Kittalee Nidalee - Splash, Price & Chromas

Been maining Nidalee on and off since season 5, and when Kittalee dropped I think I bought it within the first hour. Not gonna lie, I’m a sucker for any skin that leans into the cat fantasy on a champion who literally transforms into a cougar. The splash alone sold me. Nidalee in full cat-ear hoodie energy with a yarn ball spear? Locked in immediately.

How Kittalee plays on the Rift

So this is a 1350 RP Epic skin, which means new VFX and a new recall animation but voice lines stay base. Fair enough. The VFX are where Kittalee earns its price tag though. Her Q spear in human form trails these little paw-print particles, and when you land a max range spear on someone in bot lane it just feels satisfying in a way default Nidalee doesnt deliver. Cute and lethal at the same time.

Cougar form is where things get interesting. The W pounce has this bouncy cat animation that reads cleaner than most of her older skins. E heal throws out little cat silhouettes. Nothing groundbreaking for an Epic tier but the whole package feels cohesive. Played maybe 40 games with this skin the week it came out and the ability reads never caused me issues in teamfights.

The recall is adorable. She plays with a cat toy, cougar form included. My duo partner pointed it out last Tuesday and we both just sat there watching it in practice tool for like five minutes. (Random aside: I set the splash as my Discord profile pic for two months straight and nobody questioned it.)

Cats Versus Dogs and the context

Kittalee released April 6, 2023, part of the Cats Versus Dogs skinline. The Cats Versus Dogs theme is one of Riot’s goofier concepts but it works surprisingly well for Nidalee specifically. She’s already a shapeshifter with a cat form so the skin feels natural rather than forced. Compare that to some of the other champions in the line who feel shoehorned into the theme.

Ina Wong and West Studio handled the artwork. They captured this playful energy in the splash that carries over into the in-game model. Bright colors, clean lines, the kind of splash you actually want to look at during loading screen.

8 chromas total. Obsidian is my go-to because the dark fur on cougar form looks menacing, almost like you’re playing a panther instead of a housecat. Amethyst hits different too, the purple tones work with Nidalee’s jungle clear aesthetic. Pearl exists for people who want the “prestigious cat” vibe but kinda feels like it washes out the details on certain monitors. Could be wrong here but I think Ruby is the weakest of the bunch, just a red tint that doesnt add much personality.

Should you pick up Kittalee?

Real verdict: 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. No new VO, which is standard for this price point, but the VFX and recall carry the skin. If you’re a Nidalee one-trick climbing through Diamond or just someone who plays her in jungle occasionally, Kittalee is a solid addition. Best Nidalee skin? I think Cosmic Huntress and Dawnbringer still edge it out for pure visual quality, but Kittalee has more personality than either of those.

Shop has it, permanent availability. Spammed this in Diamond for a solid two weeks after release, season 13 I think, and it never got old. The paw-print spears alone are worth the entry price. Skip it if you hate the cutesy aesthetic, but for everyone else this is an easy lock-in. Might be overthinking it but there’s something about landing a blind spear through fog of war with little cat paws trailing behind it that just makes the game more fun. Worth 1350 RP if you main Nidalee.