Character Guide - Captain Deadbeard!

Hey there,

This guide series intends to go over all of the characters in the game. For this guide, I will be covering Captain Deadbeard. I will still be adding a bit more information to these guides, but currently my mission is to complete all of these guides.

The following link was used for some of the information: https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_Deadbeard_(PvZ:_BfN). The rest of this guide is of my own information, and you could refer to that link if you wish to know more about Captain Deadbeard.

Overview of the Character

Captain Deadbeard is a Defend character on the Zombies faction that specalises in attacking enemies from further distances, and he has 100 health.

Primary Weapons

Primary Weapon: Scurvy Scattershot. This is Captain Deadbeard's main weapon that is used when not holding down the aim button. It shoots 16 small projectiles that spread out, and deal 2 damage to enemies for regular hits or 3 damage for critical hits for each projectile that hits the enemy. It deals more damage at close range as the weapon will not spread as much. Each use of this weapon consumes 2 ammo, and the maximum ammo capacity, shared with your secondary weapon, is 20. 

Secondary Weapon: Spyglass Shot. This is Captain Deadbeard's secondary weapon that is used when holding down the aim button. This is a charge up weapon, and when you are zoomed in, you lose some vision around you, however the increased zoom allows you to land precise shots and to see enemies at greater distances. When fully charged, you deal 62 damage for regular hits or 98 damage for critical hits, although if not fully charged, your shots will become much less effective, but can be useful for finishing weakened enemies. Each use of this weapon consumes 4 ammo if it is fully charged, or less if not as charged up, and the maximum ammo capacity, shared with your primary weapon, is 20.

Abilities

Barrel Blast: This ability places you in a barrel which can be used as armor or to detonate on enemies. There is a time limit before the barrel will explode on its own, or you can trigger the fuse early if you wish to do that. The barrel has 100 health before it gets destroyed, and if an enemy destroys the barrel, this ability will be cancelled and the barrel will not explode. When you are inside of the barrel, your movement speed will be reduced, but when the fuse is lit, your movement speed will be increased instead, which will make it hard for your enemies to escape. The explosion will do 150 damage to any enemy caught in the blast. You get launched up when the barrel explodes and you take no damage. You can use this ability as a way to escape as well, as the shield it provides can allow you to take more damage from enemy attacks during this time, and if you light the fuse quickly, the increased movement speed will assist in allowing you to escape as well. You can cancel this ability at any point.

Barrel Blast Character Upgrades:

• Powder Keg (1 upgrade point): You get launched even higher than normal when your Barrel Blast explodes, which could be useful in some situations. The extra height can allow you to use Barrel Blast as a way to get to high vantage points, or to possibly avoid enemy attacks and abilities. This requires you to successfully enter your barrel and to light the fuse, and then you need to wait to get blasted up, so light the fuse quickly when you want to get use out of this effect.
• Incoming Keg (3 upgrade points): Your movement speed is increased by about 40% when this ability is in use, allowing you to travel around faster. This allows you to chase enemies that are running and prevent them from escaping, or to escape even more quickly if you are trying to retreat. When you light the fuse of your barrel, you will move even faster again, so this speed is great for making sure that your enemies will not escape. While moving in the barrel, before you light the fuse, you will still move significantly quickly, which can be used to close distance between you and your enemies. This upgrade is great if you want to get more use out of this ability.

Parrot Pal: This ability gives you control of a Parrot Pal, which has a new primary weapon called the Parrot Pulse and an ability called the Eggsplosion. The parrot is able to fly and is small, although it only has 5 health, so you should continue moving consistently and try to be stealthy where possible to try and stop your enemies from destroying it. You could use your primary weapon to attack enemies that are not as effective at range, as they will have trouble firing at you, however you can really attack any enemy with it, although the Eggsplosion is great against groups of enemies as it deals splash damage. Captain Deadbeard is unable to move during this ability, and any damage you take will cancel this ability immediately, or you may even get vanquished, so take into consideration where you want to use this ability from. Your Parrot Pal only has limited fuel, so it will expire on its own when the fuel is depleted if it is not been destroyed already. You can cancel your Parrot Pal at any time if you wish.

Parrot Pal Character Upgrades:

• Wind Chilled (3 upgrade points): The overheat for your primary weapon for your Parrot Pal is reduced, allowing you to shoot for longer before overheating. You can shoot continuously before you overheat, which is useful as otherwise, the overheating will leave you vulnerable for a while as you will not be able to attack temporarily. Making use of this upgrade should help you to take down an enemy before you overheat and they possibly escape your Parrot Pal. If you do not shoot when there is nothing to shoot and you take small breaks from shooting every so often, overheat should almost not be a problem at all.
• Plunder (3 upgrade points): The cooldown for your Eggsplosion ability for your Parrot Pal is reduced by about 4 seconds every time you land 4 critical hits on enemies with your Parrot Pal. This allows you to make more use of your Eggsplosion ability, which has the capability of dealing significant damage to enemy groups. You can land plenty of critical hits by attacking your enemies from above and aiming your attacks to get more precise shots and a higher chance of landing critical hits. You can be sneaky and attack your enemies when they do not know of your presence to land some additional critical hits.

Anchor's Away: This ability allows you to launch yourself in any direction using an anchor. The anchor can be activated at any time, but you do not have to launch yourself immediately, rather you can actually decide which direction you want to travel and then use the same button you would use to activate this ability to launch it. If you activate it but have not launched it yet, you can actually cancel the ability and it will not enter a cooldown, useful for if you change your mind. This anchor gives you a height boost as well as a burst of mobility, so you can use it to get up to higher vantage points, although keep in mind that this ability takes a while to resolve. The anchor will do 50 damage to any enemies that you make contact with, although this damage is quite redundant, as it is hard to land the damage with this ability and there are more efficient ways to deal damage. In an emergency situation though, you could try and use this damage to finish a weakened enemy. 

Anchor's Away Character Upgrades:

• Heavy Metal (2 upgrade points): When you have used your Anchor's Away, you immediately gain a fully charged attack for your Spyglass Shot. You can use Anchor's Away to earn a fully charged Spyglass Shot quickly without needing to charge up and move around slowly. You can use the Anchor's Away to change your positioning before firing the shot. This gives your Anchor's Away an additional use, and an efficient way to charge an attack for when a good opportunity strikes against an enemy and you want to attack quickly. You want to use the Anchor's Away quickly when making use of this effect, as it takes a moment to resolve this ability.
• Shore Leave (2 upgrade points): When you have used Anchor's Away, you gain a 30% increase in movement speed for 5 seconds. You can use your Anchor's Away to get a burst of mobility, and then gain a speed boost that allows you to travel around even faster, allowing you to get away quickly, get back into a fight or to travel around the map faster. The Anchor's Away will gain an additional effect this way, and you will want to use this ability quickly for when you want the burst of speed, as this ability takes a moment to resolve. You can first use the Anchor's Away to change your positioning before the speed boost triggers.

Exclusive Character Upgrades

Captain Deadbeard's exclusive character upgrades are as follows:

Scuttle Shot (2 upgrade points): When an enemy is very close to you and you successfully deal damage to them with the Scurvy Scattershot, which is your primary weapon, you knock them back and upwards. The enemy must be really close to you to trigger this effect, however this is a great way of keeping enemies away from you when they get up close and personal, or as a way to get in close with your enemies and knock them around, making it harder for your enemies to counterattack. It does not matter how many of the projectiles hit the enemy, and the spread will be greatly reduced at close ranges, meaning that once in close ranges with your enemies, you can easily make use of this upgrade, and the knockback can make it easier for your allies to take out those enemies as well.

Aye Spy (2 upgrade points): While zooming in, your vision is improved by about 50%. Your vision is normally impaired when you are zooming in, but it allows you to attack from longer distances with greater precision, however when you use this upgrade, you can significantly reduce this impaired vision weakness and you will be able to see enemies that are approaching more easily when zoomed. You would normally be vulnerable to surprise enemy attacks when you zoom in as they can attack in your blind spot, but using this upgrade means that you are more likely to notice them coming toward you. Higher sense results in a less chance of being surprised by attacks.

Long Barrel (3 upgrade points): The spread of your Scurvy Scattershot, which is your primary weapon, is reduced by about 50%. Your projectiles will not spread as much when you attack with it, which is really useful especially if you want to attack with it at medium range. This will not particularly improve your weapon when close to enemies as the spread is quite redundant, although at further ranges, the spread will make this weapon ineffective, although with the upgrade, this weakness is reduced. This upgrade will make it easier to hit an enemy with more of your projectiles at a time, and each of your projectiles will be less likely to miss an enemy.

Freebie (3 upgrade points): When you get a vanquish with a fully charged Spyglass Shot, which is your secondary weapon, you restore 7 ammo, which can allow you to keep attacking for longer before you need to reload. The additional ammo can reduce your demand to reload, or you may not have to reload for a long time if you can continue getting vanquishes frequently. To get better use out of this upgrade, you can aim on attacking enemies that are low on health or enemies that have less health, and critical hits will improve your damage and chance of getting vanquishes, so aim for those where you can. If you can keep landing your shots as well, this will produce even better results.

Usefulness in Situations

General

More effective against enemies at further ranges, due to being a fragile character and being able to deal high damage accurately including at further distances.

Reviving Allies

• You can use your Scurvy Scattershot against enemies that get close to you, or your Spyglass Shot to snipe enemies effectively at further distances, during the revive.

Contesting the Objective

• Use your Scurvy Scattershot against nearby enemies and Spyglass Shot on enemies outside the objective, or enemies in the objective if you prefer.
• Your Barrel Blast can be used to shield yourself from attacks while contesting, and then detonate the barrel when under fire or when detected to lure enemies away from you, or for multiple vanquishes.
• Your Anchor's Away can be used to quickly move around the objective, to dodge attacks and to change position, as well as possibly dealing some damage to enemies.

You are not counted as contesting when using the Parrot Pal, so take that into consideration.

When Abilities are Negated

• You can use your Scurvy Scattershot to attack enemies close to you and your Spyglass Shot against enemies at further ranges, but you are slower when you are zooming so take that into consideration.
• Use your Anchor's Away just before you collect the item to get to the item more quickly.

Tips

• Use your Scurvy Scattershot against enemies close to you or if you can hit them easily, and use your Spyglass Shot from a safe location to attack enemies from a distance.
• Go for critical hits at any chance you get to, regardless of which weapon you are using, although this especially applies if you use the Spyglass Shot as the critical damage is much higher than the regular damage.
• Use your Barrel Blast to blast groups of enemies away, but try not to let them know you are coming for better results.You could use it to retreat if your health gets low due to the shield that it provides. 
• Use your Parrot Pal from hidden areas, so your ability will not get cancelled, and keep on the move and be stealthy when possible to reduce the chance of your enemies destroying it.
• Use your Anchor's Away for a height advantage, mobility boost, to avoid attacks, or damage enemies that you need to, but either way, save this ability for when you need to use it.

These are my Captain Deadbeard tips. Thanks for reading!

@TheSprinter85