Riot Games announced the addition of two new champions to League of Legends earlier this year, including Milio and a new Darkin assassin named Naafiri
In a recent dev Q&A video, executive producer Jeremy “Brightmoon” Lee and studio head Andrei “Meddler” van Roon revealed a few additional facts about the unannounced Darkin assassin, including when players may expect to see her on the PBE.
According to Meddler, players will be able to test out Naafiri later this month, around the end of June. The developers did not provide a particular date for when the champion will be available for testing, but more information should become available in the coming weeks as the release date approaches.
Riot disclosed Naafiri’s gameplay and backstory details in a Champion Roadmap written by head champion producer Alexia Gao two months ago.
Naafiri is a Shurima-based hunter who uses her Darkin assassin skills to seek down her prey. Several teasers and Meddler himself have intimated that she is a “dog.” She was created to be played in the mid lane and uses a dagger to slay her opponents.
In League, assassins have always been extremely micro-focused; the ability to spot opportunities to take down opponents and perform accurate kills is critical to the assassin gameplay experience. Riot’s intention with Naafiri, on the other hand, is to reduce the cost of that killing and allow for much more level on the macro plays.
“We hope to lower the burden of that execution and allow much more concentration on the macro plays with Naafiri.”
“With the change to assassin gameplay that Naafiri brings, we also built a lot of new tech to accommodate her unique gameplay thematic that should help make it feel more alive, dynamic, and decluttered.”
The champion design team has made it clear that the Darkin assassin is an assassin since the champion was initially revealed earlier this year. According to Gao, the champion is aimed for players who “want to focus on the hunt.”