User:AwkwardSkeleton/PLANTS VS ZOMBIES 2: A GUIDE FOR THE BRAINLESS

This is a guide on how to play Plants vs Zombies 2: It's About Time.

WHAT THIS GUIDE IS (AND WHAT IT IS NOT)

This guide is:

-A collection of each plant and zombies' characteristics and the best way to use/defeat them, respectively.

-A collection of strategies for the endless zone, minigames and much more.

This guide is not:

-A magic guide with foolproof solutions that work 100% of the time. Due to multiple factors such as many zombie types, different lawn layouts and sheer dumb luck, no strategy is 100% effective, but some can come darn close.

-A complete ripoff of other pages on the wiki with no original info whatsoever.

-A taco.

DISCLAIMER: PVZ2 IS CONSTANTLY BEING UPDATED, BUT THIS GUIDE IS NOT. STRATEGIES THAT ARE NOT UP TO DATE MAY NOT ALWAYS WORK. NO ZOMBIES OR PLANTS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS GUIDE.

YOUR PLANTS

This section contains plant spoilers for PvZ 2 so if you didn't want to know that the peashooter is in PvZ 2 then find a different guide.

A Crash Course on Plant Food

Part of a balanced breakfast.

Plant Food is a powerup for your plants. When fed to the plants they go into overdrive and do amazing things. You can hold up to 4 units of food (5 with premium upgrades). You can also buy one for 1000 in game coins. Each plant overview will also include its reaction to plant food.

Glowing green zombies carry plant food.

Plants these days! Back in my day, we didn't even have plant food.

The Plant	Overview
EAT YOUR PEAS	The Peashooter is your basic plant. He shoots a pea every 1.4 seconds and he can kill a basic zombie easily. However, tougher zombies will most likely reach the peashooter before they can kill it. Plant more Peashooters or replace it with more powerful offensive plants when you have more sun. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Peashooter briefly turns into a Gatling Pea and fires an enormous barrage of peas. The barrage will not kill a buckethead, but will weaken it enough for your other plants to kill him really easily.
Here comes the sun	The Sunflower is the backbone of your whole defense, mostly because the spinal cord is on the backbone and removal would most likely result in horrible, agonizing death. The sunflower produces 50 sun about every 24 seconds. For optimal performance plant 2 rows of them. Bottom line: Sunflowers are EXTREMELY important, and you can't live without them, simple as that. PICK THE SUNFLOWER OR ONE OF HIS SUN PRODUCING RELATIVES ON EVERY SINGLE LEVEL! THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE!!!!!!111 I think I got a bit carried away there but you get the point. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Sunflower generates 150 sun. This is useful when you need to burn plant food (i.e. your gauge is full but you found a unit of plant food)
Was going to make a pun about nuts but those are overused to the point where putting one here would make even your uncle stop reading this guide and burn their computer.	The Wall-nut is the, well, wall of your defense. He takes about 72 bites to be eaten, so you should put him up front. Wall-nuts are generally underestimated and can be used very effectively due to their low cost and great synergy with other plants such as the Bonk Choy and the Spikerock. They are very useful for defeating very tough zombies in case the player has no instant kills. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Wall-nut gains a metal shell to protect it from zombies. Unlike other plant food abilities, this one is permanent (until the zombies eat it off).
SPUDOW	The Potato Mine is a powerful little bugger that kills the first zombie that steps on it. (or if the zombies are in a conga line then it kills all of them.) He also has a reasonable cost of 25 sun. However, nothing is perfect (except for this awesome guide) and that also applies to the Potato Mine. He takes about 15 seconds to arm itself (the time it takes for a normal zombie to travel 3 columns), making him difficult to use in the later game. These are best used to fend off the first zombies in a level, allowing you to set up your defense in peace. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Potato Mine instantly arms itself and spawns 2 more potato mines in random places. This ability is not reccommended for use.
Cabbage=damage	Most people say the Cabbage-pult is almost the exact same thing as the peashooter. This is simply not true. The cabbage pult fires cabbages that do double against zombies. However, the cabbage pult's firing speed is 1/2 of the peashooters, so in the end it's pretty much the same thing. However, there is ONE big difference: the cabbages can be fired over graves, so use them when the game's field generator gives you the graveyard shift. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The cabbage pult explodes, hurling leafy green justice at every zombie and grave on the screen. The cabbage pult then reconstitutes. The cabbages do extra damage, but it is more efficient to use Peashooter's ability when killing a Buckethead.
Snipin's a good job, mate!	Most people have been expecting new plants in PvZ 2. However, up until now there haven't been any new plants. The Bloomerang is the first new plant. He costs a sizable amount of sun (175). The Bloomerang can hit 3 zombies with a single boom (plus another time on the return), so the cost can be worth it. Also he is australian. Nobody messes with an australian.  Use him in case there are many zombies-namely the Camel Zombies. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Bloomerang throws a lot of boomerangs in all directions. Again, this is useful for many zombies, but not for high health zombies.
It's very ice to see a new plant.	The iceberg lettuce is a free plant and freezes any zombie that steps on it for 10 seconds.  Use these on zombies that get too close to your defenses. However, there are two things you should not do with this plant: 1) put him in a salad and  2) use him with fire based plants because the zombies will instantly thaw when hit by fire. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Iceberg Lettuce freezes every zombie on the screen.
He's like a force of nature.	The Bonk Choy is named for the noise it makes when he punches zombies. He throws very rapid punches 2 squares in front of him and 2 behind him. He can kill a regular zombie safely, but tougher zombies can eat him unless you plant supporting plants such as the Wall-nut or the Stallia. He is best used in the front of your defenses to polish off any zombie that makes it that far. Wall plants are great support for this guy. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: Bonk Choy throws a barrage of punches in all directions that kills any zombie stupid or unlucky enough to be caught near him.
The Grim Repeater has come to send you back to the grave!	The Repeater shoots two peas instead of one at the same time. The Repeater is best used as a substitute for 2 Peashooters when there is limited space. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: Repeater shoots an enormous barrage of peas, and finishes the job with a "Pea-cemaker", which is a giant pea that does massive damage. This is good against bucketheads.
Who ya gonna call?	The Grave Buster is a plant that ain't afraid of no graves. It will take a gravestone to heck and gone Compared to the last game, the Grave Buster recharges slower. It compensates for this by being free. These are very useful during the Dark Ages, as busting a sun grave in the early game provides a much needed sun bonus. Never plant these near zombies, as they are almost certain to be eaten before they can finish the job.
Twins for the win!	The Twin Sunflower is a double production sunflower that produces 100 sun instead of 50, allowing you to use 1 column of them in place of 2 columns of sunflowers, saving valuable space. They cost 125 sun, which is difficult to amass in the early stages, so using them as your primary sun producing plant is not recommended without cheap early game plants such as the Puff-shroom and the Iceberg Lettuce. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Twin Sunflower gives you 225 sun. See the Sunflower for tips on using this ability.
Kernel Johnson leads his troops into butter chaos.	The Kernel-pult is the first plant you will find in the Pirate Seas. You may remember him from the last game but just in case you were abducted by aliens and then brainwashed we will review him anyway. You may remember that Cabbage-pults do double damage but have half the firing rate. Well, kernels fired from the kernel pult will deal regular damage, cutting its efficiency down to about half of that of a regular peashooter. It covers this weakness by using butter, which does double damage and has the bonus of immobilizing a zombie. It also looks incredibly funny. Due to the inconsistency of the Kernel pult, it is best used as a support for your plants instead of being the primary firepower. These coupled with Snapdragons and Wall-nuts can stand up to almost anything. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: Rains down butter on every zombie on the screen. This is very good against seagull zombies as it kills all of them.
Oh, snap!	The Snapdragon is a plant that spits fire out in a 2x3 area in front of it. The fire goes through zombies, making it useful for dealing with hordes of them. Snapdragons are best used in packs of 2 columns. A combo of Kernel-pults, Snapdragons and Wall-nuts is very effective, especially in Last Stand. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Snapdragon flies out of the ground and breathes a massive fireball in a 3x3 area in front of it, killing almost anything instantly.
DON'T TREAD ON ME	The Spikeweed will do damage to all zombies standing on it. 2 of them can kill a regular zombie. Large amounts of them can smoke any amount of zombies to oblivion in seconds. (Usually, with weeds, it's the opposite). However, all good things must come to an end, and so will the Spikeweed when it comes in contact with a barrel roller or piano or any other thing on wheels (except for cannons). PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Spikeweed turns every tile in the lane it's planted on into spikeweed. Also, all the zombies are pulled toward it. This is good against mass barrel rollers.
COCO FOR COCONUT CANNONS!	The Coconut Cannon is a very expensive plant, costing a mind-blowing 400 sun. The Coconut Cannon fires high speed exploding coconuts. (Fun Fact: You are more likely to be killed by a coconut then a shark. Maybe sharks should start throwing coconuts at their prey.) The Coconut Cannon is a very powerful late game weapon. Tap on it to fire. Unlike the Cob Cannon from the last game, the shots are not aimable, and the coconut does not instantly kill everything in its blast radius (but it comes darn close). On the plus side, he recharges faster, is not an upgrade plant, costs 300 less sun and takes up less space. The cannon recharges in 18 seconds. Save him for big mobs of zombies. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Coconut Cannon shoots a massive cannon blast that kills all zombies in its lane and any caught in the blast radius. It is advised to use this ability during cooldown as if you use it while it is primed you will lose a shot.
He has a nice spring to him.	The Spring Bean isn't very useful as it takes up valuable lawn and seed slot space, and only pushes zombies back a measly 1 tile. On the flip side, these are machines in Pirate Seas, killing even the mighty Gargantuars in one hit if they are near the water. These can provide cheap early game defense, allowing one to set up many sunflowers in peace. To recap what has been said: Use these in Pirate Seas only, in other eras it isn't worth your time. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Spring Bean springs all zombies on the screen. This ability is not recommended for use unless all the zombies are near the water.
Give peas a chance.	The Threepeater shoots peas in the lane it's in and the lanes adjacent to it. Some missions require you to use limited plants. Of course these are good for those missions, but they are also good if you have space constraints. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: RUN, COWARDS! The Threepeater spins its heads around and fires a scattered amount of peas.
	The Cherry Bomb is probably the best instant kill in the game, killing almost anything in a 3x3 area. These are particularly useful in Pirate Seas where all the zombies are usually confined to 2 or 3 lanes. These are good against Wizard Zombies as they cannot be stasised and kill many of them at once, unsheepifying many plants.
Rock and roll!	The Spikerock is an upgrade from the Spikeweed, because it has more power and can destroy 3 rolling objects. Use him anywhere you would use a Spikeweed. There are, however 2 reasons spikeweeds are preferred: 1: it is more expensive than a spikeweed, making them bad for mass barrel rollers and 2: They are technically not plants. This game should be renamed to "Plants and Spikerock vs. Zombies" but that would make him feel left out so ehh.
He started it!	The Split Pea is a multi-directional shooter that shoots 1 pea forward and 2 peas backward. A good strategy is to plant these on minecarts and use them to shoot zombies behind the rails. These are very good against them crazy old Prospector Zombies. Also, they are good against anything that gets launched into your defenses, namely Mr. Quiet and Subtle. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Split Pea shoots enormous amounts of peas in both directions. The back head finishes the job with a "Pea-cemaker". Use it as you would with a Peashooter.
Fear the wind for it will blow with strength soon.	The Chili Bean requires no explanation. What would happen if you ate a giant bean? Just thinking about it grosses me out. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Chili Bean spawns 2 more chili beans. This ability is not reccommended for use due to its unpredictability. Also it is extremely gross.
Let there be light!	The Lightning Reed shoots lightning at zombies that does 1/2 of a regular damage shot. The lightning arcs to nearby zombies so it is good against massive amounts of zombies. Also, they are very good against zombie chickens, so use them when they show up. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Lightning Reed creates a thunder cloud that does heavy damage to zombies. Talk about a dark cloud with a silver lining!
KILL ME	The Tall-nut returns from the last game, only in this game he looks suicidal. He has double the health of a wall-nut and he has the bonus of blocking anything that flies -namely the zombie bull rider. Which one: tall-nut or infi-nut? Infi-nuts are cheaper and are much better than tall-nuts in Last Stand due to not requiring replacements (save the 3rd last stand in Wild West). They can also hard-counter Imp Cannons with their plant food ability. However, tall-nuts can last much longer than infi-nuts, usually can last a whole level without needing to be replaced and can block bull riders and jetpack zombies without Plant Food. Use the one more suitable for your situation.
That's what pea said!	The Pea Pod costs 25 more sun than a peashooter. However, he can be planted on 4 more times to add more heads, making him extremely powerful. A full Pea Pod is one of the most powerful weapons you will ever use. Every family needs a car, so plant them on minecarts. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Pea Pod grows a giant head that shoots 5 peacemakers. This ability is notorious for hitting  5 imps instead of 1 Gargantuar, so other abilities are preferred.
If you swallow a seed, they might grow in your stomach.	The Melon-pult has a big cost of 325, making it one of the most expensive plants in the game. The melons deal heavy damage plus splash, so the cost is worth it. Also, he is seedless. Use him for large amounts of zombies. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Melon-pult turns into a cannon and shoots melons at every zombie on the screen. This is one of the best abilities for use and becomes insanely powerful when used with Power Tiles.
Nothing beats a cold watermelon. Unless you're a zombie.	The Winter Melon returns from the last game except for one big difference: He's fatter. He costs even more than the Melon-pult but has the added bonus of freezing zombies. Use this against Prospector Zombies. Of course they are useless with Snapdragons and Torchwood because the fire melts the ice but otherwise they are the best freezing plant ever. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: Same as the Melon-pult's ability except the melons are icy.
	The Laser Bean is the first plant you will acquire in the Far Future. They shoot piercing laser beams that penetrate all zombies in the row. They can penetrate shields, barrels, and graves. Even your dog! PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Laser Bean makes an extremely funny face and shoots an enormous beam that will do substantial (if not terminal) damage to all zombies in its row. Which one: fume-shrooms or laser beans? Fume-shrooms are generally preferred as they are easier to mass and have a better plant food ability. However, laser beans do not have a range limitation and as such do not need wall plant support and do not need to be planted closer to the right side of the board. Use the one more suitable to your situation.
He's a very big fan of you.	The Blover will huff and puff and blow all the flying zombies off the screen, such as jetpack, seagull and bug zombies, all of which can be nuisances if deployed at boneheaded moments. Very good for dispelling the hordes of seagulls that appear in challenge zones.
Orange you glad for the funny caption?	When you first plant the Citron, you might demand a return because it was smaller than the advertised size. However, the Citron will charge up energy, slowly expanding in size until it has reached its maximum charge, after which it will spit out an enormous plasma ball that does 40 peas' worth of damage. These are very good for slow but strong zombies such as Robo-Cones. The Citron's biggest weakness is that you can't control when or what it fires at, causing its attacks to occasionally be blocked by imps. These are best used with Laser Beans, as their attacks "filter" the zombies, killing all the weaker zombies in the lane, leaving the Citron free to target the stronger ones. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Citron shoots an enormous plasma ball that kills everything in its path. Note that the plasma ball will not keep going if the zombie it hits has more health than the damage output.
To infinuty and beyond!	The Infi-nut has less health than a wallnut, but can regenerate over time. These are better than wallnuts when facing single, large zombies but not so good against hordes of zombies. It is very good on minecarts as you can pull it out if it is on the brink of death. They are also good in Last Stand because they do not need to be replaced. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Infinut generates a force field across its column that protects the plants behind it. If planted next to the water in Pirate Seas, they can completely block Imp Cannons. It also blocks Zombie Bull Riders, Jetpack Zombies, Fisherman Zombies and the like.
I think they're worth 100 rupees.	The Magnifying Grass has no automatic attack. Instead, you tap them to spend 50 sun to shoot a powerful projectile that can kill many things easily. Below is a table of shots required to kill zombie types: Zombie Shots required Sun required 1 50 2 100 3 150 5 250 8 (9 including Imp) 450 These plants are very useful for defenses that are cheap to set up but are not powerful enough. These are the single best counter to Gargantuars, killing them in seconds without the need for instant kills or plant food. These plants are nest used carefully. If used with reckless abandon, they can drain your sun reserves in seconds and extinguish the sun, destroying all life in the solar system. Nobody wins when that happens. Instead, try using it to weaken the zombies, leaving your other plants to "clean up". PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Magnifying Grass shoots a solid beam of rainbow destruction that lasts longer the more sunflowers you have.
There's always mushroom for one more with Sun-shroom.	The Sun-shroom starts out at a small size, giving off 25 sun. After a while, it gradually grows into a medium and large size, giving off 50 and 75 sun respectively. They no longer set off your OCD because their sun payout is always a multiple of 25. They grow very fast, and also no longer sleep during the day, giving you more options for their use. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Sun-shroom produces 225 sun and grows to full size.
	The Puff-shroom will huff and puff and blow all early game zombies away. He is completely free, recharges very quickly, and no longer sleeps during the day. However, he will eventually disappear into a puff of smoke as his color fades. Where does he go? Another dimension? Mushroom heaven? The health and beauty section at the drugstore? Nobody knows! These are best used as early-game plants due to their low costs, allowing you to use sun for sun production. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Puff-shroom vomits millions of fumes within his range. When this is used, it activates on all the puff-shrooms, which can be very powerful if you have 2 rows. It will also reset its timer.
He coined the term "mushroom cloud."	The Fume-shrooms are the peashooters of the dark ages. They shoot out medium ranged piercing clouds of fumes. They pierce graves, a common annoyance in the dark ages. They also are one of the only plants that can safely destroy jester zombies. Their one shortcoming is their range, which prevents them from attacking zombie kings, imp cannons and some slow zombies unless planted in the front columns. Keep zombies in their range with Wall-nuts. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Fume-shroom spits a barrage of fumes that kill all but the strongest zombies. What it doesn't kill, it pushes back to the first column. Note that this ability is not restricted to the Fume-shroom's range.
Like father, like sun.	The Sun Bean causes zombies to generate sun when struck. They generate 5 sun per hit. These are wasted on regular zombies as they generate 50 sun, wasting the bean. These are best used on powerful zombies like the Knight or the Robo-cone. They have great synergy with the Lighnting Reed, as the Lightning Reed's strikes do low damage but still generate 5 sun per hit. They look pretty happy for plants who know that their only purpose of being planted is to be eaten. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Sun Bean glows yellow and smites the next zombie that eats it. It generates sun in the process.
Warning: Do not use to guard butcher shops, archery ranges or barbed wire.	The Magnet-shroom steals buckets, grates and knight helms. When bucketheads appear too early in the game, the Magnet-shroom is the shroom for the job. These are good against zombie kings as they can steal helms as fast as they are generated. Do not use these after level 15 in endless zones unless you have lots of plant food, as there are too many bucketheads to control. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Magnet-shroom sucks up 20 metal objects in its range. This is best used in endless zones.
He lives alone because he's a bachelor pad.	The Lily Pad is essential for riding the waves in Big Wave Beach. You usually start levels with a smattering of these to keep you from being washed out when the tide rises. A Lily Pad only costs 25 sun, but the costs add up so if you really want to save sun, use single, powerful plants instead of multiple weaker plants (i.e. 1 repeater instead of 2 peashooters) PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Lily Pad spawns 4 more lily pads in a cross formation. This ability is not recommended for use, as you can simply use the plant food on a sunflower and gain enough sun for 4 lily pads with 50 sun to spare.
She's hot!	Ghosts and zombies have been undead rivals since the dawn of the (un)dead, and the Ghost Pepper shows which one has dominance. The Ghost Pepper will scare all nearby zombies, dealing heavy damage and killing all zombies weaker than coneheads. After a while, it explodes, dealing even more damage. Timing is key with these plants. It is effective for early game crowd control as it covers all your weak spots, allowing you to set up sun production in peace. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Ghost Pepper deals heavy damage do all nearby zombies-even those in neighboring lanes.
He's always willing to kelp you.	The Tangle Kelp is high-risk, high reward. They can defeat even the toughest zombie at a low cost. It also recharges faster than other instant kills. However, they can only be planted in the water, so they can leave you high and dry should the target zombie leave the water or if the tide recedes. Stay alert of powerful zombies in the water to make best use of these plants. These are excellent against Octo Zombies. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Tangle Kelp kills 3 nearby zombies in the water.
They see me bowlin, they hatin'	The Bowling Bulb launches 3 balls toward your undead opponents which bounce between zombies. The balls come in sizes of small, medium and large, doing more damage the larger they are. The balls need time alone to grow back. Unfortunately, since all concepts of "time alone" have been destroyed with a wrecking ball and set on fire due to the never ending zombie onslaught, the only thing the bowling bulbs will be doing is launching those wimpy tiny teal balls. As such, they are not recommended for use. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Bowling Bulb grows 3 supercharged bulbs which explode every time they bounce off a zombie.
Not to be confused with a Guacogator.	The Guacodile functions exactly like a regular Peashooter but can be planted underwater and rushes all zombies in its lane when attacked. They are very useful against powerful zombies with low health, such as the Explorer Zombie and MC Zom-B. PLANT FOOD ABILITY: The Guacodile spits out 3 baby guacodiles which rush all zombies in its lane. This gives a new meaning to "infanticide".
He's a slippery little fellow.	The Banana Launcher is essentially the Cob Cannon's little brother (although, given the lack of resemblance, he more closely resembles a second cousin twice removed). He can shoot an explosive banana to any tile on the screen, dealing heavy damage to all zombies on the tile. These are extremely useful with wall plants, as they trap all the zombies on once space, allowing one banana shot to take them all out. These are also useful with the Thyme Warp for the same reason.

ZOMBIES: THE ENEMY

The zombies are coming, and you don't know what their special abilities are. There is a good chance the zombies don't know either. I made this guide so the zombies will stop wondering about their special abilities and focus on eating your non existent brains. Oh, and you might be able to make use of it too.

COLUMNPOINTS

By now you probably know the hitpoints of each zombie. Unfortunately hit points are very hard to calculate so calculate its columnpoints instead. The columnpoints determine how many columns on your lawn a zombie can go before being composted if he is being hit by 1 pea at a time. 

• Divide the zombie's columnpoints by the number of peas hitting it.
• The zombie has double columnpoints if it moves at hungry speed, and half if moving at stiff speed.

Unfortunately some zombies have special properties (such as moving faster after taking a certain amount of damage) so this doesn't work for all zombies.

(Note: this strategy come from the Vasebreaker Endless page, so if you want to congratulate me on my pure awesomeness be sure to congratulate that guy too)

THE ZOMBIE	OVERVIEW	Columnpoints and Hitpoints	Counter with
Your basic present-day zombie. Your basic zombie, of the mummy variety. Your basic zombie, of the tacky shirt variety. Red is the new brown, which is the new black. Vicariously, red is the new black. Your basic peasant day zombie. Your basic zombie, of the buccaneer variety. Your basic zombie, of the western variety.	The basic zombie is the first zombie you will encounter. He has no special abilities (other than his dapper tie and cool suit) so he is extremely easy to kill. Just about anything will kill it in seconds.	Hitpoints: 10 Columnpoints: 3	Anything
Who ya' calling pinhead? Conehead Zombie, of the grave robber variety. Conehead Zombie, of the pirate variety. Conehead Zombie, of the ranch hand variety. Likes ice cream.	Conehead Zombies are like regular zombies, except they have a magical cone on their head which for some reason protects the zombie's entire body. The cone gives him 18 more hitpoints, making him  tougher than its f2p counterpart. Two peashooters can deal with it.  OOPS NO FUNNY	Hitpoints: 28 Columnpoints: 6	Two Peashooters or a Repeater
The bucket used to hold red paint. Buckethead Zombie, of the Egyptian variety. That helmet's gonna make a good bucket for ya brains! "Now where did I put my chili pot?"	The Buckethead Zombie is the most dangerous zombie for the first few stages of the game. The Buckethead has a mind-boggling 65 HP, so do not take it lightly! In most cases you can use a Potato Mine or Wall-nut to defeat them, but in dire situations you may have to utilize Plant Food.	Hitpoints: 65 Columnpoints: 15	3 Peashooters, Wallnuts, Instant Kills, Plant Food
Ra-ra go team!	The Ra Zombie uses his sun on a stick to steal all the sun on the screen. After the sun moves 3 ticks then you can just give up on it. It returns your sun when you kill him though.	Hitpoints: 10 Columnpoints: N/A (stops when trying to pick up sun)	Anything
	Pick up your umbrella and raincoat: Camel Zombies are coming! Camel Zombies come in groups of 3, but may have more humps on their formation, up to about 4. Woah, show me a camel like that some day. The stone plates can take some hits, but don't worry too much about them; two Peashooters can deal with them. They also move kinda slow.	Hitpoints: 21 (per zombie)	Bloomerang or Iceberg Lettuce (if one zombie is frozen, the entire formation follows suit)
Monty Frython leads the way.	The Explorer Zombie has a torch which can fry any plant it touches. Don't put wall plants in the front, or else your lawn will be full of fried wallnuts. And that isn't pretty (although it is delicious). His torch can be downgraded to a stick by icy attacks such as Iceberg Lettuce. Snow Pea is also good but few people can use it since it costs money. Fiery attacks will relight it though. WARNING: Do not plant Iceberg Lettuce on the tile the Explorer Zombie is on, it will be burnt before it can be activated.	Hitpoints: 12 Columnpoints: 6	Iceberg Lettuce, Winter melon
Heads up, Tomb Raisers! A Grave Buster has entered the area!	Tomb Raiser Zombies are EXTREMELY annoying. A whole horde of them can turn your lawn into a graveyard in a matter of seconds. Destroy them as soon as possible with long ranged piercing plants such as the Laser Bean.	Hitpoints: 19 Columnpoints: Unknown (stops to raise graves)	Bloomerang, Cabbage-pult
There is no funny caption. Tombstones are a grave matter.	When some people play PvZ, they led OCD drive their planting decisions. Unfortuately, Graves have a way of destroying this organization with a wrecking ball and setting it on fire. Not only do graves interrupt the feng shui of your lawn, they also block shots. Think of them as zombie wall-nuts. Fortunately, they do not spawn zombies like they do in the previous game. Obviously, Grave Busters are the best counter, but catapult plants can shoot over the graves.	Hitpoints: 35 Columnpoints: Think about it. How far do you think you could move if you were a slab of stone?	Grave Buster, Catapults
Why can he eat while he's inside the casket? BECAUSE HE'S CRRRRRAAZY!	The Pharaoh Zombie can be even more annoying than the Tomb Raiser Zombie. Not only is its casket extremely tough, when you destroy it a speedy, fast-eating Pharaoh Zombie will come out for more. Make sure you have a lot of Peashooters, and have Wallnuts for backup. WARNING: The Pharaoh Zombie's whoop-arse tough coffin can survive an instant kill, so you will have to deal with the annoying pharaoh inside. Don't use instant kills unless you are sure you can deal with his speed.	Hitpoints: 74 Columnpoints: Around 17	Plant Food, Wall-nuts
Where is the rope hanging from and why haven't we gotten rid of it?	He swashes! He buckles! He's the Swashbuckler Zombie! Having little money in his purse, he decided to explore the watery part of the lawn and swings in on a rope. The rope allows him to skip about half of your lawn. A Repeater can deal with him if you place him as far back as possible (3 columns). On land, he is a little harder to deal with. You may want to plant Spring Beans on the 4th column (more on those later)	Hitpoints: 10 Columnpoints: 3 (plus half your lawn)	Repeater, Spring Bean
He's tied up at the moment.	Seagull Zombies are very annoying. We need to gather them all in one place and hang them all. Fortunately, they're already tied to ropes. How convenient. The Seagull Zombie avoids most defensive measures such as spikeweed, iceberg lettuce, spring beans, and potato mines. He also moves faster than a regular zombie. Counter these with Kernel pults as if the seagull is buttered, the zombie dies instantly.	Hitpoints: 14	Kernel-pult, Wall plants
They see me rollin, they hatin	The Barrel Roller Zombie has a heavy barrel that will crush just about anything instantly. For some reason the barrel makes him faster. Spikeweed will get him quickly, although catapult plants will fire at the zombie, not the barrel. When the barrel breaks, you'll know it.	Hitpoints: 62	Catapults, Spikeweed
Tooooooo much sugar.	Imp Pirate Zombies hide in barrels and cannons. They spring out of the barrel when it is destroyed. They move faster than regular zombies. They also make incredibly weird noises.	Hitpoints: 10 Columnpoints: 6	Wall plants, Bonk Choy, Earplugs
The imps were too tiny to be in the army, so they were fired.	The Imp Cannon is a big big threat that shoots small small zombies. The cannon shoots annoying little buggers about halfway into your lawn. Get rid of them quickly as they will explode into an arseload of imps if you don't take action. Coconut Cannons are good counters, but the player must time their shots carefully or the imp will be shot instead of the cannon.	Hitpoints: 30 Columnpoints: Doesn't move	Coconut Cannon
Arrrrrrrrgh!	The Pirate Captain Zombie is extremely annoying. His parrot will fly off and abduct one of your plants. The parrot is almost as tough as a Conehead. On top of that, the other zombies move faster than him, causing him to be meatshielded in most situations. His slow speed makes him weak to spikeweed.	Hitpoints: 20 Columnpoints: 3	Spikeweed
Dag nab them crazy old Prospector Zombies!	Prospector Zombies are sneaky little squatters that have a stick of dynamite tied to their arses. Their stick of dynamite will detonate and blast him to the other side of the lawn, where he will turn around and eat your plants. Split Peas are the obvious solution, but because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, try extinguishing their dynamite sticks with icy attacks.	Hitpoints: 10 Columnpoints: N/A	Iceberg Lettuce, Winter Melon
I can now confirm that it wasn't g_d who made honky tonky.	Grab a partner and do-si-do: Pianist Zombies are coming! These zombies play piano to move the zombies to other lanes. Also they will crush all plants in their way. They also have a sizable amount of health. Fortunately, they are slow, but keep an eye on your wall plants.	Hitpoints: Unknown (possibly 42)	Spikeweed
	The Poncho Zombie is a zombie that has a poncho that takes 3 hits before falling off. He may have a grate underneath the poncho, or nothing at a- Whoah, don't get to ahead of yourself, he still has clothes. So drop the camera and pay close attention. The chance  of him having a grate is completely random, so if he has one, that's just grate.	Hitpoints: 68 or 13 Columnpoints: 15 or 3	Anything you would use to kill a Buckethead
Carrier has arrived.	The Chicken Wrangler Zombie is extremely annoying. When he takes 3 shots his bailing wire is destroyed, releasing powerful little varmints deep into your territory. Other than that, he isn't a threat, so deal with him just as you would a regular zombie.	Hitpoints: 13 Columnpoints: 3	Anything
OMG ZERGRUSH	BEWARE THE ZOMBIE CHICKEN! They move very fast and they peck your plants to death. The good news is they are only dangerous in large groups. The bad news is they are always in large groups. Anything that attacks rapidly or over a large area will take care of them.	Hitpoints: 1/4	Lightning Reed, Bonk Choy, Spikeweed
His heart is full of emotion... and a lot of bull.	The Zombie Bull Rider rides on top of a robot bull that launches him deep into your territory. He moves incredibly fast initially but then slows down after he loses his rider. The imp can cause you a lot of grief and ear damage if he is launched too far. The bull is also a big threat with his high health but he moves slow.	Hitpoints: 65 (Bull), 10 (Rider) Columnpoints: 7.5 (+ distance   before imp is launched), 6 (imp)	Tall-nut
	The Jetpack Zombie is essentially the Pogo Stick Zombie from the previous game. He flies over all but the tallest plants. He moves pretty fast and should not be underestimated. The Blover can be used to instantly kill all of the Jetpack Zombies on the screen,	Hitpoints: 10	Blover, Tall-nut
NUH-UH! FORCE FIELD!	The Shield Zombie creates a force field that absorbs almost every projectile. The field can protect it and nearby zombies. Some things such as boomerangs and lasers can pierce the barrier. He has pretty low health once you pierce the barrier.		Bloomerang, Laser Bean, Fume-shroom, EMPeach
When a dunce cap isn't enough, you are forced to live inside a giant one for the rest of your life.	The Robo-Cone Zombie has astronomically high health, comparable to that of the gargantuar. He moves pretty quickly for his health level. He is also immune to being moved by some plant food abilities, like the Citron's or the Coconut Cannon's. This can prove to be annoying when trying to use the ability to kill all zombies in the row. Destroy him as soon as possible.		Citron, EMPeach, Plant Food, Instant Kills
That's not the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it, uh huh uh huh.	The Disco-tron 3000 can be very annoying as it summons Jetpack Zombies every time he dances. They are also very resilient and can survive an instant kill. You can use Blovers to send the jetpacking zombies packing. If you plant an EMPeach while it is summoning zombies, the summon fails and the zombies die.		EMPeach, Blover
TOUCHDOWN BRAINERS!	Nothing sets off OCD like the Mecha-Football Zombie. It moves fast and pushes your plants to the left. If there is no space on the left side of the lawn, it pushes them off the screen. These are really annoying as they mess up your power tile arrangements.		EMPeach
You are now aware of the fact that his head resembles a potato.	The Gargantuar makes a return from the  previous game, only in this game he is faster, angrier, and smells worse. He throws the imp when he loses half his health. The best way to deal with him is to use instant kills and plant food. Iceberg Lettuce can stop him for a few seconds, while Spring Beans can instantly kill him if he is near the water. (They must be planted under him, not in front of him.) The best plant for dealing with him is the Coconut Cannon. Follow this simple 2-step guide to defeating him: 1. Shoot a coconut at him. 2. After he throws the imp, use the Coconut Cannon's plant food ability to push back the gargantuar and the imp. After that, he should be weakened enough for your other plants to finish him off.	Hitpoints: 150 Columnpoints: 30	Coconut Cannon, Instant kills, Spring Bean
These guys were jest released.	The Jester Zombie at first appears to be just a faster zombie. However, when he is hit by a projectile, he starts spinning around and reflects any further projectiles shot at him. These include lobbed-shot projectiles, so they can completely destroy your defenses in seconds if a melon-pult or coconut cannon is used. Nonsolid projectiles such as lasers and fume clouds cannot be reflected, so use these. Arrrrghhhh! What a stupid hat.	Hitpoints: 17 Columpoints: 6	Laser Bean, Fume-shroom, Wall-nut
Are you going to slay the night?	The Knight Zombie has about as much health as a Robo-Cone zombie. However, they move a bit faster. These are not to be ignored and should be destroyed as fast as possible. These can cause massive headaches when spawned from Zombie Kings. Magnet-shrooms are the best counter, reducing their health to that of a normal zombie.	Hitpoints: 90 Columnpoints: 27	Instant kills, Plant Food, Magnet-shroom
We're off to kill the wizard, the blunderful wizard of Zomboz!	Ah, the Wizard Zombie. The scourge of gardens of the days of yore. They use their staves to annoy people with their loud donging sounds and turn plants into sheep. The plants cannot be eaten, dug up or attacked during this period-they are essentially in stasis. The plants revert to normal after the wizard that transmuted them is killed. Their slow speed is also annoying-it keeps them out of range of Fume-shrooms, the most common plant in the dark ages. Iceberg Lettuce can be used to stop them from stasising any plants, while Cherry Bombs can kill many wizards at once, unsheepifying many plants.	Hitpoints: 17 Columnpoints: N/A	Iceberg Lettuce, Cherry Bomb
Apparently zombies are so stupid they let their rulers fight in their infantry. Either that, or any zombie that is fat and wears a crown is considered a king by zombie standards.	The Zombie King occasionally knights peasants, giving them shiny new knight helms. Few things cause more frustration than him knighting a zombie that you were just about to kill. They stay on the right side of the board, keeping them out of range of Fume-shrooms, the most common offensive plant in the dark ages. A Magnet-shroom/Magnifying Grass combo is very good against Zombie Kings; after a king knights a zombie, the Magnet-shroom immediately steals its helmet and the Magnifying Grass kills the zombie before he can be re-knighted. The Magnifying Grass can also easily kill the king due to its long range and high damage. They stay on the right side of the board without moving similarly to imp cannons. However, unlike Imp Cannons they do not explode into millions of knight helmets after a while. That would be funny.	Hitpoints: 50 Columnpoints: N/A	Magnet-shroom, Magnifying Grass
	I was not able to locate an image for the Snorkel Zombie, so until then we will just refer to him as "Snorkel Zombie, Master Of Invisibility". The Snorkel Zombie dives underwater, hiding him from all plants except for lobbed-shot plants. Wall plants are the best counter in most cases.	Hitpoints: 17 Columnpoints: 5-6	Catapult plants, Wall-nuts
Prepare to be boarded!	Surfer Zombies will surf in incredibly quickly through the waters, and will crush a plant with its surfboard, killing it instantly. These zombies are big threats and should not be taken lightly. You can turn the tide on these with Infi-nut force fields, as they cannot be destroyed by the force field. Tangle Kelps will destroy it without leaving its surfboard behind.	Hitpoints: 24.5 (while surfing) and 16.5 on land	Tangle Kelp, Infi-nut

Strategies

Instant Kill Opening

Since there are no garden rakes in PvZ 2 you will have to make do with instant kills. When the 1st zombie comes plant an instant kill on its lane as far back as possible. In the time it takes for the zombie to make the most obnoxious noise known to man you will have a lot of sunflowers. Chili Bean is most effective. You could use Potato Mine but it will be harder to use in the later stages of the game. Spring Bean is not a bad choice either but you can only use it on Pirate Seas and you have to plant it near water. (The best place for the Spring Bean opening is about 4 lanes from your house, or when the water ends).

Twin Sunflower Opening

When you get Twin Sunflowers in Challenge mode start the round by planting a sunflower. Next use Plant Food on it and make a Twin Sunflower. Keep alternating between sunflowers and twin sunflowers and you will have a column of both before you know it. This is best used with the chili bean opening.

WARNING: You may not want to use this strategy later on in challenge mode as plant food becomes scarce.

Blover/Spring Bean combo

The Spring Bean's plant food ability will send all zombies up into the air, so with proper timing, using it with a blover will kill all zombies on the screen. Plant the Blover immediately after feeding the Spring Bean.

Minigames (Brain Busters)

Last Stand

When you play Last Stand, all the levels are related in the fact that you have an arseload of sun and you have to fight an arseload of hungry zombies. You have a setup period to plant everything you can. Everything recharges instantly during setup. Free plants are usually not allowed so if you were planning to fill your entire lawn with iceberg lettuces then you should play some other level. Also sun generating plants are banned and no sun falls from the sky. Here are some tested strategies that will completely obliterate all the zombies and that come toward your house.

Basic Strategy

You have about 2-3 plant food in each level. Use it sparingly (a phrase which here means "when the zombies start eating your plants). Save some sun for plant replacements if possible. 

Last Stand I (Ancient Egypt)

The key to winning Ancient Egypt levels can be summed up in one word: Bloomerang. Use these in your strategies generously.

Last Stand II (Ancient Egypt)

As one may notice, all these tables are getting pretty big, so I'm just going to say this: Plant as much bloomerangs as humanly possible.

Last Stand III (Ancient Egypt)

		Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
		Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
	NOTE: There will be a grave in this spot.	Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
		Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
		Hurrah, a lawn in the background!

• You will have enough sun for 5 wallnut replacements.
• There was a prophecy in the Last Stand description that foretold a level where you could fill the lawn with iceberg lettuces. This is the level. Go for it.

Last Stand I (Pirate Seas)

	empty	empty
	empty	empty
	empty	empty
	empty	empty
	empty	empty

Last Stand II (Pirate Seas)

(YES! THIS STRATEGY ACTUALLY WORKS! you gotta be careful with your shots though)

For the skeptics:

Last Stand III (Pirate Seas)

For those poor souls without Winter Melons:

	Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
	Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
	Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
	Hurrah, a lawn in the background!
	Hurrah, a lawn in the background!

Last Stand I (Wild West)

Plant 5 heads	Plant 5 heads

Last Stand II (Wild West)

• Prospector Zombies are the biggest threat here. Use the split peas to take them out.
• Coneheads are also dangerous and may require Split Pea support.

Last Stand III (Wild West)

Plant 5 heads

• use the tall-nuts to block the bull riders

Far Future I

NOTE: Plant the Melon-pults on the power tiles in their lane. Also, EMPeach is almost mandatory for this level. Use it whenever necessary, but try to save at least 2 for the final wave.

Dark Ages I

• Single bucketheads are not threats here. Plant food should be used for two bucketheads/knights.

Not OK Corral

In these levels, there are zombies behind an electric fence which you turned off for some reason. The zombies come out from the corral and target your house. In each wave you get a new plant. Make good use of the minecarts here.

• If a zombie is particularly tough stall it with a wall-nut and kill the weaker ones first.
• Plant high-priority plants in minecart rails that are the longest.
• Remember your columnpoints in this game as they are good for deciding how much plants you need to deal with a zombie. Quick recap:
  • Zombie: 3
  • Conehead: 9
  • Buckethead: 15

Locked and Loaded

Locked and Loaded requires you to use predetermined seeds in your defense. Most of these levels are pretty easy and you should be able to complete them except for that one level in Pirate Seas.

• Start by planting 2 spring beans.
• Plant repeaters in the 1st and 3rd rows because swashbucklers show up there first.
• Your ace in the hole (and this level is a very big a-hole) is the Iceberg Lettuce, which you can use to stall for time. Plant 3 of them in the water lanes.
• Your spring beans should be able to take care of most zombies except for groups, in which case you should use its plant food ability which kills all zombies in the 1st 4 columns.
• An Imp Cannon will appear in the 2nd row eventually, so plant a repeater in that row and use plant food.
• After the 1st flag work on planting peashooters until you have 3 in the land rows.
• If a huge wave of swashbucklers approaches, plant food a spring bean (IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY LAND OR ELSE IT WILL MERELY SPRING THEM BACK ONE SPACE!)
• The last wave has 3 imp cannons, which will cause you a lot of grief unless you use plant food on an Iceberg Lettuce to save a lot of time and ear damage.

Defeating Dr. Zomboss

Ancient Egypt

The scourge of the ancient peagyptians.

Dr. Zomboss sends you annoying messages every so often but he has come to deliver this one in person: I'm going to rearrange your face. He attacks you with his Sphinx-inator, which actually does not resemble a sphinx at all. Dr. Zomboss's attacks include:

• Dr. Zomboss shoots a missile into the air which lands on one tile, taking out the plant on it. The missile hurls out 2 bones which generate graves.
• Dr. Zomboss creates a portal that summons zombies. These range from imps to Gargantuars.
• Dr. Zomboss charges forward, destroying all zombies and plants in his way.
• Dr. Zomboss stomps on any plant within 2 blocks of his reach.
• Dr. Zomboss giggles maniacly every 2 seconds. Although this does not do any damage, it keeps you from hearing the epic music played in boss battles. Also it is extremely annoying.

Strategies

• The best way to defeat Dr. Zomboss is to use the Bonk Choy's plant food ability. This is best used in the 4th row while he is summoning zombies because this does substantial (if not terminal) damage to the zombies and the boss.
• Plant your Bloomerangs, Repeaters and Cabbage-pults in the 4 back rows.
• Wall-nuts should be used in the 5th row.
• Iceberg Lettuce is useful when used with plant food. However, it does not freeze Dr. Zomboss; it merely slows him down. This makes him an easier target for Bonk Choy's plant food ability though.
• Although Dr. Zomboss spits out many big bruisers such as the Pharaoh Zombie and the Gargantuar, the biggest threat when defeating Dr. Zomboss is the Explorer Zombie. He can burn down one lane of plants within seconds if he is deployed with other zombies as his meatshield. Your best hope is to use Iceberg Lettuce's plant food ability to take them out when they are in huge numbers.

Pirate Seas

The latest in faceships.

Doctor Zomboss's machine in Pirate Seas has basically the same attacks as the Sphinx-inator but instead of shooting missiles he sprays a shower of imps.

• Your best friend in this level is the Coconut Cannon. It can kill the imps that he sprays out and deal decent amounts of damage to the boss. However, its plant food ability is easy to dodge. You can use the Spikeweed's plant food ability to keep the boss from moving, making him a sitting duck for your cannons. Plant the cannons in the back row for optimal performance.
• Snapdragons and Threepeaters should be planted in the 2nd and 4th rows.
• Kernel-pults and Spikeweeds are your most plentiful plant. Keep a reserve in the conveyor belt in case of a charging attack.
• On the subject of Dr. Zomboss's charging attack, if he charges use plant food on a coconut cannon as fast as possible. Dr. Zomboss will be stunned if he charges into it.
• Cherry Bombs are very useful when he is in the process of vomiting zombies. It heavily damages all the zombies and Dr. Zomboss.
• If he summons a Gargantuar at a bad time, plant a Spikeweed behind it and use its plant food ability.

Wild West

Doctor Zomboss's machine in the Wild West is called the War Wagon and has a bull strapped to the back for reasons I do not understand and do not want to understand.

• Pea Pods should be planted on the carts. Melon-pults are in the back. Plant Winter melons in the 2nd and 4th rows to freeze as much zombies as possible.
• The melon pult's plant food ability is very useful for dispatching hordes of zombies he summons.
• Move your pea pods according to the row he is in.
• His machine launchers 4 missiles at once. If these target a mine rail, only one space on the rail is safe. Move the pea pods to that space as soon as possible.
• If Dr. Zomboss has no minions, plant food your lightning reeds to cut down his HP at very high speeds.

Far Future

Doctor Zomboss's machine in the Far Future is called the Tomorrow-tron. This is by far the easiest Zombot to destroy. His missile attacks can target plants on power tiles of a certain color and destroy the tiles in the process.

• Plant the Power Tiles in the 3 center rows.
• Plant Citrons on one power tile color, and Laser Beans on the other.
• When Dr. Zomboss targets your power tiles, activate Plant Food on the plants planted on the targeted tiles. This will make them briefly immune to the missiles and save your power tiles. This also damages the boss quite a bit.
• Gargantuars in this age are pathetically easy to dispatch, just use the Citron's plant food ability. It will kill them in one hit if there are no other machines in front of him.
• In the 3rd phase, he summons Mecha-Football zombies, which can mess up your power tile arrangements. Use the Laser Bean's plant food ability to kill all of them, as opposed to the Citron killing only one at a time.

Dark Ages

Because 4 legged 1 eyed bosses are too mainstream.

The Zombot Dark Dragon is currently the hardest boss in the game due to him being out of range of your primary attacking plant. Despite the fact that it looks different than all his other machines, it moves and attacks in the same fashion. Finishing this level without losing a single mower is nigh impossible.

• Peanuts should be planted in the 4th column.
• Fume-shrooms should be planted in the 2nd and 3rd columns. If no fume-shrooms are available, plant Puff-shrooms instead until a fume-shroom is available.
• During his 2nd phase, he summons Gargantuars. These are a massive headache and can cause quite a few mowers to disappear. The Fume-shroom's plant food ability is best to use against them, as it pushes the Gargantuar to the far right side of the board, where he will likely be crushed by the Dark Dragon. It is very important that you damage him out of this phase as soon as possible to stop the Gargantuars from coming.
• He breathes fire at your plants instead of charging. However, you can still stop the charge by feeding Plant Food to a plant in a targeted lane. When the fire hits the boosted plant, the fire stream will be blocked in both lanes and stuns the boss for some reason.
• Instead of missiles, he spits fireballs which may spawn dragon imps. These are immune to the dragon's fire breath and as such can cause you to lose if he breathes fire in a lane conatining Imp Dragons.
• Magnet-shrooms are automatically boosted in this level, and using them tugs on the Dark Dragon's nose ring, stunning him. This can stop a zombie summon or a fire blast.