Naafiri in League of Legends: Release date for all regions, abilities, playstyle, and more

Naafiri is the upcoming champion in League of Legends (Image via Riot Games)
Naafiri is the upcoming champion in League of Legends (Image via Riot Games)

The upcoming champion for League of Legends, Naafiri, is expected to be a mid-lane assassin with many bursts and gap-closing potential. However, she might also work well in the jungle, considering she refreshes cooldowns on monster hits and can use her dogs to tank. The newest Darkin character will be the second champion released this year after Milio.

Although she is set to be released with the next League of Legends 13.14 patch, players can still use her in the PBE. This article includes detailed information on Naafiri's release date, playstyle, and other facets of her kit.


When is Naafiri releasing next week in League of Legends?

Naafiri will be available in League of Legends as part of patch 13.14, releasing on July 19, 2023. The champion will cost 7800 BE during the first week of purchase. Subsequently, the cost will decrease to 6300 BE.

The release date and starting time of the upcoming patch for each significant region are displayed in the table below:

RegionTime ZoneLocal TimeUS Time (PST)
OC1AEDTJuly 19, 12:00July 18, 17:00
JP1JSTJuly 19, 12:00 July 18, 19:00
KR1KSTJuly 19, 12:00 July 18, 19:00
RUMSKJuly 19, 12:00 July 19, 1:00
EUN1CETJuly 19, 12:00 July 19, 3:00
TR1GMT+3 July 19, 12:00 July 19, 1:00
EUW1GMTJuly 19, 12:00 July 19, 4:00
BR1GMT-3July 19, 12:00 July 19, 7:00
LA2GMT-3July 19, 12:00 July 19, 7:00
LA1CSTJuly 19, 12:00 July 19, 10:00
NA1PSTJuly 19, 12:00 July 19, 12:00
PHPHTJuly 20, 12:00 July 19, 20:00
VNGMT+7July 20, 12:00July 19, 21:00
SGGMT+8July 20, 12:00July 19, 20:00
THGMT+7July 20, 12:00July 19, 21:00
TWGMT+8July 20, 12:00July 19, 20:00
CNGMT+8July 21, 17:00 July 21, 1:00

Naafiri's abilities and playstyle explained

Passive: We Are More

Naafiri’s Passive: We Are More (Image via Riot Games)
Naafiri’s Passive: We Are More (Image via Riot Games)

Naafiri's Passive summons small dogs every 15 to 30 seconds. She will have two at the start of the game and have three once she reaches level 9. They will charge at the target she is attacking, dealing physical damage that increases after she uses an ability.

If she allows the "packmates" to tank, jungle creatures or minions can kill them. However, they take reduced damage from AoE abilities, minions, and jungle monsters in the Summoner's Rift of League of Legends.

Hitting champions or large monsters with abilities reduces the cooldown of the next respawn by four seconds, and killing units, including jungle monsters and minions, reduces the cooldown by 0.5 seconds. Furthermore, if a dog dies, but the cooldown is already up, the next one will immediately respawn.


Q: Darkin Daggers

Naafiri’s Q: Darkin Daggers (Image via Riot Games)
Naafiri’s Q: Darkin Daggers (Image via Riot Games)

In League of Legends, Naafiri's Q throws spikes and has two charges. The first deals damage and applies a bleed to enemies hit, while the recast does the same to new targets. Additionally, if it hits the same bleeding target, it deals the remaining bleed damage instantly and more bonus damage based on their missing health.

Furthermore, it heals Nafiri for every target hit. The dogs always leave with the first enemy hit and attack for three seconds, allowing her to use the ability over walls and see if anyone is nearby because they will jump on the enemy and reveal them.


W: Hounds’ Pursuit

Naafiri’s W: Hounds’ Pursuit (Image via Riot Games)
Naafiri’s W: Hounds’ Pursuit (Image via Riot Games)

Naafiri's W is a point-and-click dash. She can jump on the selected enemy with her dogs, hitting the first champion in her way. Therefore, if she wants to use it on a target behind, but someone else comes in front, they can tank the hit. However, it goes through minions or monsters, inflicting damage and slowing the target.

The dogs become "untargetable" and follow her on the dash, each dealing some bonus damage. Additionally, this can be used over walls.

Importantly, the range of the ability is increased based on her ultimate rank in League of Legends. Hence, when the ultimate is maxed out, it becomes fairly long.


E: Eviscerate

Naafiri’s E: Eviscerate (Image via Riot Games)
Naafiri’s E: Eviscerate (Image via Riot Games)

In League of Legends, Naafiri's E is a mini-dash. She jumps forward, summoning her dogs, and explodes, dealing AoE damage. Furthermore, it fully heals the dogs if they are injured.

Importantly, when jumping, she deals damage to targets beneath her as well as when she lands, causing a double hit. She can use this ability close to where she is to deal two hits to the same target. This, too, goes over walls.


R: The Call of the Pack

Naafiri’s R: The Call of the Pack (Image via Riot Games)
Naafiri’s R: The Call of the Pack (Image via Riot Games)

Naafiri's R, or ultimate, gives her bonus attack damage and powers up her dogs in League of Legends. It increases their maximum health, reduces the cooldown of their respawn by 50%, and summons more of them based on Naafiri's ultimate rank.

At first, she summons two more; at rank three, she summons another four, for a maximum of seven small packmates. After summoning them, she gains increased movement speed, which increases if she is out of combat, revealing the area around her.

Importantly, she also gains a shield when she hits the first enemy champion. All her effects, including the reveal and casting, are refreshed upon the first champion takedown.


How to pet Naafiri in League of Legends?

Players will have the opportunity to pet Naafiri, who bears a striking resemblance to a dog. Her passive ability allows her to constantly spawn new hounds, which will be a relentless force that attacks both for and alongside her. As a result, there will be a special interaction in the game that allows players to show affection to Naafiri by petting her.

In order to achieve this, one must:

  • Press CTRL+1 twice for the first animation.
  • Press CTRL+2 at the end of the first animation to start the second animation.
  • Press CTRL+3 at the end of the second animation to start the third animation.

Lastly, Press CTRL+3 again when the third animation is ending to perform an infinite amount of petting.


New Naafiri Soul Fighters skin in League of Legends

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In addition to Naafiri's release, we will get her new splash art with the League of Legends' upcoming Soul Fighter event. The intriguing new 2v2v2v2 Arena game mode has been well-received by the community.

There will be 12 Soul Fighter skins, including a fighting genre-themed Naafiri's splash art, expected to be an Epic skin costing 1350 RP.


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