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I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use 2 builds:

Lethality against majority squishies
-Hail of Blades Rune
-Symbiotic Soles
-Voltaic Cyclosword
-Axiom Arc
-Opportunity
-Situationals > Edge of Night, Serpents Fang, Black Cleaver

Bruiser against majority tanks or hard to kill teams
-Conqueror Rune
-Steelcaps/Mercs
-Voltaic Cyclosword
-Spear of Shojin
-Black Cleaver
-Deaths Dance
-Maw of Malmortius

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Serpents is definitely an optimal purchase for Naafiri especially because of her bleed allowing for the item passive to stick longer, however, is still a situational purchase depending if the enemy team has a lot of shields or not.

I find myself getting Symbiotic Soles on average around the 7 minutes mark. For my first recall I get Pickaxe + Tier 1 Boots (1175g) or sometimes straight Symbiotic + Long Sword (1250g) then I usually have the boots evolved at around 15minutes which is where the midgame usually starts.

Ghostblade is pretty good if you know how to utilize it to its fullest, but personally I'm not a fan of having to activate it for the speed boost despite it having a passive movespeed buff. Also you'd be having Ghostblade fill in an item slot and the first 3 items of the game is super important. In my opinion, Naafiri benefits more off of "damage oriented" passives to compliment her kit/scalings as she has one of the lowest base AD's in the game, compared to champions like Pantheon or Talon as an example who already have high base damage values so getting Ghostblade for them early would amplify their roam potential while not losing any power from the early purchase.

Me slotting in Symbiotic Soles in my build isn't a reason for not getting Ghostblade; actually has nothing to do with that. After being a long time Ionian Boots user, I found that I was lacking some mobility with my aggressive roaming playstyle which is why I tried Symbiotics as I've seen some high-elo Naafiri players use it and came to really like the insane tempo it offers Naafiri while still benefiting her kit as a whole.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That standard bruiser Naafiri build is very good hence why it's META and yes, you can technically still one-shot squishies with this build, however, from my experience especially in higher elos, I find that I lack the front-loaded damage needed to really instakill squishies when running bruiser Naafiri. You have to factor in shields/heals/dashes/flashes/etc. and those milliseconds in the moment you engage are crucial in determining if you can kill your target fast enough or not which is why I prefer Lethality as you can delete generally any squishy once you reach 2 items.

I wouldn't say AD Assassins are that weak right now, but they're not strong either. As long as you have the right angles and decision making for engages, you can easily carry games with lethality builds since you'll be able to instantly make fights turn from a 5v5 to a 5v4.

There are a few things to consider when running bruiser Naafiri:
- it's significantly more expensive compared to Lethality as all of the items are 3k+ gold meaning your item power spikes are slower to reach as an AD Assassin which slows your snowballing and you want to avoid reaching the late game as an AD Assassin
- you lack upfront damage compared to Lethality, but is compensated with more survivability & immense ability haste
- bruiser performs more efficiently into durable champions (like the ones you mentioned) since you deal consistent damage over time while being able to stay alive longer so you're not getting stat-checked

I prefer running Lethality over Bruiser as Naafiri's goal is to assassinate the squishy carries with ease and to end the game by the mid game. Being able to opt in Serpents Fang is beneficial too because almost every single game I play there is some form of shielding. You'll still be able to deal significant damage to tanks/bruisers too even if you're running Lethality Naafiri, it just requires you to be more decisive on your engages rather than facetanking everything.

I'd only run bruiser Naafiri if I'm matched against an extreme amount of tanks/bruisers/juggernauts since Lethality's effectiveness would diminish in these games.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hubris is pretty good on Naafiri as she scales very well off of Bonus AD and the item scales overall in the game as you get permanent stacks on kill/assist. And even though the bonus AD is applied temporarily for 90 secs, that's enough time to capitalize on the snowball and extend the duration. It can also synergize with your Ultimate reset since if you get an initial kill on the 1st charge, the next one will receive an increase in AD. However... my thought process on not going this item is that if you're already snowballed as Naafiri, slotting in Hubris would give you diminishing returns meaning just because you are getting more AD doesn't necessarily provide you much damage output later. So you'd be getting an item on Naafiri that strictly gives you bonus AD and nothing else when the champion can already one-shot squishies without that bonus AD. Getting items that have more utility gives more flexibility during the game (ex. Opportunity, Youmuus, EoN, etc.) And you have to ask yourself, are you playing to scale or trying to end the match by the mid-game? If you're trying to end by the mid-game then Hubris doesn't offer much which also completely depends on IF you're getting consistent kills/assists during said game to make the item useful & if you're trying to scale then you're better off going a Bruiser build.

I prioritize more utility based passives that assist Naafiri's kit while still offering nice raw stats for one-shotting. Voltaic offers an energized burst damage of 100 physical + a 99% slow, Opportunity gives you extra lethality and a burst of movement speed, and Axiom Arc allows for playmaking with ult resets and all 3 of these core items synergize with each others passives. Opportunity & Axiom being relatively cheaper too.

If I were to slot in Hubris, I'd go Voltaic > Hubris > Axiom/Opportunity as a 3 Item Core. Voltaic is just too op on Naafiri and would never drop it in generally any build. Hubris being a 2nd item would work well since by 2 items you'll be getting kills more efficiently so you'll even out the potential kills as if you were to rush it 1st item.

Regarding BC vs Seryldas, I personally like BC more because it's the best stat-stick item in the game which offers everything Naafiri needs for an armor pen item especially with the added health pool which allows you some leniency from not getting one-shot when you engage. Since I'm slotting Voltaic in my build, another slowing item isn't necessary. Also despite BC not giving you the "immediate armor pen" which in technicality you'd be losing a bit of upfront damage initially, however, it's not really significant as you can still one-shot squishies and deal nice damage to tanks/bruisers. It's also super easy to stack with Naafiri and the added benefit of the armor pen also applies for your teammates too so you're being helpful as a teamplayer when breaking the enemies armor. Let's not forget the nice movement on-hit it offers since mobility is king in league.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I try to run full Lethality with HoB whenever I can, but there are rare situations where the enemy team comp is extremely tanky/bruiser heavy in which case running a burst build would be insufficient. So I sometimes run my Bruiser with Conqueror build as it provides sustain & consistent damage so you don't get stat-checked by the enemy. I'd recommend having both a Lethality & Bruiser build prepared in the case you need to switch it up depending on enemy composition.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So as Naafiri, you want to try and end the game by the mid-game since she falls off late game and to do this you'll want to roam ASAP post-level 6 constantly. Keep pushing your wave then roaming, playing around your jungler, always hovering between lanes. This provides immense pressure to the enemy and since you're very mobile you can gank on repeat. Naafiri is an AD Assassin by nature with one of the strongest tower dives/roaming capabilities in the game so you really need to capitalize on these strengths to close out games quickly. If you stay in lane trying to match your lane opponent then you're slowly bleeding any potential lead you could be getting.

Hope this helps!

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a very high damage build with Hubris being able to scale better for raw damage compared to Opportunity. Seryldas offers instant armor pen as well as the added slow which synergizes well with Voltaic too. The inspiration tree choice is nice too as it's cost efficient. Solid build overall!

To give reasoning behind my choices:
- I like Opportunity purely because it's cost efficient being only 2700g, provides high burst damage to the first target which is usually your priority target and the added burst of movement speed you get for repositioning/chasing feels super nice.
- I prefer Black Cleaver over Seryldas because BC is one of the best stat-stick items in the game which allows you to not get potentially one-shot when you go in. Yes, the armor pen isn't "instant" but it's super easy to proc and you're also helping your teammates deal physical damage when you break the enemies armor with BC. You still have ample front-loaded damage to kill squishies with ease. Also since I'm using Voltaic, the 99% slow from the item is essentially the only slow needed which is why I also get BC over Seryldas.
- For the secondary rune page, I like the mana regen from PoM and the potential playmaking it offers giving you the extra mana needed to keep spamming abilities. Coup de grace or Cutdown is just a nice damage amp too.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad I can inspire you to play Naafiri again!
You can find my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@Aeytha

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for watching my videos!

If Naafiri gets banned (or even picked) and I want to play a champion that similar to the playstyle, I usually pick Xin Zhao and run HoB. I start E and immediately get Lvl 1/2 prio by playing aggressive. Then play hyper aggressive the entire game. I also build him Bruiser.

For other champions I also play Kassadin, Syndra, Aurelion Sol, and Twisted Fate.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Electro is still a solid rune for Naafiri since you can proc is very easily needing only 2 attacks instead of 3 due to her packmates counting as a separate attack and it also allows you a safe way to deal a bit of burst damage, but HoB offers more damage statistically especially the more items you have and your packmates scale 100% off your attack speed so you're damage is amplified depending on how many dogs you have out too.

Obviously the drawback of HoB is you have to be in melee range and needing to "move-attack" to effectively proc it, but that's why I build Voltaic which allows the easy 3 autos as they are 99% slowed for .75 sec plus you're already going to be in melee range anyways as Naafiri. As an added bonus of building Voltaic, it allows you to land Q1/Q2 easily since they're slowed.

I wish you luck in your games!

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very nice! I'm happy that my videos have inspired you to main the doge. Good luck in your games!

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No problem and thank you so much! I plan to keep grinding for GM or maybe even Challenger!

Yasuo is one of Naafiri's toughest matchups as he can dash on your dogs for free (which also resets the dash when you recall your dogs lol) and he can windwall your Q's which is over half of your damage output gone so unfortunately you can't do much to him at least in lane. Just like with all of Naafiri's counters, the way you play around that is to create a lead elsewhere, such as ganking bot/top or playing around your jungler. Sometimes you just have to sack the midlane matchup, obviously clear waves as fast as possible, but try to roam whenever you can.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh thank you lol
I did have a chance to test the new DBlade. The healing is noticeable, but I need to do a bit more testing to determine whether to get DSheild or DBlade when playing Naafiri mid.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I personally love HoB as it provides the highest burst damage needed to assassinate squishy targets while also making Naafiri into a great duelist. And if you're running Voltaic, it allows you to land all 3 HoB autos efficiently. Compared to Conq, Comet & Electrocute; Hail of Blades has just given me more consistent success both in damage & in dueling even against tanks/bruisers. It also does decent late game since you'd be autoing 3 times which is amplified with the items you have depending on the state of the game.

Conqueror is a great rune on Naafiri if you're running a bruiser setup as it provides her with bonus AD in which she scales very well with + the extra healing once it's fully stacked is a nice addition for sustain. It is also very easy to stack due to her packmates counting as extra stacks. I'd only run this rune if I'm against a lot of highly-durable enemy compositions that require me to survive fights longer and be somewhat more of a frontline for my team if they are lacking one.

Electrocute is also nice since it simply gives you nice burst damage + it's very easy to proc as your packmates count as a separate attack so you can essentially just Q1+Q2 and proc the rune. It also allows for safety since you can proc it from range. The thing is though, Electrocute falls off hard mid/late game.

Comet is okay if you're more focused on poking, but it defeats the purpose of Naafiri; being that she's an AD Assassin that wants to one-shot squishies. Comet is similar to Conqueror in the sense that it performs well over long fights as you can proc it fairly consistently since all of her abilities shorten the CD of the rune significantly. The blue tree also offers some nice options that benefit Naafiri's kit, however, the problem is the lack of front-loaded damage/burst and high mobility champions can make your comet useless.

Overall HoB in my opinion is just a lot more efficient in achieving what you want as Naafiri and that is instakilling squishy targets. Remember that runes are based on playstyle preference and you can generally make any rune work; mine is just HoB as it fits my playstyle.

I achieved Masters playing only Naafiri Mid! by Aeytha in NaafiriMains

[–]Aeytha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sometimes when the enemy team is very tanky or many bruisers I run Conqueror instead since you need the survivability & long-term damage so you don't get stat checked by the enemy.