How To Win At Zombies vs Plants

I was recently asked by a reader who is stuck trying to get past the rooftop Zombie attack. It can be hard, but I have developed strategies at all levels to the point where I can go from start to finish and never GET MY BRAINS EATEN! Some of you will say, "Wow! This guy is great!" But others will say, "This clown has too much time on his hands." There's a good argument for either side. However, on to how to successfully fight off rooftop Zombies.

In my rooftop fighting strategies there area a few weapons in my arsenal I almost always use. First, I start out establishing two rows of sunflowers and top at least one row with twin sunflowers to give me as much energy as possible for the coming fight. Fortunately, the zombies start to attack slowly, one at a time. For this I use the Squash melon. I plant it early in the row the zombie is attacking in. This gives me time to plant Sunflowers until I get two rows,

At this point I am planting in the next row up from the sunflowers plants that toss in an arc so the weapon flies over the roof, such as the kernel pult or the cabbage pult. I use these instead of the Watermelon pult, to start with, because they cost fewer points and you can generally get at least two rows of one of these plants to fight off the zombies.

But I usually plant all of one weapon side by side. For example, I would have two horizontal rows of sunflowers, a row of kennel pults, then a row of cabbage pults. (you could also use two rows of either cabbage or kernel pults), While establishing your weapons you can use the Squash or the Jalapeno to protect you. Once you get two pults in a row, one behind the other, they can generally protect you against all but Buckethead, and the some of the other really hard to kill Zombies. For those you need something powerful like Jalapeno or Cherry Bomb.

Once you get to the point on the rooftop that you can shoot over it with a pea shooter or split pea, I put those into use. I like split pea because of its ability to fire forward and behind. If a Zombie jumps over me or in some way gets behind me I can still fire off peas at it.

Another protective plant I like is the Frozen Pea. It shoots out peas that freeze Zombies. This slows them down to where you can do some damage with repeated pea fire of cabbage pulting or kernal pulting, or whatever.

So your rooftop should look something like this: two rows of Sunflowers, a row of Cabbage-pults, a row of Kernal-pults, a row of Split pea, a row of Frozen peas, and then just keep adding offensive weapons.

If you have watermelon pults you can use those near the end of the battle when you have the rooftop pretty well covered with weapons. As you need a lot of points for them, put them in the back rows by replacing Cabbage-pults or Kernal-pults with the Watermelon-pults. The reason is that you would not want to put one of the high-point value plants on the front row where a mass attack of Zombies could take it out.

There you have it, a simple but effective method to defeat Zombies. Keep in mind I almost always use Squash, Jalapeno, Split Pea and one other plant low in points in my arsenal. Also, use you points to get more plants that you can use. I quickly get the maximum number of eight. This makes it easier to defeat Zombies. And don't be afraid to experiment with different plant weapons. Hope this helps.

If you're new to Plants vs Zombies then you are behind the times, like me. The award winning action game has been out since 2009. The heroes are the plants that the homeowner puts in his yard to defend his home from the villaneous brain-eating zombies.

My first floral defensive plant in the line up of 49 plants is the lowly Peashooter. This is a useful plant in early defensive measures. The Peashooter fires on the Zombie until either the Zombie is eliminated or the Peashooter gets eaten. This usually does not happen if you put the plant out early enough. The Peashooter fires a pea every 1.5 seconds.

The Problem: You can't just put out as many plants as you want when you want them. You need points made by the Sunflowers which put out little suns that you click on to get the points. You then use the points to buy weapon plants, which vary in costs.

Tip: Do not use peashooters when the fighting occurs on the roof top. The roof is angled and the Peashooter only shoots into the roof and not at the Zombie. Once you sow some plants in the top rows of the roof or the flat center section, you can then use plants that shoot straight.

Strategy: Initially, when the game starts, you will have a little time to rack up some points before Zombies come to eat your brains. Plant about three or four Sunflowers, in the rear rows, gather points from their suns that they give off and use the points to purchase a Peashooter to fire at the first Zombie. They start coming one at a time and build up in numbers. Keep planting sunflowers until you have two rows. Initially, this will be enough to kill ordinary zombies, but as the levels progress and the zombies protect themselves they become harder to kill. In order to plant as many weapons as possible you will need more points than what the two rows can give you. This is where the twin sunflowers come into play. Plant twin sunflowers on top of the sunflowers. You will get twice as many suns.

You can't play without Sunflowers. They give off sun globes that you click on to get points. I love the smiling face of the Sunflowers.

Problem: You get 25 points for each globe you click on. Once you get one Sunflower you have to wait for two suns to appear before you can plant another because a sunflower costs 50 points. Frequently, as you play, you will find that even though you have the points a plant has not recharged and you have to wait several seconds to what seems like minutes for a particular plant to recharge.

Tip: Plant at least two rows in the back of the lawn or whatever area you are fighting in. If you need more sun, try planting a few Twin Sunflowers. They plant on the existing Sunflowers and give off twice the sun.

Strategy: Plant Sunflowers in the back two rows to keep them defended as long as possible.

Split Pea is one of the most useful plants because it can shoot simultaneously from the front and behind. Moreover, when shooting at Zombies from behind Split Pea shoots twice as many peas. As a result, I use this plant a lot by planting it behind a passing Zombie and firing on it from the rear. This works well even if the Zombie has protection.
Problem: Takes 125 points to get Split Pea into play. As a result, it can be moderately difficult to use it at the beginning of play when you have few Sunflowers.
Tip: Wait until you have about 4 or 5 Sunflowers planted and have clicked enough suns to have the 125 points needed for Split Pea. Then place them behind a passing Zombie. They can shoot without fear of that Zombie attacking them. At the same time they can defend themselves from any new Zombies that may be approaching from the front.
Strategy: Split Pea's ability to shoot both forward and backward and its relatively modest cost make it a must have player in nearly all game levels. I choose it over Peashooter any day. Peashooter only shoots peas in one direction, but costs 25 points less than Split Pea.

The Potato Mine is an ingenious little device. It reminds me of the Claymore landmines I had some training with in the military. Plant them early because it takes about 30 seconds or so - I haven't timed them - before they pop up and are ready to blow Zombies to smithereens. They blow up almost everything.

Problem: Has to be used early in game when you have time to plant them. This is because of the time delay before they are armed. Blast radius is only for whatever Zombie stepped on them.

Tip: Because Potato Mines only cost 25 points they should be used early before the Zombie horde falls upon you. They make a great last defense measure if Zombies break through your front line defense.

Strategy:I like to put them behind a weapon or a protective plant like Wall Nut. If Zombies break through they get a bang of a surprise and the energy cost in points is minor.

He tough, he's lovable, he's got a grim look on his face and he smashes everything that comes toward him. What's not to like?

The problem: Squash is only good for one use. He literally sacrifices himself for the good of the homeowner.

Tip: Use Squash as often as you can. In particular when he is needed to smash a Zomboni or even a group of Zombies. I use him as often as I can.

Strategy: This big guy is relatively cheap in points, so use him in sensitive areas where you need protection. I like to put him behind a Wall Nut or Tall Nut or even some weapons to help delay the onslaught of Zombies. Because he's not high in point costs I use Squash a lot.

Tall Nut

Star
Fruit

Snow Pea

These plants are often part of my offensive and defensive line up after I set up an initial defense with Split Peas, Snow Peas and Potato Mines. The Tall Nut is harder to crack than the Wall Nut. Often the Zombies give up and die again when confronted by the Tall Nut. But the Tall Nut can be eaten, eventually. And as it's about to die a tear forms in its eye. It's almost sad. A good strategy is to place them at the front of the lawn to help prevent Zombies from getting too far inside.

Next in the lineup is Star Fruit. This powerful plant shoots out stars from its five points in five different directions. Useful for hitting Zombies all around you. A good strategy is to place them side by side across the lawn.

When I really start adding up the points I like to use Snow Pea. He shoots frozen peas and is a more powerful plant, but he costs more and doesn't recharge as fast as some other plants. After I have plenty of Sunflowers I like to pull up several Sunflowers from the rear and plant Snow Peas. This way they stay alive as long as possible and provide as much damage as possible.

You Can Lose In A Backyard Fight Without Lily Pad. Tangle Kelp and Pumpkin Provide Backup Support.

Tangle Kelp

Pumpkin

Lily Pad

When you get to the backyard level you will encounter a swimming pool. Zombies as scuba divers and with a rubber ducky life preserver as well as riding trained dolphins will attack from the water. In order to protect this weak link in your defensive campaign you will need at least Lily Pad. With this plant you can sow other weapon plants on the pads to provide protection. With Tangle Kelp you just place it on the water where it lurks to pull down Zombies foolish enough to attempt a water attack. Pumpkin is like a Kevlar Vest for plants. Zombies can eventually eat through them, but it provides an extra measure of protection to give the plants that much longer to keep firing at the Undead.

Problem:Lily Pad is not a weapon in itself, but only provides a platform on which to place a weapon plant. But they are cheap from a cost view point. However, don't wait too long to start planting them in the water. I usually start after I have sown four or more Sunflowers. Tangle Kelp, while not costly in points, is a one-use weapon. It drowns a Zombie that tries to attack from the pool. Pumpkin is kind of costly. As a result, I generally use them later in the game after I have a lot of points banked. Pumpkin's only use is protection to the plant and it's a little costly.

Tip: You will need about 6 Lily Pads and 4 to 6 Tangle Kelp to provide adequate protection in the pool. You have to use Lily Pad because Tangle Kelp is a one-time use plant and is really subordinate to Lily Pad. I love the angry red eyes. Plant the most powerful weapons you can afford. If you decide not to use Tangle Kelp that's okay. You will need to plant more Lily Pads, however, maybe two to four more. Use Pumpkin after you have planted at least two rows of Sunflowers and built up a reserve of points.

Strategy: Lily Pads and Tangle Kelp are cheap pointwise. Use plenty of them and often. Use Tangle Kelp near the front end of the pool, far right of your screen. This will help to keep Zombies from getting too far into the pool. Use Pumpkin on the plants near the front to help provide them with as much protection as possible.

Jalapeno

Cherry Bomb

Torchwood

These Plants - Jalapeno, Cherry Bomb and Torchwood - Provide Explosive Power Fire Power to Kill Almost Every Zombie.
I would have an extremely difficult time surviving a full out Zombie attack without at least Jalapeno or Cherry Bomb. Torchwood is not explosive in itself but turns peas to fire balls, which have more Zombie killing power.

Problem: These plants are moderately costly in points and they don't repower very fast even if you have the points to get them. Plus, except for Torchwood, they are one time use plants and you have to use them immediately. You can't keep them planted lying in wait.

Tip:Try to get Torchwood as close to the weapon plant firing through it as possible to prolong the damage as long as possible. Jalapeno is cheaper than Cherry Bomb, but it explodes in a straight track. Cherry Bomb blows up Zombies in a radius all around it. Use Cherry Bomb when you want to destroy Zombies all around you that have crashed through your defenses.

Strategy: Don't use Cherry Bomb or Jalapeno until you have to. They are slow to recharge, even if you have the points. They are the only weapons that can destroy Zomboni, a Zombie riding a zamboni.

The Zombies are kinda creepy when you hear one of them say in a gravelly tone, "We're coming." But then it's a little funny when you hear another Zombie keep saying, "Bwains, Bwains," over and over. He has a hard time with his Rs. The game starts out slowly with only one Zombie lurching along a single track in the lawn. He's usually not a problem if you are prepared. But as the game progresses the Zombies start coming in mobs and there are specialized Zombies like the Newspaper Reader, Buckethead, Conehead zombies or Zomboni who rides a Zamboni. Anytime a Zombie wears or holds a particular item, it makes them harder to kill.

The Undead Lineup

Standard Zombie

Conehead

Buckethead

A Few Final Words.

This is not the complete lineup of heroes and villains, but these are the ones you will first encounter. There are plenty of others. Fortunately, there is a sharp learning curve to Zombies vs Plants, and I am sure you will have your own style or fighting the Undead. The basic strategy I use is to try to slow the Zombies down when they start attacking in groups, which makes them stronger. There are plant weapons that fire multiple ammo at one time, such as the Threepeater, which fire three peas at a time. However, it is costly and can only be used after you have planted quite a few Sunflowers. In an instance such as that, I dig up a few sunflowers in the rear and plant a Threepeater or Gatling Pea.

I have only scratched the surface of the plants and zombies the game uses. There is enough variety, creativity and ingenuity to keep everyone excited and involved. I can truly say that every game I play, even when I repeat again from the beginning, is a little different. I had and continue to have a blast while playing this game. I hope you will too.

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