Nidalee Build Guide by kruel

Introduction

Hello, this is my first guide and it's not finished yet.
So about Nidalee, she is a very strong champion and she makes a lot of fun.
Nidalee is one of the champs who can be played in every lane and as everything.(bruiser,ap,support,ect)

In this Guide I will explain you how to play Nidalee on the top lane

Pros / Cons

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Pros + You can play her on AD or AP + She has high mobility + Mapcontrol with her traps

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Cons - Weak early game - Farm dependent - Skill is necessary

Runes

• greater quintessence of Desolation & greater mark of Desolation: This allows you a strong early game and it's helping your skills in cougar
  
• Greater Glyph of Armor: You need it because most solotop champions are AD
  
• Greater Seal of Scaling Magic Resist: Because you dont need much magic Resistance before the mid game
  
  Alternative Runes:
  
• Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: the higher movement speed gives you more mobility so you are better help for your teammates and you can easily splitpush
  
• Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: it will make your spear even stronger and so you can nuke everything with less AP
  
• greater seal of Replenishment Nidalee has mana problems if you use your heal or your spear very often, this will solve the problem
  
• Greater Glyph of Armor This is for your survive ability at the Top lane
  

Early game

Buy Boots of Speed and 3x Health Potion, if you have problems with last hits you can also buy Doran's Blade first.

Play very passive before level 6 you are not very strong, just concentrate on farming.

Just farm until you can buy Guinsoo's Rageblade

From now on you should be very strong.
When you reached level 6 push your lane with Swipe & Pounce and then gank mid.

Mid game

Now you should decide: AD or AP?
It will depends on the enemy team, on your team and on your favorites.

AP Nidalee is very hard to play because she has to hit her Takedown, she also helps her team alot with the heal


AD Nidalee is very strong, her Takedown is not a skillshot, she is tanky and makes a lot of damage

But you can also buy AD and AP items.
The build on Nidalee is not so important your playstyle is the most relevant on her.

So in midgame you have to ward much for your skillshot and with your high mobility and your cougar it's easy to farm the lanes you. This is very important push your lanes and farm as much as you can with your high mobility it should be very easy for you to run away if the enemy team is coming. You should have a farm goal after a a specific time like 150-200 farm after 25 minutes.

Late game

When you have much AP you have to assassinate the AD-Carry with Takedown otherwise you have to jump into teamfights and kill the enemy with your Swipe and [Takedown]] combo.

You should initiate if you are tanky enough. When you don't have much life or armor/magic resistance then you should not initiate the team fight!

Keep the warding, with your high mobility you are able to catch some offguard people.

If you are pushing towers with your team use your Swipe on the AD-Carry so that he can burst the tower down.

Items

How i already mentioned in the midgame you can buy a lot of items on her because of her cougar form.

But really important is Guinsoo's Rageblade
why?
Because it gives you AD and AP and the passive is also very nice. I think it is the only core item on her.

Boots

Mercury's Treads buy these shoes if the enemy team has much CC or a lot of AP

Ninja Tabi if the enemy team hasn't got much CC but a lot of AD you should buy this item

Sorcerer's Shoes if you want to play full AP you can buy these shoes but i dont recommend it because your spear is very strong without this and if the enemy team is stacking magic resistance you can buy Void Staff

AD

Warmog's Armor This item makes her very tanky and in combination with Atma's Impaler it's an offensive build

Wriggle's Lantern it gives you a free ward, lifesteal and armor so it's nice for a tanky build.

Infinity Edge it gives you much damage and crit i just recommend it in combination with a lifesteal item

The Bloodthirster it gives you much lifesteal and much damage after you farmed a little bit because Nidalee can farm so easy it would be a very good choice

Trinity Force really good but also a very expensive item if you are doing well you can buy it.I am not a fan of it because it gives only a little bit of everything and cost very much but on Nidalee it is very good because she needs everything AP, AD , Movement speed, Crit, etc

Manamune this is a very nice item because it gives you very much AD and with this item you will never have problems with your mana again

AP

Rabadon's Deathcap very nice item because it gives you a lot of AP and makes your spear incredible strong

Lich Bane after a ability it give you bonus damage and it will give you more speed

Rylai's Crystal Scepter i only buy it for the health and the AP the passive is for Nidalee not so important

Archangel's Staff this is a very good item because when you are in cougar you will spam your skills so you get much mana which means you will have a lot of AP and never manaproblems again

Void Staff if the enemy team is stacking much magic resistance you should buy this item

Pounce through walls

you are able to jump over a few walls with Pounce here are some examples:


For more information look at this video from sinovera: