Hello, my name is dafug76 and this is my very first guide featuring Nidalee on Top Lane . As Nidalee has been nerfed and her spears deal less damage, they have changed her from AP to AD, and some people doesn't know what exactly is her damage source, or doesn't know what to build. I am here to solve your problem and learn you how to have a successful lane with Nidalee top.

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+Pros

+Extreme mobility
+Great AD burst
+Easy kills on squishy targets
+Nice chasing with her passive
+Good map control with her W Bushwhack
+Can be between an AD Bruiser and an Assassin.

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-Cons

-Not very reliable on teamfights
-Squishy at early on
-Big mana problem, needs blue buff at almost all the game
-Vulnurable when stunned
-Meduim-Hard champion to master

Try to max out first / the Javelin toss/Takedown as it's your main damage source

Second should be Primal surge as its one of the best heals and lane spells.

And third is the Bushwhack , which is not very necessary but its good for map control and protecting your lane from ganks.

You can also max up E first if you have a problem in your lane against a counter.

My recommenced runes are:

x9 Marks of Armor Penetration,
x9 Seals of Armor,
x9 Glyphs of Cooldown Reduction
x3 Quintessences of Attack Damage

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As I said before, you can change the glyphs if you want. Instead of having CD reduction, you could have MR Glyphs. CD reduction is good because it helps you in early trades, and if the jungler gives you a blue, you can spam your heal and take the poke level to the maximum.

The standard spells are:

Flash
and
Teleport

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That's what a top laner would likely take. Flash is good to close the gap and then pounce to an enemy to secure a kill, and teleport is great to keep your lane. Now if you want some other spells, let me tell you my opinion about them.

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Ignite is the second spell I would take, but I would not give teleport for ignite. Keep teleport. It's very important.

Ghost is also good spell. Combining with the passive, you can chase an enemy for a lifetime. Although it has a small cooldown, its not a reliable spell, but its your choice. Still not giving teleport for ghost. I would always keep teleport.

Heal is ok, but you have your Primal surge as a healing. 3 times E = 1 Heal. It's also ok for teamfights, but not a good spell for top lane. Not recommented.

Exhaust is very effective against a top laner who deals bunch of damage (like , or etc.), and you should take it if you really want to.

Barrier is not good. It's worse than heal, but if the enemy has ignite, should do it's small job. Not recommenced.

Cleanse is not worth. It could save you from some situations but you could just take Quicksilver sash instead of this. Not recommenced.

No. really. Your support should have this, or if you really want something like this, just take the blue trinket. Not recommenced.

Super puma! (No, really.)

Early Game

Your early game is easy. You are one of the champions you deal the most burst in the start of the game. You can secure farm with Takedown and keep staying on lane with Primal surge. If you feel obliged, buy your first item, like Phage and some pots. Keep farming and try to get kills, slowly and patiently. When you have good farm and kills, or when you build your Trinity force, start roaming and pick kills, usually on bot. After taking some kills (if you don't it's okay,) proceed to mid game.

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Mid Game

The Mid game is where you take the most kills. Usually performed on mid lane, you can easily poke the enemy team if you take a good angle. This will force them to be defensive. If they are defensive, don't push them. Let them push and then let your team engage. In a teamfight you have to find an opening to the enemy adc (or AP carry), and then do your combo. Hit him with the Javelin. Once you hit him, instantly transform into cougar. Then, Pounce to him (the range will be doubled cause of the passive), then Swipe him and then perform
your Takedown. That will hurt a lot. Remember, do whatever you have before using Takedown, because the less HP the target has, the more damage the spell does. If the enemy adc isnt dead or flashes or escapes, continiune chasing him. Don't be afraid to still attack him if 1 or 2 of the enemy team wants to protect their adc, except if they have hard cc. Your armor will make you resist some damage and it's usually worth to die if you kill their carry. In every teamfight you do, your target is the most squishy, usually the ADC. It's also the most important target, because it deals the most damage. Try to take the dragon with your team for more gold. If you haven't done well in mid game, you should start splitpushing

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Late Game

Late game is where Nidalee lacks. 70% of my wins with Nidalee are before late game. You should also try avoiding late game. If you have reached late game, you are becoming a little useless to the team. The best thing to do is to just go behind the enemy team, assassinate and move back. It's not easy to get to the back line of their team, and you cant kill the adc if the teamfight hasn't begun. You can only kill it if the teamfight has started, or another great time is when the ADC has gone away of it's team, for a buff or to put a ward somehwere. This is a great chance to kill him. As the adc is focused on the teamfight, you must sneak at him and kill him as faster as you can. Your cooldowns will help you chasing him. It's your main mission. The key to win. That's why Nidalee was designed like that. It assassinates the enemy carries. If they have armor, take armor pen like Youmuu's ghostblade. Be sure you also buy some defence too, like Randuin's omen or Thornail to resist enemy focus on you. If your team is stomped, say to your team to stay defensive and try splitpushing. If your team can't do it without you, stay with your team. You always have a chance of winning.

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Your items are mostly AD. I will show you what items you can take.
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First items:
A Doran's blade, a pot and your trinket

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Core:
When you are farmed well or score a kill, you should first take a Phage or a Sheen depending on your gold. Take a pair of boots. Keep your money and then take your Trinity force. That's your main item. That's your damage. If you prefer more tanky build, you can take an Iceborn gauntlet. After this, take a , Bilgewater cutlass and then your Botrk. Those are your main items. For boots you can take Mercury's treads or Ninja tabi, basing on your lane opponent.

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More damage:
If you want more damage those are some items you can take:
A Bloodthirster. Good item, lifesteal, damage and a good shield. What Nidalee needs.
An Infinity edge. It increases your damage a lot, and if you want also take Statikk shiv that it can proc with your Q, dealing insane burst.
A Last whisper is good if they have many tank champions, or you can take Youmuu's ghostblade.
Ravenous hydra is very good, giving you damage and survivability potential, and you can replace it with Botrk if they dont have many tanks.
Frozen mallet is something I would take in most games. Very good chasing, damage and HP. Perfect for Nidalee.

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More defense:
If you feel you are too squishy, those are some items you can take.
Randuin's omen is what I take at almost all games. Main defense for your champion.
Thornail is good if they have someone like Master yi or Yasuo or if the enemy ADC focuses on you.
Frozen heart is what you would take if you deal mostly with AD, and Maw of malmortius if you mostly deal with AP.
Guardian angel is good if the enemy team really focuses on you.
Nice item increasing your MR and your healing.
Also a good item but you mostly take resists for defensive items. Also someone like Kog'maw or would melt you instantly.
Life saving item from live risking spells like Blitzcrank's

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That's all. Thank you for taking your time reading my first guide. I hope it helped you and you liked it, if you like it leaving an +1 would really help me. If you don't like it I am okay with this, comment and tell me if there is something you don't like on this guide.

Peace out.
dafug76

I will have more questions as long as you make them to me, but there are some questions would someone asked me I guess.

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Q: Can Nidalee be played AP now?

A: This is a AD Nidalee guide, but as I told you, she has been nerfed and she hasn't got that AP power that she had before. All her AP ratio has been decreased, Javelin toss is smaller and Bushwhack has also been nerfed. It's more worth to play AD, but she can still be AP, but not as good as she was before.

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Q: Can Nidalee do other lanes?

A: She can also Mid, and a new meta pick is Jungler. I will make a Nidalee jungler guide depending on my success in this guide. Support Nidalee is not worth anymore.

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Q: I have lost my lane and my opponent is fed. What can I do?

A: It's ok if you lost a lane. If you have lost your lane, you should farm a lot on Mid game. Farm as much as you can and get your Trinity force. Get your team's moral normal and then go for kills. Do this slowly and patiently. If you don't want to farm, you should better start Convert Splitpush with your team.

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Q: I haven't understand Nidalee's passive. What does it do exactly?

A: Nidalee's passive is Prowl
1#: When you are in a bush, you gain extra movement speed.
2#: Hitting someone with your spear or with your bushwhack will Target the enemy as a ''Hunted''. When the enemy is targeted, you see him wherever he is, you gain movement speed and moving towards him will give you more movement speed. Executing spells in an targeted enemy, will grand some bonuses on Cougar form. Takedown will deal extra damage, Pounce will grand x2 range, and Swipe will also do extra damage. Your enemy is no longer ''Hunted'' after 4 seconds.