Riot Games has given an inside look at League of Legends’ next new champion, Naafiri. The champion was teased earlier this year and is on track to release at some point in 2023. Today, Riot detailed Naafiri’s playstyle in a Champion Roadmap written by lead champion producer Alexia Gao.
Traditionally, assassins are very micro-focused in League; the ability to find windows of opportunity to take down enemy champions and execute perfect kills is integral to the assassin gameplay experience. But with Naafiri, Riot is making it a goal to “lower the burden of that execution and allow much more concentration on the macro plays,” according to today’s Champion Roadmap.
The League champion design team made it abundantly clear ever since Naafiri was originally teased earlier this year that the champion is an assassin above all other things. The champion is being designed for players “who want to focus on the hunt,” Gao said. But there should be a world where assassins can pull off the flashy play while still being able to assist their team in the macro game.
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“With the change to assassin gameplay that Naafiri brings, we also built a lot of new tech to accommodate her unique gameplay thematic that should help make it feel more alive, dynamic, and decluttered,” Gao said.
Despite getting a look at Naafiri’s gameplay style and background, players are still in the dark regarding the champion’s appearance and kit. Naafiri is supposedly the next champion to be added to League’s roster and appears to be the furthest along out of all champions in the development process—so players should get more information on her in the near future.
No release date for Naafiri—or any upcoming League champions—is known at this time, although players should expect her to launch sometime in 2023.
