From Plants vs. Zombies Wiki
- For other uses, 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. This action destroys both the zombie and the plant placed on the tile, if possible. 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 and it acts as an obstacle, unless he dies with the charred/electrocuted animation. Only one backpack may exist on a tile at any moment and anymore packs dropped on the same tile will cause the others to instantly self-destruct. 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 on the other side.
Origins
His name is a play on the word "Importer."
Almanac entry
Imp Porter
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TOUGHNESS Protected
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SPEED Basic
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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.
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Overview
Imp Porter absorbs 350 damage and degrades upon absorbing 175 damage before dying at 350 damage.
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, "Rescue the Gold Bloom" Epic Quest - Step 8, and "Aloe, Salut!" Epic Quest - Steps 6, 7, and 8
- Modern Day: Days 6 and 34
Strategies
Imp Porters can be very problematic if you do not prepare. However, with the right strategies, he 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 him and his backpack if he is in the air. Garlic can direct him to lanes where there are no available Gold Tiles, making his special ability useless. You also could use an Iceberg Lettuce or other plants with the ice effect to stop him, or simply slow him down. Shrinking Violet is a good choice as it can instantly kill him, like other imps encountered in the series.
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, it 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 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. To counter this, you can go to the Zen Garden to take the Imp Porter away from the seed selection screen. Be wary that this may cause Gargantuars to show up, though. As a quick defense, using Chomper or Toadstool is a good idea as they can devour both the Imp and the pack. Plant Food is especially needed if groups of these zombies appear on the same lane.
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. 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. Imitater may be able to slightly remedy this, but in Temple of Bloom, not even instant kills may be viable. If possible, once Imp Porter deploys his tent, immediately use a Coconut Cannon, Banana Launcher, Strawburst or Missile Toe to get rid of the tent before the Adventurer variants start to spawn. More expensive plants like Winter Melon deal excellent splash damage which takes care of them rather quickly. Area-of-effect plants are great choices for destroying the tent and the zombies in front of it. Electric Currants can damage the tent while other offensive plants deal with the zombies spawned by it. Bowling Bulbs are also effective as they can deal massive damage to many spawned zombies or the tent, due to their bouncing shots. A group of Phat Beets, Starfruits and Rotobagas in adjacent lanes can quickly destroy the tent. 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. Guacodiles and Parsnips are also effective as their rush attacks can deal damage to both tent and spawned zombies. Laser Bean is another plant that can hit both the spawned zombies and the camp.
Using Spore-shroom and Witch Hazel are a good idea against this zombie. Because of its ability to spawn newly Spore-shrooms or Puff-shrooms instead of letting them drop their backpack they will make good use. However, in Spore-shroom's case, you should watch out for Parasol Zombie. You should also use Lava Guava to help you support Spore-shroom.
Due to his ability to set up its tent on tunnels in the Chinese version, it has become 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 using a Jackfruit.
Defensive plants such as Wall-nut can clog the Gold Tile, making it not be able to get to the tile, unless the plant is removed. Infi-nut's Plant Food effect is a good choice for this, as it also stops other Lost City zombies from going past the force field. However, defensive plants are always at risk of being overwhelmed.
Note: Never place a Spikeweed, Spikerock, Cactus, Celery Stalker or any plant that cannot be eaten on the frontmost Gold Tiles when an Imp Porter is approaching as they will be crushed when the Imp Porter sets up his tent unless he is knocked back by Primal Peashooter.
Related achievement
Gallery
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Imp Porter.
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In other languages
Please note that only official translations are used.
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Description
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 English
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Imp Porter
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 Simplified Chinese
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失落小鬼搬运工僵尸
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Lit. "Lost Imp Porter Zombie"
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 French
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Diablotin porteur
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 German
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Wicht-Träger
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 Italian
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Facchino zombolino
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 Brazilian Portuguese
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Zumbinho Mochileiro
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 Spanish
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Zombidito porteador
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Trivia
- He has the slowest speed of any Imp variant.
- Before Carnie Imp's introduction, he had the highest health out of any Imp.
- His noises are different compared to most Imps, more akin to when a Zombie Bull Rider is about to be launched by the Zombie Bull.
- If he gets killed in the last column or before, where the zombies enter the lawn, the backpack will be destroyed instantly. This also happens when there is a backpack or tent already behind it and the player plants any single use plants while they are setting a tent on a Gold Tile or on a tile where the backpack will drop.
- Like Announcer Imp, Tiger Imp, Imp Dragon Zombie, Imp Monk, Super-Fan Imp and Carnie Imp it was never thrown by a Gargantuar.
- A hypnotized Imp Porter will not set up a tent. If the imp drops his tent, it will despawn instantly.
- If the backpack falls onto Spikerock, it will lose a spike, as if hit by a rolling object. It will also not damage the backpack.
- It is similar to Arcade Zombie, as both summon the basic trio with an object (in Imp Porter's case, it is his tent. In Arcade Zombie's case, it is his arcade machine).
- If the player uses a Hurrikale when the zombie is dropping his backpack or switches to another lane and touches a Gold Tile by only a few steps, it will change the tent's deployment location. This can also be done by Primal Peashooter's knockback effect.
- This is because during the short animation of deployment, Imp Porter will continue to behave like a normal zombie. If killed, he will not deploy the tent.
- This also explains why a blue mist appears around him when he is struck with a plant that incurs an Ice-Based effect (Winter Melon, etc)
- In the Travel Log, he is called "Imp Porter Zombie."
- He will keep going while walking on the Gold Tile if there is another tent already occupying that tile.
- It, along with the Zombie Bull Rider are the only Imps to carry Plant Food.
- in the Portuguese translation, there is an error in the description that says "pack becomes tent from which Imps emerge" instead of zombies.
See also
