How to Play Nidalee Jungle: Tips & Power Spikes (26.20)

Max order: Q > E > W
First item: Scorchclaw Pup0.1 min
Gold vs lane at 15: +77
Win rate 1k gold ahead: 65.3%
Win rate 1k gold behind: 21.8%

Overview Build Runes Abilities Stats Counters Synergies Matchups Arena ARAM Tips Guide

Nidalee Power Spikes (Patch 26.20)

Jungle

When Nidalee Jungle gets stronger, in the order it happens in a typical ranked game: ability unlocks from the most common skill order, item spikes at the median minute players finish them, and the game length Nidalee wins most.

Lv 3
All three basic abilities at level 3
Nidalee's full combo is online — the first point where trading all-in is realistic.
Lv 6
Ultimate rank 1 at level 6
The biggest early spike: look for a kill or a roam as soon as Nidalee hits it.
Lv 11
Ultimate rank 2 at level 11
Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Nidalee can start or win.
Lv 16
Ultimate rank 3 at level 16
Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Nidalee can start or win.
0.1 min
First item at 0.1 min
Scorchclaw Pup is done — Nidalee's first real damage or durability spike.
11.3 min
Two items at 11.3 min
Scorchclaw Pup + Lich Bane: the window to group and take objectives.
18.7 min
Three-item core at 18.7 min
Scorchclaw Pup + Lich Bane + Hextech Rocketbelt completes Nidalee's core build.
25 min
Strongest in games of about 25 minutes
Nidalee wins 45.7% of games that end around this point.

Item timings are medians: half of players finish later. Fall behind in farm and every item spike moves back with it.

Nidalee Jungle Laning Plan

Nidalee plays an even lane: no extreme in gold, leads or scaling, so the matchup decides how hard to push. On average Nidalee Jungle is 77 gold ahead of the lane opponent at 15 minutes and ahead in 51% of games. A 1,000-gold lead at 15 turns into a 65% win rate; a 1,000-gold deficit leaves 22%. Nidalee averages 0.26 solo kills by 15 minutes.

Nidalee win rate by gold at 15

1,000+ gold ahead65.3%
Ahead56.0%
Behind27.1%
1,000+ gold behind21.8%

Lane matchups that decide the plan

Press these lanes

Wukong+497 gold at 15

Nidalee Mid and Late Game

What Nidalee does better or worse than other champions after laning, from this patch's ranked games — percentiles where 100 is the highest of every champion.

Play to these strengths

Nidalee heals a lot (percentile 91): extended fights and sieges favor Nidalee.

Mistakes to avoid

Nidalee falls behind in CS (24/100): last-hit the waves you can, items still matter.

These expert Nidalee tips are generated by MetaBot's advanced analysis of thousands of Nidalee games. Learn the best strategies, ability combos, and gameplay tactics to master Nidalee and climb the ranked ladder. Follow these tips to maximize your Nidalee performance.

Nidalee has less crowd control than most champions. This can make locking down kills or ganking for other players more difficult.
Nidalee has a high rate of healing compared to other champions. They may be good at exchanging hit trades in lane or before teamfights since they can recover through self-healing.

Playing Nidalee

Use brush to your advantage! Moving in and out of brush can heavily alter your effectiveness in battle.
Start team fights by harassing with your Javelin Toss, and then switch to cougar form to chase down Hunted targets.
Bushwhack traps deal damage based on their victim's current Health. Set them up in your team's backline before fights break out during sieges to help your team deal damage to the enemy frontline.

Playing Against Nidalee

Nidalee's Hunt debuff is only applied with Javelin Toss and Bushwhack. Avoiding being hit by these abilities will impair her ability to deal follow-up damage.
Nidalee's Javelin Toss deals more damage the farther she is. If she is far away, it's imperative to dodge it.
Nidalee's Takedown deals extreme damage to Hunted targets, but she has to get close to use it. Save your crowd control or defensive abilities for when she goes in for the kill.

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How to Play Nidalee FAQ - Patch 26.20

When does Nidalee power spike?

Nidalee's spikes in a typical ranked game: All three basic abilities at level 3; Ultimate rank 1 at level 6; Ultimate rank 2 at level 11; Ultimate rank 3 at level 16; First item at 0.1 min.

Can Nidalee come back from behind?

Nidalee wins 27% of games when behind in gold at 15 minutes (over 369 games), against 56% when ahead — so a lost lane costs Nidalee games, but it is not decisive.

What is Nidalee's first item?

Most Nidalee players finish Scorchclaw Pup first, at a median of 0.1 minutes.

How do you play Nidalee Jungle?

From this patch's ranked data, Nidalee wins by playing to these strengths: take long fights and sieges.

Nidalee How to Play: Tips & Power Spikes