How to win the jungle race as Nidalee against Xin Zhao · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Nidalee's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Xin Zhao.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Respect Xin Zhao | The window at the first buff belongs to Xin Zhao: Three Talon Strike's knock-up plus passive healing wins the first buff-pit duel. Your own line is real — max-range Javelin poke decides who enters the scuttle fight healthy — but it arrives second here. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands, then skip the level-1 crossing. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Respect Xin Zhao | At level 2 this window belongs to Xin Zhao: Wind Becomes Lightning (W) challenge poke starts trades they finish for free, and the W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands. Refuse the level-2 skirmish and bank tempo on the opposite side of the map. |
| Level 3 Route | Respect Xin Zhao | The W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer — Nidalee has no answer to that at level 3. The full knock-up combo with W slow is among the top three level-3 duels on their half of the map too, so give up the level-3 river fight and answer the pressure cross-map. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Respect Xin Zhao — Path Opposite | Do not trade windows with Xin Zhao here: he dives lanes through 4-5, since Audacious Charge into the knock-up needs no setup at all. Path opposite, keep your entrances warded, and answer the map, not the champion. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Xin's R | The six-spike belongs to Xin Zhao, and Nidalee's does not bridge the gap: Crescent Guard isolates you from your team and wins the resulting 1v1. Fight him with numbers before the R cast or poke the duel down from range. Your own ultimate is a tool here, not a trump card — spend it to escape or equalize, not to start fights. |
| 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. Xin Zhao's first item is a sharp jump — the knock-up combo goes from a strong trade to a kill on most junglers. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Even Scaling — Prep Decides | Neither of you out-scales the other. He isolates one target with Crescent Guard and wins the 1v1 he just created, so the late game is decided by who starts the fight, not who wins the stat sheet. |
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. Xin Zhao clears fast and heals off Determination, so he reaches three healthy and looking for the first fight.
Ranked by the race windows in Nidalee's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Nidalee vs Xin Zhao 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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Xin Zhao pressures 5 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.
Not exactly — Xin Zhao pressures 5 of the 7 windows, so Nidalee is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Playing the other side? Xin Zhao vs Nidalee guide →
All Nidalee jungle matchups →
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