Hello everyone! I'm Jelly, known as MasterOfDisguise in the League of Legends Community. This is my first guide in general, and it is based around Nidalee -- probably my most played support. Because of this, I accept and respect all the (positive) advice and critism you give me. I hope you enjoy reading my guide and possibly even try Nidalee out at bot lane. Good luck on the Rift!

I will guide you. - Nidalee

Nidalee, the Bestrial Huntress

Nidalee is a League of Legends Champion. She is an assassin, preferring to quickly make work of her enemies. Nidalee is played as a Top or Mid Laner, but also as a support.

I started playing Nidalee after I got into the role of support. There are two things you should keep in mind when trying to play Nidalee as a support.

Make sure you know how to play Nidalee before you go into a real match. And even then, it's very helpful if you played her Top Lane or Mid Lane first. Nidalee is quite versatile and can either win or ruin your lane.

Make sure you know how to play the supporting role. There are some easier-to-play support Champions out there, like and . Knowing your role is the key to victory.

Nidalee is a very versatile champion. Not only does she have a pretty nice passive, but she has a total of 7 abilites. Let's take a look.

Prowl is Nidalee's Passive.
"Moving through brush increases Nidalee's movement speed by 15%. The buff lasts for an additional 2 seconds after leaving brush."
Nidalee's passive is extremely great to escape from or chase after an opponent. When combined with Pounce, the travelled distance per seconds is amazing.

Aspect of the Cougar is Nidalee's Ultimate.
"Toggle: Nidalee transforms herself into a cougar, gaining a new set of abilities and 20 movement speed. Nidalee loses 400 range while using this ability (effective range of 125).
Each rank in Aspect of the Cougar increases the ranks of all of Nidalee's cougar abilities."
Nidalee's signature ability. This is what seperates her from all the other Champions. Like Jayce and Elise, Nidalee's Ultimate is a transforming ability. She transforms from a Human Form to a Cougar Form, granting her new abilities. She can of course change back as well. But unlike Jayce and Elise, Aspect of the Cougar isn't available at lvl 1, but at the regular lvl 6.
Before patch 3.8 (or whatever) Nidalee's ultimate would grant Tear of the Goddess a stack, and it would get stacked really quickly. Nowadays, that's not the case anymore, something others would be glad they did.

Javelin Toss is Nidalee's Q Ability in Human Form.
Nidalee tosses her javelin, dealing magic damage on impact that increases depending on the distance between Nidalee and the target at the time it is hit. The multiplier caps at 2.5.
◾Cooldown: 6 seconds
◾Range: 1,500
◾Projectile speed: 1300
Cost: 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 mana
Minimum Damage: 55 / 95 / 140 / 185 / 230 (+0.65 per ability power)
Maximum Damage: 138 / 238 / 350 / 463 / 575 (+1.625 per ability power)
According to some, Nidalee's Javelin Toss, commonly known as her Spear, is one of the most overpowered abilities in League of Legends. And for a good reason. The damage output is amazing, it can reach up to over a 1000 damage on a single target. That said, it does have a few prices. It costs quite some mana early game, and being a skillshot, it can sometimes be difficult to land. Not only that, but it does require you building an AP item to really get the damage going, something you wouldn't do early game unless you're really fed.
Moving away from the position you throw the Spear makes it do extra damage if it hits the target. The longer it travels, the more damage it does. If you know how to use Javelin Toss, it'll be easier to take out your targets.

Takedown is Nidalee's Q Ability in Cougar Form.
Nidalee's next attack will be enhanced to deal additional physical damage that is increased by a multiplier equal to twice the target's missing health percentage.
◾No cost
◾Cooldown: 5 seconds
Damage Against Full-Health: 40 / 70 / 100 (+100% AD)
Damage Against Half-Health: 80 / 140 / 200 (+200% AD)
Maximum Physical Damage: 120 / 210 / 300 (+300% AD)
The fun thing about Nidalee is that her abilities in Human Form scale off of Ability Power, while her abilities in Cougar Form do the same. Takedown is the odd one in the series, as it scales off of Attack Damage. This makes her quite effective when build AP Hybrid.
Takedown is a very good damage-dealer in Cougar Form. If you're close to your target, it might be wiser to use Takedown instead of Javelin Toss, since the damage will be greater. As Support Nidalee, building Attack Damage is not a reliable option. If you're chasing your opponent on low health, Takedown will certainly guarantee a kill, either for you or for whoever's with you.

Bushwhack is Nidalee's W Ability in Human Form.
Nidalee lays a trap that deals magic damage over 2 seconds when sprung by an enemy, revealing them and reducing their armor and magic resistance for 12 seconds. Traps last for 4 minutes.
◾Cooldown: 18 seconds
◾Range: 900
◾Diameter of Activation AoE:
Cost: 60 / 75 / 90 / 105 / 120 mana
Total Magic Damage: 80 / 125 / 170 / 215 / 260 (+0.4 per ability power)
Armor & Magic Resist Reduction: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 %
You don't need 67 Wards to grant vision of bushes. Commonly known as Nidalee's Trap, Bushwhack can either let you check bushes or prevent jungler ganks. The additional damage is nice, and might even finish off a fleeing target. Maybe. Just maybe.

Pounce is Nidalee's W Ability in Cougar Form.
Nidalee lunges forward, dealing magic damage to enemies around her landing area.
◾No cost
◾Cooldown: 3.5 seconds
◾Jump Range: 375 (estimate)
◾Diameter of AoE: 150 (estimate)
Magic Damage: 125 / 175 / 225 (+0.4 per ability power)
I love Pounce. Being the only Ability in Cougar Form to scale off of AP, Pounce lets you chase or escape from your opponents. With a low cooldown and availability to jump over certain walls, this is the ability you would definitly want to switch to Cougar Form for.

Primal Surge is Nidalee's E Ability in Human Form.
Nidalee heals an ally champion and grants them bonus attack speed for 7 seconds. ◾Cooldown: 10 seconds
◾Range: 600
Cost: 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 / 140 mana
Heal: 50 / 85 / 120 / 155 / 190 (+0.7 per ability power)
Attack Speed: 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 %
One of the most needed stats on most AD Carries, and you can boost it? A Heal and an Attack Speed buff for your carry or yourself, Primal Surge is a very nice ability and the main reason support Nidalee works. The early mana costs are quite high, but that's why we have Tear of the Goddess, now don't we?

Swipe is Nidalee's E Ability in Cougar Form.
Nidalee claws at enemies in a cone in front of her, dealing magic damage. ◾No cost
◾Cooldown: 6 seconds
◾Range: 300 (estimate)
◾Cone Width: 180 degrees (estimate)
Magic Damage: 150 / 225 / 300 (+0.6 per ability power)
What scares an opponent more than a tiger swiping its claws at them? Swipe is a nice add to an already versatile moveset. Chase your opponents with Pounce, then use Swipe and finish them with Takedown, such a nice combo!

Now, why would you want to play support Nidalee? I mean, there may be a lot more efficient supports out there, such as , , , and . What does Nidalee have to offer?

Pros

Has a heal and attack speed buff
Very nice damage output with the right items
Fairly easy-to-play
Good map dominance with Traps
Has 7 abilities from lvl 6
Has a juking ability (Pounce)


Cons

Has no CC
Squishy without the right items
Skillshot Javelin Toss
Heavy mana-cost early game (Tear!)
Item reliant

Overall, I think in some matches the Pros can outweigh the Cons. In most cases, I prefer Sona, but when I want to go aggressive or just feel like it, I pick Nidalee.

Marks of Magic Penetration
Isn't it Obvious enough? One way to boost the damage of your Spear is to kill their Magic Resist. There isn't really another substitute for these, and Hybrid Penetration isn't that reliable as support Nidalee. Just stick with these and it'll be fine.

Seals of Armor
The AD Carry will kill you easily if you aren't prepared. Seals of Armor are there to negate most damage early game, because if you get killed by the ADC before lv. 6, they will snowball and most likely win the game. Make sure you take these at all times.
If you have more mana problems than armor problems early game, you can switch some (or all) with Seals of (Scaling) Mana Regeneration.

Glyphs of Magic Resist
Now, this is a bit tricky. If the opponent is Ability Power based, like Sona or Zyra, you want to take Glyphs of Magic Resist, especially against the latter one. If you know you'll be against a support like Thresh or Leona, then take Glyphs of Ability Power. Or take those if you just feel like you want more damage in-game.

Quintessences of Gold (P10)
These Quintessences are standard on a support Rune Page. No exception here, you won't get farm unless your carry isn't in-lane. Like the Glyphs, you can switch to Quintessences of Ability Power if you want more damage over money.