Mirage

"They won't see me coming."

Mirage the Assassin is a hero in Kingdom Rush: Frontiers. She is unlocked at stage 4, Dunes of Despair.

Description

A legendary assassin of the order, Mirage has sworn her daggers and her unorthodox but effective tactics to the protection of Hammerhold and the forces of good.

She has fair skin, red eyes, and brown pony tail hair. She wears a white cape with a red border and a red hair tie. Her in-game model wears white pants with a brown clothing, leather shoes (similar to the assassin's shoes) and (looks like) a white tank top but in the comic strip ending, it reveals that she wears a white tube top. She wields kunai daggers for both range and close quarters.

Skills

PRECISION (passive) (1/1/1 hero points):

Improves attack range by 10% / 20% / 30%.

SHADOW DODGE (passive) (2/2/2 hero points):

Grants a dodge chance of 20% / 40% / 60% and when dodging, leaves a copy of herself to fight for 1 second.

SWIFTNESS (passive) (1/1/1 hero points):

Increases movement speed by 20%/ 40%/ 60%.

SHADOW DANCE (active) (cooldown: 7 seconds) (2/2/2 hero points):

Summons 2/3/4 copies of herself that run and attack nearby enemies, dealing 24/32/40 True Damage each, and then vanish.

LETHAL STRIKE (active) (cooldown: 15 seconds) (4/4/4 hero points):

Mirage backstabs her target for 90/180/270 True Damage with 10% / 17% / 25% instant-kill chance.

Stats

Mirage has a 7,894...% health regeneration, healing at 38 health per second at level 10.

Her normal attack rate is 0.6s, the fastest among Heroes.

Level	HP	Ranged Damage	Armor	Respawn
2	180	6-9	None	15s
3	195	7-10	None	15s
4	210	8-12	None	15s
5	225	9-13	None	15s
6	240	10-14	None	15s
7	255	11-16	None	15s
8	270	12-17	None	15s
9	285	12-19 (14-22 on Steam)	None	15s
10	300	13-20 (16-23 on Steam)	None	15s

Tips and Tricks

Guide to masterfully micromanage Mirage:

Unlike the other two free heroes, Mirage's potentials must be exploited through micromanaging her, since she is not as tacky nor as reliable as a blocker and is much more useful at range than in melee. Although the specifics may differ from player to player, there are a couple of useful tips and tricks to use Mirage effectively:

Firstly, pay close attention to Mirage and the position of different types of enemies on the map. Plan forth your defense and figure out where Mirage would be most needed; as well as having her avoiding damage by kiting enemies and dodging projectiles shot at her.
- Against melee enemies, you have two choices: Stand in front of them and have Shadow Dodge kite them for you or stand behind them to safely shoot at them. Weaker enemies are better dealt with by the first option, while stronger enemies that deal more damage should be handled by the second one, since Shadow Dodge only activate upon hit, meaning that Mirage still has a chance to take damage even with the skill.
- Against ranged enemies, you can use Shadow Dodge and manual kiting to avoid the projectiles. The shadow of Mirage should attract fire while it remains, and Mirage can dodge multiple bullets (arrows, darts, ...) by start to move as they are in mid-air. Altering between these two tactics, combine with use of Reinforcements, should keep a group of enemies pretty busy nearly indefinitely. Mirage shall pin them down with her throwing knives while they scatter their shots elsewhere.
Secondly, as with the micromanagement of other heroes, it is vital for you to remember the exact recharge of Mirage's active skills: Shadow Dance and Lethal Strike, most importantly the latter. It would help if you habitually count the remaining seconds of Lethal Strike's cooldown, so as to know exactly when it would activate to be able to use it on the best target possible.
- As for Shadow Dance, the skill has a quick recharge, so it can be used liberally, and not necessary saved for any circumstances. However, you can use it in multiple ways: To deal damage to a small number of foes, or to deal more damage to one isolated target. The skill will try to hit as many enemies as possible, so it is a must for the target to be isolated for all the shadows to slash it.
- In order to make the best out of the instant-kill chance, try to buy time to use Lethal Strike again and again on the same unit. Use soldiers to separate the desired target from other enemies so that Lethal Strike won't miss.
- Shadow Dodge combine with use of Reinforcements can greatly distract enemies, allowing Mirage to barrage them safely. Place Reinforcements first, then send Mirage into melee so that when she dodges out, an enemy shall be stopped fighting an invulnerable shadow for a second. This tactic works well versus 3-4 enemies, however it fails against too many foes or melee foes that clear soldiers too quickly, such as Saurian Brutes and Saurian Myrmidons. However, DO NO USE MIRAGE TO BLOCK AT THE ENDPOINT BY HERSELF, as she will sometimes dodge away and let enemies escape.
- Due to Swiftness, Mirage can move very quickly, so do not be afraid to move her across the field to take out a couple of enemies on the other side. It is actually beneficial to do so, since Mirage can easily arrives at almost anywhere on the map, and constant combat make better use of Shadow Dance and improve Mirage's effectiveness and efficiency in general.
Thirdly, keep in mind that Mirage is stronger versus certain enemies compare to others. Knowing her weaknesses and strengths can help to wipe out foes faster with minimal risk.
- Magic resistant, unarmored enemies with modest health are the most profitable targets for Mirage. Examples of this type are Spirit Shamans, Jungle Spiders, Jungle Matriarchs, Reapers, Saurian Nightscales, Saurian Blazefangs, ... With these enemies effectively countered, you can freely set up your magic towers to deal with the more troublesome armored enemies that are resistant to Mirage's attacks.
- Enemies with little or no resistance at all and are not too durable should be dealt with rather easily by Mirage, those such as Saurian Broodguards, Saurian Darters, Savage Warriors, Savage Hunters, Desert Thugs, Dune Raiders, Desert Archers, ... It is a must for a good Mirage user to master the tactics to defeat each kind of enemy of this type, since this is the most common type of foe that Mirage will face.
- Beware with ranged enemies, such as Redspines, Bluegales, Saurian Savants, group of Desert Archers, Savage Hunters, or silent, patient Blood Tricksters and Sand Wraiths, ... These enemies can cut Mirage down without you notice, either by a quick shock to death or a long period of constant health decay. Either way, Mirage's damage alone won't be enough to kill them before they kill her, so make sure you know it when these kinds of enemy appear and have up your sleeve the right tactic for them.
- Heavily armored and/or extremely durable enemies, like Giant Scorpions, Immortals, Executioners, Earth Shamans and their buffed companions, Gorillons, Saurian Myrmidons, Saurian Brutes, Blacksurges, Bloodshells, Bluegales, Lycans' wolf form, Abominations, ... and of course bosses and mini-bosses, are a pain for Mirage to dispatch. Due to her low-damage knives, Mirage would not be able to cut them down in reasonable time, thus, high-powered towers like Archmages and Crossbow Forts must be there to support her. Lethal Strike is to be used to the fullest against them, especially non-boss enemies to maximize the instant-kill chance and save firepower. A strong barricade of soldiers is recommended, if you are not confident in the strength of your own defense being able to defeat these enemies in time.
Fourthly, keep in mind that Mirage demands lots of attention, so you should design your defense to be able to run autopilot as much as possible. This is especially important to Barracks-heavy defenses, your men must be positioned so that minor or no micromanagement is required. Do not let your attention strays from Mirage for more than a few seconds, not only that she needs to be micromanaged constantly, but also, she is too frail that most enemies can easily cut her down in little time.

A note on Precision: It only affects the range of her normal attack, excluding Shadow Dance and Lethal Strike. And because she is the only ranged hero who doesn't heal when ranged-attacking, it is advised to upgrade it last.

Quotes

They won't see me coming.
Showtime.
According to plan.
Let's dance.
(Upon Death)

Trivia

A mirage is a naturally occurring phenomena caused by the sun's ray bending to displace an object or area. A commonly portrayed mirage is that of an oasis of clean water being seen in the middle of a desert.
"They won't see me coming." - A quote made by the Variant in the online battle simulator Universe at War.
In the Steam version, a reworked voice was initially used, but after patch 0.9.3, her voice reverted back to the same used for mobile and flash. She starts from level 2.
She is seen wearing a red wrist band in the comic strip but she is seen without the red band in her hero portrait and in-game model.
In the Mobile version, when Mirage dies she doesn't have a death cry, but in the Steam and Flash versions she has a death cry.
Mirage is the second hero in the saga who has the ability to copy herself after Magnus Spellbane, but her copies are healthless.