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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Nidalee Jungle Build, Runes and Counters · Patch 26.20

the Bestial Huntress

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (5,782 games).

Nidalee, the Bestial Huntress, throws a Javelin Toss that hits harder the farther it flies and switches to a cougar with Aspect Of The Cougar. Dark Harvest led Conqueror among counted Master+ Nidalees, and Lich Bane into Hextech Rocketbelt opens both her printed paths. Master Yi, Rek'Sai and Xin Zhao beat her most often. She came out on top against Viego, Talon and Kayn. Lee Sin and Graves were about even.

AssassinMage

Patch 26.18 · Jungle · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 5,782 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Jungle)

S+Tier
Win Rate
52.9%
Pick Rate
8.8%
Ban Rate
12.8%

5,782

Games

Very High

Confidence

Most common path

1,047 games

54.8%Win Rate

Start
FlashSmite

Highest win rate path

246 games

82.9%Win Rate

Start
FlashSmite

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 29.5% of games·53.1% win rate over 1,708 games.

Primary

Domination

Dark Harvest

Damaging a low health champion inflicts adaptive damage and harvests a soul from the victim.

Sudden Impact

Damaging basic attacks and abilities deal bonus true damage to enemy champions after using a dash, leap, blink, teleport, or when leaving stealth.

Sixth Sense

On a long Cooldown, automatically sense a nearby untracked and unseen ward, tracking it for the team. Level 11: Also reveal the ward for 10s.

Treasure Hunter

Unique takedowns grant additional gold the first time they are collected.

Secondary

Sorcery

Transcendence

Gain bonuses upon reaching the following levels:Level 5: +5 Ability Haste Level 8: +5 Ability Haste Level 11: On Champion takedown, reduce the remaining cooldown of basic abilities by 20%.

Waterwalking

Gain MS and AP or AD, adaptive in the river.

Shards

  • Attack Speed
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health

Other keystones taken

  • Conqueror30.1% taken · 53.2% win1,742 games
  • Summon Aery5.2% taken · 50.7% win302 games
  • Electrocute2.9% taken · 55.9% win170 games

Tree pairs

  • Domination + Sorcery43.9% taken · 53.2% win2,538 games
  • Precision + Sorcery24.5% taken · 53.0% win1,415 games
  • Domination + Precision16.8% taken · 52.6% win970 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Nidalee's most common path.

Q

Javelin Toss / Takedown

In human form, Nidalee throws a spiked javelin at her target that gains damage as it flies.

Cooldown 6s · 50/55/60/65/70 Mana
W

Bushwhack / Pounce

In human form, Nidalee lays a trap for unwary opponents that, when sprung, damages and reveals its target.

Cooldown 13/12/11/10/9s · 30/35/40/45/50 Mana
E

Primal Surge / Swipe

In human form, Nidalee channels the spirit of the cougar to heal her allies and imbue them with Attack Speed for a short duration.

Cooldown 12s · 50/55/60/65/70 Mana
R

Aspect Of The Cougar

Nidalee transforms into a cougar, gaining new abilities.

Cooldown 3s · No cost

Max Order

QEW

Max Q first, then E, then W. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QJavelin Toss / TakedownQQQQQ
WBushwhack / PounceWWWWW
EPrimal Surge / SwipeEEEEE
RAspect Of The CougarRRR

Matchup map (Jungle)

How Nidalee performs against enemy jungle laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Nidalee's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18
Mythic / CoreFirst major item
Core 2Second item
Core 3Third item
BootsBoot slot
SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

NidaleeJungle average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Nidalee

  • Deny the reset — it wants a kill to come back out; a warded exit removes it

  • Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip

  • Punish the cooldown — Nidalee is exposed while its rotation is down

  • Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one

  • Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 8/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

  • P

    Prowl

    Moving through brush increases Nidalee's Move Speed by 10% for 2 seconds, increased to 30% toward visible enemy champions within 1400 range.Hitting champions or monsters with Javelin Toss or Bushwhack triggers a Hunt, granting True Sight of them for 4 seconds. During this time, Nidalee gains 10% Move Speed (increased to 30% toward the Hunted target) and her Takedown and Pounce are enhanced against them.

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Javelin Toss / Takedown

    In human form, Nidalee throws a spiked javelin at her target that gains damage as it flies. As a cougar, her next attack will attempt to fatally wound her target, dealing more damage the less life they have.

    Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 6sRange 1500

  • W

    Bushwhack / Pounce

    In human form, Nidalee lays a trap for unwary opponents that, when sprung, damages and reveals its target. As a cougar, she jumps in a direction, dealing damage in an area where she lands.

    Cost 30/35/40/45/50 ManaCooldown 13/12/11/10/9sRange 900

  • E

    Primal Surge / Swipe

    In human form, Nidalee channels the spirit of the cougar to heal her allies and imbue them with Attack Speed for a short duration. As a cougar, she claws in a direction, dealing damage to enemies in front of her.

    Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 12sRange 900

  • R

    Aspect Of The Cougar

    Nidalee transforms into a cougar, gaining new abilities.

    No costCooldown 3sRange 20

Nidalee balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Nidalee in 3 patches. The latest is patch 25.24, published 2025-12-02.

  1. Patch 25.242025-12-02

    QJavelin Toss

    • Bonus Damage Beyond 525 Range30-125%to0-125% (Note: Damage at ranges below 525 are unaffected.)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Nidalee has risen up the ranks as an extremely high-powered jungler, largely due to a bug where her Q deals more damage than it should at most ranges. We’ve fixed this bug and will keep an eye on her to see how she lands.

  2. Patch 25.132025-06-24

    QJavelin Toss

    • Damage increase based on distance traveled0 - 200%to0-225%
    • Distance required for damage amp525tounchanged
    Why, in Riot's words

    Nidalee's buffs from last patch still left her a touch weaker than we'd like and we're still looking to buff her jungle much more than top lane. We think her signature spell could stand to pose more of a threat so we're taking a swing at bumping up the fantasy of landing those max range javelins.

  3. Patch 25.122025-06-10

    ESwipe

    • Damage70 / 130 / 190 / 250 (+ 70% bonus AD) (+ 40% AP)to70 / 130 / 190 / 250 (+ 70% bonus AD) (+ 55% AP)
    Why, in Riot's words

    While Nidalee has appeared in pro play more often lately, it’s often been due to her strength as a top laner. We want to put some of her power back in her ability to become an AP jungle threat, so we’re giving her some extra help to take over games once she gets rolling.

Nidalee skins (17)

Riot's data lists 17 looks for Nidalee with their own art, the base skin included and 50 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateS
Win Rate
52.6%
▼ 0.6%
Pick Rate
7.7%
▲ 2.5%
Ban Rate
1.9%
▼ 1.3%
Damage dealt
103.4%
Damage taken
101.8%
Healing
91.8%
Shielding
102.8%
Ability Haste
+16

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.1953.0% over 1,485 games0.0
  2. 26.1853.0% over 3,308 games+0.3
  3. 26.1752.3% over 959 games · small sample—

Nidalee's base stats against all 173 champions

StatNidaleeRankMedian
Base health610=98th620
Health per level109=38th104
Base armor32=65th30
Armor per level5=18th4.6
Base magic resist30=110th32
Magic resist per level1.4592nd1.55
Base attack damage58=95th59
Base attack speed0.638=108th0.656
Attack speed per level3.22%36th2.5%
Move speed335=74th335
Attack range525=46th175

Nidalee at level 1 and level 18

  • Nidalee reaches 2463 health at level 18 — 610 at level 1 plus 17 × 109, the 51st-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Nidalee reaches 1060 mana at level 18 — 295 at level 1 plus 17 × 45, the 72nd-lowest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20.
  • Nidalee reaches 117 armor at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 5, the 29th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Nidalee reaches 54.65 magic resist at level 18 — 30 at level 1 plus 17 × 1.45, the 83rd-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health610+109246351st of 173
Mana295+45106074th of 145
Armor32+5117=29th of 173
Magic resist30+1.4554.6591st of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Nidalee

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.

Quick answers about Nidalee

How does Nidalee do against Master Yi?
Nidalee won 35.6% of 59 counted Master+ games against Master Yi. Master Yi is one of the opponents that beat Nidalee. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Nidalee do against Rek'Sai?
Nidalee won 40.4% of 94 counted Master+ games against Rek'Sai. Rek'Sai is one of the opponents that beat Nidalee. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Nidalee do against Xin Zhao?
Nidalee won 45.9% of 98 counted Master+ games against Xin Zhao. Xin Zhao is one of the opponents that beat Nidalee.
How does Nidalee do against Viego?
Nidalee won 58.2% of 184 counted Master+ games against Viego. It is a matchup Nidalee wins more often than not.
How does Nidalee do against Talon?
Nidalee won 56.5% of 262 counted Master+ games against Talon. It is a matchup Nidalee wins more often than not.
How does Nidalee do against Kayn?
Nidalee won 67.9% of 53 counted Master+ games against Kayn. It is a matchup Nidalee wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Nidalee do against Lee Sin?
Nidalee won 50.3% of 580 counted Master+ games against Lee Sin. It is close to even.
How does Nidalee do against Graves?
Nidalee won 48.4% of 225 counted Master+ games against Graves. It is close to even.
What class is Nidalee?
Riot classes Nidalee as Assassin and Mage. This site files the champion under Jungle.
How hard is Nidalee to play?
Riot rates Nidalee's difficulty 8 out of 10.
What resource does Nidalee use?
Nidalee's abilities spend Mana.
What is Nidalee's attack range?
525 units — the 46th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 17 others).
What are Nidalee's abilities?
Passive — Prowl, Q — Javelin Toss / Takedown, W — Bushwhack / Pounce, E — Primal Surge / Swipe and R — Aspect Of The Cougar.
How many skins does Nidalee have?
Riot's data lists 17 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 50 chroma variants.
How much health does Nidalee have at level 18?
2463 — 610 at level 1 plus 17 × 109 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Nidalee's ultimate cooldown?
Aspect Of The Cougar (R): 3 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Nidalee?
Patch 25.24, published 2 December 2025 — the latest of 3 patches that change Nidalee in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Nidalee at a glance

Nidalee, the Bestial Huntress, is a Assassin and Mage champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 8/10 for difficulty, 5/10 for attack, 4/10 for defense and 7/10 for magic. Nidalee spends Mana and has 17 skins with their own art.

Attack5/10
Defense4/10
Magic7/10
Difficulty8/10

Nidalee's story

Raised in the deepest jungle, Nidalee is a master tracker who can shapeshift into a ferocious cougar at will. Neither wholly woman nor beast, she viciously defends her territory from any and all trespassers, with carefully placed traps and deft spear throws. She cripples her quarry before pouncing on them in feline form—the lucky few who survive tell tales of a wild woman with razor-sharp instincts, and even sharper claws...
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window
Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters
The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample
None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause
An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Nidalee on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 12 December 2012.

13 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.