The LoL Naafiri abilities have finally been revealed, and League of Legends champion number 164 is shaping up to be one of the MOBA game’s most exciting new characters yet.
Although her appearance on the Rift is that of a ferociously sharp, pointy wolf, Naafiri initially appears to us as a dagger, imbued with the Darkin’s soul. Locked beneath the Shuriman sands, Naafiri is serendipitously happened upon by an excavator. Perhaps not so fortunately for the excavator, Naafiri seizes her chance at freedom, calling on a nearby pack of Dune Hounds to dispatch the poor explorer. In the process, Naafiri herself is consumed by one of the wolves, merging with them and the collective consciousness of the pack.
From the ‘Hound of a Hundred Bites’ trailer released in the leadup to the full Naafiri abilities rundown, we can see that the hellish hound and her pack are a highly mobile, highly coordinated unit with the means to hunt down single targets. We certainly can’t wait to see how she performs in the LoL ranks, but what do her abilities actually entail? Well, we’ve got the full lowdown.
Here are Naafiri’s abilities:
- (P) We Are More – Naafiri creates a Packmate after an amount of time that will attack enemies that she targets for physical damage, which is increased after she uses an ability. Hitting champions with abilities or killing enemies reduces this ability’s cooldown.
- (Q) Darkin Dagger – Naafiri hurls Darkin-tainted blades, dealing physical damage and inflicting a bleed for a few seconds.This ability may be recast. If enemies hit are already bleeding, instead deal the remaining bleed damage plus bonus physical damage and missing health physical damage. If the target was a champion, Naafiri restores some health. Packmates will leap at the first target hit, prioritizing champions and attacking them for a few seconds.
- (W) Hounds’ Pursuit – After a brief delay, Naafiri dashes at an enemy, dealing physical damage and briefly slowing her target or the first champion she collides with. This ability gains range based on ultimate rank. Packmates become untargetable and dash alongside Naafiri, dealing additional damage per Packmate.
- (E) Eviscerate – Naafiri surges forward, dashing and dealing physical damage to enemies she passes through, then explodes outward, dealing additional physical damage. Packmates are recalled to Naafiri and are healed to full.
- (R) The Call of the Pack – Naafiri prepares to hunt, empowering her Packmates and spawning bonus Packmates for a short duration. Naafiri then gains a burst of out of combat Movespeed, vision, and the first time she hits an enemy champion, she gains a shield. On first champion takedown, all ultimate effects are refreshed.
While we don’t know the damage numbers just yet, it’s clear that this canine cannot be contained – unless you’ve got plenty of CC of course. Although she’s been listed as a midlaner, we can definitely see her taken into the jungle should her stats allow it.
You can get another peek at Naafiri’s abilities in action below.
Of course, the most important question surrounding Naafiri for dog enjoyers is ‘can you pet her?’ The short answer is ‘yes’, and you can read more about it in our article on petting Naafiri. Needless to say, the pro team that realizes Naafiri’s full potential through the power of belly rubs will find themselves lifting the LoL Worlds trophy this year. We like to think so, anyway.