Kessen Questions

[HariSeldon]

Hi, new forum member here and thought it would be best to necro an old thread rather than start new. I have Kessen at level iv and he seems like a total chump. I see an implication here that you can "aim" his magnetic pulse shot. How do you do this? I just unleash it and it goes off in whatever direction he is pointing, usually hitting nothing useful.

Thanks!

[SpaceDandy]

Don't be fooled necessarily by the shot graphic - look for impacted buildings and that is where the shot went. He will aim for the Deka... and if he gets a chance to settle for a second and lock that target, he will fire a straight line at said Deka... if the Squad Center is in front/behind it and Kessen is high enough in level or otherwise boosted (say by a lugga at higher levels) he can take out the squad center. So then you don't have to worry about SC troops as they have been "sniped". The lower level Kessen can take out lower SCs, but as I said, at a certain point at the higher levels it becomes a level for level thing (like A-wings are to shields) but the lugga can boost him to get a higher level one. The shot can also take out GR-spawning barracks in a row if boosted, walls, traps, etc - level depending...

Back when SC troops alone were the greatest threat to an attacker (pre-high level skinned GRs) he was more vital in PvP. He is, however, essential in war because when that perfect opportunity presents itself, it's quite satisfying to take out a base that didn't defend its SC accordingly.

Absent a Deka he will lock to the closest building, I believe.

And welcome to the forum

[Oldrebel]

Absent a Deka he will lock to the closest building, I believe.

Yes. And no. Even with both dekas live, you can use a building, if you know how.

[syncpan77]

There's a chart that shows the range of Kessen's shot. If dekas or infantry are out of his range he'll target closest building for sure, might I add, the north tip of buildings is what you wanna use to line up your shots. The northern-most pixel to be exact. Kessen's if, ands, or buts have never been more clearer than these days. It's a great unit and not as tough to use as we once thought it to be. Also hitting the SC using a rolling deka is uber easy. You just gotta trip one of the dekas and get him moving, make sure he's going to roll right in front of the SC and there's not going to be any junk in the way (between Kessen and the rolling deka) or infantry closer to Kessen than the deka, then just wait till the deka is passing by right in front of the SC, pull the trigger and bye bye Squad Center.

[LORDPUMPSALOT]

Kessen shots are mostly deflected by factories and transports. If you put one of those in line and before the deka and sc, they will always deflect, even with luggas. Seems I have also got deflections from shield generators, and ever so often by depots and several turrets and barracks.
If there is a transport/factory in line, you can always drop a trooper or two to get him offline and then drop kessen/lugga and shoot through him on the move.
I practiced on developer bases for a couple months practicing his capabilities until I got very comfortable with what he can and cannot do before I ever started attacking real bases with him. Those dev. bases will teach you all kinds of tricks with him if you just experiment and take chances to see how far you can push him.
.

[lukeskywalker]

Kessen shots are mostly deflected by factories and transports. If you put one of those in line and before the deka and sc, they will always deflect, even with luggas. Seems I have also got deflections from shield generators, and ever so often by depots and several turrets and barracks.
If there is a transport/factory in line, you can always drop a trooper or two to get him offline and then drop kessen/lugga and shoot through him on the move.
I practiced on developer bases for a couple months practicing his capabilities until I got very comfortable with what he can and cannot do before I ever started attacking real bases with him. Those dev. bases will teach you all kinds of tricks with him if you just experiment and take chances to see how far you can push him.
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I have heard that deflection theory, but I don't see it in practice. I have seen Kessen shots lined up with a transport. Nice clean shots through the transport, HQ and then squad center at the back. Right in a line. Not saying deflections don't exist, but I have not seen it in practice. I generally check the damage line and it's clear where the shot went. I don't look at the vapor trail.

[XitLiteNtrNite]

Kessen shots are mostly deflected by factories and transports. If you put one of those in line and before the deka and sc, they will always deflect, even with luggas. Seems I have also got deflections from shield generators, and ever so often by depots and several turrets and barracks.
If there is a transport/factory in line, you can always drop a trooper or two to get him offline and then drop kessen/lugga and shoot through him on the move.
I practiced on developer bases for a couple months practicing his capabilities until I got very comfortable with what he can and cannot do before I ever started attacking real bases with him. Those dev. bases will teach you all kinds of tricks with him if you just experiment and take chances to see how far you can push him.
.

I have heard that deflection theory, but I don't see it in practice. I have seen Kessen shots lined up with a transport. Nice clean shots through the transport, HQ and then squad center at the back. Right in a line. Not saying deflections don't exist, but I have not seen it in practice. I generally check the damage line and it's clear where the shot went. I don't look at the vapor trail.

syncpan77's answer above is the correct one. Kessen's shot goes through the nearest deka, but if there is a building between where Kessen is situated and the deka then the shot goes through the northern corner of the building. And buildings can include anything, such as flags or wall pieces. Don't equate the graphic seen on screen with the actual path of the shot - the graphic is often times wrong, but the damage done by the shot will show the path taken.

[Therealharbinger]

Kessens range is 50 on the ability shot. If you're the type that dumps his scared in the farthest corner this is why it'll miss. It wont track the deka and go for the outright closest thing aka droid hut.

[Oldrebel]

Kessens range is 50 on the ability shot. If you're the type that dumps his scared in the farthest corner this is why it'll miss. It wont track the deka and go for the outright closest thing aka droid hut.

This is incorrect. Kessen range is 44 tiles. This is because the grid is 43x43.
A lugga will not extend the shot, only increase width by virtue of splash damage.
Nearest building determines aim if the dekas are out of "view range" when you force the shot- thus, you can kill the SC even if dekas are live on platforms, depending on location. Even through ANY structure: transport, factory, banner or wall peg.

[Oldrebel]

Kessen shots are mostly deflected by factories and transports. If you put one of those in line and before the deka and sc, they will always deflect, even with luggas. Seems I have also got deflections from shield generators, and ever so often by depots and several turrets and barracks
.

Again, incorrect. Look at papajessie site. "Secondary shot deflectable: no"
Do those buildings influence the aim? Yes. Not the same as deflection.