Visual Upgrade: Nidalee, the Bestial Huntress[]
By NeeksNaman[3]
Many of you have been asking for a new look for 
Nidalee. We're pleased to announce that we've heard you, and that you can expect a complete Visual Upgrade for the Bestial Huntress in an upcoming patch.
In addition to a new model for both 
lady and 
cougar, this update includes new animations and spell effects across both of her forms. We'll also be upgrading the model and splash art for all of Nidalee's skins, so you can enjoy the latest fashion, whether you're a 
French Maid or a 
Pharaoh.
The next time you feel the need to go swiftly slinking through the 
brush, ready to 
Pounce on an unsuspecting foe, do so knowing you look stunningly stylish.
Heart of the Huntress: Nidalee Deep Dive[]
By Meaghan 'Little Leaf' Bowe & Julian 'JulezJP' Johnson[4]
Hey peeps! I’m Meaghan Bowe, the creative lead on Legends of Runeterra, and I’m here to share a bit more details about Nidalee’s addition to LoR. If you haven’t seen it yet or want a tl;dr, check out our quick video about the Nidalee update.
- Why Nidalee? What’s new?
So much has changed at Riot since Nidalee first released in League of Legends at the end of 2009: our resources, our strategy, and our culture. We knew we needed to delve into another aspect of Nidalee’s place in the world, and dig deeper into who she is—while preserving what everyone loves about her in League. We wanted to move away from some of the dated tropes evoked by her design (e.g. “queen of the jungle”), and emphasize the characteristics that make her unique. Nidalee in League and Nidalee in LoR are the same Nidalee—we’re just seeing her at different points in her journey.
When bringing a champion into LoR, we know focusing on unexplored parts of a well-loved character is risky. Even when we aim only to add and enhance, it can still feel like something you love is being taken away. (As someone who sunk hundreds of games into Ezreal, I wholesale rejected the Ezreal VU in LoL at first. It grew on me after a while, and I do believe that “new” Ezreal is fantastic, but the initial shock was definitely hard to stomach, and I spent a long time complaining to my friends about it.)
As players ourselves, every new detail is handled with the utmost care and love. We’ve done these sorts of explorations with other champions, too: we brought in Vayne as a fully-fledged Sentinel, and let Seraphine’s root show when she dropped the Piltover pop queen persona. So far, these additions have landed well with players, and we’re hoping for some of the same resonance and excitement with Nidalee, too.
To reiterate, we look at all the ways that we can add to a character, without taking anything away. For Nidalee, that means we kept the wildness of her attire, her distinct ponytail, her bright eyes and her natural beauty. We kept her ferocious attitude, her wit, her cunning, and her pride. LoR’s Nidalee is still the Nid we know and love—she’s just grown more into her magic, and adapted a look that shows off the power of her bloodline (though she herself still doesn’t know where she comes from, or why she has this ability).
In LoR, through the card art, card text and VO interactions, we get a closer look at how Nidalee navigates the world and its challenges. In her level 1 card art, we get a glimpse of her loving side: with Neeko, she is calm and sweet. In her level 2 card art, we see her wild strength: she doesn’t hesitate to savage anyone who would threaten her or her pack. She is packmother: both predator and protector.
These extra dimensions of Nidalee also come to light when we see her give trust to a human—Anura, a Piltovan woman who sprung Neeko from a cage. Anura was deceived by the poachers into thinking she was assisting a research expedition, until she saw Neeko and a slew of other creatures captured in the poachers’ tents. It shows that Nidalee’s wariness of trespassers isn’t a categorical distrust of all humans—it’s a learned response to having witnessed very few well-intentioned people traveling through her home.
We also had the chance to show Nidalee’s den and her feline family. We get to see what the pakaa look like as playful, squishy little cubs, as well as how they look fully-grown, proud and fierce. We see the influence that Nidalee’s family has had on her animal shape, and how many features she shares with them—and how the nature of her bloodline makes her stand out from her pack.
- What’s going on with Nidalee and Neeko? What’s their relationship?
Ever since Neeko released, we’ve known that Neeko has had a big crush on Nidalee. (Honestly, who wouldn’t?) Being the only other champion that we know Nidalee has interacted with, we knew we had to tell a story about them and their dynamic. We thought a lot about Nid’s place in the world and her attitude towards others. Why would someone like Nidalee, who very rarely tolerates outsiders and has no known friends, ever come to trust another person as much as she trusts Neeko?
Ultimately, we think it comes down to Neeko’s incredibly open and loving nature. Neeko’s ability to shapeshift and take on other’s spirits makes her deeply empathetic, and arguably an excellent judge of character. She intuitively sees through Nidalee’s rough exterior, and knows the warm, strong heart that beats underneath.
In our mind, this is a case of opposites attracting: through one another, they both learn about the world around them. Where Nidalee could stand to open her heart a bit, Neeko could also benefit from being a bit less trusting—as evidenced by her being captured by those pesky Piltovan poachers.
Neeko and Nidalee’s relationship is beginning to blossom, and they still don’t know exactly where it will lead. What’s important is that we know they care about each other deeply—in a way that Nidalee herself does not yet fully understand—and from Nidalee’s point of view, Neeko is perhaps the only person outside of her family that she would risk her life for.
- Any cool development tid-bits?
When I wrote this Nidalee story back in 2018, I wanted to show a side of her we hadn’t seen yet—a gentle-yet-firm woman who shows up when she sees someone in need. She rescues a lizard-like vastaya named Kuulcan from armed poachers, and tends to his bullet wound. Though they only speak briefly (before agreeing to absolutely destroy said poachers), their exchange shows us the dichotomy of Nidalee as an apex predator and as a kind protector. It also shows us what type of person Nidalee is willing to trust, even if only a little. In Kuulcan’s LoR art, we see him putting himself between danger and the pakaa cubs—Nidalee’s brothers and sisters— and his desire to repay her for saving his life.
As we were developing Nid’s updated look and personality, we got in touch with the League of Legends team to collaborate on bringing Nidalee’s updated voice and story into League. Originally, we planned to time the release of her VO update in LoL with her release in LoR, but our timelines didn’t allow for it to coincide. Ultimately, we decided getting Nidalee’s new voice to players sooner than later was more valuable than perfectly timing the releases across games. If you’ve got extra-keen hearing and you play Nidalee in LoL, you may recognize Nidalee’s voice in LoR!
- Any Closing Thoughts?
Neeko and Nidalee Cardback available in game now!
Since starting at Riot nearly nine years ago, I’ve dreamed of seeing our beloved characters grow alongside the rest of our IP. Different games can show champions and characters in different lenses, and LoR allows us to take a closer look at champions’ worlds. Adding depth allows for a character that feels more real, and lets us connect with them in ways beyond the role they play in the game.
There’s always been so much to explore about Nidalee: an origin shrouded in mystery, a distrust of civilization, sharp intellect and honed instincts. Above all, Nidalee is a survivor through and through—someone who, despite a difficult life, can still choose to be kind, and open her wild heart to a rare, deserving few.
Whether it be her ferocity, her warmth or wariness, or any other aspect, I hope some part of Nidalee resonates with you.
Media[]
- Related Music
- Related Videos
- Main article: Summoner icon
Trivia[]
- Nidalee is voiced by Roxana Ortega in
League of Legends and Legends of Runeterra.[5][6]
- She was previously voiced by Kelly Fosdahl Burge in League of Legends.
- She was previously voiced by Kelly Fosdahl Burge in
- Nidalee used to have a bug where Primal Surge applied Swipe's damage (meaning she could kill her teammates if they were low enough).
- During the Alpha, Pounce used to be the name for an ability of Warwick's.
