Page 1
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| ,-------------------------------------------------------------------------, |
| | | |
| | Plants Vs Zombies Game Guide v0.70 | |
| | by Curby | |
| | | |
| | Copyright (C) 2009 Michael Lee, licensed under CC BY-ND 3.0 | |
| | | |
| '-------------------------------------------------------------------------' |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 000: Table of Contents |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
To jump to a section, search for its section number followed by a colon instead
of a period.
000. Table of Contents 400. Mini-Games Walkthrough
100. About this Guide 500. Puzzles Walkthrough
110. Availability
120. Copyright and License 600. Survival Walkthrough
130. Status and History 610. First Stage (Flags 1-2)
140. Searching the Guide 620. Second Stage (Flags 3-4)
150. Links in the Guide 630. Later Stages (Flags 5-10)
640. Location-specific Tactics
200. About the Game 650. Survival Endless
210. Gameplay Overview
220. Game Modes 700. Zen Garden Walkthrough
230. Secrets
240. Unlockables 800. Plant and Zombie Armies
250. Other Items 810. Plants Overview
260. Tips 820. Zombies Overview
300. Adventure Walkthrough
310. Stage 1 - Front Lawn, Day
320. Stage 2 - Front Lawn, Night
330. Stage 3 - Back Yard, Pool
340. Stage 4 - Back Yard, Fog
350. Stage 5 - Roof
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 100: About this Guide |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 110: Availability --------------------------------------------------------'
Whether you found this guide on the Internet or through email, please know the
latest version is always available for free from my site [1] and GameFAQs [2].
[1] http://curby.net/docs/games/plantsvszombies.txt
[2] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56545
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 120: Copyright and License -----------------------------------------------'
This guide is Copyright (C) 2009 Michael Lee, and released under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License [3].
This license gives you my explicit permission to email, repost, republish, and
even sell this guide as long as it remains unchanged and in whole. In all
cases, this copyright and license statement, and the notice above that the
latest version is always available for free, must remain intact and unchanged.
All trademarks used herein that are listed at [4] are owned by PopCap Games,
Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company
and product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and
are used for the benefit of those owners.
[3] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
[4] http://www.popcap.com/trademarks.php
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 130: Status and History --------------------------------------------------'
This guide was started because Plants vs. Zombies was the most requested FAQ on
GameFAQs. It is a work in progress, focusing on a walkthrough of Adventure
mode for beginners and advanced strategies for seasoned players.
2009-06-29 Stage 5 of Adventure, Plant and Zombie armies, etc.
2009-06-11 Stage 4 of Adventure, etc.
2009-05-28 Stage 3 of Adventure, etc.
2009-05-18 Stage 2 of Adventure, changed license, survival mode, misc changes
2009-05-15 Initial release
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 140: Searching the Guide -------------------------------------------------'
To jump to a section, type its number as listed in the table of contents, fol-
lowed by the colon symbol. If you wanted to go to section 1064, you'd search
for "1064:" without the quotation marks. Each level in the Adventure mode has
its own section number consisting of 3, the stage number, and the level number.
The third level of the second stage is at section 323, and the tenth level of
the fourth stage is at section 34F (F indicates the final level of that stage).
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 150: Links in the Guide --------------------------------------------------'
URLs are often too long to place in-line with the main text, so they will be
placed at the end of each section as footnotes. For example, see the links in
the Copyright section above.
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 200: About the Game |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
Plants Vs Zombies [5] is a tower defense [6] game in which you defend your
house from a horde of Zombies by placing plants in areas around your house.
This guide is not an instruction manual. While many walkthroughs spend time
repeating controls and other introductory material, this guide will focus
entirely on how to play the game effectively, not how perform basic functions.
Therefore, the following introductory sections will often refer to the game's
readme file [7]. If you don't have access to the Internet while reading this
guide, you can also find the readme file in the game's installation directory.
[5] http://www.popcap.com/games/pvz
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_defense
[7] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 210: Gameplay Overview ---------------------------------------------------'
For information on the controls of the game and the basics of how to play it,
see the "Playing the Game" section [8] of the game's readme. The game itself
also gently introduces players to new game mechanics with in-game instructions.
[8] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#PG
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 220: Game Modes ----------------------------------------------------------'
There are five game modes in Plants Vs. Zombies:
Adventure This is the primary mode, and consists of five stages of ten levels
each. Adventure mode must be completed to fully unlock the other
modes. For more information, see section 300.
Mini-Games This consists of 20 varied mini-games, which test your speed as
well as your strategy. For more information, see section 400.
Puzzles This consists of 20 levels of two puzzle modes: Vasebreaker and I,
Zombie. For more information, see section 500.
Survival This consists of 11 levels spanning the five locations first seen
in Adventure mode. For more information, see section 600.
Zen Garden This stress-free mode allows you to collect plants from other modes
and earn money by growing them and keeping them happy. For more
information, see section 700.
See the "Game Modes" section [9] of the game's readme for more information.
[9] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#GM
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 230: Secrets -------------------------------------------------------------'
There are special codes that can be typed in during a level to enable graphical
effects in the game. These codes are discovered from the sayings of the Tree
of Wisdom, and some require the Tree of Wisdom to be of a certain height before
they can be activated. They have no in-game effect other than changing the
appearance of certain elements or characters and a sound effect confirming
their activation.
Code Effect
'''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
pinata Dying Zombies give a shower of candy
trickedout Lawn mowers get big engines
future Zombies wear sunglasses
dance Zombies dance instead of walk across the field
sukhbir Zombies have a different call for brains sound
daisies Dying Zombies leave small daisies on the ground
mustache / moustache Zombies get mustaches
Note that "daisies" requires a Tree of Wisdom height of 100 or more, "dance"
requires 500 feet, and "pinata" requires 1000 feet.
After the first play-through of the Adventure mode, there is an empty spot in
the Zombie Almanac. This last Zombie is unlocked by playing through Level 4-10
of the Adventure mode a second time.
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 240: Unlockables ---------------------------------------------------------'
Some items and game modes are unlocked by accomplishing certain tasks. Here
they are with the prerequisites for each:
Item/Game Mode Unlock Action
'''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Shovel Complete Level 1-4
Suburban Almanac Complete Level 2-4
Mini-Games (Game Mode) Complete Level 3-2
Crazy Dave's Shop Complete Level 3-4
Puzzles (Game Mode) Complete Level 4-6
Yeti (Almanac Entry) Find in Level 4-10 during 2nd playthrough
Zen Garden Complete Level 5-4
Survival (Game Mode) Complete Adventure mode
Seed Packets Complete levels in Adventure mode (the walkthrough
notes what seeds are awarded for each level)
Silver Sunflower Trophy Complete Adventure mode
Gold Sunflower Trophy Earn all Mini-Game, Puzzle, and Survival trophies
If you purchased your game from Steam [10], you can earn Steam achievements by
accomplishing certain tasks [11]. Achievements have no in-game effect other
than the notification that you have received them.
Steam Achievement Unlock Action
'''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Ask Me About Mustache Mode Enable Mustache Mode
Better Off Dead Get a streak of over 10 in I, Zombie Endless
China Shop Get to a streak of 15 in Vasebreaker Endless
Cryptozombologist Discover the top secret zombie (Yeti)
Explodonator Blow up 10 Zombies with a single cherry bomb
Home Lawn Security Complete Adventure mode
Immortal Get to 20 flags in Survival Endless
Morticulturalist Collect all 49 plants
Nobel Peas Prize Get the golden sunflower trophy
Spudow! Blow up a zombie using a potato mine
Towering Wisdom Grow the Tree of Wisdom to 100 feet
Walk This Way Hypnotize the lead dancer zombie
[10] http://store.steampowered.com/
[11] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/code/959255.html
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 250: Other Items ---------------------------------------------------------'
Additionally, many items can be purchase from Crazy Dave's Shop. These include
seed packet upgrades, defensive items like pool cleaners, and items for the Zen
Garden. See the readme file for a complete list [12].
[12] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#SC/CDS
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 260: Tips ----------------------------------------------------------------'
The readme file contains a list of helpful tips [13] for both general gameplay
and the Zen Garden. Here are a few more:
o Disregard most of the plant upgrades for the Adventure mode. They are
generally too expensive for the effect they will have on the game. For
example, use two Repeaters instead of a Gatling Pea. While it will take
two physical spaces instead of one, you save sun by planting more plants.
Also, having more plants can be beneficial as they will absorb more chomping
by Zombies.
o Don't bother using Marigolds during the Adventure mode, when time, space,
and sun are precious resources. Instead, finish Adventure mode more quickly
and use other means [14] to earn money later on.
o Gloom-Shrooms are very powerful, and should be the first upgraded plant that
you buy. Once you get them, use them in all available levels. During the
day, use coffee beans to wake them up. Yes, it's worth three slots!
o The golden rule of any real time strategy game is to ramp up your resource
production as quickly as possible while barely surviving early attacks. To
do this, try to kill each of the early Zombies as late as possible and with
as few attacking plants as possible. This will mean that you are spending
more sun on sun-producers, so that you'll have more income for the difficult
later parts of the level.
o Use the rake to take out the first zombie on each level. This allows you
to use more early resources on sun-producers.
o If you don't have the extra gold to buy rakes, you can use Potato Mines,
Tangle Kelps, and Squashes for a similar effect. Instead of spending 100
sun on a plant to take care of the early Zombie, you spend half that and
free up enough sun for another Sunflower. This is not an issue at night
when you have free plants to provide an early defense.
o Use Garlic to divert enemies onto other rows. Instead of defending 5-6 rows
on the field, you can divert them onto 3 rows. Having less effective area
to defend means that you can concentrate your defenses, and efficient plants
such as Fume-shrooms and Gloom-shrooms are even more effective against large
swarms as they hit every Zombie within range, whether there's 1 or 100.
o It is much easier to defend the water because the most powerful enemies are
all land-locked. For the more difficult games such as Survival mode, you
can group your more fragile and expensive plants, such as Cob Cannons, in
the water.
o There are tons of tips and techniques scattered throughout this guide too!
[13] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#GT
[14] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56559
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 300: Adventure Walkthrough |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
The Adventure mode can be considered the primary mode of the game. Here are
level descriptions and tips on completing each level.
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 310: Stage 1 - Front Lawn, Day -------------------------------------------'
The first of five stages takes place in your front yard during the day, and is
known as the "Day" stage in the game. The field has a maximum size of 5 rows
by 9 columns, though the first stages are made smaller to give a gentle
introduction to the game. The field sizes will be noted whenever they are
smaller than the maximum.
This first stage is easy, but it provides a good time to learn and practice
more advanced techniques that will be required later on. Even if you've
already beaten stage 1 in your game, skim the "The Key" lines for useful tips
and strategies. If you don't understand those summaries, read the "Notes" for
further explanation.
The listed flag count is the number of large waves of Zombies that attack on
that level. The first number is the number of flags the first time playing
through Adventure mode, and the second number is the number of flags on
subsequent times playing.
--- 311: Level 1-1 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 1x9
Enemies: Zombie
Flags: 0 / 2
Reward: Sunflower Seed Packet
The Key: Keep Peashooters far from the enemy.
Notes: Follow the tutorial tips and place your Peashooters at the far left.
As the name implies, ranged units work best at long range, so we put
them far away from the right edge where the Zombies spawn. The
Zombies are typically melee (close combat) units so this strategy
keeps your plants safe for as long as possible.
--- 312: Level 1-2 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 3x9
Enemies: Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Cherry Bomb Seed Packet
The Key: Save the two leftmost rows for sun production.
Notes: Place 4-5 Sunflowers at the far left before the first Zombie shows
up. Your first Peashooter should be on the same row as that first
Zombie and on the third column from the left. In general, set
aside the two left-most columns for sun-producing plants.
Here's our first level diagram, representing the beginning of the
game. Each dot represents an open space on the field, and other
symbols are explained to the right of the diagram. After we plant
four Sunflowers, the first Zombie appeared in the middle row. We
place our Peashooter in the same row and in the third column.
S S . . . . . . . S Sunflowers
S . P . . . . . Z P First Peashooter
S . . . . . . . . Z First Zombie
Towards the end, you should flesh out the two columns of Sunflowers
and build up two columns of Peashooters. This will be more than
enough firepower to take down the "flag" wave at the end. Flags on
the progress bar at the lower right of the screen indicate large
groups of Zombies that attack at once. By keeping an eye on the
progress bar, you can better prepare your defenses for these waves.
--- 313: Level 1-3 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 3x9
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Wall-nut Seed Packet
The Key: Maximize your early sun production.
Notes: You'll only have enough time to plant 3 Sunflowers before the first
Zombie, but try placing a fourth. If your reflexes are fast enough,
you'll still be able to kill the first Zombie with your first Pea-
shooter without taking a single hit. This goal of early resource
production should be kept in mind on every level.
As before, set up two columns each of Sunflowers and Peashooters.
That should be enough to beat the level, but you may want to try a
Cherry Bomb to see how it works. As they have a 3x3 area of effect,
try not to place them at the edges of the field or you'll waste some
of their power.
--- 314: Level 1-4 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 5x9
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Shovel
The Key: Get used to a larger field and to laying defenses.
Notes: Your first defensive plant, the Wall-nut, can be used to stall more
durable Zombies and larger groups. As Zombies stop and gnaw at a
Wall-nut, your Peashooters and other offense plants will have the
time and protection they need to dispatch them.
The strategy for this level follows that of the previous two: build
Sunflowers, and support them with Peashooters. Use Wall-nuts just
in front of your Peashooters. There, they will stop Zombie groups
but single Zombies will be killed by the Peashooters before being
able to damage the Wall-nuts at all.
--- 315: Level 1-5, Mini-Game: Wall-nut Bowling -------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Potato Mine Seed Packet
The Key: Kill Zombies as late as possible.
Notes: The fifth level of every stage is a special mini-game. After
teaching you how to use the shovel, Crazy Dave introduces you to the
first: Wall-nut Bowling.
This is also the first conveyor belt level. Instead of being
limited by recharge timers and sun costs, you only get to use the
seeds that slide in on the belt. Keep in mind that unused seeds
stay at the left side of the belt, so you can keep some there for
emergencies.
Your first thought might be to kill Zombies as soon as possible, but
it is difficult to win that way for two reasons. First of all, by
allowing Wall-nuts to ricochet around the field and hit multiple
Zombies, you won't need as many Wall-nuts to kill Zombies. Also,
seeing what's coming up allows you to plan your resources more care-
fully. Instead of wasting an Explode-o-nut on two Zombies, you may
wait a few seconds and see a larger group.
--- 316: Level 1-6 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Snow Pea Seed Packet
The Key: Plant Wall-nuts early, but place them carefully.
Notes: Pole Vaulters are easily stopped by two defensive units, but the
recharge time on the Wall-nuts is very high, so there's no way to
build two full columns of them before the flag. The best bet is
to start building them early so you can at least have one full
column of them, and to position them to the right so that post-
vault Zombies have some open ground to cover before reaching your
Peashooters. I used the following setup:
S S P P . . W . . S Sunflower
S S P P . . W . . P Peashooter
S S P P . . W . . W Wall-nut
S S P P . . W . .
S S P P . . W . .
That gives you more sun than you need towards the end of the level,
so you may start to replace Sunflowers with more Peashooters,
especially on rows that don't have a Wall-nut yet. Alternately, you
can use extra sun on Cherry Bombs. Cherry Bombs make a good "panic
button" by killing Zombies that get past your defenses, or those who
get within melee range of your fragile plants.
--- 317: Level 1-7 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Chomper Seed Packet
The Key: Plant Wall-nuts early, but place them carefully (yes, again!)
Notes: The last level gave us a great plant, the Snow Pea. By slowing down
Zombies while also damaging them, this creates a very useful hybrid
offense/defense plant. Since Zombies are slowed down, we don't need
as much space between our Wall-Nuts and our shooters. Try to finish
this setup before the first flag:
S S P s P . W . . S Sunflower
S S P s P . W . . P Peashooter
S S P s P . W . . W Wall-nut
S S P s P . W . . s Snow Pea
S S P s P . W . .
--- 318: Level 1-8 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie (?) Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Repeater Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Chomper
Peashooter Wall-nut
Snow Pea Cherry Bomb
The Key: Choose an appropriate selection of plants to fill your seed tray.
Notes: Starting at this level, there will be too many seed packets for the
seed tray. In the walkthrough, there will be a new section called
"Plants." The notes assume that the listed plants were chosen
for that level.
In general, I choose a sun-producing unit (e.g. Sunflower), an early
attack unit (Peashooter), an advanced attack unit (Snow Pea), a
defensive unit (Wall-nut), and a "panic button" (Cherry Bomb). Any
remaining slots are filled with plants that are good against certain
special Zombies for a given level, or plants I want to use for fun.
To fully streamline your game, also consider where in the seed tray
you place each packet. The goal is to reduce the time and distance
necessary to choose and then plant a certain seed, so get a feel for
what plants you place in which columns, and position their seeds
closer to those columns. For example, my sun producers always go to
the left, so I place those seeds in the left-most slot of the tray.
This level plays out like the last one, except that you can place
Chompers behind Wall-nuts to take care of Bucket-heads that make it
to your front lines. Chompers will eat Zombies that are up to two
columns ahead, so they can reach over Wall-nuts to eat a Zombie.
Note: In one of my profiles, this level did not have Pole Vaulters.
--- 319: Level 1-9 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Zombie Note
Plants: Sunflower Repeater
Peashooter Wall-nut
Snow Pea Cherry Bomb
The Key: The Repeater's good, but the Snow Pea comes first
Notes: An early defense relies heavily on stalling tactics while it builds
up its resource production. In the early parts of the game before
there is time to plant a full column of Wall-nuts, preventing fast
or high-toughness Zombies from reaching your plants is more
important than raw power. For this reason, start with a Peashooter
in each row, and then plant a Snow Pea before planting Repeaters.
This can be played the same way as the last two levels, but you can
replace Peashooters with Repeaters towards the late game if you have
extra sun.
--- 31F: Level 1-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 2 / 2
Reward: Puff-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: All plants except for Sunflower
The Key: Plan your setup before planting, even for the conveyor belt levels!
Notes: The last level of each stage is a conveyor belt level. Instead of
placing plants based on recharge timers and sun costs, seed packets
slide in on a conveyor belt and collect at the left. You can keep
"panic buttons" such as Cherry Bombs on the belt indefinitely while
you place permanent plants such as Peashooters on the ground.
Just like before, you can see how the Zombies spawn and what plants
you get before you start planting. The more you wait, the more you
will know and the better you'll be able to plan your first moves.
Plant your assorted Peashooters in columns 1-4, your Potato Mines
and Chompers in column 5, and Wall-nuts in column 6. To prepare for
the second flag, replace normal Peashooters with extra Repeaters.
Towards the end of conveyor levels, sometimes the seed tray has
extras of plants such as Peashooters when you've moved to Repeaters.
While keeping an extra on hand can be useful to rebuild after an
attack, these extras are usually useless. Simply plant them towards
the right as ablative armor [15]. The point is to make room for
more relevant seeds, and to stall the Zombies a little.
[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablative_armor
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 320: Stage 2 - Front Lawn, Night -----------------------------------------'
The second stage takes place in your front yard when night falls, and is known
as the "Night" stage in the game. There will be no sun falling from the sky
during these levels, which limits your early expansion rate.
Since it is the front yard, levels are still 5x9 in size, but there are now
gravestones in the yard. You cannot plant on graves, and Zombies will spawn
from them during the final wave in each level. The level descriptions below
note which columns will have gravestones at the start of the level.
On most of these levels, you will want to start out by planting Puff-shrooms as
your early attacking plant. Since these are low-range, you'll eventually want
to place long-range support plants behind them. For this reason, we'll break
the "attackers at the left" rule and plant the first Puff-shrooms in columns 4
or 5 depending on the situation.
Lastly, Zombies will occasionally drop coins when destroyed, starting in this
stage. Silver coins are worth $10, and gold coins are worth $50. Quickly pick
up dropped coins by clicking on them before they disappear. The rest of the
guide assumes that you are collecting money, as it will be used later on to buy
important upgrades and items.
--- 321: Level 2-1 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 7-9
Enemies: Zombie Newspaper Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Sun-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Repeater Wall-nut
The Key: Plant Puff-shrooms relentlessly.
Notes: In the last stage, I recommended that you wait until the first
Zombie appears before placing your first attacking plant. However,
since Puff-shrooms are free, you are only limited by the recharge
timer. To make your force as strong as possible, you'll want to
start planting them right away and keep planting them whenever
possible.
Instead of placing my first Puff-shrooms in column 3 like I usually
do for attackers, I place them in column 4. This is because I
expect to place some Snow Peas to slow down Zombies, and Snow Peas
have long range and can fire from the back, whereas Puff-shrooms
have a range of 3. This will be true for most of stage 2: start
your Puff-shrooms further to the right and place long-range support
between them and the Sun-shrooms. Target the following setup:
S S s P P W . . . S Sun-producing plant
S S s P P W . . . s Snow Pea
S S s P P W . . . P Puff-Shroom
S S s P P W . . . W Wall-nut
S S s P P W . . .
If there were any more Puff-shrooms, they couldn't shoot far enough
to get past the Wall-nuts and to the Zombies anyway, so we only use
two columns' worth.
Reality check: It is probably possible to complete this level with
nothing but two or three columns of Puff-shrooms. The point of
discussing and practicing more advanced tactics, as always, is to
prepare for the harder levels to come.
--- 322: Level 2-2 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 7-9
Enemies: Zombie Newspaper Zombie
Conehead Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Fume-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Snow Pea
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Repeater Wall-nut
The Key: Decide on Sun-shrooms or Sunflowers; I prefer the Sun-shrooms.
Notes: I use Sun-shrooms for Adventure mode but not because they produce
sun more quickly. Both sun-producers can end up completing the level
2-1 setup above in three minutes and fifty seconds, at which time
the Sun-shrooms will all be matured (so future production would be
comparable to Sunflowers). However, the tenth Sun-shroom can be
planted at around 1:30 versus 2:20 for the tenth Sunflower. Getting
your resource production squared away earlier is desirable as you'll
be able to concentrate your attention on your front lines sooner.
Additionally, you're at the mercy of a single random source when
using Sunflowers. Having additional sun producers smooths out the
curve, so you'll be able to better anticipate your income and build
up more consistently.
The counterargument is that during Survival game modes, upgrading to
Twin Sunflowers costs more if you start with Sun-shrooms. If you're
expecting to upgrade to Twin Sunflowers in Survival mode, definitely
use only Sunflowers even on night levels.
Anyway, back to the task at hand. Start with the setup shown above
for Level 2-1 with a Snow Pea, two Puff-shrooms, and a Wall-nut in
each row. To prepare for the last wave, gradually replace the Puff-
shrooms with Repeaters.
--- 323: Level 2-3 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 7-9
Enemies: Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Grave Buster Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Snow Pea
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
The Key: Piercing attacks are great against swarms.
Notes: You've probably noticed that when several Zombies spawn at once in a
single row, the lead Zombie will absorb all the damage allowing its
followers to arrive at your plants at full health. Fume-shrooms and
other plants with "piercing attacks" negate this tactic by damaging
all Zombies in a group at once. Their damage output actually goes
up when they're attacking bigger groups! They also nullify screen
doors. The one disadvantage is their limited range of 4 spaces.
Again, start with the setup from Level 2-1 but plant Fume-shrooms in
place of Snow Peas. As funds permit, start replacing Puff-shrooms
with more Fume-shrooms, for a final setup similar to the following:
S S F F F W . . . S Sun-shroom
S S F F F W . . . F Fume-shroom
S S F F F W . . . W Wall-nut
S S F F F W . . .
S S F F F W . . .
--- 324: Level 2-4 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 6-9
Enemies: Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Conehead Zombie Pole Vaulting Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: The Suburban Almanac
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Snow Pea
The Key: Use the Grave Buster to expand the buildable area.
Notes: You have probably noticed that each unused lawnmower is worth $50 at
the end of a level, so you can earn $250 just for finishing a level
without letting Zombies get to the left side. Between lawnmowers
and collected coins, you should have $750 by this point, so buy the
7th slot in your seed tray from Crazy Dave. You don't really need
it for this level, but there's no other need for cash so you might
as well get it now.
Our new plant is the Grave Buster, which eats graves. Note that the
Zombies can attack the Grave Buster while it's working, so make sure
the coast is clear before you use one. By the end of each level,
try to make sure that all the Graves have been destroyed because a
Zombie will rise from each grave for the final wave.
This level sees the return of the Pole Vaulting Zombie, so again we
need to push the Wall-nuts out to the right to give our attacking
plants some breathing room. Unfortunately, graves are starting to
spawn closer to our house, so we'll need to use the Grave Buster to
chew them away. Start with Puff-shrooms in columns 4-6, and replace
the ones to the left with Fume-shrooms. Column 6 Puff-shrooms
remain as cannon fodder for Pole Vaulters. The final setup is:
S S s F F P W . . S Sun-shroom
S S s F F P W . . s Snow Pea
S S s F F P W . . F Fume-shroom
S S s F F P W . . P Puff-shroom
S S s F F P W . . W Wall-nut
--- 325: Level 2-5, Mini-Game: Whack a Zombie ---------------------------------
Graves: Columns 4-9
Enemies: Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 1
Reward: Hypno-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Grave Buster Potato Mine
Cherry Bomb
The Key: Use the Grave Buster to push back the spawn area.
Notes: There's not much to it. Just click Zombies like mad, and use the
Grave Buster whenever you have 75 sun to destroy the left-most
Graves, working your way to the right.
Alternately, destroy graves in rows with the least number of graves.
The goal of this alternate strategy is to be left with graves in 2-3
rows, preferably adjacent rows, so Zombies spawn closer together and
can be killed with less movement of the mouse pointer.
If you're playing on a laptop, attaching an external mouse will make
this level easier as it involves a lot of movement and clicking.
--- 326: Level 2-6 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 6-9
Enemies: Zombie Football Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Scaredy-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Use Hypno-shrooms on Football Zombies
Notes: Start as normal, except you may want to use Hypno-shrooms now and
then to get rid of tougher enemies. Converted Zombies fight for you
and may destroy several other Zombies before dying. Since this is a
short (1-flag) level, you won't have time to set up a full defense.
My final setup looked like this:
S S . F P W . . . S Sun-shroom
S S . F P W . . . F Fume-shroom
S S . F P W . . . P Puff-shroom
S S . F P W . . . W Wall-nut
S S . F P W . . .
--- 327: Level 2-7 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 5-9
Enemies: Zombie Football Zombie
Conehead Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Ice-Shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Plant a bunch of Fume-shrooms, just like Level 2-3
Notes: I don't use Scaredy-shrooms because every niche is already filled by
a better choice. As an early attacker, the Puff-shroom's zero cost
makes it superior in spite of its lower range. In the late game,
the Fume-shroom's piercing attack makes it superior. As a last-
ditch defense, the Scaredy-shroom is useless because it hides. The
only good thing about it is that it looks like the little alien from
Pixar's "Lifted."
Since there aren't any Pole Vaulters we need to slow down, we will
just plant 3 columns of Fume-shrooms behind Wall-nuts. Footballers
can be met with a Hypno-shroom, or let them die from Fume-shrooms.
--- 328: Level 2-8 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 6-9
Enemies: Zombie Dancing Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Doom-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Hypnotize the lead dancers
Notes: Here we have Dancing Zombies that raise Backup Dancers from the
ground. By Hypnotizing the leaders, you can get a whole army on
your side for only 75 sun! Other than that, it's Level 2-3 again.
--- 329: Level 2-9 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 5-9
Enemies: Zombie Dancing Zombie
Conehead Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Zombie Note
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Business as usual for stage 2
Notes: Since this is a two-flag stage, there will be plenty of resources
for 3 full columns of Fume-shrooms (shown above in Level 2-3).
--- 32F: Level 2-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 4-9
Enemies: Zombie Dancing Zombie
Conehead Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Newspaper Zombie Football Zombie
Flags: 2 / 2
Reward: Lily Pad Seed Packet
Plants: Puff-shroom Grave Buster
Fume-shroom Hypno-shroom
Scardey-shroom Ice-shroom
Doom-shroom
The Key: As in all conveyor belt levels, save your bombs for emergencies!
Notes: I started with Puff-shrooms in column 5, then put Scardey-shrooms
in columns 1-2 and Fume-shrooms in columns 3-4. This level is not
very difficult as you have Doom-shrooms and Hypno-shrooms to handle
the otherwise dangerous Football and Dancing Zombies.
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 330: Stage 3 - Back Yard, Pool -------------------------------------------'
The third stage takes place in your back yard the following day, and is known
as the "Pool" stage in the game. The levels consist of four rows of nine
spaces on land, and two rows of nine spaces in the pool. Here are a few key
points to be aware of:
1) Lawnmowers can't clear away Zombies that make it to the left side of the
pool, so be sure to defend the water carefully. That said, Zombies don't
usually try to enter the water until it's almost to the first flag, so you
have more time to set up defenses there.
2) Mushrooms fall asleep during the day, so avoid them for now.
3) Levels in stage 3 have hidden, sunken Zombies that resurface in columns 6-9
during the last wave. Don't concentrate your water defenses ahead of column
6 or Zombies will pop up behind your defenses and have a straight shot to
the house. A basic water defense therefore places Wall-nuts in column 6.
--- 331: Level 3-1 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Ducky Tube Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Squash Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Lily Pad Wall-nut
Peashooter Cherry Bomb
Repeater
The Key: Plant 8 Sunflowers on land first, then 4 in the water
Notes: As we talked about above in stage 1, it's important to maximize your
early resource production. This means that we defer non-essential
building as long as possible, so we'll put Sunflowers on land before
building Lily Pads for Sunflowers in the water.
After the night stage, let's review a normal daytime build order.
We should try to get 4 Sunflowers on the field before our first Pea-
shooter, and have 6 Sunflowers before our second Peashooter. If
luck brings faster sun production or the first two Zombies in the
same row, you can plant more Sunflowers even sooner!
Treat this like the levels in stage 1: start with Peashooters, build
up Wall-nuts, and fortify with Repeaters and Snow Peas.
--- 332: Level 3-2 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Ducky Tube Zombie
Conehead Zombie Newspaper Zombie
Buckethead Zombie Football Zombie
Flags: 2 / ?
Reward: Threepeater Seed Packet and Mini-Games mode
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Lily Pad Wall-nut
Peashooter Squash
Repeater
The Key: Learn how to effectively use the Squash
Notes: Play it like Level 3-1, but put Squashes behind Wall-nuts to destroy
the Footballers and Bucketheads that make it to your front lines.
Note that the defenses in the water don't have to be as powerful
because only a few types of enemies can swim.
The Squash can act like a panic button to kill Zombies that make it
to the left, but it only costs 50. Compared to the Potato Mine, it
doesn't need to charge itself up and detects enemies to the left or
right instead of being passive.
--- 333: Level 3-3 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Ducky Tube Zombie
Conehead Zombie Snorkel Zombie
Flags: 2 / ?
Reward: Tangle Kelp Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Lily Pad Wall-nut
Peashooter Cherry Bomb
Repeater
The Key: The Threepeater trades sun and tempo for space
Notes: Planting a Repeater in each row gives a solid 2-pea defense. On the
other hand, you could plant just 4 Threepeaters. This method costs
50 more sun after Lily Pad costs, but takes 2 fewer spaces on the
field. Unfortunately, you pay for Threepeaters in larger chunks of
sun, which leaves you vulnerable at the beginning. Since space is
not usually a problem in Adventure mode, you're better off staying
with the Repeater.
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| ,-------------------------------------------------------------------------, |
| | | |
| | Plants Vs Zombies Game Guide v0.70 | |
| | by Curby | |
| | | |
| | Copyright (C) 2009 Michael Lee, licensed under CC BY-ND 3.0 | |
| | | |
| '-------------------------------------------------------------------------' |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 000: Table of Contents |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
of a period.
000. Table of Contents 400. Mini-Games Walkthrough
100. About this Guide 500. Puzzles Walkthrough
110. Availability
120. Copyright and License 600. Survival Walkthrough
130. Status and History 610. First Stage (Flags 1-2)
140. Searching the Guide 620. Second Stage (Flags 3-4)
150. Links in the Guide 630. Later Stages (Flags 5-10)
640. Location-specific Tactics
200. About the Game 650. Survival Endless
210. Gameplay Overview
220. Game Modes 700. Zen Garden Walkthrough
230. Secrets
240. Unlockables 800. Plant and Zombie Armies
250. Other Items 810. Plants Overview
260. Tips 820. Zombies Overview
300. Adventure Walkthrough
310. Stage 1 - Front Lawn, Day
320. Stage 2 - Front Lawn, Night
330. Stage 3 - Back Yard, Pool
340. Stage 4 - Back Yard, Fog
350. Stage 5 - Roof
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 100: About this Guide |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 110: Availability --------------------------------------------------------'
Whether you found this guide on the Internet or through email, please know the
latest version is always available for free from my site [1] and GameFAQs [2].
[1] http://curby.net/docs/games/plantsvszombies.txt
[2] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56545
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 120: Copyright and License -----------------------------------------------'
This guide is Copyright (C) 2009 Michael Lee, and released under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License [3].
This license gives you my explicit permission to email, repost, republish, and
even sell this guide as long as it remains unchanged and in whole. In all
cases, this copyright and license statement, and the notice above that the
latest version is always available for free, must remain intact and unchanged.
All trademarks used herein that are listed at [4] are owned by PopCap Games,
Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. Other company
and product names used herein may be trademarks of their respective owners and
are used for the benefit of those owners.
[3] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
[4] http://www.popcap.com/trademarks.php
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 130: Status and History --------------------------------------------------'
This guide was started because Plants vs. Zombies was the most requested FAQ on
GameFAQs. It is a work in progress, focusing on a walkthrough of Adventure
mode for beginners and advanced strategies for seasoned players.
2009-06-29 Stage 5 of Adventure, Plant and Zombie armies, etc.
2009-06-11 Stage 4 of Adventure, etc.
2009-05-28 Stage 3 of Adventure, etc.
2009-05-18 Stage 2 of Adventure, changed license, survival mode, misc changes
2009-05-15 Initial release
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 140: Searching the Guide -------------------------------------------------'
To jump to a section, type its number as listed in the table of contents, fol-
lowed by the colon symbol. If you wanted to go to section 1064, you'd search
for "1064:" without the quotation marks. Each level in the Adventure mode has
its own section number consisting of 3, the stage number, and the level number.
The third level of the second stage is at section 323, and the tenth level of
the fourth stage is at section 34F (F indicates the final level of that stage).
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 150: Links in the Guide --------------------------------------------------'
URLs are often too long to place in-line with the main text, so they will be
placed at the end of each section as footnotes. For example, see the links in
the Copyright section above.
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 200: About the Game |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
Plants Vs Zombies [5] is a tower defense [6] game in which you defend your
house from a horde of Zombies by placing plants in areas around your house.
This guide is not an instruction manual. While many walkthroughs spend time
repeating controls and other introductory material, this guide will focus
entirely on how to play the game effectively, not how perform basic functions.
Therefore, the following introductory sections will often refer to the game's
readme file [7]. If you don't have access to the Internet while reading this
guide, you can also find the readme file in the game's installation directory.
[5] http://www.popcap.com/games/pvz
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_defense
[7] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 210: Gameplay Overview ---------------------------------------------------'
For information on the controls of the game and the basics of how to play it,
see the "Playing the Game" section [8] of the game's readme. The game itself
also gently introduces players to new game mechanics with in-game instructions.
[8] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#PG
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 220: Game Modes ----------------------------------------------------------'
There are five game modes in Plants Vs. Zombies:
Adventure This is the primary mode, and consists of five stages of ten levels
each. Adventure mode must be completed to fully unlock the other
modes. For more information, see section 300.
Mini-Games This consists of 20 varied mini-games, which test your speed as
well as your strategy. For more information, see section 400.
Puzzles This consists of 20 levels of two puzzle modes: Vasebreaker and I,
Zombie. For more information, see section 500.
Survival This consists of 11 levels spanning the five locations first seen
in Adventure mode. For more information, see section 600.
Zen Garden This stress-free mode allows you to collect plants from other modes
and earn money by growing them and keeping them happy. For more
information, see section 700.
See the "Game Modes" section [9] of the game's readme for more information.
[9] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#GM
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 230: Secrets -------------------------------------------------------------'
There are special codes that can be typed in during a level to enable graphical
effects in the game. These codes are discovered from the sayings of the Tree
of Wisdom, and some require the Tree of Wisdom to be of a certain height before
they can be activated. They have no in-game effect other than changing the
appearance of certain elements or characters and a sound effect confirming
their activation.
Code Effect
'''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
pinata Dying Zombies give a shower of candy
trickedout Lawn mowers get big engines
future Zombies wear sunglasses
dance Zombies dance instead of walk across the field
sukhbir Zombies have a different call for brains sound
daisies Dying Zombies leave small daisies on the ground
mustache / moustache Zombies get mustaches
Note that "daisies" requires a Tree of Wisdom height of 100 or more, "dance"
requires 500 feet, and "pinata" requires 1000 feet.
After the first play-through of the Adventure mode, there is an empty spot in
the Zombie Almanac. This last Zombie is unlocked by playing through Level 4-10
of the Adventure mode a second time.
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 240: Unlockables ---------------------------------------------------------'
Some items and game modes are unlocked by accomplishing certain tasks. Here
they are with the prerequisites for each:
Item/Game Mode Unlock Action
'''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Shovel Complete Level 1-4
Suburban Almanac Complete Level 2-4
Mini-Games (Game Mode) Complete Level 3-2
Crazy Dave's Shop Complete Level 3-4
Puzzles (Game Mode) Complete Level 4-6
Yeti (Almanac Entry) Find in Level 4-10 during 2nd playthrough
Zen Garden Complete Level 5-4
Survival (Game Mode) Complete Adventure mode
Seed Packets Complete levels in Adventure mode (the walkthrough
notes what seeds are awarded for each level)
Silver Sunflower Trophy Complete Adventure mode
Gold Sunflower Trophy Earn all Mini-Game, Puzzle, and Survival trophies
If you purchased your game from Steam [10], you can earn Steam achievements by
accomplishing certain tasks [11]. Achievements have no in-game effect other
than the notification that you have received them.
Steam Achievement Unlock Action
'''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Ask Me About Mustache Mode Enable Mustache Mode
Better Off Dead Get a streak of over 10 in I, Zombie Endless
China Shop Get to a streak of 15 in Vasebreaker Endless
Cryptozombologist Discover the top secret zombie (Yeti)
Explodonator Blow up 10 Zombies with a single cherry bomb
Home Lawn Security Complete Adventure mode
Immortal Get to 20 flags in Survival Endless
Morticulturalist Collect all 49 plants
Nobel Peas Prize Get the golden sunflower trophy
Spudow! Blow up a zombie using a potato mine
Towering Wisdom Grow the Tree of Wisdom to 100 feet
Walk This Way Hypnotize the lead dancer zombie
[10] http://store.steampowered.com/
[11] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/code/959255.html
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 250: Other Items ---------------------------------------------------------'
Additionally, many items can be purchase from Crazy Dave's Shop. These include
seed packet upgrades, defensive items like pool cleaners, and items for the Zen
Garden. See the readme file for a complete list [12].
[12] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#SC/CDS
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 260: Tips ----------------------------------------------------------------'
The readme file contains a list of helpful tips [13] for both general gameplay
and the Zen Garden. Here are a few more:
o Disregard most of the plant upgrades for the Adventure mode. They are
generally too expensive for the effect they will have on the game. For
example, use two Repeaters instead of a Gatling Pea. While it will take
two physical spaces instead of one, you save sun by planting more plants.
Also, having more plants can be beneficial as they will absorb more chomping
by Zombies.
o Don't bother using Marigolds during the Adventure mode, when time, space,
and sun are precious resources. Instead, finish Adventure mode more quickly
and use other means [14] to earn money later on.
o Gloom-Shrooms are very powerful, and should be the first upgraded plant that
you buy. Once you get them, use them in all available levels. During the
day, use coffee beans to wake them up. Yes, it's worth three slots!
o The golden rule of any real time strategy game is to ramp up your resource
production as quickly as possible while barely surviving early attacks. To
do this, try to kill each of the early Zombies as late as possible and with
as few attacking plants as possible. This will mean that you are spending
more sun on sun-producers, so that you'll have more income for the difficult
later parts of the level.
o Use the rake to take out the first zombie on each level. This allows you
to use more early resources on sun-producers.
o If you don't have the extra gold to buy rakes, you can use Potato Mines,
Tangle Kelps, and Squashes for a similar effect. Instead of spending 100
sun on a plant to take care of the early Zombie, you spend half that and
free up enough sun for another Sunflower. This is not an issue at night
when you have free plants to provide an early defense.
o Use Garlic to divert enemies onto other rows. Instead of defending 5-6 rows
on the field, you can divert them onto 3 rows. Having less effective area
to defend means that you can concentrate your defenses, and efficient plants
such as Fume-shrooms and Gloom-shrooms are even more effective against large
swarms as they hit every Zombie within range, whether there's 1 or 100.
o It is much easier to defend the water because the most powerful enemies are
all land-locked. For the more difficult games such as Survival mode, you
can group your more fragile and expensive plants, such as Cob Cannons, in
the water.
o There are tons of tips and techniques scattered throughout this guide too!
[13] http://www.popcap.com/faq/plantsvszombies/1033/pc/readme.html#GT
[14] http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/959255/56559
,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------,
| 300: Adventure Walkthrough |
'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'
The Adventure mode can be considered the primary mode of the game. Here are
level descriptions and tips on completing each level.
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 310: Stage 1 - Front Lawn, Day -------------------------------------------'
The first of five stages takes place in your front yard during the day, and is
known as the "Day" stage in the game. The field has a maximum size of 5 rows
by 9 columns, though the first stages are made smaller to give a gentle
introduction to the game. The field sizes will be noted whenever they are
smaller than the maximum.
This first stage is easy, but it provides a good time to learn and practice
more advanced techniques that will be required later on. Even if you've
already beaten stage 1 in your game, skim the "The Key" lines for useful tips
and strategies. If you don't understand those summaries, read the "Notes" for
further explanation.
The listed flag count is the number of large waves of Zombies that attack on
that level. The first number is the number of flags the first time playing
through Adventure mode, and the second number is the number of flags on
subsequent times playing.
--- 311: Level 1-1 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 1x9
Enemies: Zombie
Flags: 0 / 2
Reward: Sunflower Seed Packet
The Key: Keep Peashooters far from the enemy.
Notes: Follow the tutorial tips and place your Peashooters at the far left.
As the name implies, ranged units work best at long range, so we put
them far away from the right edge where the Zombies spawn. The
Zombies are typically melee (close combat) units so this strategy
keeps your plants safe for as long as possible.
--- 312: Level 1-2 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 3x9
Enemies: Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Cherry Bomb Seed Packet
The Key: Save the two leftmost rows for sun production.
Notes: Place 4-5 Sunflowers at the far left before the first Zombie shows
up. Your first Peashooter should be on the same row as that first
Zombie and on the third column from the left. In general, set
aside the two left-most columns for sun-producing plants.
Here's our first level diagram, representing the beginning of the
game. Each dot represents an open space on the field, and other
symbols are explained to the right of the diagram. After we plant
four Sunflowers, the first Zombie appeared in the middle row. We
place our Peashooter in the same row and in the third column.
S S . . . . . . . S Sunflowers
S . P . . . . . Z P First Peashooter
S . . . . . . . . Z First Zombie
Towards the end, you should flesh out the two columns of Sunflowers
and build up two columns of Peashooters. This will be more than
enough firepower to take down the "flag" wave at the end. Flags on
the progress bar at the lower right of the screen indicate large
groups of Zombies that attack at once. By keeping an eye on the
progress bar, you can better prepare your defenses for these waves.
--- 313: Level 1-3 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 3x9
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Wall-nut Seed Packet
The Key: Maximize your early sun production.
Notes: You'll only have enough time to plant 3 Sunflowers before the first
Zombie, but try placing a fourth. If your reflexes are fast enough,
you'll still be able to kill the first Zombie with your first Pea-
shooter without taking a single hit. This goal of early resource
production should be kept in mind on every level.
As before, set up two columns each of Sunflowers and Peashooters.
That should be enough to beat the level, but you may want to try a
Cherry Bomb to see how it works. As they have a 3x3 area of effect,
try not to place them at the edges of the field or you'll waste some
of their power.
--- 314: Level 1-4 ------------------------------------------------------------
Size: 5x9
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Shovel
The Key: Get used to a larger field and to laying defenses.
Notes: Your first defensive plant, the Wall-nut, can be used to stall more
durable Zombies and larger groups. As Zombies stop and gnaw at a
Wall-nut, your Peashooters and other offense plants will have the
time and protection they need to dispatch them.
The strategy for this level follows that of the previous two: build
Sunflowers, and support them with Peashooters. Use Wall-nuts just
in front of your Peashooters. There, they will stop Zombie groups
but single Zombies will be killed by the Peashooters before being
able to damage the Wall-nuts at all.
--- 315: Level 1-5, Mini-Game: Wall-nut Bowling -------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Potato Mine Seed Packet
The Key: Kill Zombies as late as possible.
Notes: The fifth level of every stage is a special mini-game. After
teaching you how to use the shovel, Crazy Dave introduces you to the
first: Wall-nut Bowling.
This is also the first conveyor belt level. Instead of being
limited by recharge timers and sun costs, you only get to use the
seeds that slide in on the belt. Keep in mind that unused seeds
stay at the left side of the belt, so you can keep some there for
emergencies.
Your first thought might be to kill Zombies as soon as possible, but
it is difficult to win that way for two reasons. First of all, by
allowing Wall-nuts to ricochet around the field and hit multiple
Zombies, you won't need as many Wall-nuts to kill Zombies. Also,
seeing what's coming up allows you to plan your resources more care-
fully. Instead of wasting an Explode-o-nut on two Zombies, you may
wait a few seconds and see a larger group.
--- 316: Level 1-6 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Snow Pea Seed Packet
The Key: Plant Wall-nuts early, but place them carefully.
Notes: Pole Vaulters are easily stopped by two defensive units, but the
recharge time on the Wall-nuts is very high, so there's no way to
build two full columns of them before the flag. The best bet is
to start building them early so you can at least have one full
column of them, and to position them to the right so that post-
vault Zombies have some open ground to cover before reaching your
Peashooters. I used the following setup:
S S P P . . W . . S Sunflower
S S P P . . W . . P Peashooter
S S P P . . W . . W Wall-nut
S S P P . . W . .
S S P P . . W . .
That gives you more sun than you need towards the end of the level,
so you may start to replace Sunflowers with more Peashooters,
especially on rows that don't have a Wall-nut yet. Alternately, you
can use extra sun on Cherry Bombs. Cherry Bombs make a good "panic
button" by killing Zombies that get past your defenses, or those who
get within melee range of your fragile plants.
--- 317: Level 1-7 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Chomper Seed Packet
The Key: Plant Wall-nuts early, but place them carefully (yes, again!)
Notes: The last level gave us a great plant, the Snow Pea. By slowing down
Zombies while also damaging them, this creates a very useful hybrid
offense/defense plant. Since Zombies are slowed down, we don't need
as much space between our Wall-Nuts and our shooters. Try to finish
this setup before the first flag:
S S P s P . W . . S Sunflower
S S P s P . W . . P Peashooter
S S P s P . W . . W Wall-nut
S S P s P . W . . s Snow Pea
S S P s P . W . .
--- 318: Level 1-8 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie (?) Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Repeater Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Chomper
Peashooter Wall-nut
Snow Pea Cherry Bomb
The Key: Choose an appropriate selection of plants to fill your seed tray.
Notes: Starting at this level, there will be too many seed packets for the
seed tray. In the walkthrough, there will be a new section called
"Plants." The notes assume that the listed plants were chosen
for that level.
In general, I choose a sun-producing unit (e.g. Sunflower), an early
attack unit (Peashooter), an advanced attack unit (Snow Pea), a
defensive unit (Wall-nut), and a "panic button" (Cherry Bomb). Any
remaining slots are filled with plants that are good against certain
special Zombies for a given level, or plants I want to use for fun.
To fully streamline your game, also consider where in the seed tray
you place each packet. The goal is to reduce the time and distance
necessary to choose and then plant a certain seed, so get a feel for
what plants you place in which columns, and position their seeds
closer to those columns. For example, my sun producers always go to
the left, so I place those seeds in the left-most slot of the tray.
This level plays out like the last one, except that you can place
Chompers behind Wall-nuts to take care of Bucket-heads that make it
to your front lines. Chompers will eat Zombies that are up to two
columns ahead, so they can reach over Wall-nuts to eat a Zombie.
Note: In one of my profiles, this level did not have Pole Vaulters.
--- 319: Level 1-9 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Zombie Note
Plants: Sunflower Repeater
Peashooter Wall-nut
Snow Pea Cherry Bomb
The Key: The Repeater's good, but the Snow Pea comes first
Notes: An early defense relies heavily on stalling tactics while it builds
up its resource production. In the early parts of the game before
there is time to plant a full column of Wall-nuts, preventing fast
or high-toughness Zombies from reaching your plants is more
important than raw power. For this reason, start with a Peashooter
in each row, and then plant a Snow Pea before planting Repeaters.
This can be played the same way as the last two levels, but you can
replace Peashooters with Repeaters towards the late game if you have
extra sun.
--- 31F: Level 1-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Conehead Zombie
Pole Vaulting Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 2 / 2
Reward: Puff-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: All plants except for Sunflower
The Key: Plan your setup before planting, even for the conveyor belt levels!
Notes: The last level of each stage is a conveyor belt level. Instead of
placing plants based on recharge timers and sun costs, seed packets
slide in on a conveyor belt and collect at the left. You can keep
"panic buttons" such as Cherry Bombs on the belt indefinitely while
you place permanent plants such as Peashooters on the ground.
Just like before, you can see how the Zombies spawn and what plants
you get before you start planting. The more you wait, the more you
will know and the better you'll be able to plan your first moves.
Plant your assorted Peashooters in columns 1-4, your Potato Mines
and Chompers in column 5, and Wall-nuts in column 6. To prepare for
the second flag, replace normal Peashooters with extra Repeaters.
Towards the end of conveyor levels, sometimes the seed tray has
extras of plants such as Peashooters when you've moved to Repeaters.
While keeping an extra on hand can be useful to rebuild after an
attack, these extras are usually useless. Simply plant them towards
the right as ablative armor [15]. The point is to make room for
more relevant seeds, and to stall the Zombies a little.
[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablative_armor
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 320: Stage 2 - Front Lawn, Night -----------------------------------------'
The second stage takes place in your front yard when night falls, and is known
as the "Night" stage in the game. There will be no sun falling from the sky
during these levels, which limits your early expansion rate.
Since it is the front yard, levels are still 5x9 in size, but there are now
gravestones in the yard. You cannot plant on graves, and Zombies will spawn
from them during the final wave in each level. The level descriptions below
note which columns will have gravestones at the start of the level.
On most of these levels, you will want to start out by planting Puff-shrooms as
your early attacking plant. Since these are low-range, you'll eventually want
to place long-range support plants behind them. For this reason, we'll break
the "attackers at the left" rule and plant the first Puff-shrooms in columns 4
or 5 depending on the situation.
Lastly, Zombies will occasionally drop coins when destroyed, starting in this
stage. Silver coins are worth $10, and gold coins are worth $50. Quickly pick
up dropped coins by clicking on them before they disappear. The rest of the
guide assumes that you are collecting money, as it will be used later on to buy
important upgrades and items.
--- 321: Level 2-1 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 7-9
Enemies: Zombie Newspaper Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Sun-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Repeater Wall-nut
The Key: Plant Puff-shrooms relentlessly.
Notes: In the last stage, I recommended that you wait until the first
Zombie appears before placing your first attacking plant. However,
since Puff-shrooms are free, you are only limited by the recharge
timer. To make your force as strong as possible, you'll want to
start planting them right away and keep planting them whenever
possible.
Instead of placing my first Puff-shrooms in column 3 like I usually
do for attackers, I place them in column 4. This is because I
expect to place some Snow Peas to slow down Zombies, and Snow Peas
have long range and can fire from the back, whereas Puff-shrooms
have a range of 3. This will be true for most of stage 2: start
your Puff-shrooms further to the right and place long-range support
between them and the Sun-shrooms. Target the following setup:
S S s P P W . . . S Sun-producing plant
S S s P P W . . . s Snow Pea
S S s P P W . . . P Puff-Shroom
S S s P P W . . . W Wall-nut
S S s P P W . . .
If there were any more Puff-shrooms, they couldn't shoot far enough
to get past the Wall-nuts and to the Zombies anyway, so we only use
two columns' worth.
Reality check: It is probably possible to complete this level with
nothing but two or three columns of Puff-shrooms. The point of
discussing and practicing more advanced tactics, as always, is to
prepare for the harder levels to come.
--- 322: Level 2-2 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 7-9
Enemies: Zombie Newspaper Zombie
Conehead Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Fume-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Snow Pea
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Repeater Wall-nut
The Key: Decide on Sun-shrooms or Sunflowers; I prefer the Sun-shrooms.
Notes: I use Sun-shrooms for Adventure mode but not because they produce
sun more quickly. Both sun-producers can end up completing the level
2-1 setup above in three minutes and fifty seconds, at which time
the Sun-shrooms will all be matured (so future production would be
comparable to Sunflowers). However, the tenth Sun-shroom can be
planted at around 1:30 versus 2:20 for the tenth Sunflower. Getting
your resource production squared away earlier is desirable as you'll
be able to concentrate your attention on your front lines sooner.
Additionally, you're at the mercy of a single random source when
using Sunflowers. Having additional sun producers smooths out the
curve, so you'll be able to better anticipate your income and build
up more consistently.
The counterargument is that during Survival game modes, upgrading to
Twin Sunflowers costs more if you start with Sun-shrooms. If you're
expecting to upgrade to Twin Sunflowers in Survival mode, definitely
use only Sunflowers even on night levels.
Anyway, back to the task at hand. Start with the setup shown above
for Level 2-1 with a Snow Pea, two Puff-shrooms, and a Wall-nut in
each row. To prepare for the last wave, gradually replace the Puff-
shrooms with Repeaters.
--- 323: Level 2-3 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 7-9
Enemies: Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Grave Buster Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Snow Pea
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
The Key: Piercing attacks are great against swarms.
Notes: You've probably noticed that when several Zombies spawn at once in a
single row, the lead Zombie will absorb all the damage allowing its
followers to arrive at your plants at full health. Fume-shrooms and
other plants with "piercing attacks" negate this tactic by damaging
all Zombies in a group at once. Their damage output actually goes
up when they're attacking bigger groups! They also nullify screen
doors. The one disadvantage is their limited range of 4 spaces.
Again, start with the setup from Level 2-1 but plant Fume-shrooms in
place of Snow Peas. As funds permit, start replacing Puff-shrooms
with more Fume-shrooms, for a final setup similar to the following:
S S F F F W . . . S Sun-shroom
S S F F F W . . . F Fume-shroom
S S F F F W . . . W Wall-nut
S S F F F W . . .
S S F F F W . . .
--- 324: Level 2-4 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 6-9
Enemies: Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Conehead Zombie Pole Vaulting Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: The Suburban Almanac
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Snow Pea
The Key: Use the Grave Buster to expand the buildable area.
Notes: You have probably noticed that each unused lawnmower is worth $50 at
the end of a level, so you can earn $250 just for finishing a level
without letting Zombies get to the left side. Between lawnmowers
and collected coins, you should have $750 by this point, so buy the
7th slot in your seed tray from Crazy Dave. You don't really need
it for this level, but there's no other need for cash so you might
as well get it now.
Our new plant is the Grave Buster, which eats graves. Note that the
Zombies can attack the Grave Buster while it's working, so make sure
the coast is clear before you use one. By the end of each level,
try to make sure that all the Graves have been destroyed because a
Zombie will rise from each grave for the final wave.
This level sees the return of the Pole Vaulting Zombie, so again we
need to push the Wall-nuts out to the right to give our attacking
plants some breathing room. Unfortunately, graves are starting to
spawn closer to our house, so we'll need to use the Grave Buster to
chew them away. Start with Puff-shrooms in columns 4-6, and replace
the ones to the left with Fume-shrooms. Column 6 Puff-shrooms
remain as cannon fodder for Pole Vaulters. The final setup is:
S S s F F P W . . S Sun-shroom
S S s F F P W . . s Snow Pea
S S s F F P W . . F Fume-shroom
S S s F F P W . . P Puff-shroom
S S s F F P W . . W Wall-nut
--- 325: Level 2-5, Mini-Game: Whack a Zombie ---------------------------------
Graves: Columns 4-9
Enemies: Zombie Buckethead Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 1
Reward: Hypno-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Grave Buster Potato Mine
Cherry Bomb
The Key: Use the Grave Buster to push back the spawn area.
Notes: There's not much to it. Just click Zombies like mad, and use the
Grave Buster whenever you have 75 sun to destroy the left-most
Graves, working your way to the right.
Alternately, destroy graves in rows with the least number of graves.
The goal of this alternate strategy is to be left with graves in 2-3
rows, preferably adjacent rows, so Zombies spawn closer together and
can be killed with less movement of the mouse pointer.
If you're playing on a laptop, attaching an external mouse will make
this level easier as it involves a lot of movement and clicking.
--- 326: Level 2-6 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 6-9
Enemies: Zombie Football Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Scaredy-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Use Hypno-shrooms on Football Zombies
Notes: Start as normal, except you may want to use Hypno-shrooms now and
then to get rid of tougher enemies. Converted Zombies fight for you
and may destroy several other Zombies before dying. Since this is a
short (1-flag) level, you won't have time to set up a full defense.
My final setup looked like this:
S S . F P W . . . S Sun-shroom
S S . F P W . . . F Fume-shroom
S S . F P W . . . P Puff-shroom
S S . F P W . . . W Wall-nut
S S . F P W . . .
--- 327: Level 2-7 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 5-9
Enemies: Zombie Football Zombie
Conehead Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Ice-Shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Plant a bunch of Fume-shrooms, just like Level 2-3
Notes: I don't use Scaredy-shrooms because every niche is already filled by
a better choice. As an early attacker, the Puff-shroom's zero cost
makes it superior in spite of its lower range. In the late game,
the Fume-shroom's piercing attack makes it superior. As a last-
ditch defense, the Scaredy-shroom is useless because it hides. The
only good thing about it is that it looks like the little alien from
Pixar's "Lifted."
Since there aren't any Pole Vaulters we need to slow down, we will
just plant 3 columns of Fume-shrooms behind Wall-nuts. Footballers
can be met with a Hypno-shroom, or let them die from Fume-shrooms.
--- 328: Level 2-8 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 6-9
Enemies: Zombie Dancing Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Doom-shroom Seed Packet
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Hypnotize the lead dancers
Notes: Here we have Dancing Zombies that raise Backup Dancers from the
ground. By Hypnotizing the leaders, you can get a whole army on
your side for only 75 sun! Other than that, it's Level 2-3 again.
--- 329: Level 2-9 ------------------------------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 5-9
Enemies: Zombie Dancing Zombie
Conehead Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Flags: 2 / 3
Reward: Zombie Note
Plants: Sun-shroom Grave Buster
Puff-shroom Cherry Bomb
Fume-shroom Wall-nut
Hypno-shroom
The Key: Business as usual for stage 2
Notes: Since this is a two-flag stage, there will be plenty of resources
for 3 full columns of Fume-shrooms (shown above in Level 2-3).
--- 32F: Level 2-10, Conveyor Belt Level --------------------------------------
Graves: Columns 4-9
Enemies: Zombie Dancing Zombie
Conehead Zombie Screen Door Zombie
Newspaper Zombie Football Zombie
Flags: 2 / 2
Reward: Lily Pad Seed Packet
Plants: Puff-shroom Grave Buster
Fume-shroom Hypno-shroom
Scardey-shroom Ice-shroom
Doom-shroom
The Key: As in all conveyor belt levels, save your bombs for emergencies!
Notes: I started with Puff-shrooms in column 5, then put Scardey-shrooms
in columns 1-2 and Fume-shrooms in columns 3-4. This level is not
very difficult as you have Doom-shrooms and Hypno-shrooms to handle
the otherwise dangerous Football and Dancing Zombies.
_______________________________________________________________________________
'-- 330: Stage 3 - Back Yard, Pool -------------------------------------------'
The third stage takes place in your back yard the following day, and is known
as the "Pool" stage in the game. The levels consist of four rows of nine
spaces on land, and two rows of nine spaces in the pool. Here are a few key
points to be aware of:
1) Lawnmowers can't clear away Zombies that make it to the left side of the
pool, so be sure to defend the water carefully. That said, Zombies don't
usually try to enter the water until it's almost to the first flag, so you
have more time to set up defenses there.
2) Mushrooms fall asleep during the day, so avoid them for now.
3) Levels in stage 3 have hidden, sunken Zombies that resurface in columns 6-9
during the last wave. Don't concentrate your water defenses ahead of column
6 or Zombies will pop up behind your defenses and have a straight shot to
the house. A basic water defense therefore places Wall-nuts in column 6.
--- 331: Level 3-1 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Ducky Tube Zombie
Conehead Zombie
Flags: 1 / 2
Reward: Squash Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Lily Pad Wall-nut
Peashooter Cherry Bomb
Repeater
The Key: Plant 8 Sunflowers on land first, then 4 in the water
Notes: As we talked about above in stage 1, it's important to maximize your
early resource production. This means that we defer non-essential
building as long as possible, so we'll put Sunflowers on land before
building Lily Pads for Sunflowers in the water.
After the night stage, let's review a normal daytime build order.
We should try to get 4 Sunflowers on the field before our first Pea-
shooter, and have 6 Sunflowers before our second Peashooter. If
luck brings faster sun production or the first two Zombies in the
same row, you can plant more Sunflowers even sooner!
Treat this like the levels in stage 1: start with Peashooters, build
up Wall-nuts, and fortify with Repeaters and Snow Peas.
--- 332: Level 3-2 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Ducky Tube Zombie
Conehead Zombie Newspaper Zombie
Buckethead Zombie Football Zombie
Flags: 2 / ?
Reward: Threepeater Seed Packet and Mini-Games mode
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Lily Pad Wall-nut
Peashooter Squash
Repeater
The Key: Learn how to effectively use the Squash
Notes: Play it like Level 3-1, but put Squashes behind Wall-nuts to destroy
the Footballers and Bucketheads that make it to your front lines.
Note that the defenses in the water don't have to be as powerful
because only a few types of enemies can swim.
The Squash can act like a panic button to kill Zombies that make it
to the left, but it only costs 50. Compared to the Potato Mine, it
doesn't need to charge itself up and detects enemies to the left or
right instead of being passive.
--- 333: Level 3-3 ------------------------------------------------------------
Enemies: Zombie Ducky Tube Zombie
Conehead Zombie Snorkel Zombie
Flags: 2 / ?
Reward: Tangle Kelp Seed Packet
Plants: Sunflower Snow Pea
Lily Pad Wall-nut
Peashooter Cherry Bomb
Repeater
The Key: The Threepeater trades sun and tempo for space
Notes: Planting a Repeater in each row gives a solid 2-pea defense. On the
other hand, you could plant just 4 Threepeaters. This method costs
50 more sun after Lily Pad costs, but takes 2 fewer spaces on the
field. Unfortunately, you pay for Threepeaters in larger chunks of
sun, which leaves you vulnerable at the beginning. Since space is
not usually a problem in Adventure mode, you're better off staying
with the Repeater.
Author
Hi, Its me Hafeez. A webdesigner, blogspot developer and UI/UX Designer. I am a certified Themeforest top Author and Front-End Developer. I'am business speaker, marketer, Blogger and Javascript Programmer.
0 comments:
Post a Comment