I think there’s a very real chance that Oda doesn’t view Usopp’s weakness as a flaw and instead wants to capitalize on it to show that he’s a “brave warrior of the sea”
Which means he may never get a “true” powerup and become a heavy hitter like some people want him to
Because then he’d be so strong that he would never feel fear so he could never show his “bravery” and in all fairness his best moments typically involve him overcoming things through trickery or ingenuity against a stronger opponent (on paper)
So maybe Oda wants to maintain that
Yep, exactly, that's what I am referring to saying"Usopp's character was never about that".
Still, I'd like to see would be more cool sniping feats (which still make Usopp weak and vulnerable in a close-up fight). His last feat was in... Dressrosa? So no wonder fans were hopeful for Elbaph to be special for Usopp.
We need to see the panels to judge the scene fully, but as far as I understand, the following happens:
- Usopp overcomes his fear and faces Imunko despite being weak
- Gets beaten
- Luffy sees that and becomes seriously angry
So yeah, Usopp doesn't defeat Imunko, but leads to their downfall, and also gets a feat of being brave.