| “ | Keep on rushing! | ” |
Ten'Shi is a hero in Kingdom Rush. He is a free hero, added to the game to commemorate ten years of Kingdom Rush. He is unlocked after beating Stage 11, Forsaken Valley.
Description[]
A myth... a legend... master of masters.... and wielder of all powers. Ten'Shí is the epitome of wisdom and power combined. His mere existence makes the Kingdom tremble. And don't even think of getting him angry...
Lore[]
JUDGE ME BY MY SIZE DO YOU
The balance of power in the world had abruptly shifted. Ten'Shí could feel it even in the deep meditation state he was in.
Something has drastically changed, something not even gods could have foreseen.
But what happened in the world was no longer his concern, he thought, as he tried to return to his previous state of meditation.
Soon a series of fast steps rushing through the temple's marble floors proved his efforts futile. He sighed and opened his eyes— we knew his long-time apprentice had something on his mind.
Ten'Shí had served the good causes of the world for too long. He had fought countless battles and seen too much before he decided to retire to a lost temple and train the only apprentice he considered worthy of the ancient knowledge he possessed.
Xin was an incredibly gifted warrior, the only one he had agreed to take under his mantle after he decided to retire from the world´s struggles. He knew he would never disturb him while meditating if it wasn't for a pressing matter.
Master, the panda warrior stated, I know you have felt the surge of dark energy as I have. I want to ask for your permission to travel to investigate it.
Ten'Shí looked at his apprentice and considered the options. He knew how many years of hard work had taken Xin to gain the trust of the elves. His work helping them re-build their kingdom was paramount.
If he left now, all that hard work would have been in vain. Letting him leave was out of the question.
But his apprentice was right, the forces that were set in motion were not something anyone could dismiss easily. Someone had to go and investigate, and with Xin out of the picture, he was the only one that could do it.
He had left the world so long ago, and just when his warrior past was starting to seem like a distant memory, it was calling him again.
He felt a storm brewing within the warrior—to leave his temple, his home, all for a path he had long since left behind— his body is not what it once was; but his spirit is unshaken, his temper of pure steel.
He knew what he had to do now, he grabbed his cane and descended the temple steps, departing to face the unknown without looking back. For a man like Ten’Shí, the only way forward was to keep on rushing.
Stats[]
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Statistics[]
| Level | HP (Casual) | Melee Damage (True, 1.35s) | Armor | Respawn | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 380 (456) | 14-22 | 20% | 15s | ||
| 2 | 400 (480) | 16-25 | 20% | 15s | ||
| 3 | 420 (504) | 18-28 | 20% | 15s | ||
| 4 | 440 (528) | 20-31 | 30% | 15s | ||
| 5 | 460 (552) | 22-34 | 30% | 15s | ||
| 6 | 480 (576) | 24-37 | 30% | 15s | ||
| 7 | 500 (600) | 26-40 | 40% | 15s | ||
| 8 | 520 (624) | 28-43 | 40% | 15s | ||
| 9 | 540 (648) | 30-46 | 40% | 15s | ||
| 10 | 560 (672) | 32-49 | 50% | 15s | ||
Skills[]
Primary[]
Firerush!
- Learnt at Level 2. Ten'shí will summon multiple meteors that fall down from the sky, dealing true damage. Starting from level 8, each meteor leaves a scorched earth effect, which deals physical damage per second and lasts for 10 seconds. Like Rain of Fire's scorched earth effect, the effect from multiple meteors stacks. (Cooldown: 25 seconds)
| Ability Level | Hero Level | Meteor Damage | Number of Meteors | Scorched Earth Damage (Physical, 1.0s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 30-60 | 2 | - |
| 2 | 5 | 45-75 | 3 | - |
| 3 | 8 | 50-80 | 4 | 20-30 |
Iron Time
- Learnt at level 4. When three or more enemies are in a short range of Ten'shí, he will transform into a very muscular man. While in this form, he is immune to all damage, and loses access to his teleport and Firerush! skills. However, he gains a very powerful area damage attack that deals damage four times per attack, and he gains an earthquake skill akin to Malik's. The earthquake skill can be aimed either towards the exit or away from the exit, and it will always deal true damage in the initial impact zone, and then cause a number of smaller quakes which deal physical damage. There will always be one quake in the direction the skill is not aimed at, and 3/4/6 in the other direction. These smaller quakes have a 25% chance to stun enemies they hit, except for the one furthest from Ten'shí, which has a 100% chance to stun. (Cooldown: 10s after transforming back to normal form, so 16/19/22s if duration is included) Whenever Tenshi does this ability, he yells out "Iron time".
| Ability Level | Hero Level | Duration | Spin Damage (Physical x 4, 2.0s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 6s | 18-36 |
| 2 | 7 | 9s | 23-45 |
| 3 | 10 | 12s | 27-54 |
| Ability Level | Hero Level | Quake Initial Impact (True, 9.0s) | Small Quakes (Physical, 9.0s) | Number of Small Quakes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 50-70 | 10-20 | 3 + 1 |
| 2 | 7 | 60-80 | 15-30 | 4 + 1 |
| 3 | 10 | 70-90 | 20-40 | 6 + 1 |
Secondary[]
Ten'shí can teleport when moving larger distances.
Strategy[]
Ten'Shi is a physical melee hero with the ability to teleport and decimate foes with True Damage and Invulnerability.
Ten'Shi is another one of those heroes that can easily level up in a short amount of time, due to his ability to teleport between lanes. Therefore, it is very important to micromanage him while building your towers.
It is vital to prioritize levelling Ten'Shi to Level 8 and above, as Firerush! gains a scorched earth effect which further amplifies his crowd killing potential.
Additionally, be mindful of where you would like to trigger Iron Time, in order to maximize the number of foes caught in Ten'Shi's enhanced attacks. Bring in Reinforcements and/or micromanage your barracks to catch as many foes in the the area where Iron Time would be most effective without needing Ten'Shi to move.
Ten'Shi works best at dealing with swarms due to his AOE damage and can easily kite enemies with his teleport, making him extremely versatile. He is also quite durable, but one should avoid using him against insta-kill mechanics and worsen the situation. One technique in dealing with mini-bosses without insta-kill mechanics is to engage, teleport away at low HP, teleport back after healing, rinse and repeat. Due to this, he can stall enemies for significant amounts of time.
Ten'Shi is also a pure melee troop, therefore placing him in lanes where enemies are airborne is quite useless. Place him where swarms are to make use of his abilities especially Iron Time! Don't be afraid of taking too much damage; when he is at low HP, you can easily teleport away to heal back up.
Right before his fire rush, a bell sound effect plays. You can move him to cancel the usage, then he will immediately use it again when an enemy is in range. You can use this trick to aim fire rush, which is an extremely important skill to use Ten’shi effectively. For perspective, a level 8 fire rush can easily do 1250 damage to a single enemy (if they stay on the scorched earth).
Don't bother moving him short distances, he is quite slow at walking. However, the slow movement speed can be used to stall bosses, but be extra mindful of Iron Time proccing or against bosses that can instant kill.
Related Upgrades[]
Spiked Armor (3 Stars)
- When attacked, soldier's spiked armor return a percent of the damage received to the attacker. (10% reflection of damage, dealt as True Damage)
Quotes[]
- "Keep on rushing, hehehhh!"
- "Hmm."
- "Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm."
- (Upon activating Iron Time) "IIIIIronhiiiiide!"
- (Upon activating Iron Time) "It's iron time!"
- (Moving during Iron Time) "No pain, no gain!"
- (Moving during Iron Time) "Rush and smash!"
- (Moving during Iron Time) "(Maniacal laughter)"
- (Upon death) No spoken line, but rather a magic sound.
- (Upon respawning) "Back on a rush, hehehe!"
Trivia[]
- Ten'Shí's name comes from the English word Ten and the Mandarin word Shí, which also means ten, in honor of the tenth anniversary of the series.
- The quote "Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm" is a reference to one of Yoda's lines in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
- Ten'Shí is the only hero who doesn't use the level-up sound effect upon respawning.
- Ten'Shí is likely a reference to Master Roshi, as both are elderly characters who have some sort of magic adjacent ability, and can transform into a stronger, muscular form
- Given his association with Xin, Ten'Shí may be a reference to Master Shifu from the Kung Fu Panda movie series.