Champion Guide

Nidalee Guide

By LoLSuggest

Jungle

Nidalee is an AP jungler who swaps between a long-range human form and a melee cougar form. As a human, Javelin Toss throws a spear that deals more damage the farther it travels, Bushwhack lays traps that reveal and damage enemies, and Primal Surge heals an ally and grants attack speed. Aspect of the Cougar turns her into a cougar with Takedown, a finisher against low-health targets, Pounce, a dash that goes farther toward hunted enemies, and Swipe, a damaging claw. Prowl speeds her up in brush and marks enemies hit by her spears and traps as hunted. She plays for early invades, long-range poke and fast skirmishes.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Nidalee build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Core Items

Situational Items

The regular build is Luden's Echo, Liandry's Torment, Sorcerer's Shoes, Cryptbloom, Zhonya's Hourglass and Rabadon's Deathcap. Against squishy teams, a snowball build of Stormsurge, Shadowflame, Sorcerer's Shoes, Cryptbloom, Rabadon's Deathcap and Zhonya's Hourglass hits harder; for a slower poke game, take Luden's Echo, Liandry's Torment and Horizon Focus, with Hextech Rocketbelt adding poke and mobility. For long fights, Echoes of Helia with Ionian Boots of Lucidity adds sustain, and against tanky teams take Liandry's Torment, Horizon Focus and Void Staff; Lich Bane with Bloodletter's Curse is a fun alternative. Run Conqueror with Triumph, Legend: Haste and Cut Down, plus Sudden Impact and Treasure Hunter. Take Flash with Smite. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Excellent invader with very strong early skirmishes.
Long-range spears let her poke and set up objective fights from the fog of war.
Fast, mobile clears and kiting thanks to Pounce, traps and Prowl.

Weaknesses

Mechanically demanding: her damage depends on landing spears and cancelling animations.
Snowbally matchups such as Kindred are very hard to play once the enemy gets a lead.
Easy to throw a lead with impatient engages; she must play fights carefully late.

Laning Phase

Early game is the most important part of a Nidalee game, so plan your path in the loading screen: who to play for, whether to invade, and whether your team scales better than theirs. She is very good at invading, but prioritize full clearing; to invade, have your mid laner help you ward the enemy Raptors or red side to see their path, then go to the buff they are heading toward, and check your lane priority before committing. Red buff helps you win duels. Cancel animations to clear faster, for example attack into Takedown in cougar form, or heal and then place a trap. Early damage comes from long-range spears, or from kiting with attacks into a close spear and finishing in cougar form. Enemies who walk over your trap are easy to kite thanks to the bonus movement speed.

Mid & Late Game

Reach objectives about 30 seconds before they spawn to trap bushes and choke points, play with vision and throw spears from the fog of war; Nidalee is very strong at this stage, so poke and set up before the fight. With a poke build she can play late fights slowly; do not get impatient or tunnel on one target after a good spear, and only engage when you have Zhonya's Hourglass and a clear plan. In late skirmishes, trap well, hit the easiest spears and heal your teammates with Primal Surge.

Key Tips

Against Kindred, throw spears from the fog of war or wait for her Q before throwing yours.
Against Xin Zhao, play around Pounce and walls to escape when he sticks to you.
With Twisted Fate, hold your spear for his Gold Card.
With Renekton, his empowered stun makes your spears easy to land.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.