~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES - ALMANAC FAQ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAQ Created by: Smoke_Rulz Game Created by: PopCap Games ( http://www.popcap.com ) Latest Update: 11/01/10 Current Version: 1.25 See Section 5 for the Update List =============================================================================== SECTION 0. TABLE OF CONTENTS =============================================================================== Note: To instantly jump to any section of the FAQ, highlight the term you see inside the parentheses ( ) to the right, copy it (Ctrl+C), do a page find (Ctrl+F), paste the term (Ctrl+V) in the box, and click to search for it. 1. Copyright & Site Listing (sec1copy) 2. Introduction (sec2intro) 3. Plant Information (sec3plant) - a. Peashooter (sec3pea) - aa. Cactus (sec3cactus) - b. Sunflower (sec3sun) - bb. Blover (sec3blover) - c. Cherry Bomb (sec3cherry) - cc. Split Pea (sec3split) - d. Wall-nut (sec3wall) - dd. Starfruit (sec3star) - e. Potato Mine (sec3mine) - ee. Pumpkin (sec3pumpkin) - f. Snow Pea (sec3snow) - ff. Magnet-shroom (sec3magnet) - g. Chomper (sec3chomp) - gg. Cabbage-pult (sec3cabbage) - h. Repeater (sec3repea) - hh. Flower Pot (sec3pot) - i. Puff-shroom (sec3puff) - ii. Kernel-pult (sec3kernel) - j. Sun-shroom (sec3sunsh) - jj. Coffee Bean (sec3coffee) - k. Fume-shroom (sec3fume) - kk. Garlic (sec3garlic) - l. Grave Buster (sec3grave) - ll. Umbrella Leaf (sec3leaf) - m. Hypno-shroom (sec3hypno) - mm. Marigold (sec3mari) - n. Scaredy-shroom (sec3scared) - nn. Melon-pult (sec3melon) - o. Ice-shroom (sec3ice) - oo. Gatling Pea (sec3gatling) - p. Doom-shroom (sec3doom) - pp. Twin Sunflower (sec3twin) - q. Lily Pad (sec3lily) - qq. Gloom-shroom (sec3gloom) - r. Squash (sec3squash) - rr. Cattail (sec3cat) - s. Threepeater (sec3three) - ss. Winter Melon (sec3winter) - t. Tangle Kelp (sec3kelp) - tt. Gold Magnet (sec3gold) - u. Jalapeno (sec3peno) - uu. Spikerock (sec3rock) - v. Spikeweed (sec3weed) - vv. Cob Cannon (sec3cannon) - w. Torchwood (sec3torch) - ww. Imitater (sec3tater) - x. Tall-nut (sec3tall) - y. Sea-shroom (sec3sea) - z. Plantern (sec3plantern) 4. Zombie Information (sec4zombie) - a. Zombie (sec4reg) - b. Flag Zombie (sec4flag) - c. Conehead Zombie (sec4cone) - d. Pole Vaulting Zombie (sec4pole) - e. Buckethead Zombie (sec4bucket) - f. Newspaper Zombie (sec4paper) - g. Screen Door Zombie (sec4door) - h. Football Zombie (sec4football) - i. Dancing Zombie (sec4dancing) - j. Backup Dancer (sec4backup) - k. Ducky Tube Zombie (sec4ducky) - l. Snorkel Zombie (sec4snorkel) - m. Zomboni (sec4zomboni) - n. Zombie Bobsled Team (sec4bobsled) - o. Dolphin Rider Zombie (sec4dolphin) - p. Jack-in-the-Box Zombie (sec4jack) - q. Balloon Zombie (sec4balloon) - r. Digger Zombie (sec4digger) - s. Pogo Zombie (sec4pogo) - t. Zombie Yeti (sec4yeti) - u. Bungee Zombie (sec4bungee) - v. Ladder Zombie (sec4ladder) - w. Catapult Zombie (sec4pult) - x. Gargantuar (sec4gargan) - y. Imp (sec4imp) - z. Dr. Zomboss (sec4zomboss) 5. Update List (sec5update) 6. Contact Info (sec6contact) 7. Thanks & Credits (sec7thanks) =============================================================================== SECTION 1. COPYRIGHT & SITE LISTING (sec1copy) =============================================================================== Copied straight from the GameFAQs.com Help area for the sake of ease: This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. In addition, this FAQ currently can *** ONLY BE SEEN *** on these sites: www.gamefaqs.com www.supercheats.com If you see it on any other site, including ones that people generally despise (such as CheatCC.com), then please notify me, and/or request to the site owners that the FAQ be removed. If you would like to host this FAQ publically, then I please request that you ASK ME PERMISSION first. If I allow you to host it, I ask that you DO NOT EDIT IT AT ALL and make sure that all due credit IS GIVEN TO ME. If I agree to let you host it, I will place your site in this section, and keep you up to date by sending any updates I make to the FAQ. See the Contact Info section near the end of the FAQ if you'd like to get in touch with me. =============================================================================== SECTION 2. INTRODUCTION (sec2intro) =============================================================================== Hey it's Smokey here again, for my first FAQ that isn't for a Bookworm related game! But... it's still a PopCap one. Haha. This is Plants vs. Zombies, a great PC game, but believe it or not, I first played it on my 360. The downloadable Xbox Live version is just as good if not better than the classic PC game. This game is pretty much the only reason why Tower Defense games should exist. I won't be going into specifics about how this game works, and what all of its game modes are and what not, since this is not a full-on FAQ/Walkthrough. This FAQ is mainly about the Almanac and its really hilarious sayings. I noticed that there's no FAQ on the site that shows off the great Almanac sayings of the Plants, so I decided to make one. Then I figured, why not just include all of the Zombies as well? So this is designated as an Almanac FAQ: Showing you exactly what the Almanac says about everything in the game. I want this to be a simple text reference for anyone who'd like to see the capabilities of each plant, or if they just want to copy/paste a funny Almanac paragraph to one of their friends. To be honest, the humor of this game is one of main reasons why I ended up getting it. So if this FAQ helps anyone else purchase this game, then I'm all for it, because I know they'll enjoy it. :) I'll also be including my own general opinion on the various plants, including perhaps some extra gameplay tips. Since the Almanac is partially for gameplay statistics, I might as well help add to the helpfulness. ;) However, if you'd like something a little more in-depth, check out cyrad1's Plant Guide here on GameFAQs. It's very juicy and stat-filled, so it should definitely help you on understanding all the plants for your desired build needs. Note as well: I have submitted this FAQ under the 360 version of the game, if only because it's the only version of the game I own, and the one I played all the way through. I assume the Almanac is exactly the same as the PC version, but it's possible they changed a thing or two, so I don't want anyone getting confused. This FAQ is pretty much one-shot, but I'm not past adding some more little nuggets to it later if I deem something is worth updating. If anyone out there feels there's something I REALLY should add to this FAQ, or if you find a mistake that I made somewhere, feel free to check out Section 6 for info on how to contact me. If I decide to use your info, I'll be sure to add you to Section 7 as thanks. That's a long enough intro. On to the FAQ itself! =============================================================================== SECTION 3. PLANT INFORMATION (sec3plant) =============================================================================== Here we start off with all the adorable weapons of destruction you have at your command. The entries are pretty self-explanitory, but just for FAQs sake, here is a key on how to read each entry: COST: Sun you need to plant it RECHARGE: Time until you can plant again General notes listed in the Almanac are here, if any OTHER STUFF: Things like "Damage," "Toughness," "Special," etc. will go here Hilarious flavor text goes here NOTES: These are little things I have to say about each plant INFO: This is extra in-depth info I figure needs to be known ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A. PEASHOOTER (sec3pea) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 100 RECHARGE: Fast Peashooters are your first line of defense. They shoot peas at attacking zombies. DAMAGE: Normal How can a single plant grow and shoot so many peas so quickly? Peashooter says, "Hard work, commitment, and a healthy, well-balanced breakfast of sunlight and high-fiber carbon dioxide make it all possible." NOTES: He's a cute little bugger, isn't he? I love using these early on until I have a lot of sunflowers. Also note that all pea-firing plants have unlimited range, so the farther back they are, the better. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ B. SUNFLOWER (sec3sun) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 50 RECHARGE: Fast Sunflowers are essential for you to produce extra sun. Try planting as many as you can! SUN PRODUCTION: Normal Sunflower can't resist bouncing to the beat. Which beat is that? Why, the life-giving jazzy rhythm of the Earth itself, thumbing at a frequency only Sunflower can hear. NOTES: She's the cutest little bugger in the game. Absolutely required on every level, except many nighttime ones, but you can still use her there anyway. Keep them in the very back, unless you need a column 1 defense. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C. CHERRY BOMB (sec3cherry) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 150 RECHARGE: Very Slow Cherry Bombs can blow up all zombies in an area. They have a short fuse so plant them near zombies. DAMAGE: Massive RANGE: All zombies in a medium area USAGE: Single use, instant "I wanna explode," says Cherry #1. "No, let's detonate instead!" says his brother, Cherry #2. After intense consultation they agree to explodonate. NOTES: I think "medium area" refers to 9-square block of area on and around where you place the bomb. Very useful, but watch for the recharge timer. ~~~~~~~~~~~ D. WALL-NUT (sec3wall) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 50 RECHARGE: Slow Wall-nuts have hard shells which you can use to protect your other plants. TOUGHNESS: High "People wonder how I feel about getting constantly chewed on by zombies," says Wall-nut. "What they don't realize is that with my limited senses all I can feel is a kind of tingling, like a relaxing back rub." NOTES: He's also cute. Everything is cute! He's useful early-on like the Peashooter, until you're really swimming in Sun power. Then you move on to his big brother. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ E. POTATO MINE (sec3mine) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 25 RECHARGE: Slow Potato Mines pack a powerful punch, but they need a while to arm themselves. You should plant them ahead of zombies. They will explode on contact. DAMAGE: Massive RANGE: All zombies in a small area USAGE: Single use, delayed activation Some folks say Potato Mine is lazy, that he leaves everything to the last minute. Potato Mine says nothing. He's too busy thinking about his investment strategy. NOTES: The low cost and faster recharge time compared to other instant-kills make him alright, but the priming time really kills it for me. The absolute best use for him is at the very beginning of a round, while you are setting up your columns of Sunflowers, and the zombies are coming at you 1-by-1. A Potato Mine will be primed by the time a zombie reaches it, and the Mine should finish recharging in time for the 2nd. After that, though, I find very little use for the mine. Perhaps saving the back column for them on levels with Diggers? ~~~~~~~~~~~ F. SNOW PEA (sec3snow) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 175 RECHARGE: Fast Snow Peas shoot frozen peas that damage and slow the enemy. DAMAGE: Normal, slows zombies Folks often tell Snow Pea how "cool" he is, or exhort him to "chill out." They tell him to "stay frosty." Snow Pea just rolls his eyes. He's heard 'em all. NOTES: I love this little guy in any level where I'm not using Torchwoods. The slowdown effect is incredibly useful. Note that multiple frozen peas do not stack, so you only need one column of these guys if you intend on using them. Put them behind all your more heavily-damaging plants. Excellent when paired with Spikeweed/Spikerock. ~~~~~~~~~~ G. CHOMPER (sec3chomp) ~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 150 RECHARGE: Fast Chompers can devour a zombie whole, but they are vulnerable while chewing. DAMAGE: Massive RANGE: Very short SPECIAL: Long delay between chomps Chomper almost got a gig doing stunts in Hollywood but it fell through when his agent demanded too much on the front end. Chomper's not resentful, though. He says it's just part of the business. NOTES: A fast-charging instant kill plant? You betcha. Unfortunately, it feels like it takes a solid 2 minutes for it to finish eating, which limits its usefulness. Its range is actually 2 squares, so it's best to have one behind a Nut, or a Chomper behind another Chomper. Also, this is one of my favorite flavor text entries in the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~ H. REPEATER (sec3repea) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 200 RECHARGE: Fast Repeaters fire two peas at a time. DAMAGE: Normal (for each pea) FIRING SPEED: 2x Repeater is fierce. He's from the streets. He doesn't take attitude from anybody, plant or zombie, and he shoots peas to keep people at a distance. Secretly, though, Repeater yearns for love. NOTES: The bread-and-butter plant for just about any big-time build. Columns of Repeaters behind Torchwoods is the standard way of doing things in this game. You should definitely experiment with other stuff for the sake of fun, but you can't go wrong with this guy. Also, one of my favorite flavor texts in the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I. PUFF-SHROOM (sec3puff) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 0 RECHARGE: Fast Puff-shrooms are cheap, but can only fire a short distance. DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: Short Sleeps during the day "I only recently became aware of the existence of zombies," says Puff-shroom. "Like many fungi, I'd just assumed they were fairy tales or movie monsters. This whole experience has been a huge eye-opener for me." NOTES: Your first nighttime plant. These are absolutely essential. They're completely free, so definitely litter the whole battlefield with them at the start, until you build up sun for better shrooms. I have also used them as fodder to slow down some zombies. If you're wondering, their range is 3 squares. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J. SUN-SHROOM (sec3sunsh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 25 RECHARGE: Fast Sun-shrooms give small sun at first and normal sun later. SUN PRODUCTION: Low, then normal Sleeps during the day Sun-shroom hates sun. He hates it so much that when it builds up in his system, he spits it out as fast as he can. He just won't abide it. To him, sun is crass. NOTES: The nighttime sun plant. You can actually use Sunflowers during the night stages, but I actually prefer this guy, at least at first. The little suns (they give 15 Sun) are fine early on because shrooms are cheap overall, and by the time you've littered the field with Puffs and Fumes, your Sun-shrooms will be giving you bigger sun. In a long level like Survival, I'll eventually replace them with Sunflowers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ K. FUME-SHROOM (sec3fume) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 75 RECHARGE: Fast Fume-shrooms shoot fumes that can pass through screen doors. DAMAGE: Normal, penetrates screen doors RANGE: All zombies in the fume cloud Sleeps during the day "I was in a dead-end job producing yeast spores for a bakery," says Fume-shroom. "Then Puff-shroom, bless 'im, told me about this great opportunity blasting zombies. Now I really feel like I'm making a difference." NOTES: The bread-and-butter attacker for night stages. Their range is 4 squares, but they damage EVERY zombie in their cloud, whereas pea plants hit only zombies in front of groups. Plus they're cheap, so it's easy to litter the field with them. I do eventually upgrade to bigger guns in Survival, though. Also, the Almanac doesn't say it, but their spores ignore ladders as well, not just the doors. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ L. GRAVE BUSTER (sec3grave) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 75 RECHARGE: Fast Plant Grave Busters on graves to remove the graves. USAGE: Single use, must be planted on graves SPECIAL: Removes graves Despite Grave Buster's fearsome appearance, he wants everyone to know that he loves kittens and spends his off hours volunteering at a local zombie rehabilitation center. "It's just the right thing to do," he says. NOTES: Required for nighttime front lawn stages. You gotta kill off those graves before the final flag. Zombies can still eat him, though, so be careful when you plant him. Also, I'm not sure what he's supposed to be based off of. Looks kind of like a tree trunk, I guess? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ M. HYPNO-SHROOM (sec3hypno) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 75 RECHARGE: Slow When eaten, Hypno-shrooms will make a zombie turn around and fight for you. USAGE: Single use, on contact SPECIAL: Makes a zombie fight for you Sleeps during the day "Zombies are out friends," asserts Hypno-shroom. "They're badly misunderstood creatures who play a valuable role in our ecology. We can and should do more to bring them round to our way of thinking." NOTES: I almost never used these guys outside of Adventure mode. To me it's easier to just kill everything. However, if you want to make use of it, aim to take over Football Zombies, and Dancing Zombies BEFORE they summon their Backup Dancers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ N. SCAREDY-SHROOM (sec3scared) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 25 RECHARGE: Fast Scaredy-shrooms are long-ranged shooters that hide when enemies get near them. DAMAGE: Normal SPECIAL: Stops shooting when enemy is close Sleeps during the day "Who's there?" whispers Scaredy-shroom, voice barely audible. "Go away. I don't want to see anybody. Unless it's the man from the circus." NOTES: Outside of that one conveyor level, I never ever used these things. I can see the point behind them: Extremely low cost, unlimited range, backrow fighters. I found it easier to just litter the field with Fume-shrooms until I had the sun for Snow Peas. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ O. ICE-SHROOM (sec3ice) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 75 RECHARGE: Very Slow Ice-shrooms temporarily immobilize all zombies on the screen. DAMAGE: Very light, immobilizes zombies RANGE: All zombies on the screen USAGE: Single use, instant Sleeps during the day Ice-shroom frowns, not because he's unhappy or disapproves, but because of a childhood injury that left his facial nerves paralyzed. NOTES: This guy is actually really useful, but despite that, I almost never used him outside of the conveyor levels where he's absolutely needed. The immobilization effect lasts about 2 seconds, which is more than enough, trust me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P. DOOM-SHROOM (sec3doom) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Very Slow Doom-shrooms destroy everything in a large area and leave a crater that can't be planted on. DAMAGE: Massive RANGE: All zombies in a huge area USAGE: Single use, instant SPECIAL: Leaves a crater Sleeps during the day "You're lucky I'm on your side," says Doom-shroom. "I could destroy everything you hold dear. It wouldn't be hard." NOTES: God he looks so evil~ This is another shroom I basically never used. His area of effect is quite large (I think it may be 7x7?) so it is indeed very useful, I just never bothered. The crater is leaves is not that bad a problem if you don't intend to plant there. Also, the craters heal eventually. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. LILY PAD (sec3lily) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 25 RECHARGE: Fast Lily pads let you plant non-aquatic plants on top of them. SPECIAL: Non-aquatic plants can be planted on top of it. Must be planted in water Lily Pad never complains. Lily Pad never wants to know what's going on. Put a plant on top of Lily Pad, he won't say a thing. Does he have startling opinions or shocking secrets? Nobody knows. Lily Pad keeps it all inside. NOTES: Absolutely required for pool levels. I have not much to say about him, other than I find it annoying to be slapping so many of them down, haha. Note that zombies will have to eat through them too, so they can be fodder if necessary. ~~~~~~~~~ R. SQUASH (sec3squash) ~~~~~~~~~ COST: 50 RECHARGE: Slow Squashes will smash the first zombie that gets close to it. DAMAGE: Massive RANGE: Short range, hits all zombies that it lands on USAGE: Single use "I'm ready!" yells Squash. "Let's do it! Put me in! There's nobody better! I'm your guy! C'mon! Whaddya waiting for? I need this!" NOTES: A low-cost massive-damage plant, and actually really useful, although chances are you won't be killing more than one zombie with it. It's perfect in a tight spot, though, and it can even kill things behind it or on its own square. Also, I love the grunting noise he makes. :D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ S. THREEPEATER (sec3three) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 325 RECHARGE: Fast Threepeaters shoot peas in three lanes. DAMAGE: Normal (for each pea) RANGE: Three lanes Threepeater likes reading, backgammon and long periods of immobility in the park. Threepeater enjoys going to shows, particularly modern jazz. "I'm just looking for that special someone," he says. Threepeater's favorite number is 5. NOTES: I think most people don't bother with this guy, but I actually think he can be really fun on levels where I don't feel like using Gatling Peas and putting up with their recharge time. If you're gonna use him, don't bother putting any in the very top or very bottom lanes. Use Repeaters instead. Also, another one of my favorite flavor texts in the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T. TANGLE KELP (sec3kelp) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 25 RECHARGE: Slow Tangle Kelp are aquatic plants that pull the first zombie that nears them underwater. DAMAGE: Massive USAGE: Single use, on contact Must be planted in water "I'm totally invisible," Tangle Kelp thinks to himself. "I'll hide here just below the surface and nobody will see me." His friends tell him they can see him perfectly well, but he'll never change. NOTES: Another overall pretty useful plant that I just never used much. The main problem is that it only kills a single zombie, but it can still be very useful in a pinch. The pool has much weaker zombies compared to the land, though, so do what you'd like. ~~~~~~~~~~~ U. JALAPENO (sec3peno) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Very Slow Jalapenos destroy an entire land of zombies. DAMAGE: Massive RANGE: All zombies in a land USAGE: Single use, instant "NNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!" Jalapeno says. He's not going to explode, not this time. But soon. Oh, so soon. It's close. He knows it, he can feel it, his whole life's been leading up to this moment. NOTES: I didn't use this guy much, despite being incredibly useful, he's REALLY the best on certain levels with Zombonis and Gargantuars. You just gotta watch that recharge timer. Definitely a prime candidate for an Imitater. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ V. SPIKEWEED (sec3weed) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 100 RECHARGE: Fast Spikeweeds pop tires and hurt any zombies that step on them. DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: All zombies that walk over it SPECIAL: Can't be eaten by zombies Hockey is Spikeweed's obsession. He's got box seat season tickets. He keeps close track of his favorite players. And he consistently cleans up in the office pool. Just one problem: he's terrified of pucks. NOTES: Yet another very useful plant I don't use too much. It's definitely really good for shield-holding zombies if you're not using Magnets. They ignore the shields and attack the zombie straight away. They still have to eat away at headgear zombies, however, which is silly. The BEST use you'll get out of it though is instantly killing Zombonis and Catapults. The Spikeweed is also destroyed, however, so be sure to re-plant! ~~~~~~~~~~~~ W. TORCHWOOD (sec3torch) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 175 RECHARGE: Fast Torchwoods turn peas that pass through them into fireballs that deal twice as much damage. SPECIAL: Doubles the damage of peas tht pass through it. Fireballs deal damage to nearby zombies on impact. Everybody likes and respects Torchwood. They like him for his integrity, for his steadfast friendship, for his ability to greatly maximize pea damage. But Torchwood has a secret: he can't read. NOTES: One of the best plants in the game. Place them in front of your pea plants, behind your Nuts, and watch the waves of zombies fall. It's like poetry in motion. Also the Almanac doesn't say it, but they also melt frozen peas and turn them into normal peas. So either don't use Snow Peas, or put them in FRONT of the Torchwoods. Fire peas will also melt zombies that have been iced over, so it's kind of funny to see them shift between frozen and unfrozen states constantly. ~~~~~~~~~~~ X. TALL-NUT (sec3tall) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Slow Tall-nuts are heavy-duty wall plants that can't be vaulted over. TOUGHNESS: Very high SPECIAL: Can't be vaulted or jumped over. People wonder if there's a rivalry between Wall-nut and Tall-nut. Tall-nut laughs a rich, baritone laugh. "How could there be anything between us? We are brothers. If you knew what Wall-nut has done for me..." Tall-nut's voice trails off and he smiles knowingly. NOTES: Pretty much essential on all but the most hardcore of Gloom-shroom builds. You can start with Wall-nuts, and then upgrade to these. Also a must-have for any level with pogos, vaulters, or dolphins. I love me some Tall-nuts. :D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Y. SEA-SHROOM (sec3sea) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 0 RECHARGE: Slow Sea-shrooms are aquatic plants that shoot short ranged spores. DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: Short Must be planted in water Sleeps during the day Sea-shroom has never seen the sea. It's in his name, he's heard loads about it, but he's just never found the time. One day, though, it'll go down. NOTES: The aquatic version of the Puff-shroom. Free, short ranged, and good for fodder. Only difference is the slow charge time. I definitely toss a few of these in the pool before I lay down some better plants on some Lily Pads. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Z. PLANTERN (sec3plantern) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 25 RECHARGE: Slow Planterns light up an area, letting you see through fog. RANGE: One lane SPECIAL: Lets you see through fog Plantern defies science. He just does. Other plants eat light and excrete oxygen; Plantern eats darkness and excretes light. Plantern's cagey about how he does it. "I'm not gonna say 'sorcery,' I wouldn't use the term 'dark forces,' I just... I think I've said enough." NOTES: Very good for fog levels, but whether you'll want to use them or not is up to you. You'd definitely have to keep them protected with nuts and pumpkins, but if you're going for a specialized build, there may not be any room for it, in which case you just use the Blover. Also, despite what the Almanac says, the Plantern's range appears to be 3 lanes. You can plant exactly two of them: Lane 2/Column 6 & Lane 5/Column 6, and you'll be free of fog the entire level, if they stay alive. ~~~~~~~~~~ AA. CACTUS (sec3cactus) ~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Fast Cactuses shoot spikes that can hit bother ground and air targets. DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: Ground and air She's prickly, sure, but Cactus's spikes belie a spongy heart filled with love and goodwill. She just wants to hug and be hugged. Most folks can't hang with that, but Cactus doesn't mind. She's been seeing an armadillo for a while and it really seems to be working out. NOTES: I barely ever used this one. It's alright when Balloon Zombies are introduced, but after you get the Blover, there's no point in ever using a cactus again. Noteworthy though in that it's one of only a few female plants. ~~~~~~~~~~ BB. BLOVER (sec3blover) ~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 100 RECHARGE: Fast Blovers blow away all balloon zombies and fog. USAGE: Single use, instant SPECIAL: Blows away all balloon zombies When Blover was five, he got a shiny new birthday cake. Blover made his wish, huffed and puffed, but was able to extinguish only 60% of the candles. Instead of giving up, though, he's used that early defeat as a catalyst to push himself harder ever since. NOTES: Almost required for fog levels, definitely required if there's Balloon Zombies. There's other options for dealing with balloons, but I simply love an instant use, fast recharge, relatively cheap Blover. Plus, he is super cute. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CC. SPLIT PEA (sec3split) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Fast Split Peas shoot peas forward and backwards. DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: Forward and backwards FIRING SPEED: 1x forward, 2x backwards "Yeah, I'm a Gemini," says Split Pea. "I know, big surprise. But having two heads-- or really, one head with a large head-like growth on the back-- pays off big in my line of work." NOTES: A Peashooter with a Repeater sticking out the back of its head. What a cute little monstrocity. Unfortunately, I disagree with the flavor text. I've pretty much never used him at all. His main usage appears to be against Digger Zombies, but there's better options in case those guys come up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DD. STARFRUIT (sec3star) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Fast Starfruits shoot stars in 5 directions. DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: 5 directions "Aw, man," says Starfruit. "I went to the dentist the other day and he said I have four cavities. I've got-- count it-- ONE tooth! Four cavities in one tooth? How does this happen?" NOTES: Another plant I have absolutely never used. It shoots in five places, sure, but none of them are really "forward." It's funny and useful in that one scary conveyor level when you absolutely litter the place with them, but otherwise, I can't find a use for the cute guy. :( ~~~~~~~~~~~ EE. PUMPKIN (sec3pumpkin) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Slow Pumpkins protect plants that are within their shells. TOUGHNESS: High SPECIAL: Can be planted over another plant Pumpkin hasn't heard from his cousin Renfield lately. Apparently Renfield's a big star, some kind of... what was it... sports hero? Peggle Master? Pumpkin doesn't get it. He just does his job. NOTES: An essential plant on any level that's gonna get really long or really nasty. I love planting these around Tall-nuts as well as the first few rows of my attackers, in the case of Pole Vaulters or submerged zombies in the pool. It's also my prime candidate for an Imitater. You just can't go wrong with Pumpkin. Got a great flavor text, too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FF. MAGNET-SHROOM (sec3magnet) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 100 RECHARGE: Fast Magnet-shrooms remove helmets and other metal objects from zombies. RANGE: Nearby zombies SPECIAL: Removes metal objects from zombies Sleeps during the day Magnetism is a powerful force. Very powerful. Sometimes it scares Magnet-shroom a little. He's not sure if he can handle that kind of responsibility. NOTES: Another of the best plants in the game, and the top candidate for a Coffee Bean. The amount of tough zombies this thing makes completely irrelevant is just ridiculous. Their range is a couple squares, and they do take a little while to get rid of their metal prizes once they've pilfered, so the more you have, the better. One column should do the trick. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GG. CABBAGE-PULT (sec3cabbage) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 100 RECHARGE: Fast Cabbage-pults hurl cabbages at the enemy. DAMAGE: Normal RANGE: Lobbed Cabbage-pult is okay with launching cabbages at zombies. It's what he's paid for, after all, and he's good at it. He just doesn't understand how the zombies get up on the roof in the first place. NOTES: The first & most basic catapult, for the roof levels. There's a little bit of confusion with this one, as I'll explain below. In terms of catapult-ness, this one is alright, I guess, but I prefer the other ones. I'll use this one early on if I want the extra damage, before I have a lot of sun to work with. INFO: The catapults here might be a little confusing when looking over all the plants in the Almanac. The damage of the Cabbage-pult is listed as "normal," which is the same as a Peashooter. However, Cabbages actually do more damage than peas; Peas are basically 1 unit of damage, while cabbages are 2. However, catapults fire only once every 2 seconds, so the two plants both do the same damage over the same time. This will easily cause some confusion, but let's just say that 2 damage is "normal" for catapult plants. Also, one awesome thing to remember for ALL catapults: They attack right onto the heads of zombies, so they ignore shields like Screen Doors. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HH. FLOWER POT (sec3pot) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 25 RECHARGE: Fast Flower Pots let you plant on the roof. SPECIAL: Allows you to play on the roof "I'm a pot for planting. Yet I'm also a plant. HAS YOUR MIND EXPLODED YET?" NOTES: Absolutely required for the roof stages. That's about it. I damn well hate those stages because of all the damn Flower Pot micromanagement I have to do, but that's what makes them challenging, haha. Also, the shortest Plant flavor text in the game! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ II. KERNEL-PULT (sec3kernel) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 100 RECHARGE: Fast Kernel-pults fling corn kernels and butter at zombies. DAMAGE: Light (kernal), normal (butter) RANGE: Lobbed SPECIAL: Butter immobilizes zombies Kernel-pult is the eldest of the Pult brothers. Of the three of them, Kernel is the only one who consistently remembers the others' birthdays. He bugs them about it a little, too. NOTES: One of the best plants in the game, I'd say. The kernels have damage equal to peas, but the butter is equal to cabbages, and causes a two second immobilization. The butter comes out seemingly at complete random, but it will prove to be essential in the roof levels, trust me. The more of these there are, the more butter will be flung! INFO: As noted above with the Cabbage-pult, there's some possible confusion with this plant. The damage is listed as "light," but that's because the kernels do 1 damage, in comparison to the 2 damage done by cabbages and butter, while still having the 2-second firing time. So... Peashooter and Kernels do the same damage, yet one is "normal" and one is "light." Again, the Almanac is taking the firing rate into account, as well as the cabbages, so 1 damage is "light" for catapults. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JJ. COFFEE BEAN (sec3coffee) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 75 RECHARGE: Fast Use Coffee Beans to wake up sleeping mushrooms. USAGE: Single use, instant SPECIAL: Can be planted over another plant, wakes up mushrooms "Hey, guys, hey!" says Coffee Bean. "Hey! What's up? Who's that? Hey! Didja see that thing? What thing? Whoa! Lions!" Yep, Coffee Bean sure does get excited. NOTES: Here's what you need to use in order to use those damn sleeping shrooms during the day levels. Unfortunately, there's very little worth using these on. The whole point of shrooms is to be cheap for the nighttime stages. In my opinion, the only targets for these are Magnet, Gloom, Fume, and Ice. Everything else, don't even bother. ~~~~~~~~~~ KK. GARLIC (sec3garlic) ~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 50 RECHARGE: Fast Garlic diverts zombies into other lanes. USAGE: On contact SPECIAL: Diverts zombies into other lanes Lane-diversion isn't just Garlic's profession. It's his passion. He carries an advanced Doctorate in Redirection from the Brussels University. He'll talk all day about lane vectors and repulse arrays. He even pushes things into alternate avenues at home. Somehow his wife puts up with it. NOTES: This is a really awesome plant if you're going for a strategy that uses him. You can use an entire lane for non-attacking plants, and put a Garlic at the front. Unless it's a pool level, the lane the zombies move to is random, so watch for that. Also gotta make sure to replace the Garlics if they take too much damage. Also, another of my favorite flavor texts in the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LL. UMBRELLA LEAF (sec3leaf) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 100 RECHARGE: Fast Umbrella Leaves protect nearby plants from bungees and catapults. SPECIAL: Protects adjacent plants from bungees and catapults "SPROING!" says Umbrella Leaf. "Didja like that? I can do it again. SPROING! Woo! That's me popping up to protect stuff around me. Yeah. Just like that. EXACTLY like that. Believe it." NOTES: A required plant on the Roof levels in Adventure, and possibly in Survival. Bungee Zombies are an absolute nuisance. They protect a 3x3 area around them, so there's a few spots you can place them im the level and be completely protected. I also make sure to Pumpkin any in the front. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ MM. MARIGOLD (sec3mari) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 50 RECHARGE: Slow Marigolds give you silver and gold coins. SPECIAL: Gives coins Marigold spends a lot of time deciding whether to spit out a silver coin or a gold one. She thinks about it, weighs the angles. She does solid research and keeps up with current publications. That's how winners stay ahead. NOTES: Completely useless in normal play, but very good for money farming when you have the Last Stand minigame unlocked. I've stumbled upon several good strategies for using Last Stand to get easy money. I've also used some in the easy Survival levels before I had Last Stand. Also, she's adorable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NN. MELON-PULT (sec3melon) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 300 RECHARGE: Fast Melon-pults do heavy damage to groups of zombies. DAMAGE: Heavy RANGE: Lobbed SPECIAL: Melons damage nearby enemies on impact. There's no false modesty with Melon-pult. "Sun-for-damage, I deliver the biggest punch on the lawn," he says. "I'm not bragging. Run the numbers. You'll see." NOTES: The big baddy of the pults. Very expensive, though. I tend to only use Kernel-pults, unless the level is going to be long enough and I'll be swimming in sun. If that happens, you better be using the Winter Melons as well. In case it's not obvious, the melons do splash damage on top of direct hit damage. What ISN'T said though is that the splash damage is only half the direct hit damage, but that's to be expected. INFO: Since I went into specifics on the Cabbage and Kernel catapults, I guess I could do some more here. Melons fire once every 2 seconds just like the other two. The difference is the damage: Melons are 4 damage on direct hit, and the splash damage (in the 3x3 area around the direct hit) is 2 damage. Other zombies in the same square might take splash damage instead of direct hit, but I'm not sure. Still, it's pretty awesome. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OO. GATLING PEA (sec3gatling) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 250 RECHARGE: Very Slow Gatling Peas shoot four peas at a time. DAMAGE: Normal (for each pea) FIRING SPEED: 4x Must be planted on Repeaters Gatling Pea's parents were concerned when he announced his intention to join the military. "But honey, it's so dangerous!" they said in unison. Gatling Pea refused to budge. "Life is dangerous," he replied, eyes glinting with steely conviction. NOTES: The first of the upgrade plants! Overall, upgrade plants are pretty hit-or-miss, but Gatling Peas are very good fun if you're using a Repeater-Torchwood build and have a ton of Sun to throw around. The 4 PPS (peas-per-second) is just awesome, and very little can withstand it. Just gotta watch the price, is all. Also, this is probably by absolute favorite flavor text in the game. It's just beautiful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PP. TWIN SUNFLOWER (sec3twin) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 150 RECHARGE: Very Slow Twin Sunflowers give twice as much sun as a normal sunflower. SUN PRODUCTION: Double Must be planted on Sunflowers It was a crazed night of forbidden science that brought Twin Sunflower into existence. Thunder crashed overhead, strange lights flickered, even the very roaring wind seemed to hiss its angry denial. But to no avail. Twin Sunflower was alive, ALIVE! NOTES: I think a lot of people may ignore this one, but I love it. If I can plant one, I'm planting it. You may not need to upgrade EVERY one of your Sunflowers with it, unless the level is quite long, but with enough of these guys out, your Sun count is gonna be mesmerizing. If you don't necessarily need a "mesmerizing" sun count, then notice: One column of Twinflowers will give you the same sun production as two columns of regular Sunflowers. That leaves an extra column for offense! Also, of course, one of the best flavor texts in the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ QQ. GLOOM-SHROOM (sec3gloom) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 150 RECHARGE: Very Slow Gloom-shrooms release heavy fumes in an area around themselves. Must be planted on Fume-shrooms "I've always enjoyed releasing heavy fumes," says Gloom-shroom. "I know a lot of people aren't cool with that. They say it's rude or that it smells bad. All I can say is, would you rather have your brain eaten by zombies?" NOTES: One of the best plants in the game. A Gloom-shroom + Garlic funnel strategy is one of the strongest setups in just about any level in the game that you could possibly use it on. The Almanac is a little empty with this one, though. I think its cloud does "normal" damage, but it shoots 4 times per second (or per 2 seconds?) in the 3x3 area around it, and on its own square. Also, it sleeps during the day, but it will be awake if you Coffee Beam the Fume first. I'm not sure if it ignores Screen Doors and Ladders like the Fume, however. Doesn't seem like it. ~~~~~~~~~~~ RR. CATTAIL (sec3cat) ~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 225 RECHARGE: Very Slow Cattails can attack any lane and shoot down balloon zombies too. Must be planted on Lily Pads "Woof!" says Cattail. "Woof woof woof! Doest his confuse you? Do you expect me to say 'Meow' like a cat just because the word 'cat' is in my name and I also look like a cat? That's not how things work around here. I refuse to be pigeonholed." NOTES: I've almost never used this adorable pile of kitty. I think its damage is just "normal," and sure it can attack every lane, but I'm just fine with the stuff I have in the lanes. It is definitely amazing for those Balloon Zombies though, since they will prioritize popping balloons instead of anything else. Otherwise, they'll attack whatever zombie is closest, including ones BEHIND the Cattails. Use these on long Survival levels to deal with Balloons (especially on Endless), otherwise, I see little point. But hey, one of the best flavor texts in the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SS. WINTER MELON (sec3winter) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 200 RECHARGE: Very Slow Winter Melons do heavy damage and slow groups of zombies. DAMAGE: Very heavy* RANGE: Lobbed FIRING SPEED: 1/2x* SPECIAL: Melons damage and freeze nearby enemies on impact Must be planted on Melon-pults Winter Melons tries to calm his nerves. He hears the zombies approach. Will he make it? Will anyone make it? * = See the INFO below NOTES: If you're gonna be using Melon-pults, then definitely bring this one along. You may not need to upgrade EVERY Melon you have, but you might as well if you have the sun and the time. They're the same as normal Melon-pults (see below), but their damage (including splash!) causes the same slowdown effect as Snow Peas! These are absolutely devastating when enough of them are used. Tons of damage, mass slowdown, and all the normal advantages of catapults. I love 'em. INFO: Here it is... The most flawed Almanac entry in the game. While the other catapults were basically being compared to the Cabbage-pult (2 damage is "normal", no mention of firing rate), this plant is actually being compared to the Peashooter plant. Hence, "very heavy" is used as the damage, and firing speed is actually mentioned as being "1/2x." If you compare this to Melon-pult, it makes it seem like the Winter Melon does more damage, but fires even slower. This is not the case: Winter Melon has the exact same damage (4 direct, 2 splash) and firing rate (1 shot every 2 seconds) as the normal Melon-pult. For whatever reason, this Almanac entry is compared to the Peashooter rather than the Cabbage-pult. So... Don't get confused! I guess. Haha. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TT. GOLD MAGNET (sec3gold) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 50 RECHARGE: Very Slow Gold Magnets collect coins and diamonds for you. Must be planted on Magnet-shrooms "How did I end up here?" asks Gold Magnet. "I was on the fast track-- corner office, full benefits, stock options. I was gonna be Vice President Midwestern Operations. Now I'm here, on this lawn, in serious danger of being eaten to death. Ooh! A coin!" NOTES: Completely useless in normal play. These are meant to be used in those Marigold Last Stand builds I mentioned before. In that case, they're very useful. Though it should be noted that their range is limited, and their coin-collecting movement appears to be a little random. So move your cursor around and get coins with it. Also, you won't need a Coffee Bean to wake up your Magnet-shroom OR the Gold Magnet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UU. SPIKEROCK (sec3rock) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 125 RECHARGE: Very Slow Spikerocks pop multiple tires and damage zombies that walk over it. Must be planted on Spikeweeds Spikerock just got back from a trip to Europe. He had a great time, met some wonderful people, really broadened his horizons. He never knew they made museums so big, or put so many paintings in them. That was a big surprise for him. NOTES: If you're gonna be using Spikeweeds, you should probably bring this guy along. I think it does more damage, still cannot be eaten, and it will go through multiple Zombonis and Catapults without being destroyed immediately like the Spikeweeds. Not many zombies can withstand all your attacking plants after they've walked over a few Spikeweeds/rocks. Plus Zombonis are horrifying. In addition, this is easily the best non-sequiter flavor text in the game. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VV. COB CANNON (sec3cannon) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COST: 500 RECHARGE: Very Slow Press (A) on the Cob Cannon to launch deadly cobs of corn. Must be planted on 2 side-by-side Kernel-pults What's the deal with Cob Cannon, anyway? He went to Harvard. He practices law in a prestigious New York firm. He can explode whole areas of zombies with a single corn-launch. All this is common knowledge. But deep inside, what really makes him tick? NOTES: Now this is some awesome stuff. I've used this just to mess around, otherwise having a couple of these in the water during Survival: Endless is absolutely necessary to win. It takes a lot of effort to get out (700 sun total), but being able to fire giant corn cobs that do "Massive" damage in a 3x3 range anywhere you want to fire them on the screen? Awesome. They do have to take some time before they arm themselves with a new cob, however, so you gotta watch that. Also, they can be eaten just as fast as any other plant, despite their large size. What's up with that? And you can't even Pumpkin them to avoid that. Lame. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ WW. IMITATER (sec3tater) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Imitaters let you use two of the same plant during a level! "I remember the Zombie Wars back in '76," says Imitater in a rapsy, old-man's voice. "Back then, we didn't have all these fancy peashooters and jalapenos. All we had was guts. Guts and a spoon." NOTES: I think I've seen people ignore this guy altogether, but he can be really REALLY useful if he's imitating the right plant. Imitater is an exact replica of whatever plant you pick to imitate, including Cost, Recharge, and all the general Notes. Two things to note, though: One, it takes Imitater a few seconds to transform, so don't let it get eaten. And two, it cannot copy Upgrade plants. My favorite targets for Imitater are Pumpkin, Tall-nut, Jalapeno, Sun-shroom, and Cherry Bomb. =============================================================================== SECTION 4. ZOMBIE INFORMATION (sec4zombie) =============================================================================== And now we have the (somewhat) adorable weapons of destruction that are trying to eat all of your everything! There's not nearly as many of these guys as there are plants, so that's good for my fingers. As before, here's a little key for reading the entries: General notes listed in the Almanac are here, if any OTHER STUFF: Things like "Toughness" and "Speed" are here Hilarious flavor text goes here NOTES: These are little things I have to say about each zombie EXTRA: This is extra stuff I feel I should mention about a given zombie ~~~~~~~~~ A. ZOMBIE (sec4reg) ~~~~~~~~~ Regular Garden-variety Zombie TOUGHNESS: Low This zombie loves brains. Can't eat enough. Brains, brains, brains, day in and night out. Old and stinky brains? Rotten brains? Brains clearly past their prime? Doesn't matter. Regular zombie wants 'em. NOTES: Thank goodness for you and your super low health. :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B. FLAG ZOMBIE (sec4flag) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flag Zombie marks the arrival of a huge pile or "wave" of zombies. TOUGHNESS: Low Make no mistake, Flag Zombie loves brains. But somewhere down the line he also picked up a fascination with flags. Maybe it's because the flags always have brains on them. Hard to say. NOTES: This one is simply the first one to die at each huge wave. Mwahaha. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C. CONEHEAD ZOMBIE (sec4cone) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ His traffic cone headpiece makes him twice as tough as normal zombies. TOUGHNESS: Medium Conehead Zombie shuffled mindlessly forward like every other zombie. But something made him stop, made him pick up a traffic cone and stick it on his head. Oh yeah. He likes to party. NOTES: The very first zombie in the game that will annoy you if you don't have a suitable attack force yet. Also one of the funnier flavor texts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ D. POLE VAULTING ZOMBIE (sec4pole) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pole Vaulting Zombie vaults with a pole. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPEED: Fast, then normal (after jump) SPECIAL: Jumps the first plant he runs into Some zombies take it further, aspire more, push themselves beyond the normal into greatness. That's Pole Vaulting Zombie right there. That is so him. NOTES: This guy is gonna piss you off if you don't have Tall-nuts up yet. If you do, then he's hardly a threat. He's annoying in Wall-nut Bowling, though. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ E. BUCKETHEAD ZOMBIE (sec4bucket) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ His bucket hat makes him extremely resistant to damage. TOUGHNESS: High WEAKNESS: Magnet-shroom Buckethead Zombie always wore a bucket. Part of it was to assert his uniqueness in an uncaring world. Mostly he just forgot it was there in the first place. NOTES: I almost always use Magnet-shrooms if a level is long enough, because of these guys, but also some other zombies that are coming up soon. Man I love Magnet-shrooms. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ F. NEWSPAPER ZOMBIE (sec4paper) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ His newspaper provides limited defense. TOUGHNESS: Low NEWSPAPER TOUGHNESS: Low SPEED: Normal, then fast (after losing newspaper) Newspaper Zombie was *this* close to finishing his sudoku puzzle. No wonder he's freaking out. NOTES: I'm not sure, but I think flaming peas might kill off his newspaper in one shot. Also, he's barely a threat, since after his newspaper is destroyed, he stands there for a second, exposing him to damage before he can really start running toward you. He may be a nuisance in the Wall-nut Bowling game, though. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ G. SCREEN DOOR ZOMBIE (sec4door) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ His screen door is an effective shield. TOUGHNESS: Low SCREEN DOOR TOUGHNESS: High WEAKNESS: Fume-shroom and Magnet-shroom He got his screen door from the last inexpertly defended home he visited, after he ATE THE HOMEOWNER'S BRAINS. NOTES: These guys are very annoying when they march at the front of a line, since it'll take a while to punch through that screen door. Unless you have Magnet-shrooms, of course. Fume-shrooms also make him irrelevant on nighttime levels. It's worth noting that Snow Peas will not affect him until that door is gone. Catapults and Spikeweeds/rocks will also completely ignore his shield. EXTRA: There's a zombie that's not mentioned in the Almanac: the Trash Can Zombie. He's basically exactly like a Screen Door zombie; no headgear and holding a shield that blocks attacks. Hence, it has all the same weaknesses as the Screen Door zombie, except possibly the Fume-shroom. I figured this was the best place to mention him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ H. FOOTBALL ZOMBIE (sec4football) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Football Zombie makes the big plays. TOUGHNESS: Very High SPEED: Fast WEAKNESS: Magnet-shroom Football Zombie gives 110 percent whenever he's on the field. He's a team player who delivers both offensively and defensively. He has no idea what a football is. NOTES: Thank goodness for that Magnet-shroom weakness, cause these guys are one annoying zombie without it. Enough firepower can take these guys out without the magnets, but expect to take some chewings. Also, another one of the funnier flavor texts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I. DANCING ZOMBIE (sec4dancing) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Any resemblance between Dancing Zombie and persons living or dead is purely coincidental. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPECIAL: Summons back-up dancers Dancing Zombie's latest album, "GrarrBRAINSarblarbl," is already rocketing up the undead charts. NOTES: The only thing I find really annoying about these guys is that the Backup Dancers can appear slightly past your defenses if you have them set up far enough forward. Otherwise, they're not too bad. Bonus points if you can get him under the effects of a Hypno-shroom before he summons his backups. All 5 of them will be under your control! Also I think the intro text is a little lame now that the Dancing Zombie no longer looks like Michael Jackson. :( ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J. BACKUP DANCER (sec4backup) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These zombies appear in sets of four whenever Dancing Zombie rocks out. TOUGHNESS: Low Backup Dancer Zombie spent six years perfecting his art at the Chewliard Performing Arts School in Zombie New York City. NOTES: Not much to say about these guys, other than to watch for the one that may appear slightly inside your defenses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ K. DUCKY TUBE ZOMBIE (sec4ducky) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ducky tube allows this zombie to float on water. TOUGHNESS: Low Only appears in the pool It takes a certain kind of zombie to be a Ducky Tuber. Not every zombie can handle it. Some crack. They can't take it. They walk away and give up on brains forever. NOTES: The Almanac doesn't say so, but these guys can also appear in Conehead and Buckethead variety, which will obviously give them a different Toughness rating. Even more annoying are the ones that appear out of the pool a few squares from the normal zombie entry point. Also, might be the funniest of all zombie flavor texts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ L. SNORKEL ZOMBIE (sec4snorkel) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Snorkel Zombies can swim underwater. TOUGHNESS: Low SPECIAL: Submerges to avoid attacks Only appears in the pool Zombies don't breathe. They don't need air. So why does Snorkel Zombie need a snorkel to swim underwater? Answer: peer pressure. NOTES: Gotta have some sort of Nut in the water just for these guys. They will avoid attacks unless they're eating, otherwise they're as weak as the weakest zombies. ~~~~~~~~~~ M. ZOMBONI (sec4zomboni) ~~~~~~~~~~ The Zomboni applies ice, steam, and pressure to your plants. TOUGHNESS: High SPECIAL: Crushes plants, leaves an ice trail Not to be mistaken for a Zamboni® brand ice resurfacing machine. Zamboni® and the image of the ice-resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc., and "Zomboni" is used with permission. For all your non-zombie-related ice resurfacing needs, visit www.zamboni.com! NOTES: Spikeweeds are absolutely required if you're dealing with these guys. Unless they appear on the roof, which is one of the meanest things this game has done to me. Spikerocks and various Massive damage plants are also useful, especially Jalapenos to melt those pesky ice trails. Also the longest and perhaps silliest flavor text in the game. EXTRA: This guy actually had a different flavor text in the PC version of the game at one point. I have no idea why it was changed, because it's actually funnier than the existing one. I'll put it down here: Often mistaken for a zombie driving an ice machine, the Zomboni is a totally different life-form more closely related to a space ogre than a zombie. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ N. ZOMBIE BOBSLED TEAM (sec4bobsled) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These zombies appear in teams of four. TOUGHNESS: Low (each zombie) BOBSLED TOUGHNESS: Low SPECIAL: Only appears on ice Zombie Bobsled Team worked hard to get where they are. They live together, eat brains together and train together to become a cohesive zombie unit. NOTES: These guys are actually incredibly rare. I honestly can't remember seeing them much outside of the Bobsled Bonanza minigame, where they are VERY dangerous. As long as you don't have a really long ice trail on a level where they appear, they're not much of a threat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ O. DOLPHIN RIDER ZOMBIE (sec4dolphin) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dolphin Rider Zombies use dolphins to exploit weaknesses in your pool defense. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPEED: Fast, then slow (after jump) SPECIAL: Jumps over the first plant he runs into Only appears in the pool. The dolphin is also a zombie. NOTES: The water versions of Pole Vaulter Zombies. And likewise, Tall-nuts will make them irrelevant. What IS relevant though is the shortest flavor text in the game! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P. JACK-IN-THE-BOX ZOMBIE (sec4jack) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This zombie carries an explosive surprise. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPEED: Fast SPECIAL: Jack-in-the-Box explodes WEAKNESS: Magnet-shroom This zombie shivers, not because he's cold but because he's crazy. NOTES: This guy would be an absolute pain to deal with if it weren't for the shining beacon of hope known as the Magnet-shroom. Otherwise, he can explode in... I think a 3x3 area, completely wrecking any sort of defense you have in 3 lanes. The explosion is completely random, so hopefully you can kill him or Magnet-shroom his weapon before he nukes anything you have set up. Possibly your most feared enemy in Survival: Endless. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. BALLOON ZOMBIE (sec4balloon) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Balloon Zombie floats above the fray, immune to most attacks. TOUGHNESS: Low SPECIAL: Flying WEAKNESS: Cactus and Blover Balloon Zombie really lucked out. The balloon thing really works and none of the other zombies have picked up on it. NOTES: This guy is made completely irrelevant just by Blovers. Catcus and Cattail also work very well, but I find it to be far simplier to just plant a Blover and send a whole horde of them flying. Do NOT forget any of those 3 if you notice that Balloon Zombies are in the level. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ R. DIGGER ZOMBIE (sec4digger) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This zombie digs to bypass your defenses. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPEED: Fast, then slow SPECIAL: Tunnels underground and appears on the left side of the lawn WEAKNESS: Split Pea and Magnet-shroom Digger Zombie spends three days a week getting his excavation permits in order. NOTES: Another zombie made irrelevant by Magnet-shrooms. Which is very nice, because otherwise this guy is trouble. He tunnels to the back of your lawn, gets dizzy, and then starts eating your plants from the left to the right. If you don't have Magnets or can't use them, then saving the back row for Squashes or Potato Mines is a nice idea, or Pumpkin your Sunflowers and plant some Split Peas. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ S. POGO ZOMBIE (sec4pogo) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pogo Zombie hops to bypass your defenses. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPECIAL: Hops over plants WEAKNESS: Magnet-shroom Sproing! Sproing! Sproing! That's the sound of a powerful and effective zombie doing what he does best. NOTES: Despite what the Almanac says, I don't find him very effective at all. He is destroyed not only by Magnet-shrooms, but Tall-nuts as well! So if you aren't using Magnets, the Tall-nuts you very likely are using are all you need to ruin his day. If you don't have either, then you may be in trouble. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T. ZOMBIE YETI (sec4yeti) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A rare and curious creature. TOUGHNESS: High SPECIAL: Runs away after a short while Little is known about the Zombie Yeti other than his name, birth date, social security number, educational history, past work experience and sandwich preference (roast beef and swiss). NOTES: An incredibly rare find indeed. You only start seeing him on your 2nd run through Adventure, and even then you probably won't. I actually first saw him on the thunderstorm conveyor level, and I killed him, too! I saw him again on the Heavy Weapon game at the very end, but he got away. :( Also, excellent flavor text. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U. BUNGEE ZOMBIE (sec4bungee) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bungee Zombie attacks from above. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPECIAL: Descends from the sky and steals a plant Bungee Zombie loves to take risks. After all, what's the point of being dead if you don't live a little? NOTES: These zombies might just anger you more than any other non-giant ones. In Roof levels, they drop down to leave some zombies in the middle of the level, but if they actually show up on the enemy list, then you're in trouble because of that damn plant stealing thing. Thankfully, a few Umbrella Leaves in the right spots will render them harmless. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ V. LADDER ZOMBIE (sec4ladder) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ladder Zombie climbs over obstacles. TOUGHNESS: Medium LADDER TOUGHNESS: Medium SPEED: Fast, then slow (after placing ladder) WEAKNESS: Fume-shroom and Magnet-shroom He picked up the ladder for $8.99. NOTES: Another day, another zombie made irrelevant by the Magnet-shroom. And if there is any zombie you want to have the Magnet-shroom ready for, it's this one. Just one ladder means that any and all zombies in that lane can climb right over your Tall-nuts. Not good. Magnet-shrooms can also pick up placed ladders, I believe, and stuff like Cherry Bombs can dislodge them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ W. CATAPULT ZOMBIE (sec4pult) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Catapult Zombie operates heavy machinery. TOUGHNESS: Medium SPECIAL: Lobs basketballs at your plants Of all the things Catapult Zombie could launch with his catapult, basketballs seemed like the best and most obvious choice. NOTES: Spikeweeds & Spikerocks make him useless, much like Zombonis. However, he first appears on the Roof. In which case, Umbrella Leaves make him useless! If you don't have either of those, then your Sunflowers in the back are gonna take a beating. Use Pumpkins on them, in that case. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ X. GARGANTUAR (sec4gargan) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gargantuar is a gigantic zombie. TOUGHNESS: Extremely high When Gargantuar walks, the earth trembles. When he moans, other zombies fall silent. He is the zombie other zombies dream they could be. But he still can't find a girlfriend. NOTES: And here he is, the most annoying zombie in the entire game! It takes TWO plants that deal "Massive" damage to take this guy out, or just a ton of normal fire from whatever else you have. He does not eat any of your plants, but rather smashes them for instant kills. Spikerocks are the exception: it will actually take several hits to get past them. Make sure you have plenty of instants to deal with this guy. Also for hilarity's sake, sometimes the Gargantuar will be wielding another zombie instead of a telephone pole. EXTRA: In Survival: Endless, there's another version of the Gargantuar, called the Giga-Gargantuar. This version has red eyes, and takes __FOUR__ sources of "Massive" damage to take down. That's just ridiculous! ~~~~~~ Y. IMP (sec4imp) ~~~~~~ Imps are tiny zombies hurled by Gargantuar deep into your defenses. TOUGHNESS: Low Imp may be small, but he's wiry. He's proficient in zombie judo, zombie karate and zombie bare-knuckle brawling. He also plays the melodica. NOTES: As if Gargantuar wasn't bad enough on his own, he's gotta hurl this thing at you when he loses half his health. This guy may be weak, but I guarantee he'll eat at least one plant before he dies. And if there's nothing to attack him, you're gonna lose a lawnmower. Definitely Pumpkin everything in your middle-back rows to prevent the death of your plants. I'd also recommend Jalapeno. Gargantuar hits 50% health, throws this guy, Jalapeno kills them both. Awesome. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Z. DR. ZOMBOSS (sec4zomboss) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. Zomboss rules them all. TOUGHNESS: Extreme (in Zombot shell) Edgar George Zomboss achieved his Doctorate in Thanatology in only two years. Quickly mastering thanatological technology, he built his fearsome Zombot and set about establishing absolute dominance of his local subdivision. NOTES: Behold! The final boss of the game! This guy is no joke, and one heck of an intense fight, and yet, pretty fun. Just make sure to quickly replace everything he destroys or steals. I think he looks wicked cool, too. =============================================================================== SECTION 5. UPDATE LIST (sec5update) =============================================================================== 11/01/10 - VERSION 1.25 I decided to go back through the FAQ and update the info on several plants and zombies to be more helpful, and also correct any errors I might have left in the text. Here is a full list of everything that got at least some kind of notable revision: Potato Mine (change) Spikeweed (more info) Cabbage-pult (change & new info) Kernel-pult (new info) Coffee Bean (change) Melon-pult (new info) Twin Sunflower (more info) Gloom-shroom (change) Cattail (more info) Winter Melon (change & new info) Cob Cannon (change) Screen Door Zombie (new info) Jack-in-the-Box Zombie (change) Gargantuar (new info) Imp (more info) Various minor changes all over the FAQ ~~~ 10/19/10 - VERSION 1.05 Quick update here. I added the original flavor text for the Zomboni, courtesy of a friend of mine. Also, a few text errors here and there I spotted. ~~~ 10/18/10 - VERSION 1.00 The first... and most likely final update to the FAQ! It is what it is. If I feel the need to add or update anything, possibly based off of things sent to me, then I shall. Until then, enjoy the hilarity. =============================================================================== SECTION 6. CONTACT INFO (sec6contact) =============================================================================== If you'd like to get in touch with me, to ask a question or to submit/correct something to/in the FAQ, that'd be great. My e-mail is the following, with the normal signs (@ and .) removed to keep away spam bots: SmokeRulz ~at~ gmail ~dot~ com Please provide a clear subject header, such as "Plants vs. Zombies FAQ," so I know what you're e-mailing me about. E-mails with a weird or no subject will likely not be read. I have instant messenger names as well, but I will not give them out here. If you *really* feel like you need to speak to me over one, simply ask for it over e-mail. I use AIM, YIM, and MSN via the Trillian multi-messenger program. =============================================================================== SECTION 7. THANKS & CREDITS (sec7thanks) =============================================================================== Thanks to PopCap Games, for creating such a neat, fun, and addicting game. And for releasing such a cool version on the 360! Thanks to CJayC and the GameFAQs.com crew for hosting this FAQ, and for just having such a neat and helpful site. Thanks to my friend Luke for pointing out the Zomboni's original flavor text. And thank YOU, for reading. :) =============================================================================== -=*=- END OF FAQ -=*=- Copyright ©2010 Joshua Cobb, aka Smoke_Rulz