League of Legends Naafiri Guide July 2023: Skins, Items, Location And More

10 months ago By AI Smith

In the vast and ever-evolving world of League of Legends, the competitive scene constantly sees new champions, patches, and updates that bring fresh dynamics to the game. In July 2023, the League community welcomed a highly anticipated jungle champion named Naafiri.

With the beginning of Split 2 in the Ranked Season 2023, players are eager to explore Naafiri’s potential and how she will impact the meta. This comprehensive guide will delve into every aspect of Naafiri’s gameplay, including her skins, recommended items, jungle location, runes, and overall playstyle.

I. The Arrival of Naafiri – The Jungle Virtuoso

Skins:

Naafiri enters the Summoner’s Rift with two stunning skins:

Furyclaw Naafiri: A fierce and untamed appearance, embodying the essence of the wild jungle. (Base skin)
Eclipse Naafiri: A cosmic-themed skin, channelling celestial energy to conquer the jungle.

Location and Lore:

Naafiri hails from the untamed jungles of Kumungu, a region known for its lush vegetation and ancient mysteries. As a lone warrior traversing the dense undergrowth, Naafiri harnesses the powers of nature to become a force of reckoning in the jungle. Her abilities and instincts grant her unparalleled mobility, making her a formidable adversary in any tight situation.

II. Unleashing the Power: Naafiri’s Runes

To maximize Naafiri’s potential, it is crucial to choose the right runes. Her playstyle as an agile, high-damage jungle champion necessitates precision and calculated aggression. Here’s a recommended rune set to unleash her potential:

Precision

Conqueror: This keystone helps Naafiri stack damage by providing Adaptive Force after basic attacks and empowering her to heal when damaging enemy champions.
Triumph: Triumph ensures Naafiri can recover 10% of her missing health and gain 20 extra gold upon achieving a kill or takedown, making her a formidable survivor during skirmishes.
Legend: Alacrity: With Legend: Alacrity, Naafiri gains permanent attack speed upon earning takedowns, improving her overall damage output.
Coup de Grace: Coup de Grace gives Naafiri the advantage of dealing extra damage to enemies below 40% health, allowing her to secure crucial kills during team fights.

Inspiration

Magical Footwear: This rune offers free boots at 12 minutes, allowing Naafiri to allocate more gold towards her core items earlier in the game.
Cosmic Insight: Cosmic Insight reduces the cooldown of Naafiri’s summoner spells and item actives, increasing her overall map presence and utility.

Stats

Attack Speed: Attack Speed provides faster jungle clears and improved combat potential for Naafiri, making her a formidable duelist.
Adaptive Force: Adaptive Force enhances Naafiri’s damage output, further empowering her aggressive playstyle.
Health Scaling: Health Scaling gives Naafiri additional durability as the game progresses, ensuring she remains a relevant threat in the later stages.

III. Building the Perfect Arsenal: Naafiri’s Itemization

Naafiri’s item build is a crucial factor in determining her success as a jungle champion. The right combination of items will transform her into a fearsome assassin with immense duelling power. The recommended item build for Naafiri in League of Legends Season 13 includes:

Jungle Starter Item: Gustwalker Hatchling: This starter item provides Naafiri with the essential jungle sustain and early game damage to facilitate efficient jungle clears and early skirmishes.

Core Items:

Black Cleaver: Black Cleaver’s combination of health, attack damage, and armour penetration augments Naafiri’s survivability and damage output. Additionally, its Phage passive enhances her mobility, making it easier to stick to targets during ganks.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity: These boots provide Naafiri with cooldown reduction, allowing her to use her abilities more frequently, maximizing her overall impact in the game.
Serylda’s Grudge: Serylda’s Grudge amplifies Naafiri’s damage, inflicting Grievous Wounds on enemies hit by her abilities, weakening their healing capabilities.
Ravenous Hydra: Ravenous Hydra grants Naafiri lifestyle and increased wave-clearing potential, empowering her to sustain during team fights and jungle clears.
Death Dance: This item provides Naafiri with omnivamp and damage reduction, further enhancing her survivability and team fight prowess.
Guardian Angel: Guardian Angel resurrects Naafiri upon death, granting her a second chance to impact critical team fights, making it a crucial item during late-game skirmishes.

IV. The Wild Jungle Path: Naafiri’s Jungle Clear and Ganking Strategy

Naafiri excels at clearing the jungle swiftly and setting up impactful ganks for her team. Here’s a breakdown of Naafiri’s jungle path and ganking strategy:

Jungle Path:

Starting Location: Naafiri typically starts her jungle clear with either the blue or red buff, depending on the team’s starting side.
Q Ability: She should level up her Q ability first, as it provides additional damage to her basic attacks, making her jungle clear and more efficient.
Wolves Management: While clearing the jungle, it is essential to keep her wolves alive by tanking some of the damage. Her E ability, once activated, will heal her wolves and provide potent AoE damage.
Pathing Sequence: A suggested jungle path for Naafiri is Blue Sentinel -> Gromp -> Murk Wolf camp -> Raptor camp -> Red Brambleback -> Krug camp -> Botlane gank.

Ganking Strategy:

W Ability: Naafiri’s W ability is a crucial tool for ganking. When activated, it grants her gap-closing potential, enabling her to chase down and engage enemies with ease.
Conqueror Stacks: To optimize her ganking potential, try to stack Conqueror by auto-attacking enemies with the help of her wolves before fully committing to the engagement.
Team Coordination: Effective communication with teammates is crucial during ganks. Coordination and synchronization with her laners’ abilities can often lead to successful ganks and secured kills.

V. Mastering the Jungle Virtuoso: Naafiri in Mid-to-Late Game

As the game progresses into the mid-to-late stages, Naafiri’s role shifts from a jungle-focused assassin to a high-impact team fighter. Here are some tips for playing Naafiri during this phase of the game:

Team Fight Engagement:

Precise Timing: In team fights, Naafiri should look for the perfect angle to dive in and unleash her burst damage on enemy carry champions. Her shield and agility should be used strategically to minimize damage taken while dealing immense damage.
Item Advantage: Utilize any gold lead to widen the item gap between Naafiri and her opponents, thereby increasing her survivability and overall damage output.
Patient Execution: Exercise patience when approaching team fights. Wait for the opportune moment to engage after the enemy team has exhausted crucial ultimates and abilities. This will give Naafiri a better chance of securing kills and contributing to her team’s victory.

Late Game Challenges:

Adaptability: In the late game, opponents may have developed defensive strategies to counter Naafiri’s aggression. This necessitates greater cunning and adaptability when approaching team fights.
Vision Control: Utilize vision control to locate isolated targets, setting up advantageous engagements for Naafiri and her team.

Protecting Wolves:

Wolf Revival: Before engaging in team fights, ensure that Naafiri’s wolves have been revived from the jungle clears, as they significantly contribute to her damage output during skirmishes.
Wolf Preservation: Protect her wolves during team fights to ensure they remain active, maximizing her potential to deal damage and secure kills.

Naafiri, the Jungle Virtuoso, is a powerful and agile champion who has made a significant impact on the League of Legends meta in July 2023. With the right runes, itemization, and jungle pathing, she becomes an unstoppable force capable of dominating the jungle and turning the tide of battles in her team’s favour. Her unique playstyle demands precise execution, calculated aggression, and excellent team coordination to reach her full potential.

As players embrace Naafiri’s strengths and adapt to her vulnerabilities, her presence in the jungle promises to redefine the strategies and tactics employed in Summoner’s Rift. Whether you’re a seasoned jungler or an aspiring one, mastering Naafiri will undoubtedly be a thrilling and rewarding experience in the world of League of Legends. So, venture forth and harness the untamed power of the jungle with Naafiri – the Jungle Virtuoso!

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