Character Guide - Space Cadet and Station!

Hey everyone,

This guide series will be covering every single character in this game. This guide will cover the Team-Up characters, Space Cadet and Space Station. There will be some information added to these guides a while after I have created every guide (this is my final one).

I used these following links to assist me with some of the information in this guide:

• https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Space_Cadet_(PvZ:_BfN)
• https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Space_Station

The rest of the information in this guide is comprised of my own information, and follow these links if you wish to know more about Space Cadet and Space Station.

Overview of the Characters

Space Cadet and Space Station specalise in a team-up role, where Space Cadets can connect to Space Stations as passengers, or turn into Space Stations themselves. Space Cadet has low to medium health and has a homing primary weapon, while Space Station has lots of health and can deal lots of damage, although you can be hit much easier. Up to 3 Space Cadets can connect to a Space Station at a time, and you can jump on a Space Station at any time, even without it counting as an ability. You may eject at any time as well.

Space Cadet is a Defend character on the Zombies faction that attacks enemies with homing attacks, and she has 125 health.

Space Cadet is a Defend character on the Zombies faction that attacks enemies with damaging burst attacks, and they have 275 health. You transform into Space Station while in Space Cadet form.

Primary Weapons

SPACE CADET and SPACE CADET PASSENGER

Primary Weapon: Cosmo Shot. Regular Space Cadet has this weapon and retains it while a passenger docked to a Space Station. It is a weapon that homes in on enemies, and it has a fast rate of fire. It deals 6 damage for regular hits and 7 damage for critical hits. The maximum default ammo capacity is 42.

SPACE STATION
Primary Weapon: Big Bang Burst. It always fires in three-round bursts, and each individual projectile deals 11 damage for regular hits and 13 damage for critical hits. The maximum default ammo capacity is 54.

Abilities

SPACE CADET

Gravity Smash: This ability launches you into the air for about 3 seconds before crashing down on your enemies, dealing 125 damage to enemies that you impact, and you can move while you are in the air, so close in on your enemies before crashing down on them. You could use this ability to get to a higher vantage point or to escape a tricky situation. Because your enemies will get a chance to react before you land on them, try and activate this ability without your enemies noticing until you get close.When you use this ability, you may want to activate it in a place with a higher roof, or you may get stuck and not be able to leave that area until this ability has resolved, and on the contrary, be careful using this ability near low roofed areas as your enemies can take shelter there to avoid your ability.

Gravity Smash Character Upgrade:

Target Acquired (2 upgrade points): You gain a 50% increase to movement speed while you are using your Gravity Smash, which can be used well for chasing your enemies or for escape, or even for getting around more easily. You will only gain this movement speed boost when you are using this ability, so use the improved speed to your advantage while using this ability. If you use this upgrade, you could use this ability for an improved burst of speed as it could be useful in some situations. You could try to trick an enemy with this by running away from the enemy while this ability is in use, and then turn around quickly and smash them for an unexpected twist.

Big Bang Burst: This ability charges up and then fires a laser which deals up to 100 damage to any enemy that is hit by it. The laser will take 1.5 seconds to charge up, and then it will be fired with very fast speed. When the laser is charging, enemies will know that they have been targeted by the laser, but you could hide your laser behind cover and come out of cover right as your laser fires so your enemies do not have any chance to react. Your laser has quite good aim, and you can use the charge up time to aim it precisely at the enemy you want to hit, although you will land your shots more easily if you aim for a target that is easier to hit. When this ability is in use, you are unable to attack using other methods, so only try to use this ability when you do not have enemies attacking you.

Big Bang Burst Character Upgrade:

Bullseye (2 upgrade points): You can deal damage to your enemies while your Big Bang Burst is charging up, by keeping the targeting part of the laser on your enemy. You can deal up to a total of 75 damage to enemies this way if the targeting part of the laser is always on the enemy, although the damage will be seperated into rapid but small damaging bursts. This damage will exclude the actual damage that the Big Bang Beam will deal after charging up, allowing for lots of damage at once. Try to aim your laser before activating it. If you use this upgrade, hiding your laser behind cover before firing will be basically pointless, as you will not benefit from the additional damage.

Station Inflation: This ability allows you to transform from Space Cadet into Space Station. You can use this ability at any time and it will resolve nearly immediately, however you cannot move during this time and you are vulnerable to damage, so try to use cover and keep a lookout for enemies. You can transform between Space Cadet and Space Station at any time. 

SPACE STATION

Space Force: This ability improves the movement speed of the Space Station, the attack speed of all connected Space Cadets and the Space Station, and it continuously reduces the cooldown time of all abilities for the Space Cadet Passengers and the Space Station, while the ability is in use, for 7 seconds. This can be used when in intense fights, as it allows you to get around faster, as well as giving your whole squad the ability to fire at a faster rate, and will finally allow you and your connected Space Cadets to use their abilities again. If you can communicate with your team when you want to use this ability, Space Force can become much more powerful. You may want to use other abilities and reload before you activate this ability for even more improved results.

Crater Maker: This ability launches you into the air and creates a laser underneath which deals huge damage at a rapid rate to any enemy caught in it, in fact this damage is so huge that most enemies will be nearly instantly destroyed. This will last for 4 seconds, so you can use this on any nearby enemies. While the damage output is massive, enemies can escape this laser quite easily so wait until you get close so they have less time to react to this laser. You cannot use other attacks and abilities while Crater Maker is active, however your connected Space Cadets can. Be careful of areas with low roofs, as your enemies could escape into there or you may get caught in this low roof and will not be able to leave that area until your ability ends.

Crater Maker Character Upgrades:

• Afterburners (2 upgrade points): You will gain a movement speed boost of 75% while using your Crater Maker, which is amazing for chasing down your enemies and reducing their chances of escape, or even as an escape protocol as your improved speed will allow you to escape more quickly. It is quite unlikely that your enemies will escape your Crater Maker when you use this upgrade, unless they use bursts of mobility to escape it, especially if you activate it close to your enemies surprisingly, giving them less of a chance to react. Use your Space Force to get your Crater Maker back again quickly and use this ability with this upgrade again.
• Assimilation (3 upgrade points): When you vanquish an enemy with your Crater Maker, it will last an additional 4 seconds, allowing you to use this ability for even longer, to deal even more damage or to get additional vanquishes with this ability. Your Crater Maker will always reset fully when you vanquish an enemy. If you can get multiple vanquishes in rapid succession, you can use this ability for ages and wreak havoc everywhere. To assist you in getting vanquishes, attack enemies that are low on health or activate it close to your enemies to hopefully get them by surprise. You cannot cancel this ability though so do be mindful of that.

Escape Pod: This ability transforms you back into Space Cadet, which you may do at any time, with no cooldown and little delay. You can use this if you are taking lots of damage or you need to escape, as Space Station cannot sprint and move that fast, and is an easy to hit target. In a worst case scenario, hopefully you will be vanquished as a Space Cadet, which will allow you to be revived. If you are vanquished while still a Space Station, you will be unrevivable.

SPACE CADET PASSENGER

Asteroid Shield: This ability deploys a shield in front of the Space Station which covers an entire section of the Space Station. The Asteroid Shield has 125 health, and you, other Space Cadet Passengers and the Space Station are all still able to attack while the shield is deployed. You can rotate your shield to protect different areas of the Space Station, useful if being attacked from particular areas, by turning around which will also rotate the shield. This shield will not wear off on its own, and each of the 3 Space Cadet Passengers can have a deployed shield each. You cannot cancel the shield normally either, although if you do not currently need the shield anymore and want the cooldown to begin, leave the Space Station and then jump back on, the cooldown for your shield will begin.

Asteroid Shield Character Upgrade:

Ammo Eater (2 upgrade points): When successfully blocking enough damage with your Asteroid Shield, you and connected Space Cadets will restore 10 ammo for their Cosmo Shots. You can control your shield and deploy your shield where lots of enemy fire would be coming from to restore ammo for you and any other connected Space Cadets, allowing you and them to fire more continuously without needing to stop. When your team is not under fire, if you still have your Asteroid Shield active but it is damaged, hop off and back on to the Space Station to begin the cooldown of your shield more quickly to get use out of this effect more often. 

Hands-On Torpedo: This ability allows you to control a torpedo that comes from the station, which can deal up to about 100 damage to your enemies for a direct hit, or less damage if it deals splash damage. This torpedo will only last about 10 seconds before it disappears on its own and it only has about 10 health, meaning enemies have a chance to destroy it before they are hit by it. You will control the torpedo only while you are a Space Cadet Passenger, and the Space Station can continue to move around and attack, your shield will still be deployed, and the other Space Cadet Passengers can still attack. The torpedo can be hard to control, so practice can be useful. The torpedo can be best used to chase down enemies with low health.

Hands-On Torpedo Character Upgrades:

• Titanium Plating (2 upgrade points): Your Hands-On Torpedo gains an improved maximum health boost, with a new maximum health boost of 25 (instead of the regular 10 or so). You can use this health boost to your advantage by stopping your enemies from destroying it easily, unless using attacks and abilities that deal high damage, and it is less likely to be vanquished due to random fire. Move your Hands-On Torpedo around a bit if you can manage to reduce the chance of your enemies that notice the torpedo from actually destroying before you have a chance to detonate it.
• Rocket Fueled (2 upgrade points): Your Hands-On Torpedo will now last for 30 seconds before it expires on its own (instead of the regular 10 seconds). Use this to track down and find enemies that are low on health or that are grouped, and set up sneaky flank attacks. If you control your torpedo for a long time before you detonate it, by waiting it out, have lots of open area around you as you may detonate it into a wall otherwise, and keep an eye on the health of your Space Station that you are riding, as you can see its health while controlling the torpedo, as the Space Station could be vanquished and your ability could be cancelled

As a Space Cadet Passenger, your Escape Pod is still the same, which allows you to leave the Space Station that you have docked, similar to when you eject normally as a Space Station. You will be unrevivable if your Space Station is vanquished, even if you are a connected Space Cadet, so try and eject before you would get vanquished.

Exclusive Character Upgrades

These are the exclusive character upgrades for Space Cadet and Space Station.

Feedback Loop (2 upgrade points): When you deal 50 critical damage to enemies, you will gain a 20% faster rate of fire for 3 seconds. This effects will only trigger with critical hits, so you want to aim for critical hits where possible. Use the faster rate of fire to deal more overall damage, and to further improve the chances of landing hits on your enemies. To land more critical hits on your enemies, make use of your homing capabilities and aim at your enemies to make your shots more accurate where you can. Use specific abilities and attacks to improve the amount of critical hits you land and to deal even more critical damage.

Longshot (3 upgrade points): This upgrade only applies to Space Cadet. Your Cosmo Shot has double the regular range of homing while you are aiming your weapon. Your Cosmo Shot will not home in on enemies if you are too far away from them, but you can aim while attacking using this upgrade to stay further away from your enemies while still getting the homing benefits. When you are aiming, you will be slowly and will lose a minor amount of vision, however this should not matter as you will be further away from enemies. You should not bother aiming when attacking at close range, but do it at further ranges to get good use from this upgrade.

Efficiency (3 upgrade points): This only applies to Space Cadet. You will reload at a faster rate for 10 seconds each time you vanquish an enemy. This effect can stack up to 3 times, with each additional vanquish resetting this duration back to 10 seconds and further improving the faster reload effect. The faster reload rate will be improved by 20% for first vanquish, 25% for second vanquish and 33.3% for third vanquish. This upgrade will allow you to reload at a quicker rate and allow you to shoot at a more continuous rate without pausing during battle, effectively improving your damage and reducing the chances of you being vulnerable in a fight. For simpler vanquishes, attack enemies on low health, go for critical hits and use your homing to your advantage. These effects will not reset when you reload, rather after the 10 seconds, unless you stack the effect.

Usefulness in Situations

General

SPACE CADET and SPACE CADET PASSENGER

More effective against single targets and targets at closer ranges, due to the homing being good for suppressing single enemies at a time and the closer range allowing you to trigger your homing.

SPACE STATION

More effective against single targets and enemies at further ranges, due to your weapon only being effective against single enemies at a time and the further range allowing you to be more accurate with your attacks.

Reviving Allies

• As Space Cadet or a Space Cadet Passenger, use your Cosmo Shot and the homing capabilities it has to effectively provide yourself (and the Space Station, if appropriate) with cover fire against your enemies.
• As Space Station, your Big Bang Burst can be used to attack enemies with cover fire, and use your high amounts of health to survive enemy attacks quite easily.
• As Space Station, activate your Space Force before starting a revive as you will still benefit yourself with the higher rate of fire and the ability refreshes. Any connected Space Cadets will benefit from this as well.
• As a Space Cadet Passenger, if your Space Station is reviving an ally, use your Asteroid Shield to watch for and shield the Space Station from enemy attacks.
• As a Space Cadet Passenger, you could activate your Hands-On Torpedo while your Space Station is reviving an ally to keep a watch for and damage a nearby enemy, or maybe a couple.

Contesting the Objective

• As Space Cadet or a Space Cadet Passenger, your Cosmo Shot can be used to attack enemies in the objective, with the benefit of homing.
• As Space Cadet, use your Gravity Smash to avoid some enemy attacks and attack your enemies from above.
• As Space Cadet, charge and use your Big Bang Beam to deal heavy damage to an enemy.
• As Space Station, use your Big Bang Burst to deal lots of damage to enemies. Use your high health to survive for longer.
• As Space Station, use your Space Force to attack and move faster around the place, and use your abilities again. Will additionally benefit connected Space Cadets.
• As Space Station, your Crater Maker can be used to vanquish enemies with ease, or to send them running for the hills, which will distract them for your allies.
• As a Space Cadet Passenger, use your Asteroid Shield to keep the Space Station alive and contesting.
• As a Space Cadet Passenger, you could activate your Hands-On Torpedo, as even though you technically are not contesting due to controlling a drone, this is completely fine as your Space Station squad is contesting and you are contested to it, so this is fine. Use it to find an enemy that you can vanquish.

When Abilities are Negated

• As Space Cadet or a Space Cadet Passenger, use your Cosmo Shot and its homing to attack nearby enemies with fair ease.
• As Space Station, your Big Bang Burst to deal lots of damage to enemies. Use your high health to help you survive.
• As Space Station, activate your Space Force before you collect an item, as you will still benefit from the increased movement speed and fire rate, which will help.
• As a Space Cadet Passenger, I believe that you can actually collect an item and then ride on a Space Station, as this action is not counted as an ability. The Space Station can protect you and you will fortify it, and it can take you where you need to go.

Tips

• As a Space Cadet, use your Cosmo Shot to home in on your enemies and deal consistent damage. You should only attack a single enemy at a time as your attacks will not be as effective otherwise. Try and aim to deal critical damage so you are dealing more damage.
• As a Space Station, use your Big Bang Burst to deal lots of damage to a single enemy. Try and focus on attacking a single enemy at any given time as not deciding on a specific target may result in you dealing less damage. Try and get critical hits as well for additional damage. 
• As a Space Cadet Passenger, you can use your Cosmo Shot the same way as you would as regular Space Cadet. You can attack enemies that the Space Station is attacking for more firepower, or enemies that the Space Cadet is not attacking for damage on multiple enemies at a time.
• Use your Gravity Smash to approach your enemies and deal lots of damage to any enemy that you smash. Activate it when you are close to your enemies so that your enemies are less likely to escape and avoid the attack. You could also use this ability to escape or get around the map.
• Your Big Bang Beam can be used to deal heavy damage to a single enemy at once. It will take a moment to charge, so be mindful of that. You could activate this ability while behind cover and leave cover as your laser is about to fire, giving the enemies basically no time to react to it.
• You can use Space Force when a lot of abilities on the Space Station squad has been used up, so those abilities can be used again really quickly, or to gain an improved movement speed and attack speed during intense fights. This is even more effective if you can communicate with your squad.
• Use Crater Maker to deal immense damage to your enemies or get them to run to cover. If you activate this ability by surprise while really close to your enemies, they will not have much time to react, possibly resulting in an easy vanquish or lots of damage on at least a single enemy.
• Asteroid Shield can be used to protect the whole Space Station, and you can turn it around to protect against enemy attacks from any direction. If the Space Station is being attacked heavily from a certain direction, turn your shield to protect against that attacks. This will help the whole Space Station survive.
• If you use your Hands-On Torpedo, find enemies that are low on health or that are grouped for more effective damage. The torpedo may be hard to control, so you may want to practice using this when you get a chance. Try to move it around or organise a sneak attack so enemies will not destroy it.

Well, these are my tips for Space Cadet and Space Station. Thanks for reading!

@TheSprinter85