This is about year 3 of primarily playing Kindred in the support role, experimenting and trying quite literally all sorts of items and builds and testing niche interactions, playing at various ranks and different settings.


Kindred - regardless of role - is a mobile marksman with the potential to hypercarry with:

- a dash that deals damage to up to 3 targets, and grants attack speed,
- a "pet" that covers an area for 8 seconds dealing scaling %HP damage,
- a targeted slow/potential execute ability and
- a gamechanging ultimate that grants invulnerability at 10% HP and healing to all units in the area.


I believe that Support Kindred is mostly viable, strong against certain team compositions, but can struggle playing with and against certain team compositions on both sides.

I also believe that the pick's strongest build is the more defensive "Lamb" build centered around their ultimate, Lamb's Respite, and items such as Redemption / Locket of the Iron Solari. This however requires team coordination and/or teammates (and champions) that are able to take advantage of the ult. ie, a Master Yi that can drop enemy health to 10% during the 4 seconds of invulnerability saving Alpha Strike for the end; a Samira that stacks passive to then ult; a Tristana or Azir that pushes enemies off with their ultimate etc.

Since I only play soloqueue, the reality of playing a rather obscure off-meta pick means that teammates are less likely to play to their potential due to not understanding or being weary of the pick / expecting grief - which is understandable but can bring additional difficulty to the pick.

These conditions influence me to play offensively and build items that amplify Kindred's offensive strengths - "Wolf" builds - that don't rely on teammates as much to be effective. At its best, Wolf builds allow you to apply pressure by quickly moving around the map to clear wards / secure objectives and invade jungle / assisting fights while also being an extremely slippery offensive threat (either itemizing for burst, sustained damage or utility such as slows).

Kindred is a champion that can take advantage of early kills and turn them into massive leads - regardless of role.

I no longer have the time to play like I used to and my hopes with this is to share all I can about playing this entirely different way to play Kindred. I don't believe this is the only way to play the pick, but I do believe certain aspects of these builds leave no room for counterplay if played to perfection:


+ Lamb builds should in theory guarantee your team wins every teamfight after you ult.

+ Wolf builds allow you to be a constant threat dealing untradeable poke damage.

plays akin to...

+ with her kiting and mobility, but Kindred's dash can hop over short walls.
+ 's late game scaling as a hyper carry with a similarly strong ultimate.
+ with her scaling as a marksman support.
+ 's ghoul/pet zoning, except Wolf can't be targeted.
+ + 's ultimates combined, in AoE form.
+ 's self-sustain and gamechanging ultimate Heal.
(max rank Soraka's Ult heals allies for 350(+55% AP) HP while Kindred heals all units for 400 HP)
+ 's roaming and general jungle invading/similarity to Kindred's ultimate.
*hint: highlight BARD during champ select in solo queue

( if you get Serylda's Grudge / Rylai's Crystal Scepter )

+ 's slows and general kiting/utility (Wolf gives vision and applies slows, even over walls)
+ 's zoning through plant attacks.
+ (blue build) with a similarly effective playstyle based around Wolf's Frenzy







PROS / CONS

+ Denies enemy kills/executes (ex. , , , )
+ Scaling Attack Range.
+ Map Mobility / Gapcloser with Q - Dance of Arrows
+ Sustain from W's Passive
+ Vision / Zoning through W - Wolf's Frenzy
+ Ability to track enemy Jungler through their Passive: Mark of the Kindred
+ Can play both extremely defensive (Lamb), and extremely offensive (Wolf) effectively

- Relatively squishy
- Extremely countered by Hard CC. Hard CC = no Ultimate
- Short Range (500) early, though manageable, can be problematic

x High learning curve
x Difficulty to pilot
x Gamechanging Ultimate

PASSIVE - MARK OF THE KINDRED

Kindred's Marks allow her to (almost) infinitely scale. Like Senna, Kindred's overall abilities are enhanced, and her range increases with her Marks.

On a support budget, Kindred can make efficient use of their minimal Gold income, and scale into late game -- as long as they have a decent amount of , at least 4, great with 7.

Each mark grants:

At 4 Marks,
Q - grants 20% Attack Speed
W - 4% current HP% dealt as magic damage
E - gains an additional 2% of targets missing HP
Gains 75 range for a total of 575 (higher than most ADCs)

further Marks
Q - +5% Attack Speed
W - +1% current HP dealt as magic damage
E - +0.5% of targets missing HP
Basic Attack Range +25


Important things to note:

+ Marks disappear 10 seconds after they've been taken, AKA Enemy Jungler was here 10 seconds ago.
+ You can "assist" your jungle Marks. As a support, you'd rather the ADC/Jungler gets the Gold.
+ 3:30 Scuttle Mark, ask your Jungler to be ready for the 3:30 Scuttle Mark -- if it spawns Bot you'll be ready to assist.
+ You can re-mark targets after 4 minutes. Rotate marking Bot > Support > Jungler.
+ It takes 8 seconds for the Mark to apply. Keep this in mind when roaming Mid or invading the enemies Jungle.
* You can Mark a splitpushing enemy to scare them into retreating.

With lane pressure, or their first bot tower down, it's fairly easy to invade/ward and take your Marks at Krugs/Gromp. And the more overall influence your team has over the game, the easier it'll be for you to claim Marks.







Q - DANCE OF ARROWS

Active: Lamb hops in a direction, gaining Attack Speed and shooting 3 arrows to up to 3 targets.
Deals physical damage and gains bonus Attack Speed for 4 seconds.



Dance of Arrows is your main gapcloser/mobility tool with deceptively strong sustained damage combined with Basic Attacks and Wolf's Frenzy, and unlike most short dashes, Kindred's able to go over small walls. Practice hopping over walls in Practice Mode. (Kindred wall jump guide)



* Maxing Q does not reduce its cooldown - only the static cooldown when inside Wolf's Frenzy (from 4 seconds to 2 seconds at max rank.)

* It's quite easy to cancel Basic Attacks when weaving in Basic Attacks with this ability, make sure to let the animation play out to make sure the 3 arrows actually go off. You can actually lose a significant amount of damage by cancelling either your Basic Attacks or the Q arrows.

* Dance of Arrows is usually maxed for its higher DPS. However, in our Support build, we want to use our Q mainly as a mobility tool to dodge/hop over walls.

* Also an Attack Reset, allowing a 4th Hail of Blades Attack and extending its duration.








W - WOLF'S FRENZY

Passive: like an Energized passive, moving/attacking builds up stacks of Hunter's Vigor. At 100 stacks, the Lamb's next attack heals based on missing HP.

Active: Wolf covers an 800 radius area, granting vision, and attacking enemies.
Each bite deals current HP% as a scaling with AP/AD/Marks.

Wolf scales with 25% of your bonus Attack Speed.



Wolf's Frenzy is basically a...
+ built-in scaling BotRK,
+ that attacks through an untargettable "pet",
+ that grants vision over walls/inside bushes,
+ tethered to you at an 800 range radius.

- has a static internal cooldown of 4 seconds

The Hunter's Vigor passive offers one of the strongest lane sustain for a Marksman. It's essentially a built-in Fleet Footwork - doesn't cost any mana and only requires movement, Basic Attacks and a target. Also boosted by Revitalize and +Heal/Shield Power.




Important things to note:

+ Wolf will always target your last Attacked target (including wards).
+ Cast W inside bushes during fights for vision (especially Bot).
+ Casting W from inside a bush/behind a wall DOES NOT REVEAL YOU, DRAW AGGRO OR SHOW WOLF'S FRENZY'S RADIUS TO THE ENEMY.









E - MOUNTING DREAD

Active: A point-and-click active scaling with your Basic Attack range, Wolf slows your target for 1 second and applies a 3-hit Mark. On Lamb's 3rd hit, it deals physical damage.

If the target is below 15% HP (or up to 60% HP scaling with Critical Strike chance), the attack then Critical Strikes, dealing bonus physical damage.



This ability is both an execute, and your engage tool. Sometimes you have to make the decision of whether to E for the slow early and miss out on the bonus damage, or E late, and execute (kill secure) your target. As a support, you want to be the better judge.

* note: it's essential to master Mounting Dread with your Ultimate. Lamb's Respite, by stacking it twice, waiting for it to end, then Attacking for the 3rd stack and execute, "securing the kill".






R - LAMB'S RESPITE

Active: Lamb blesses a (500 range radius) circle around her for 4 seconds, receiving a Heal at the end.

ALL units (ally/enemy) inside the circle CANNOT DIE but still take damage. If enemies are reduced to 10% HP, they are LOCKED to 10% HP.

Units cannot heal or life steal or take any damage if they are locked to 10% HP.

At the end of the 4 seconds, all units are healed.



THE most dualistic, double-edged gamechanging ultimate ability...
Fortunately, it's in your control, and through smart itemization ( / + Grievous Wounds) we can skew it in favor of your allies. With a high base cooldown, Ability Haste is always welcome (recommend Ultimate Hunter).

Support Kindred lives/dies for the Lamb's Respite + Redemption play, which is exactly why Grievous Wounds is so crucial. Since you are not only healing your allies but the enemy as well, you need to skew those numbers in your favor.

At max rank, 40% Grievous Wounds reduces your enemy's heal from 400 HP to 240 HP, 60% further reduces it to 160 HP.



*scroll to the bottom of the guide / check the "¿?" chapter for detailed math healing numbers on Lamb Respite / Grievous Wounds and more info on "the play"

GUARDIAN / LAMB

+ Save teammates (and teamfights).
+ Kill/damage denial.
+ Heals/Shields.
+ Runes + Item Actives + Ultimate = 4 seconds of Invulnerability + Ridiculous amount of Effective HP.
(maximum Effective HP per Ally: 1374 HP + (462 decaying Shield)
+ High Ability Haste through Items/Runes = Ultimate uptime.

- Lacks offense.

Kindred can excel at a very defensive, more passive, playstyle. Although Guardian doesn't quite synergize with Kindred's ultimate, the item actives ( / ) and combined +Heal/Shield Power massively amplify her in a Support role.


The amount of damage denied from the combination of + + + (+ + ) is absolutely unmatched.


May need to run some form of Tenacity against high CC comps, Kindred has no hard CC and is hard countered by hard CC herself.



* note: can also go Inspiration secondary with Biscuit Delivery + Cosmic Insight





PRESS THE ATTACK

+ Strong all-In.
+ Amplifies Ally damage.
+ Huge Offense on a budget - exposing enemies for up to +12% more damage (and -60% reduced healing from Grievous Wounds.
+ Late game scaling.

- Can be difficult to proc. in-lane
- Switching targets restarts the 3-hit stack
- Kindred's biggest weakness is CC. Press the Attack encourages Basic Attacking putting you in vulnerable positions.


Press the Attack is Kindred's strongest offensive Keystone, exposing enemies allows you and your team to deal up to 12% additional damage on top of the proc. damage.


On a support budget, + 's Sepsis allows you to severely weaken enemies, amplifying your team's damage.


* note: Revitalize boosts Triumph's HP gain to 13.75% HP (14.4% HP with )





FLEET FOOTWORK

+ Strongest sustain in the game, even more than Grasp of the Undying, but no stacking HP
+ Win most trades through sustain

- Needs to Basic Attack during trades/minions to heal.


The combination of Fleet Footwork + Revitalize or Taste of Blood + (W) Wolf's Frenzy's passive allows you to maintain your health high against oppressive laners like Xerath/Lux etc.





ELECTROCUTE

+ Safe Poke/Burst damage
+ Easy to proc with Dance of Arrows > Basic Attack + Wolf's Frenzy

- Lack of follow up damage.


Kindred's Q > Auto + W combo instantly procs , allowing you to safely burst and disengage during laning phase - very similar to First Strike but giving you more damage instead of Gold.

The Domination rune tree is really good for Support Kindred, allowing for utility runes like Taste of Blood, Zombie Ward, and Ultimate Hunter

Depending on what items/runes you build, having Lethality items/runes like Umbral Glaive, Eclipse with Sudden Impact can really amplify your damage against squishier targets.





HAIL OF BLADES

+ Kindred's Q is an auto-attack reset, allowing for a 4th+ Hail of Blades attack.
+ W - Wolf's Frenzy benefits from 20% of the attack speed buff.
+ Synergizes well with Kindred's E - Mounting Dread

- Kindred's biggest weakness is CC. Hail of Blades encourages Basic Attacking putting you in vulnerable positions.


Hail of Blades allows Kindred to be a threat in the laning phase, especially combined with Bone Plating, you can ensure that you come out on top of trades.





AERY

+ Mage-like playstyle with a W max.
+ High poke damage, especially during laning phase.
+ Aery can apply Grievous Wounds (with Executioner's Calling)

- Lacks innate Attack Speed (can be solved with Berserker's Greaves / Mortal Reminder)


Aery + Scorch + Sudden Impact add up to a LOT of free-mixed damage (physical / magic / true).

Aery shines during the early-mid game and extended trades, later becoming more of a physical damage DoT that applies Grievous Wounds.
Scorch's additional magic damage mainly shines during laning phase, but will continue adding up.
Sudden Impact's true damage will usually outdamage keystones.






GRASP OF THE UNDYING

+ Win trades through sustain
+ Ridiculously strong sustain
+ Stack HP from Grasp of the Undying procs

- No innate Ability Haste/Attack Speed
- Needs to Basic Attack during trades to be effective.


The combination of Grasp of the Undying + Revitalize + Taste of Blood + (W) Wolf's Frenzy's passive makes Kindred deceptively tanky with the strongest sustain in lane next to Vlad.

With proper usage of your Keystone + Runes, you should be able to out-sustain your opponents. Grasp's +HP gain helps you tank a healthy amount of damage later on.

REDEMPTION

+200 HP
+20 Heal/Shield Power
+20 Ability Haste
+100% base mana regeneration

Active: You reveal the target area for 3 seconds. After 2.5 seconds, allies within are healed for 180 − 360 HP (based on level), enemies take -10% max HP as true damage.

+10% Heal/Shield Power -- amplifies W's Heal, R's Heal, Locket's Shield, Redemption's Heal.

REDEMPTION IS SUPPORT KINDRED'S BEST UTILITY ITEM, and a perfect 2nd item to Locket of the Iron Solari. These two, along with a Grievous Wounds item ( / ) are essential to skew Lamb's Respite entirely in your team's favor.

With max item haste, ( + ) Redemption's cooldown goes down to 60 seconds, do not hesitate to use it off cooldown to assist teammates during combat, but it's best use is combined with your ultimate Lamb's Respite.




For example, lowest base HP at level 18, a dismounted Kled with 1530 HP.

's Active would only deal -10% HP / 153 true damage.
A fully debuffed Lamb's Respite would then heal enemies for only +192 HP.

Totaling +40 HP (at least) for the enemy team, +912 HP to yours, not to mention the 4 seconds if Invulnerability.

On the flipside, a level 18 mounted with 2950 HP would net gain: -103 HP


* scroll to the bottom of the guide to the see detailed healing math on on "the play."




LOCKET OF THE IRON SOLARI

+200 HP
+30 Armor
+30 Magic Resistance
+20 Ability Haste (ability uptime)

Passive: Consecrate: gives allies (not Kindred) a 5 Armor/5 Magic Resist Aura, that's later enhanced by +2/2 for each Legendary item.

Active: Grants you and allies around you a decaying Shield that scales from 285-360 per level.

LOCKET OF THE IRON SOLARI IS SUPPORT KINDRED'S BEST MYTHIC ITEM. Although we'd prefer Redemption's +10 Heal/Shield Power and its Active, Locket is still a great item. Its passive, Consecrate, negates a lot of damage passively just from your presence and it strengthens the shield on Guardian for example.








UMBRAL GLAIVE

+50 Attack Damage (damage)
+15 Ability Haste (ability uptime)
+12 Lethality (amplifies damage)

Passive: Blackout: Your basic attacks instantly kill revealed traps and deal triple damage to wards. When spotted by enemy wards or traps, gain Blackout, disabling and exposing them.

Incredible item. Combined with Zombie Ward, an early allows you to dominate the vision game.

Running Ingenious Hunter and Cosmic Insight reduces the Blackout passve from 35 seconds to 22 seconds, allowing you to swap your Oracle's Lens for Farsight Orb.

's Lethality + Sudden Impact also increases your all-in damage against squishier targets.







EXECUTIONER'S CALLING / MORTAL REMINDER / CHEMPUNK CHAINSWORD

You can think of Grievous Wounds as an "anti-dot" ~

Champions have innate HP regen, many have sustain/lifesteal through their abilities/items. Season 11 brought us Omnivamp and its massively boosted healing for practically every champion. Applying Grievous Wounds reduces ALL healing/regeneration and is especially crucial for Support Kindred.

Less Healing/Regeneration = Less HP = "Damage"




Sepsis can apply the 60% Grievous Wounds to targets above 50% HP while Chempunk Chainsword's Hackshorn can automatically apply it through any physical damage to targets below 50% HP, which can be VERY beneficial without having to apply the 3-hit passive.

I prefer Mortal Reminder for its Movement Speed, Attack Speed and the 3-hit passive from Sepsis.


* note: be sure to check the number of healing negated throughout the game. Executioner's Calling healing reduction stat doesn't carry over to its final items, probably a bug.

"THE PLAY."

Cast Lamb's Respite > wait at least 1.5 sec. > Redemption ( + / when needed.)

By casting 1.5 seconds after you essentially NEGATE THE ENEMY TEAM HEALING while granting yours a MASSIVE HEAL.


* note: make sure Allys DO NOT WASTE other Heals/Shields during your ultimate, tell them to only use them afterwards.