ITF - Last Mission Imperious Upgrade (or removal?)

[Renatos1023]

The ITF is my favorite TF to run. Ever. I do it multiple times on all characters.

 

What I hate is Imperious' Hand Clap KB in the last mission. No matter if I'm running as a Tank or a Def, that KB sucks. Can the Devs please buy him a KB --> KD IO. I'll front the influence.

 

But all joking aside, this is a QoL enhancement that would help everyone. You'd no longer have to run him off to die in a group on the other side of the map. It sucks to see your amazing herd go....well...everywhere. 

 

If that is too difficult - alternatively let him just not be there. I've never been on a team that missed him when he was dead. I'm not trying to change a whole TF or screw with people's power sets, but the vast majority of ITFs i'm on do not want that KB. 

[Indystruck]

No.

[Greycat]

I'm generally a big advocate of knockback. I think people need to quit having a kneejerk reaction to it and learn to use it. It can be very helpful when people are using it correctly.

 

You'll note, I hope, the word *people* in there, though. The game's NPC routines are not "people," and won't learn how to be helpful with it - whether that's pets or allied NPCs like Sefu or Imperious. (I'm all for keeping it when it's an NPC  the player has to fight.) I'm all FOR changing friendly-NPC use into Knockdown or something.

 

Imperious, as I recall, has the same "template" granted to him by the Well that Statesman did - roughly that of Zeus. In that sense, the handclap that knocks everything back makes sense, but has always had the exact issue mentioned by the OP - the NPC doesn't know (or just plain can't) use it well, so players either try to lose him or try to get him killed.  I would either replace it with Tyrant's lightning strike - probably toned down to not have the "going to lag some people out" issue - or the Mighty judgement PBAOE "knock everyone straight up into the air" bit, which has the bonus of being thematically very similar but less disruptive to the team.

 

Both powers have the benefit of not needing to be created - they already exist (and are actually used by NPCs - while I don't *think* any NPCs use the punch-the-ground animation, Jane Temblor uses essentially this power. Poorly, granted, but she uses it.

 

(I'm not, for what it's worth, for removing Imperious completely. Thinking "in world," he'd have to be seen fighting alongside the players to defend the people he's leading or it would undermine his authority to some extent.)

[Renatos1023]

On 10/18/2024 at 11:02 AM, Greycat said:

Imperious, as I recall, has the same "template" granted to him by the Well that Statesman did - roughly that of Zeus. In that sense, the handclap that knocks everything back makes sense, but has always had the exact issue mentioned by the OP - the NPC doesn't know (or just plain can't) use it well, so players either try to lose him or try to get him killed.  I would either replace it with Tyrant's lightning strike - probably toned down to not have the "going to lag some people out" issue - or the Mighty judgement PBAOE "knock everyone straight up into the air" bit, which has the bonus of being thematically very similar but less disruptive to the team.

 

 

I really do like this idea. This would solve the issue completely - straight knock-up or knock-down would vastly improve the gameplay experience. Running at +4 and trying to corral mobs that have been hand clapped all over the place is just frustrating.

Edited October 23, 2024 by Renatos1023

[Rudra]

2 hours ago, Greycat said:

I would either replace it with Tyrant's lightning strike

He already has it. It is called Zeus' Lightning Bolt.

[Greycat]

4 hours ago, Rudra said:

He already has it. It is called Zeus' Lightning Bolt.

 

Shows how much I tend to pay attention to Mr. Clappyhands. 😄

[shortguy on indom]

• THOUGHT THIS "HELPER" COULD BE BY-PASSED IN THE FINAL MISSION FOR A BADGE MAYBE?

[Indystruck]

If anything they should lean back into the era appropriate 300 flavor and give you a badge for having a certain amount of mobs KBed by Imperious called "THIS IS CIMERORA" or something

 

[lemming]

4 hours ago, shortguy on indom said:

• THOUGHT THIS "HELPER" COULD BE BY-PASSED IN THE FINAL MISSION FOR A BADGE MAYBE?

On Sister Solaris' arc, the final mission gets a badge when you go it alone.   The ITF, there's no option, no badge, only KB.

[Shin Magmus]

I'm kicking Imperious from my team.

[Col. Kernel]

On 10/18/2024 at 10:02 AM, Greycat said:

I'm generally a big advocate of knockback. I think people need to quit having a kneejerk reaction to it and learn to use it. It can be very helpful when people are using it correctly.

 

You'll note, I hope, the word *people* in there, though. The game's NPC routines are not "people," and won't learn how to be helpful with it - whether that's pets or allied NPCs like Sefu or Imperious. (I'm all for keeping it when it's an NPC  the player has to fight.) I'm all FOR changing friendly-NPC use into Knockdown or something.

 

Imperious, as I recall, has the same "template" granted to him by the Well that Statesman did - roughly that of Zeus. In that sense, the handclap that knocks everything back makes sense, but has always had the exact issue mentioned by the OP - the NPC doesn't know (or just plain can't) use it well, so players either try to lose him or try to get him killed.  I would either replace it with Tyrant's lightning strike - probably toned down to not have the "going to lag some people out" issue - or the Mighty judgement PBAOE "knock everyone straight up into the air" bit, which has the bonus of being thematically very similar but less disruptive to the team.

 

Both powers have the benefit of not needing to be created - they already exist (and are actually used by NPCs - while I don't *think* any NPCs use the punch-the-ground animation, Jane Temblor uses essentially this power. Poorly, granted, but she uses it.

 

(I'm not, for what it's worth, for removing Imperious completely. Thinking "in world," he'd have to be seen fighting alongside the players to defend the people he's leading or it would undermine his authority to some extent.)

The operative phrase here being "...when used correctly."

 

I'm a guy who had a Storm/Energy Def as my main for the longest time, and I agree that attitudes to KB and Repel need to change.

But I'm also the guy who slots KB>KD in every power that has radial KB, because that stuff is just disruptive to the rest of the team.  I use KB for positioning the mobs where I want them.  One ran away from the Tank?  BAM, back to Daddy you go.  Someone escaped a debuff/damage patch (e.g. Freezing Rain or Rain of Fire)?  Ok buster, back into the pool.

I'll say right up front that Imperious (aka Clappulus Maximus) is a real PitA, so when I'm running an ITF I try to be the first one in the door so I can dump him on a wall somewhere and get the Romans to murder him.

[Skyhawke]

[lemming]

25 minutes ago, Skyhawke said:

I was on a run where our DPS was not great on Rom so I went back and dragged him down to the fight.   It got us over that  hump.  So, once in who knows how many, he proved useful?

[DrRocket]

On 10/18/2024 at 8:44 AM, Indystruck said:

No.

No? No what? Can you give a bit of detail of what is so objectionable?

[DrRocket]

I have made it a little game or goal to get Imperious and the Positron like roman to actually survive the missions, it would be a cool set of badges to get: Kept Imperious Alive and the same with the positron looking looser

 

Regards

[Stormwalker]

On 10/18/2024 at 10:02 AM, Greycat said:

I'm generally a big advocate of knockback. I think people need to quit having a kneejerk reaction to it and learn to use it. It can be very helpful when people are using it correctly.

 

You'll note, I hope, the word *people* in there, though. The game's NPC routines are not "people," and won't learn how to be helpful with it - whether that's pets or allied NPCs like Sefu or Imperious. (I'm all for keeping it when it's an NPC  the player has to fight.) I'm all FOR changing friendly-NPC use into Knockdown or something.

 

I'm with you on this.  I love skilled players who make use of their Knockback, and one of my co-mains is an Energy blaster and I love my knockback.

 

But I hate NPC's with knockback, because they have no intelligence and use it completely indiscriminately to oftentimes detrimental and occasionally cataclysmic effect.  See also: Serpent Drummer knocking enemies into the next spawn and then chasing them.

 

And I swear, it seems like almost every helper NPC we get in the game has KB, too.  Drives me nuts.