If you missed Part 1,
check it out here. In that, Edtjuh and I talked about the Imperial Guard's army, but here in Part 2 we get into proper detail on their leaders. Scroll on down to find out more, and don't forget the bonus section at the end which details the Commissar Lord's globals!
5*General:So now, on to commanders, as you brought up before they're set to synergize rather well with the army, which is to be expected. I understand the Commissar Lord is to do so exceptionally well, and that he IS NOT a stealth hero as some early reports claimed.
Can you describe his starting abilities and how his execution ability ties into his wargear?
Edtjuh:He starts off with two abilities, the energy shield and execution ability. Execution allows you to kill a certain unit in your squad, that will allow them to do more damage. This ability is very strong, since it will work well in Mexican standoffs. If you purchase some of his wargears, you'll either get a reduced cooldown/energy on this ability or an increased buff.
He's a strong melee/buff hero, that synergizes well with Ogryns. For example, you can either make him invincible in combat upon being surrounded by allies, or you can die in glory while you heal your allies. He does great damage, has nice abilities, but he shines when he's with his army.
Don't worry if you think he wont survive on his own, he still has his trusty power sword/fist, can execute other enemy units, and even call in three Basilisk shots for a certain amount of energy.
5*General:Yeah, the Basilisk wargear is rather interesting. Speaking of the power fists though, he has two. They both cost the same (200/50), but I assume one comes in Tier 2 and the other in Tier 3. Is there any difference between them other than the ability granted by Fist of Brockus? Does the regular Power Fist grant an ability? And on a slightly unrelated note, how does Inspire Terror work?
Edtjuh:Both power fists come in Tier 2. I have no idea why i should take the regular over the other. Regular power fist has no abilities, while the Fist of Brockus has an ability that will allow everyone to fight to their last health, without dying. I do not think the regular fist was meant to be there in the first place, you should ask someone from
Relic though.
5*General:If only I could. Press pass pending...
Edtjuh:As for the inspire enemy ability, I've heard from someone else at the community event that it insta-kills units, while suppressing the squad. I can't confirm it, since I couldn't try it out yet. Only heroes and vehicles on the field (silly AI). But I think it's just instant damage at around 150 damage or so. Would be more balanced though, otherwise you can instant kill Nobs/Terminators. Those models don't come for free.
5*General:150 damage doesn't sound too bad- slightly below being able to snipe squad leaders anyway.
Edtjuh:Mind War of the Farseer deals 200 heavy_melee damage... so i think it's fair.
5*General:Quite true. Turning to the Inquisitor, what is her default ability and how does she play without any wargear?
Edtjuh:She plays like the Farseer, but a more ranged sorcerer type. It doesn't mean she's weak in melee though, you'll just have to invest in wargear to make her become useful. She does have a starting ability, which I totally forgot to write down nor do I remember it, so yeah... not much about that. Blame the delicious pizza.
5*General:Hah,
Relic's special Forget Sauce™. Nonetheless, she does seem a fair bit different from the Farseer in her weaponry selection, with at least two ranged weapons available? And speaking of that, is the Inferno Pistol anti-vehicle in some way or is Judgement just so powerful that it justifies the 150/50 cost?
Edtjuh:If you want a good ranged weapon, go for the crossbow bolt pistol. That weapon is just INSANE, it does even more damage than the Chaos Lord's Combi-Flamer. If she gets that wargear, you'll have a very tough time kiting her. As for Judgement... ooh yeah, this is one nasty spell. Casting to a radius of 60(!) and deals 25/30 damage per second for a VERY long time. She will be immobile though.
5*General:Radius 60 seems to be a theme with her- you mentioned in one of your forum posts that Purgatus also has something on the order of range 60?
Edtjuh:Yes, the fire ability. When she casts that ability, it will go to the border of your screen, inflicting enough damage to instantly wipe a level 1 Banshee/Warp Spider/Guardian/Scout/etc squad. You have to time it, since it only affects the outer borders. Anything in the border, will be stunned for a short while. So it's a win/win situation.
5*General:Sounds like 35
just isn't enough for that. The other notable theme with the Inquisitor is her apparent like of shields. Two out of three accessory items are shields- the first one a typical energy shield, and the second an invulnerability shield. Does her play style justify those? Or did
Relic just get lazy?
Edtjuh:I don't think her playstyle justifies it really, so it kind of has to be on the lazy side. Then again, perhaps the beta will change a thing or two. I haven't seen anything "wow holy shit!" in the melee section, just in her ranged stance, killing single models with spells, bugging heroes with abilities, etc.
5*General:What globals does she bring to the fight and how do they impact her playstyle? We know that she has an exclusive call-in for the Banewolf.
Edtjuh:Yeah, the Banewolf is like a bile spewer on wheels. Cheap, good, and viable for just 350
150
. Her Hellfury Strike global is 150
, but it delivers napalm-like missles to the call-in target. Combine that with her Crippling Volley ability, to make the whole blob immobilized, and you know she means business. Her third global is an Infiltrated Storm Troopers call-in. Instantly infiltrated, so the enemy doesn't know if you called them in or not. Put it behind enemy lines and upgrade it to melta for some nice gen bashing. All that for just 300
and 150
.
5*General:So finally, where does the Lord General fit among the three Imperial Guard heroes? We know much about his globals already from the videos, but we don't have much on the Lord General himself.
Edtjuh:This guy will be, without a doubt, the most used hero in 3v3.
His buffs, support, damage, globals are all insane. I am going to guide you quickly through the wargear for this one: He can be upgraded with any of three guns: grenade launchers, sniper, or melta. All come with a supportive buff ability to a radius of 20 or 30. His three armor upgrades either give your units, suppression immunity to everyone nearby, decrease damage taken by enemy fire, or just heal your units over time.
5*General:And then there's the retinue.
Edtjuh:Then we got the retinue members. These cheap bodygaurds will give you one the most powerful abilities in the game. A Sergeant (30
5
) will give you the Medi-pack ability. Basically, if you select this ability, you can give it to any squad in your army- you can even give it to your allies. It acts just like an Apothecary heal and it will be consumed after use. Very powerful since it has a short cooldown. Then there is the Commissar member. He will allow you to call in reinforcements for 150
and 75
... FOR FREE!!! This isn't like the Drop Pod where you have to wait five or six seconds- this takes one second and BAM millions of units come out. They will also reinforce your allied units for free. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but it sure isn't right.
Last, but not least is the Vox operator. This guy has an ability that will allow you to take reduced damage for a short amount of time, making your party of six almost invulnerable. It doesn't act like an energy shield- it's an instant cast ability. That way, you can summon reinforcements, buff your units, or shower med packs to your allies.
5*General:Party of six- so you're able to purchase all three retinue upgrades? Can you purchase multiple of the same kind as with
Dawn of War: Winter Assault's Command Squad in order to reduce cooldowns or can you only get one of each? Can retinue members be killed like squad leaders can?
Edtjuh:Yes, you can buy all three members. If one member gets killed, you'll have to re-buy him back. You'll lose that ability as well, you can just reinforce your two regular Imperial Guard models though. Seeing as your retinue members are cheap, this will be no problem... all together, I'd say you lose 200
40
for all three.
5*General:Yeah, the Sergeant only costs 30
/5
and the Commissar 40
/10
... unless they drop like flies, those values seem ridiculously low. So regular retinue members reinforce like normal infantry would? How much do they cost to reinforce? Is the Lord General always the last to die?
Edtjuh:Correct and yes. The General always stands last upon dying. As for reinforcing, it's 17
I think. Just like regular Imperial Guard infantry.
5*General:The retinue is just regular Guardsmen? They look more like Stormtroopers.
Edtjuh:Haven't bothered to check, so you could be right. My mistake.
5*General:Honestly the models and their textures are so dark it's almost impossible to tell. But with that, I think we've exhausted most Imperial Guard discussion. In the third and final part, we'll get to the other races and some other improvements.
To tide everyone over until then though, I want to toss up the Commissar Lord's globals:
Off-map Basilisk Flare (0/0/0
/75/Tier 1):"Fires an off-map Basilisk flare at the targeted location. Reveals the area, detects infiltrated units, and shortens the range of enemy weapons for the duration of the flare."
Air Dropped Mines (0/0/0/150/Tier 2):"Calls in a Valkyrie that air drops self burrowing mines that will damage and snare the enemy."
Loyal to the End (0/0/0/125/Tier 2):"Temporarily inspires squads in a small area. As members of the affected squads die, the remaining members will fight on, becoming stronger as their numbers diminish. Only your own squads are affected."
Discuss
