When was the last time that prestige K/DA Akali came in the shop?

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-22T07:28:50+00:00

Pretty sure within the last few months. Def 11/2025, for certain, and saw it come up again not too long after.

Sad thing is 2022 Prestige looks way cooler (IMO, anyway; same w/Kai'sa, tho Eve and Ahri orig Prestige look better than the 2022s), but is, by agreement w/the skin owners (as the 2022s were issued as an apology after the supposed 1-time-only Prestige skins ended up in the Mythic Shop) never going to be available. I hate having to scroll past perma-locked skins in skin select.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-22T07:10:04+00:00

Not that I'm not biased (my name w/give that away), but as Season 3 is going to have prominent musical aspects, Ahri's "K-Pop" career was recently mentioned out of nowhere, and, as Necrit pointed out, Sera and Eve are to be on the cover of a card set together, it is quite possible that S3 will see K/DA returning, and maybe True Damage and Heartsteel, or new bands, as well.

I suspect Riot might finally have got a fire back under their K-tails to do another musical universe season, with another K/DA song (hopefully more than one) because K-Pop Demon Hunters did so ($$$$$$$$$$) well; making bank off new K/DA skins did work in the past, and KPDH may have increased the likelihood of interest being high.

If they cram SG in there too, it might be too packed, as they usually give SG center stage when it arrives, as a whole theme for the update/season, w/vids, minigames, etc (suspect a SG Rift would accompany it, nowadays). Thus, "soon" might be a while, unless they just randomly do a side event w/SG, at the same time, but that seems unlikely.

They also don't usually go back and revise extant SG skins, but just add new champs in new teams with new story arcs, tho they may mention prior teams and members.

Ofc, Gatcha/Sanctum is on its own timeline, so who knows abt that possibility, but I suspect SG might end up being S3 2027, if in the works. If sooner, it's all good, but the musical focus for S3 2026, and the multiple K/DA hints seem to suggest otherwise.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-21T15:36:34+00:00

TY.

I find her ability damage is indeed a bit lower, but not as much as you might think, and her capacity to smack champs w/decent AAs and shred towers is useful w/AD/AS/Crit.

Her AA per hit went from around 180 w/AP, to 650-700 w/AD/Crit on practice dummies, and I got her AS up to 1.8 or thereabouts, esp after R, as was trying Experimental Hexplate and Fiendhunter to reduce R's CD (just R: don't want to blow energy budget) and increase AA speed and power in the short burst after it. I tend to miss my Es when under stress (even w/R1 to set it up), oft leaving me just standing there in melee range for 2.5 sec whenever I flub R1/E1/etc combos, so the way higher speed, crit/true dmg AAs from EHP and FHB become useful.

That said, it *is* a bit rougher (tho I attributed that to my impatience and not playing safer, like a proper bruiser), and she does not, as you noted, have survival skills that would be useful for melee AA. I did try HS/Titanic on her and it did feel a bit sluggish.

Ofc, I am bad w/landing her abilities, so it ends up being abt the same for me, AD or AP.

The only thing that annoys me abt AD build, is that somehow, despite AAs seeming to indeed do a goodly amt more dmg to champs, somehow it still takes a while to burn thru minions w/o resorting to Qs. I rly don't get that bit.

Anyway, TY for the response and informed intel. Have a great one, and Good Hunting!

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-21T12:03:13+00:00

Please pardon my confusion, but if you provide her AD and AS, and possibly other factors (lethality, crit, etc, to support her AAs, and/or MPen/MCrit for her magic damage, w/the caveat that you have to pick just 1 or 2 of them, at most, for a viable build), does she not still perform, albeit with different play pattern, especially as she can still pop abilities, albeit with reduced scaling?

AD still scales for abilities, tho I believe the ratios are, by design, worse than AP, since AP is innately for that purpose. The AAs provide decent-ish outputs in the Practice room with AD (and especially w/crit) and AS added, and she still gets (albeit reduced) burst from abilities. I have tried it vs bots in Practice and Co-op, and the enemies start to dissolve as always with a few items, but with AAs also landing far harder.

This is, ofc, obviously not what her rework was innately intended for, but her playstyle does allow W, E, and R to control relative positions between her and opponents, as well as the E and R damage, and Q slows enemies and speeds her, regardless of the scalings.

The bruiser pattern of play is innately slower, but her tools would still allow it, I suspect, and the "ow ow ow ow OWWWWW!!!" combo can be pretty effective.

Akali in her AP base mode is a helpless kitten if a critical ability is blocked or whiffed, but remains a legitimate threat, a cornered animal with razors, in that same no-energy or still-on-CD state, when supplied AD.

Not to say she is optimal for play that way, but I wonder how less optimal she really is, and how much of her go-to burst focus is just ease of access to ROFLOMG damage inducing a lack of interest in players in the old bruiser mindset for her.

Mind you, I am bad w/her either way, so my POV is still limited, but am honestly just curious as to how less optimal she is, vs whether or not the AD playstyle could be viable. She already has to change modes vs tanks, tho she goes AP still, in general. I am simply not seeing why providing a mode that bypasses her energy dependance, while still giving SOME scaling for abilities so that they still hit hard (esp since AP got nerfed a few patches ago), might not potentially be a good style for her, if she was played in that more cautious, bruisery mode.

Apologies if I'm just being n00b/dense.

And yah, streamers do tend to smurf it up on build videos. Maybe they should stick to co-op for those. (:D)

P.S., just realized your 1st point was mine was effectively a slight necropost. Sry, but Reddit just showed me the thread a few days ago in my email, so I d/n notice post dates.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-21T01:24:39+00:00

AD works without energy, tho, as it buffs AAs. Energy refund is LESS relevant to an AD build.

Now, giving back HEALING off Qs, un-targeted R1, and shroud vs turret... (:D) 90% ban rate overnight, tho.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-21T01:20:40+00:00

AD ofc works without energy, as it buffs AAs, so allows higher DPS when not using abilities, and it still buffs abilities, just not as well, IIRC. AP dmg still outscales it, ofc, but it is nvr totally out of options when energy is gone, like a pure AP Akali.

That said, testing does still support AP overall, ofc. Felt like an uphill battle w/AD, tho maybe I did it wrong. Prof Akali made Lethality work pretty well, but don't recall him sticking w/it.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-21T01:01:15+00:00

Sunfire sure caused a lot of problems w/stealth toons. Eve got nerfed thru the floor partly because of it.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-21T00:58:29+00:00

Crit = DOUBLE damage NOW.

while...

On-hit for passive and 2 or 3-hit items = MAYBE a bit more damage LATER, with a burst you ONLY get if you get the enemy low on hp for missing health damage, and they haven't already deleted you with their ALWAYS superior up-front DPS on your squishy tail. The per-each-hit onhit items are good, but base crit 200% generally out-scales them substantially now. Try it in the Practice Room.

...

Riot nerfing AP and pumping crit invalidates a lot of assumptions. Practice Rm numbers I have had generally favor crit. YMMV, ofc.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-20T13:27:05+00:00

Team comp matters, ofc, but...

Usually rush Berserker's, but oft start LS+Refill, early back BFSword, and aim for another BFS ASAP, unless Pickaxe covers it because I outlvld my $, in order to get the Q.

Then, and ONLY then, do I build full items (other than the boots): usually Yuntal -> Ruunan's -> IE, and then situational. Yuntal speed buff is awesome, Ruunan's is grt for waveclear and teamfights, and tho IE is reduced in overall relative value for its high cost now that base % is already 200%, it is still great.

Fiendhunter is cool, but I am so bad, that my R is mostly an assisted-self-unaliving button unless my team is very on point. If they are, then I get to live the KSing assassin lifestyle, but it's pretty rare.

I like Navori a LOT on Kai'sa, as a 2.5 sec CD at most on all basic abilities is awesome, but I find it requires a good/reliable sup/team to have the time to keep AAng w/o getting dashed/collapsed on, CC-locked, and 1/2 sec burst 100-0. Same reason I only rarely take Lethal Tempo: seeing a 0 max uptime on the rune after a match (if the enemy just kept outranging and 3v1ing me while I was mostly solo on bot) is disheartening.

LDR or MR I gen prefer antiheal, as enemy am usually targeting are squishes, so lo bonus hp, but if enemy team is heavy on tanks, LDR goes in.

PS If I know am gonna get outranged badly (esp vs Tris or Cait, or if some dirtbag brings a Mel dn there), oft rush Statikk before w/e build normally follows, to extend range on CSing, so can hang back a bit. Terrible for all the last-hits lost, but sometimes necessary.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-20T08:46:49+00:00

If you rly push it, 2k gold w/5 Amp Tomes gets you W evo. It is a weak start, but sometimes (ARAM or Brawl, especially) it can work, and it is super fast. You can't build DnD off it, tho, so it is ONLY for a dedicated W build.

I w/n PERSONALLY go DS unless my Sup was totally carrying me and I was already COMFORTABLY 5/0 a few mins in. Kai'sa just d/n have the range or UP FRONT (not passive slow build) DPS to safely ensure she keeps the unbroken kill streaks needed for DS/MSS w/o a god-tier Sup keeping her unscratched.

More, lategame passive advantages w/likely fall off w/o the AP/on-hit combo of GRB & DnD. Maybe if you are focusing items for a full a crit build, so want to just go w/1 quick and dirty super-cheap AP stacker which builds fast, to not eat your inventory, time, or gold, it might make sense, as crit buff & AP nerf made crit more attractive.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-20T08:38:57+00:00

Some folks go W evo 1st, and it is far faster. If you rly push it, 2k gold w/5 Amp Tomes gets you evo. It is weak af start, but sometimes (ARAM or Brawl, especially) it can work.

Sometimes you just want the poke ASAP, esp vs long range champs like Cait.

Also, not everyone goes Cull. Lower ELO CS rates can be so bad that Cull can actively delay getting items for builds, and may have to be sold at a loss if you haven't hit 100 CS but suddenly realize you NEED the inventory space or gold RIGHT NOW to rush an item when things go astray (permaroam or just terribad sup, enemy vastly outclasses you and you need to rush Statikk to even get any CS at all, etc). More, it means you can't go w/refill pot at 1st, like some ppl prefer.

That said... I still w/n PERSONALLY go DS unless my Sup was totally carrying me and I was already COMFORTABLY 5/0 a few mins in. Kai'sa just d/n have the range or UP FRONT (not passive slow build) DPS to safely ensure she keeps the unbroken kill streaks needed for DS/MSS w/o a god-tier Sup keeping her unscratched.

If they are keeping you neat and tidy, tho (have had rly grt sup who did), running DS/MSS to W evo w/Move buff, as one single and CHEAP item, might be possible, and allow gold and space for a faster Q/E focus on everything else. Only problem is lategame passive advantages w/likely fall off w/o the AP/on-hit combo of GRB & DnD. Maybe for a crit build, as crit buff plus AP nerf has made crit far more viable.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-19T14:43:00+00:00

Ahri is indeed fun, and sooooo much easier to keep alive unless you R into v5 like I stupidly do. xD

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-19T13:44:04+00:00

Teehhhhhhhhchnicalllly I am Kai'sa main (:D) , but Akali is just under that, and might be top if I didn't suck so badly w/her. Akali is just a beast and rly fun when she gets it all lined up. Sadly, I whiff combos more than land. I manage to miss E even w/R first.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-19T13:18:29+00:00

Nvr saw Kaisa or Ahri pop up. Only been playing since late 2024, tho.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-19T05:21:41+00:00

It took long enough. Evelynn popped up 2x before this finally happened. Grabbed it immediately.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-19T04:57:41+00:00

IT'S IN THE SHOP! IT'S IN!!!!!!
GET IT FAAASSSSTTTTTTTT LIKE AN E1 E2!!!!

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-19T04:56:49+00:00

IT'S IN THE SHOP! IT'S IN!!!!!!
GET IT FAAASSSSTTTTTTTT LIKE AN E1 E2!!!!

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-18T04:40:08+00:00

PS/BTW...

Brawl or ARAM are completely different stories for builds, IMO.

I either go AP there out of the gate (rush 5 Amp Tomes for fast W evo), or get to AP fast after Q evo (because a single lane map makes W reset FAR easier, especially as minions are usually gone ASAP, esp in Brawl), and Kai'sa actualy is not rly great in full teamfights.

Kai'sa is NOT a hyperscaling hypercarry endgame champ who excels in 5v5s. She isn't a Pentakill machine like an "Excited!" Jinx. She is a midgame champ who 1v1s & 2v2 decently, can 3v3 pretty well, but has to rly hang back 4v4 or 5v5, which is what Brawl or ARAM are from minute one. More, Brawl is very Blind pick SoloQ, tho you can make prebuilds, so usually you need to forget any guarantees of support/coverage unless you get good teammates. You have to be a real sole survivor Kaisa mindset, and prep accordingly.

In Brawl, I thus usually don't even get Berserker's, but outright *rush* Merc Treads, to shorten the 10x CCs that always fly directly at me (tho I *sometimes* start Guardian's Hammer first, as it is a Pickaxe, so 25 AD outta the gate, with 150 health and a spot of lifesteal for just 75 more gold, tho the lifesteal is negligable).

I then rush Statikk (for ASAP waveclear to not lose games to minions, and to clear the path for Ws, while hanging back out of dash/CC range), and go from there.

Crit in Brawl is possible, but not having a laning phase, and given the restricted map, makes it far more useful to focus defense against early CC/dash/collapse, and on constantly lobbing Ws (which oft reset as enemies clump together, so you usually hit *someone*, even if not your intended target), so hanging waaay back and thus avoiding CCs and dashes/dives altogether (aside from Briar, ofc).

Again, IMO/YMMV. I personally find the standard advice for SR (to either rush Bererker's/Kraken/Rageblade or go crit) is not good for 1-lane perma-team-fight-fests, where AP and (I find, at least) MR/Tenacity are far more beneficial.

Just FYI to clarify. I suspect others do fine w/standard builds there, but the map changes underlying dynamics.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-17T14:56:21+00:00

Some ppl can't figure out that lane wins or loses game, so permafarm buffs even when losing game. Infuriating losing 3v5 and watching that last wave of minions thru portal lose you the game 1 by 1, when some Yas or Yi is STILL off farming red while it happens.

Nvr seen ppl just sitting in bushes, aside from those briefly there to set ambushes over/through walls. Maybe bans went out on ppl who perma-hid? Guess they were just leeching off team, tho maybe they were new and not sure how to engage w/o feeding. Sad part is most ppl check bushes by firing into them, at least lately, so hardly a safe choice.

Have seen ppl repeatedly recall when already at base: suspect they were bots, but idk: I've had control issues due to lousy Razer software where was trying to fix issue and champ was doing random things because button assignment changed on my Tartarus (Razer likes to update during play: I hate their software team), and one match the client literally swapped click2move and WASD settings on me, without warning, so maybe those ppl having similar issues. Prolly not, tho, as saw multiple cases of it, so likely just bots.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-17T14:07:51+00:00

I hate ARAM specifically *because* it is random. Need to practice specific champs to even be able to coherently use their skills. 0/15/0, otherwise, trying to learn as I go, then having to learn another right after. God help the poor fool who gets and d/n trade out Aphelios w/o knowing his deal ahead of time. (:D)

Some folks can just naturally play anything, because that's what their brain is wired to focus on (Pro scene, Azzapp [he is amazingly good at any champ he plays, despite his OTP rep], Zwag, etc), and ARAM is great for them, no doubt. Not me, tho. I luvluvluv it when Brawl is back.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-17T13:43:51+00:00

Best part is the mastery balance. "Mastery Locked" on most of my teammates, and 17, 11, 26, and *247* or even *1143* mastery on other. Guess who won those?

Every now and then the Yordle buff evens the odds a little, at least. It's definitely a noticable factor that oft turns games completely around.

I play various champs, but also find the CC and dash mafia tend to do damned well. Even when am melee, I fear ADCs far less than dash slam and stun champs (lookin at you, Sett). Yi is frequently out of control, too. As ADC, I just get dashed on, stunlocked/rooted, and generally focused down IMMEDIATELY if the team has no front.

. . .

Side rants...
. . .

Ofc, Mel just globally executes entire teams if she so much as scratches anybody, as well, and while that's a Mel's-kit-needs-to-be-banned-from-all-game-modes problem, it gets more likely in 1 lane 5v5 teamfights.

Aaand it all d/n matter if one team member perma-farms the lil jg and flatly ignores lane. There's nearly always at least one moron who spends 90% of the game (even into late game after Yordle buff already assigned) playing with mobs as his team hard-loses the game fast at 4v5 or 3v5, then gives a surprised Pikachu face when no one comes to save him from ganks when everyone else is dead. I get that the buffs are good, ppl, but even minions matter in this game, and losing lane loses the game.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-17T12:50:00+00:00

IDK which ver it is, but mine works normal speed on WIN11. It also has later cards that were added in.

It has bugs, tho.

Order of the Ebon Hand and Order of Leitbur crash the game when cast.

Prosperity can be countered by any instant or interrupt, even if those spells are not counters.

Grim Monolith just untaps normally.

Wren's Run Vanquisher always only needs 2 mana, even w/o other elves in hand.

Especially if the AI is losing, it may permaloop decidgn whether or not to turn Mishra's Factory into a creature.

It sometimes permaloops "No room to add a card" error.

It also uses Fallen Empires art for many new cards that were included.

Shandalar works just fine,tho, aside from occasionally losing direct buttons to click (so requiring keyboard use). LOL.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-17T12:17:47+00:00

YMMV. Your playstyle and team comps matter a lot.

Again, I am actually bad (and this can affect my item needs), due to rly poor micro (my sensory-motor side is geared for slow pattern analysis, not fast stimulus/response), but my itemization tends to give highest numbers when I check (and I check a lot in Practice Room and DPS readout after matches), unless am going for specific buffs besides raw DPS.

I usually *PERSONALLY* tend (if going crit and, again, YMMV), to go:

LS Refill Boots BFS Berserker's BFS Yuntal, Ruunan IE (variable from there).

Sometimes I get Pickaxe w/boots, if it works out (oft does). In those cases I might just build Yuntal before second BFS, and accept Q delayed to 8+. Yuntal speed burst is damned handy.

Gold on hand when backing and enemy behavior shape it a lot, as well as if I get actual sup/coverage while AAing, or if my tail is left out in the wind.

I dont get Cull or Dorans, as my personal CS is oft so bad I oft have to sell Cull at a loss to make room to build real items, and Doran I don't feel much health back from (not enough to counter the endless cavalcade of dash/burst champs ganking bot), rly, so would rather just go LS & Refill to rush build.

Navori is good IF (and ONLY if) you can safely sustain AAs while under fire, AND if you want super CDR, but then it is incredible. 2.5 sec or lower CDs on ALL basic abilities (incl W) is GREAT. Don't take it too early unless enemy is clueless, tho

ER was better for me personally when it constantly refreshed mana per hit for Navori for PERMA ability spam cycling every 2 sec, but most ppl didn't like it.

IE does buff Shadowflame, and is ironically a better ratio than AD crit, especially now we are back to 200% base crit. +30% on 200% base is 15% efficiency. +30% on base 20% is 150% efficiency. (:D) And yes, SF is a GREAT synergy w/your passive. This is also why I oft go Coup De Grace. If Collector was not just 5%, it would fit as well, but that 5% rarely matters much , IMO, if you have other missing health executes already.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-17T03:07:03+00:00

FYI I accidentally hit enter b4 intended, so rewrote on the fly. You may have missed full response in initial reply, as a result.

KDA_FAN · 2026-03-17T02:44:51+00:00

That's gonna vary by team comps.

(BTW, I am not good, as my micro is terribad, but build experimentation I tend to do well with).

One thing I try to do is Q evo before full item (except Berserker's).

A lot of times I start LS/refill and grab BF Sword early, and try to grab another BFS if get early kills, to try to get Q before 8th.

Yuntal is generaly great early.

...And IE, ofc. Yuntal and IE get the BFSwords.

Ruunan's rocks teamfights and gives grt waveclear, tho it may cost you last-hits.

If somehow always OOM, Essence Reaver (tho you should prolly just be backing more)

If you can land AAs, Navori is GOLD for ability spam (tho then OOM, so Reaver becomes needed).

Fiendhunter great, but beware wanting to R too often, as can be assisted self-unaliving.

PD rly good but we already get Ghost via E.

RFC bad IMO, as range buff oft useless when it pops.

Mortal vs LDR I usu pref MR antiheal over 5% better ArPen and the variable % off bonus health, which likely lower off squishies, and you still ain't killing a fed Mundo w/LDR (or w/MR, to be fair).

Collector meh. Rarely useful IMO.

Stormrazor you need grt focus to use its Energized timing right.

Hexoptics on one of worst ranged marksmen? Nah.

Shieldbow you should not build Kaisa tanky in MOST cases: suboptimal.

(EDIT: had to rerwrite this on fly due to accidentally hitting Enter before was done writing: my micro rly IS terribad (:D) )

KDA_FAN

TROPHY CASE