Implode God Power: The Guide

By Lord_of_Valhalla
Published 10/16/03, AoT v1.0

Introduction

The Titans expansion has added a lot to AoM: more interesting units, gods, technologies and god powers. Atlas’ Implode god power, I think, is the most interesting of all. While god powers such as Earthquake and Meteor destroy buildings, and Lighting Storm kill armies, the Implode god power can do both as effectively if it is used correctly. You only get one cast, and this guide will help you get the most out of it.

Damaging Buildings with Implode

(Note: all test below have been run at least 3 times. Data was posted only if all 3 tests produced same data)

Test 1.1 – Damage Distribution

As you can see on the screenshot to the right (click to enlarge), in the plain field there are 3 Egyptian barracks lined up. In front of them is a runestone, which will be the target for the Implode GP. When the GP was cast on the runestone, the beautiful graphics kick in, showing the bright center and a spiral of fog going into it. In the end there is an explosion and a shockwave going from the center. Now lets examine the barracks:

Barracks 1 – 630/1200
Barracks 2 – 630/1200
Barracks 3 – 630/1200

We can see that the same amount of damage was dealt to all 3 barracks: 570 damage. Also, the barracks weren’t damaged until the whole thing exploded, therefore the shockwave deals damage to all the building equally if they are within the range of the shockwave.


Test 1.2 – Damage Strength

Yes, we all heard that the more units are sucked in, the more damage Implode deals. Lets check that out. In this test, 4 spearmen are added near the runestone (screenshot to the left). The spearmen are sucked in, and after the explosion the barracks have the following health:

Barracks 1 – 402/1200
Barracks 2 – 402/1200
Barracks 3 – 402/1200
4/4 Spearmen dead

Hooray! 798 damage was done. More damage is done if the spearmen are sucked in. But does it matter what type of unit is sucked in?


Test 1.3 – Damage Strength per Unit Type

In this test, the spearmen were replaced by Anubites, the GP was cast, and the following results were produced:

Barracks 1 – 402/1200
Barracks 2 – 402/1200
Barracks 3 – 402/1200
0/4 Anubites dead

Therefore, it doesn’t matter how strong the unit is, or if it gets killed or not. It will still contribute to the damage done to the buildings by the final shockwave.


Test 1.4 – Damage Strength per Unit

Now all but one Anubites were deleted, and Implode was cast once again on the runestone:

Barracks 1 – 573/1200
Barracks 2 – 573/1200
Barracks 3 – 573/1200
0/1 Anubite dead

So according to this, each unit will contribute 57 to total damage done by the final shockwave. To check that it works with 4 units sucked in, you do this calculation:

HP of Barracks = 1200 – (570 + (57 * 4))
HP of Barracks = 402

This gives us the same results as in test 1.2! It works! 🙂


Test 1.5 – Type of Damage Done

But what type of damage does it do, Crush, Hack, or Pierce? For that I tested it on the Barracks with Masons (+180HP, +4% Crush Armor) and no units to be sucked in, and here are the results compared to the results of test 1.1:

Barracks from test 1.1 – 630/1200 (570 Damage done)
Barracks from test 1.5 – 838/1380 (542 Damage done)

Aha! So the type of damage done is pure crush.


The Implode Formula

Since the un-upgraded Barracks have 5% Crush Armor, they get 570 damage base and 57 per unit sucked in. If they had 0% Crush Armor, the numbers would be 600 and 60, because 30 is 5% of 600, and 3 is 5% of 60. Those 30 and 3 are the absorbed amount of damage by the 5% Crush Armor, so only 570 and 57 Hp is deducted. So here is the Implode Formula:
Note: CA = Crush Damage

Damage of Shockwave = 600CA + (60CA * Units Sucked In)

Note: You still have to account for buildings’ Crush Armor.

Now! Onto the next section, where we go over how to effectively kill units using Implode.

Next: Killing Units with Implode