Hi! This is my first guide on this site, so this is still a work in progress. My summoner name is Queen Candyness and I have 400k mastery points on Kindred.

I love playing Kindred in lane roles rather than jungle. It always surprises the enemy and it almost gives you the upper advantage in early game. Also, I'm not a good jungler AT ALL.

Or as I like to call it: Midred. Kindred in lane can be viable once practiced extensively. Mid role also makes it easier for Kindred to roam for both marks and kills. A good Midred can excel at both laning and roaming, putting intense pressure on the enemy team. As a Kindred mid, you want to roam as much as possible, since roaming is their primary strength. In mid lane, you have an easier way to close the gap with Dance of Arrows. You also know who to mark right away and your enemy is typically a squishy mid laner like you. Therefore, it makes mid an even fight.

PROS + Mobile + Stackable buffs easier to stack + Ult is an anti-burst protection + Strong execute with E + Ult and Q lets you dive safely under tower

CONS - Squishy - Susceptible to high CC, which many mages have - Q mana sink due to having to dodge many abilities - Only medium-range despite being a marksman - Hard comeback if losing in early game

When the enemy mid laner isn't an assassin like Zed or Talon, or point and click mages like Malzahar and Anivia. Unless you're very confident, of course. If you're a very devoted Kindred player that wants to go up against hard matchups to practice how to play against them, then go for it.

Kindred excels at jungle objectives, especially in mid lane. You have easy access to Rift Herald and Drake fights. Due to your Q, you can backdoor and secure kills to these objectives without the enemy jungler realizing.

Kindred's wave clear in early game is mediocre, and so is their damage against turrets. For the early game phase, you want to focus more on farming and roaming rather than pushing your lane. You would also need to depend on your Q a lot to secure more CS, which may leave you in need to recall. Kindred's long cooldowns (despite Wolf's Frenzy) can make it difficult to poke, close the gap, or escape. While you can still poke with your AA and Q, you'll find yourself running out of mana quickly. In order to make trades fair, you'd want to pressure your enemy to use up all their potions and/or abilities.

EARLY GAME: You want to focus primarily on farming and roaming. Damage against turrets is mediocre at best. Your runes ( Press the Attack or Hail of Blades) and your Mark of the Kindred passive encourages making early trades and securing kills. Your marks are also easily accessible in early game ( scuttle, raptors, etc). Therefore, you would want to emphasize getting your marks first. If you find that your marks are getting camped, leave them for later in the game. There's no immediate rush to get it. Instead, just farm (CS or roam kills).

MID GAME: You'll start to make a presence on the enemy team. You'll now have enough AS to shred through the turret's health. This is the part where you push your lane (or help others push their lane). You'll have enough mana to escape or engage when pushing.

LATE GAME: You'll become a monster that always catches your enemy off guard. Always target the squishies first. You can also act as bait by tempting your enemy (or enemies) with your squishiness to follow. Never use your ult, Lamb's Respite, in the frontline. Only use this in the backline. If you cast it in the frontline, you may save your enemy's life. Likewise, you need to fight behind your tank in team fights.

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Mark of the Kindred (Passive) STATIC CD: 45 / 75 COST: 0 mana ON-TARGET CD: 240

Always mark your mid laner first. Once you kill your mid laner, mark the enemy jungler right away. This has a chance to discourage them from ganking so soon. Never prioritize marking other laners. The mark ahead of time will let them know that you're roaming, forcing them to retreat to their turret. This can leave your own bot/top lane open to ganks as they push. Tell your jungler that you only need an assist on a marked jungle creature to get the stack.

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Dance of Arrows (Q) RANGE: 340 COST: 35 mana COOLDOWN: 8

This ability is crucial; it's your engage and your escape. You can use this occasionally to secure CS. Use this sparingly in early game. Even though its mana cost is a flat 35, it still has a 8 second CD. You will most likely use Wolf's Frenzy a lot to lower its cooldown. This alone drains your mana.

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Wolf's Frenzy (W) RANGE: 500 COST: 40 mana COOLDOWN: 18 / 17 / 15 / 14

Your main source of sustain is by building its passive stacks to 100 and then AA. Your mid laner will automatically retreat once you cast this ability. Therefore, do not use this to engage or poke. Instead, use this AFTER you begin your engage, or if you need to escape quickly with Q on CD. If your main rune is Dark Harvest and the enemy's health is enough to get a stack but they're too far away, use Wolf's Frenzy to quickly proc and gain the stack.

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Mounting Dread (E) RANGE: 500 - 750 (BASED ON MARKS) COST: 50 mana COOLDOWN: 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 / 10

This is your LAST ability to max out, as most of its upgrades come from successful Mark of the Kindred hunts. DO NOT use this a lot in early game as it drains your mana quickly. The best way to use this is when you've burned their flash and/or mana. If you use Lamb's Respite, stack your E twice and finish it off AFTER your ult ends to deal an execute.

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Lamb's Respite (R) RANGE: 500 COST: 100 mana COOLDOWN: 180 / 150 / 120

You can use this to dive turrets or save yourself from a burst attack (typically their ult). If you're getting ganked and you're pushed up, use Dance of Arrows to retreat. If you're still at risk, use your ult to punish them under your turret. If you bring Ignite, cast it moments before your ult ends. This reduces the amount of healing your enemy receives from your ult.

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Here, I'll have multiple gifs to demonstrate exactly what I mean by what is stated above. This is a WIP, but I want you guys to have some footage. Also, these gifs may expire. I'm not exactly sure what to use but I'm trying. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.

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Mark of the Kindred (Passive) STATIC CD: 45 / 75 COST: 0 mana ON-TARGET CD: 240

ex 1. Kindred is pushed up and plays aggressively against Zoe. Zoe uses her tower as a safety net and decides to use her combo spells, in which Kindred dodges. Knowing that Zoe used her Flash earlier and she missed her spells, Kindred dives to secure the mark. ex 2. Kindred roams bot to gank and waits for either side to dive into a fight. Their mark is on Ivern and he happens to be ganking bot at the time. Yone dives in and ults Ivern, Vel'Koz, and Teemo all at once, successfully knocking them up. Kindred rushes in and deals the final blow to Ivern and Vel'Koz, earning a mark in the process.

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Dance of Arrows (Q) RANGE: 340 COST: 35 mana COOLDOWN: 9

ex 1. Kindred is pushed up and uses Dance of Arrows and Wolf's Frenzy to escape a gank. ex.2 Kindred was roaming down to save their bot lane from a gank but couldn't make it in time. Their jungler, Olaf, was across the map and won't reach drake. Kindred decides to backdoor with Dance of Arrows while Kha'Zix was distracted by a control ward. This succeeds and Kindred manages to kill him off, then shifts their attention to Ezreal. Yuumi escapes due to her Zoomies and Mobility Boots. Zoe comes in shortly after to do her combo, but Kindred reacts in time to drop Lamb's Respite. Zoe uses Ignite on Kindred moments before their ult ends to reduce the healing they receive. Regardless, Kindred knows they'll get drake because Zoe wasted her abilities on Kindred instead of the drake. Kindred has this confidence to backdoor because they're slightly fed and Kha'Zix, Ezreal, and Yuumi are all squishy. Kindred waited for drake to reduce Kha'Zix's health to at least half.

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Wolf's Frenzy (W) RANGE: 500 COST: 40 mana COOLDOWN: 18 / 17 / 15 / 14

n/a

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Mounting Dread (E) RANGE: 500 - 750 (BASED ON MARKS) COST: 50 mana COOLDOWN: 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12

ex 1. Kindred is pushed up because they have wards in each bush and is aware that the enemy Kha'Zix is near another lane. They know that Zoe wasted her Flash earlier. Kindred uses this advantage to pressure Zoe with Mounting Dread to waste her combo spells. Without her spells, she's defenseless. Kindred knows that and as soon as they wake, they dive with Flash and Dance of Arrows to kill the Zoe. Kindred has enough health to tank a tower shot or two, knowing that Kha'Zix will not make it in time to kill them. Notice how Kindred uses their medium-range to their advantage instead of diving in too deep to escape.

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Lamb's Respite (R) RANGE: 500 COST: 100 mana COOLDOWN: 180 / 150 / 120

ex 1. Kindred dives a Graves under turret and applies Mounting Dread. As Kindred almost dies, they drop Lamb's Respite at the cusp of the tower's range. Therefore, Kindred lives and (almost) gets a kill. Graves survives due to Immortal Shieldbow's passive. No idea he builds it. In other circumstances, he should've died. Also, Fiora notices that Kindred was taking tower shots and dives herself in Kindred's ult to try and take the bullet instead (she did, but it was pointless because I got to the outer edge in time to evade). It's a sweet gesture so I wanted to point it out. ex 2. Kindred is trying to poke Fizz to earn more Dark Harvest stacks. Fizz dives in using his ult, Chum the Waters. Kindred times Lamb's Respite to when the shark is about to burst out of the ground and drops ult in time. Kindred then secures the kill and definitely didn't die to minion damage. If they had Ignite at the time, they could have used it on Fizz before their ult ends to have a more secure victory. Also, don't be like me. Please kite. Notice how Kindred's mana, which was slightly above half, drops to roughly 3% at level 6 after casting all of their abilities once. This is what I mean when I say your mana will sink in early game if you continuously cast your abilities. Save them for emergencies like this.

SUMMONER SPELLS - FLASH: If you can't reach your enemy with Dance of Arrows, use Flash instead. While Kindred's Q allows them to jump over some terrain, Flash is essential for a fast escape or to confuse the enemy. Likewise, if you backdoor with Dance of Arrows, you may not have it up in time to cast it again. IGNITE: The best summoner spell for Midred is this one. It reduces the healing from health potions, making your execute stronger. If you use it when you cast Lamb's Respite, it reduces your ult's healing onto them. EXHAUST: Though your E, Mounting Dread, already applies a heavy-targeted slow, you can use this to secure the kill. Even if the enemy uses Flash while being under the effects of Exhaust, you can catch up with your Dance of Arrows and execute them with Mounting Dread. HEAL: This allows you to win trades in early game. It's also effective when you need to escape or if your sustain is low. BARRIER: Kindred already has low sustain due to their squishiness. Like Heal, this spell can help you win early trades because not many people expect Barrier being used. CLEANSE: This is an excellent spell if you're up against a comp that relies on CC. I recommend this for CC matchups like Annie and Viktor. Since their primary way to attack is through CC, Cleanse offers you the chance to turn trades in your favor.

PRECISION

Kindred's best rune is always Press the Attack. This is excellent in lane as well for early game poking and successful trades. It helps to apply pressure and if you're aggressive, it'll make your mid lane either use up their mana, potions, or even recall. It's a great way to gank and poke.

In early game, you may struggle to find mana. It's easy for your mana to run out due to the following: avoiding skillshots, poking, escaping, and joining team fights for Drake or Rift Herald. If you're a more experienced Kindred player or you want some more sustain, you can go for Triumph.

Kindred's strength lies in their Attack Speed (AS). Their marks give them some AS as well as Dance of Arrows once casted. Having more AS lets you shred through tanks and squishies alike. With your items granting you lifesteal, you can regain health faster with this rune. If you're up against a tankier composition or simply want more sustain, use Legend: Bloodline.

Coup de Grace is a great secure for your execute ability, Mounting Dread. Since your enemy has the advantage of hiding under turret, your E combined with this rune increases your chances of securing the kill. If your enemy deals high damage, you can take Last Stand.

For Kindred, their secondary path should be Domination. I suggest Sudden Impact to further win early trades. For your second, you can be more versatile. You can either use Eyeball Collection to amp damage or Ghost Poro if you're not confident in securing kills. If you want to go for a hunter rune, I personally like to use Relentless Hunter to catch up to my enemies or to be slippery in my escapes. Other than that, Ultimate Hunter or Ravenous Hunter are decent runes for sustain.

Kraken Slayer

Youmuu's Ghostblade

Sanguine Blade

I use these core items along with Berserker's Greaves, The Collector, and Guardian Angel. This is a really good lethality hybrid build that I've tested and gotten greater results than running a standard Press the Attack build. Kraken Slayer gives all your items additional attack speed, which I've mentioned is Kindred's primary strength. It's also perfect to shred tanks with. Youmuu's Ghostblade gives you a nice 60 AD and +18 lethality. Its active grants you bonus MS towards your opponent. Sanguine Blade grants you AD, lethality, and lifesteal. Not only is it a great item for Kindred, but it has a unique passive that grants you bonus lethality AND attack speed. I use this build with a set rune page that I've added above. I make sure to run Dark Harvest, Sudden Impact, Eyeball Collection, and Relentless Hunter. For my secondary, I run Precision, Legend: Alacrity, and Coup de Grace. You can do minor tweaks to this rune page to consider the enemy team's composition. With Dark Harvest stacks and your Mark of the Kindred stacks, your lethality is increased tenfold. You kill squishies with only three auto attacks.

Here's a recent match using the same rune page and the same items that I just mentioned. My enemy was a Fizz, which I counted as an extreme threat.



Their whole team was a threat to Kindred, technically speaking. You have a Fizz, a Teemo, and a Seraphine and Xayah that outranges Kindred with viable CC. As for Nunu & Willump, he can stun and slow Kindred easily, all while using Consume on a minion to last longer in a fight. By following my own guide, I managed to play aggressively early game so that Fizz uses up his Corrupting Potion. My poking has led him to waste his leap ability, which gives me the chance to engage and win trades. The only issue I had was with Xayah since she had Immortal Shieldbow, which grants her sustain and a shield when she reaches low health. If this becomes a problem, I suggest Serpent's Fang to tear through shields.



And here you can see how much damage I've done overall with 34 Dark Harvest stacks and Mark of the Kindred stacks. If you have Dark Harvest you MUST be aggressive early game to stack as quickly as possible. That's what I did with Fizz and I won us the game.

EDIT: I'm looking to tweak this build. Youmuu's Ghostblade used to grant at least a 10% CDR, which helps Kindred a lot. Since Kindred is in need of CDR (or as it's now called, ability haste) I suggest replacing Youmuu's Ghostblade with Black Cleaver or Essence Reaver. As I test new runes and builds, I will keep this section updated with new discoveries.

Sanguine Blade has been removed, removing Kindred's only source of lifesteal. To keep true to the lethality build, I recommend Edge of Night for extra health. Its passive blocks CC, which is extremely helpful for them. If you truly want lifesteal in this lethality build, then go for Blade of the Ruined King. Or change Kraken Slayer to Eclipse.

Update: Youmuu's Ghostblade has been adjusted to include ability haste! Well, it reverted to what it originally was before. So now it's a viable option if you're going for lethality or hybrid lethality build.