Guide · Jungle

Naafiri Guide

the Hound of a Hundred Bites

Assassin

Fighter

Tier C Jungle

Naafiri, the Hound of a Hundred Bites, is an assassin and fighter champion that is easy to pick up. Across our 715 analysed ranked games, Naafiri is mostly played in the Jungle (82% of its games), and more rarely in Mid (18%), with a 44.6% win rate in that role: tier C among Jungle champions (#42 of 48, ranked by win rate). Naafiri's damage is mostly physical (91%): armor is the best defensive answer against this champion. Win rate stays steady whatever the game length (43.3% to 46.3%): a reliable pick in every phase of the game.

Average KDA

7.5 / 5.4 / 7.2

ratio 2.7

Damage / min

714

CS / min

7.0

Gold / min

458

Kill participation

51%

Vision / min

0.97

Averages measured over 588 Jungle games played with Naafiri, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

Naafiri is an assassin who fights with her pack: pack members appear and attack the targets of her attacks and abilities. Darkin Daggers applies bleeds, The Call of the Pack makes her untargetable and summons extra members, Eviscerate recalls and heals the pack, and Hounds' Pursuit strikes a champion with the whole pack.

The trade

Q AA AA

When: An enemy is within dagger range.

Two Darkin Daggers apply a bleed then bonus damage; the pack leaps onto the first champion hit; Eviscerate dashes you and deals damage around you.

The execution

When: A champion is low.

Hounds' Pursuit sends you and your pack dashing onto a champion; you reveal nearby enemies and can recast if you score a takedown (without a shield the second time).

The empowered pack

W AA AA

When: A fight begins.

The Call of the Pack makes you untargetable, summons extra members and gives you speed and attack damage; Eviscerate recalls and fully heals the pack.

Laning phase

Your pack attacks with you: stay close to your opponent so it deals its damage. The daggers apply a bleed; the second deals bonus damage if the target is already bleeding.

Common mistakes

Engaging alone: your power depends on your pack.
Using Eviscerate without looking at the state of your pack.
Recasting the ultimate without a takedown.

Riot's official tips for playing Naafiri

Across the sands of Shurima, a chorus of howls rings out. It is the call of the dune hounds, voracious predators who form packs and compete for the right to hunt in these barren lands. Among them, one pack stands above all, for they are driven not only by canine instincts, but by the ancient power of the Darkin.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Black Cleaver, Death's Dance, and Voltaic Cyclosword (116 games, 52.6% win rate).

Black Cleaver

Death's Dance

Voltaic Cyclosword

116 games · 52.6%

48 games · 45.8%

42 games · 52.4%

Summoner spells

Flash + Smite44.4% · 574 games

Most-played runes

Conqueror + Inspiration

44.4% · 486 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph100%

Legend: Alacrity50%

Coup de Grace66%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cosmic Insight94%

Magical Footwear87%

Shards

Attack speed78%

Adaptive force100%

Health scaling75%

Conqueror + Domination

51.7% · 60 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph100%

Legend: Alacrity72%

Coup de Grace85%

Secondary tree · Domination

Sudden Impact98%

Treasure Hunter80%

Shards

Attack speed85%

Adaptive force100%

Health scaling85%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Naafiri's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team46.9% · 162 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Voltaic Cyclosword 47.1%

Black Cleaver 58.5% ▲

Axiom Arc 39.0%

Death's Dance 59.5% ▲

Serpent's Fang 42.9%

Serylda's Grudge 53.6% ▲

The item that stands out most is Black Cleaver: 58.5% win rate, +10 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team45.0% · 151 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Voltaic Cyclosword 45.2%

Black Cleaver 51.2%

Death's Dance 40.7% ▼

Axiom Arc 34.3% ▼

Spear of Shojin 38.5% ▼

Eclipse 40.0% ▲

The item that stands out most is Eclipse: 40.0% win rate, +5 points versus its usual win rate.

Balanced enemy team42.9% · 275 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Voltaic Cyclosword 44.6%

Black Cleaver 43.0% ▼

Death's Dance 52.9%

Axiom Arc 47.1% ▲

Serpent's Fang 49.0% ▲

Edge of Night 48.8%

The item that stands out most is Axiom Arc: 47.1% win rate, +6 points versus its usual win rate.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Naafiri in the Jungle

Graves Naafiri: 37.5%16 games

Graves has the edge in 62% of the 16 Jungle duels against Naafiri. See the Graves guide.

Kha'Zix Naafiri: 40.0%15 games

Kha'Zix has the edge in 60% of the 15 Jungle duels against Naafiri. See the Kha'Zix guide.

Qiyana Naafiri: 40.0%15 games

Qiyana has the edge in 60% of the 15 Jungle duels against Naafiri. See the Qiyana guide.

Shyvana Naafiri: 43.8%16 games

Shyvana has the edge in 56% of the 16 Jungle duels against Naafiri. See the Shyvana guide.

Sylas Naafiri: 47.1%17 games

Sylas has the edge in 53% of the 17 Jungle duels against Naafiri. See the Sylas guide.

Who Naafiri is strong against

Lee Sin61.1% · 36 games

Vi53.3% · 15 games

Viego50.0% · 20 games

Sylas47.1% · 17 games

Shyvana43.8% · 16 games

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Naafiri's matchups.

Abilities

PassiveWe Are More

Naafiri spawns packmates that attack the targets of her attacks and abilities.

QDarkin Daggers

Naafiri hurls up to two daggers, each inflicting bleed, or each inflicting bonus damage if the target is already bleeding.

Packmates leap to attack the first champion or monster hit by this skill.

WThe Call of the Pack

Naafiri becomes Untargetable and empowers her pack, spawning additional packmates and gaining increased Move Speed and Attack Damage.

EEviscerate

Naafiri dashes and damages enemies in an area around her, recalling her packmates and fully healing them.

RHounds' Pursuit

Naafiri and her packmates dash at a champion, dealing damage. Naafiri reveals nearby enemies if she scores a takedown and can recast this Ability once. The second cast grants a shield.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best build for Naafiri?

The most-played core build is Black Cleaver, Death's Dance, and Voltaic Cyclosword (116 games, 52.6% win rate).

Who counters Naafiri?

Naafiri's toughest matchups in the Jungle are Graves (37.5% win rate over 16 games), Kha'Zix (40.0% win rate over 15 games), and Qiyana (40.0% win rate over 15 games).

What are Naafiri's best matchups?

Naafiri posts its best win rates against Lee Sin (61.1%), Vi (53.3%), and Viego (50.0%).

What game length suits Naafiri best?

Win rate stays steady whatever the game length (43.3% to 46.3%): a reliable pick in every phase of the game.

Which runes should I play on Naafiri?

The most-played rune page uses Conqueror with the Inspiration secondary tree (486 games, 44.4% win rate).

Full Naafiri page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides