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Nidalee Build Guide by

In-Depth AP Nidalee

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3 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Hasta123

Nidalee Build Guide By Updated on

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Spells:

Cleanse

Flash

Ability Order

Nidalee Passive Ability

Introduction

Hi guys this is my personal Nidalee build/guide and I hope you find it original and informational. This build came from my own personal games and what I've learned throughout my Nidalee experience. By the way this is an AP Nid build with a bit of CC resistance at the end of the item sequence. Everyone should always remember that she is not a DPS character. Let's start off with the pros and cons of an AP Nidalee.

Pros :
- Very mobile
- High survivability even w/o armor and mr
- Consistent in lane
- Very high ap/ad scaling on first skills(both human and cougar)
- Healer
- A bit CC resistant and with Zhonya's, can avoid cc for a short time
- At level 6, becomes a great jungler and farmer
- Very fun to play with

Cons :
- Very CC vulnerable and squishy
- Mana consumption is very high and gets her mana low fast
- Cannot CARRY!
- Hard to master

Nidalee's Roles:
-Healer
-AP Nuker/Harasser
-Sweeper

What AP Nidalee should not do:
-Act as a fighter
-Act as a tank

Now let's get to it!

Skills

Reasons for skill sequence:

Bushwack is added first because many tend to forget that at cougar form, the 2nd skill is the main escape mechanic. Another reason is that it gives you vision which is moderately important early on. Though you can add Primal Surge/Javelin Toss first, just don't forget to add the 2nd skill before reaching level 6. Bushwack is also the last completed skill because it has a lower ap scaling than heal and toss plus it is still useful even if it's still lvl 1. Heal is added second because you'll need it badly especially if you're harassed.

Javelin Toss/Takedown:

Javelin Toss is great way to start a gank. This skill has very high ap scaling and with distance you can do up to 250% more damage.
-Tip-
- Aim! Aim! Aim! If you can't aim properly it's a useless skill.

Takedown is a very good source of burst damage plus it refreshes your attack cooldown on cast. If you're trying out Lich Bane or any item with Sheen effect don't build crit strikes because this skill glitches and sheen effect and crit strike will cancel each other out.
-Tip-
- Try to max out using its 200% multiplier(which is based on health), it's not really a good skill when used at enemies with high health.

Bushwack/Pounce:

Bushwack is great traps because it gives you vision plus it is untargetable plus it reduces enemy armor and magic resist but minions can step on it which is sometimes an advantage at the same time a disadvantage. Also, upon laying a trap it needs a short time before an enemy can step on it.
-Tip-
- Try to put out a trap at areas where you can lure enemies to max out that mr and armor reduction.
- It gives vision on enemies inside the brush, vision on targetable traps like Teemo's and Shaco's.

Pounce is a great escape mechanic for Nid with its low cd. It causes damage on area landed. It has low ap ratio though. You can jump on thin walls and even some trees. It is not affected by Cooldown Reduction(if it was, Nid would be the hardest character to catch :) )
-Tip-
- Positioning is important on jumping walls.
- Try not to get this skill on cooldown when you feel that you'll be ganked.
- Use it every time when trying to get anywhere on the map.

Primal Surge/Swipe

Primal surge is a heal skill with a very high ap ratio. This skill also gives bonus attack speed on the healed champion.
-Tip-
- Try not to lose mana because this skill is a life-saver.
- During team fights people usually use this heal on champs with low health which is right and this comes very naturally to everyone but try to use this skill on as/ad champs right before a gank/team fight.

Swipe is the main skill that Nid has that makes her a pusher. It's aoe and has the same ap ratio with Pounce.
-Tip-
- Just use it!

Aspect Of The Cougar

Nid's Ult is lets out her second set of skills plus it adds buffs.
-Tip-
- Use this wisely and at the right time!
- Stay in cougar form for that bonus move speed and pounce when not in a fight(any fight).
- Use her human form to start a fight to give allies that attack speed buff and that javelin toss harass plus that mr and armor reducing trap.

Prowl

This is Nid's escape mech which can only be used inside brush. Great for escaping and chasing and time to heal.
-Tip-
- Always get into brush anywhere you go, it's one big advantage which you'll find out once you're using her.

-Nidalee's Hidden Passive-

I hear Nid has a hidden passive which periodically gives experience to nearby teammates of lower levels. This is a pop culture reference to older ladies who prefer younger mates being called cougars. At least that's what I heard and that is why I added Awareness Mastery so that when laning with others you both will get to higher levels faster than the enemies.

Skill Rotation and Why

This is assuming you're already at level 6 and have added all the skills.

Farming:
First off, use Primal Surge on yourself for that buff. Second, change form and use pounce + swipe (be sure to aim pounce). Use Takedown if needed. Rotate over and over until farming is finished.

Ganking:
If you are near any champ, use heal on them (ad/as > other champs). Position yourself in a place, preferably brush, and wait for target to be far enough from turret to escape and start off with a javelin toss. Change form, aim your Pounce, Takedown then Swipe. Change form if target has low health and out of range then either use Javelin or auto-attack (depending on the enemy's life of course).

Team Fights:
If you are near any champ, use heal on them (ad/as > other champs). Harass with javelin Toss, plant Traps, continue healing. Wait for the right moment to change form. Change form only if 1) enemy champs have used most of their CC/AOE skills and 2) an enemy champ is very low on health and you are unable to aim Javelin Toss properly.

Escaping:
When escaping you CAN change the tides if only one is after you. First you have to utilize the brush and the pounce should be estimated. Remember to prepare a pounce for the wall jumps, many get frustrated and when they reach the walls the pounce is still on cd = dead. For turning the tides around, this is inspired by a video I saw, upon reaching a brush change form use heal and javelin toss at the enemy. Continue using brush as a healing station and using javelin IF YOU CAN (meaning using javelin and not letting the enemy get to you). You can also add a trap to this if you have time that is. Once your health is higher than the enemy's and considering that you know your cougar skills have enough damage, change form pounce, takedown and swipe.

NOTE:
WHY TAKEDOWN BEFORE SWIPE?
Because Takedown has a shorter range than swipe and pounce might be cooling down, thus there's a risk that you might not get that takedown if you do swipe first.

WHY START OFF WITH A JAVELIN TOSS?
It's because it's a ranged skill and does the heaviest damage especially if the distance from the target is very far.

WHY NOT JUST STAY IN COUGAR ALL THROUGH-OUT GANKING/TEAM FIGHTING?
In ganking, remember that to max your takedown you need your enemy's health to be very low which is why we start off with javelin.
In team fights, you are still vulnerable to CC even with the Merc Boots.

REMINDER:
EVERYONE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT NIDALEE IS NOT A FIGHTER. THIS MEANS THAT SHE DOES NOT STAND A CHANCE AGAINST AD CHARACTERS IN COUGAR FORM. SHE SHOULD ALWAYS USE UP HER HUMAN SKILLS BEFORE CHANGING. THE FLOW USUALLY IS TO USE UP ALL SKILLS IN EACH FORM. AFTER USING UP ALL SKILLS IN COUGAR FORM DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONTINUE ATTACKING, INSTEAD BACK IT UP A BIT, CHANGE TO HUMAN, USE ALL SKILLS, CHANGE TO COUGAR, USE ALL SKILLS, BACK IT UP, CHANGE TO HUMAN, ETC. REMEMBER THAT HER AUTO ATTACKS DON'T COUNT FOR A LOT SO DON'T WAIT FOR HER COUGAR SKILLS TO COOLDOWN JUST CHANGE BACK TO HUMAN FORM.

Runes, Masteries and Summoner Spells

RUNES

Marks

For marks I chose magic pens because these work great on her Javelin Tosses.

Seals

For Seals I chose AP and Dodge. AP for that early game heal that has a ratio surpassing 1.0 or 100%. It also helps on the Tosses. Dodge seals for survivability and stacks with your cougar form dodge plus successful dodges increase your move speed with the Nimbleness mastery.

Glyphs

Glyphs, I put up magic pens and AP for the same reasons as above.

Quintessences

AP, the same thing as most for that heal!

Most of the runes are AP because of the heal. You can't really harass much early on(lvl 1-5), so we utilize her as a supporter with her heal healing an adequate amount of health for lane partners.

MASTERIES

I went 0-9-21 for this because that Nimbleness mastery is, at least in my opinion, a must because it makes use of Nidalee's cougar passive dodge. I went full support tree beacuse she needs that mana badly, that movespeed early on. I went 4/4 with Awareness, hoping your teammate didn't add it, because of her Hidden Passive.

SUMMONER SPELLS

Cleanse - To cancel out all that CC
Flash - For escaping and getting those kills

Other Spells I recommend:
Ghost - For that higher survivability and sometimes works for getting kills
Exhaust - This spell works well in supporting. This is also a very recommended spell because Nidalee has no CC whatsoever.
Heal - For survivabilty
Teleport - Since Nidalee is a pusher it's only fitting to add this for pushing reasons. Also for defending, but Nid isn't the best defender out there.

Items

This build recommends some items with CC but also gives alternatives.

Core Item Build:

Mercury's Treads/Sorc Boots/Boots of Swiftness - Merc Boots are highly recommended because of its tenacity and survivability increases. You could also go for Sorc Boots for magic pen or Boots of Swiftness for survivability and mobility.

Lich Bane - for me Lich Bane is a very important item for Nid because it adds bonus damage for your auto attack for each skill used. Though some of Nid's cougar abilities don't stack, changing from form to form does! This item also enables Nid to jungle smoothly.

Rylai's Scepter - Rylai's adds health and makes your skills slow so, yeah! More hp means more survivability. Your Swipe and Pounce does AOE damage so AOE slow meaning you'll have better chances of reaching the opponent after using Swipe(swipe makes Nid stop for a second).

Rabadon's Deathcap - I don't really need to explain this. It just adds a TON of AP!

Zhonya's Hourglass - I highly recommend this item for Nid for that survivability and avoiding CCs like Fiddle's Ult. You can also do tons of tricks to this items like tricking Xin after he jumps on you your teammates will focus on him and you won't be targeted.

Void Staff - I was looking for magic pen items for Nid and yeah Abyssal Scepter is a nice item for magic pen. But, look at it this way, your Javelin Tosses surpasses the area of the aura of the Abyssal. That's why Void Staff is good because it says '+40% Magic Penetration' instead of 'Reduces Magic Resistance of NEARBY enemy champions'.

Starting Items:

Build 1 - Start off with a Doran's Ring for that HP, mana regen and AP. It's a great starting item but some may not want to let's say waste the money on this one.

Build 2 - Start off with an amplifying tome and a health pot. This is great for not wasting money and that health pot will keep you longer in lane. Your heal will also heal for a good amount.

Build 3 - Start with Boots 2 health pots and a mana pot. This is a survivability starting build.

Build 4 - Start with a Long Sword and a health pot. Though the long sword may not build into anything later on, I think it makes it easier for Nid to last hit creeps early game considering her base AD is very good. You can also harass better with this.

Laning

I prefer Nid laning with a partner so that your partner will level fast (remembering her hidden passive and Awareness mastery). Laning at mid alone is also good, but Nid isn't the best mid laner out there, that is until she can reach level 6.

Nid can be a great laning partner because she acts as support and AP nuker.

When reaching a point where you get ganked, find a way to use brush because it helps a lot. Use traps on the brush so that creeps won't step on them. When your partner tries to initiate a fight, just stay back spam javelin toss and auto attacks. Don't forget to heal. If your partner is down and out, you may want to lure the enemies to the trapped brushes for the damage and mr and armor reduction. If you're level 6 already you can begin ganking and jungling.