Azure Dragon

Neutral creatures
Level 1
Peasant
Halfling
Level 2
Rogue
Boar
Leprechaun
Level 3
Nomad
Mummy
Level 4
Sharpshooter
Satyr
Steel Golem
Level 5
Troll
Gold Golem
Fangarm
Level 6
Diamond Golem
Enchanter
Level 7
Faerie Dragon
Rust Dragon
Crystal Dragon
Azure Dragon
Towns

Azure Dragons are level 7 neutral creatures that can be recruited from Frozen Cliffs, which can only be located on the Adventure Map.

"Little is known of the Azure Dragon. It is both rare and mighty, thus few have seen it, and fewer still have survived its attacks. This powerful creature is not much bigger than most dragons, but is said to be capable of enduring prolonged physical attack. It is said those standing face-to-face with an Azure Dragon tend to freeze from pure fear." ^{AB manual}

Fear special ability

Azure Dragon's fear special ability is a passive ability, which means it does not require any specific action from the stack. The fear may occur only at the beginning of enemy stack's turn, causing them to freeze in fear of the Azure Dragons and effectively lose their chance to act that combat round. The working principle is very similar to bad morale.

Creatures immune to fear :

Azure Dragon Golems:                             Stone and Iron Golems  Gold Golem  Diamond Golem  Steel Golem  Elementals:                           Air and Storm Elementals   Water and Ice Elementals   Fire and Energy Elementals   Earth and Magma Elementals   Psychic and Magic Elementals

Undead:                              Skeleton and Skeleton Warrior   Walking Dead and Zombie   Wight and Wraith   Vampire and Vampire Lord   Lich and Power Lich   Black and Dread Knights   Bone and Ghost Dragons  Mummy

Appearance

Azure Dragons were added in Armageddon's Blade, so there are no Azure Dragons or Frozen Cliffs in Restoration of Erathia. They also appear at the end of the Azure Dragons scenario from the Dragon Slayer campaign in Armageddon's Blade.

User commentary

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Like all the neutral creatures, they cannot be upgraded. Azure Dragon have the highest attack, defense, damage and health values of all the creatures making them arguably the strongest units in the game. Placing Azure Dragons (as well as any living Dragons) in the Skeleton Transformer will give you Bone Dragons instead of regular Skeletons. They are also the most expensive unit in the game. Azure Dragons have the highest AI Value of any creature, with 78845. Even though in the game files themselves the Azure Dragon and other neutral dragons are considered to be level 7, the official editor shows they are level 10 (8 for Faerie Dragon). This is either due to code limitations and impossibility of creating a unit with tier higher than 7, either because the developers didn't have time, motivation or reason to add a new creature level in the game code and invest time in that, just telling us they are level 10, respectively 8. As such, even now their levels are still being debated. Toughness The Azure Dragon has the highest defense and health stat in the entire game. In the early game, this creature is almost impossible to defeat without Mighty Gorgons. Offense This dragon's offensive powers are also the highest in the game. However, its damage stat compared to their growth might be too little in many cases. Efficiency and cost They are totally worth the cost, especially since you will usually have the possibility of recruiting them in mid-game, when you already have a decent army. A few Azure Dragons are very good to strengthen your army for their cost. However, don't buy them if your enemy is Fortress, maybe just one for their Fear ability. The Mighty Gorgons will kill weeks' worth of them. Also, it's very hard to kill Azure Dragons who guard Frozen Cliffs without major losses. Tactics The Azure Dragons can be used in various ways, especially due to their speed and toughness. You can block shooters, use-up retaliations or even defend your own shooters. However, keep in mind that in late-game, the opponent might be able to dispose of them relatively easy, with its own troops or even Implosion. But they can be Resurrected, on the other hand. Additionally, their ability to spread Fear among the enemies, causing them to freeze and lose their combat round action, can turn the tide of the battle. Skill bonuses You shouldn't make your strategy around them, since they are already insanely good creatures. But maybe Offense would complement for their relatively low damage.

See also:

• Neutral creature
• List of creatures