CONTAINS SPOILERS
Imperious's TF is relatively short in the total number of missions ( 4 ) but is actually quite difficult in terms of opponents and tasks. Whilst this guide might not be 100% accurate, I have outlined a few tactics and key points for each of the missions that I hope will be useful for others.
The Taskforce is very open in levels, 35-50 if memory serves but in all seriousness, bring 50's, lots of them!
Mission 1 - Consult the Orcale
This mission consists of hostages with guard mobs that have to be defeated, there are no escort hostages until right at the end so don't worry too much about having to escort hostages back to mission start.
The Cimeroran Traitors are difficult opponents for some teams as their attacks are quite potent and the "Surgeon" class opponents have very powerful single target and AoE heals. My advice is to either defeat these guys first, or if you have a stalker on the team, assign the stalker to eliminating these targets first, then going for any remaining targets of opportunity!
So, back to mission one, rescue the hostages and clear until the team is satisfied, then head to the room top left of the map where a final Sybil is stood, you MUST click her for the key to proceed through the door behind her.
When you get outside, head up the pass continuing to defeat targets until you reach the summit. At this point your team will face an elite boss ( Minotaur ) who if you have managed to get this far shouldn't be too difficult - bar mass healing from Surgeons from secondary mobs.
When the final hostage is freed, simply escort her to the alter across the room to complete the mission.
Summary
<ul type="square">[*]Enter the underground area[*]Rescue the hostages[*]Retrieve the key from the door guardian[*]Free the last hostage[*]Escort her to the alter[/list]
Mission 2 - Destroy the Shadow Cysts
Now the difficulty gets ramped up a notch as the team faces off against both Cimeroran Traitors AND nictus, including Nova and Dwarf forms.
The mission itself is very formulaic, with the main objective being the Shadow Cyats and ONLY the Shadow Cysts which brings me to an interesting tactic.
The Cyst mobs themselves, MUST be cleared of all Dwarf and Nova form opponents before taking the Cyst itself. This is because the explosion from the Cyst is not guaranteed to kill off anything except the unbound nictus that spawn from them ( standard like most Cysts ) however defeating each Cyst spawns ambush waves of Cimeroran Traitors, including one elite boss ( either Minotaur or Cyclops ) for each Crystal.
As you can see, you can end up with both Nictus enemies and an ambush to deal with, as well as taking damage from the Cyst itself exploding, which can cause a lot of teamwipes!
Once the Cyst is clear, you can execute one of two strategies. Either destroy the Cyst ( deliver the last attacks at range to preserve team HP ) then defeat the incoming ambush ( I'd recommend fighting the ambush from the first Cyst to guage team performance agains the ambushes ) or if you want to be sneaky...
Leave the Cysts alone for the time being. The reason for this is that its possible to either clear the mission of all enemies, then get the HP of the cysts to low HP, then leave one teammate per cyst ( you have to suffer minimum of two ambushes for this mission as there are 10 Cysts ) who, with some decent timing finishes off their chosen Cyst, then clicks mission exit before getting stomped on by several angry Romans....
I tend to favor a medium approach and save this tactic for the last room, unless your team is steamrollering through the mobs with ease.
Summary
<ul type="square">[*]Enter the underground tunnels[*]Eliminate the Nova's and Dwarf form Nictus[*]Destroy the 10 Shadow Cyst Crystals[*]Survive the ambushes[/list]
Mission 3 - Defeat Romulus
This mission succeeds in having the most outlandish plot in ANY TF in the game! Time travelling 5th Column Soldiers, working with Romans to build giant golden robots, powered by Incarnates, with the help of Aliens...
Madness!!!
ok, this mission is officially a complete swine! As well as having to eliminate a certain number of opponents ( which takes care of itself really considering the spawns ) there are several Generals who HAVE to be defeated, which means systematicially clearing from the beach landing ( beware the ambush on the beach ) all the way across the bridge, up the ravine and into the construction site. There are several ambushes and patrols along the way consisiting of Cimeroran Traitors, with the odd Minotaur and Cyclops along the way.
When you reach the end of the ravine, there are two paths, each leading to the upper construction ring of the Giant Mek Man constructions. Between them lie the Romulus Phalanx droids and their control terminal.
Defeating the Romulus Phalanx isnt too bad, my advice would be to attack the terminal until the first wave of robots activate, then stop attacking the terminal and defeat the robots.
Once these are down, go back to attacking the terminal and use the same tactic on the second wave ( more robots than before )
When you get to the third wave, you can clear the robots, or alternatively, for a quick win continue to defeat the termincal, once the terminal explodes, the robots cease to function and the objective is complete!
The final battle of this mission is the last general ( requiem ) and then Romulus himself. They are pretty standard AV's, use standard pull tactics to bring these guys into range and give them the ganking they so rightfully deserve ( Especially Romulus for having such awesome armor )
Summary
<ul type="square"> repel the ambush on the beach landing[*]defeat mobs and patrols as the team heads towards the ravine[*]make sure that all generals along the way are defeated ( there is one at the end )[*]Attack and destroy the Romulus Phalanx terminal, surviving the assault waves as you do so[*]Defeat Requiem[*]Defeat Romulus[/list]
Mission 4 - Retake Cimerora
Stick your Spartan helmets on and get ready for some carnage! This is a huge mission featuring a whacking great defeat counter of opponents!
Mainly Cimeroran Traitors again with a few 5th column spawns towards the end, nothing serious.
As you enter the fortress, be aware that you WILL be ambushed several times until you make it across the first bridge. This is normally the point where unprepared teams get wiped, if you have Masterminds on your team, make sure they go in only when the rest of the team have secured somewhere for the MM to setup pets!
Proceeding left at the end of the first bridge and through the ravine takes a huge chuck off that defeat counter as you fight through the mobs towards Romulus.
As you reach the end of the ravine, you reach a ceremonial area with plenty of 5th Column troops and Cimeroran traitors, I would heavily advise clearing the centre stage area and the spawns on the grass south of this in order to give your team room for the next fight.
As you entered this area, the cutscene shows Romulus getting a little alien help, which makes this fight a lot harder.
Romulus has 3 Nictus Essence pets, which can heal Romulus, Spawn Lesser Nictus and if Romulus is defeated with pets still active they will Resurrect him at the cost of their own HP.
There are varying tactics for this fight, such as concentrating on Romulus and having the Nictus defeat themselves by Rezzing him, but the tried and tested tactic of tanking Romulus while the team pull the nictus away from him, cutting off his support. The team then defeats the Nictus Essence BEFORE taking down Romulus!
Once the fights over, enjoy your new Roman Costume options / badge / recipe as applicable ( unless is pacing of the turtle AGAIN!!!! )
Summary
<ul type="square">[*]Survive the ambush as you enter the fort[*]Defeat 300 Cimeroran Traitors[*]Clear the Ceremonial Area[*]Tank Romulus and pull his Nictus Essence away from him[*]Gank Romulus[/list]
I dont tend to write guides very often, and as I'm posting from a different PC to my CoX installation, some of the numbers may be a tad off as its all from memory. But I hope this serves as a useful guide for teams taking on this Taskforce!
