Kindred is Healthy Again - But *not* Broken! Here's why

Oh wow. Riot restored one of the very core design elements that makes this champion work, and Kindred is finally healthy again after over 2 years.

Kindred is the only "built for the jungle" champion squishy in the game, but junglers aren't supposed to be inherently fragile, they're supposed to have CC, mobility, and damage to accomplish their role for ganking and farming.

And it's finally back.

But is this champion broken?

In a word, "no."

Why might people think so now?

This is a champion beloved by die-hard players who have slogged through years of bad play, absolutely ruined MMR, and so on, while mechanically mastering everything this champion can do, and Kindred's seen years of buffs come in, all at once in 4 consecutive patches. So it can seem too much.

This means in low ELO or possibly in any elo, these dedicated, Summoners are dominating because they've finally been given a chance to shine, show off just what this champion can do, - in about half the games they play.

Kindred still has some major weaknesses built-in.

Kindred absolutely still telegraphs their intent more than any other jungler through their mark system. The "Mind games" that were supposed to be possible with Mark of the Kindred actually work far more against a jungler than for them because being in the jungle is all about stealth and mind games anyway - adding this new element actually disrupts, rather than enhancing already existing jungle game mechanics - against the champion.

There's also other champions for whom Kindred has almost no counterplay - Nocturne for example. Kindred at any level is too fragile to withstand a direct assassination and can be kept in check indefinitely.

Kindred's mark system is half solid, half all wrong.   

Earning range and ability buffs over time is essential to making this champ work, and that's fun, rewarding, and okay.

But a mini-game that pressures, that rewards enemy invades or invading the enemy jungle is not a good mechanic unless there's something that assists Kindred in invading or against being invaded.

You can't always afford to invade or counter jungle. It just isn't worth it.

What Kindred gains from marks is worthwhile, but how Kindred gets them needs to change: Reduce each mark's individual value, make them a lot easier to get, but still let them gain range and ability effects, but reduce the damage buff they gain per mark. Maybe let Kindred gain 10 range for every mark they gather after the first 4 - gaining range is a big part of what this champion is known for.

Extra bit of fun: Maybe reduce the amount of damage each mark buffs, but at different tiers of marks, grant Kindred a new ability effect, like a .5 second fear, a slow on auto attacks - just something that as Kindred gains marks, they get to access a new effect based on the theme of Fear, the Grim Reaper, Death, etc.