Akshan surprised the league community with his grappling hook ability. A way to quickly get around the battlefield while dealing tons of damage to nearby enemies proved too much to handle. He is also highly mobile, as this grappling hook can be reset whenever he scores a takedown. His passive ability is also quite remarkable as it can revive fallen allies.
With so much mobility and damage comes a squishy nature to Akshan. After using his grappling hook, he has no way to escape pursuers except if he scores a takedown and reset its cooldown. With that in mind, you need two kinds of supports, aggressive ones that initiate well and establish a fast tempo for Akshan or ones with extreme peeling ability to mitigate his squishiness. Now with all of that out of the way, let us take a look at five great supports you can use to support Akshan.
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1. Leona
Of course, who can provide CC, engage, and peel all simultaneously? That is no other than Leona. She can be excellent support for Akshan because her CC abilities last long if appropriately sequenced. This lets Akshan reserve his grappling hook instead of using it to engage enemies. She is also great at peeling for Akshan as her spells have a low cooldown; she can engage and immediately peel Akshan when team fights erupt.
Best item for Leona
Zeke’s Convergence
This item doesn’t only work great on keeping enemies’ movement speed impaired; it also gives Akshan an immense damage boost. The bonus magic damage scales well with Akshan’s grappling hook attack speed.
Different Playstyles for Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Akshan can immediately deal significant damage because of his grappling hook. So once you both reach level 3 and learn three of your abilities, look for an all-in. It will be easy for you to score a kill as Leona is a tremendous all-in champion, much like Akshan
Mid Game Playstyle
You can play exceptionally aggressively as Leona when it comes to late games as Akshan’s power spike comes during mid-game. Don’t worry about dying because Akshan can quickly revive you, but don’t die as much as it gives your enemies gold. Even if you can be revived, you still need to be careful.
Late Game Playstyle
As Leona, your value pretty much falls in the late game as your only use would be to stun opponents with your CC. Everybody’s damage is now overpowered, so prioritize staying beside Akshan and using your CC to all champions who try to get to him.
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2. Zilean
Akshan is a champion that loves to get into the fray and in the middle of the fight. Sometimes if he positions himself at the wrong spot, he can be easily burst down. But with Zilean as a support, you can easily peel him by casting your ult on him. Once Akshan is about to be revived, use your stun on nearby enemies and boost his movement speed so he can get away quickly. You are also a great initiator as you can constantly give Akshan a boost in his movement speed.
Best item for Zilean
Cosmic Overdrive
This item gives its users an AP boost, but people buy it because of the 40 ability haste bonus and movement speed. This works excellent on Zilean as he relies so much on cooldown and movement speed to keep up with his ADC and help him.
Different Playstyles for Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Play safe but try to poke enemies every time your Q is up. Have your Akshan farm safely because you don’t have that much to offer in the early game. Your best bet in this phase is to use your Q to try to zone the enemy ADC away from the minion’s last hits.
Mid Game Playstyle
Akshan can now chase for kills because you can quickly revive him; you can also play aggressively because you will have your cosmic overdrive now and spam your abilities. You can either spam your bombs on enemies or give Akshan movement speed.
Late Game Playstyle
Stay beside Akshan at all times; if he uses a grappling hook, boost your movement speed so you can stay beside him. Cast your stuns and ult wisely because if you cast at the wrong time, you risk Akshan being avoided instead, and enemies can wait a few seconds to hit him last. You can also play aggressively, as your damage will be significant by now as your build through mage items.
3. Soraka
Soraka is excellent for Akshan simply because she can keep up with him, especially when Akshan gets low. She also has a global ult that she can use to heal Akshan wherever he is. Soraka is also an excellent poke champion in the early game, so Akshan can capitalize on that and find early kills.
Best item for Soraka
Ardent Censer
This item doesn’t only give Akshan a boost in movement speed; it also lets him deal bonus magic damage to enemies for a duration. It also strengthens Soraka’s healing power, all of this fantastic utility for a cheap item.
Different Playstyles for Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Your Q and your E will be your best friend in the early game, as you can use both of these to poke the opposing duo. This tactic gives Akshan enough space to farm safely and reaches his power spike earlier than the opposing ADC.
Mid Game Playstyle
Play defensively in the mid-game and heal Akshan as he dives enemies. It would help if you remembered that Soraka needs her HP to heal her allies. Try to stay away from damage during team fights and hit your Q every time you try to heal your teammates so you can heal your HP back up.
Late Game Playstyle
It’s easy to heal Akshan in the late game as Soraka has extremely high healing ability and low cooldown come late game, but this also means she will be losing more hp as the late game goes on. Would you please stay in the backline and stay safe as possible? Throw your pokes occasionally but focus mainly on healing Akshan whenever he fights enemies.
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4. Xerath
Xerath is excellent poke support that can easily win the game even if he doesn’t think about Akshan. Nobody beats Xerath’s poke throughout the game, and he can scale as well because he can build like a mage and becomes a hyper-carry himself in the late game. He is excellent for Akshan as they can both execute enemies far away.
Best item for Xerath
Luden’s Tempest
The key to playing Xerath support is killing your enemies before touching Akshan. Luden’s Tempest doesn’t only give Xerath a boost in his mana pool, but it also strengthens his poke and AOE damage. This first build item can go a very long way as the game rages on.
Different Playstyles for Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Start as usual with your Q and proceed to poke your enemies whenever it comes off cooldown. Play aggressively with your pokes as it has a very long-range, and you can use it to zone and damage Akshan’s enemies simultaneously.
Mid Game Playstyle
Both you and Akshan can play aggressively, even at long ranges, during this phase. Or you can use both assault enemies at close range so Akshan can take them down more efficiently. Stay beside Akshan and when he uses his grapple hook, try to stun the enemy he is trying to kill and burst that champion down together.
Late Game Playstyle
Xerath will be a carry when the late game comes, and he can even beat Akshan’s damage. During team fights, he can initiate with his ult already, and Akshan can efficiently finish enemies he damages with his ultimate as well. Kind of like artillery with a very long range.
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5. Braum
When it comes to peeling, there is no better champion than Braum. He has a massive shield he can raise to block all sorts of projectiles. He can also block basic attacks from enemy ranged attacks so Akshan can freely hit enemies while he is behind Braum.
Best item for Braum
Frozen Heart
Coming from the Freljord, one of the best items that Braum can build comes from Freljord. This item gives him an incredibly high armor, and it also has a passive that reduces elemental attack damage. It also slows the attack speed of nearby enemies, and it also gives Braum a boost in the mana pool so he can spam his abilities to protect Akshan.
Different Playstyles for Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
You can tell Akshan to focus on farming as you can protect him from anything in the early game. Nothing can get past Braum’s shield, and his dash and passive can also prove too much for early game swindles.
Mid Game Playstyle
You can engage enemies as Braum in the mid-game because you are pretty tanky every time you raise your shield. Mid-game sees through Braums aggressive and defensive playstyle as he can both initiate takedowns for Akshan and peel him simultaneously.
Late Game Playstyle
You can play extraordinarily defensive, so you can help Akshan achieve more kills and lessen his death. Quickly dash towards Akshan and raise your shields against ranged enemies every time a team fight starts. Once your shield is down, you can cast your ultimate to delay your enemies even further. Akshan can significantly capitalize on this; he can quickly proc Braum’s passive with his grappling hook attack speed.
Final Thoughts
Akshan is a glass cannon that needs to be protected all the time to score takedowns. He has excellent mobility, which means that champions with high movement speed or long-range abilities work great on him like the ones I mentioned above.
(5 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5)
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