Template:Infobox units
| “ | I am the mighty Vermillion bird! | ” |
| —Vermilion Bird introducing himself to Jiao-Long | ||
The Vermilion Bird is a Mythic Age flying myth unit in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon. It is available to the worshipers of Chongli.
The Vermilion Bird also makes an appearance as a campaign "character" in the ninth scenario of Tale of the Dragon, A Way Out. The great bird promises to guide the heroes out of the maze-like jungle, and to the Altar of Pangu for the final scenario, if they free his brethren from their captors.
Regular Attack
Vermilion Birds summon mini fire tornadoes that do 15 hack damage and 10 crush damage per second to all units within about 4 feet range. Each tornado lasts 5 seconds and wanders randomly at low speed.
Attack Bonuses
- Myth Units x3
- Hero x0.25
Strategy
The Vermilion Bird is one of the strongest Mythic Age Myth Units in the game. Although they are expensive, they can only be hit by ranged units, have high pierce armor, and the highest number of Hit Points of any trainable airborne Myth Unit. Unlike other ranged units, Vermilion Birds don't throw projectiles at their targets. Instead, they flap their wings and the heat generates small firestorms that drift on the ground for about 5 seconds. These storms deal Area of Effect damage and will hit several targets until they vanish.
Since they also deal crush damage, the birds are very effective against buildings. A small group of them alone has enough power to quickly level a Town Center and even a few nearby buildings. As they are flying units, they can easily bypass walls and cliffs, giving less time for opponents to defend themselves. Their main weaknesses, like all airborne units, are towers and ranged heroes, as well as groups of ranged myth units, but the enemy will suffer great losses before they can kill at least one Vermilion Bird.
In a similar case with the Nidhogg, Vermilion Birds are also effective at bringing down Titans and can even destroy one with impunity, especially if used in big groups. However, the player must make sure to not have the Titan deal splash damage to the Vermilion Birds while the Titan is attacking ground troops. It is also recommended to have as many Vermilion Birds as possible in order to destroy the Titan quickly.
Mythology
Original Name - Zhu Que
Size -- Up to 15' long
Diet -- Snakes and serpents
The Vermilion bird is a mythological creature which represents fire, summer, and sometimes goes by the name of Vermilion bird of the South. With its multi-coloured plumage perpetually coated in flames, the Vermilion bird's dominant colour is that of fire, much like its Egyptian counterpart Phoenix. Considered a bird of elegance, it is known to sing and break into dance at will, and can even make small seeds grow into giant trees. At night, however, the elegant creature shows its far fiercer side as it dines only after sundown and feasts on snakes and serpents coated in cinnamon.
Trivia
- The Vermilion Bird is the only Chinese Myth Unit with a ranged regular attack.
- Prior to February 5, 2016, the Vermilion Bird had a special attack where it threw fireballs at the enemy (similar to the Fire Giant) that spawned mini fire tornadoes. Also, its regular attack consisted of merely rapidly flapping its wings with each beat causing damage. This was changed as it made the Vermilion Bird too powerful.
- It also had 650 hit points by default before being changed to 700.
- In the campaign, the Vermilion Bird is incorrectly spelled as Vermillion Bird.
Gallery
Template:Wpalso Template:Heroes List (Age of Mythology)
