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At the start of the year, Riot Games detailed its roadmap for the League of Legends 2023 season in a LoL Pls video. One of the many highlights was the introduction of new champions to the game. In 2022, players were treated to five new additions to the ever-expanding champion roster in League of Legends. However, this time around the developers promised a mix of new champions, as well as glow-ups to older champions. Product Lead for Champions Lexi “Riot Lexical” Gao revealed that Milio and Naafiri will be the first two new champions entering the fray in early 2023.
Notably, Milio was released first on 22nd March via LoL Patch 13.6. Now, the company has finally revealed its next champion, Naafiri, to the community via a cinematic titled “Hounds of Iron.”
Who Is Naafiri in League of Legends?
Riot Games made it clear that Naafiri will be an edgy champion. She is a Darkin in the game and according to the lore, the Darkin Naafiri, after awakening from her slumber, is all set to track down her Darkin brethren. In 2022, when Riot initially teased Naafiri, it used phrases like “barking for some Darkin”, “throw me a fricking bone here”, “hounding”, and “believe you me” while talking about this new champion.
Riot had also previously confirmed that the weapon for this Darkin is a dagger. In 2023, Lexical added more context to the champion and hinted at the possibility of the champion having different forms or bodies. “Her newfound body…or bodies…seems like a cruel twist of fate at first but they prove useful for locating her fellow Darkin, and as a source of wisdom. After all, it is always better to hunt in a pack,” stated Lexical.
A closer look at Naafiri’s Cinematic
Backing up the easter eggs and clues that Riot Games had given players in the past, the cinematic showcased Naafiri as a beast and portrayed the champion along with her pack. The video’s description said, “Her pack will always find the lone prey. So, the choice is yours: Starve or feast.”
Upon first look at Naafiri, League of Legends players are ecstatic to finally have a “monster” champion in the game, who amplifies the Darkin concept.
In the opening scene of the cinematic, we see a man being attacked by a pack of wolves and during this attack, he drops a dagger. The dagger is the same one Riot Games teased already with an eye on it and a dangling ornament near the handle. Following this, we have a cool transition scene that shows Naafiri taking up a physical form and coming out of the dagger.
She says, “Alone I staved. But together? We Feast!” When she says this dialogue, we are shown the true form of Naafiri. Her beast form is truly terrifying and she also grows spikes from her body as she prepares for the hunt. In the closeup, we see the same ornament hanging from her ear, making Naafiri's transformation clear.
One Twitter user pointed out, “The dagger is straight up fused with the hound's flesh rather than being lodged in there or being wielded in the dog's mouth. It's perhaps indicative of Naafiri's flesh-shaping magic being ridiculous.”
In League of Legends, the Darkin are God-Warriors who are traumatized by the horrors of the Void War. Currently, all known Darkins have been imprisoned in weapons, unable to ever regain their original Ascended forms. For Naafiri, the weapon is the dagger.
Riot Games is yet to release more information on the champion. This is all we could infer from the short cinematic. However, Naafiri’s role and her backstory will be confirmed once we get to see her biography on the official website. Riot Games will be releasing more information on Naafiri’s ability kit and her actual date of release soon.
