Why has Naafiri not received any love, like Aurora has?
Naafiri is sitting at one of the lowest playrates in the game, and despite Riot’s initial intentions of Naafiri being the beginner friendly assassin, she hasn’t received any major changes in order to improve her gameplay experience. I can’t even remember the last time I saw someone play her in my games. Personally, I enjoy playing her from time to time, but I noticed a couple of frustrations, that might be the reason why she is not that popular:
- Q Ability Mechanics:
Recast Delay: The short delay before recasting Q, similar to Aurora's Q on release, makes the ability feel clunky
Projectile Speed: Easily telegraphed Q makes landing hits against skilled players difficult
Range Limitations: Slightly increasing Q range could make her landing phase a bit less forgiving
- R Cast Animation:
- The current animation is too long, often resulting in dying mid-cast during critical fights
Similarly, Aurora suffered from a number of issues that led to frustration and balance issues, but not too long after she received multiple quality-of-life changes to her abilities (Q recast timer, ability ranges), as well as other design changes that significantly enhanced her playability and overall balance. As a midlane player, I really enjoy playing Aurora nowadays, when before that I rarely if ever played her.
Why has Naafiri not received any love? Overall I think she is pretty fun to play and feels different from other assassins. I think if the Q recast delay and R animation duration would be reduced, she would land in a much more enjoyable state.
Edit: I totally understand everyone saying that Aurora was a pro play issue. I just think other champions should not be forgotten just because they don’t cause any problems. That said, someone told me that Riot is working on a mini-rework for Naafiri, so that’s good news!