Mobile Legends jungle Akai guide: Best build, skills, emblems, combos

Updated on June 13, 9:58 a.m. (GMT+8): Added relevant guides.

When the tank jungle meta surfaced in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, jungle Akai quickly became a popular pick in both ranked and competitive play— and it’s not hard to see why.

His decent damage and high mobility allow him to clear camps quickly and gank lanes to put his team at an early advantage. More than that, his innate durability makes him a powerful frontline hero, able to soak insane amounts of damage while his team sets up to retaliate.

But what really separates jungle Akai from others is his unique ability to disrupt enemy formation and shut down any attempt by the enemy jungler to take objectives.

If you’re looking to master using the Panda Warrior, then this ONE Esports hero guide is made precisely for you.

Akai’s skills in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Passive – Tai Chi

Akai gains a shield equivalent to a percentage of his Total HP for a few seconds on each skill cast and can mark enemy heroes and Creeps hit by his skills. Furthermore, his Basic Attacks deal damage plus a percentage of his Total HP as extra Physical Damage to marked enemies.

• This skill makes jungle Akai possible because it provides the hero with added durability and damage.
• With each skill cast to an enemy or a creep, you gain a shield and increase your damage output, allowing jungle Akai to clear camps fast and survive against creep damage.
• Abuse this passive by building more HP items.

Skill 1 – Headbutt

Akai charges in a target direction, dealing Physical Damage to enemies along the way. If Akai hits an enemy hero during this process, he will knock the enemy airborne for a quick duration and will be able to roll in the Joystick’s direction once.

Akai can cast Headbutt during Heavy Spin to quickly adjust his position.

• As jungle Akai, this skill allows you to move quickly from one camp to another and pass through terrain for objectives.
• Technically, this is a Blink skill with light crowd control. You can use this to initiate ganks, as the quick knock-up can set up your other abilities, or your teammates’ damage skills.
• When your ultimate, Heavy Spin, is activated, you can use this simultaneously to reposition.

Skill 2 – Body Slam

Akai smashes the ground with his body, dealing Physical Damage to nearby enemies and inflicting slow effects on them for a certain percentage for a few seconds.

• This is your primary damage ability. Use this to clear camps and take objectives quickly alongside your Basic Attacks.
• As a tank jungler, you will be at the center of team fights, so use this as often as you can to proc the Tai Chi passive.
• Remember, each time you use any skill, you gain a shield and additional damage. This means that the more frequently you use this alongside Headbutt, the sturdier you become and the more damage you can output.

Ultimate – Heavy Spin

Akai removes all debuffs on him and spins for a few seconds, gaining immunity to slow effects while continuously dealing Physical Damage to nearby enemies and knocking them back. Enemy heroes knocked back will in turn knock back other heroes they collide with during the process.

Akai also gradually increases his Movement Speed over time. This skill can only be interrupted by Supression and Morph effects.

• This is your most powerful weapon as jungle Akai. This allows you to zone the enemy jungler away from the Lord or Turtle in objective contests.
• Even with a numbers disadvantage, you have a way to steal the objective due to the continuous knockback effects.

A comprehensive guide on how to play Akai in Mobile Legends

Recommended battle spell

When using jungle Akai, Retribution should be your battle spell. The real question is what kind of Retribution blessing is most effective for the Panda Warrior.

Based on the hero’s skill kit and tendencies, the best blessing to go for is the Ice Hunter blessing. This type of blessing allows you to steal movement speed from your target depending on your level for several seconds, making you agile while slowing them down.

This is mostly equipped when your opponents are highly mobile, particularly the mage or marksman. In doing so, you can easily chase them down to secure a crucial kill or escape from them when getting pursued.

Recommended emblem

There are many ways you can assemble the talents for Akai, but the best and most tested talent set is getting Firmness, Seasoned Hunter, and Concussive Blast.

Firmness is a great first-tier talent for jungle Akai because the additional Physical and Magic defense can help him dominate the early game with durability, or in other cases, survive early onslaughts of the enemy team.

Seasoned Hunter allows you to increase your jungling speed thanks to the bonus damage you get when attacking the Lord and Turtle.

Finally, Concussive Blast adds a layer of damage ability on top of your skills and Basic Attacks. It equips your hero with the ability to deal HP-based, area-of-effect damage every few seconds which is helpful in clearing camps as well as dealing damage in fights and objective-takes.

Jungle Akai best build

To boost your utility as jungle Akai, build on your durability throughout the course of the game.

After boots, prioritize building the Cursed Helmet as its passive, Burning Soul, will greatly help your camp clearing. Right after that, get Guardian’s Helmet. The big boost in HP synergizes well with the Tai Chi passive since the more Total HP you have, the more damage you will be able to deal after each skill cast.

After those two items, proceed with building on your durability. Consider getting Antique Cuirass or Blade Armor to negate Physical Damage heroes. To increase your survivability versus Magic Damage dealers, consider getting the Athena’s Sheild or Radiant Armor.

Complete your item build by getting Immortality. As jungle Akai, this item is irreplaceable especially in the super late game when revival times are extra long. By getting the item, you can take advantage of the Immortal passive when you are caught in a sticky situation.

The best build for Akai in Mobile Legends

• Tough Boots
• Cursed Helmet
• Guardian’s Helmet
• Antique Cuirass
• Athena’s Shield
• Immortality

Tips and easy combos to learn

On jungle Akai, make sure to max out your second skill first. You’ll need the damage from the skill to clear camps fast.

Pass through terrain by using the first skill. Frequently activate these two skills to take advantage of the Tai Chi passive, which will help you dominate the early game.

Make sure to get your level four prior to participating in the first Turtle take. The enemy team will try to rotate to the side of the map where the objective is for the contest, so be wary of their positions. Try to take the aggro, but if outpositioned by the enemy, make use of the Heavy Spin to pin down the enemy jungler.

Time your ultimate so that the health of the Turtle is low enough to be taken down by your Retribution battle spell. Rinse and repeat this technique in Lord Dances.

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