Nidalee

Is a ranged harassment laner able to do mid, top, and support. Nidalee excels at harassing enemy laners in the early game and causing large amounts of disruption in the mid to late game team fights.

Top Lane

Top lane Nidalee is normally built as an ad bruiser spending the early game using auto attacks to harass the enemy laner and playing on her power spike at level six. From there she can either become a powerful split pusher disrupting the enemy team by forcing them to split up or can act as an assassin of type in team fights using tankyness and good burst damage to disrupt the enemy back line.

Mid Lane

Mid lane Nidalee is normally built as an ap carry relying on a passive early game but once you have put a few points into Javelin Toss has poke that can kill. In the late game she uses her damage to bring the enemy carries down in health as a single well aimed Javelin Toss can nearly kill a squishy champion.

Support

As a support Nidalee is an ability power champion with a Sightstone (unless you actually buy supportive items.) During the lane she is best at harassing the enemy duo lane while using her heal on her attack damage carry for the health and attack speed increase. Keeping vision on the lane and late game if going damage poke the enemy down and if going supportive then she can support her team by using high mobility to keep tabs on the map.

Special thanks to jhoijhoi for the guide that helped me learn how to create this and for giving access to the colored lines. Also thank you to anyone reading this and criticism and advice are always welcome. Enjoy :D

Top Lane Runes

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For runes you generally want to take a very simple rune page used for ad bruisers, with little that truly stands out. The only main difference being Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed as these benefit Nidalee more then many other champions. Due to you not relying on extra damage stats you can instead increase your already frustratingly high mobility.

For seals go Greater Seal of Armor for the extra tankness allowing you to survive against an attack damage lane opponent.

For glyphs go the Greater Glyph of Magic Resist or the Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist depending on if you think you will need the extra mr early or late game.

For marks take either the Greater Mark of Attack Damage for flat auto attack damage or the greater mark of armor penetration for the penetrating spears.

For Quintessences go either Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage to improve your early harass, greater quintessence of armor penetration to improve your mid game damage better then the flat ad runes, or Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed to abuse your already high elusiveness and mobility.

Your goal with these runes are to put as much early pressure as you can as well as having the needed stats to strike your enemy when your six.

Top Lane Masteries

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Spells

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Q

If you don't understand why there are two abilities listed under one key take a quick look at, Nidalee's ultimate, Aspect Of The Cougar. Javelin Toss is nearly useless to you because it relies on an ap scaling to do much. While a high leveled full range q can deal some damage to a target its quite a waste of mana to use during lane unless the enemy has almost no health left and your out of things to throw; but for the most part spending your mana on this isn't even worth the cost as your Primal Surge takes quite a bit to use. Takedown however is your primary damage and what you will rely on to create and finish kills because of it being an auto attack modifier and an execution move on only a five second cool down. You want to max this second as to get a bit of extra damage on Javelin Toss.

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W

Bushwhack is one of your best friends in lane. While spamming it will destroy your mana pool, its vision aspect is a massive help no matter the opponent. Using Bushwhack in the bushes can save you from potential ganks and finding enemies hiding in the lane bushes. Pounce is what makes you such a pain in the ***. A three and a half cooldown short leap capable of getting over many of the small walls across the map or summoner rift. Pounce allows you to be extremely mobile and get in on top of priority targets allowing you to act as a suto-assassin against squishy targets. Max this last as the main focus of your skills is damage and this is too unreliable a damage source. While the armor and magic resist shred can be a nice bonus, but normally people tend not to step on them. While maxing this second can have its benefits in some situations it is normally not advised as it is difficult to use the the middle of a fight.

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E

Primal Surge is your main focus in lane as at max upgrade it gives nearly 200 health and 60% attack speed increase with a ten second cool down. Despite its high mana cost this is ad Nidalee's main ability throughout nearly all of the game. In the laneing phase this helps keep you alive and allows you to duel many top lane champions in a straight fight. In the mid and late game it helps you shred towers while split pushing and a good bonus for your carry (even if that is you) in any fight. Swipe will deal good early damage and towards the late game will allow you to clear waves really quick especially with Iceborn Gauntlet and Pounce causes you to be a quick and powerful pusher. This is the first skill you want to max as the lane sustain is strong as well as the good attack speed steroid.

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R

This skill transforms you into a cougar with 400 less attack range than in human form but changes your entire skill set. (The human form non-ultimate abilities are Javelin Toss, Bushwhack, and Primal Surge and the cougar form non ultime abilities are Takedown, Pounce, and Swipe. With your ult you now have real kill potential and pushing capabilites. With cougar form you can duel most top lane champions and you become a strong split pusher as well as the ability to execute any low health enemy in fights. Both forms q,w and e are on separate cool downs and so constant form changes is considered the most effective way to handle fights. Human form has a poke/harassment based kit which hold the advantage by staying away. Cougar form's kit is based around mobility and quick burst damage able to jump in and finish off a low health enemy or even use the low cool downs to just flat out win fights. Like any ult take points into this at six, eleven, and sixteen to improve the damage of all cougar form abilities. Also keep in mind taking points your human form abilities doesn't improve your cougar form abilities. Instead the cougar form abilities improve by putting points into this skill.

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Summoner Spells

This is a summoner you normally take {although Nid can technically do fine without it) as it allows you to escape sticky situations and engage on enemies normally out of range. All and all a very powerful and useful summoner.
This damage over time summoner spell is what I think is the second best option as it really compliments you level six power spike for a quick and easy kill.
This is also a very nice pickup especially if you are going full passive and not aiming for kills at all and focusing more on pushing then aiming for kills. Also a considerable pickup if going against a really aggressive early level opponent or when going really heavily into damage.
Your final option if you decide to go full split push or plan on following a champion like Shen. This allows you to push undisturbed and Teleport when a fight breaks out.

Top Lane Items

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Starting item(s)

As top Lane Nidalee you are open to a large number of available starting items depending on how you plan to handle your lane.




Starting Crystalline Flask allows you to grab one Health Potion and more importantly a sight ward as your starting items. With this you will have some gank protection as well as the ability to heal back your health and mana with the flask and it will lower the number of potions you will need during the laneing phase.

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With a Cloth Armor start your able to grab five Health Potions and with the additional armor this is a recommended versus high early damage champions with high physical damage such as Aatrox and Renekton.

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Starting boots along with four Health Potions gives you a movement advantage in lane, combined with your passive you can easily kite enemies in the early stages of the game. Also the additional movement speed is beneficial when playing against skill shot oriented champions such as Lee Sin or Jayce.

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Starting Faerie Charm gives you some much welcomed mana regeneration as well as letting you start sight ward and up to six Health Potions/ Mana Potions giveing you a much more sustained laneing phase plus the option of an early Chalice of Harmony.

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Starting Doran's Blade, although not recommended, can allow you to harass your opponent very heavily as well as some minor healing from its passive. However you give up reliable sustain from potions causing you to be very susceptible to a gank or an opponent who can win an all in against you. However picking one of these up early but not as your first item can be a considerably beneficial idea as for the reasons stated above.

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Core Item(s)

This is your bread and butter as bruiser Nidalee. Being able to buy Glacial Shroud early is good against nearly any attack damage enemy and the mana and cool down reduction is amazing for you. The sheen proc is a great complement to you cougar form Takedown ability and with the aoe damage it aids your ability to spit push and makes you a real threat to the enemy team.

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Defensive options

These are the main items you try and aim for in the mid and late game. As bruiser Nid you want to be a tanky disrupter in team fights as well as an impossible to kill split pusher.

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When playing against an ability power based champion or when dealing with heavy crowd control treads are always a worth while pick up early game.

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When playing agianst an attack damage or auto attack heavy champions Ninja Tabi can help negate lethal damage especially when grabbed early in lane to help dealing with trades.

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Grabbing an early Doran's Shield can be helpful when dealing with auto attack heavy champions in lane such as Rengar or Aatrox. While this won't do a thing for you late game this is a good early level item for assisting duels and trades.

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Spirit Visage is an amazing item on Nidalee when ever ability power damage is an issue as it increases the healing of your Primal Surge as well as some extra health and cool down reduction. This is an item that should always be brought into consideration when thinking of a tanky item.

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This item is amazing when every you are dealing with any auto attack based champion as it grants great armor and health stats as well as its passive cold steel which slows your enemy as well as its slowing active which is good especially when you get a large amount of resistance.

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A powerful item versus high attack damage teams or when your going split push heavy as it grants good armor and health as well as a small aoe damage to help with pushing, for a reasonable cost making this a very useful and cost efficient item.

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Granting a large sum of health and regeneration this is a good item to pick up if you want a large health spike especially if your going damage based rather then resistance based. Warmog's Armor is a good solution when dealing with high burst damage champions however it can leave you vulnerable against health percentage damage such as Blade of the Ruined King or Bio-Arcane Barrage.

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Wit's End is a decent choice when laneing against an ability power champion and the attack speed, extra bonus magic damage, and the increasing magic resistance per auto is always helpful. Due to this being one of the few magic resistance items in the game it is a considerable choice but lower on the recommenced list.

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Banshee's Veil is another of the few decent magic resistance items you can take, however this one also grants health, mana, and a very useful spell shield. The spell shield makes this a good item when against high caster teams and to help negate the enemies ability to engage on you with an ability such as Dazzle or Cocoon.

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The bulwark can be a great item pick up if you go an early game Aegis of the Legion. However as most junglers or supports take this item you may not have the chance but if no one on your team wants to, it can be a useful choice providing good defensive stats but forces you stay with your team more rather then solo split pushing.

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Locket of the Iron Solari is very similar to Runic Bulwark in pick up terms as many supports or junglers pick it up already. However if no one does it has good durability purposes and is an extremely effective pick up against attack damage heavy teams.

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While generally this isn't a traditional pick up if you go damage heavy it can be a possible pick up as the revive portion can cause enemies to have to switch focus creating confusion in team fights.

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Offensive options

While these should normally be brought into account after your defensive items sometimes it can be a good idea (or just fun) to be a little more damage centered then normal acting as a tower killer or an assassin like disruptor in fights.

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Personally I love this item, decent sustain damage on your autos, good burst potential with the active as well as a chase/escape mechanism, and just great on auto attackers in general. Blade of the Ruined King is a considerable grab as it can increase your damage while giving you an increased ability to chase and escape. However my opinion on this may be a little biased as I just love this item (and buy it on nearly everyone *cough* *cough*) I find this a good item in the right situation.

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Last Whisper has always been a good item on attack damage champions and as far as I'm concerned always will be, especially on bruiser champions. While Nidalee may not be the best champion in the word to grab this, it can and will increase your damage output and if you feel like you want to hurt this is a good and cost efficient option.

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When it comes to flat attack damage items Bloodthirster takes the bill, with its maximum amount of one hundred extra attack damage no matter who you are picking this up on will cause your auto attacks to hurt. While once again, Nid may not be the prime champion for this item, in the correct circumstance can allow you to become an auto attack semi-carry.

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Whether you see this as more of a defensive pick up to follow Hexdrinker or a damage increase, it can be taken for its extra attack damage and magic resistance when against magic heavy teams.

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Zephyr can be considered on o.k. item on nid as you enjoy all of its stats especially if you went Ninja Tabi instead of Mercury's Treads. The movement speed, attack damage, and attack speed can be used to make you a powerful split pusher or a quick moving disruptor in team fights. Either way this item can make you pretty annoying but is lower on the recommended items.

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In all honesty I'm not the best fan of this item and I'm not completely positive why its on this list (I think it may be so I could get six items in the offensive options section above) but while this item could be an option as you do enjoy its stats able to assist your damage and mobility it is an adviced item by some, however I'm not one of them.

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Why build Infinity Edge? Well normally you shouldn't but sometimes your really fed and you got cash and your team is winning so why not. Due to the fact Nidalee relays on auto attacks this item can let you deal some real damage and finish that little semi-carry build I brought up before.

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If for some bizarre reason you decide to buy Tear of the Goddess early, a Muramana can be grabbed to help deal some decent damage as awe can give you a really good amount of attack damage the toggle on this item can make you hurt with your attack speed increase and it will let you deal some real damage with your Javelin Toss :D. However in all seriousness this isn't generally an item to really spec into as you should normally get things to make you harder to kill.

Pros/Cons

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Pros

• Good early game harasser. (cause I haven't said that enough)
• Strong power spike at level six.
• Powerful split pusher.
• Able to escape even the worst situations.
• Able to survive two versus one lane swaps.
• Good at disrupting the enemy team in fights.
• Great single targeted burst damage.
• Can semi-carry with early game gold
• Able to draw focus easily even when going full tank.

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Cons

• Struggles in the late game.
• Struggles in team fights.
• Supplies no build in crowd control.
• Can be killed easily with hard cc.
• Weak in lane when out of mana.
• Reasonably squishy if going damage heavy.
• Relies on six to be effective.

Game Progression

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Early Game

In the early game (in case you couldn't have guessed) you try to auto attack your lane opponent harassing them as much as you can while still not missing your last hits. During the pre-six levels you don't have much kill potential but your range is normally a large advantage along with your ability to prevent ganks and heal off traded damage. However once you hit six your cougar form has a large amount of kill potential able to take down an enemy harassed down enough. For the remainder of the laneing phase pick up some defensive items and fight your opponent with base values or try and go for some early auto attack damage and try to become a real threat. In the early game you will want to focus on moving quickly into the core items early game items include Glacial Shroud, Sheen, Chalice of Harmony, Hexdrinker, Giant's Belt and more semi defensive items dependent on the enemy team's champions and the plans you have for your ending build.

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Mid Game

In the mid game you can choose from one of two options either going with your team and trying to create favorable team fights with your good base values and tankyness or you can take the more favored split push route focusing on killing towers and drawing enemy team members to have to stop you. Here is where your pounce's mobility comes into play as you can easily run around fights or escape attempted ganks in the attempt to stop your push. Here is when you want to start grabbing your tanky items so as to force the enemy team to focus on you as you dive at their valuable carries. By now you should have your Iceborn Gauntlet and so now its time to go for all the situational items at your disposal. I would advice going for defence with items such as Spirit Visage, Warmog's Armor, Randuin's Omen, with maybe one offensive item such as Blade of the Ruined King.

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Late Game

In the late game you basically just keep doing what you were doing in the mid game. either try and help win fights as a tank or split push like crazy, appearing when needed with your team. Abuse your mobility and keep moving around the map picking off people when you can and pushing down any undefended tower and try your best to force the enemy team to dedicate a champion to stop your push and if they don't take their towers. however at this point your base damage don't have the same effect and it you didn't go damage heavy your simply going to be a really annoying tank. so use that to your best advantage. Now your open to buy what ever you feel is necessary to end this game as I feel its gone on to long. Now you just need to finish the defensive or offensive items needed and push for the win as soon as possible.

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Team Fights

These kind of suck for you but that doesn't mean you can avoid them entirely. when you are forced to team fight use yourself as a wall and do as much damage to the enemy carries as you can forcing them to go on you instead of your own carries. If you go a little more damage centered then you have to be a bit more careful but your target remains the same. Simply use the mobility from pounce to get on and keep on the enemy carries until they die. If they get close to killing you try and use that to draw them away from the fight until your team can help you can you should be able to outrun a large number of champions especially in the jungle.

Farming

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Between harassing your enemy this is one of your primary focuses early game as you need at least a few items to really be effective as the game carries on. further in the game your main goal is split pushing so obviously you will be farming waves a lot however if pushing isn't needed and a fight will break out don't just afk farm as your innate mobility and damage could be a necessity for your team to score a strong win.

Summary

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In short you are a durable disruptive tank using your built in elusiveness and mobility to divide the enemy team by either focusing carries in fights or pushing away from your team and taking objectives. No matter what focus your build has you are one of the strongest split pusher's in the game and can have a powerful impact when played correctly. When the circumstances provide its self you are capable of semi-carrying through the mid game but you will have to pass the baton in the late game and switch to keeping your team in the favorable situation rather then being the favorable situation. While I may be a little repetitive with ad Nidalee objectives it is important that they are done as effectively and efficiently as possible as to bring a solid and convincing victory.

Mid Lane Runes

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For mid lane you go a standard ability power caster page.

For Seals go Greater Seal of Armor for the tankyness especially when agianst an ad mid or Greater Seal of Mana Regeneration to help spam your abilities.

For glyphs go Greater Glyph of Magic Resist.

For marks go Greater Mark of Magic Penetration to increase the penetration of your spears.

For quintessences go Greater Quintessence of Ability Power or Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed although the ability power is more heavily advised.

The goal with these runes is simply to deal more damage allowing you to hit as hard as you can.

Mid Lane Masteries

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Spells

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Q

Javelin Toss is your main damaging ability and what much of your play style on ability powr Nidalee is based around. Javelin Toss is a long range skill shot that while having a small 230 maxed base and 65% ap scaling at close range it increases to past a 575 maxed base and 160% scaling at maximum range this ability really rewards those with a good aim. The most important thing to remember about this skill is its damage is based on the range between where you are standing when the spear hits and where your opponent is relative to you. In short the farther away you are from the target the more damage it deals and the damage will increase even more if you step back after throwing it. Takedown is a decent execution move for finishing a champion you poked down with your human form q. However if your going full damage jumping into melee range could sign your death in the late game. This is good for finishing off a lone enemy or killing someone in lane especially if you have a Lich Bane. You want to max this first so you can deal as much damage with these as possible either forcing a lane opponent to back or getting priority targets low in fights.

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W

Bushwhack is you gank protection ability when in lane and can be used to help track enemies trying to hide in bushes. In the late game this ability can really start to hurt so do your best to spread them out particularly in bushes where they're harder to spot. Pounce is you escape/chasing mechanism and with an incredibly short cool down allows you to transverse the map quickly making you a potential ganking threat. One last import thing to mention is pounce can be used to quickly line up a Javelin Toss or if you change forms and pounce away immediately after throwing a spear can increase the spear's damage when it strikes. You max this last as its damage increase simply isn't as important as powering up your other abilities.

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E

Once you get a nice amount of ability power Primal Surge becomes one of the highest single target heals in the game as well as granting a good attack speed steroid. This ability is amazing for you in lane as it helps keep you healthy and in fights the massive heal can easily help save you or you attack damage carry as well as granting the large attack speed bonus. Swipe is more a minion clearing tool then anything else. While it will hurt especially when chained into Takedown like I said before you generally try to avoid melee range. However if the circumstance permits it this is a good damage aoe spell that can take a chunk out of an enemies's health bar. You want to max this second to increase the effectiveness of the heal as well as the attack speed steroid. However if your getting bullied really hard in lane grabbing some extra points in this early can be beneficial.

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R

Your cougar form isn't your main tool as ability power Nidalee as it is with attack damage Nidalee but it still provides you with some much needed maneuverability and wave clear. You will be using your cougar form to transverse the map as well as catch stragglers or singled out targets. However unless you grabbed a handful of defensive items you are normally to squishy to use your melee form in the heat of a team fight. However I don't know the situation your in but you do so its important that you learn when you need each form and how to best use them. Like any other ultimate you take this when ever you can being levels six, eleven, and sixteen.


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Summoner Spells

Like nearly every other champion Flash is a must take for its flexable amount of both defensive and offensive capabilities.
For your second summoner I would advice barrier to help with the how squishy you are and due to the fact you tend to want to stay out of range of abilities like ignite.
This improves your cross map mobility and allows you to be apart from your team and Teleport into a team fight or port into a lane struggling with a fight by targeting a friendly minion, tower, or ward to turn the tide of the fight.
While just a little ago I said you generally try to avoid getting close enough in range to use this some people would argue how it increases your early game kill potential, but it become harder to use later in game.

Mid Lane Items

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Starting Item(s)

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Starting Crystalline Flask plus either three Health Potions or one Health Potion and one sight ward allows you good early health and mana regeneration through the flask as well as having to not spend as much gold on potions as normal and the ward's lane safety.

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Starting Faerie Charm allows you to grab a sight ward as well as six Health Potions/ Mana Potions. This allows you to have a much more sustained early level game making it particularly useful when against a poke laner or when you want to rush into Tear of the Goddess or Chalice of Harmony.

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Starting boots and four [health potion]]s gives you a nice movement speed boast in the early laneing phase. This is exceptionally useful when laneing against skillshot based champions such as Lux or Xerath.

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Starting the game off with Doran's Ring and two Health Potions is a very aggressive starting build focusing on trying to force your enemy out early with the bonus damage, health and mana regaining passive.

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Grabbing a quick Cloth Armor is a recommended option when against the multitude of mid lane attack damage bruisers you see now. Turning this into a Seeker's Armguard early can give you the survive ability you may need.

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Core Item(s)

For ability power carry Nidalee your core items are obviously one that increase your damage output the most, however when going more defensive builds or even a different aggression build you may stall the "core items' to be picked up after the survive ability or what ever item is more valuable to you at the time.

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I see this as a must have on ability power Nidalee as every word in this things description is your friend. Granting ability power, cool down reduction, a lot of mana regeneration from mana font and some magic resist there isn't a thing about this you don't want as it improves your damage output and keeps you from running dry even with heavy mana usage.

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This makes you hurt a lot giving you a massive ability power jump. This is a necessity for ap Nidalee to be taken at some point through the course of the game. generally an early pick up on glass cannon or a later grab on durable ap.

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The magic penetration on this item is exceptionally powerful especially if grabbed before enemies have very much allowing your flat pen from your runes, masteries, and Sorcerer's Shoes to cut through the enemies resistance.

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This final Tear of the Goddess upgrade is a must have on glass cannon Nidalee but not required on durable ap Nidalee. The item itself gives great ability power, mana, and mana regeneration but with insight improving this even more and the mana shield to boot help how squishy you are it doubles as a massive damage increase and a survival tool.

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Roa is core only if you plan on getting it on durable ap Nidalee you need to pick this up early to stack up its stats as quickly as possible giveing you some decent health, hana, and ability power. In short this is only a core item on some Nidalee builds but if you want to go all damage then you don't need to pick this up makeing this a situational core that's worth mentioning.

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Offensive options

As an ability power carry you have a high focus on buying damage as your team is relying on you to put out the hurt on the opposing team and lead your team to victory.

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A standard pick on ability power based champions as it gives the ever valuable magic penetration that few items carry on them. combined with your runes and masteries these can let you shred through any squishy enemy who doesn't buy some magic resistance.

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While I personally don't like buying this item I know its amazing on burst casters such as Nidalee and I highly recommend it as it gives every stat you will need from mana regeneration, to ability power, to cool down reduction for a reasonable price. This is a great item pick up especially when dealing with high healing champions such as Volibear, Dr. Mundo, Aatrox, or Soraka.

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This Tear of the Goddess upgrade is a remarkable ability power item especially when it becomes Seraph's Embrace. The embrace gives great ability power with an automatic 60 plus the additional insight passive. When combined with a [Rabadon's deathcap]] this is a massive power boast and when going glass cannon the mana shield is often your only line of defense against incoming damage.

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Lich Bane help add to your burst damage and poke potential. Using spellblade in human form makes for good harassment or finishing kills especially with a lot of ability power to back it up. However the lich benefits your cougar form the most as it adds a large sum of damage to Takedown and with the low cool down no mana cost abilities of the melee form your able to keep using this so long as you keep using abilities.

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A possible alternative to Lich Bane. When picked up early you can become dangerous with your cougar form as well as giving you a large amount of kiting capabilities, cool down reduction, and armor.

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Twin Shadows is a good utility item but adds a smaller amount of damage. However its hunt active is powerful for tracking kills as well as starting fights and due to its low cost can easily be grabbed in a short amount of time making it an item to consider.

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A strong ability power and magic resist item along with providing a magic resistance reduction passive. However you normally try to stay away from your opponents making the small range aura relatively noneffective considering your Javelin Toss (range of 1500) has a range that's more then doubled the auras sad 700 range. Against some enemies (like Akali or Diana) or when you just really need some magic resistance this can be a good pick up but normally I wouldn't recommend it.

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Defensive options

While your main focus is damage it tends to be easier to deal damage when your alive. Against all the assassins running around nowadays it can be beneficial to invest into some defense to make you more durable.

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These boots are a good pick up if you are focusing more on deference or if you just really need the mr and tenacity to keep you alive. While normally overcast by Sorcerer's Shoes it is worth the thought in some situations.

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Ninja Tabi is a great pick up when laneing against an attack damage champion (like Jayce or Zed) or when your against a high physical damage team. While like the Mercury's Treads these are normally overcast by Sorcerer's Shoes keep this item in mind as it may come in handy in some games.

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The Maiden's scepter is a great pickup when you feel you need a good health and damage boast. Also the slowing proc is great at catching people with your cougar form as well as allowing your spears and traps to slow people making you a more powerful kitter then you were before.

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While the modern version of Zhonya's Ring takes two items to achieve the stasis activate is still a remarkable tool when used properly. One difference from its older counterpart is Zhonya's now grants more defensive properties. Built from Seeker's Armguard it can help survive both physical damage via the armor and high burst damage whether it be physical or magical via the stasis activate making this a worth while item choice.

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A good health and magic resistance item with a spell shield to help save you from any burst caster you might be playing against.

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A good health item to take when against a large number of attack damage enemies, especially auto attack heavy champions due to the cold steel passive.

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A good item for both protecting you an causing confusion in team fights. However you generally should be the last one to die as you should be away from the center of the fight making this good if they have a diving champion such as Kha'Zix or Zed that's targeting you but not very effective in many other circumstances.

Pros/Cons

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Pros

• Powerful poke champion.
• Powerful single targeted heal.
• Low cool down, no mana cost cougar spells are quick at stacking Tear of the Goddess.
• Free vision in lane.
• Able to easily escape.
• Able to two shot squishy champions with long ranged Javelin Tosss.
• Large long range burst damage.
• Able to still deal good at a short range.
• Good in stalled engages.
• Has a large attack speed boast for any attack damage carries.
• Powerful kiteing potential.

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Cons

• Squishy if building damage.
• No innate crowd control.
• Relies heavily on a skill shot ability.
• Main damage tool isn't guaranteed and can be blocked by high health targets.
• Weaker sustained damage.
• Highly vulnerable to burst damage.
• Requires a safe position in fights.
• Can be unreliable in team fights.
• Very mana reliant.
• Weak early game when building early game durability.
• Bad wave clear in human form.

Game Progression

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Early game

In the early game focus on getting farm as you have poor kill potential which is helped by hitting six but in a lane with minions to hide behind its hard to get good spears on the enemy. Basically you want to stay back and poke at your enemy as much as you can if your enemy gives you the opportunity to kill them then take it but for the most parts landing early game kills are difficult in lane. Try and pressure your enemy and zone them as best you can without putting yourself in danger. During the pre-six stages you have little to kill potential and are extremely susceptible to ganks as without your ult you have no escape so use wards and Bushwhack to keep yourself safe. Be extra cautious when dealing with enemies with high crowd control as you will fall quickly if locked down. In the after six stage you are more mobile and can use this to improve your map presence but with no lock downs of your own and a skill shot based nuke you will normally need someone to set up the kills for you and finish them with cougar form. For items in the early game focus on getting your regen with items such as Chalice of Harmony and/or Tear of the Goddess. If you plan to go a more durable route then get up your Rod of Ages as quick as you can but remember it will lower your early to mid game potential.

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Mid Game

In the mid game its time to start getting those high damage spears. in lane try and harass as much as you can and use traps to keep a vision advantage for your team. When fights over objectives such as dragon begin to spring up use your high poke damage to weaken enemy carries or initiators before the fights even begin. In fights stay at the back line and do your best to heal your teammates and put damage on the enemy back line while keeping yourself safe. If you are going a more durable route you can afford to go more into the front with cougar form to help finish off enemies. Always remember to keep up your farm so you can buy high damage items. In the mid game is when you want to start getting damage with items such as Athene's Unholy Grail, Morellonomicon, Void Staff, and Rabadon's Deathcap.

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Late Game

Now you should be dealing some real damage so you just want to generally keep to what you've been doing in the mid game with a few tweaks. Now you need to do all you can to hit the enemy carries as the initiators and tanks are to tough for you to bring down and the carries are simply more valuable now. Also you need to be more careful, now that the enemy has some items your maneuverability won't save you from the burst damage many champions provide. You need to have very stable positioning in fights and try to keep forcing at objectives where your poke is the strongest like baron nashor. Be careful with how you use you cougar form in fights as jumping in to far can get you killed very easily even when building durable. At this point in the game you want to finish off your main damaging items such as Seraph's Embrace and Lich Bane or grab some extra durability with things like Randuin's Omen and Guardian Angel.

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Team Fight

Team fights can be difficult for you as in the middle of a chaotic fight your main damage will be mitigated and while having to fight in cougar form leaves you an easy target. In any team fight you want to try and stay on the out of the central fight until the enemies cool downs are gone and they have their health lowered. During the initial fight stay a distance and throw in spears without getting into range of the enemy team. Do all you can to stay on the fringes targeting the enemy carries and jumping in only to finish off low health targets.

Farming

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Throughout the early game you want to focus on this as much as you can as when you hit mid game you need at least your regen items and a bit of damage to be of any help. In the mid game you still want to grab as much of this as you can but it will be easier with your cougar form aoe damage allowing you to get more gold then you were earlier in the game. You need to get up enough gold to buy the high damage items or just like before your effectiveness will pay the price as you need to be able to force the enemy team into fights with low health members. However you don't need farm as bad as an attack damage carry as your spears will hurt priority targets at max range with nothing more then the base damage. In the late game your main goal is to be off to the side dealing as much spear damage as you can so your cs gain will decrease from the mid game but with your a you can clear quick with cougar form when not preparing for a fight.

Summary

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In short you are a high ranged ability power nuker relying on large amounts of flat ap with melee range execution power and high mobility. Relying on mobility and kiteing to deal damage from a distance and using an alternative melee form to finish off singled out low health enemies. You need to get accustomed at aiming your spear because late game a max range spear can force an enemy attack damage carry to have to return to base and can leave a support in one shot range for most abilities. However you are weak in the center of team fights so you want to be on the fringes getting spears on priority targets so as your team can clean them out. Also you must always be aware for if your caught out you can easily be killed before your able to do so much as anything. You are remarkable at sieging able to even kill opponents hiding under their towers towers. You are also powerful at objective control able to provide free vision and long range damage output. However you aren't really a champion who can take the fight on their own but more bring the enemies down so your team can help you finish them. Utilizing the full importance of both forms in important and while your main focus here is your human form knowing the limits of your cougar form is equally as important.

Support Runes

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For support you have two options for rune pages depending on what you wish to do with your lane. You can either take a similar rune page to the one above prioritizing poke or you can go a much more defensive/supportive page to aid your lane partner.

For seals you can go one of the two, either take Greater Seal of Armor to survive the enemy attack damage carries damage or Greater Seal of Gold for the increased gold per but only if you can avoid damage from the enemy adc as not taking the armor leaves you very squishy or take Greater Seal of Mana Regeneration as putting alot of points into Primal Surge cost large amounts of mana these can help you keep you mana pool at a reasonable amount.

For glyphs take Greater Glyph of Magic Resist so you'll take less from opposing supports harassment.

For marks take either Greater Mark of Armor while these may not be a primary stat for marks improving your resistance against the opposing attack damage carry can be considered more valuable then increasing your damage or Greater Mark of Magic Penetration like the ones in the ap page to increase your harassment damage.

For quintessences go either Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed to improve your maneuverability, Greater Quintessence of Ability Power to improve your early game harassment potential, or Greater Quintessence of Gold to have the extra gold per

With these rune sets you are either trying to harass the living daylight out of the enemy adc and support or your trying to focus on getting a little bit of gold while trying to be a little difficult to kill.

For all three rune pages these are simply what I use and advice however you may be able to come up with a better page for yourself so keep in mind these aren't set in stone try and keep an open mind for what is best for you to play with.

Support Masteries

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Spells

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Q

Javelin Toss is your main zoning and harassment tool in lane. If you're taking a more supportive route then an ability power route then Javelin Toss can still be used to deny your opponent simply with the treat of this ability. As a support your spears will normally be dealing very minimal damage but if you ask most people what about Nidalee they hate the most many will say the spear damage and so even without really using this ability for damage you can zone out people simply with the threat of using it by giving the impression of going in to aim a shot you can force enemies back even without using the ability itself. If you decide to go more ap or put a bunch of skill points into this ability can make a far ranged shot hurt. Takedown is almost useless for you while it may be used to finish off a target when there is nothing else to kill them as a squishy support getting into melee range could be suicidal and as you have no damage this ability won't do much any way. This is the second ability you will max if your going damage based to help bring down your opponents down on health. While you can technically max this first for heavy spear damage its not heavily recommended for if the enemy starts to win lane this won't help you at all.

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W

Before I go into explaining this abilities uses there is one important thing to state. While Bushwhack does grant vision when tripped it is not a suitable replacement to wards just an aid in addition. Simply because you have access to this ability doesn't mean you can forgo buying wards. Now onto the abilities uses; Bushwhack is a powerful scouting tool and can be used to track enemies when walking through the lane bushes or in the river. This is a useful ability as it can save you from face checking into an awaiting enemy and is good when it comes to objective control. Due to its ability to find invisible opponents it can be used to great benefit when trying to kill champions such as Akali or Twitch but cannot replace the importance of the Vision Ward. Pounce allows you to move quickly around the map to place wards or draw enemy fire as you run. Using this ability can help keep you alive and keep the enemy team distracted. You have the option of maxing this second if your going support based and your spears deal no damage because the improved armor and magic resist reduction can help secure kills for your team.

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E

Primal Surge is your main support ability and what you should max first (although a lot of people decide to max Javelin Toss instead) because it provides a strong heal and attack speed steroid which can help your carry win trades and fights in lane and give your carry an extra boast in team fights. Swipe is sort of useless for you it can be used to help win exchanges bot lane but other than that it does very little other then the rare chance you can kill someone with Takedown. You want to max this first to make your attack damage carry's life easier. However this skill takes up twenty extra mana with each skill point put into it so sometime you may need to stall maxing it until you can afford some better mana regeneration.

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R

This ability does a lot less for you than other Nidalee builds because as support you simply use this for early game lane fights and mobility rather then the damage usage of other builds. Of course you upgrade it at levels six, eleven, and sixteen although as you gain very little benefit of points in this after the first rank you can completely dismiss upgrading this past the first point and take points in your other skills instead.

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Summoner Spells[h/3]

Like nearly every champion in the game Flash is a spell you can't let down due to all of its uses in chasing and escaping.
This is a very powerful support spell as it allows you to lock down one target making them an easy target for your team or allowing your team to escape.
With most attack damage carries takeing barrier or clense ignite can be an o.k. idea to help finish off kills or reducing healing on champions such as Soraka and Volibear. However due to your lack of innate crowd control Ignite isn't as good an option as Exhaust.
While this skill is rarely seen anymore it is a powerful map vision skill. In the right hands can be used to keep tabs on enemy junglers and check the enemy teams position when around objectives to avoid all the high elo bush tactics. However this skill takes great map awareness and insight to be used properly, a skill that sadly we don't all have.

Support items

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Starting items

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As support Nidalee this will pretty much be your starting item nearly every game as you want and need the extra mana regen that can later be upgraded into Tear of the Goddess, Chalice of Harmony, or philosopher's stone. Along with the charm you want to grab any combination of sight wards, Vision Wards, Health Potions, and Mana Potions. A minimum of two sight wards is advised.

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Core items

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As any support Ruby Sightstone is an amazing item that is normally (and should be) the first major item bought. This supplies you with free wards and allows you to always have a few of these on hand along with the supply refresh at home base and the extra health to help keep you from dying. However this item isn't always all the wards you need and grabbing some sight wards when trying to control objective areas and this item in no way replaces Vision Wards in any way shape or form. While playing the support role this is your most important item and you should try and grab it as soon as available.

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sight ward This is one of your most important roles is keeping map control for your team. While normally you shouldn't be the only one warding as it happens may non-support players hardly buy these and leaves the role on you which is the reason why Sightstone is so important. These are what helps keep your team safe as well as allowing you to get into favorable situations.

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Pink wards are very important in lane and in objective control. These allow you to control where your enemy has vision and allows your jungler to gank more easily. Also these become increasingly important when Baron Nashor and dragon come into play to cut off the enemies vision around and in the area.

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Supportive Options

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A common pick up on supports as it allows you to get across the map more easily allowing you to place wards and meet back with your team much quicker. As well as improving your ability to maneuver along with your team. This is a common item seen on supports but as your already a mobile hero going Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads (if you can afford them) are understandable pick ups.

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This can be a nice item to grab if you happen to have a lot of gold on hand and running out of good items. It grants your team a good movement speed boast when running towards you allowing you to be a center for map travel when warding or disengaging.

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A powerful support item as it allows you to create engages and disengages when used. Upgraded from the philosopher's stone this is a good item to take once you have a good amount of gold as you will tend to grab phily stone early.

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A powerful supportive item if used correctly. If you decided to grab Chalice of Harmony this is an amazing item when against champions such as Nasus and Nunu & Willump as well as supplying a good heal that in conjunction with your own heal can save a priority teammate.

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While this item is often taken on junglers, if your jungler decides to op out of taking this it is a good early pick up making you extra tanky while supplying a good defensive boast for you teammates. This is a necessity item when against magical dps such as Anivia and Singed or high ability power teams.

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A powerful quick item pick-up due to the armor and shield active allowing this to be a an optimal pick up especially when against high armor teams and when doing a siege type comp.

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Supplying some ability power and a mana regen aura this is a good item pick up when you have a heavy initiation tank such as Malphite and Kennen especially in conjunction with an ally Orianna or running a siege like comp.

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granting both ability power and health and a philosopher's stone upgrade this can be considered in a heavy diving comp although to be effective has to be grabbed early and you normally can't afford to grab this early because you need to grab you more important things first. One import thing to mention when activated this deactivates both nexus towers when they are the target because they will both be in range. However this item isn't heavily recommended.

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A powerful chasing/escaping tool as well as supplying a reasonable amount of ability power. Its powerful hunt active can be used to catch out of positioned enemies making this a useful utility item.

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This can be a decent item when running a heavy push/siege comp as well as granting some armor, ability power, and cool down reduction. This item's aura makes minions stronger allowing for a powerful push stratagy. However normally this item isn't a very recommenced as it only works with very unique comps

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Offensive/Defensive options

For your offensive options you can check in the offensive ability power carry item options as if you want to go damage based you will be buying similar items. For defensive items items build from Giant's Belt and Kindlegem are good options as well as resistance items however as it happens you tend not to have the gold to afford these so I won't list any out or advise them but if you happen to have a large amount of gold for some unknown reason then be my guest.

Pros/Cons

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Pros

• Powerful harassment.
• Heal with attack speed steroid.
• Strong in siegeing comps.
• Good in pushing comps.
• Free vision.
• High mobility.
• Draws fire due to people not liking this champion.
• Able to zone by being nearby.
• Large heal if going ap
• Fast tower killer.

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Cons

• A pretty weak support.
• Outclassed by other support.
• No crowd control.
• Squishy.
• Needs six to be mobile.
• Does little damage if not getting ability power,
• All and all while can take this role Nidalee isn't a very suitable support. While able to assist when played correctly you rely on dominating the enemy lane.

Game Progression

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Early game

In the early game your focus is to protect your carry and guard your lane. You want to try and put as much pressure as possible on the enemy laners. Avoid damage as best you can because you are squishy and can be picked off easily from high burst damage. When against champions like Blitzcrank and Thresh keep on your feet and avoid getting initiated on at all costs. However you are less valuable then your carry and if saving them will cost you your life its worth it for you. Avoid taking the kills your carry can get while sometimes your range is the only thing that can grab it your carry needs the gold more then you can do the best you can to let your teammate get the kill gold. Also getting kills makes you worth more gold and as the support you are the easiest target to kill being worth less kill gold is a good thing for you. Dureing the early game your item goals include Sightstone, philosopher's stone, and wards Unless you have a different build in mind. But always remember Ruby Sightstone is a necessity item.

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Mid Game

In the Mid game your goals include map control, dragon control, and keeping your teammates alive while doing all you can to secure kills for you team. You will die if your caught alone but your high mobility will allow your to move quickly around the map. Which should allow you to get a vision advantage over the map. In the mid game you normally won't have much gold so inexpensive items such as Ruby Sightstone, and Kindlegem are advised or if you decide to go damage start with some cheap ability power items. Always remember to buy sight wards and Vision Wards to hold give your team map vision.

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Late Game

Your late game goals are nearly identical to your mid game goals. Trying to retain map vision and assisting your team unless you went for an ability power build. If you went damage your goal switches to those of an ability power carry, dealing as much poke damage to priority targets as you can, but don't forget to still keep wards on the map and protecting your carry. For items simply finish up the items you started going for earlier in the game but always remeber to still get wards and keep your team's map vision up.

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Team Fight

In team fights unless your building damage you have very little of a damage impact and as you have no crowd control you have little effect in general. Your main job in fights is to keep your carry alive and you want to do all you can to do so as their lives are more valuable then your own. If you built damage simply deal as much spear damage as you can on the enemies priority targets and try to keep your carry alive to the best of your abilities.

Farming

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To make this simple you don't do this ever. During the early game you shouldn't be touching the minions unless you need to push or when your carry is out of lane and so long as your carry is there let them take the last hits as they need them much more then you do. In the mid game you may be able to grab a few while going through lane but still its your carries you want the gold on not yourself. In the late game you may get a bit more then before as your carries finish off their items and need farm less but even then you now won't be sitting in a lane but moving around the map pushing with your team.

Summary

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You are support and you need to get used to being a little selfless for a while. Everything you do is for the good of your teammates not yourself. Even if your going damage you are your team's eyes and backbone you keep your team walking and you keep them aware of whats happening. Your job is to protect the damage dealers on your team as best you can and keep your team in the favorable position even if its at the cost of your own life. Due to your lack of gold you won't be the most be the most influential person or the most noticeable put keep in mind the reason your carry is doing well is because of the baby sitting you did for them and so long as you do your job well your team can secure an easy victory.