Kindred Skill Order

Normal order: R whenever available, then Q > W > E. Start Q for early poke, repositioning, and last-hit pressure, take W second so Q becomes easier to use in extended trades, then take E third for focus-fire and finishing targets. This is the safest default in ARAM: Mayhem because Kindred needs repeated movement and steady damage more than a single all-in button.

  1. Level 1: Q - take it when both teams are still testing range. Use it to dodge the first engage, tag a low-health target, or step into auto range without getting trapped. If you waste Q forward with no minion cover and no ally threat behind you, you give the enemy their cleanest punish window.
  2. Level 2: W - take it when the lane starts turning into longer skirmishes. W gives Kindred a better fighting area and makes your Q pattern more reliable. Drop it before you commit, not after you are already running away.
  3. Level 3: E - take it once your team can actually follow a target. E is best when someone is already slowed, displaced, Snowballed onto, or forced to walk through your team. If you use it on the enemy frontliner too early, you often lose your only real finishing tool before the backline is reachable.
  4. Max Q first - this is the main max in most games. More Q value means more uptime, safer spacing, better chase, better retreat, and more chances to keep attacking while skillshots miss you. Kindred is fragile when standing still, so the wrong first max usually feels bad fast.
  5. Max W second - W second is the normal follow-up because Kindred wants longer fight control, not just one marked target. In Mayhem fights, enemies often re-enter quickly or chain engages, so having your basic pattern online matters more than gambling everything on E.
  6. Max E last - E still matters, but it is usually the last max because it is conditional. It shines when the target is already committed, low enough to finish, or unable to kite back. If you over-rank E in a game where nobody can help you reach priority targets, you become a marksman with worse movement and less stable damage.

Augment-Influenced Order

Default augment order: R whenever available, then Q > W > E. Most useful Kindred augment setups still reward uptime, spacing, and repeated attacks, so Q first remains the cleanest route. If an augment makes you stronger while moving, attacking often, chaining short trades, or surviving extended fights, stay on Q max and play around constant repositioning instead of forcing burst.

  • Q > W > E when your augments reward mobility, repeated casts, basic attacks, on-hit pressure, or kiting. This is the best all-purpose Mayhem order because it lets you play front-to-back, dodge engage tools, and punish enemies who miss their first crowd control. If you are unsure, choose this order.
  • Q > E > W when your augments and team comp clearly support pickoffs. Use this if your team has reliable crowd control, Snowball follow-up, or burst that lets you mark one target and delete them before they escape. The cost is weaker long-fight control; if the first target lives or the enemy has strong peel, this order can leave you stuck waiting for a clean angle.
  • W > Q > E is only for games where your augment setup heavily rewards fighting inside your zone or where enemies must walk into you. Pick it if both teams are playing slow front-to-back and you are not allowed to dash aggressively. The cost is obvious: weaker early mobility scaling. If the enemy has hooks, long-range poke, or dive resets, delaying Q max makes every mistake more expensive.
  • E > Q > W is a niche snowball order, not the standard. Consider it only when your augments push single-target execution and your team can repeatedly lock down the same victim. If you take this into a poke-heavy or disengage-heavy lobby, you will spend too much of the fight looking for a target you cannot safely reach.

Adjustment Triggers

  • Stay Q max if the enemy has assassins, divers, hooks, or long-range skillshots. You need Q to survive the first contact, dodge the second spell, and keep dealing damage while backing up. Damage does not matter if your first forward step gets you killed.
  • Favor W second if fights are messy and long. When both teams keep re-engaging, W gives you a more stable combat pattern and helps you keep pressure without overcommitting. This is usually the best answer to tank-heavy or brawl-heavy enemy teams.
  • Favor E second if your team has reliable catch. If an ally can start fights cleanly, your E becomes much easier to cash in. Use it on the target your team is already hitting, not on the nearest champion just because they are in range.
  • Do not delay R ranks. Kindred’s ultimate changes fight outcomes, especially when both teams dive into the same small space. Take R whenever available. Holding a skill point away from R for a damage max is almost never worth the lost fight-saving power.
  • Adapt after your first deaths. If you are dying before finishing E value, stop leaning into E and return to Q/W stability. If you are surviving but enemies escape at low health, E second becomes more attractive. Your order should answer the actual fight pattern, not the build you imagined in champion select.

Cost of the Wrong Order

If you max E too early without enough setup, Kindred becomes feast-or-famine. You mark a target, they back out, and now your damage pattern is weaker while the enemy waits for you to step forward. This is especially punishing against peel, shields, disengage, or poke comps that never give you a clean third hit window.

If you delay Q in a high-threat lobby, you lose the one thing that lets Kindred play the game: controlled spacing. Mayhem fights punish immobile carries hard. A Kindred that cannot reposition often enough has to stand farther back, which means fewer autos, slower target switching, and worse use of marks or finishing pressure.

If you delay W in long brawls, your fights can feel choppy. You may win the first few seconds, then lose control when enemies re-enter or your Q pattern becomes harder to maintain. W second is not flashy, but it keeps your damage flowing when the fight does not end immediately.

The clean rule is simple: Q first unless your augments and allies give you a very specific reason not to. Kindred wins Mayhem fights by staying alive just long enough to keep attacking. Build your skill order around that, then adjust W or E second based on whether the game is about extended kiting or fast target execution.