Veruk

Veruk the Orc Gladiator is a free hero in Kingdom Rush: Vengeance. Veruk is unlocked at the tutorial stage: Vez'nan's Tower.
==Description==
Veruk, the honored orc tribal warrior, escaped a life of slavery at the gladiatorial pits in favor of one of leadership among the warmongers. He now spends his newfound freedom aiding his fellow greenskins in their flight. 
Veruk, the Warmonger leader, stands proudly in front of his forces as he watches the plains that will soon become a battlefield.
He rubs his wrists remembering the shackles that once stole his freedom, the same shackles that would come off once a day when he was forced to fight as a gladiator, turning the sands red with the blood of beasts and his fellow greenskins to stay alive.
As the years went by, he grew accustomed to seeing those who he called brothers perish on the sands, some would meet their end in the glory of battle, some would die just for defying their captors’ will. But Veruk fought on, year after year he fought on knowing that one day he would break free and with his newfound freedom lead the Warmongers to the gates of the human realm.
He now raises his weapon pointing at the enemy forces, and with a voice heavy with years of suffering, yawps “Chaaaaaaarge!!!”
==Lore==
The sun was setting over the tents, Veruk watched while an ogre and an orc set up a campfire, not far away, a goblin was busy bringing the meat that would soon be cooked. If he had said this could be true not too long ago, he would have been called delusional. 
Ogres, Orcs, and Goblins do not mix; this is the motto he had heard since he was a young kid. He learned to stay away from those Greenskins whereabouts. Each race thought of themselves as higher and mightier than the others. This grudge was as old as time, so much that no one knew what started it anymore.
The only thing worse than Ogres and goblins were the bandits.  Those humans were frail, but they compensated it with a sharp mind. The Kingpin's men knew how to set a trap that could capture even the smartest of Greenskins. He learned this the hard way: by falling prey to one while trying to save his kinsman.
The Bandits would not only steal his freedom but also treat them like animals, used to entertain the bloody tastes of their master: The Kingpin.
Veruk rubbed his wrists, remembering the shackles that would come off once a day when he was forced to fight as a gladiator, turning the sands red with the blood of beasts to stay alive.
It was on those sands that he learned to call any Greenskin a brother and helped them stay alive one more day, until that evening when he led a revolution against their captors and escaped.
His bravery became a legend on every Greenskin village and soon hordes of Orcs, Ogres, and goblins approached him looking for his protection and wisdom.  Old quarrels were forgotten, and Veruk became their leader and hero, an honor he never asked for. Now it's his fate and destiny to lead the Warmongers to the gates of the human realm and guide his people, the Greenskins, to victory.
==Skills==
===Primary===
 AIMED SLASHES (active, cooldown: 15 seconds) (3/3/3 hero points):
:A swift and powerful technique. Slashes an enemy twice, dealing 90/180/270 physical damage to the target.
:*Aimed Slashes deal 135 physical damage per slash.
 BRUTE FORCE (active, cooldown: 16/15/14 seconds) (1/2/3 hero points):
:Veruk smashes the ground, stunning nearby enemies for 1/2/4 seconds with the impact. (Stun Area: 120 -- Minimum of 3 enemies required to cast, Maximum 5 enemies can be stunned)
 DUELIST (passive) (2/3/4 hero points):
:While in combat, Veruk gains up to 24/60/108% bonus attack damage that grows as long as he fights the same target. Base damage increases by 8/20/36% per tick, gains one tick every 5 seconds. It takes 15 seconds to gain the maximum.
 INSPIRING LEADER (active, cooldown: 20/18/15 seconds) (1/2/3 hero points):
:Summon a pair of goblins to aid in combat. They last 10 seconds on the battlefield.
60px	Level	HP 	Damage (1.0s)	Armor
60px	1 	35 	3-5 	None
60px	2 	70 	6-8 	None
60px	3 	100	8-11 	None
===Ultimate Spell===
 ENTER THE WARMONGERS (active, cooldown: 40 seconds) (2/2/2 hero points):
:Calls a pair of trained warmongers to aid Veruk in the battlefield. They last 10 seconds.
60px	Level	HP 	Ranged Damage (1.0s)	Melee Damage (1.0s)	Armor
60px	0 	70 	8-12 	8-11 	None
60px	1 	100	16-24 	10-14 	None
60px	2 	130	24-36 	19-29 	None
60px	3 	180	28-42 	29-43 	None
===Secondary===
 Thirst For War
:Veruk regenerates 1/2/3 HP per second at Hero Level 1/5/10.
:(The description is misleading on mobile in that it says the regeneration activates when Veruk is close to death.)
=== Order of Importance ===
Assuming Veruk's skills are all off cooldown and meets all conditions for performance, he will use the following skills;
Priority	Skill Order of Importance	Cooldown
1 	Brute Force 	Down to 14 seconds
2 	Inspiring Leader 	Down to 15 seconds
3 	Aimed Slashes 	15 seconds
==Stats==
Level	HP 	Heal Rate
(per 2 sec)	Damage (1.0s)	Armor 	Respawn
1 	200	20	4-11 	Low (3%) 	18s
2 	230	23	5-14 	Low (6%) 	18s
3 	260	26	6-17 	Low (9%) 	18s
4 	290	29	7-20 	Low (12%)	18s
5 	320	32	8-23 	Low (15%)	18s
6 	350	35	9-26 	Low (18%)	18s
7 	380	38	10-29 	Low (21%)	18s
8 	410	41	11-32 	Low (24%)	18s
9 	440	44	12-35 	Low (27%)	18s
10 	470	47	13-38 	Low (30%)	18s
==Tips and Tricks==
Veruk is a melee physical hero that excels in tanking and stalling opponents with the aid of additional summoned units. His skillset create strong temporary chokepoints akin to reinforcements completely on his own. With the aid of strong tower support and barracks to back him up, Veruk will be able to contribute greatly to a battle on a global range. The use of timekeeping and micromanagement can further bolsters Veruk's capabilities on the battlefield; he can perform hit-and-run tactics in the form of stunning and critically injuring a strong but physically weak enemy. Overall, Veruk serves as a strong leader in the battle zone, rallying and supporting his troops in the name of strength and honor.
*Veruk is a decently tanky attacker with the aid of his passive, Thirst For War. While his damage or armor won't blow all the enemies away, Veruk will be able to recover relatively better as Veruk gradually gets powerful in prolonged combat owing to Duelist.
*Aimed Slashes is Veruk's main damage tool. Veruk will slash an enemy twice, inflicting up to 135 physical damage per slash. Aimed Slashes work best against an isolated enemy without physical resistance. Aimed Slashes has a cooldown of 15 seconds.
*Brute Force is Veruk's main crowd control tool. While the ability does not do damage, it stun enemies for up to 4 seconds within the impact area of 120. Brute Force is only triggered if there are 3 or more enemies within Veruk's vicinity. Brute Force has a cooldown of down to 14 seconds.
**Players are recommended to stall a chosen enemy group with Barracks units, demon goonies, and/or reinforcements from Veruk's abilities, in order to ensure the most enemies get stunned from Brute Force.
*Duelist serve as Veruk's passive tool best suited for prolonged melee combat. Veruk gains up to 108% bonus attack for his regular attacks while he was engaged on melee combat with a foe. Every 5 seconds, Veruk's attack gradually increases by 36%, making the skill great for gradually damaging a tough enemy that is not resistant to physical attacks. Duelist resets upon exiting combat with the enemy, be it death or swapping targets.
**Players are recommended to build supportive towers such as Rotten Forests or Orc Shamans to increase Veruk's survivability in melee combat with a single foe constantly to make the best use of Duelist.
*Inspiring Leader and Enter the Warmongers are Veruk's reinforcement tool and Ultimate Spell respectively. Both skills summons 2 minions, either Goblins or Warmongers. While frail, they do a good amount of damage and can last long enough to be useful. A Tier 4 Warmonger can deal more base damage than a level 10 Veruk without taking Duelist in account. Inspiring Leader and Enter the Warmongers are great for bolstering player chokepoints or creating a temporary chokepoint for Veruk to capitalize on his abilities. 
**Inspiring Leader has a cooldown of 15 seconds at tier 3.
**Enter The Warmongers have a cooldown of 40 seconds.
***Players are recommended to trigger Enter the Warmongers before triggering the next wave early as even if there’s no more enemies, the warmongers persist for 10 seconds, and calling a wave with 50% or more on the timer will usually reset or almost reset the cooldown.
***Enter The Warmongers can also be used as a secondary way of summoning reinforcements on a different chokepoint in need.
*There are two main strategies for Veruk. One, abuse Duelist and let Veruk fight enemies constantly. Two, let him use all of his abilities, then retreat him to let Aim Slashes and Brute Force to recharge, then repeat the process over and over.
**The first one is almost always more effective, especially for enemies like Smokebeard Engineers, Stonebeard Geomancers, Nanoq Warbears, Svell Druids, Paladins, Golem Houses, War Wagons and especially Shieldbearers - enemies boasting high health and armor, which Veruk with Duelist can overcome as long as he constantly fights them, and his armor and Warlust mean that their attacks just bounce off him.
**The second one is more situation-specific. It should generally be used against MechaDwarf MK.9s, Frost Giants, Northern Berserkers, High Sorcerers and Paragons, as they have great HP and damage - Veruk cannot Duelist his way out of battles like these. They do too much damage too fast for Veruk to heal up, and will shred him in 2 or 3 hits. In this case, burst damage from Aim Slashes, stuns from Brute Force, the allies Veruk summons and the towers you bought will have to do the job. Wait patiently, use barracks to stall them, activate your abilities, than move him away quickly. This, while not perfect (Veruk will spend a lot of time doing nothing), is reliable enough to bring down enemies with reasonable effectiveness. Groups of large enemies will require some more stalling, so set your defense up accordingly.
**Ranged enemies pose a challenge for Veruk due to his lack of a ranged attack, and enemies like Northern Huntresses and Musketeers will simply use him for target practice. Send him away, or force them into melee, as in most cases their melee damage is nothing. Veruk cannot hit flying enemies, so avoid Gryphon Bombardiers at all costs.
*Veruk is a good middle ground for heroes. He has some strong points, some weak points, but overall, he a hero that is viable in almost every loadout you use. But if you need some long range attackers, then Asra and Oloch may better suit your taste.
==Related Upgrades==
==Quotes==
*"Strength and honor."
*"Are you not entertained!?"
*"Man flesh!"
*"Brawl beats brawn."
*(death) "Freedom..."
==Trivia==
*Veruk's attire is based entirely on the gladiators from the 4th century, during the Roman Empire's time. His origin story is also a reference to Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who managed to beat the Romans with just a handful of gladiators in the Third Servile War. His name and other design features are directly taken from Varok Saurfang from World of Warcraft.
*He's the only free Hero available in the start of Kingdom Rush: Vengeance to not be a legend in Legends of Kingdom Rush.
* "Strength and honor."
**A line spoken by several characters in the 2000 film Gladiator. It is used as both a greeting and farewell.
* "Are you not entertained?"
**A line spoken by Maximus when standing in the arena, in the 2000 film Gladiator.
* "Manflesh"
**A line said by an Orc in the 2002 film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
*"Freedom..."
**This single word is taken from an iconic moment in the film Braveheart following the life of William Wallace.
==Gallery==
DeathGif_Veruk.gif|"Freedom..."
Category:Kingdom Rush: Vengeance
Category:Heroes
Category:Melee Heroes