Wild Rift Nidalee Build Guide: Skill Analysis, Best Runes and Gameplay Tips

Nidalee is the latest Assassin champion to join the ever-increasing League of Legends: Wild Rift champion roster. As an assassin-jungler, she excels at poking enemies from afar while in her Human form, before diving in with Cougar Form to burst them down. In this Wild Rift Nidalee guide, we will take a detailed look at her skills, best builds, tips, and tricks to have the game in your favour while using her.

Wild Rift Nidalee Guide: Skill Analysis

Passive: Prowl

Nidalee starts with a rank in Aspect of the Cougar.

• Queen of the Jungle: Gains 15% Movement Speed in brush, increased to 30% while moving toward enemy champions. This bonus persists for 2 seconds after leaving the brush.
• Hunter’s Mark: Hitting champions or monsters with Javelin Toss or Bushwhack marks them as Hunted for 4 seconds. While an enemy is Hunted, they are revealed and Nidalee gains 15% Movement Speed; it is increased to 30% while moving toward the Hunted enemy. The two Movement Speed bonuses stack, with a total cap of 30.

Skill 1: Javelin Toss/Cougar

• Javelin Toss: In human form, Nidalee throws a spiked javelin at her target that gains damage as it flies.
• Cougar: As a cougar, she grabs her opponent by the throat and attempts to bring them down, dealing more damage depending on how wounded the target is.

Skill 2: Bushwhack/Pounce

• Bushwhack: Places an invisible trap for 10 seconds. When an enemy walks over it, they are revealed, receiving some magic damage over 4 seconds. Do note that only 4 traps can be active at once.
• Pounce: Pounces toward a target location, dealing magic damage to enemies in the area she lands. Killing an enemy in Cougar Form or using this ability on a Hunted target reduces its cooldown to 1.75 seconds.

Skill 3: Primal Surge/Swipe

• Primal Surge: In human form, Nidalee channels the spirit of the cougar to heal her allies and infuse them with attack speed for a short duration.
• Swipe: As a cougar, Nidalee rapidly claws enemies in front of her.

Ultimate ability: Aspect of the Cougar

Passive ability

• While in Human Form, applying Hunted refreshes this ability’s cooldown.
• While in Cougar Form, Nidalee’s basic ability damage scales with this ability’s level, and she gains bonus Armour and Magic Resist.

Active ability

• Human Form: Transforms into Cougar Form, gaining melee attacks and replacing her active abilities.
• Cougar Form: Transforms into Human Form, gaining ranged attacks and replacing her active abilities.

Skill-up method for Nidalee

Prioritise upgrading Skill 1 as it allows for easy farming and poke, follow up with upgrading Skill 3 for extra mobility and damage, then Skill 2. Unlock and upgrade the ultimate ability whenever available.

Best Runes and Spells for Nidalee in Wild Rift

Based on her skill set and ability potential, Nidalee can be played as a Jungler, as she can easily rotate across lanes to burst down enemy champions.

Best Rune Setup for Nidalee

Nidalee’s Rune Setup is geared toward enhancing her burst potential and snowball capability, allowing her to dominate in the early game and scale into a late-game assassin. Below are some of the Best runes to use to boost Nidalee’s overall performance on the Rift:

• Dark Harvest: Amplifies Nidalee’s burst by stacking bonus damage on low-health enemies, ideal for cleaning up fights.
• Sudden Impact: Boosts magic penetration after using Pounce, enhancing her follow-up damage.
• Chain Assault: This Rune synergises well with your passive Hunter’s Mark, as it deals bonus damage to marked enemies.
• Eyeball Collection: Grants bonus AP for every takedown, enhancing Nidalee’s snowball potential.
• Coup de Grace: Deals extra damage to low-health targets.

Battle Spells

The best battle spells for Nidalee on the Rift include:

• Smite: This battle Spell is highly recommended when playing Nidalee as a Jungler. It grants her an edge over Jungle monsters, allowing her to secure Jungle objectives easily.
• Flash: This spell aids in quick repositioning during teamfights.

Best Builds for Nidalee in Wild Rift

Nidalee’s build focuses on amplifying her burst damage, sustain, and mobility, making her a lethal assassin. Each item enhances her dual-form flexibility, boosting both her Human Form poke potential and her Cougar Form execution power. Her recommended build is highlighted below:

• Boots of Mana: Provides mana and bonus Magic Pen, allowing Nidalee to spam her abilities more during Jungle clears.
• Lich Bane: Perfect for Quick combos as it boosts each follow-up attack after using a skill.
• Yordle Infinity Orb: Grants burst potential against low-health targets and valuable magic penetration.
• Rabadon’s deathcap: Provides a massive increase to your Ability Power, amplifying all your damage.
• Crown of the Shattered Queen: Boosts Nidalee’s survivability, reducing risk in close-ranged fights.
• Riftmaker: Greatly boosts Nidalee’s sustain and damage potential, allowing her to be very dominant in prolonged teamfights.

Wild Rift Nidalee Guide: Gameplay Tips

Nidalee is an Assassin champion that showcases mobility, deadly poke, and powerful form-swapping mechanics in the Rift. In this guide, we’ll be breaking down Nidalee’s gameplay into the Early, Mid, and Late gameplay phases for a better understanding of the champion.

Early Game

Nidalee thrives in the early game with her strong jungle clear and mobility. It is best to focus on farming Jungle monsters while using Bushwhack to scout and secure vision control across the map. You should prioritise efficient Jungle clears and look for opportunities to poke with Javelin Toss, as it deals high damage from range and marks enemies with Hunter’s Mark.

Clearing the camps in the order of Red Brambleback, Raptors, Wolves, Blue Buff, and Scuttle Crab. This rotation allows the player to level up and farm quickly, gain gold, whilst securing their buffs from any potential enemy invasion. Nidalee’s passive Prowl allows swift rotations between jungle brushes, helping you secure early Scuttle Crabs and pressure lanes with quick movements.

You should not conserve Smite; try to maximize it to slay strong jungle monsters, especially when an enemy is contesting it. It is also advised that you prioritize and secure the Rift Herald, as its perks and rewards are highly beneficial to your team. To easily perform in the early game, the following skill combo will help:

Skill 1 → Ult (Cougar Form)→ Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Skill 3 → Ult

As Nidalee’s Ultimate ability is available right from level 1, her early gameplay can be quite strong and aggressive. That means she can start swapping forms right from the start for faster clears and more aggressive early ganks.

Mid Game

In the mid-game, Nidalee’s mobility and map control become her greatest strengths. Ensure to use Javelin Toss to mark targets, then transform and use Pounce to chase and shred them down.

Ensure to always trigger the cooldown reset for the Pounce skill, as it lets you constantly chase Hunted enemies, making her deadly in small fights around jungle terrain. Use Primal Surge during teamfights to keep your team sustained while pushing objectives like Rift Herald or Elder Dragon.

With her Prowl movement speed and trap vision from Bushwhack, you can roam aggressively, catching squishy targets off guard. In the mid-game, Nidalee thrives on map control, speed, and smart engagements. The best combo to use with Nidalee in the mid/late game is as follows:

Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Ult (Cougar Form) → Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Skill 3 → Basic attacks

Late Game

Positioning is everything. In the late game, Nidalee transforms into a powerful damage dealer on the Rift. She can stay on the edge of fights, using Javelin Toss to peel the HP of key targets before transforming to hunt them down.

Nidalee is best at weakening enemies and finishing off low-health targets. Stay out of the front line, use her range, speed, and quick form swaps to outplay opponents and secure kills. Let’s check out some of Nidalee’s best counters, strengths, and weaknesses.

Final Thoughts

Nidalee is certainly a promising new addition to the League of Legends: Wild Rift‘s roster. When played skillfully, Nidalee becomes an unstoppable champion capable of turning fights through burst damage, sustain, and mobility.

• Wild Rift Patch 6.2 “Powers Unbound” Update
• Wild Rift Vel’Koz Build

That’s all for today’s Nidalee guide in Wild Rift. Do you prefer to use Nidalee in any other way? Let us know in the comment section below!

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