Kindred could have been SO much cooler.

Bjorn the Small·Dec 11, 2016·7 votes·1,071 views

I've been playing a bit recently, trying to get good with them instead of just playing every game (fun though it is) and I really enjoy their playstyle, but I had this thought just now, and it's driving me crazy...

Wouldn't Kindred have been a much more interesting Champion on release (and probably not have gotten as...bland? kit-wise) if they had been a transform champ? Like or , start with a point in their Ult, swap between Lamb and Wolf leading the hunt.

Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention around their release, and they might have just not wanted to do another transform/swap champ...but I feel like that would have made Kindred feel SO much cooler to play...

Thoughts? Lack of thoughts? #cantbenchtheKench ?

15 Comments

SkelenthDec 11, 20164 votes

Well, I do believe Wolf is getting a bit short in Kindred. When you think about the champion, you think about Lamb. Wolf is not more of a champ than Valor or Pix. Whether they should be transformable or not, I can't say, it would have been a way to work with it, but I think it might be the wrong approach. Lamb and Wolf are supposed to be two halves of a whole, so they'd be better off working together in some way, rather than one after another

Edit: Also the 'Ranged Adc-like champ, that transforms into a melee fighter/assassin' was old Quinn, and you see how that turned out

Bjorn the SmallDec 11, 20162 votes

That's fair. I think that it would have been a good idea to stick to the theme of Kindred with it, "Wolf chases what doesn't willingly go." et cetera. Lamb being the real meat of the damage, but Wolf getting situational bonuses. Things that make it easier to chase and subdue a target instead of just do lots of damage from Wolf. Slow, gap closers, stuff like that.

I dunno, I'm just spitballing. I AM glad that they didn't make Wolf into a generic assassin and making him boring. I feel like they could make "his" abilities better hunt utility though.

LilStacey87Dec 11, 20162 votes

Sorry, I had to chime in because I feel the same way about Kindred myself. I always felt like these changed could make Kindred a lot more fun.

Wolf's attacks with (W) should scale with Kindred's attack speed. Kindred does a lot of percent health damage, and a lot of people build AS on her so this would synergize greatly.
Wolf's attacks with (W) should also apply stacks to Mounting Dread (E). This would make Kindred and Wolf seem more of a united champ. Bring Wolf more into the picture.
Instead of Wolf's fenzy (W) slowing monster, Kindred should simple gain Movement Speed in it. This would help Kindred Kiting potential in team fights.
I dont know if this already applies, but Dance of Arrow's (Q) should do increased damage if multiple arrows hit the same target.
And last but not least, take away the heal on enemies in Kindred's (R)... half the time the kill you anyway.

What do you guys think?

Also, If your into Champion Concepts, check out my idea, Xander, The Elite

ArakadiaDec 11, 20161 votes

Thats a crap ton of buffs for her. But her ult would be so over powered and require 10x less skill if they removed the enemy heal. It would also make them less unique and thematic.

LilStacey87Dec 11, 20161 votes

Haha, well maybe I went to far with the Ult. But what do you think about the other buffs? Too much?

FaieDec 11, 20161 votes

Yeah, honestly that's just too many buffs. You would have to nerf her numbers way too much to include all that stuff. It's not impossible to do, but they would feel terrible to play because of her shit numbers this would cause.

ArakadiaDec 11, 20161 votes

I like the W changes. The Q change might give her too strong of a clear again.

Chembaron YamadaDec 11, 20163 votes

As far as I know, the attack speed of wolf in W already scales with Kindred's attack speed. So this synergy is already there.
Not a good idea in my opinion. This would almost instantly stack the E fully, giving you the additional damage. I think it is ok that you need some time to stack it.
They introduced the slowing for monsters as a replacement for the healing they took away. Why did they take away the healing? Because it was making Kindred a great duelist while they never were meant to be that. This would increase Kindred's ability to kite in a duel by alot, especially since they have reduced cd for Q in the area of W. Not a good idea either in my opinion.
As far as I know, just 1 arrow can hit the same target. You would have to change the skill to hit the same target with multiple arrows first. Could be possible, if you give reduced damage for any additional arrow hitting. (opposite of your suggestion, the burst would be insane in your suggestion)
The skill is meant as a two-edged-sword and I am personally fine with that. It would benefit your own team much if we take away the heal, I think. You could always use it in team fights, there is not much decision making involved anymore if you take away the enemy heal.

If I remember correctly, it got mentioned that they are thinking of adding an interaction with the stat crit chance for Kindred in a future buff. These interactions are already there for many marksmen since the marksmen update. I hope they are doing it. Crit is a core stat for marksmen and I like the ways they played with it in the kits of these champions: Ashe Caitlyn Jhin MissFortune Quinn

Big LincolnDec 11, 20163 votes

i really expected them to play around the duality a lot more, but being a transform champ, I would hate that. the 3 we have are already obnoxiously hard to balance.

Making them work with each other and play off of each other simultaneously would have been way more interesting.

a lot of recent champs have turned out to be super disappointing for the same feeling of falling short Azir Kalista Jhin Taliyah AurelionSol

TheHappyReaperzDec 11, 20161 votes

Azir interacts with his soldiers pretty well, giving him a distinctive play style, fitting with his lore. How did Jhin have a feeling of falling short?

Big LincolnDec 11, 20161 votes

jhin's trailer made me think i was gonna explode people into trees

azir doesn't do enough commander stuff. he's too bursty and not enough DPS or shifting soldiers around

BoilTheOilDec 11, 20161 votes

i can agree with all of them besides jhin. Jhin is awesome

PokladnicaZlaDec 11, 20161 votes

If they should be or should have been able to transform if left to the designer to decide,but it's certainly a shame that Wolf seems to feel a bit of left out.

Maybe Lambe should be able to apply lifesteal and othee effects,while Wolf should be able to crit?Idk.

NaqelDec 11, 20161 votes

Elise would have been a better champion if she didn't transform.

The human half is now better done by Camille , the spider half should have always been Priscilla or some other variation of a dridder/arachne.

HoffmiscDec 15, 20161 votes

Here's what i'm thinking:

1: Reduce the damage from her passive to 1% BUT cause critical strikes to increase that to 1.5% (or something like that)

2: Allow the reduced cooldown of her Q while in W to scale with CD.

3: Maybe play on the duality a bit more by 'transforming' during the W, having the player take control of Wolf (While still restricted to the area) and gaining a new q and e for the duration.

I feel like the first two changes would be a step in the right direction, the third might be too much but would be interesting to see.

Kindred is one of my favorite Junglers but so many stats feel 'wasted' on them.