Plants Vs Zombies is such a classic game and I realistically can’t imagine just how many hours I’ve spent playing the game.
At this point, I’ve run through the main Adventure at least 4 times, simply because I love the game and had to get it on every single computer and mobile device I’ve ever had. Obsessive much?
The most appealing thing to me when it comes to Plants Vs Zombies is the amount of strategy it requires, especially in the late-game where players have to make quick decisions or be at risk of losing all of their resources, essentially having to restart levels with no way of pressing “continue” to pick up where they left off.
The original Plants Vs Zombies takes players through a variety of stages, providing them with different types of plants they can unlock as well as different locations that they will have to protect, essentially altering the way that players have to strategize to proceed to the next stage.
The stages include Day, Night, Pool, Fog, and Roof, though players can also collect Upgrade Plants and Support/Other plants in hopes of securing their wins more smoothly.
The following guide will take you through everything you need to know about the Plants in Plants Vs Zombies, what ideal placements for them are and what you can expect in each type of stage of Plants Vs Zombies.
DAY PLANTS
The first 10 levels of Adventure mode take place during the Day setting, providing players with between 1-5 lanes of grass.
During Day players will be able to collect Sun that drops naturally, though players will still need to place a good amount of Sunflowers to support themselves through these stages.
While completing the Day Adventure Mode, players will gain access to a total of 8 plants, though in the Web Version of Plants Vs Zombies they will gain access to the Squash, which non-Web players will gain access to later.
PEASHOOTER
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Peashooter is automatically unlocked when players enter Plants Vs Zombies
SUN COST
100 Sun
RECHAGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Medium
ABOUT THE PEASHOOTER & STRATEGY
The Peashooter is the initial plant players receive when playing Plants Vs. Zombies.
Peashooters shoot a single pea every 1.5 seconds and deal 20 damage to each Zombie.
Peashooters should be used as a player’s first line of defense, being one of the cheapest plants players can place, though truthfully being outclassed by almost all other plants.
Peashooters can take out basic Zombies with quite some ease, though players should note that if they are up against tougher Zombies that have some form of armour, they need to either have two Peashooters or another plant to provide it defense/offense.
Players should always place a Peashooter in a lane where Zombies are oncoming, though in mid-to-late game, players should either look into replacing the Peashooter by digging it up.
Plants that work well with Peashooters include Potato Mines, which will essentially guard the Peashooter and destroy any Zombies that walk into it, or a Torchwood, which will raise the damage the Peashooter has while also providing it with protection against Zombies until eaten.
Do not use Peashooters in Roof levels, as they are severely outclassed and will be more of a hinderance if anything.
SUNFLOWER
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Sunflower is unlocked after completing Day 1.
SUN COST
50 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Medium
ABOUT THE SUNFLOWER & STRATEGY
The Sunflower is one of the ways players can collect extra Sun on any map of Plants Vs Zombies.
It is considered the primary source of sun, as players will not be able to receive Sun naturally when playing on night maps, though it should be noted that Sunflowers can actually be upgraded when players have access to the “Twin Sunflowers” card, which I will cover later.
Sunflowers will drop 25 Sun every 24 seconds, making it extremely important for players to place at least 3-4 Sunflowers per game to be able to afford their other plants.
Depending on how comfortable you are with the game, I would recommend having at least one column of Sunflowers, though if you can trust yourself not to place offensive plants while Zombies are approaching one of your lanes, you should try getting yourself up to 3 columns of Sunflowers as this will provide you with an insane amount of Sun, which will make it drastically easier to place stronger plants, allowing players to remove their Sunflowers in the late-game to replace them with even more damage dealing plants.
I typically cover all of the left-hand side of my screen with Sunflowers so that Zombies don’t get to them first, as losing your source of Sun will definitely lead to the loss of a level.
Players can also place Sunflowers behind a Wall-nut, though doing so realistically doesn’t make sense as there are better plants to place behind these tanky creatures.
Though players may be tempted to use Sunflowers in Night levels, I would strongly recommend against it, though I will cover why later when we talk about Sun-shrooms.
CHERRY BOMB
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Cherry Bomb is unlocked after completing Day 2.
SUN COST
150
RECHARGE
Very Slow
DAMAGE
Massive
AREA
A 3×3 Grid
USAGE
Instant-Single Use
ABOUT THE CHERRY BOMB & STRATEGY
The Cherry Bomb is essential for players who find themselves in a sticky situation where Zombies are beginning to get close to their plants or when Zombies are too strong for players to actually kill with their plants.
Players can place a Cherry Bomb and watch it explode after 1.2 seconds, dealing 90 damage to every single enemy in the 3×3 grid around it.
Cherry Bombs will be able to kill just about any Zombie in one hit, even being able to affect Zombies that are in the sky, under water, on ladders or even underground. This literally means that players will be able to save themselves against any type of Zombie.
It is strongly recommended that players save Cherry Bombs for when they are overwhelmed by Zombies or are up against high health Zombies such as Gargantuars or Zombonis, though it should be noted that Cherry Bombs do not have “fire damage” so they cannot remove the ice that a Zomboni leaves behind.
While players may think the Cherry Bombs are overpowered, their extremely long cool down makes up for it.
WALL-NUT
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Wall-nut is unlocked after defeating Day 3.
SUN COST
50 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
TOUGHNESS
High
ABOUT THE WALL-NUT & STRATEGY
The Wall-nut is considered the first defensive plant players can obtain when playing Plants Vs. Zombies.
When placed, the Wall-nut does not do any damage, however, it will act as a shield that Zombies must eat through in order to stall them as other Plants deal damage.
Wall-nuts will help mitigate the majority of Zombies, though it should be noted that Zombies such as the Pole Vaulting Zombie, Dolphin Rider Zombie and Pogo Zombie will be able to jump over the Wall-nut, essentially rendering them useless.
Players easily can avoid this issue by placing two Wall-nuts directly after each other.
Wall-nuts are completely useless against Gargantuars, Zombonis and Catapult Zombies as they will be immediately crushed, similarly Jack-in-the-box Zombies instantly destroy Wall-nuts.
Players should get into the habit of placing a Wall-nut in the middle column or closer to the right, depending on what strategy they are using.
There is no real reason why players will want to place a Wall-nut closer to their plants as realistically, the closer the Wall-nut is to the entrance of the map, the higher the chance is that players will be able to make swift plays to defend their remaining plants.
Players should also use Wall-nuts as a way to force Snorkel Zombies out of the water to damage, as without them players will urn the risk of the Snorkel Zombie eating all of their offensive plants.
Wall-nuts are also great when used in tandem with Spikeweeds or Spikerocks as Zombies will continually take damage while being held back from important plants.
Wall-nuts have 3,600 Health and will change their appearance after they have taken 1,200 damage, showing cracks and when they have taken 2,400 damage, having a frown.
When players have collected enough coins to buy items from Crazy Dave’s Twiddydinkies, they can purchase the Wall-nut First Aid item, which will allow them to fully repair a damaged Wall-nut.
Players should use the visual indicator to know when to use the Wall-nut First Aid item, as repairing a Wall-nut too early will essentially waste the item.
POTATO MINE
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Potato Mine is unlocked after completing Day 5.
SUN COST
25 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
DAMAGE
Massive
RANGE
All Zombies in a small area
USAGE
Delayed activation with a single-use
ABOUT THE POTATO MINE & STRATEGY
The Potato Mine is an extremely strong Plant that requires players to pre-emptively place it as it will take 14 seconds to charge before it is activated.
Upon being activated the Potato Mine will rise to the surface, becoming vulnerable to any Zombies that try to attack it.
If a Zombie begins munching at the Potato Mine, the Potato Mine will explode in a 1×1 area, dealing a whopping 1,800 damage to all affected Zombies.
While extremely powerful, the Potato Mine only finds use in a handful of levels, simply because of how long it takes for players to activate it.
The Potato Mine is undeniably strong against armoured Zombies, though if players are hoping to place a Potato Mine to deal with a Zombie that they already see, they should place the Potato Mine at least 3 squares ahead in order for it to activate, though this will highly depend on what speed the Zombie is travelling at.
Players can pair up a Potato Mine with a Wall-nut or Tall-Nut, essentially making it so that if any Zombie jumps above or eats through the defensive plants, they will immediately get obliterated.
In regards to eating through a Wall-nut or Tall-nut, players will rejoice in knowing that if the hoard of Zombies moves together towards the Potato Mine, they will all explode at the same time.
Potato Mines are most effective against Digger Zombies who will immediately kill them upon trying to pass them, making them essential for players who are having difficulty with later levels.
It should be noted that players can place the Potato Mine anywhere to affect the Digger Zombie, though as a precaution I would have at least one Potato Mine per lane for levels that contain Digger Zombies.
If players are hoping to kill Gargantuars by using Potato Mines, players will need to place at least 2 Potato Mines in order to successfully take them down.
Alternatively, players can also take down Zombie Bobsled Teams in one hit if Potato Mines are placed immediately at the end of the Ice.
It should be noted that players should never place a Potato Mine in a Pumpkin unless they are simply trying to buy some extra time for the Potato Mine to activate, otherwise the majority of Zombies will work at eating the Pumpkin before essentially exploding.
It should also be noted that if players place a Potato Mine that does not have time to activate, a Zombie will attempt to eat it, often being successful.
SNOW PEA
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Snow Pea is unlocked after completing Day 6
SUN COST
175 Sun
150 Sun in Versus Mode
100 Sun in Heavy Weapon
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal, slow Zombies
TOUGHNESS
Normal
ABOUT THE SNOW PEA & STRATEGY
The Snow Pea is a great Plant to have on your team as it can effectively reduce the movement speed and attack speed of any affected Zombie by 50%, also dealing damage to the Zombies.
It should be noted that if a Snow Pea is placed behind a Torchwood, the Snow Pea will lose it’s freeze effect as a Torchwood will melt the frozen pea.
Although costly, Snow Peas are quite effective when placed with Repeaters or simple Pea Shooters as it can effectively allow each plant to deal double the damage, since Zombies move and attack at half their regular speed.
Players should never place more than one Snow Pea in a lane as placing multiples will simply be a cost for no additional benefit other than having an additional attack.
There is never an instance where a Zombie will unfreeze, requiring the help of a second Snow Pea.
Similar to a regular Pea Shooter, Snow Peas are not recommended when playing on Roof levels.
CHOMPER
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Chomper is unlocked after completing Day 7.
SUN COST
150 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Massive
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Two Tiles
RELOAD TIME
42 seconds
ABOUT THE CHOMPER & STRATEGY
While I have to admit that I didn’t fully understand the use of the Chomper when I initially played Plants Vs Zombies, I have to say that it is a favourite of mine now, especially as I feel like I’ve realized its true potential.
The Chomper acts very differently than all other plants, essentially consuming Zombies that are within two tiles of it, essentially meaning that players risk nothing by placing a Wall-nut directly in front of a Chomper.
The unfortunate reality of the Chomper is that it takes 42 seconds for a Chomper to digest a Zombie, ultimately making it so that the Chomper is vulnerable to all damage util it is fully consumed, though again, players can avoid this by placing a Wall-nut or a Tall-nut in front of it, essentially ridding players of this worry.
Chompers will not be able to eat large Zombies such as a Gargantuar, but will instead deal damage for every bite it takes.
Players will, however, find Chompers extremely useful against medium toughness Zombies such as Buckethead Zombies, Zombonis or even Football Zombies who often need to take a considerable amount of damage before they are taken down.
REPEATER
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Repeater is unlocked on Day 8.
SUN COST
200 Sun
150 in Versus Mode
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal, though it shoots 2 peas
TOUGHNESS
Normal
ABOUT THE REPEATER & STRATEGY
The Repeater is considered the stronger variant of the Pea Shooter, essentially dealing double the damage for double the price of the Pea Shooter.
While players may may not initially understand what the great thing about Repeaters, simply because they do not technically deal more damage than two Pea Shooters, the truth is that players will be able to place more Repeaters and will later on be able to purchase an upgrade called Gatling Pea from Crazy Dave’s Twiddydinkies in order to upgrade a Repeater, essentially making it 4x as effective as a Pea Shooter, though more on that later.
Repeaters are great when placed behind Torchwoods, especially if players have the opportunity to upgrade the Repeaters later on.
NIGHT PLANTS
The Night maps have 10 levels that have the same map layout as Day, though as noted earlier, players will no longer receive natural spawning Sun.
Although players will find it a bit more difficult to complete Night levels due to the lack of Sun, players will shortly obtain Plants that outweigh this difficulty within the first two levels.
Similarly, players will benefit from placing mostly Night Plants during Night levels as they typically cost less than their Day Plant equivalents
It should be noted that while Day Plants are awake during both Night and Day levels, Night Plants will remain asleep during Night levels, unless players use a Coffee Bean, which is acquired much later in the series during the Roof levels.
Players will also start experiencing Graves during Night levels, which cannot be planted on and will cause Zombies behind them to be protected from damage and Zombies will also surface from them during the Final Waves of the level.
Players will have to attempt to remove Graves using Grave Busters, but more on that strategy later.
PUFF-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Puff-Shroom is unlocked after beating Day 10.
SUN COST
0 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Short, extending to only 3 tiles
ABOUT THE PUFF-SHROOM & STRATEGY
The Puff-shroom is a shockingly useful Zombie for players to have, especially because it does not cost any Sun.
Most notably Puff-shrooms are great at Night, though players could technically use Puff-shrooms as defensive plants during Day as there is no real risk of letting Zombies eat them in hopes of prolonging their journey towards stronger plants, especially as Puff-shrooms are free for players to place.
The main issue with Puff Shrooms is their extremely short range, often remaining inactive for players and not dealing a whole lot of damage, they will get the job done in most cases.
Though undeniably, players will not want to use Puff-shrooms in Day levels, especially because they will have to use the expensive Coffee Bean to wake them up, players can still use a sleeping Puff-shroom defensively in Day levels to protect their stronger Plants.
Worth it? In my opinion, yes. Absolutely, especially if that helps you protect more expensive plants.
Puff-shrooms need to be placed fairly close to the entrance of a map as placing them any further back will greatly affect a player’s damage output, though again, this is only if the palyer is not trying to use the Puff-shrooms defensively to protect their plants that are in the back.
I would still recommend that players do not place more than 2 Puff-shrooms in their lane defensively.
SUN-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Sun-shroom is unlocked after beating Night 1.
SUN COST
25 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
ABOUT THE SUN-SHROOM & STRATEGY
The Sun-shroom is an interesting Plant to use as upon placing one, they will start producing 15 Sun for the for first 120 seconds, producing sun every 24 seconds along the way.
Upon growing in size, the Sun-shroom will produce regular size Sun, providing players with 25 Sun every 24 seconds.
Players should optimize their sun production by using Sun-shrooms in all Night levels, especially as players will be able to place more Sun-shrooms due to their very low cost in comparison with their Sunflower alternatives.
It should be noted that in later levels, players can alternative between having Sun-shrooms and Sunflowers as Sunflowers undoubtedly will produce more Sun when they are upgraded.
I would recommend this in earlier levels, as having both Sun-shrooms and Sunflowers will fill up your summoning bar, but with the addition of another slot it will be more managable.
FUME-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Fume Shroom is unlocked after beating Night 2.
SUN COST
75 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal, but can also damage through shields
TOUGNESS
Normal
RANGE
4 tiles
ABOUT THE FUME-SHROOM & STRATEGY
The Fume-shroom is an interesting Plant to place as it is one of the only plants that can actually deal damage through shields, though it needs to be noted that the Fume-shroom suffers from having a short range of 4, slightly larger than that of the Puff-shroom, but still notable.
I would recommend placing Fume-Shrooms behind at least two Puff-shrooms as this will still provide players with enough frontline damage while allowing the Fume-shrooms to still be able to deal damage from further back than the Puff-shrooms.
The most notable thing about the Fume-shroom is the fact that players can upgrade them to Gloom-shrooms which will deal AoE damage to all Zombies in the adjacent lanes.
Well, that’s a bit of a lie, the actual most noteable thing about the Fume-shroom is that it can deal damage to all Zombies directly in front of it, being the first Plant that has an AoE as a base Plant.
The nice thing about Fume-shrooms is the fact that players can essetially stack their damage to deal higher amounts of rapid damage to all Zombies in front of them.
GRAVE BUSTER
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Grave Buster is unlocked after beating Night 3.
SUN COST
75
RECHARGE
Fast
Very Slow (Versus Mode)
USAGE
The Grave Buster is a single use Plant that must be planted on Graves
ABOUT THE GRAVE BUSTER & STRATEGY
The Grave Buster might not seem like an important Plant to have on your team as in the early Night maps, Graves aren’t really a problem to deal with.
As Grave Busters are only able to be used on Graves, in order to remove them, players can avoid using them when there aren’t too many Graves on the map, though players should be aware that there is a chance that more Graves will appear throughout a round on later maps
As much as I wish that Grave Busters didn’t have a weakness, it should be noted that Zombies have the chance of eating one if they reach them before the player is able to successfully kill the Zombie.
If a Grave Buster is successful in destroying a Grave itwill drop a Silver Coin, Gold Coin, Diamond or even a Zen Garden plant.
If Grave Busters are destroyed before they have a chance to destroy a Grave, the Grave will respawn with full health.
I would recommend destroying Grave Busters every opportunity you get, especially if you have a large supply of Sun as players may have a difficult time killing the Zombie reinforments that spawn during the larger Zombie waves.
Players shouldn’t look past the fact that Grave Busters drop rewards like coins and Zen Garden plants as it can be quite difficult to otherwise collect these resources, which will often pay off themselves by letting players buy more serious Plants that provide players with higher yields of coins.
When selecting which Grave to destroy will depend on the player as there is no real downfall of destroying any Grave, technically. I personally like destroying Graves that are closer to placed Plants as this will greatly reduce the chances of players losing their stronger plants, especially in later rounds.
Players can alternatively leave Graves that are close together in hopes of destroying them with Doom-shrooms, Cherry Bombs or even Spikeweeds.
HYPNO-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Hypno-shroom is unlocked after beating Night 5.
SUN COST
75
RECHARGE
Slow
USAGE
Single use, on contact
SPECIAL
Hypno-shrooms will cause Zombies that come into contact with it to fight for them.
ABOUT THE HYPNO-SHROOM & STRATEGY
Hypno-shrooms are an interesting Plant that players can place during Night maps as they can effectively convert any Dancing Zombies and their spawned followers to fight for them, essntially gaining the use of 4 Zombies at once.
Zombies that join your team will retain their current health, making it so players have to pay attetention to when they use a Hypno-shroom as using one too late will essentially waste the Hypo-shroom as Zombies may die too quickly and not deal much damage to other Zombies.
Players should try to use Hypno-shrooms on stronger variants of Zombies that have shields or Armour like Screen Door Zombies, Ladder Zombies or even Football Zombies if they have the opportunity to.
Other Zombies that players should take note of when converting include Jack-in-the-Box Zombies, though players can simply convert Buckethead or Conehead Zombies to fight for them, though Buckethead Zombies are obviously the better choice.
SCAREDY-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Scaredy-shroom is unlocked after beating Night 6.
SUN COST
25 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal
TOUGHNESS
Normal
SPECIAL
The Scaredy-shroom will stop attacking Zombies and will retreat into the ground if Zombies are too close to them.
ABOUT THE SCAREDY-SHROOM & STRATEGY
While Scaredy-shrooms are a strong varient of plant, resembling the Peashooter heavily and dealing just as much damage, players should avoid placing Scaredy-shrooms too close to the frontline as they will retreat into the ground and deal no damage, essentially allowing Zombies to eat them with no reprocussions to the Zombies.
Scaredy-shrooms retreat when Zombies are in a 3×3 square radius to them, meaning that Scaredy-shrooms will even retreatif Zombies are too close in the lanes that are adjacent to them, meaning that players are going to have to be careful when it comes to the placement of these plants as players can essentially handicap themselves by placing a Scardy-shroom too far back in the lane when a quick Zombie is making its way down the lane.
Most notably, Scaredy-shrooms are inneffective if players are in a map that has a Pool as Pools tend to feature very quick Zombies that will cause the Scaredy-shrooms to receceed into the ground and not damage any of the Zombies players are currently up against.
Although players will still want to rely on Repeaters, simply because of how much damage they deal, it’s hard not to notice how cheap Scaredy-shrooms are as 25 Sun for damage equivelent to a Peashooter, which costs 100 Sun.
I would always try to place Scaredy-shrooms in the square that’s furthest back on a map, simply to protect yourself from having the Scaredy-shrooms from receeding into the ground.
ICE-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Ice-shroom is unlocked after beating Night 7.
SUN COST
75 Sun
RECHARGE
Very Slow
DAMAGE
Normal and immobilizes Zombies
AREA
Full map
USAGE
Single-use and instant
ABOUT ICE-SHROOMS & STRATEGY
The Ice-shroom is an extremely powerful Plant that will essentially provide players with some extra time to destroy Zombies as it will act as a more effective Snow Pea, affecting all Zombies on the map.
Although I would regularly avoid placing a Night Plant on a Day map, the Ice-shroom is a great plant to have on your kit as it will effectively allow players to have an “oh-shit” function.
I would strongly recommend placing an Ice-shroom early and letting it sleep on a Day map so that you can activate it immediately when you need it with a Coffee Bean as it is fairy easy to cover your map with Plants, making it so the player has to dig up an offensive plant in order to place the Ice-shroom. Most notably players will want this during a Roof battle as pots can be few and far between for players.
The only Zombies that are unaffected by Ice-shrooms are Digger Zombies, though Airborn enemies tend to remain unaffected unless in the Zomboni or Zombie Bobsled Team maps.
It should be noted that if a player attacks a frozen Zombie with a fire-based Plant they will remove the stun effect on that Zombie.
Ice-shrooms are most effective on Final Waves or during flags, as this is when the most Zombies spawn.
DOOM-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Doom-shroom is unlocked after beating Night 8.
SUN COST
125
200 (Heavy Weapon)
RECHARGE
Very slow
DAMAGE
Massive
USAGE
Single use and instant
SPECIAL
The Doom-shroom will leave a crater on the map after it has exploded, causing players to have to wait before placing another Plant.
ABOUT THE DOOM-SHROOM & STRATEY
The Doom-shroom is an extremely strong plant to place as it will explode in a 7×5 area or a 7×6 area on the Android version, essentially acting like a Cherry Bomb and dealing 1,800 damage to all affected Zombies.
As mentioned, the Doom-shroom will leave a crater that will essentially prevent players from placing another plant in that space for 180 seconds. This cannot be avoided by placing a Pumpkin, Flower Pot or Lillypad as upon exploding the Doom-shroom will destroy that resource.
Although players may assume that the Doom-shroom is a fire-based plant, players will rejoice in knowing that any frozen Zombies will not be thawed upon it exploding, making using a Doom-shroom and an Ice-shroom a great strategy for extremely tough waves.
The Doom-shroom is a definite “oh fuck!” kind of Plant that players can use, though I will say that there aren’t many opportunities that players can use one other than trying to protect their plants from a Gargantuar, which Doom-shrooms cannot destroy, but will still heavily damage.
Players are recommended to plant Door-shrooms in the Pool as this will allow players to save their ground spaces for offensive plants, as more Zombies spawn in these locations.
POOL PLANTS
The Pool is the third area in Plants Vs Zombies, featuring a similar layout to the Day map, though now featuring a pool in the center of the map, taking up two lanes.
While players will still be able to plant the majority of their plants as they normally would on the side grassy area, players will have to somewhat adjust their strategies to include water-based Plants that can either allow for the placement of ground-based Plants or place water-based Plants that can directly damage water-based Zombies.
Players will be vulneratble to water based damage initially as they do not have Lawn Mowers in the pool, though players can purchase Pool Cleaners from Crazy Dave which will essentially act like Lawn Mowers.
Pool maps also gain an added difficulty, featuring Zombies that are submerged underwater that will only resurface when they are in contact with a Plant.
Players can either choose to damage these Zombies using Plants such as Cherry Bombs or by placing a Wall-nut or Tall-nut to force them to surface and take damage from already placed Plants.
It should be noted that players should avoid/are not able to place Potato Mines in the Pool lanes as there are water-based Plants that are more effective at doing the same job.
While players will predominantly focus on placing Plants in the Pool lanes, players can also place AoE Plants on the side to deal damage in the lane adjacent to the Pool. Use this to your advantage as it can be quite effective to use AoE Plants before placing water-based Plants.
LILY PAD
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Lily Pad is unlocked after beating Night 10.
SUN COST
25
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
SPECIAL
The Lily Pad provides players with the ability to place non-aquatic plants on top of it.
ABOUT THE LILY PAD & STRATEGY
The Lilypad is a crucial Plant for players to have access to in both Pool and Fog maps as without them, players will have to leave two lanes completely vulnerable to Zombies.
As mentioned, players can plant Lily Pads on water and will gain the ability to plant non-aquatic Plants on top of them, essentially providing the player with more power than they would normally have access to.
Players are recommended to place Lily Pads throughout the Pool, even if Plants are not on top of them as Lily Pads can provide some extra defense for players, forcing aquatic-Zombies to resurface, though not providing said aquatic-Zombies with enough time to fully be destroyed in most cases. As such, players are recommended to place Wall-nuts or Tall-nuts on the Lily Pad to proide further defense and force the Zombies to stay surfaced.
Players will also be happy to know that Lily Pads can be transformed into damage dealing Plants with the Cattail upgrade, but more on that later.
SQUASH
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Squash is unlocked after beating Pool 1.
SUN COST
50 Sun
75 Sun (Versus Mode)
RECHARGE
Slow
DAMAGE
Massive
RANGE
The Squash will squish all Zombies in the block directly in front of it.
USAGE
Single-use
ABOUT THE SQUASH & STRATEGY
The Squash is a great Plant to have on your kit, especially if you’re a player who’s looking for a cheap Plant that can save you from any Zombies getting to close to your house.
The Squash can be placed enemies that are in the tile in front of it, even if there is a Wall-nut or Tall-nut in front of it, though it is usually not advised that players pre-place a Squash, unless players are specifically using them to prevent certain lanes from being overtaken.
The reason I advise not placing Squahes early is because a pre-placed Squash has a chance of killing Zombies that already about to die, though this can be avoided by placing a Wall-nut/Tall-nut, a Chomper and then the Squash so that the Squash only activates if the Chomper is becoming overtaken.
A Squash can be planted on a Lily Pad, making them equally effective in a Pool as they are on land. Squashes can be used to easily destroy Pole Vaulting Zombies or Dolphin Rider Zombies, killing either as soon as they land.
THREEPEATER
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Threepeater is unlocked after beating Pool 2.
SUN COST
325 Sun
200 Sun (Versus Mode)
400 Sun (Heavy Weapon)
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal, though shoots 1 Pea in adjacent lanes.
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
3 Lanes
ABOUT THE THREEPEATER & STRATEGY
The Threepeater may shockingly be my favourite Plant to place in Plants Vs Zombies, simply because it can shoot 3 peas at a time, one in the lane it enhabitates, and one in each lane beside of it.
Players should note that they should never place a Threepeater in the top or bottom lane as this will only allow the Threepeater to shoot two peas at a time.
The Threepeater is considered to be the second highest damage in the game, though due to the fact that players will not receive the full benefits from the Threepeater in the top and bottom lane, players will need some extra damage on the top and bottom lane, often taken by Repeaters or Gatling Peas.
Players should try to place as many Threepeaters in the center 3 lanes as this will deal the most damage for players, which players can extend even further with a Torchwood.
Threepeaters are very expensive for players to place, so if you choose to use them, please make sure you have a few cheap Plants as well, though these cheap Plants can simply be things like Squash, Wall-nuts or Tall-nuts.
TANGLE KELP
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Tangle Kelp is unlocked after beating Pool 3.
SUN COST
25 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
DAMAGE
Massive
USAGE
Single-use upon contact
ABOUT THE TANGLE KELP & STRATEGY
The Tangle Kelp is a very useful Plant to place in the Pool as it will pull down any Zombies that come into contact with it.
As the Pool doesn’t often doesn’t see very many Zombies, the Tangle Kelp can be useful for pulling down strong Zombies such as Dolphin Rider Zombies, Conehead Zombies or Buckethead Zombies when players feel like they are going to be overtaken by a hoard.
Tangle Kelp is extremely cheap, allowing players to place them without a Lily Pad, making it useful for players who want to avoid placing a Squash or Chomper, though those tend to be more powerful as they can destroy multiple Zombies.
Unfortunately the Tangle Kelp does not see much use, especially in mid-to-late game as it gets quickly taken over by other plants, especially in the Fog maps.
JALAPENO
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Jalapeno is unlocked after beating Pool 5.
SUN COST
125 Sun
RECHARGE
Very slow
DAMAGE
Massive
RANGE
Single lane, though the full lane
USAGE
Instant Single-use
ABOUT THE JALAPENO & STRATEGY
The Jalapeno is a very useful plant to have when against Zombonis as they will both destroy the Zomboni and melt the trail of ice behind them, making sure that no Zombie Bobsled Teams appear.
In the later levels, when players are against Dr. Zomboss, the Jalapeno is a necessity as it will be able to completely destroy Dr. Zomboss’ Iceballs, making that level a bit of a breeze.
Not only that, but Jalapenos can also help players deal with ladders that Ladder Zombies leave behind, allowing players to continue protecting themselves with Wall-nuts and Tall-nuts that have a ladder placed against them.
Jalapenos deal a massive amount of damage, acting very similar to a Cherry Bomb, though due to the high expense, players will not want to rely on Jalapenos for the majority of their damage.
Jalapenos are also useful for situations where a Zombie infiltrates Plants from behind, such as when a Digger Zombie makes its way to the back of the map or when a Gargantuar throws an Imp Zombie.
Players should be ready to trigger a Jalapeno in situations like this as it can be more devastating to lose your expensive Plants as this will greatly reduce your damage.
It should be noted that a Jalepeno will remove all freezing effects, making a Jalepeno in tandem with an Ice-shroom a bad matchup.
SPIKEWEED
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Spikeweed is unlocked after beating Pool 6.
SUN COST
100 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal
RANGE
All Zombies that are directly on top of it
SPECIAL
Cannot be eaten by Zombies
ABOUT THE SPIKEWEED & STRATEGY
The Spikweed is an interesting Plant to use in Plants Vs Zombies, especially because it deals damage to any grounded Zombies that step on it and can destroy Zombonis or Catapult Zombies immediately.
While the Spikeweed will remain active whenever regular Zombies cross it, if a Zomboni or Catapult Zombie is destroyed when stepping on it, the Spikeweed will immediately be consumed, requiring players to place another one.
Spikeweeds can also be destroyed by Gargantuars, Giga-gargantuars and Jac-in-the-Box Zombies, though this isn’t usually an issue as it will allow players to buy some extra time to place stronger Plants or defensive Plants in order to take down the stronger Zombies.
Players should always try to place a Spikeweed in front of a Wall-nut, Tall-nut or Pumpkin as this will maximize the damage it outputs, forcing Zombies to stand on top of the Spikeweed, dealing extra damage as other plants attack it.
If placed directly at the entrance of a map, players can stop Zombonis from paving ice on the ground, essentially denying Zombie Bobsled Teams from spawning.
The Spikeweed can be upgraded to a Spikerock, though I will cover more on that later.
TORCHWOOD
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Torchwood is unlocked after beating Pool 7.
SUN COST
175 Sun
125 Sun (Versus Mode & Heavy Weapon)
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
SPECIAL
Doubles the damage of peas that pass through it, dealing fire-damage to affected Zombies. Fire peas will unfreeze frozen Zombies.
ABOUT THE TORCHWOOD & STRATEGY
The Torchwood is an extremely useful defensive plant for players to place, especially when on maps where players place a plethora of Peashooters, Repeaters or Threepeaters.
Torchwoods should never be placed in tandem with Snow Peas as the Torchwood will remove the ice effect, essentially causing the Snow Pea to become an expensive Pea Shooter.
Nonetheless, players should try to avoid placing a Torchwood with any other ice-based Plants such as the Winter Melon as this will also remove the freezing and slow status effects.
Torchwood damage does not stack, so players will only need to use a single Torchwood per lane.
Players should place a Wall-nut or Tall-nut in front of a Torchwood as Torchwoods are fairly expensive and Wall-nuts and Tall-nuts will not stop Plants from gaining the fire-status effects caused by the Torchwood.
Gatling Peas are the best use for Torchwoods, simply because of the amount of rapid damage they deal, though using a Torchwood with Threepeaters is also effective.
It should be noted that Torchwoods will not effect non-pea shooting plants, making them not useful for maps where players use Melons, Corn or Cabbage.
I wouldn’t recommend taking a Torchwood into maps where you place both types as there are other strategies that are more effective.
TALL-NUT
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Tall-nut is unlocked after beating Pool 8.
SUN COST
125 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
TOUGHNESS
Very High
ABOUT THE TALL-NUT & STRATEGY
Tall-nuts cannot be jumped or vaulted over, though Ladder Zombies can still place ladders against them.
This means that players will not be overwhelmed by Pole Vaulting Zombies, Dolphin Zombies or Pogo Zombies.
Enemies that walk into a Tall-nut will be required to eat the Tall-nut, similar to a Wall-nut, though the Tall-nut has a notable amount of Health, being able to withstand over double the amount of damage that a Wall-nut can endure.
As soon as players have access to the Tall-nut they should turn in their Wall-nuts and no longer use them as there is no real reason why a player would continue to rely on what is seemingly a weaker version of these defensive creatures.
Tall-nuts, otherwise, will have the same strategy as a Wall-nut, providing defenses for more expensive Plants and for enhancing/prolonging the damage dealt from Spikeweeds.
FOG PLANTS
Fog maps are essentially Pool maps with the added difficulty of being unable to see Plants on two-thirds of the lawn.
Fog can be fairly tricky to maneuver as players will have difficulty seeing through it, as both Plants and Zombies remain quite hidden in the mist, though players can avoid having to deal with the Fog by placing Planterns, Blovers or even Torchwoods.
Zombies get even more intense during the Fog maps as there are now Zombies that can make their way to the back of the map, essentially eating all Plants from behind and being unable to take damage from forward facing plants, unless they are support plants like Squash, Jalepenos and Potato Mines.
Fog Plants, unlike Night Plants, vary in their ability to remain awake during the daytime.
It should be noted that only mushroom Plants will stay asleep during the Day.
SEA-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Sea-shroom is unlocked after beating Pool 10.
SUN COST
0 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
Fast (Java version)
DAMAGE
Normal
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Short
ABOUT THE SEA-SHROOM & STRATEGY
The Sea-shroom is the Puff-shroom equivelent, though players will be able to place Sea-shrooms in the Pool.
As Sea-shrooms are similar to Puff-shrooms, players will need to note that the Sea-shrooms have a fairly short range, only being able to damage Zombies that are a few blocks ahead of them.
Sea-shrooms can be used defensively, acting as fodder for powerful Zombies and can essentially be used to trick Dolphin Rider Zombies into jumping over them instead of having to place both a Lily Pad and a Wall-nut or Tall-nut.
Players will still want to place some defensive Plants in the water, though it is not as integeral.
Players are never advised to use Sea-shrooms during Day as using a Lily Pad and a stronger Plant will be much more useful.
PLANTERN
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Plantern is unlocked after beating Fog 1.
SUN COST
25 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
5×7 Area
SPECIAL
The Plantern provides players with visibility in Fog until it is destroyed or eaten.
ABOUT THE PLANTERN & STRATEGY
The Plantern is a very useful Plant to place in most Fog maps, especially if players place them on either side of the Pool.
Players will need at least two Planterns to fully light up a map, though if players have already placed Plants in the areas that are covered by fog, they will no longer need to have Planterns, though this may prove to be an issue if players are in need of placing a support Plant such as a Squash, Wall-nut or Jalepeno.
Players will not need Planterns in any other levels, other than Fog, making them a bit of a… well useless Plant overall. This is mostly because Planterns do not deal any damage.
It is strongly recommended that players put a Wall-nut or Tall-nut in front of a Plantern, so players don’t lose the Plantern, though players can also use a Pumpkin or Garlic to protect the Plantern.
CACTUS
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Cactus can be unlocked after beating Fog 2.
SUN COST
125 Sun
100 Sun in Versus Mode
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
The Cactus can attack Zombies that are on the ground as well as in the air.
ABOUT THE CACTUS & STRATEGY
Although players may not see the use of Cactuses initially, players will be happy to know that Cactuses are great at defending their house from Balloon Zombies.
Cactuses shoot spikes at Zombies, dealing similar damage to that of a Peashooter, though unlike Peashooters, Cactuses are not able to be affected by Torchwood.
Cactuses don’t see very much use, to be honest, as they are strongly outclassed by the Lilypad ugrade, Cattail. Cactuses can also be replaced with Blover, as players may want to focus on heavier damage dealing Plants such as Repeaters or Threepeaters.
If players choose to use a Cactus to defend their house, they should place one in each row as Balloon Zombies will attack in all lanes.
BLOVER
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Blover can be unlocked after beating Fog 3.
SUN COST
100 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
USAGE
Instant single-use
SPECIAL
Upoon placing Blovers, the Blover will blow away any Balloon Zombies as well as Fog.
ABOUT THE BLOVER & STRATEGY
Blover is a purely defensive Plant for players to use, being able to both blow away Fog and Balloon Zombies that appear on the map.
Although players could assume that airborne Zombies will be affected by Blover, players will not be able to affect any other Zombies other than the Balloon Zombies.
Players are able to place a Blover in any square to blow away both the Fog and Balloon Zombies, meaning that players will not have to strategize by leaving an empty square in the back.
It should be noted that Blovers will not keep Fog away forever and players will have to place them a few times throughout a level, meaning that players may not want to rely on them.
It should also be noted that a Blover can be eaten by Zombies, meaning that players will still have to strategically time when they place a Blover.
SPLIT PEA
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Split Pea can be unlocked by beating Fog 5.
SUN COST
125 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal
RANGE
Forward and backwards
ABOUT THE SPLIT PEA & STRATEGY
The Split pea is a useful Plant that players will want to use when against Digger Zombies or any Zombies that are flung into the back of a lane.
The Split Pea is really interesting as the head on its back can shoot peas twice as fast as the head in the front. While it is really useful that Split Peas can shoot faster using the head on the back, Split Peas are not very useful for players to use on maps that do not feature Zombies that make their way to the back of a map.
If players are overwhelmed by Zombies they can also place a Split Pea in order to kill the Zombie before it continues to do damage to their other Plants. Most notably, Split Peas can be used against Ladder Zombies, Screen Door Zombies, Trash Can Zombies and Newspaper Zombies as they can be killed faster due to them not being guarded by their “shield.”
Players may want to place a Torchwood behind a Split Pea, as this will increase their damage output to Zombies that are about to infiltrate their home, though this strategy will depend on what Plants players have behind the Split Pea.
Players may also want to use Split Peas if they are playing a map that has Zombies that can jump over their plants such as Pole Vaulting Zombies, Dolphin Rider zombies or Pogo Zombies, again allowing the Split Pea to do more damage from behind.
STARFRUIT
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Starfruit can be unlocked after beating Fog 6.
SUN COST
125 Sun
175 Sun in Versus Mode
RECHARGE
Fast
Very Slow in Versus Mode
DAMAGE
Normal damage for each star shot
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
5 Directions
ABOUT THE STARFRUIT & STRATEGY
The Starfuit is one of the most unique Plants players can use in Plants Vs Zombies as it is the only plant that can shoot in 5 different directions.
Starplants shoot to the left, up, down and diagonally up and down to the right.
Each star deals similar damage to that of a Pea, though players should note that they will not be able to combine a Starfruit with a Torchwood.
Starfruits are great Plants to use when players are up against Zombies that will infiltrate a players base from the bak, such as Digger Zombies, though because of it’s awkward firing pattern, the Starfruit isn’t the best at protecting players since it cannot shoot directly ahead.
It would be strongly recommended to pair Starfruit up with Repeaters or other pea shooting plants to ensure that enough damage is done to the Zombies up ahead, though a player can essentially place Starfruit all over a map to ensure that they are always damaging Zombies.
If players forget what the shooting pattern of a Starfruit is, they can look at the design of it, as the Starfruit’s legs match the pattern in which it shoots.
PUMPKIN
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Pumpkin can be unlocked after beating Fog 7.
SUN COST
125 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
TOUGHNESS
High
SPECIAL
The Pumpkin allows players to plant another Plant in it.
ABOUT THE PUMPKIN & STRATEGY
The Pumpkin is a useful defensive Plant that players can use on pretty much all of their Plants, providing each Plant with the same amount of defense as a single Wall-nut.
If players choose to use Pumpkins to defend their Plants they will not need to bring Wall-nuts on their kits, also providing Plants protection from Catapult Zombies and Bungee Zombies, forcing them to steal the Pumpkin before the Plant.
I would strongly recommend using Pumpkins in all levels, other than those where basketballs are used against Plants, as Pumpkins do not defend Plants from basketballs.
It should be noted that Pumpkins cannot be planted on aquatic-plants unless they are grown on top of Lily Pads.
Players will also be happy to note that Pumpkins can be repaired using Wall-nut First Aid.
Plants players should avoid placing in Pumpkins are:
Garlic
Hypno-shrooms
Potato Mines
Kernel-pults that are upgrade to Cob Cannons
Spikeweed and Spikerocks
MAGNET-SHROOM
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Magnet-shroom is unlocked after beating Fog 8.
SUN COST
100 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Nearby Zombies
ABOUT THE MAGNET-SHROOM & STRATEGY
The Magnet-shroom is an extremely useful Plant when it comes to dealing with tough Zombies that have metallic equipment.
It will strip away any buckets, pickaxes, ladders, fences, pogo sticks or helmets, essentially making them weaker Zombies that can be easily taken down.
While it would be ideal for players to only need to place a single Magnet-shroom, players will need to place at east 2 or 3 Magnet-shrooms as they have a cool down in between every successful magnetic pull.
Players will want to place Magnet-shrooms behind defensive Plants such as a Wall-nut or Tall-nut, though since the Magnet-shroom will essentially take away any reason for Wall-nuts or Tall-nuts, players can simply rely on Pumpkins moving forward.
The Magnet-shroom has a limited range, meaning that if players hope to deal with Pickaxe Zombies they will have to place the Magnet-shroom closer to the front of the map, about midway through.
Since Magnet-shrooms deal no damage, players should always place them in a Pumpkin to keep them safe.
Magnet-shrooms can be upgraded to Gold Magnets, though I will cover more on that later.
ROOF PLANTS
The Roof is the final map type players will have access to in Plants Vs Zombies.
Unlike the Pool and Fog Maps, the Roof maps will only have tiles, though 5×5 of the tiles are sloped while 4×5 of them are straight.
Unlike all other maps, players will have to use Flower Pots to place Plants as the Roof does not provide any other way for players to place Plants.
Players will have to be careful as to which Plants they place on the Roof as the slope will cause Plants that shoot straight to shoot directly into the Roof if they are placed on the slope. For this reason, it is best to avoid placing any Pea Shooters and rely on Plants that lob their ammo as these Plants will always be able to damage Zombies.
As the Roof is a map that takes place in Day, players will have access to natural spawning Sun once more.
Similar to Pool maps, players will not have access to Lawn Mowers, though players will be able to purchase Roof Cleaners from Crazy Dave.
Beware of the Roof as it is also the first time players will experience Bungee Zombies, which will steal Plants from their Flower Pots.
CABBAGE-PULT
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Cabbage-pult is unlocked by beating Fog 10.
SUN COST
100
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Normal
RANGE
Lobbed
ABOUT THE CABBAGE-PULT & STRATEGY
The Cabbage-pult is essentially the lobbing equivalent to a Peashooter, though unlike Peashooters, Cabbage-pults lob cabbages at half the speed while dealing twice as much damage.
Though the Cabbage-pult deals damage slower, due to the increase in damage output, a Cabbage-pult deals identical damage to a Peashooter.
Cabbage-pults are extremely useful for Roof levels, though they are also extremely useful against shielded Zombies, dealing damage directly to the Zombie instead of the shield it wields.
Due to this, players will not have to rely on Torchwoods as much, especially because players will not want to use Torchwoods or Plants that shoot straight forward on Roof maps.
If players revisit old maps, they can use Cabbage-pults in water lanes as they will deal more damage to submerged or shielded Zombies.
FLOWER POT
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Flower Pot is unlocked after beating Roof 1.
SUN COST
25
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
ABOUT THE FLOWER POT & STRATEGY
As mentioned earlier, the Flower Pot is the only object that players can plant Plants on when playing Roof levels. Think of Flower Pots as the Lily Pad of the roof.
While players have access to a decent amount of Flower Pots when playing Roof levels, players will have access to less and less Flower Pots as they progress through the game mode.
As Flower Pots are similar to Lily Pads, they will also prevent Zombies from advancing too quickly, requiring Zombies to essentially eat through them in order to progress closer to the end of the map. For this reason, Flower Pots can be used defensively in hopes of keeping Zombies away from a player’s expensive Plants, though this is not usually recommend as players can place a Wall-nut or Tall-nut on top of them to prevent the Zombies from advancing too quickly.
It should also be noted that Cherry Bombs, Ice-shrooms and all similar Plants will still require Flower Pots to be placed on the Roof.
Doom-shrooms will destroy the Flower Pot it is placed on and players will still experience a crater as they would on land.
Players are able to place Flower Pots on regular terrain, even when not playing Roof levels.
Due to the fact that players can place Flower Pots on land, players can essentially place a Flower Pot with a Pumpkin to prevent Zombies from advancing if they want extra defenses.
KERNEL-PULT
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Kernel-pult is unlocked after beating Roof 2.
SUN COST
100 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Light (Kernel)
Normal (butter)
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Lobbed
SPECIAL
The Kernel-pult has a chance to stun enemies with its butter.
ABOUT THE KERNEL-PULT & STRATEGY
The Kernel-pult is a weaker version of the Cabbage-pult, though the Kernel-pult has a 25% chance to lob a butter projectile that deals normal damage and also stuns enemies.
While players would not want to rely on Kernel-pults, simply due to their reduced damage and random nature, Kernel-pults tend to be essential in Roof levels as players will want to try to stun strong Zombies.
The Kernel-pult’s butter is especially useful when players have Spikerocks or Spikeweed or can even buy some extra time for Chompers to chew so they can eat another Zombie.
Similar to Cabbage-pults, Kernel-pults will avoid damaging shields and directly affect Zombies.
Kernel-pults can be upgraded to Cob Cannons, though more on that later.
COFFEE BEAN
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Coffee Bean is unlocked after beating Roof 3.
SUN COST
75 Sun
25 Sun in Versus Mode
RECHARGE
Fast
USAGE
Instant Single-use
SPECIAL
The Coffee Bean can be planted on nocturnal Plant in order to wake it up.
ABOUT THE COFFEE BEAN & STRATEGY
When it comes to using a Coffee Bean it sees fairly little use, only being used to wake up mushrooms.
There are only a few mushrooms players will want to wake up, Magnet-shrooms being one of the most important as they will remove any metals off of Zombies, making them easier to kill.
Players may also want to use Coffee Beans on Gloom-shrooms, Hypno-shrooms, Ice-shrooms or Doom-shrooms are they are strong mushrooms, though these do not see as much use unless players are in Endless game modes.
If players are planning on using Instant mushrooms, they are encouraged to place the mushrooms early so that by the time they need to activate them, they can simply feed them a Coffee Bean to cast their status effects. This will make sure that a player has enough Sun and tile space by the time they need to use the Plant and will also make sure the Plant is not on cool down from previous usage.
Nothing is worse than needing an “oh, shit” Plant and not having acces to it.
GARLIC
HOW TO UNLOCK
Galic is unlocked after beating Roof 5.
SUN COST
50 Sun
75 Sun in Versus Mode
RECHARGE
Fast
USAGE
On contact
SPECIAL
Garlic will divert Zombies into other lanes upon coming into contact with them
ABOUT THE GARLIC & STRATEGY
Garlic is a fairly useful Plant to have on your roster as it has the capability to divert multiple Zombies into nextdoor lanes.
While it would be easy to assume that Garlic is a single-use Plant, players will be happy to note that Garlic can actually absorb 400 damage, changing its appearance after it takes 133 damage and then 266 damage.
Due to the fact that different Zombies deal different amounts of damage players can expect the following damage from the most common Zombies:
Football Zombies deal 18 damage
Dancing Zombies deal 18 damage
Back up Zombies deal 18 damage
Yeti deal 24 damage
Digger Zombies deal 28 damage
Ladder Zombies deal 32 damage
Newspaper Zombies deal 32 damage
Zombie Bobsled Team deal 40 damage
Jack-in-the-Box deal 44 damage
Imp deal 48 damage
Pole-Vaulter Zombies deal 56 damage
Snorkel Zombies deal 72 damage
It should be noted that there are some Zombies that will not eat Garlic, simply due to the way that they interact with Plants. Zombies that are not effected by Garlic include:
Zombonis
Catapult Zombies
Bungee Zombies
Gargantuars
Pogo Zombies
Pole Vaulting Zombies
Balloon Zombies
Dolphin Rider Zombies (unless they have already made their initial leap)
Players will have to be fairly strategic when placing Garlic as Garlic does not provide players any attack damage, however Garlic can lead Zombies into lanes that have high amounts of damage.
Garlic works extremely well in tandem with Gloom-shrooms, which deal AoE damage as well as Repeaters, especially with the Gatling Pea upgrade.
Players can essentially place a Gloom-shroom behind a Garlic to ensure that the Zombies affected by the Garlic take the most damage they can, still taking damage as they move to the next lane.
Similarly, players can use a number of Spikeweeds or Spikerock to continually damage Zombies while the Zombies move from lane to lane.
Players can also use Split Peas when strategizing with Garlic as they can lead plants through a bit of a “maze” to have them be damaged faster with the back side of the Split Pea.
Using Split Peas is a great strategy as the Split Peas will also deal with Pogo Zombies and Pole Vaulting Zombies that may make their way to the back of a map, again dealing more damage to Zombies that are behind them.
Players should be ready to dig up a damaged Garlic in order to ensure that they get the maximum effect of Garlic, especially during large waves of Zombies, though if players are ready to place Garlic every time they are destroyed, they will not need to dig up damaged Garlic.
Most notably, Garlic is useful for players who want to farm lots of gold, as using Garlic can free up a lot of lane space in order to place Marigolds and Magnet-shrooms that have the Gold Magnet upgrade. Not only that, but players will also have lots of room for extra Sunflowers, allowing them to collect a plethora of Sun in case they need extra resources to place stronger Plants later on.
It should be noted that players should never place Garlic in a Pumpkin as Zombies will be required to eat the Pumpkin before they have the opportunity to eat the Garlic.
UMBRELLA LEAF
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Umbrella Leaf is unlocked after beating Roof 6.
SUN COST
100 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
TOUGHNESS
Normal
SPECIAL
The Umbrella Leaf Plant will protect nearby Plants from Bungee Zombies and Catapult Zombies.
ABOUT THE UMBRELLA LEAF & STRATEGY
The Umbrella Leaf is quite an essential Plant to have on your map, especially in later rounds of the Roof levels as Bungee Zombies and Catapult Zombies are fairly common, both destroying strong Plants or stealing them directly off the map.
There’s nothing worse than a Bungee Zombie stealing your high tier Plants, especially during a strong wave of Zombies.
Unfortunately, Umbrella Leaves only protect Plants in a 3×3 grid, meaning that Players will have to place multiple Umbrella Leaf Plants to protect their whole map.
Players will want to have Umbrella Leaves in their second and fifth rows and may want to place a total of 3 Umbrella Leaves depending on how many Plants they place by the end of the round.
MARIGOLD
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Marigold is unlocked after beating Roof 7.
SUN COST
50 Sun
RECHARGE
Slow
TOUGHNESS
Normal
SPECIAL
Produces coins that can be used to buy upgrades or Plants in Zen Garden.
ABOUT THE MARIGOLD & STRATEGY
The Marigold is by far one of the most useless Plants when it comes to actual gameplay, though players can strategize by using the Marigold to generate a good amount of money for upgrades and Zen Garden Plants.
The Marigold will create a coin every 24 seconds, providing either a Silver Coin worth $10 or a Gold Coin worth $50.
Marigolds should always be used with Gold Magnets as the Gold Magnet will attract any coins that are dropped by the Marigolds so players can focus on collecting Sun and placing other Plants.
Players will want to use Marigolds in easy levels as this can greatly increase the amount of income a player receives from Marigolds as placing Marigolds will greatly reduce the amount of damage players can output.
If players choose to place a healthy amount of Marigolds they should probably pair them up with Garlic as this will help lead Zombies into lanes that have proper defences.
MELON-PULT
HOW TO UNLOCK
The Melon-pult is unlocked after beating Roof 8.
SUN COST
300 Sun
RECHARGE
Fast
DAMAGE
Heavy
TOUGHNESS
Normal
RANGE
Lobbed
SPECIAL
The Melon-pult deals heavy damage to Zombies in the lane it is in as well as the adjacent lanes.
ABOUT THE MELON-PULT & STRATEGY
The Melon-pult is a devastating Plant to play as it can effectively damage multiple Zombies as long as there is a Zombie in the lane it is currently in.
Although the Melon-pult acts very similar to a Threepeater, being able to damage in 3 lanes instead of 1, Melon-pults do not damage Zombies if there are no Zombies in the lane they are currently in essentially making it so players need other defences early on in the game.
Melon-pults will bypass any shields that Zombies have and are considered the strongest lobbing Plant in the game.
Melon-pults can be further upgraded to Winter Melons, though I will cover more on that later.
UPGRADE PLANTS
Upgrade Plants can be purchased from Crazy Dave’s Twiddydinkies and will cost between $3,000 to $20,000, which players can collect from completing regular maps as well as minigames.
As soon as a player purchases an upgrade they will be marked as “Sold Out.”
While it would be nice for players to be able to place Upgrade Plants without the use of base Plants, players will have to take both cards in order to place the Upgrade Plant.
Another unfortunate thing about Upgrade Plants is the fact that they have a very long recharge time, meaning that players will have to upgrade Plants fairly early if they wish to upgrade all of their Plants.
There are a total of 8 Upgrade Plants, meaning that not every Plant has an upgrade.
GATLING PEA
COIN COST
$5,000
SUN COST
150 Sun
RECHARGE
Very Slow
TOUGHNESS
Normal
ABOUT THE GATLING PEA & STRATEGY
The Gatling Pea is a stronger varient of the Repeater, dealing four rounds at a time, essentially dealing double the damage of a Repeater.
Players should always pair a Gatling Pea with a Torchwood as this will deal the most damage.
If players are planning on saving Sun, they should never take the Gatling Pea upgrade as it is quite costly and will only be useful when players hope to only use Gatling Peas on a map.
Players may want to save the space on the lawn for stronger Plants such as Winter Melons, especially if players are hoping to grind out Coins by using Marigolds.
For mid-game content, Gatling Peas are extremely powerful.
TWIN SUNFLOWER
COIN COST
$5,000
SUN COST
150 Sun
RECHARGE
Very slow
TOUGHNESS
Normal
ABOUT THE TWIN SUNFLOWER & STRATEGY
The Twin Sunflower is essentially two Sunflowers combined into one, providing players with 50 Sun every 24 seconds.
While players will want to avoid placing Twin Sunflowers in the early-game, since they will not need the amount of Sun they provide, players will want to place Twin Sunflowers on maps that have limited space for Plants, especially on the Roof.
Players will want to do whatever they can to protect themselves from Twin Sunflowrs being destroyed or stolen as Twin Sunflowers provide an ample amount of Sun and having them stolen or destroyed can essentially handicap a player from being able to place strong Plants.
The biggest threat to a Twin Sunflower is a Digger Zombie, though players can avoid the Twin Sunflowers from being eaten by placing it in a Pumpkin.
Twin Sunflowers can make it so a player only have to place one column of Sunflowers instead of 2.
GLOOM-SHROOM
COIN COST
$7,000
SUN COST
150 Sun
RECHARGE
Very Slow
DAMAGE
Heavy
TOUGHNESS
Normal
AREA
The Gloom-shroom damages in a 3×3 radius.
ABOUT THE GLOOM-SHROOM & STRATEGY
The Gloom-shroom is by far the strongest Mushroom players can place as it will both deal Heavy damage and will damage in a 360° radius.
Similar to the Fume-shroom, which it must be planted over, the Gloom-shroom will do damage through screen doors and is most notable when players are against Zombies that jump over Plants, essentially being able to deal damage to Zombies behind it.
The Gloom-shroom is best when in tandem with Garlic as it can essentailly make it so players can lead Zombies into the lanes second and fourth rows, only placing the Gloom-shrooms into the center of the map. Doing such will free up lots of space for Marigolds and even Starfruit if players need extra damage.
Not only that, placing Gloom-shrooms only in the center with Garlic leading them to the lanes in which they can be damaged will make it so players can place “fuck you” Plants such as the Jalepeno or Squash.
CATTAIL
CIN COST
$10,000
SUN COST
225 Sun
RECHARGE
Very slow
DAMAGE
Normal for each spike
TOUGHNESS
Normal
ABOUT THE CATTAIL & STRATEGY
The Cattail is the Plant that has the most range in all of Plants Vs Zombies, being able to attack any Zombies that are on the ground as well as in the air.
Cattails are able to attack in all 6 lanes, shooting at a rate that is similar to a Repeater and being able to attack backwards and forwards.
In most cases, players will want to cover their Pool with Cattails as players will require a Lily Pad to place the Cattail.
Players can essentially use only Cattails to defeat Zombies leaving all other lanes for Coin generating Plants such as the Marigold and Gold Magnet.
WINTER MELON
COIN COST
$10,000
SUN COST
200 Sun
RECHARGE
Very slow
DAMAGE
Very Heavy
TOUGNESS
Normal
RANGE
Lobbed
SPECIAL
The Winter Melon will both damage enemies and freeze them upon impact.
ABOUT THE WINTER MELON & STRATEGY
The Winter Melon is considered one of the strongest lobbed Plants in the game as it will both deal Very Heavy damage and will reduce a Zombies attack and movement speed by 50%.
As is with most ice-based Plants, the freezing effect will be removed if the Zombie gets attacked with fire-based Plants, making it a bad idea to pair them up with Torchwoods.
The Winter-melon will take on the AoE damage from its base plant the Melon-pult, dealing damage to Zombies in the two adjacent lanes.
Similarly, the Winter Melon will only be able to damage Zombies if there is currently a Zombie in its lane.
It will take players a good amount of time to place Winter Melons as they are one of the most expensive Plants to place, requiring a total of 500 Sun to place.
Players should only place one column of Winter Melons as they can simply place regular Melon-pults to deal the same amount of damage as Winter Melons cannot “double-freeze” an enemy.
As is with the Melon-pults, a Winter Melon will bypass all shields.
GOLD MAGNET
COIN COST
$3,000
SUN COST
50 Sun
RECHARGE
Very Slow
SPECIAL
The Gold Magnet will collect any Coins or Diamonds that drop during a round.
ABOUT THE GOLD MAGNET & STRATEGY
Gold Magnets are purely for collecting Coins and Diamonds as upon upgrading a regular Magnet-shroom into a Gold magnet it will lose the ability to strip Zombies of their metalic shields and weapons.
The Gold Magnet will activate about every 5 seconds and should only placed if a player has a group of Marigolds on the field. This will ensure that players do not lose any money when trying to defend their house.
Players will not have to place a Coffee Bean on a Magnet-shroom in order to use the Gold Magnet as the Gold Magnet is awake during the day. So save that extra slot for a stronger Plant!
SPIKEROCK
COIN COST
$7,500
SUN COST
125 Sun
RECHARGE
Very Slow
SPECIAL
The Spikerock cannot be eaten by Zombies.
ABOUT THE SPIKEROCK & STRATEGY
If players are fed up with vehicles destroying their Spikeweeds, they can place a Spikerock upgrade on them, making it so that 8-9 vehicles have to drive on them before they are destroyed.
Similar to their Spikeweed base Plant, the Spikerock will deal continuous damage to any Zombies that step on it, making it extremely useful when placed in tandem with a Tall-nut or Wall-nut.
Spikerocks will also take 8-9 attacks from a Gargantuar before they are destroyed, essentially making it so players have some extra time to place other Plants before they make their way to the back of the map.
COB CANNON
COIN COST
$20,000
SUN COST
500 Sun
RECHARGE
Very slow
DAMAGE
Massive
TOUGHNESS
Normal
AREA
The Cob Cannon damages in a 3×3 radius.
RANGE
Anywhere on the lawn
RELOAD TIME
36.41 seconds
USAGE
The Cob Cannon requires players to tap to arm and target an area to damage.
ABOUT THE COB CANNON & STRATEGY
The Cob Cannon deals a great deal of damage, similarto a Cherry Bomb, though unlike all other Plants, the Cob Cannon will not fire on its own, requiring players to target an area to fire its Missile.
The Cob Cannon is most effective against Gargantuars as it only takes 2 missiles to destroy them.
If players have mistakenly selected the Cob Cannon’s attack or wish to simply cancel its attack, they can click on the shovel two times.
While I said that the Winter Melon was one of the most expensive Plants to place, it’s really the Cob Cannon that is as it will cost a total of 700 Sun to plant, though this is worth it as the Cob Cannon will essentially provide players with a free “Cherry Bomb” every 36.41 seconds, being even faster than the Cherry Bomb reloads.
It should be noted that Bungee Zombies will not be able to target a Cob Cannon, meaning that players will not have to place them in tandem with an Umbrella Leaf.
Players will want to place a Cob Cannon in every lane as having multiples is extremely useful for dealing high amoutns of damage.
Players may want to place Cob Cannons in tandem with their base Plant the Kernel-pult as Kernel-pults may buy the player extra time to fire a Cob Cannon, though players can also use freezing Plants such as the Snow Pea or Winter Melon.
It needs to be noted that players need two Kernel-pults placed in front of each other in order to upgrade them to a Cob Cannon.
OTHER UPGRADES & PLANTS
IMITATER
COIN COST
$30,000
ABOUT THE IMITATER & STRATEGY
The Imitater is a Plant that will take on the shape of another Plant that a player selects before battle.
The Imitater will take on all stats, cost and recharge time as the Plant that it imitates.
Unlike the Plant that the Imitater imitates, the Imitater will take a few seconds (3 in regular games 1.5 on the DS) to transofrm into the Plant that it copies, leaving it vulnerable to Zombies.
Unfortuantely, the Imitater cannot imitate Upgrade Plants, though players will often use the imitater for Sunflowers.
Other strong candidates include support Plants such as:
Wall-nuts
Tall-nuts
Pumpkins
Squash
Sun-shrooms
Jalapenos
Cherry Bombs
Doom-shrooms
Potato Mines
Ice-shrooms
Sea-shrooms
Tangle Kelp
Hypno-shrooms
Starfruit
Puff-shrooms
Players may also choose to use the Imitater to place mutliple Marigolds if a player istrying to farm massive amounts of Coins.
EXPLODE-O-NUT
The Explode-o-nut is a Wall-nut that is only obtainable in certain game modes or for watching an Ad on some version of Plants Vs Zombies.
Unlike the Wall-nut, Explode-o-nuts will deal massive damage tin a 3×3 radius.
Exlode-o-nuts can be used in stressful situations in order to destoy massive amounts of Zombies, though players should probably save them for tough Zombies such as the BUckethead Zombie, Screen Door Zombie or a Gargantuar.
GIANT WALL-NUT
The Giant Wall-nut is a plant that can only be placed in Wall-nut Bowling 2, providing players with extra defenses.
REVERSE REPEATER
The Reverse Repeater is only in the Vasebreaker game mode, though it will act similar to a regular Reapeter, though will face the end of the map instead of the front.
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