and target loss instead of being a button you spend at first contact.
When you are behind, shrink the number of decisions you force. Stop looking for full all-ins unless the enemy has already spent the spell that punishes your E2, and use Q plus passive to keep the lane from getting worse before you ask for anything bigger. Shroud becomes more valuable as a reset button than as a damage extender, because your job is to make their first answer awkward and buy enough time for a cleaner second look. In fights, wait for health bars and cooldowns to move first, then clean up the target that steps out of structure rather than announcing yourself on entry.
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.
Akali throws out five kunai, dealing damage based on her bonus Attack Damage and Ability Power and slowing.
Akali drops a cover of smoke and briefly gains Move Speed. While inside the shroud, Akali becomes invisible and unable to be selected by enemy spells and attacks. Attacking or using abilities will briefly reveal her.
Flip backward and fire a shuriken forward, dealing magic damage. The first enemy or smoke cloud hit is marked. Re-cast to dash to the marked target, dealing additional damage.
Akali leaps in a direction, damaging enemies she strikes. Re-cast: Akali dashes in a direction, executing all enemies she strikes.