League of Legends regularly receives new champions. Often, these also offer new mechanics. Naafiri was a smaller exception in 2023 as she was designed more for weaker
players. However, currently, the champion is hardly played anymore.
What was special about Naafiri?
- Naafiri was designed to be simpler than others
- None of her abilities are complex or mechanically difficult to execute
- As an assassin, this was especially notable since most already require a certain skill
- At the same time, Naafiri is not a human
anime character
, but a monster champion, which was desired by many players
Naafiri was released on July 19, 2023, and conceptually it is not bad. Because normally champions like Hwei, who are incredibly complex, are released. However, not even a year later, things do not look good for Naafiri. The champion is among the least popular fighters for the current patch.
The concept of Naafiri simply doesn’t work
When Naafiri came out, the champion was relatively popular. For a while, the champion was even banned quite often. Looking at the statistics for the current patch on lolalytics.com, it looks quite different today. With a current pick rate of 1.12 percent, Naafiri is the second least popular champion. Only Ziggs in the mid lane is below her at 1 percent.
In a post on Reddit by the user bodynasr, the current state of Naafiri is discussed. Bodynasr mentions five reasons why Naafiri has failed.
- The basic concept of a
simple assassin
sounds good on paper, but most mid laners will stop playing the champion after a while, as simple mechanics often allow for less flexibility. - The user states that Riot made Naafiri just to fulfill players’ desires for a new monster champion. When she was released, Riot did not take care of her well enough.
- Riot should have adapted her for the jungle. Naafiri should not have been forced into the mid lane. The user compares it to Sett, Brand, and Zyra, who even received buffs for jungle clearing.
- Naafiri is caught in between roles. She has mechanics that remind more of a fighter in the top lane. As an assassin, she also struggles to escape once in combat.
- Being simple eventually becomes boring. With Naafiri, there isn’t much to learn, meaning the learning curve stagnates, which detracts from the fun of improving.
Most players agree with the post. However, one can also tell that many people like Naafiri. Especially her visual design and her pack mechanic are popular conceptually. Riot just needs to work on the implementation.
Can Naafiri’s popularity improve? Yes, definitely. As the users say, Riot just has to work on it. Naafiri should really be adapted for the jungle and see how it works. There are many champions that suddenly became popular again.
However, the complexity can only be improved through small or larger revisions of her kit. If you are using third-party tools in LoL, you should be cautious soon: LoL bans players for using a tool that gives them an unfair advantage – Caught a pro
