Archmage Tower

The Archmage Tower is a Level 4 Mage Tower in Kingdom Rush: Frontiers. Archmages can store up their power when idle and then release up to three deadly bolts at once.
==Description==
"Wizards specialized in warfare that can charge homing magical bolts of deadly magic."
The Archmage Tower is the quintessential source of magical damage, possessing high DPS, able to make short work of enemies with high HP or physical armor - in many ways, their role is similar to the Arcane Wizard from the original game. Unlike the Arcane Wizard, the Archmage also possesses decent crowd control power with Twister and Critical Mass. The Archmage has a faster rate of fire and, with max Upgrades, has a higher base damage than the Arcane Wizard.
Compared to the other level 4 Magic Tower, the Necromancer Tower, the Archmage has vastly superior damage output from both its regular attacks and special abilities but does not possess as much utility as the Necromancer with its skeletal minions.
==Abilities==
===Twister===
 "Is there an F5?" 
A tornado that can run through a crowd of enemies and carry them back down the path, dealing magic damage. Enemies inside the tornado do not receive damage from outside sources.
(Cooldown: 22 seconds, 17.5 seconds Flash)
Level	Cost 	Maximum Enemies	Damage	Distance
1 	350 (315)	5 	40 	20 nodes
2 	250 (225)	6 	60 	25 nodes
3 	250 (225)	7 	80 	30 nodes
===Critical Mass===
 "Energy is never lost..." 
Any fired bolts have a 35% chance to explode dealing magic damage in a small area.
Level	Cost 	Damage	Damage Area
1 	200 (180)	30 	83
2 	200 (180)	60 	90
3 	200 (180)	90 	96
== Range ==
KRF_Wiz2Arch_Range.PNG|Wizard to Archmage
KRF_Arch_Range.PNG|Standard range without Upgrades
* 41% wider than the Level 1 Mages Guild
* 23% wider than the Level 2 Adept Tower
* 10% wider than the Level 3 Wizard Tower
* Same range as Necromancer Tower
==Strategy==
*The Archmage has the highest damage output of any Kingdom Rush: Frontiers' towers, and is able to kill enemies with low and moderate health with ease, making it similar to the Arcane Wizard from the original game. It also possesses a degree of crowd control with Critical Mass, an ability that deals area damage. Supporting the Archmage with Barracks can help to maximize this ability's effectiveness. However, Archmage's bolt travels slow and can miss its target more often than the other towers.
*The Archmage's Twister is very useful for stalling and isolating troublesome enemies like Gorillons, Saurian Brutes, Phantom Warriors or Abominations, as it takes several seconds to travel back along the path, and trapped enemies are unable to use their abilities. Each successive upgrade increases distance and damage. Level 1 or 2 upgrade will be sufficient to handle most situations.
*Twister deals magic damage and can kill Ghosts in one shot on Casual and Normal when fully upgraded. In the Shadowmoon mini-campaign, it can be used to clear out large crowds of Ghosts to expose more dangerous enemies like Phantom Warriors, Lycans or Abominations.
*Werewolves and Lycans trapped inside the Twister do not regenerate health. This effect is especially helpful during a full moon, as it prevents them from regenerating at an enhanced rate and removes them as a threat.
* It is usually a wise choice (pun intended) to upgrade Critical Mass to Level 3 on every Archmage Tower you build. The extra area damage that the spell provides vastly improves the Archmage's power and crowd control ability.
* With the Brilliance upgrade, Archmages can reach up to a massive 86-172 base damage with 9 total magic towers.
* Twister is a bit tricky on Rising Tides levels. It seems it can carry enemies to the water's edge, but not across it, but it can also trap enemies on the water itself and onto land from there.
== Additional Stats ==
* DPS: 40 to 80 (average 60)
* Total Cost: 800 G
* Cost Efficiency: 13.33 gold per point of DPS
* The Eldritch Power upgrade increases DPS by 10%: 44 to 88 (average 66)
* Critical Mass Level 3 increases DPS to 65 to 109 (average 87)
* Twister Level 3 increases DPS by 3.64 per enemy affected | 4.57 per enemy affected on Flash
* Total Cost with abilities fully upgraded: 2250 G (2105 G with Wizard Academy)
* DPS with max abilities and upgrades (single target): 65 to 109 (average 87)*
*Note: Twister is not accounted for in this figure as if it is used on a single target the Archmage will not be able to attack it normally.
==Related Upgrades==
==Related Achievements==
 FUJITA #5 Pick up 500 enemies with the Twister spell.
 OVERCHARGED Deal over 30000 damage with Critical Mass explosions.
==Quotes==
*"A wise choice."
*"Gone... with the wind."
*"Magic must flow."
==Trivia==
*"Gone... with the wind"
** The name of a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell, later made into a film in 1939.
*Is there an F5?
** A line spoken by the character Melissa in the 1996 film Twister. It references the Fujita scale, a scale that measures the intensity of tornados, as does the achievement Fujita #5.
*At 60 DPS, the Archmage has the most DPS of any tower in the entire series.
*Energy is never lost...
**A possible reference to the law of conservation of energy.
== Gallery==
Power of Critical Mass.gif|Critical Mass
File:Archmage Tornando.jpg|Twister
Category:Kingdom Rush: Frontiers
Category:Towers
Category:Magic Towers