The Naafiri nerfs were pulled from Patch 13.15.
In the League of Legends Patch 13.15 preview, Riot announced that they would be nerfing Naafiri. But recently, they have come out and said that the Naafiri nerfs would be canceled.
Naafiri, The Hound of a Hundred Bites, is the newest champion added to League of Legends. She was released to the game on July 19, 2023, and not even a day after her release; she was Hotfix nerfed.
According to Riot, Naafiri was very strong post-release. Her performance in Jungle and Top Lane was average for a new champion, as she had a 45% and 50% win rate, respectively. But her Mid Lane performance was too strong. She had a 54% win rate in average MMR and 50% in higher levels of play. For a champion that was released hours ago, it was pretty high.
So Riot, on the same day Hotfix nerfed her. They nerfed her overall damage, damage scaling, and her roaming capabilities. Riot also announced that they might nerf her next patch. When the preview for Patch 13.15 arrived, the Naafiri nerfs were there.
But it appears Riot has canceled the Naafiri nerfs planned for Patch 13.15.
Naafiri Nerfs Cancelled
In a recent Twitter post, the designer of Naafiri, Riot Raptorr, announced the cancellation of her nerfs. The reason for its cancellation was cited as her day 6 win rate. According to Riot, her performance has been very stable.
After the Hotfix nerfs in Patch 13.14, her win rate has also stabilized. Her Mid Lane win rate has settled between 51% – 51.5% in average MMR, while her win rate in higher MMR remains between 49% – 49.5%. However, her Jungle win rate has been struggling quite a bit. In response, Riot Raptorr mentioned that they are currently focusing on Mid Lane Naafiri but are looking to make Jungle-specific changes later.
That said, many have been disappointed by the cancellation as they feel that Naafiri is simply too strong. But it’s hard to tell if she is truly overpowered or not without substantial time or data.
