Torchlight Zombie

Torchlight Zombie
Carries a torch that instantly destroys plants and scorches the earth.
Almanac statistics
Toughness	Protected
Speed	Flighty
In-game statistics
Health	650
Damage	Instant-kill
Weakness	(extinguishes torch) (via Plant Food only) (cannot be burned while bouncing) (cannot be burned) (extinguishes torch and cannot be burned) (cannot be burned when hiding) (forces the zombie to eat it)
First seen	Ancient Egypt - Day 30
Code name	explorer_veteran
Torchlight Zombie has no fear of the dark. That's not because he's always got a torch, however, but rather because as a zombie he has no capacity for fear in the first place.

Torchlight Zombie is a zombie encountered in the extension levels of Ancient Egypt in Plants vs. Zombies 2. He is an upgraded version of Explorer Zombie.

Appearance

Torchlight Zombie's design is similar to the Explorer Zombie. However, he carries a larger torch, as well as his shirt and hat are on fire.

Almanac entry

Torchlight Zombie
	TOUGHNESS Protected SPEED Flighty Carries a torch that instantly destroys plants and scorches the earth. Torchlight Zombie has no fear of the dark. That's not because he's always got a torch, however, but rather because as a zombie he has no capacity for fear in the first place.

Overwiew

Torchlight Zombie absorbs 650 damage. His appearance changes upon absorbing 325 damage, when he loses his arm, before dying after absorbing 650 damage.

Encounters

Ancient Egypt: Days 30, 32, 33 and 35

Modern Day: Day 40

Arena: Power Lily’s Garden Party Tournament

Strategies

The Torchlight Zombie burns plants just like an Explorer Zombie, but he is much faster and tougher than his basic counterpart, making him even more dangerous to your defenses. The best way to handle him is to use any plant with a freeze or chill effect, such as Winter Melon or Iceberg Lettuce. Cold Snapdragon is also fantastic against them due to their ability to extinguish their torches, as well as being very cheap and easy to repeatedly plant. Against groups of them, use Plant Food on an Iceberg Lettuce to extinguish all of their torches. In a worst case scenario, you can use Power Snow as a last resort. When you have extinguished the torch, Stallia and Primal Peashooter are an effective combo, as they can slow him down and knock him back at the same time. If Winter Melon and Pea Pod are at max level, you can use them together and the Torchlight Zombies will be outmatched easily. Hurrikale is also powerful against it due to its chill effect nullifying an entire lane, leaving a potential group of these zombies helpless.

Though not as powerful as the chilling or freezing plants, Sap-fling helps with speed and control, allowing you to handle them more easily. However, it is still important to keep in mind that Sap-fling deals no damage, so you will need an offensive plant to actually kill him.

Just like the Explorer Zombie, the Torchlight Zombie cannot burn the Plant Food shields of Moonflower and Infi-nut, so they can be used to stall those zombies fairly effectively.

Other strategies that work against Explorer Zombies can also work against Torchlight Zombies. You can use underground plants like Spikeweed, Spikerock, Celery Stalker, and Cactus, as they cannot be burned while underground. Note, however, that they do not attack fast enough to land multiple hits on Torchlight Zombie, so they may not be the most ideal plants. Ghost Pepper can't be burned and can get multiple hits in on the zombie, therefore is a viable option against it.

Note: Chard Guards, Chompers, Parsnips, and Guacodiles are useless, as Torchlight Zombie will destroy them before they even have the chance to attack. However, if you plant Guacodile directly on his tile, the Guacodile's rush attack will trigger instantly, damaging the Torchlight Zombie.

Modern Day - Day 40

Torchlight Zombies with Excavator Zombies are a very dangerous combo as they both move very fast. While Excavator Zombie's shovel will absorb most of the plant's projectiles and protect other zombies, Torchlight Zombies can instantly destroy many plants, especially when plants are thrown three tiles back by an Excavator Zombie. Infi-nut's Plant Food is the best solution, as the Force Field must be eaten, and can't be burned or shoveled. Torchlight Zombie, Newspaper Zombie, and Mummified Gargantuars are also a very deadly combo. To prevent them from incinerating your defenses, it is recommended that the player brings ice plants. Newspaper Zombie is most vulnerable to Poison Effects so use the Goo Peashooter or Shadow-shroom to take it out, then take out the others.

Gallery

• 

  Almanac entry

• 

  Almanac entry (10.5.2)

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  Almanac icon

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  HD Torchlight Zombie

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  Poisoned Torchlight Zombie

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  Torchlight Zombie's sprites and textures

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  Shrunken Torchlight Zombie

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  Torchlight Zombie in Modern Day

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  A glowing Torchlight Zombie

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  A hypnotized Torchlight Zombie with his torch lit, only possible with Caulipower.

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  Boosted Torchlight Zombie

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  Torchlight Zombie walking and being chilled (Animated)

In other languages

Please note that only official translations are used.

Language	Name	Description
English	Torchlight Zombie
French	Zombie torche
German	Fackelschein-Zombie
Italian	Zombi fiaccolata
Brazilian Portuguese	Zumbi Tocheiro
Spanish	Zombi antorcha

Trivia

• Like other veteran zombies, he does not appear in Pyramid of Doom.
• He and Explorer Zombie are the only entirely paradoxical zombies in Plants vs. Zombies 2 because they appear in Ancient Egypt, more than 2000 years before the first explorers appeared.
  • Despite not appearing there, the two zombies mentioned above look like they are from Lost City, especially due to their appearance in terms of clothing.
  • Also, both him and his predecessor are the only Ancient Egypt zombies who are not mummified (i.e. wrapped in bandages).
• Although his Almanac entry states that he "scorches the earth," he cannot actually scorch tiles like Jurassic Rockpuncher.
  • Neither can he burn Spikeweeds and Spikerocks.
• He, Cart-Head Zombie, and Rodeo Legend Zombie are the only veteran zombies to appear in 2 worlds, excluding Piñata Party, Penny's Pursuit, Epic Quests, and Arena.

See also

• Explorer Zombie

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