Hi all who decide to view this amazing guide (:P), this will teach you strategies and a build for Nidalee, easily my best and favorite champion. This is my first guide, any feedback is appreciated, but please try it before criticizing. Now this is my and only my opinion on how to play Nid, and nobody's perfect. I'm always looking to up my (already impressive c;) game, so improvements are also appreciated. Thanks guys :3

The selling point of Nidalee is her Spear. I don't see why people go AD Nid, because imo it ruins her. It's a 100% unique skill, and it's op as hell. You want to max that out as much as you can, and use it to harrass from far range. (Remember, the farther the better). Take your heal at level 2 unless you've already seen a gank by that time, then you may need to take your trap as a free ward. I mainly only use it for a convienient ward, but a ward is a big improvement next to it. Use a ward over it if possible. Especially on Dragon and Baron. Max out your heal second because it can help you sustain in lane, and gives you an attack speed boost for those 1v1's, taking down towers, or even your ADC in a teamfight. Last of all, i can't stress this enough, do not overlook her ult. All of the skills in Cougar form scale pretty generously off of AP, and it's great for 1v1'ing about anybody. I cringe at how many Nid's i see who only rely on their spears and auto attacks for damage instead of harrassing with a spear, then running in for a swipe or two. Remember, your Q in cougar form does more damage scaling on how much health the target is missing. At maybe a quarter HP on someone, a Q and a E can be the death of them. Your passive is very good for escaping and chasing. Run through bushes whenever possible. Don't underestimate the cougar.

Summoner Spells. Pretty basic options here,
-Flash & Ignite. Although most of the time you can chase someone down with the extra movement speed from cougar form, it just may not be enough. Or even when you miss that last spear, ignite can be crucial to getting the kill. With the masteries i have, when it's on cooldown, it's also a nice 5 ap and 5 ad for yourself. Same thing with flash, if someones running with low health, just flash and Q in cougar form, and they're instantly dead.
-Flash & Clarity. Flash for the same reason obviously. Clarity if you feel like you're having especially bad mana problems early game with Nid, as this is a popular feeling. If you like to sustain in lane longer than anyone else, take it, but your mana problems should be eliminated by the 10-15 minute mark when you get boots & your tear of the goddess.

ProsInvisible text! Cons

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Invisible text!

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High Spear DamageInvisible text! Early mana problems
Heal/AS Buff Invisible text! Low CC
Built in Ward Invisible text! Squishy early game
Very Fast Invisible text! Hard to Pounce through walls
Great at EscapingInvisible text!
Can kill recalling enemies with spearsInvisible text!

Farming is an extremely important factor of everybody in every match. Whether it's letting the ADC farm correctly or maximising your cs per minute as a carry, or just freezing a lane. With Nid it's easier than most. Up until level 6, you can just heal yourself for the extra attack speed, and last hit to your heart's content. At level 6, its just two moves. Pounce onto some ranged minions who are squishier, and then just E and BOOM. 3 cs, or about 50g.

That's pretty much it guys, follow this build, harrass at max range with spears, utilize bushes, and don't forget to use cougar form! Enjoy :3 leave some feedback.