Hey, Sun Harvesters! ☀️🌻
Today’s Plants vs. Zombies 3: Evolved update is a big one, with a full gameplay re-tuning based on your feedback. Thanks to everyone in our community, both those playing in our Early Access regions, and players following along, for sharing your thoughts to help us adapt the game. This update aims to make battles more strategic, plant tiers more meaningful, and progression less grindy than Dave making his 5th cup of coffee before breakfast.
We’re Not Supposed to Touch Dave’s Grinder. Or Any Power Tools Really. ⚙️
The biggest change in this update is a full gameplay rebalance. Damage type effectiveness is increasing from 2x to 3x, which means that choosing the right plant to counter specific zombie threats will be more effective than it used to be. We’ve also rebuilt zombie spawning to better support featured zombies, higher-tier plants, and generally create more instances where you can come up with a satisfying plant-shaped plan to ruin their afternoon.
Plant progression is getting a major overhaul too. Tier 2 and 3 plants are now much stronger, while we’re lowering the max plant level from 20 to 10 so that focusing on merging and higher-tier plants feels more rewarding than endlessly leveling your Tier 1 Peashooter until it achieves enlightenment. The cost to acquire plants is coming down, rewards are being restructured, and there will be more incentive for you to give your plants the ultimate merging glow up. The zombies are taking this pretty hard, to be honest. We’re not sorry.
Leveling up now also unlocks unique portraits for each plant at level 3 and 8. And you should probably get started on getting them all because who knows… there might be something in the future for all you collectors 👀!
For players in our Early Access regions, your existing plant-level investments will be automatically reset and fully refunded to you. And as part of our economy changes and rebalances, we have decided to remove XP. All your XP will convert to Coins at a ratio of 1:1. Along with Coins, Meteorite Shards are going to be your main way to level up your plants. To support this change, we’ve increased the number of Shards you can earn during each Plant Pass i.e. within 2 weeks.
With these changes, we want to simplify currencies, improve reward clarity, and increase the value of progression, especially for higher-tier plants. So this might be the perfect time to invest in those Tier 3 plants and watch them give the zombies nightmares. We have yet to verify if zombies actually dream.
Another one of our goals with this update is to give biomes a stronger identity, similar to how nighttime, fog, pools, and rooftops changed the puzzle in the original Plants vs. Zombies.
Different biomes now create different gameplay challenges, encouraging players to adapt their team and experiment with new strategies:
- Ice Plants are significantly stronger in Volcano
- Electric Plants are significantly stronger in Campground
- Mushroom Plants are stronger in Sewers, but expire in the light
- Only Aquatic Plants like Tangle Kelp are placeable in water in Campground
As with many things in Early Access, we expect we will tune these changes as you spend time with them and share your thoughts. Thanks in advance for sharing your constructive feedback with us!
We Trimmed the Weeds in the Garden ✂️
Crazy Dave did not say that we have to stay away from all sharp objects. HA! So we’re taking this opportunity to sharpen up Adventure Mode. We kicked out a bunch of same-y levels and reduced the total count from 150 to 75. You will be migrated to an appropriate level based on your progression. This way, you don’t have to worry about repeating the same content because of the reduced level count. Pacing is faster, cutscenes come up more frequently to make it easier to keep up with the story, key zombie mechanics are introduced earlier, and rewards are improved. Expeditions and Lawn Patrol are getting similar tweaks, with faster access to interesting battles and simpler, clearer rewards.
Board mechanics are also being adjusted with more intentional pacing. Water, Saganaki Blasts, and Light/Dark tiles will now roll out gradually across their biomes, giving players time to learn before Neighborville starts politely throwing more problems at them.
Finally, this update includes a wide plant and zombie rebalance, along with fixes for scoring, Zen Garden issues, profile navigation, and several unit interactions. Wall-nut and its merges can now block Bowling Zombie attacks, Chicken Wrangler and Pigeon Feeder have clearer lane-based counters, and Potato Mine-style traps can now hit all valid zombies in range. Land plants can no longer be planted directly in water. Several Wall-nuts attempted to argue this point and have since stopped floating. Grim!
Neighborville Welcomes New Regions 👋
We’re excited to continue the rollout of Early Access into 3 new regions starting tomorrow, May 28th, 2026 - United Kingdom, Singapore, & Malaysia. Please be sure to join us in welcoming them to Neighborville!
To that end, since we’ll have a large influx of new players as well as extensive gameplay changes, we’re bringing back the original Plant Pass lineup for this next 2 weeks, with the Dangerine Plant Pass to follow right afterwards. If you missed these plants the first time, it’s a great opportunity to hop in and grab them! If you managed to grab the plants already, in-game currency will be rewarded instead.
We hope this update makes the lawn even more dangerous for anyone shambling across it with bad intentions and even worse posture.
TU0.5 Full Change Log
Core Gameplay & Balance
- Damage type effectiveness increased from 2x→3x
- Zombie spawning improved
- Zombie stats re-tuned to match new plant power
- Fixed scoring issues for zombies spawning at the back of the board
- Changed Mo to not award points for zombies defeated
Plants & Progression
- T2 plant strength increased by 150%; T3 increased by ~240%
- Level growth reduced from 20% → 15% to support tier/level overlap
- Max plant level reduced from 20 → 10
- Perks moved from levels 5 & 15 → 5 & 10
- Common portraits now unlock at level 3
- Uncommon portraits now unlock at level 8
Plant Economy
- Plant acquisition costs significantly reduced
- Resource distribution updated:
- Shards: Levels 2–4
- Chunks: Levels 6–9
- Plant/Wild Seeds: Unlock, Level 5, Level 10
- Higher-tier plants now offer better value per investment
Adventure Mode
- Total levels reduced from 150 → 75
- Biome sections reduced from 20 → 10 levels
- Cutscenes now unlock every 5 levels (previously 10 levels)
- Removed redundant/filler levels
- Increased Coin rewards for 1- and 3-star clears (now repeatable)
- Added 5 Plant Seeds for first-time 2-Star clears
- Added 5 Wild Seeds for first-time 3-Star clears
- Removed XP rewards
- Replaced some seed rewards with T1 plant grants at key levels
Expeditions & Lawn Patrol
- Expedition ramp-up reduced by 75%
- Early, low-engagement battles removed
- Faster access to new zombies via Lawn Patrol
- Lawn Patrol
- Removed XP and Chunks
- Increased Shards
- Reduced Coins
- Improved Easy/Medium rewards
- Expeditions
- Removed XP and Chunks
- Increased Coins (adjusted for fewer levels)
- Rewards simplified:
- 1★ / 2★: Coins
- 3★: Gems
Plant & Zombie Interactions
- Wall-nut and its merges now block Bowling Zombie attacks
- Chicken Wrangler spawns more chickens in a single lane
- Pigeon Feeder spawns more pigeons in a single lane
- Potato Mine (single-use traps) now target infinite zombies within their target range.
Board Mechanics & Biomes
Board mechanics have been reintroduced and tuned to better support gameplay learning and engagement:
- Camp (Water)
- Water tiles introduced gradually over 5 battles
- Land plants can no longer be placed in water
- Volcano (Saganaki Blasts)
- Meteor frequency ramps up over 5 battles
- Sewers (Light/Dark Tiles)
- Mechanic introduced gradually over 5 battles
Modes & Systems
- Daily Meter
- Increased Seeds and Shards
- Added Chunks
- Neighborville Watch
- Increased Wild Seeds, Shards, Chunks, and Coins
Plant Passes
- Free Plant Pass
- Removed XP
- Increased Coins & Shards
- Added Chunks
- Paid Plant Pass
- Removed XP
- Increased Coins, Wild Seeds, Shards, Chunks
- Decreased Gems
Notable additional fixes
- Back biter zombies scoring is inverted so that vanquishing them more quickly gives a better score
- Merging two Mega-sunshrooms in the zen garden no longer causes an error
- The “take me there” buttons on locked portraits in the profile link to the labeled screen
- Fixed an issue where watching an ad in the Zen Garden could remove all hearts
- Removed Gnomes
All Rebalanced Units
Plants:
|
Plant |
Changes |
|
Bop Choy |
- Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Cabbage-Pult |
- Damage: -10 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Ghost Pepper |
- Health: 100 |
|
Iceberg Lettuce |
- Zombies per Attack: 998 - Chill Duration: 6000 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Deals Primary Damage to enemies within 1x1. Freezes initial zombie that triggered it. Chills all other zombies in range |
|
Lime-Bomb |
- Damage: -120 - Secondary Damage: -13 - Zombies per Attack: 998 - Secondary Targets: -4 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Removed cap on # of target. Deals Primary Damage to enemies on 1x1 & applies a 10 second DoT that ticks for Secondary Damage |
|
Peashooter |
- Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Potato Mine |
- Secondary Damage: -100 - Zombies per Attack: 998 - Secondary Targets: -4 - Can no longer be planted on water - Removed cap on # of targets. Can now target all zombies within its 1x1 and damage them on explosion. |
|
Spikeweed |
- Damage: -3 - Ability Cooldown: -500 - Projectiles per Attack: 1 - Zombies per Attack: 998 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Sun-Shroom |
- Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Sunflower |
- Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Tangle-Kelp |
- Sun Cost: -25 - Damage: 200 - Secondary Damage: 50 |
|
Umbrella Leaf |
- Health: 250 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Wall-Nut |
- Sun Cost: 25 - Plant Cooldown: -5 - Health: 500 - Can no longer be planted on water - Blocks Bowling Ball Zombie attacks |
|
Zaptail |
- Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x |
|
Bonk Choy |
- Health: 150 - Damage: 36 - Secondary Damage: 70 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Chest nut |
- Plant Cooldown: -5 - Health: -500 |
|
Chuck-nut |
- Plant Cooldown: -5 - Health: 150 - Damage: -95 - Zombies per Attack: 2 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Devastater |
- Damage: 42 - Secondary Damage: 378 - Zombies per Attack: 994 - Can no longer be planted on water -Removed cap on # of zombie hit, inner 1x1 deals Damage, outer 3x3 deals Secondary Damage |
|
Electric Peashooter |
- Sun Cost: 45 - Plant Cooldown: 5 - Health: 150 - Damage: 11 - Secondary Damage: 4 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x |
|
Giant Sun-Shroom |
- Plant Cooldown: 4 - Health: 150 - Ability Cooldown: -18000 - Can no longer be planted on water - Health Decay is 14 HP up from 10 HP |
|
Golden Yukon |
- Health: 150 - Damage: -671 - Ability Cooldown: -30000 - Zombies per Attack: 996 - Can no longer be planted on water - Removed cap on # of targets. Targets zombies within 1x1 dealing Primary damage |
|
Gremonade |
- Health: 275 - Damage: 29 - Secondary Damage: -25.5 - Zombies per Attack: 994 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Removed cap on # of targets. Deals Primary Damage to initial zombie that triggers it & applies 10 seconds Secondary Damage DoT. Applies Secondary Damage DoT to all other zombies in 3x3 |
|
Jumbrella Leaf |
- Health: 525 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Lightning Reed |
- Health: 150 - Damage: 14 - Secondary Damage: 2 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x |
|
Lychee |
- Sun Cost: 25 - Plant Cooldown: -5 - Damage: -10 - Attack Speed: -1000 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Nippy Cabbage |
- Health: 150 - Damage: 25 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x |
|
Pea-Nut |
- Sun Cost: 25 - Health: 1500 - Damage: -4 - Can no longer be planted on water - Can now block Bowling Balls |
|
Pine Needler |
- Plant Cooldown: 5 - Health: 150 - Damage: -8 - Projectiles per Attack: 2 - Zombies per Attack: -2 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Prick-erel Weed |
- Health: 150 - Tiles per Attack: -3 |
|
Puff-Shroom |
- Plant Cooldown: -10 - Health: 150 - Damage: 24 - Can no longer be planted on water - Health Decay ticks for 11 HP up from 8 HP |
|
Repeater |
- Health: 150 - Damage: 9 - Attack Speed: -70 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Sawgrass |
- Health: 150 - Damage: -5 - Attack Speed: 250 - Projectiles per Attack: 1 - Tiles per Attack: -1 - Zombies per Attack: 996 - Can no longer be planted on water - Changed targeting from 1x3 to 2x1. Sawgrass will spawn its projectile on a extra tile to the right. Removed cap on # of targets per attack |
|
Slaw-Slinger |
- Health: 150 - Damage: 5 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Sling-pea |
- Health: 150 - Damage: 5 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Solar Pea |
- Health: 150 - Damage: 15 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Spear Grass |
- Health: 150 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Sunflower Seed |
- Sun Cost: 25 - Can no longer be planted on water - Can now block Bowling Balls |
|
Tall-Nut |
- Sun Cost: 50 - Plant Cooldown: -10 - Health: 1750 - Can no longer be planted on water - Can now block bowling balls |
|
Twin Sunflower |
- Health: 150 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Winter Greens |
- Damage: 29 - Secondary Damage: 265 - Zombies per Attack: 994 - Chill Duration: 12000 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Removed cap on # of targets. When Triggered, deals Primary damage to targetable zombies on a 1x1. Deals Secondary damage to targetable zombies on a 3x3. Freezes the initial zombie that triggered it (closest zombie on the 1x1). Chills all other zombies in 3x3 range |
|
Wrangle-Kelp |
- Health: 150 - Damage: -210 - Secondary Damage: -52 |
|
Beat Choy |
- Health: 600 - Damage: 181 - Secondary Damage: 376 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Cab-Barrage |
- Health: 600 - Damage: 32 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Chainsaw Grass |
- Damage: -12 - Attack Speed: 250 - Tiles per Attack: -1 - Zombies per Attack: 994 - Can no longer be planted on water - Attacks 3 spaces ahead instead of 4 spaces above and below - Unlimited # of Zombies can be targeted on each attack tile |
|
Dangerine |
- Plant Cooldown: 10 - Health: 600 - Damage: 38 - Secondary Damage: 148 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Health Decay ticks for 18HP up from 8HP |
|
Endurian |
- Sun Cost: 75 - Plant Cooldown: -20 - Damage: -16 - Attack Speed: -1000 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Expl-OJ |
- Health: 850 - Damage: 748 - Secondary Damage: -25 - Zombies per Attack: 989 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Removed cap on # of targets - Deals Primary Damage to inner 1x1, Applies Secondary Damage DoT tick for 10 seconds to outer 5x5 |
|
Freezar Salad |
- Damage: 748 - Secondary Damage: 848 - Zombies per Attack: 989 - Chill Duration: 16000 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Removed Cap on # of targets - Deals Primary Damage to inner 1x1 and Freezes triggering zombies. Deals Secondary Damage & Chills all other zombies in range |
|
Gatling Pea |
- Health: 600 - Damage: 28 - Attack Speed: -15 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Jugger-Nut |
- Sun Cost: 100 - Plant Cooldown: -20 - Health: 9000 - Can no longer be planted on water - Can now block bowling balls from targeting plants behind it |
|
Mangle-Kelp |
- Health: 850 - Damage: -1087 - Secondary Damage: -272 |
|
Mashed Destruction |
- Damage: 1068 - Secondary Damage: 1212 - Zombies per Attack: 989 - Can no longer be planted on water - Removed cap on # of targets. Deals Primary Damage to enemies on its 1x1. Deals Secondary Damage to all other enemies in 5x5 |
|
Mega Sun-Shroom |
- Health: 600 - Ability Cooldown: -30000 - Can no longer be planted on water - Health Decay now ticks for 18 HP up from 8 HP |
|
Numbing Cabbage |
- Health: 500 - Damage: 155 - Secondary Damage: -280 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x - Removed Counter Attack Ability |
|
Punk Shocker |
- Health: 600 - Damage: 60 - Secondary Damage: 10 - Can no longer be planted on water - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x |
|
Sun-Tower |
- Health: 600 - Sun Bonus: 20 - Can no longer be planted on water |
|
Threepea-Nut |
- Health: 7375 - Damage: 35 - Can no longer be planted on water - Can now block Bowling Balls |
|
Zapture |
- Sun Cost: -75 - Health: 600 - Damage: 35 - Secondary Damage: 15 - Elemental damage changed from 2x to 3x |
Zombies:
|
Zombies |
Changes |
|
Rock 'n Roll Imp |
Tier: T3 HP: 652 |
|
Conehead |
HP: -59 Armor: 16 |
|
Buckethead |
Tier: T2 HP: 514 Armor: 239 |
|
Imp |
HP: -49 |
|
Backup Dancer |
HP: 16 |
|
Balloon Zombie |
Tier: T3 HP: -472 |
|
Batter Zombie |
Tier: T3 HP: 360 |
|
Beach Buckethead |
Tier: T3 HP: 1088 Armor: 1088 |
|
Beach Conehead |
HP: -201 Armor: 99 |
|
Beach Zombie |
Tier: T1 HP: -201 |
|
Bowling Zombie |
Tier: T3 HP: 1828 - Targets Wall-nut and its merges before hitting plants behind them - Now throws bowling balls on a 15s cooldown |
|
Browncoat |
HP: -59 |
|
Buzz Box |
Tier: T8 HP: 14871 Damage: 7600 Attack Speed: 2 Move Speed: 0.08 |
|
Cheese |
Tier: T3 HP: 3260 Move Speed: 0.2 |
|
Cheese (Cooled) |
Tier: T3 HP: 1693 Move Speed: 0.2 |
|
Chicken Wrangler |
HP: 1489 - Now spawns 10-12 chickens in its lane only |
|
Deadlift Zombie |
Tier: T3 HP: 1492 |
|
Digger Zombie |
Tier: T1 HP: -396 |
|
Disco Zombie |
HP: 139 |
|
Ducky Tube Buckethead |
Tier: T2 HP: 514 Armor: 239 |
|
Ducky Tube Conehead |
HP: -59 Armor: 16 |
|
Ducky Tube Zombie |
HP: -59 |
|
Es-Garg-Ot |
Tier: T8 HP: 14871 |
|
Flag Zombie |
HP: -59 |
|
Gargantuar |
Tier: T5 HP: 1626 |
|
Goalie Zombie |
Tier: T3 HP: 556 |
|
Hiker |
Tier: T1 HP: -201 |
|
Hiker Buckethead |
HP: 1088 Armor: 788 |
|
Hiker Conehead |
Tier: T1 HP: -201 Armor: 99 |
|
Landscaper |
Tier: T3 HP: 1223 |
|
Parasol |
Tier: T4 HP: 2428 Damage: 100 Attack Speed: 1 Move Speed: 0.2 |
|
Parasol Zombie |
HP: -59 Armor: -1625 |
|
Pigeon Feeder |
Tier: T3 HP: 1993 - Now spawns 20 pigeons up from a maximum of 5. Spawns them in its lane in the tile directly infront of it only |
|
Pole Vaulter |
Tier: T3 HP: 1032 |
|
Screen Door |
Tier: T4 HP: 3762 Damage: 100 Attack Speed: 1 Move Speed: 0.2 |
|
Screen Door Zombie |
HP: -125 Armor: -1625 |
|
Stealth Imp |
Tier: T2 HP: 1426 |
|
Swinging Browncoat |
Tier: T1 HP: -59 |
|
Swinging Buckethead |
HP: 514 Armor: 239 |
|
Swinging Conehead |
Tier: T1 HP: -59 Armor: 349 |
|
Volcano Buckethead |
HP: 1088 Armor: 688 |
|
Volcano Conehead |
Tier: T1 HP: -201 Armor: 49 |
|
Volcano Zombie |
HP: -201 |
|
Volcanologist Zombie |
HP: 928 |
|
Volleyball Zombie |
Tier: T4 HP: 3928 |
|
Z-Scout Imp |
HP: 1536 |
|
Z-Scout Leader |
Tier: T5 HP: 2671 |
|
ZomBee |
Tier: T2 HP: -167 |
|
Zombie Chicken |
Tier: T0.5 HP: -17 |
|
Zombie Pigeon |
Tier: T0.5 HP: 3 Damage: 35 Move Speed: 0.3 |
Even though this is Title Update 0.5, it’s technically our first major update for Plants vs. Zombies 3: Evolved. 🥳There’s a lot of changes as part of this update so we can't wait for you to jump in and to hear all your thoughts and feedback as we continue working on polishing the experience throughout Early Access and beyond.
For players outside of our current Early Access regions (Ireland, Philippines, United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia), we will continue to bring new regions online throughout the coming months, so stay tuned for wider availability as we continue through the development process. If you’re playing in Early Access and you encounter any bugs, please let us know on the forums. And as always, stay tuned to our channels for more on upcoming content updates and gameplay updates.
See you on the lawn! 🌱
PopCap Team