Imp Porter


 * For other versions, see Imp (disambiguation).

Imp Porter is the eleventh zombie encountered in the Lost City. He has the ability to set up tents on Gold Tiles that will spawn the three basic zombies of Lost City. The time between two zombies spawning from a tent is approximately ten seconds. If an Imp Porter is killed before establishing a tent, he drops a backpack on a tile. In the chinese version of the game, the Imp Porter can set up tents on tunnels that appear when the Lost Guide Zombie opens them, making all zombies that spawn from the tent go straight into the tunnel, appearing from the other side.

Almanac entry
TOUGHNESS: Protected

SPEED: Basic

Drops pack on Gold Tile; pack becomes tent from which zombies emerge.

Imp Porter is stronger than he looks. He's also more charming, smarter and has a better education.

Overview
Imp Porter absorbs 16 normal damage shots and degrades upon absorbing 8 normal damage shots before dying at 16 normal damage shots.

Encounters
Player's House: Piñata Party

Lost City: Days 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, Temple of Bloom and "Rescue the Gold Bloom" Epic Quest - Step 8

Modern Day: Days 6 and 34

Strategies
With the right strategies, Imp Porter ends up being one of the easiest zombies in Lost City to tackle. Certainly the best solution is to kill him before he deploys his tent. Gold Tiles in later Lost City levels, while close to the right side of the lawn, still give the player enough time to get rid of Imp Porter before he becomes a bigger threat. Ghost Pepper or Lava Guava are particularly good at dealing with him this way. Also, Blover can blow away his backpack while in the air.

It will be a rare situation where the player kills an Imp Porter before he encounters a Gold Tile. As this rarely happens unless the player has very strong plants, he is bound to leave his backpack behind which acts like a tombstone. It is not deniable that they are a smaller threat than camps, but the player should still take notice, especially if they are using straight-shooting plants without an area-of-effect. In higher levels of Temple of Bloom, however, they are one of the most dangerous things that can cause a game over, even in non-Gargantuar levels. The high amount of dropped tents will prevent planting on many tiles, and plants like Ghost Pepper get frequently killed because of them. The way to stop this is to set up a strong defense as soon as possible, even if it is limited to the left side of the lawn such as Winter Melons or instant kills. However you can go to the Zen Garden to take the Imp Porter away.

Lastly, the camps Imp Porter sets up are his main highlight and most dangerous ability. As they can spawn Adventurer Coneheads and Adventurer Bucketheads, they can block the projectiles of most straight-shooting plants and even overrun defenses. Worse, if they reach to the third column or closer from the left (with the lawn mowers), they will make zombies much harder to kill that it will reach your lawn mowers or your house. The spawning rate of zombies is also not slow, so the player should act fast. Instant kills are good, but they are not reliable due to their usually slow recharge. More expensive plants like Winter Melon deal excellent splash damage which takes care of them rather quickly. Alternatively, the player should use slowing plants like Stallia or Stunion to delay the incoming zombies while their regular defense has enough time and firepower to destroy the camps.

Using Hypno-shroom and Gold Leaf will spawn more hypnotized zombies. First, hypnotize it by using Hypno-shroom then plant a Gold Leaf in the direction it is now facing. The hypnotized Imp Porter will step on your created Gold Tile, causing it to set up camp, meaning hypnotized zombies will continuously spawn out of it.

Using Spore-shroom is a good idea against this zombie. Because of it ability to spawn newly Spore-shroom instead of letting them drop their backpack making them a good use. However, you should watch out for Parasol Zombie. Better still, you should use Lava Guava to help you support Spore-shroom.

Due to his ability to set up his tent on tunnels in the Chinese version, he has became even more dangerous should the player should see the Lost Guide Zombie in a level. If this happens, block off the tunnels opened by the Lost Guide Zombie at once using a Jackfruit, to prevent zombies from appearing from the other end.

Trivia

 * Imp Porter's name is a play on the word "importer."
 * The function of Imp Porter's camp is very similar to the unused tombstone from the Dark Ages update that would spawn zombies from the tile the tombstone was raised instead of from the beginning of the lawn.
 * It appears on Day 18 and 32 of Lost City and some Piñata Parties, even though there are no Gold Tiles on those levels or the player cannot use Gold Leaves.
 * The backpack might be a reason because when the Imp Porter drops it when it is killed, it will act like an obstacle for straight shot plants.
 * Imp Porter is currently the toughest and the slowest of all Imp types.
 * Its noises are different compared to most imps. The sounds it makes are similar to when a Zombie Bull Rider is about to be launched by the Zombie Bull.
 * If Imp Porter gets killed in the last column or before, where the zombies enter the lawn, the backpack will self-destruct. This also happens when there is a backpack already behind him.
 * A hypnotized Imp Porter will not drop his backpack on a Gold Tile, instead he will ignore the Gold Tile.
 * He is similar to Arcade Zombie, as both summon the basic trio with an object (on Imp Porter's case, his tent. On Arcade Zombie's case, his arcade machine).
 * Placing ground plants on the Gold Tiles does not prevent Imp Porters from setting camp.
 * If the player uses a Hurrikale when the zombie is dropping his backpack or switch Imp Porter to another lane and touches a Gold Tile by only a few steps, the tent could spawn on a regular tile.
 * This can also be done by Primal Peashooter's knockback effect.
 * The player can also kill the Imp Porter while it is dropping his backpack and setting up his tent.