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Skill usage
Javelin Toss
- Utilizing an enemies lack of vision can allow you to land Javelin Toss easier against unaware targets. This is even easier when jungling.
- Using Javelin Toss just as an enemy minion dies can lead to a surprise hit on an enemy that thought they were safe behind minions and allow follow up attacks in cougar.
Bushwhack
- Utilize
Bushwhack to zone enemy champion out of brush and other parts of the lane during laning. - Nidalee is a great scout. Placing Bushwhack in various locations around Nidalee will reveal nearby enemies. Note: Bushwhack does not reveal enemies outside of Nidalee's Hunt range.
- With some mana regen masteries/runes/items, Nidalee can set some Bushwhacks before creeps spawn. Ask junglers where they are starting and trap the surrounding area; With only utility masteries & Doran's Ring at Level 1, you can regenerate most of the mana for Bushwhack by the time it comes off cooldown.
- Nidalee can also set up Bushwhacks in the enemies' jungle if they have a jungler. The best places to set up Bushwhacks in the enemy jungle is in the intersection where they must pass to kill the monsters.
- When jungling Nidalee can start against the larger melee camps with just bushwhack and take almost 0 damage. Just lay a trail of Traps between you and the target camp. The larger jungle creep will hit each trap in succession and get snared for 2 seconds each time allowing you to attack it from range without being hit.
Primal Surge
- Healing the champion with the highest attack damage output can give them a significant boost to their DPS.
- Primal Surge can help bring towers down with the attack speed buff; always use it on the champion with the highest damage output versus towers when taking down towers. Note: When AP is higher than Bonus AD your base AD + 40% of your AP go towards damaging towers.
Aspect of the Cougar
- Aspect of the Cougar abilities cost no mana, making them effective for pushing and jungle.
Takedown
- Takedown ignores dodge allowing Nidalee to penetrate Counter Strike
- While laning if you have a small amount of life steal you can get nearly triple the normal healing off of it by using Takedown on low hp minions.
- Nidalee can use Takedown Immediately after auto attacking to get off 2 attacking in rapid succession.
Pounce
- Pounce can also be used to jump over the jungle walls and escape. Since Pounce costs no mana, it can be endlessly cast which makes it a good chasing and escaping ability.
- Nidalee can be great at juking when being chased: entering a bush, then Pouncing back the way you came. Most of the time, the chaser will go through the bush while you escape and gain more time.
- Killing an enemy minion, monster, or champion whilst feeling with pounce can be used to reset the cooldown allowing you to pounce again to flee more effectively. EX: Smiting enemy minions while running past a minion wave.
Swipe
- Swipe can be utilized to easily clear the back line of a minion wave, especially when combined with pounce or other area of effect damage.
Build usage
- Sheen and its derivative items Lich Bane, Iceborn Gauntlet, and Trinity Force are exceptionally powerful combined with the fast cooling abilities of Nidalee's Aspect of the Cougar, especially Takedown.
- Nidalee can boost her heals on herself by buying a Spirit Visage, which also gives her some needed cooldown reduction.
- If against a champion that focuses on attack speed such as Fiora, Jax or Xin Zhao, consider purchasing an early Frozen Heart. Nidalee can benefit greatly from the 20% cooldown reduction and has high base damage abilities while in Cougar form to make up for missing damage.
- Rod of Ages is a good item for Nidalee, because it gives a good amount of mana and ability power, along with some health that can be very useful as her cougar abilities requires her to be in melee range. However, it can put you significantly behind if you are already having trouble and can't complete it early enough because of the time it takes to fully stacks. If you are not sure to be able to complete it in time, consider buying the Blasting Wand first instead of the Catalyst the Protector; you will be able to turn it into something else if you can't finish the Rod of Ages soon after.
- Rylai's Crystal Scepter can be an alternative, and you don't need to wait for it to stack; however, it gives less total health, no mana, and will only apply its passive to its full effectiveness on Javelin Toss and Takedown, while also being slightly more expensive.
- Nashor's Tooth's passive works very well with the attack speed steroid from Primal Surge. However, it requires you to be in attack range, and is therefore not recommended in a glass cannon build.
- If you are looking for cooldown reduction, the Morellonomicon is a rather cheap item, that comes with a good amount of mana regeneration and ability power, and it's passive will often trigger on Javelin Toss because of its high damage, preventing enemies from simply healing the damage, further increasing the effectiveness of Nidalee's poke; therefore, it is a very good item on her. You can also build Athene's Unholy Grail, which is more expensive and has less ability power, but that comes with two passives that will allow you to almost never run out of mana.
- When it comes to boots, Sorcerer's Shoes are often the most appealing choice, since Nidalee greatly benefits from magic penetration. However, you can also consider taking Mercury's Treads; as she is very susceptible to controls, the tenacity could save your life. Also, if you are facing another mage, the extra magic resistance will prove useful.
- Pounce's low cooldown and lack of mana cost makes it one of the best abilities in the game to gain stacks on a Tear of the Goddess and it's evolutions.
- Javelin Toss will trigger Muramana's bonus damage if the toggle is on. It is, however, physical damage, so it's mainly interesting for AD Nidalee. When playing AP, Seraph's Embrace will often prove to be a better choice because of the great amount of ability power (without any other mana items, Nidalee will have 2030 mana at level 18, which will give her 60 ability power with its passive, and 60 more with its base stats of the item, for a total of 120 ability power) and the life-saving active shield.
- Zhonya's Hourglass can save your life with its active if an enemy dives into your team to get you, while also giving a great amount of ability power and armor. It also builds from Seeker's Armguard, which will prove very useful when facing a champion who excels in dealing physical damage in lane.
- Nidalee's new kit works well in a hybrid build, items that exceptionally work with a hybrid build are: Blade of the Ruined King, Hextech Gunblade, Trinity Force, and Sorcerer's Shoes
Recommended builds
Countering
- Nidalee relies on being able to heal constantly so that she can return to fights or escape. Using Ignite on her or buying Morellonomicon is an effective way of insuring she dies or at least preventing her from returning to a fight in good health.
- Nidalee is very susceptible to hard CC and does not have any of her own. Crowd controlling her as soon as she comes into range of your team can get her killed very quickly.
- If you are chasing Nidalee and you are both at low health, it is highly advised not to follow her into brush. This may give her a perfect opportunity to use Takedown, as it does more damage to lower health targets.
- If you are having trouble dodging Nidalee's Javelin Toss or need to take a hit for a teammate, always remember that it does more damage based on the distance between the target hit and where she tossed it from. If you close that distance, it will do less damage.
- Because of this, champions with gap closers such as Akali, Diana, Fizz, LeBlanc, Pantheon, Talon, Wukong, Yasuo, and Zed are effective champions on dealing with her.
- Alternatively building a Banshee's Veil provides excellent assistance by negating the skillshot entirely.
- Also remember that the spear doesn't start gaining damage until it goes past Nidalee's attack range, i.e. 525 units.
- Because of this, champions with gap closers such as
- Javelin Toss can be easily dodged by side stepping or standing behind minions.
- Nidalee has great mobility and is good at baiting team fights in her team's favor by pulling bold enemies into bad positions. If you see a Nidalee leading you or your team through the jungle or any other tightly spaced areas, don't follow her unless you have good knowledge of the area via wards or some other form of map awareness. It also leaves yourself open to a powerful Javelin Toss that could kill you.
- If against a Nidalee top lane, consider starting Cloth Armor and 5 Health Potions as it will help minimize the early harass damage from her auto attacks.
- Nidalee is one of the few champions in League of Legends that can be effective with both ability power and attack damage. Make sure you notice which she is prioritizing so you can counter accordingly.
- If you step on one of Nidalee's trap, be very careful. Due to the important shred, any attack will do significantly more damage, even if you're a tank. Also keep in mind that it grants Nidalee's team true sight, meaning that if you step on one of your ward, they will see it.
- Nidalee is a very good roamer and split pusher with her Aspect of the Cougar abilities. Always be aware of her position and tell your team if she is missing.
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