FOTM Report: Naafiri Jungle | Patch 26.22 Build and Runes

Patch 26.22 gave Naafiri more healing on her daggers and a bit more attack damage from her pack. In the jungle she's gone from Tier 2 to Tier 1.

She's winning 51.7% of her jungle games on 26.22, up from 50.3% over 50,115 games last patch, and one game in ten now bans her.

Here's what changed, and how to play her.

FOTM Report

Naafiri Jungle

Tier 1 · Patch 26.22

Patch 26.22 gave Naafiri more healing on her daggers and a bit more attack damage from her pack. In the jungle she's gone from Tier 2 to Tier 1.

The 26.22 patch notes give her two buffs. Darkin Daggers [Q] heals for ten more at every rank (55 at rank one, up from 45) and its bonus attack damage ratio goes from 40% to 45%. The Call of the Pack [W] now hands out 22% bonus attack damage instead of 20%.

Neither number looks like much. In the jungle, though, the heal is the one you feel. She leans on her daggers to clear every camp, so she walks out of a full clear with more health and can take a fight at the first scuttle where she used to back off. Her win rate went from 50.3% to 51.7%, and the 26.22 games put her in Tier 1 on our jungle tier list. She shows up in about 2% of games and gets banned in 10.5% of them.

How to Play Naafiri Jungle

Abilities

Q, E, W then prioritize R > Q > E > W

Summoner Spells

Starting Items

Strategy

Clear with Darkin Daggers [Q] and keep the packmates on the camp so they tank it for you. Look for a lane with a slow or a stun before level six, then use Hounds' Pursuit [R] to reach whoever the enemy team can't protect

Core Items

Naafiri Rune Setup

Naafiri Jungle Runes

Precision

Inspiration

Precision: Conqueror, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, Coup de Grace

Inspiration: Magical Footwear, Cosmic Insight

Shards: Adaptive Force, Adaptive Force, Health Scaling

When to Pick Naafiri

Pick her into junglers who want to farm quietly for twenty minutes. Lee Sin is the one you'll meet most, and Naafiri wins that matchup 56.4% of the time over 4,475 games across the last two patches. Kha'Zix (57.6% for her) and Qiyana (56.7%) are even better news, and she's comfortably ahead of Kindred too.

She wants the game to end early. On 26.22 she wins 52.2% of games that finish under 22 minutes and 48.8% of the ones that go past 32, so draft her next to lanes that can snowball with her and play for towers once you're ahead.

She's at her best below Emerald. From Emerald up her win rate drops to 48.0%, because better players ward her entrances and group up before she arrives.

How It Works

Healthier Clears

Her daggers are most of her clear, and every cast heals her a little more than it did last week. She finishes the first rotation with enough health to fight for the scuttle crab instead of resetting.

The Pack Hits Harder

Her packmates jump on whatever she hits and soak the damage camps and enemy junglers would otherwise put on her. The attack damage bonus on The Call of the Pack [W] went from 20% to 22%. It's a small change (two points), and it lands in every fight she takes with the pack out.

Armor Shred First

Black Cleaver is the strongest first item on 26.22 among the three that get bought most (49.1%, against 46.1% for Voltaic Cyclosword). Black Cleaver into Voltaic Cyclosword into Death's Dance wins 53.3% of the games that complete it. Axiom Arc first is rarer and wins 56.0%, so it's a real option if you like resetting your ultimate in fights.

Potential Pitfalls

Nocturne

Nocturne is her worst common matchup. He wins 55.7% of their games over 1,577 of them, and his ultimate turns off the vision she needs to pick a target. Fiddlesticks, Shyvana, Briar and Wukong all beat her by a few points as well, so stay on the opposite side of the map from them and play for your lanes.

Losing the Long Game

Past 30 minutes the enemy team stops walking around alone. If you haven't turned your lead into towers or dragons by then, she runs out of targets she can kill before the rest of the team turns on her.

Diving With No Way Out

Hounds' Pursuit [R] only recasts after a takedown, and Eviscerate [E] is her one other dash. Spend both getting in and she has nothing left to get out. Wait for the enemy carry's Flash or a stun to go somewhere else, and commit when your team is close enough to follow.

Conclusions

Two small buffs went straight into the parts of Naafiri's kit that she uses every minute in the jungle. Take her into Lee Sin and Kha'Zix, build Black Cleaver first, and close the game out before the 30 minute mark.

Suggested Tier: Tier 1