It's supposed to be a straightforward assassin after all.
Fans Complain Naafiri Design Only Works in Low Elo
Naafiri is the most recently released League of Legends champion, who was hyped up quite a bit as a member of a species that only had three champions present in the game before her release.
It seems, however, after playing Naafiri for a patch, that her gameplay leaves a bit to be desired, and is so straightforward that it only works in low elo where players don't know how to counter her abilities, which is quite easy to do with some focus.
Is Naafiri Good to Play?
When designing the most recent champions, Riot explained that they looked at which champion classes the game lacked. It turned out, they needed a high-skill ceiling top lane bruiser, which birthed K'Sante, and a simple-to-play assassin, which gave us Nafiri.
However, while K'Sante has been making rounds in all elos of the game, Naafiri hasn't had much luck in high elo. This is due to the fact that her abilities are relatively easy to counter.
In the lane, all you need to do is be mindful of her hounds, and not let them get free damage on you, while in team fights, her dash acts as a Caitlyn ult, and can be stopped by any champion, making it easy to protect a hyper carry.
All in all, for a mid-lane AD assassin with high mobility, Talon will always be a better pick than Naafiri, who currently has a 48% win rate in high elo.
Where she does shine, however, is low elo! In silver, her win rate is above 52%, and Naafiri is considered an S-tier mid laner, precisely due to her simplicity.
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But the inability of a champion to be played at all levels of the game just shows poor design, and this is precisely why fans are dismissive of the newest champion after just a single patch of her being present on the Rift!
It's something that we can understand of old champions, such as Nocturne who is nonexistent in high elo, but demolishes enemies in low elo. Newer champions, however, we hold to a higher standard.
That is not to say high elo players have completely given up on the champion. Naafiri is now being used in the jungle, to try and leverage her high mobility into early-game snowballs. Still, any other jungle assassin is better suited for the job, and even some mid-lane ones!