Naafiri is the latest champion in League of Legends, who debuted in patch 13.14. She is an ancient warrior who was trapped in the form of a dagger, and then freed by a pack of wolves. Naafiri is an assassin-type champion who has a unique feature – she is a gestalt dispersed among the wolves, whom she calls her Companions. In this post, we will take a closer look at her abilities, counters, build and runes, and also wonder if she is too op.
Abilities of Naafiri
Naafiri has the following abilities:
- Passive: We Are More. Naafiri periodically summons a Companion who fights by her side. She can have up to 2 or 3 (depending on the level) Companions at a time. Naafiri summons the maximum number of Companions at the start of the game and after respawning. Hitting champions or large monsters with abilities reduces the cooldown by 4 seconds. Killing enemies reduces it by 1 second.
- Q: Dark Daggers. Naafiri throws a dagger in the chosen direction, dealing physical damage to enemies hit and causing them to bleed for 5 seconds, which deals additional physical damage every 0.5 seconds for the duration. Dark Daggers can be thrown again after 0.5 seconds and within 4 seconds at no additional cost. If the target is already bleeding, they receive the remaining damage from the bleed plus additional physical damage, which are increased by 0% – 100% (depending on the target’s missing health). If the target is also a champion, Naafiri heals herself. Recast: Naafiri mimics the effects of the first throw.
- W: Pack Chase. Naafiri and her Companions channel for 0.75 seconds to select a single enemy, revealing them for the duration. They then rush towards them, colliding with the first hit champion and dealing damage.
- E: Shred. Naafiri moves and deals damage to enemies in the area around her, summoning her Companions and fully healing them.
- R: Call of the Pack. Naafiri strengthens her pack and summons additional Companions, instantly gaining a burst of speed and vision and a shield for hitting another champion for the first time. After killing another champion for the first time, all effects are refreshed.
Counters and countered
Naafiri is strong against champions who are easy to catch and kill, such as mages or marksmen without much mobility or self-healing. Examples of such champions are Lux, Xerath, Jhin or Ashe. Naafiri can easily avoid their abilities thanks to her passive and E and quickly eliminate them thanks to her Q and R.
Naafiri is weak against champions who have a lot of CC (crowd control), tankiness or counter-attack abilities. Examples of such champions are Malzahar, Lissandra, Rammus or Jax. Naafiri may have trouble breaking through their defense or avoiding their lockdown, and also risk being turned around and killed.
Build and runes
Naafiri is a champion who mainly benefits from physical damage and healing from damage. Therefore, the best build for her is one that provides her with a lot of AD (attack damage), Lethality (armor penetration), CDR (cooldown reduction) and Omnivamp (healing from all sources of damage). An example build may look like this:
- Boots: Boots of Swiftness or Ionian Boots
- Duskblade of Draktharr
- Sanguine Blade
- Titanic Hydra
- Phantom Dancer
- Infinity Edge
As for runes, the best choice for Naafiri is the Domination tree with the key rune Electrocute, which adds even more damage in a short time. Additionally, you can choose runes such as:
- Sudden Impact: for more mobility and easier chasing enemies
- Eyeball Collection: for extra healing and gold for killing enemies below 5% health
- Relentless Hunter: for extra AD and Lethality for killing unique enemies
The second tree can be either Precision with runes such as:
- Triumph: for extra healing and gold for killing enemies
- Legend: Bloodline: for extra healing from attack damage
- Coup de Grace: for more damage against targets below 40% health
Or Resolve with runes such as:
- Demolish: for faster destroying towers
- Second Wind: for better health regeneration after taking damage
- Unflinching: for more resistance to CC
Is Naafiri too op?
Naafiri is a champion who has a very high potential to kill single targets and escape from danger. Her abilities allow her to quickly deal damage, heal from them, and also move around the map thanks to her wolves. If Naafiri gains an advantage over her opponent on the lane or in the jungle, she can become very dangerous and hard to stop.
However, Naafiri is not without flaws. Her main weakness is that she is very vulnerable to CC, which can easily stop and kill her. Moreover, her wolves are also exposed to damage and can be killed by enemies, which greatly weakens her strength. Naafiri must therefore be careful not to get caught or countered by the right champions or items.
In conclusion, Naafiri is a champion who can be very fun and satisfying to play, but also requires skill and caution. She is not a champion who can easily master and dominate every game. Naafiri has her strengths and weaknesses, which need to be well known and used. Therefore, we do not think that she is too op, but rather well balanced and interesting.
