Naafiri is quite literally the new dog on the block in League of Legends and with the title The Hound of a Hundred Bites, it is easy to see why. Naafiri is a Darkin who was once trapped in a dagger, but her soul has since been assimilated into the body of a Dune Hound becoming pack leader in the process.

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Players looking to take control of Naafiri and her fellow Packmates should first try and understand how she works and subsequently how to build her. Knowing how to build a champion is more important than knowing what to build on them in any given patch, as the ever-changing nature of League of Legends means that builds rarely stay the same. Nevertheless, the guide will also contain the current best Naafiri builds.

How Naafiri Works, & What Abilities To Max

League of Legends Naafiri Abilities

In terms of gameplay, Naafiri is a roaming assassin designed for the mid lane, but she can also thrive in the jungle. She has good waveclear and lots of mobility, but her defining feature is the Packmates that fight alongside her, jumping in and out of combat based on the abilities that Naafiri uses. As Naafiri's ultimate resets upon takedowns, she has plenty of potential in drawn-out fights especially when the enemy is spread out.

Naafiri's Abilities

  • Passive - We Are More: Naafiri spawns Packmates that fight alongside her with a maximum of 2 or 3 depending on her level. She can spawn Packmates faster by hitting champions or large monsters with abilities, or by killing enemies for a smaller reduction.
  • Q - Darkin Daggers: Naafiri hurls a dagger which applies a bleed, and then is able to throw another. If Naafiri's second dagger hits an enemy afflicted by the bleed from the first, the bleed damage will be dealt instantly and she deals bonus execute damage. Against champions, this also heals Naafiri.
  • W - Hounds' Pursuit: Naafiri channels on a target, before her and her Packmates dash towards the target, colliding with the first enemy champion hit, dealing damage and briefly slowing them.
  • E - Eviscerate: Naafiri dashes dealing damage on the way and in an area upon landing. Eviscerate also recalls her Packmates and heals them to full health.
  • R - The Call of the Pack: Naafiri calls in extra Packmates, and grants them and herself bonus movement speed. For 15 seconds she gains bonus AD and increases the max health of her Packmates, also cutting their respawn time in half. Her first attack against a champion also grants her a shield. Upon securing a takedown within the 15 seconds, all aspects of The Call of the Pack reset, and the shield is granted instantly. Naafiri's ultimate also passively increases the range of her W - Hounds' Pursuit.

All of Naafiri's abilities scale very well with Attack Damage, and as most of her damage output comes from these abilities rather than auto attacks, Lethality items are extremely strong on Naafiri and should form the core of her build. She can also dip into more bruiser-based builds against less squishy teams, but the other main stat Naafiri should focus on is Ability Haste which provides cooldown reduction as her spells have long base cooldowns.

What Abilities To Max On Naafiri

  • Q - W or E, and of course R whenever possible.

Q - Darkin Daggers is Naafiri's bread and butter for both damage and waveclear and thus should be maxed first to reduce its cooldown and increase the damage. Naafiri's W is a good option to max second as it has a very long cooldown that is significantly reduced with levels and also costs less mana. In terms of maximum damage in one single burst though, maxing E would be a better option. Naafiri's E is also a better second option for junglers, as it will speed up her clear.

The Best Runes For Naafiri

League of Legends Naafiri Runes

As an assassin, Naafiri is mostly looking for runes that help her deal more upfront damage and snowball. In certain mid-matchups where she might struggle as a melee champion against range, she can also look for lane sustain.

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For the additional stats, Naafiri simply wants to take double Adaptive Force, although Ability Haste is also an option. She can then simply take the Resistance that counters her lane opponent and junglers should take Armor.

Keystone Runes

  • Electrocute: This is Naafiri's go-to Keystone, she synergizes incredibly well with Electrocute being able to proc the damage very easily. It also gives her access to Minor Runes from the Domination tree which are great on most assassins.
  • Conqueror: Against tankier teams where Naafiri can expect longer fights, the healing and sustain damage from Conqueror can be a better option.

Minor Runes

  • Sudden Impact: Naafiri has two dashes to proc Sudden Impact and benefits greatly from the Lethality.
  • Eyeball Collection: As an assassin, Naafiri should be looking for any way to snowball and gain damage.
  • Treasure Hunter or Relentless Hunter: In games where players are confident they can get plenty of kills, Treasure Hunter is perfect for snowballing, but Relentless Hunter is another great option and will help players roam.
  • Triumph or Presence of Mind: When running Conqueror, Triumph can add to Naafiri's sustain and synergizes well with ult resets. Presence of Mind however is better if players feel like they struggle with her mana costs in long fights.
  • Legend: Tenacity: This is the best slot 2 option for Naafiri in the Precision tree.
  • Coup de Grace: Dealing more damage to low-health targets is always great on an assassin.
  • Second Wind: Against tough lanes where Naafiri can expect to get poked as a melee, Second Wind will help her stay in lane.
  • Overgrowth: Gaining more health while waiting it out in a hard lane is always going to be beneficial.
  • Mana Flow Band: This can help out with Naafiri's mana costs.
  • Nullifying Orb: Against heavy Magic Damage teams, especially double AP mid/jungle, Nullifying Orb is severely underrated.
  • Transcendence: Lowering Naafiri's long cooldowns is always good.
  • Scorch: This can help Naafiri punish weak laners even more.

Starting Items & Boots For Naafiri

League of Legends Naafiri Starting Items

Choosing the right starting item is vital for getting through the early stages of the lane. Like most champions, she will also want to buy boots fairly early, particularly given that they will help her roam to other lanes. Naafiri should also buy control wards early as without invisibility or other forms of deception, enemy vision will put a stop to her hunts before they can even begin.

Starting Items

  • Naafiri's standard start in lane will be one Longsword and a Refillable Potion.
  • Against tough poke lanes, she can instead opt for Doran's Shield.
  • For those playing Naafiri in the jungle, her best jungle item is the Scorchclaw Pup which will eventually allow her to deal even more burst damage.

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Boots

In terms of boots, Naafiri ideally wants to get Ionian Boots of Lucidity for the cheap Ability Haste??????, and simply put her other options aren't great. However, against certain teams, she will instead need to opt for defensive boots, such as Mercury's Treads against lots of hard Crowd Control and AP, or Plated Steelcaps versus all AD teams, especially with lots of auto attackers.

Naafiri's Best Mythic Items

League of Legends Naafiri Mythic Items

Mythic Items are usually the first full items to be bought and are typically the most important and can even dictate how a champion is played. Naafiri's best Mythics give her AD and Lethality, although some other options may arise. Naturally, even though Naafiri may work better with one particular item, if other items are particularly strong on any given patch they can be better options.

  • Eclipse: Eclipse gives Naafiri everything she needs, and she can proc its passive extremely easily just by hitting one Q, as her packmates will jump to the target. The Armor Penetration and movement speed from the Mythic passive are also great for her.
  • Duskblade of Draktharr: Duskblade similarly has the perfect stats for Naafiri, but she arguably doesn't synergize as well with its invulnerability passive, as she already gets a shield and other boosts from her ult resets after kills.
  • Youmuu's Ghostblade: Players who really want to get around the map and roam can pick up Youmuu's.
  • Goredrinker: If players did want to try out a bruiser build on Naafiri and play for sustain in fights, then Goredrinker would be her best option.

Naafiri's Core Items & Build Options

League of Legends Naafiri Core Items

For her other items, Naafiri can continue purchasing Lethality items versus squishy teams, but she will often want to get an item to cut through Armor. Certain items can also be extremely useful in niche situations, and Naafiri can also opt into AD items that have the relevant resistances against heavy AD or AP teams.

  • Black Cleaver: Unless the enemy is extremely squishy, Black Cleaver will often be a good choice, and gives Naafiri more HP, plenty of Ability Haste and shreds Armor for her and her team.
  • Serylda's Grudge: An alternative to Black Cleaver is Serylda's Grudge which has the added bonus of applying slows which is perfect for hitting her all important second Q.
  • Prowler's Claw: In terms of maximum damage against squishy champions, Prowler's Claw is arguably her best option and she has two dashes to active the item's passive.
  • Serpent's Fang: If the enemy has lots of shields, especially big ones, Serpent's Fang is a no-brainer.
  • Edge of Night: When there is one strong ability that Naafiri needs to avoid, but she still wants damage, Edge of Night is best.
  • Umbral Glaive: Umbral Glaive is an option when it is strong and might work better for jungle Naafiri.
  • Ravenous Hydra: If players want to sustain in fights, Ravenous Hydra is the best option.
  • Spear of Shojin: This could be useful of Naafiri in the late game, particularly if the item is currently strong.
  • Chempunk Chainsword: When the enemy has lots of healing and no other ally is getting healing reduction, pick up Chempunk Chainsword.
  • Death's Dance: This Naafiri's best Armor item vs heavy AD.
  • Maw of Malmortius: When against lots of Magic Damage, Maw will help Naafiri survive.

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