Revision 1

The Endari Shadow Leech is the group's swarm unit, an 80 health body hired four at a time that attaches to whatever it touches, slows it by 25 percent and drains 5 health a second. It is not available at the start of a contract: it unlocks through the Endari level 2 talent, which also spawns a group of them for free. The Endari are a mercenary group hired into a main faction army rather than played on their own.

Figures below describe the September 2026 Early Access build, the one carrying the identifier ZS.c36778, and they move with the weekly patch cadence. The squad size and price of this unit both changed between the late August and mid September data snapshots, so read the numbers as dated.

Stat Block

Weapons

Abilities

The Shadow Leech has no activated abilities. The attach, the slow and the drain are all carried by its ordinary attack. One detail is worth stating plainly because it changes how the unit is used: if the target dies while a Leech is still attached, the Leech detaches and can attack again rather than being consumed.

Upgrades

Conversion Costs

At 2.8125 power for Infuse, Reanimate or Replicate alike, the Shadow Leech is the cheapest conversion the Endari offer, paid from the top bar pool described on Resources and Economy. It is also the least worthwhile per body, because 80 health is small enough that a percentage increase on it buys very little. Power spent on the group is better spent on a Devourer at 20.

Role

Shadow Leeches are a debuff delivery system that happens to have bodies. Five damage a second is negligible on its own; the 25 percent slow is not. Four Leeches for 100 hexite and 100 flux take 4 supply between them and can pin a fast enemy piece in place long enough for the rest of an army to catch it. Against a unit trying to disengage, that is worth far more than the 20 damage a second the pack contributes.

The detach behaviour rewards throwing them at a formation rather than at one target. A Leech whose victim dies is immediately available to attach to the next one, so a pack used against massed cheap infantry keeps working for the whole engagement, while a pack used against one very large unit does its 8 seconds and then is just four 80 health bodies standing in melee range.

They are free to acquire the first time, since They Writhe spawns a group on unlock, which makes the level 2 talent the cheapest army the Endari ever get.

Faction Context

The Endari talent track runs They Writhe at level 2, Unceasing Violence at level 4 and The Veil Shatters at level 6. Taking the first of those is what turns Silent Hollow and the Awoken Hollow into producers of this unit at all, which makes the Shadow Leech the only Endari unit whose availability is a decision rather than a given.

The night amplifies it more than most of the roster. The Veil Cracks grants 25 percent extra attack speed and 25 percent extra move speed for 30 seconds, and on a unit whose value is in landing the attach at all, arriving faster and connecting faster is the whole benefit.

Tier and Armour Interactions

The Shadow Leech carries Light armour with an armour value of 0 on an 80 health body, which is the most fragile combination in the Endari roster by a wide margin. Any weapon with splash clears a pack outright, and every anti Light bonus in the game applies at full value: the Corsair Flamer at +50% against Light in a 40 degree arc is close to a hard counter, killing multiple Leeches with the same volley.

Its own weapon carries no armour bonus and targets ground only, so the slow and the drain are unavailable against anything airborne. Six armour types exist in this build, Light, Medium, Heavy, Building, Hero and None, and the Leech does the same flat 5 to all of them.

Counters

Balance History

Notes

The squad size change is the one figure on this page that comes from comparing two build snapshots rather than from a studio balance line. If a later patch post states a different squad size, that post is the authority and this row should be corrected to match it.

The roster record for this unit is complete apart from the tier field, which is empty by design because talent gated units sit outside the tier ladder. For the rest of the group see Endari, and for the shared armour and supply system see Units.