How to Play Naafiri (Abilities, Builds, and Tips)
Naafiri is the newest champion to hit Summoners Rift. She is only the second champion to join the Rift in Season 13. She is an AD Darkin champion who is skirmish-heavy and loves to snowball her lead.
In this Mobalytics article, we will break down the very basics of how to play Naafiri in Season 13 League of Legends. As she is brand new, this guide may get updated over time, and everything we discuss is aimed at complete beginners, and it is not intended to be an in-depth article.
However, we do have a ton of extra advice to play Naafiri on her Mobalytics Champion Page, which breaks down more builds, extra tips and tricks and much more.
Here are the things we will be covering in this guide:
- Naafiri Ability Breakdown
- Naafiri Build (Runes and Items)
- Fights and Skirmishes
- Beginner Tips
Naafiri Ability Breakdown
To start any new champion guide, we should break down the abilities first. Please note that the numbers in this article are based on PBE stats.
Naafiri’s Passive is We Are More
Periodically, she summons a Packmate to help her. Packmates attack enemies that she attacks. Hitting a champion or killing enemies reduce its cooldown so more will spawn.
It is a very unique ability. I like the idea of this, and it would be beneficial to get as many Packmates to spawn before looking to fight.
Naafiri’s Q is Darkin Daggers
Naafiri throws a dagger in the target direction that deals damage to enemies hit. If it hits a champion, she heals herself a little bit. All enemies hit are affected with Bleed. If she uses her Q against Bleeding targets, the Bleed will end and deal additional damage. She can recast this ability. Packmates will lunge at the first target hit, but prio champs.
Basically, this is a poke tool that also heals a little bit. She will use this as the main poke tool in the lane. It honestly sounds like a pretty unique ability compared to other abilities in the game: the closest thing I can think of is one of Yorick’s abilities.
Naafiri’s W is Hounds’ Pursuit
Naafiri channels while concentrating herself and her Packmates on a champion. She then dashes to the enemy, but if she collides with another champion, she deals damage to them and slows them instead.
This ability is pretty cool, and I expect it to be used as an engage tool for fights. It could also be used as a disengage tool and be used to escape ganks in my eyes too. For instance, if you’re over-extending and the enemy comes up behind you- you can escape.
Naafiri’s E is Eviscerate
Naafiri dashes to a target location, dealing damage to enemies nearby. Packmates health get restored.
It feels like every champion that gets released lately has a dash. Although that’s not technically correct, of course, Naafiri has one!
Naafiri’s R is The Call of the Pack
Naafiri gains bonus movement speed and gets a lot of vision. When they hit an enemy, they gain a shield and all the Packmates are empowered. If they get a kill, the duration refreshes.
Overall, I think this ability is an interesting concept. I like how it grants vision, and it reminds me a bit of Quinn’s W.
Naafiri’s Rune and Build Page
We will update this section when she gets on to the PBE! What we can gather is that she will be building AD items, so expect an AD, assassin style build. Tune back soon for the latest build for her!
Fights and Skirmishes
To team fight as Naafari, your best bet is to look for picks and take down enemies who are isolated or alone. As Naafari is an assassin, ward the river and look for picks on the enemy Support or squishy champions who go to ward alone. You can use your dash to go in, and then run away after getting a kill.
If you cannot get picks, the next thing you should do is go in with your frontline. You shouldn’t go in alone, as you’ll get focused quickly. But if you go in as a team, you’ll increase your chances of surviving and getting kills. Ping that you want to go in, wait for your tanks to be in a position to follow up, and then go in with them.
Beginner Tips and Tricks
Here are some very basic, beginner tips and tricks to help you get started playing Naafari. If you’re looking for more tips to help you, check out Naafari’s champion page.
- When team fighting, make sure your allies are nearby so they can go in with you at the same time. If you go in to early, you’ll die.
- Try to get as many dogs to spawn before going in for the ultimate shutdown and kill or else you’ll miss out on additional damage.
- When laning, if you can’t kill your lane opponent, look to roam around the map to get kills: playing around your Ultimate is key.
- You can increase your chances of getting kills by looking to catch enemies who are out of position alone on the map. Warding the enemies jungle will let you get kills too.
Summary
This about sums up the basic guide on how to play Naafiri as soon as she gets released. Please keep in mind that this guide is intended to give you the basics on how to play her and was not intended to be an indepth article.
Looking for more tips and tricks? Head over to Naafiri’s Champion Page
