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

Story Highlights

Nidalee is the latest Assassin champion to join the Rift.
She’s capable of freely switching between Human and Cougar Form on the battlefield
Her Human form is best for poking, while her Cougar Form is for aggressive engages.

I’m so excited about Nidalee joining Wild Rift! She’s the newest assassin, and honestly, she’s a blast to play. I love that she can poke enemies from a distance in her human form, and then switch to cougar form to really go in for the kill. I’ve been checking out a guide to help me master her – it’s going over all her skills, the best items to build, and some really helpful tips and tricks to win more games with her. I can’t wait to try everything out!

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

Focus on improving Skill 1 first, as it makes getting resources and safely attacking enemies much easier. Next, upgrade Skill 3 to move around more quickly and deal extra damage. After that, work on Skill 2. Whenever you can, unlock and upgrade your ultimate ability.

Best Runes and Spells for Nidalee in Wild Rift

Nidalee is a strong pick for the Jungle role because her skills allow her to move quickly between lanes and eliminate enemy champions with powerful attacks. Her overall potential makes her a great choice for this position.

Best Rune Setup for Nidalee

Nidalee’s rune choices focus on maximizing her ability to quickly defeat enemies and gain an early advantage, letting her control the game from the start and remain a powerful threat even later on. Here are some of the best runes to improve her performance in League of Legends:

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

As a Nidalee player, I’ve found the key to really making her shine is building for big, quick damage, keeping her healthy in fights, and letting her get around the map super fast. Basically, I want to maximize how well she can switch between her human and cougar forms – making her human form great at poking enemies from a distance and her cougar form a real threat for finishing people off. Here’s what I usually build on her to make that happen:

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

I main Nidalee, and she’s seriously one of the most fun champions in League! She’s all about being super mobile, dealing consistent damage from a distance, and using her cougar form to really burst people down. This guide is going to walk you through how I play her, breaking down what I focus on in the early, mid, and late game so you can get a solid grasp of everything she can do.

Early Game

Nidalee excels early in the game thanks to her quick jungle clearing and ability to move around the map easily. It’s best to concentrate on killing jungle monsters, using her Bushwhack ability to explore and gain vision. Focus on clearing the jungle efficiently and look for chances to attack enemies from a distance with Javelin Toss, which deals significant damage and applies Hunter’s Mark.

A good path for clearing jungle camps is Red Brambleback, Raptors, Wolves, Blue Buff, and then Scuttle Crab. This order helps you gain experience and gold quickly, while also protecting your buffs from enemy players. Nidalee’s unique passive ability, Prowl, lets her move rapidly between bushes, making it easier to grab Scuttle Crabs early and quickly move to apply pressure to the lanes.

Don’t hold onto your Summoner Spell, Smite, for too long. Use it to quickly defeat powerful jungle monsters, especially if an enemy player is trying to take them as well. Also, make getting the Rift Herald a priority – the advantages it gives your team are very valuable. Here’s a skill combination that can help you succeed early in the game:

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

Nidalee’s powerful ultimate ability is unlocked at the very beginning of the game, making her a strong and assertive player early on. This allows her to switch between forms immediately, quickly eliminating enemy minions and launching surprise attacks.

Mid Game

As the game progresses, Nidalee really shines with her ability to move quickly around the map and control large areas. Use Javelin Toss to mark enemies, then transform into her cougar form and use Pounce to chase them down and deal significant damage.

Always reset the cooldown on your Pounce ability. This allows you to relentlessly pursue Hunted enemies, making you very strong in close-quarters combat, especially in the jungle. During team fights, use Primal Surge to keep your teammates healthy while you secure objectives like Rift Herald or Elder Dragon.

Nidalee’s quick movement and ability to see traps allow you to move around the map and surprise vulnerable enemies. As the game progresses, she excels at controlling the map, moving quickly, and choosing fights carefully. Here’s a powerful ability combination to use with Nidalee in the mid and late stages of the game:

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

Late Game

Where Nidalee stands during a team fight is crucial. Later in the game, she becomes a strong source of damage. She excels at staying at a safe distance, using her Javelin Toss to quickly reduce the health of important enemies, then shifting into her cougar form to finish them off.

Nidalee excels at bringing enemies’ health down and then quickly eliminating them when they’re vulnerable. She’s most effective when played from a safe distance, using her agility and ability to switch between forms to outmaneuver opponents and secure kills. Let’s take a look at who counters Nidalee, as well as her strengths and weaknesses.

Champions that counter Nidalee	Champions that Nidalee is strong against
Rengar	Gragas
Evelynn	Fiddlesticks
Zed	Amumu

Final Thoughts

2025-10-24 13:14