Hey everyone, this is Banishedd, and this is my second guide ever posted on the internet. I have loved Nidalee ever since I bought her, and I strongly encourage any of you who haven't bought her to go do so right now. She is, in my opinion, one of the most fun champions in the entire game. Her versatility and mobility give you so many options, and you can play her however you want to, at any time. I hope that you all enjoy reading my guide to Nidalee. Have fun taking down your opponents!

Please fully read through the guide before voting, and please, for my benefit, post a comment on why you voted how you did. I'd love to improve this guide any way I can, and remember, I'm always updating and adding more to it.

Little side note (and a huge thank you!):
This guide is now the #1 Nidalee Guide on Mobafire!!!
Thank you all so much for your support!

(And if you're feeling particularly nice, you can buy a poor college student my morning coffee by donating BTC here: 18RwGrzDiRBSCXJ8THTAJocXFyaL9YtFN8) <3

A revolutionary Nidalee rework has arrived as of Patch 4.10!
This is exciting news, as it completely changes the best and most efficient ways to play everyone's favorite feline.

I am currently in the process of adding/changing content to fully encompass this rework. (I'm waiting for finalization to come through from Riots end, so I don't end up changing too much prematurely. Stay tuned for full updates~)

AP Nidalee Pros:
-Amazing Chasing Potential
-Great at Finishing Enemies Off
-She can Turn into a Cougar
-Good Map Awareness with Bushwhack
-Can Thrive in Any and Every Lane
-Tons of Mobility with Prowl and Pounce
-Good Escape Potential
-Can Pull Off Some Really Nice Plays

Cons:
-Squishy
-Has no Innate Crowd Control
-Mana Hungry if You Aren't Careful
-Enemy Crowd Control is a Huge Problem for her
-Very Hard to Master

Flash: This spell is great for Nidalee as it provides both a way to catch up to enemies while Pounce is on cooldown. Also, you can use Flash as a immediate good way to get away from chasing enemies. When playing Nidalee, I try to always escape using Pounce and run into nearby bushes to activate Prowl, but it never hurts to have an extra escape. Your ability to make and react to plays is multiplied by quite a bit when you bring Flash. Should almost never be replaced.

Ignite: A great addition of true damage to Nidalee's already great finisher combo, and is extremely helpful against champions who have healing abilities, such as Dr. Mundo and Swain, since it reduces healing effects by 50%, which might just be enough to get you that first blood. Increases your kill potential in lane by a nice amount.


Heal: A fantastic alternative to ignite. Provides good sustain, but the main benefit is that speed boost. Wonderful for escaping, and in some occasions, for chasing someone down. Feel free to trade Ignite for this at any time, depending on match up.

Barrier: Very useful in certain matchups (i.e - Fizz) where being full on tower dived is a very real possibility. Improves immediate survivability better than Heal can.

Exhaust: A nice way to pin down enemies that are escaping you, or survive being jumped by that pesky enemy Jax or Irelia. Altogether a very nice offensive and defensive summoner spell, interchangeable with Ignite if you find it to be more useful.

Teleport: A great spell for pre-teamfight positioning, ganking, saving turrets, taking objectives, split-pushing, quick item purchasing, and sustaining yourself in lane. Take it if you like it. It is very versatile (the drawback is that it lowers your kill potential in lane).

Ghost: Good if you feel confident in your Pounce abilities, and can position yourself correctly without Flash. An excellent chasing spell. It's relatively low cooldown and long duration make it very viable, but remember, it can't take you over walls.

Cleanse: An amazing way to stay in/get out of teamfights if needed, and a good way to get away from jungler ganks in lane, however, Flash can usually save you more often. Take this only if the enemy team has a lot of Crowd Control. If you're playing blind-pick, I would advise against this.

Clarity: A good spell for people who are just starting to learn Nidalee, and will help out people who have mana-management problems throughout the game. Take it if you need it, but you should be aiming to learn how to play without it.

Clairvoyance: A decent spell if you want better vision to snipe people with spears, or want more map awareness, but the lack of immediate offensive or defensive properties make it a risky choice. Again, take it if you like it.


Smite: If you are jungling, definitely take this. If you are planning on using this lane guide to go to a lane, definitely don't take this.

Revive: Never plan on dying during a game, before the game even starts. This is the "Kill me Please, I am Trolling" summoner spell. It's viability is close to zero. Don't take it. Ever.

You can choose to go for Utility Masteries instead of the Defense ones that I like (mana regeneration, etc), however I find that this season, Riot has put better emphasis on mana regeneration from items as opposed to masteries/runes. Unlike some other mid champions like Vel'Koz, Nidalee is going to have to actually be near the fight to deal her full damage, making extra defenses a good path to go on. Besides, who doesn't like Tankalee? That's what I thought :)

While you might think that runes provide insufficient stats to justify their cost, it is completely the opposite. Runes can save your life, be the reason you won that 1vs1 fight, or survived that 2vs1 fight. It could mean the difference between you carrying your team and winning a teamfight or losing it because you didn't have that extra power the enemies do.

tl;dr - Runes matter.

AP Nidalee Runes:

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration x9:
The bonus magic penetration that these runes give are an amazing add-on to Nidalee's damage. You'll notice the difference these runes make equally early and late game.

Greater Seal of Armor x9:
Nidalee is extremely squishy by nature, so flat armor will really help her out throughout the course of the game.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power x9:
Bonus ability power that scales into late game? Yes please. You will notice a good step up in your damage output as the match progresses.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power x3:
Same as above, but these will make sure that your early game damage is up to par, if not above your enemies. Starting a match with fifteen base ability power is always a nice thing to have.

Prowl: Nidalee now receives +10% Movement Speed in all directions while Hunting, which increases to +30% movement speed toward Hunted targets.
Damaging champions with Javelin Toss or Bushwhack marks them as 'Hunted' for 4 seconds, granting Nidalee vision of them, 30% increased movement speed toward them (within a range of 5500) and enhancing her next Takedown, Pounce, and Swipe against them.
What's Changed:
-Gives 30% movespeed when moving toward enemy champions
-Applies the "Hunted" debuff on targets, granting vision and buffing Nidalee's cougar form abilities.
Overall:
Riot is putting an emphasis on Nidalee's chasing potential by buffing it up, while drawing back on her escaping potential as a whole. Riot is clearly outlining that her human form is for marking from a distance, and cougar form is for going in for the kill.

Javelin Toss: Nidalee tosses her javelin, dealing magic damage. If it exceeds her basic attack range it gains damage based on distance flown, up to a cap at 80% of its additional range.
What's Changed:
-Heavily nerfed the damage.
-Applies the "Hunted" debuff.
Overall:
Now this skill is mostly for marking your opponent, and not for hard poking. Goodbye 1 shot ADC kills, we will miss you.

Takedown: Nidalee's next attack deals magic damage. Takedown deals additional damage to targets at lower health, up to 250% total damage.
Overall:
Now deals a bonus 33% extra damage when used on a "Hunted" target. Use it as a finisher.

Bushwhack: Nidalee lays a Bushwhack trap. When an enemy springs the trap, they are revealed in addition to taking damage over 4 seconds.
What's Changed:
-Duration decreased to 2 minutes (from 4 minutes).
-Deals a percent of current health as magic damage.
-Applies the "Hunted" debuff.
Overall:
Deals a pretty decent amount of damage now. Definitely use it to scout and to defend yourself. Late game, throw them onto heavily used jungle paths to try and catch enemies away from their team.

Pounce: Nidalee lunges forward a short distance, dealing magic damage to enemies in the landing area.
Overall:
Now has 700 range when used on a "Hunted" target (the animation is the same). Amazing for chasing enemies down. Nidalee finally has a gap closer! (Keep in mind that the new cooldown is very long compared to before (5 whole seconds, first world problems I know), it takes some practice to get adjusted to it). Killing a minion with Pounce will reduce its cooldown to 1 second.

Primal Surge: Nidalee heals a target ally champion and grants them bonus attack speed for 6 seconds.

Swipe: Nidalee claws at enemies, dealing magic damage in an area in front of her.
Overall:
Now reduces Pounce's cooldown to 1 second if used on a "Hunted" enemy.

Aspect of the Cougar: Nidalee's rare gimmick ability (similar to Elise and Jayce). You do begin the game with this ability already at skill level 1, giving you two beginning skills for the price of one. Because you have so many more skills than other champions, you will have to learn to combo better, and how to position yourself for both ranged and melee abilities/attacks. This is why Nidalee's skill cap is so high. All I can say is that you have to practice. A lot. It really helps, trust me. Another reminder, this does have a cooldown (albeit a short one), so be careful. Don't change forms to often, you might need the other side of Nidalee at a moments notice and not be able to change.
A quick note: If an enemy gets the "Hunted" debuff while Nidalee is in Human Form, Cougar Form immediately resets it's cooldown.

Sorcerer's Shoes:
-Speed: Everyone needs it.
-Magic Penetration: Great for AP Nidalee, useful the entire game.

Rabadon's Deathcap:
-Ability Power: Your damage will take a big step in the right direction.
-Unique Passive: More ability power. More noticeable late game than early, but still fantastic overall.

Void Staff:
-Ability Power: While small, not to be overlooked.
-Magic Penetration: So you damage tanks and scare squishies.

Lich Bane:
-Ability Power: Why not?
-Unique Passive: Can almost double your overall damage if you get your auto attacks in.
-Mana: Bigger mana pool = more abilities.
-Movement Speed: Good for running and chasing.

Zhonya's Hourglass:
-Ability Power: Again, ability power is always good.
-Armor: Great for cougar form. Allows you to stay in fights for longer durations of time.
-Unique Active: One of the most annoyingly amazing item actives in the game in my opinion. Press and watch your opponents rage. This will allow you to survive (if only for a little while) when focused, and let your team destroy the enemy team whilst they try to right click your golden body.

Banshee's Veil:
-Health: Good, dependable boost.
-Health Regeneration: Now recovers health upon being attacked. Wonderful when facing a poke comp centered enemy team.
-Magic Resist: Great for surviving that Annie or LeBlanc burst.
-Unique Passive: Spell shield every 25 seconds? Yes please. Block that Pyromania stun or that stray Summon: Tibbers. Good against many champions, but Galio, Malphite, and Amumu tend to stand out in particular. This could easily save your life. Over and over again.

Game stages as Nidalee are very unique, particularly late game, because of her input in teamfights. Thought I would write a bit on what I do during each stage of the game.

Key:
-: do this.
--: optional.

Game Start:
-Buy Boots and Health Potion x3.
-Put a point in Bushwhack.
-Defend for your jungler.
--Trap up the sides of you lane, or jungle entrances (careful with your mana).
--Help damage for your jungler.
-Go to your lane.

Early Game (Pre-Level 6):
-Focus on farming (last hit only).
--Use both Human form and Cougar form to last hit.
--Harass your opponent once Javelin Toss reaches level 2.
--Heal yourself to negate enemy harassment.
--Go back and recharge/buy items (try to not do this until you have at least 825 Gold).
-Buy at least one Stealth Ward or Vision Ward (more on this here).
-Assist your jungler in a kill if they come to your lane.
-- Bushwhack around your lane when you can.
--Play very cautiously/passively.

Middle Game (Post-Level 6):
-Continue to farm.
--Push when necessary (more on this here).
--Gank other lanes (more on this here).
-Try to set up kills on the other laner.
--Ask your jungler for Crest of the Ancient Golem.
-- Bushwhack around commonly traveled paths whenever you can.
-Continue to ward.
--Play a little bit more boldly/aggressively, assuming that you have good ward coverage and map awareness.

Late Game (No exact time frame for this. Turrets should be pushed. People will begin to all come to the middle lane (lucky for you, you don't have to move).
-Continue to farm/push when you can.
-Participate in teamfights/encounters.
-Defend objectives.
-Continue to ward.
-Chuck Javelin Tosses everywhere. Lucky hits (or "skilled" shots) can give your team an advantage, or make your target go back to base, putting them behind.
-Stay with your team.
-Help secure important targets. This includes:
-Enemy Champions.
-Turrets.
-Inhibitors.
- Dragon.
- Baron Nashor.
--Keep on laying Bushwhacks as mana allows.
--Heal yourself or teammates as needed (don't forget about the attack speed buff as well).

Warding is one of the most important aspects of the game. 75-100 gold can save your life, which is a really good deal in my opinion. As Nidalee you must know where to ward, and when.

Stealth Ward: A cheap, easy way to give yourself some good map awareness. If you are in the middle lane, you are going to want to always have one placed on your preferred side bush, and then stick to that side. This ensures that you will have the time to escape prospective enemy ganks.

Vision Ward: A good way to give yourself sight and eliminate your opponents wards. Make sure to buy these if you have an enemy Akali, Evelynn, Talon, or Teemo (more on this later). Remember to defend these if you can, since they are visible to the enemy team. If you see your enemy place a ward, feel free to destroy it by buying one of these. It is very gold efficient because:
-You are getting sight in that area which would have cost 75 anyway.
-You get gold from killing their ward.

Bushwhack: Just to recap, you are going to want to place these all around areas where the enemy jungler might gank or invade. You can save your jungler (and team) some major heartache by detecting exactly where the enemy jungler is. Remember to place these with some prudence, as they will drain your mana quite a bit during early game.

Last hit, last hit, last hit.

As Nidalee (or any champion really, besides support champions), you are going to need a whole lot of farm to be successful late game. Make sure to attack any and all enemy minions near you that have low health. If it helps, click on them and check their remaining health before right clicking on them, at least until you get used to estimating their health immediately. It will become second nature eventually to last hit. Try not to push when you want to farm; this will hurt your farming potential and put you in a dangerous place.

(A quick note on frequently heard advice):
You've probably heard/read that you should last hit a melee minion under a tower after the tower has hit is twice, and for caster minions to hit them once, let the the tower attack them, and then hit them again. While this is theoretically true, and it does work, it doesn't factor in your minions attacks on the enemy minions, which may adversely affect your farming. Try to counter push if your opponent is hard pushing, because getting stuck under your tower could end not so well for you.

Freezing the lane is a different story. If you can pull off zoning your opponent by last hitting correctly close to your tower (but not under it), by all means do so for as long as possible. It will also make your lane very hard to gank for the enemy, and very easy to gank for your teammate.

For all your tower pushing, quick minion killing, opponent pressure needs.


Pre-Level 6:
-Pretty much impossible as Nidalee. Don't even bother trying, you'll end up missing quite a bit of farm. Just last hit.

Post-Level 6:
-Use Primal Surge on yourself (optional).
-Use Aspect Of The Cougar.
-From a small distance away, right click the middle caster minion.
-When you are a within range (takes some practice), use Pounce.
-After landing on the three caster minions, immediately use Swipe.
-Use Takedown and autoattacks on any minions that you missed.


Throughout the Game:
-Use Primal Surge on yourself or the nearest allied attack damage carry (occasionally the bruiser if they have high attack damage/damage per second)(this is optional, but recommended).
-Stay in human form. Seriously. Don't switch to cougar form, abuse your range, trust me, it's much safer.
-Auto attack the enemy turret until it explodes (or abort mission (with your teammates) if enemy champions show up. Fighting under enemy turrets are less than optimal, but plausible and viable if done right).

Is this new section, I'll be covering champions that Nidalee does extremely well against (both in lane, and otherwise). This is helpful in determining how aggressive (or passive) you can be, and how to itemize.

Just wanted to put a quick chapter about ganking as Nidalee in this guide for those who need a push in the right direction.

-Change to cougar form.
-Spam Pounce and walk through bushes to get to a side lane.
-Try to avoid general ward areas, try going through the jungle if you can/know it's safe.
-Try to wait for your target to stop moving, then throw a well aimed Javelin Toss.
-They will probably know you are there now, so signal to your teammates who to focus and then jump in with whatever combo of Nidalee skills suit you the best.
-If they get away, never fear, throw a final Javelin Toss in their direction and casually walk away.
-Did you get the kill (or feed the attack damage carry)? Yes? Hurray! Gank successful.
-Did you get the kill? No? Think about how you could improve next time. Hopefully you still did enough damage to send your opponents scurrying back to recharge their hitpoints, which is still a moderately successful gank. Give yourself a pat on the back and head back to your lane.

In my opinion, one of the most important and fun parts of League of Legends. This is the time to show everyone on both sides what kind of player you are. Obviously, play out teamfights how you see fit, and adapt to unexpected variables, but if all goes well, this is a little cheatsheat to make sure you're doing what you should be doing.

-Let your tank (or sometimes the bruiser) initiate.
-Stand relatively far behind your team (but not ridiculously out of position) and hurl some Javelin Tosses.
-When your attack damage carry goes into the fray, make sure to use Primal Surge on them to boost their attack speed (or the bruiser if it would complement them better).
-Wait until the enemy team has blown most or all of their main crowd control moves (all the while spamming Javelin Toss.
-(You can also be using Bushwhack into the enemy team, remember the minor damage and major armor/magic resistance reduction it provides).
-Change to cougar form to clean up when you know it's safe.
- Pounce into the fight.
-Use Swipe on as many enemy champions as you can.
-Auto attack your target (pretty self explanatory: attack damage carry first, then ability power carry, support, bruiser, tank. this rarely changes).
-Immediately use Takedown to reset your attack counter.

After doing all of this you can either:
-Change to human form and heal/spear/trap (generally in that order).
-Stay in cougar form and wait out your short cooldowns.

After this:
-Your team is winning the teamfight. Chase any remaining targets down with Pounce and Prowl.
OR
-Your team is badly losing the teamfight (meaning it's just you left alive (and maybe the support) versus 3-5 of the enemy teams finest). Run away from your recently lost encounter with Pounce and Prowl.

Tip:
-When running away from enemies, if pounce is on cooldown and you are a fair distance away, change to human form, heal yourself, and chuck some Javelin Tosses behind you. Nothing is more satisfying than insta-killing a chasing enemy champion who had half of their health left. Emphasis on had. :)

On the journey to Platinum, I have found a few useful insights that I thought I would just write down really quickly.
Wall of text incoming.

1. Flash Early
The "problem" that a lot of people tend to have is conservation. When you get ganked, your natural instinct is to save flash for the last possible moment. Forget the Malphite ultimate and Leona stun coming your way. You'll just survive the burst and walk away with half of your health, right? Wrong. Most likely, you'll end up burning flash anyway, but too late to actually save you. By now, ignite is ticking away and there's nothing more you can do. How to remedy this? Is the Darius within licking distance and about to pull you? Flash early. Now I'm not saying to blow your flash just because you feel a bit skittish, have a good reason, but employing the flash earlier in the gank as opposed to later will save you many more time than you might think. Quick reactions = survival (and hopefully some burned ultimates on their side).

2. For God's Sake, Buy Wards
Yes, I am saying this one again. Want to know why? Recently, buying wards has become an even lower priority for the majority of players. Why? Trinkets. Long story short, just because you have a single (long cooldown I might add) ward with you at all times does not mean you should abandon buying wards altogether. Just trust me on this one.

3. It's Dangerous to Go Alone
This one is especially for ADC's, but listen up regardless. If it is mid-late game and you are not a split pusher, you need to be with your team. Unless specifically asked to do so, you shouldn't just be wandering around, farming alone, chasing enemies. You get the idea. Strength in numbers (and c'mon, free peels!).

4. Practice What You Preach
So this one hits a very personal spot with me. First of all, don't be one of those players who complains every five seconds about everyone else on their team. Mistakes happen. Does whining help? Not even a little bit. In fact it is extremely counterproductive and takes all of the fun out of a team game. That being said, constructive criticism is fine, in moderation. Remind your teammates to ward, or to play passive while they wait for a gank. If they refuse to listen to you, stop bothering them. Work with the teammates that are cooperative and hope that the outlier comes around. Lastly, and most importantly, if you are giving actual helpful advice, expect actual helpful advice from others. Listen to it, and change accordingly. Calling all of the shots is not the way to victory, learn and grow, don't be that one guy that everyone cannot stand playing alongside.

5. Accommodate
The usual - respect pick order, don't steal lanes from others, go where you're needed. Too often players choose to throw games before they even begin. If you really want to go Jax because you just bought that new skin, but your team is missing a support, support. Assuming that everyone follows this courtesy, your games will start off on the right foot. Positive rapport goes a long way.

6. Karma is Actually Not a *****
This one is less of a necessity, and more of a suggestion. What makes games more fun (besides winning)? Having a lively interaction with your teammates. Did Leona just save your life with a perfectly placed Solar Flare? Thank her. Did your jungler just execute an excellent gank? Thank them. Did your team just blow through the other team in a fight because you've been taking my advice? Thank me (just kidding~ throw out a "good job team" or the like. praise feels good to give and get). People are more likely to play better if they know that you appreciate their hard work.

7. League of Sportsmanship
Can't believe I'm writing this one down, but one of the most hated things about League of Legends is the awful community (parts of it anyway). Cussing out and mocking your opponents in all chat is just asking to be ostracized. Is it helping you? Absolutely not. So don't do it. And if they aren't returning you the favor of healthy play, ignore them. No need to call out "I'm muting you!" Just mute them. The best payback for unsportsmanlike behavior? Beating their sorry ***es into the ground while you dance over their corpses. No not really, but you get the idea. Toxic players are a pain, and you lose arguments with them by engaging. If the toxic player is on your team, politely ask them to stop yelling at people. If they continue to, 9x mute, 9x report. (And @anyonewhodoestribunal, permaban please? :D)

8. Kills =/= Skills
Ok, so that Vayne who goes 30/0 every single game is clearly a good player, but kills don't linearly scale in relation to a player's skill. Your team's Kassadin who went 4-6 could have contributed a lot to the game, maybe more so than your team's Jayce who went 20/20. Remember to keep it together and have fun, and don't judge others based solely on their KDA (this isn't COD). This leads me to another important point, don't risk everything you have for kills. Don't chase enemies through unwarded areas. There are high risk high reward plays, and then there are just stupid plays. Learn the difference and you'll see success.

Comment or Private Message me your question(s), and I will try to answer them here (so others can benefit too) as often as possible.

Q: Can you add pictures of successful examples of winning with this build as Nidalee?
A: Of course. Will be coming soon.

Q: What lane is recommended for playing Nidalee?
A: Middle lane or top lane (middle is preferred).
Q: Why?
A: Middle lane is equidistant from the other two lanes, allowing Nidalee to really abusing her pushing and roaming power. Besides maybe Kassadin and Udyr, few champs can abuse their mobility as much as Nidalee can, and middle lane can really highlight this strength.

Q: Are Hybrid Penetration Runes good on Nidalee?
A: Very much so. What you end up running is really up to you. It is very viable.