Developer Insight: Admiral Piett

[Developer Insight - Kit Reveal]
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Hi Holotable Heroes,

Admiral Firmus Piett, the fast-rising Imperial officer and beneficiary of the Empire’s most notorious field promotion, is headed to the Holotables! After being assigned to Darth Vader’s flagship, the Executor, Piett dutifully served as Captain under the pompous and half-witted leadership of Admiral Ozzel. However, Piett’s fortunes would be forever changed after Ozzel’s dismissal took some air out of the room, leaving Piett in command. Admiral Piett’s versatility allows him to lead a squad of Imperial Troopers or bring more firepower to an Empire squad as an ally with strong synergies to the newly reworked Darth Vader. Piett introduces a new debuff, Inevitable Failure, that takes advantage of an ally’s eventual downfall by making Piett more powerful over time. Piett dared not fail Lord Vader, and as such, his astute, cunning tactics will be a welcome addition to any Empire squad.

Unlock Admiral Piett in the new Marquee Event, Cunning Commander.


The Basics:
  • Admiral Piett is a Dark Side Support character that can lead Empire and Imperial Trooper squads.
  • The increased Potency that Piett brings to the squad will greatly benefit Empire teams due to their large amount of debuffs.
  • His kit has some specific anti-Light side synergies that lower Tenacity and help the squad land even more debuffs.
  • Piett also has a powerful AoE dispel that can shut down counterattacks by applying Daze.
  • Piett is probably the least terrified of any officer when Darth Vader is in the room, but Lord Vader’s mere presence motivates Piett to succeed.

Unique Attributes:
  • Piett has a unique debuff that he applies to his allies, Inevitable Failure.
    • While this debuff doesn’t harm his allies directly, Admiral Piett benefits from his ally’s defeat.
  • Imperial Ambition, which applies Inevitable Failure, also applies Marked to the target ally. This can be useful to focus the enemy squad on a particular unit, even if only temporarily to keep key units in your squad alive. Ex. Shoretrooper’s taunt isn’t ready but you really need to keep the rest of your squad safe from attacks.
    • You don’t want to target an ally with Imperial Ambition that you want to survive long term but still you want a unit that will take a good number of hits to build up stacks of Inevitable Failure before being defeated.
    • You want the ally with Inevitable Failure to be attacked as much as possible but you’ll need to balance the risk of losing a strong unit with the reward of powering up Piett.
    • Piett’s stats receive a boost with Inevitable Failure but he is still quite effective without an ally dying so you don’t need to focus on losing a unit right away.
  • The Emperor's Trap is a buff that Piett gives to all allies whenever an Empire unit attacks out of turn.
    • There is no limit to the amount of The Emperor's Trap stacks your squad can have but they are cleared at the start of the next enemy turn, a non-Empire ally's turn, or at the end of battle.

Inspiration:
  • As part of our continuing celebration of The Empire Strikes Back, we wanted to develop a character that had a memorable presence in the movie, with the bonus of him reappearing in Return of the Jedi.
  • Imperial Ambition and its debuff Inevitable Failure are clearly a callout to when Admiral Ozzel was abruptly replaced as commander of Darth Vader’s flagship, Executor, giving Piett the command he’s always sought.
  • The ability “The Emperor’s Trap” was inspired by his role in the Battle of Endor, where he pointed out “I have my orders from the emperor himself. He has something special planned for them. We only need to keep them from escaping.”
  • His field promotion from Captain to Admiral gave us the idea of using his Imperial Admiral rank badge as his Relic.

Strategy Tips:
  • One way to build up damage is to deny the enemy from taking a turn as long as possible and build up stacks of The Emperor’s Trap with an all Empire squad.
    • Palpatine’s Leader Ability can help keep your squad taking turns and benefits from the increased Potency.
  • A full Empire team is important so you don’t lose The Emperor’s Trap from your own squad taking turns.
  • Careful application of Imperial Ambition will give you a strong advantage even when an ally is defeated.

Squad Suggestions:
  • Emperor Palpatine - Imperial Ambition and Marked are considered Debuffs which trigger Palpatine’s lead, Emperor of the Galactic Empire, and provides his allies with Turn Meter.
  • Darth Vader - Besides the direct synergy with Piett’s kit, the increased Potency will help Darth Vader land his many debuffs.
  • Grand Admiral Thrawn - Solid Empire unit in general but he can also help build up the squad’s Turn Meter with his Unique, Ebb and Flow.
  • Shoretrooper - Provides his allies with even more Turn Meter from his Unique, Stand Guard, as well as a solid Empire tank to soak up damage.

FAQ:
  • While an allied unit can only have up to 20 stacks of Inevitable Failure, the bonuses given to Piett can stack if multiple units are defeated when they have Inevitable Failure.
    Example:
    • Shoretrooper had 20 stacks when he was defeated which provided Piett with an additional 100% Max Health and Max Protection, 300% Offense and 25% Speed.
    • Later in battle Stormtrooper is defeated with 10 stacks of Inevitable Failure which provides Piett with an additional 20% Max Health and Max Protection.
    • This means Piett gains an additional 120% Max Health and Max Protection, 300% Offense and 25% Speed.
  • Imperial Ambition can be used on the same ally repeatedly to refresh Marked and add additional 3 stacks of Inevitable Failure each time.
    • Inevitable Failure stacks can only be active on one ally at a time and will be cleared if you target another ally with Imperial Ambition.
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