New LoL champion Naafiri revealed in animated cinematic

Nicholas James Published 21/06/2023

The new LoL champion Naafiri has been revealed in an animated cinematic that depicts the origin of the latest champion.

Naafiri is the new Darkin assassin jungler, and Riot Games has created an entire animated trailer to catch fans up on her lore. Naafiri is a Darkin, an ancient Shuriman god-warrior tainted by blood magic and the Void. She was trapped in a weapon by the Targonians before being found by a pack of Shuriman hounds that she now possesses.

Animated horror movie released for Naafiri

Naafiri got her own animated cinematic trailer in the style of a horror movie trailer that plots the events that bring her into the game. The cinematic shows a Shuriman trader ambushed by a pack of desert hounds. During the fray, the hounds lose a carefully wrapped package. Inside is Naafiri in her dagger form, and she is picked up by the hounds during the ambush. From there, the hounds undergo a terrifying metamorphosis, and we get our first glimpse at Naafiri.

An enormous hound with blades protruding from her shoulders, Naafiri takes the Darkin aesthetic seen in the other Darkin champions and applies it to an animalistic template. The video is called Iron Hounds, and it’s clear why. Nafiri leads a huge pack of red hyena-like hounds with massive bladed protrusions from their foreheads. Nafiri, on the other hand, has two sets of four enormous blades jutting out from his shoulders. This will be one of the first completely non-humanoid champions released in League of Legends in years.

She has the telltale black and chitinous armor of the Darkin, arrayed like petals of a flower around her head. A key part of Naafiri’s cinematic is her vast pack of hounds. This is something Riot has hinted at as being part of Naafiri’s gameplay fantasy.

When is Naafiri coming to League of Legends?

Details about Naafiri’s abilities should begin to filter through over the next week, with Naafiri making her way onto the Public Beta Environment with the new patch cycle.

There is no set date for Naafiri’s release to the live environment yet, but Riot tends to tease champions one week after they go to the PBE. This would put Naafiri’s release date in early July.

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

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