Nian are enemies found in the Oriental Plains, the sixth environment of Kingdom Rush: Vengeance, introduced in the Rise of the Dragon Mini-Campaign.
Overview[]
Ancient sea creatures, dormant for millennia, awakened by the call of the Dragon King.
Nians are the typical, fast, bulky enemies introduced in the elite stages. They do respectable damage and while they do not turn units into shards like Ice Reapers or inflict True Damage like Corrosive Souls do, they instead have a prodigiously high regeneration rate on water. This, coupled with their reasonably high health and low magic resistance, can make them almost unkillable on water.
Strategy[]
While Nians do have magic resistance, it's not relatively high enough (unless there are devoted priestesses nearby) to pose much of a threat towards max level mages when supported with units as their damage output isn't nearly as high as a Werewolf's. However, using Possesion and Infernal portal proves ineffective against them if used in front of water as they will heal themselves to max. Instead, use them before they enter water as it will save a lot of firepower for dealing with these water beasts.
While it is possible to kill them on water, it is not recommended, as they will take very long to kill due to the very high health regeneration, and they often will appear in packs. Try to kill them before they run through the water with high physical dps options, such as Boneflingers with Got Milk or Harrassers with Arrow Storm. Even high magic damage options will work, especially Blazing Gem, as it will not only kill them quickly, but can also negate their health regeneration due to its immense damage per second, should they come in contact with water.
The pack they come in at later waves are large enough that it may be prudent to have a second chokepoint in the back of your lines including Dark Knights with Armor of Thorns. This works well since Nians have no physical armor. Because of their speed, it may also be prudent to have ranged Swamp Things positioned to hit both chokepoints.
Appearances[]