A very notable appearance of War Salamanders is in the first scenario of the Tale of the Dragon campaign, Rising Waters. Jiao-Long, escorted by some troops, meets Shun to oversee the construction of a Dam in a village that was drowned by a river flood. Unexpectedly, the camp is attacked by hostile Lizards and War Salamanders, that mostly attack from land.
Despite being able to move on water, it does not benefit from Reed of Nekhbet.
Strategy[]
The War Salamander is one of only two amphibious units in the game (the other being the Azure Dragon). Due to being able to fight on both land and water, it can fulfill multiple purposes. Not only can they be used to boost the already strong Chinese Navy, they can also be used to harass on water maps. Due to dealing crush damage, the War Salamander is also effective against buildings, especially when attacking in groups and supported by Fire Lances. Its strong attack, high bonus damage versus other myth units, and decent durability make it one of the stronger myth units in the game, for a very reasonable price.
As with all other myth units, War Salamanders are countered with Heroes and other stronger myth units like the Frost Giant, Mummy, and Medusa. However, due to their durability, it may be ideal to use ranged Heroes like the Priest, especially when dealing with groups of War Salamanders, as the latter are slow and ranged Heroes can simply fall back to keep their distance to avoid taking too much damage.
Initially, War Salamanders have 60 hack and pierce armor, 650 hit points, 25 hack damage, and cost 120 food. With patch 2.0, they have 45 hack and pierce armor, 600 hit points, 20 hack damage, and cost 200 food.
Mythology[]
“
Scientific name -- Andrias davidianus Size -- Up to 6 feet long Diet -- fish, crabs, shrimp, and insects
Arguably the largest amphibian, the War Salamander is a giant-headed creature with tiny eyes and the strength of a bear. Its sight is not its greatest asset, but the creature is covered in sensory nodes that enable it to sense even the gentlest tremors. And while the Salamander is capable of inflicting a lot of damage, it mostly sticks to fish and insects for food.
In ancient China, the creature adopted a nickname "infant fish" due to its cries strongly resembling a weeping child.
”
—In-game help section
Trivia[]
The War Salamander is the only myth unit that can be trained from two different buildings: the Temple and Dock.
Pandora's Box: +25% training speed.
