How to win the jungle race as Nidalee against Nocturne · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Nidalee's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Nocturne.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Even Skirmish | Umbra Blades' AoE sustain clears fast and wins the raptor-pit brawl, and that is worth exactly what you bring: max-range Javelin poke decides who enters the scuttle fight healthy. Contest your opening camps when your health bar is the higher one and not before. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Nidalee Favoured | Pounce-reset cat clears let you out-tempo and kite the slower kits. The margin is thin: Duskbringer's trail damage plus speed wins straight-line trades, and one slow camp on your side hands the window straight back, so keep the trade short. Dash out of the tether's leash range the instant it attaches — never tank the fear. |
| Level 3 Route | Nidalee Favoured | The spear-hunt-pounce execute pattern wins any fight you start at range. The fear-tether threat tilts every river skirmish in their favor, so this is an edge and not a blowout — take the level-3 river fight only with the HP and cooldown lead. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Even — Farm & Track | Even through 4-5. He spends 4-5 on Duskbringer trails into side lanes and takes camps in the gaps between them, so mirror it: farm the same tempo, ward the same crossings, and take the fight only with numbers. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Nocturne's R | Nocturne wins the breakpoint outright — Paranoia removes their map and delivers they to any duel they have already chunked, and Paranoia darkens the map and delivers a fear-tether dive straight onto you. Hug terrain near allies on the cast — the darkness punishes whoever stands alone, then trade objectives cross-map until your items land. |
| First Item Spike | Lich Bane / Shadowflame Spike | Completing your core item triggers a massive magical damage and burst multiplier that completely overpowers traditional brawlers or assassin targets. Nocturne's first item is where the Duskbringer trade stops being a chunk and becomes a kill on any squishy. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Danger — Nocturne Outscales | You lose the long game outright: he removes your vision and arrives on your carry with a spell shield already up, and no build path of yours answers that. Convert every early lead into an objective immediately. |
Start your clear at the Red Buff camp to maximize early clear speed and health retention via E heal loops before executing a fast 3-camp clear straight into an aggressive lane gank or invade path. Nocturne clears fast off Umbra Blades sustain and Duskbringer, and he is at full health almost every camp.
Ranked by the race windows in Nidalee's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Nidalee vs Nocturne report continues with scuttle & dragon rules, invade windows and safety boundaries, the top-side objective fight, macro rotations and the win condition — plus the live enemy-jungle tracker that shows their start, clear and gank timers in game.
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No clear favourite — Nidalee holds 3 windows, Nocturne 2, the rest are even.
Yes — Nidalee vs Nocturne plays as a skill matchup: the jungle race swings window to window, and the better first clear usually sets the tone.
Playing the other side? Nocturne vs Nidalee guide →
All Nidalee jungle matchups →
More Nidalee jungle matchups: vs Master Yi · vs Morgana · vs Naafiri · vs Nunu & Willump · vs Olaf · vs Qiyana