Re: Tips and Tricks for any player (Wall of Texts)

You can pull a burrowed chomper out with one of the Z7-Mech?!?! I can see how that'd be really tough to pull off, but if there's that one chance you can keep your buddy from getting chomped it's worth a cooldown to try. Thank you I'm gonna grab a friend and practice with that reality :o

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Cactus Tips ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Cactus is very tough when played to her strengths. Turns out her staying power in a firefight isn't really as fragile as catching a Cactus by surprise in Multiplayer may lead you to believe! When I first played the Garden Warfare 2 Cactuses, I felt they were very underpowered and took too many shots to vanquish a zombie. However, this came because I was an experienced Garden Warfare 1 player who had fully unlocked the upgraded to his variants in the previous game.

Growing used to an upgraded character is dangerous - The Camo Cactus with her damage upgrade in GW2 can actually vanquish a foot soldier with 2 Head shots, whereas when she is not leveled to have a damage upgrade, it will take 3. Remembering this is important as seeing 60 damage with such low firing speeds and magazines will lead you to dislike a character, simply because two shots on a Foot Soldier will land them with 5 health left - Usually allowing someone else to take your vanquish. Patience and determination truly pays off when you find that Cacti that you enjoy playing despite what she may do in terms of damage.

(Here's the tips sorry)

~ Slow aim? ~

Camo Cactus when zooming in will have a slower aiming speed. Remember this if you choose to fall back on her to get revenge on someone giving you a hard time, as tracking faster moving players becomes a chore when faced with ultra slow aiming.

~Garlic Drone Tips~

The Garlic Drone, cute and cuddly as it may be has a few things about it that I seem to find interesting to note when using it. Many of you may already know these things, but the fragility of the drone could possibly leave people scratching their heads as to what the thing may even be used for, if players (Or AI for that matter) don't give them time to play with it in the air!

~Battery Power Saving~

The Garlic Drone when standing still consumes far less power than it would if you were moving or adjusting altitude. Holding both altitude buttons down will not move your drone and will consume power. Touching movement in anyway even if you aren't moving (Running into a wall for example) will drain your battery. The drone also drifts in the last direction you were moving, so remember this when attempting to get the drone to completely stand still by tapping your stick around!! I have also noticed that moving your camera stick does not drain battery, but it does cause your drifting to change (Sort of how it would with a real Helicopter I think. The swivel changes which way you'll be floating). In PvZGW 1 this was much worse and it would cause movement. Fortunately they've toned it down a bit.

This means that, if you can navigate your drone successfully to a spot you find well hidden with good visibility of an objective point, you can in actuality have your drone out for up to two whole minutes. Firing from a good position with the drone in short bursts can give you incredible stealth, since many players don't seem to be able to spot the drone without following its projectile trail back to its position. Choosing not to fire will allow you to survive longer, shelling out a Corn Strike when the chance strikes you. Staying out of well lit spots with your drone is a good tip too, as the Drone is easy to spot when it is in blue sky and it's just like this huge booger easy to see.

~ Drone Physics ~

The Drone also has some interesting physics to it. In the first game (PVZGW 1), placing your Tallnuts in a V shape pattern, standing inside of it, then slowly pushing into your front with the Drone would actually place Cactus on top of her Drone, allowing for fun and quirky antics as well as very strategic placement of Sniper Nests.

In Garden Warfare 2 however, this is no longer the case ☹️ Rather, if you do this, you will cause Cactus to fly in some crazy random direction. Less of a tip and more of an opportunity to be a punk (lol) you can actually use your drone to move players around. Get in their way. Even increase their speed (In the case of a Parrot pushing an All-Star). Being a nuisance has its many advantages to lightening your own mood when on the end of a rear-end kicking, but you can also use this nifty little trick to reposition yourself if somehow you had used the Drone in an open area where you are easy to be seen. While draining battery power, it could save your life to just nudge yourself behind something.

~ Drone Tactic ~

Finally, some combat tips! Have you learned how to manage flight for over one minute? Can you harass people from behind a tree, then stay there behind that very tree CAMPING for longer than they thought you would? Can you swoop to the side of the tree while they're waiting for you, pepper them once to three times and hide behind cover before they can shoot you down? O_O Good! Because here's some goodies for you to benefit from.

Your Drone has absolutely -ZERO- recoil! None! That means that when you've got the bead and can compensate for your drift, the bullets will always go where you are aiming. The Drone rewards, and it rewards very well with 12 damage close range head shots, and 9 damage from long range (Critical).

Be aware of what is in between you and your target when you are fighting from an Eagle's Eye range. The slightest sign, smallest ledge or even tiniest little line from a tree LEAF will cause your Bullet to hit the the object. It will cause your CORN STRIKE to strike AT THAT INSIGNIFICANT LEAF that's miles away from the spot you were aiming, but somehow a little piece of metal was protruding from a wall SOMEWHERE and that's where your Corns are landing. SOMEWHERE. ☹️ This is a warning/tip people. I've lost so many good drones and strikes to THIS very problem. Double check before you decide to strike.

Don't be intimidated by attempting to use battery power to take an alternate route low to the ground in order to remain hidden.This particular tactic can come in handy if you do not intend to hang back and camp with your Drone. Often times it's the drone that can get behind the player who is playing Master Spotter on top of a Roof Top without them seeing that can really tip the tides of a fight. Most especially so if you can sneak right onto them and give 'em the ol surprise hairwash from above. These Lone Wolves are dangerous and can be spotted by the way they play Hide n' Seek with you if you try to take them down with your Primary weapon.

Speaking of sniper hide n' seek, let us discuss some fine tactic with that.

If you do not have your damage upgrade, it will be very tough to engage worthy adversary at range, especially if they know where you are at and most so if they can patiently regenerate health.

While you may become accustomed to players who overextend because you've learned to dangle your head out there for a poor rookie to miss a few shots on, this will not always be the case. Players with the "Eagle Eye" come up with their own ways to lure players out of hiding because we all know (The Eagle Eye players know, that is) that it only takes a set number of shots in the right spot to get what we want. And if you're being hit once then the player is somehow missing you, it could very well be more than just a lucky shot. Play patiently. Forcing a player to come out first is what you want.

I, as one of those "Eagle Eye" players play contradictory to the above tip. It is I who can see you no matter how far you try to attack me from and it is I who will intentionally move in patterns common to new players. Health permitting I will purposely put my entire hitbox out in plain view for them to fire at, simply because I know it takes nothing more than a jump or a quick side step to take minimal damage from enemy fire. This way, I am able to see where enemy fire is coming from and essentially gauge by the fire who and where I should be aiming at. Whether I want to fire on someone who won't be able to hit me, or attempt to keep where the heaviest fire was coming from thinned down a little bit.

^---- This tip is based purely from a Defensive Stand point. And speaking as a Foot Soldier who engages cactuses like they are a mortal enemy. I have seen what a good cactus can do to a team of rookies, and if see a Foot Soldier on a Roof Top, PLAY PATIENTLY.

Thank, and hopefully these were more tip than ramble though it felt like more ramble than tip. I am in the process of leveling my cactus team and figured I would put these here before I dived right in. When I reacqauint myself to the Tallnuts and their uses I'll see what I can come up with for those.

Also, on Great White North, I pulled a Chomper out of the ground with my Z7 Mech. It was on the first point, he was one of those sneaky chompers that goop you and chomp you to death from behind. Oh ho ho he tried to burrow passed me and I hit it just right. Sweet, sweet destruction, I could feel his disdain haha reality wasn't joking about that. I suggest learning how to do it from long range as a burrowing chomper who burrows just to regenerate is so annoying, it's almost worth bringing out the mech if you were saving it, though he'll probably unburrow by the time you finish summoning :P

I am a new player, so I need the tips and tricks to level up faster. Thanks for your share. It is the things I need and find.
rolling sky

~ EXP Grinding ~

It's absolutely no secret that EXP takes ages to gain. Getting to level 10 may come quicker for some than it does for others but for most, it's a confusing concept. XP can easily be gained just by patrolling around the backyard battleground, stomping on any enemy you see for flat XP. However, there are some "ins and outs" to XP that don't quite come to people as easily as some may think. Let's begin

~ The XP Multiplier ~

If you want to get loads of XP you're going to have to work your multiplier up to x2. Your current multiplier can be found in the bottom left of the screen, where it tells you what level you are and where you will find a "x0.50" to "x2.0". The x# is your current multiplier.

The multiplier is increased by doing the quests on the bounty board (Located in front of the building on the Plants or Zombie side of the Backyard Battleground respectively). Each quest will give you a Prize of 3 Stars (If it is a Plant/Zombie quest), 5k coins (If it is a Multiplayer quest), and a x3 of a little red dot/pin.

Every 5 little red dot/pins you get will boost your XP multiplier by 0.25x until you have gotten 20 pins, which will set your XP multiplier to 2x, allowing you to get 200 XP for player vanquishes.

~ Doing Quests through Solo Play ~

Most quests can be seen as tedious if you do not know what to do. If a quest asks you to "Vanquish 15 Peashooters" or "Vanquish 15 Engineers" then new players will jump into multiplayer and get creamed looking for a class that sometimes the other players aren't playing. This is where solo play comes into hand. Stacking a game in your favor can help you take these quests out in a single round while sometimes getting other quests done in the process as well.

For this example we will pretend we are doing a quest that requires me to vanquish 15 pea shooters plant 3 gnome bombs and vanquish 10 gnome bomb carriers. Seems pretty annoying, but it's really just 1-2 solo games worth of quest.

Go to the Multiplayer Portal, select "Solo Play", set the difficulty to easy (On Easy mode when your health drops below one third, you will take far less damage), Set the teams to 101st Division Peashooter team for plants (All Peashooters) and set the Zombie team to whatever you please. I usually do all my solo play on Zen Peak. The game should be gnome bomb.

Once the game begins, head to the bomb spawn (It will always spawn in the same spot the first time. Right next to the 2 barrels of fireworks on the cliff side)

Do what you do best to any plant who picks up the gnome. When a plant picks up the Gnome it -TECHNICALLY- will not fire at you. His friends will. If you find that your team is better at grabbing the gnome, then you may want to set your team to just Scientists (Scientists AI have trouble dodging bean bombs, and this leads to you having to run the bomb).

In this very specific scenario, as I need 10 Gnome Bomb carrier vanquishes, I will play as All star and attempt to herd the bomb runner with Tackle Dummies. The plant who grabs the bomb will always go to the nearest point with it if they can. I try my best to camp point C or A with Tackle Dummies since it is very predictable which direction the peashooter will take.

10 Carriers.

15 Peashooters?

No problem.

If you have a quest that is telling you to "Get x amount of kills with <Skill name Here>", then I usually take that character to the Flag of Power in the Backyard Battleground. The first wave will spawn 40 enemies for you which are usually very easy to vanquish. I will reset the flag after first wave of 40, Soldier/Peashooter/Any special plant or zombie variant doesn't just stack up for skills like husk hop or ZPG.

A great point made by another poster on the next page as follows:

(pandareno1999 credit to)

05-31-2017 02:34 PM - edited ‎05-31-2017 02:36 PM

 (end quote)

Turf Takeover quests require you can fully cap 5 points. 50 Points of capturing is equal to 5 points fully captured argh!! Empty games are very helpful with this hassle if you're not into point diving!!! You can also taunt the NPC's you vanquish in case you did not want to taunt a player and incur their wrath. The applications go on!

~ Finding Best Spots for XP ~

At Max XP Multiplier you will get:

500 XP for First Strike boast

200 XP for Player Vanquish

100 XP for Capture Vanquish (Vanquishing opponent on their Capture Point in Turf Takeover)

100 XP for Defender Vanquish (Vanquish opponent who is on YOUR Capture Point in Turf Takeover)

100 XP for Neutralizing Zones in Suburbination

200 XP for fully CAPTURING Zones in Suburbination

100 XP for player revivals

200 XP for vanquishing Plant/Zombie boss

100 XP for vanquishing a Plant/Zombie Champion (Plant/Zombie Icon with a Gold Circle around it)

50 XP for Vanquishing a Bot

50 XP for Assists

50 XP for you or a team member picking up a Gnome Bomb

50 XP for Planting a Gnome Bomb

50 XP for Disarming a Gnome Bomb

50 XP for Capture Vanquish (Vanquishing Opponent on their Capture Point in Suburbination)

50 XP for Defender Vanquish (Vanquish Opponent who is on your Capture Point in Suburbination)

20 XP for summoning a zombie

20 XP for summoned zombie vanquishing someone for you

20 XP for healing anything for 20 health (I think)

20 XP for vanquishing a summoned plant/zombie

20 XP for helping capture the point in Turf Takeover (You'll get 20 XP multiple times depending on how long you stay on the point as it gains capture progress)

20 XP for Critical Vanquish

20 XP for suppression assist (All-Star & Mr. Tree man)

^------------------------------ These Values indicate THAT ----------------------------^

In order to get the maximum XP in a single kill, you must land a vanquish on someone who is on a point with a non critical strike, and it must be the first vanquish of the game. This lands you a whopping 800 XP. (First Strike, Player Vanquish, Turf Takeover capture point vanquish). If you get them with a critical strike, it will only count First Strike, Capture Point, And Critical Strike (610 XP)

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~ Multiplayer or Solo? ~

Multiplayer is tough. You can get placed in a game with a large amount of Master level characters or you can be placed in a game with a large chunk of Blue (New) nameplate gamers. Either way, not everyone can do well in a firefight where players are involved. Some people are better at handling predictable AI than some of those who are better at hanging out on rooftops and spotting people from miles away (Crazy mode AI eat some of those players alive). But the real factor remains that player vanquishes are worth 4x as much as a Bot vanquish. The Money count will be around the same depending on your difficulty choice in solo. It comes down to how well you can grind those vanquishes.

There is a cheap and sleazy way to grind EXP using the split screen. It does involve losing a game but it means loads of experience for long range characters you are capable of shooting from behind cover, all the while ensuring you are not hit to the point of dying. You must set a second player on the opposite team and have them stand on a Capture Point of Turf Takeover on a team of nothing but Sunflowers/Scientists. As long as you can vanquish them fast enough before healing begins, the Scientists will usually revive the other player faster than you could have ran back. This gives you 6 or so Minutes to grind as much exp as you can on another player.

->REMEMBER THAT THE TEAMS MUST BE SET TO ALL HEALERS FOR THE SIDE WITH THE PLAYER WHO IS BEING VANQUISHED.<--

-----------> SET THE TEAM FOR THE PLAYER WHO IS GRINDING TO -NO BOTS-. THEY MUST PLAY SOLO<--

I did not do this with split screen but I'm assuming it can be done with it. I did this with mine and a friends Ps4 on 2 TV's. Please note that this trick ...

^---REQUIRES ANOTHER PLAYER OR CONTROLLER---^

You must be familiar with the beginning of the levels indicated.

You must be able to "Shoot from the right" as indicated on the first page of this topic.

If you want the Maximum pay out of 7,500 coins alongside your grinding, you will have to play on Crazy Mode. Don't mess up.

Head to the Multiplayer Portal and select PRIVATE MATCH. Set the game type to TURF TAKEOVER. The level will determine who can do the exp grinding. I only know of two levels and locations so far.

Level: SEEDS OF TIME

For:  COZMIC BRAINZ AND ALL VARIATIONS OF FOOT SOLDIER WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TANK COMMANDER & ARCTIC SOLDIER.

Location: As Any Soldier/Cozmic Brainz, begin the match by taking the furthest left path and using your Super/Rocket Jump to reach the entrance to the catwalk above the bench. Follow this catwalk through the possible teleporter room and find yourself in the Sniper Nest overlooking the Capture Point.

Job for vanquished player: Set the other player as a Vampire Flower (or other flower variant that has low health). Place the player on the point along the side which is plainly visible to the one who will be grinding exp from the Sniper Nest. TAP THE FLOWER SKILL SO YOU ARE NOT FLAGGED AFK. TAP IT ON COOLDOWN OR LOSE MONEY. If possible swap to Dark Flower so it does not heal you. Enjoy the sweet headrush of seeing how fast you get knocked out. Pick up teeth. Get a photo done beforehand to remember how you looked before your pride was obliterated.

Job for exp grinding player: Hiding on the LEFT of your Sniper nest, you will be practicing the side shot on the point. You will see there is low visibility, as the player must be in the green circle for you to get 300 XP per Vanquish. Make your first kill with a precision ZPG shot, which will ensure an 800 XP boost. If Cozmic, it is okay to forgo added exp for just a ranged critical if the flowers give you trouble. YOUR SMOKE GRENADE, PLACED ON THE WALL AND STOOD IN, PROVIDES YOU IMMUNITY TO THE NPC AIMING MECHANIC. This will allot you TEN OR SO SECONDS to get your vanquishes.

As Cozmic Brainz, rely solely on your ranged attack and see just how much Cozmic shines when he finally gets his Overheat upgrade. Also take the chance to make a risky Super Ultra Ball. You'll be shot at almost instantly, but seeing just how accurate with it you can be on a target who is not moving will surprise you at just how precise this skill needs to be to score the long range 100+ damage.

NOT SHOOTING AT THE NPC'S will ensure you have a clip ready for when they pick up the player. If you are doing this with two controllers and just yourself, you will need to adjust where the player is standing so they are in the circle after a few vanquishes. The flower will move when you place the final shot.

Vanquishing the flower pot while it is down will net you 120 XP so long as it was placed in the Capture Zone.

As you learn to handle Crazy Mode AI (If chosen to do so), you will come to see that they have a sixth sense about where you are, and can target you without even turning around. Placing your aiming reticule on a Crazy Mode bot who is attempting to revive a player will sometimes make them change their course, giving another AI the job of reviving and lengthening the revival.

On the final minute of the game, all of the AI will swarm the point sometimes resulting in difficulties taking down the player on the point as all of the flowers will try to heal them. Fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Level: ZOMBURBIA

For: Any Cactus, Pea Shooter*, Sun Flower*

*Peashooter recoil makes it tough to plant shots while rapidly shooting. Some shots will hit the roof of car. Use Gatling Gun on cooldown.

*Sun Flower should be leveled in Multiplayer since learning to avoid fire while healing is more important than pure prestige plates

Location: At the start of the match you will be placing yourself smack dab in the center of the road. Shooting down the middle while standing on the trunk of the car behind your base-camp spawn line, right in front of the gate which explodes 30 seconds into the game and directly in between the two giant Z-Bot defenders. You can be easily fired upon by Zombie Scientist AI which will surprise you at a moments notice. Sometimes if Beaker Blaster or Nature Scientist gets right next to you despite the 3 secs before they are KO'd, they will be able to shoot you if it is the final shot which vanquishes you. Be careful.

Job for vanquished player: As a Scientist of any type, you will be launching yourself to the point at Warp Speed. Attempt to place yourself near the stairs closest to the gate that explodes near the beginning of the match. (On the point dummy!) And remember, you're pretty far away from the one who is shooting you and there's a big purple light in front of you so you're tough to see. Also, zombies will attempt to revive you more and more behind the point as you are vanquished. Keep this in mind as you eventually find yourself behind the pole on the point, placing you completely out of the line of sight of your vanquisher.

Put a smiley button on your Science coat and remember that it's all fun and games until someone forgets to use their skills! You'll be docked pay for AFK. Try to throw a Mega Heal Bomb every 20 or so seconds. Brain Matter you cannot recover can be replaced!

Job for exp grinding player: As the Cactus you are going to be picking a Z-Bot defender and unloading your clip into it. Once your clip is empty switch to your drone and bring yourself as high as you can go and begin to fire at the Bots. The bots will both have around 400 health so don't be afraid to use your Corn Strike as soon as you can to make it quick. Defeating the bots will take about fourty-five seconds to a minute. Take this chance to see just how long it takes your Cactus of choice to deal that 400 damage with no criticals. Pea Shooters and Sunflowers both have a Root-Skill which provides them with insane stationary DPS.

Once the bots are taken care of you must follow the road to the gate that explodes 25 or so seconds into the match.Staying behind the gate you're going to hop onto the trunk of the vehicle docked on the street with the barbed wire & sandbags. On the trunk of this car, you are -technically- hidden from the Scientist Bot AI. The roof of the vehicle is technically what they see if their shot would hit it when they fire at you. If the shot would hit you, they can see you and will take the shot. You are able to fire from behind this roof and if you come under fire, it's nothing more than a few steps back. Try to regenerate to at least 64 health before attempting to make your vanquish.

Hopping on the trunk as Cactus and scoring your Vanquish then hopping down is the best way to go about without being hit. The Scientists that notice you will persue you until they are Vanquished by you or because they stepped behind your respawn line. Placing potato mines to pick up these spare pins is okay, but only worth 50 XP per one. Remember, only Vanquishes on the Capture Point count for an Extra 100 XP. In the final minute, everyone will swarm the point. Using your Corn Strike during this time -After- Knocking out the player can result in almost 10 whole vanquishes.

Pea Shooter will need to rely on steady firing speeds to ensure he can shoot from behind cover without hitting the roof of the vehicle or getting mobbed over by Scientist gunfire. His Pea Gatling gun, if fired in bursts, can score you about 5-7 Vanquishes before running out of ammo. (Tap the fire button and let go, don't hold it down)

I haven't tested Sunflower but assume she works like Pea Shooter. Try to use her in Multiplayer instead!! Focus on spotting enemies and avoiding gunfire!

Please keep in mind that I can usually grind out anywhere from 28-37 kills per game. It takes 2-3 games to get to level 10 in this fashion for me. It comes down to how accurate you are and how fast the AI will revive the player.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope this helps you out. I'll give it a look over and spruce it up some more but for the most part I think it's done.

If anyone else has locations for quick exp grinding for the other classes which involves a spot you can SAFELY SCORE VANQUISHES AGAINST THE POINT AT (FIrst point only), submit it!

Great stuff as always, Ziago.  I do some of this stuff differently - more than one way to skin a cat and all that.  I tend to use team vanguish rather than gnome bomb, for example.  I'm not sure if you mentioned that an empty TT game is the best way to knock out base capture quests and teleporter related related quests (except having a number of players use the teleporter).  I love when suburbination quests come up, because it's already so easy to earn 10,000 coins per game while you're busy doing something else - if I need coins fast, I grind for them while I'm doing the housework or such, hitting the bumper for chile bomb or ZPG every minute or so.  Add in the 5000 for the quest and that's some easy money right there.

Character tips - Did you mention preloading engineer's stun grenade when in the jackhammer?

It's a work in progress mostly. I also forgot to mention XP values for bosses and champions. Engineers can reload anytime if I'm not mistaken and they go uninterrupted by any of his skills. Dunno about his sonic mines though I don't play him very frequently these days.. :o Most of the time I forget to pre-load anymore though.

I'm also gonna toss what you said as a quote in there because you're absolutely right on that. I didn't outline even a third of how useful the solo game can be. I can't find the words right now. Lol

When you're in the jackhammer, pressing the button for sonic grenade will cause it to be thrown instantly when you exit the jackhammer.

Does it cause your grenade to throw during a chomp attack that throws you off of your jackhammer?! 0.o o.0!! Edit that top message because that's your helpful hint not mine! I'd quote it into the old engy thing but it's long enough to read!

I'm not sure, that would be interesting to try out with two players in the sewers.  Don't bother crediting me if you're adding stuff to your posts, I really don't care.  Anything I post, I learned from someone else.

I admire your decision. I insist on crediting and will keep what you said in mind.

~~ The Enigmatic Rose ~~

Today I'd like to discuss with you all (Or monologue rather) the incredible mystery that is the Plant-Side Engineer/Support character... Ms. Enigmatic Rose.

To the inexperienced player, Rose is deceptively fragile. Her 100 Health and slow-hovering movement speed will actually set her in a position to get destroyed by one keen-aim sharpshooter, multiple barrages of splash effect cannon shots/engineer projectiles/any zombie splash that hurts. Her attack projectile is slow moving, the tracking can fail on tight turning and poor accuracy is punished by causing your slow moving shot to do nothing more than show people where you are firing from.She has a learning curve with her aim, and an even deeper learning curve with her jump.

Her clip size is small for some of her variants (Party Rose for example, but Default and Druid seem to be the Ammunition dump). Rose, out of all characters in Plants vs Zombie is the most heavily punished for unpreparedness.

This means that IF YOU ARE CAUGHT WITHOUT A FULL CLIP IN A CLOSE RANGE FIGHT, you're gonna have a hard time.

This means that IF YOU ARE USING YOUR SLOW AND GOAT SPELLS ON LONG RANGE BECAUSE YOU CAN, you're gonna have a hard time.

This means that IF YOU ARE SPACING OUT AND NOT WATCHING OUT FOR PEOPLE WHO AIM FOR ROSES BECAUSE IT NULLIFIES TELEPORTERS, you're gonna have a hard time.

Before I truly begin I want you to know that I used the words DECEPTIVELY FRAGILE for a reason. The reason being that after you have become acquainted with her aiming style and the "Uh oh" moment use of her skillset, you'll be well on your way to playing one of the most out of whack characters in the game. Boasting incredible offense, ludicrous self-survivability, top-notch mid-range overwatch (Roof top) capability, Rose is perhaps one of my favorite go-to's when it comes to laying down the hurt to teams of 5+ Zombie defenders in a game of Turf Takeover. Let's dive in!

~~ Beginning Advice: Dainty Little Flower ~~

With 100 Health you are -EASY- to Vanquish. Here's a fun kicker though, Rose has a stick for a body with a medium sized head. She also has a higher-than average jump that implements a slight slow-fall which will reduce the rate you float to the ground.

Combining these two factors is one of your first steps in learning to survive as Rose. The mere act of jumping while moving around from side to side will make you terribly difficult to hit. It will also pan your view and change where your projectile is firing from, sometimes leading to extra hits that would otherwise have hit a roof or something that was in your way.

Practicing randomized left and rights then left left's and right right's while mid air and firing can really make an impact in Rose survivability. Many times I've found myself overlooking a large fight, beginning the spell flinging and getting noticed right away. Once you get melted in a split second once or twice, it WILL demoralize you from trying to assault with a Rose. Think again!!

Hopping around and firing makes Rose's already small hitbox even harder to land a hit on. Yes you will be hit, but with proper movement and attempted guessing at where the enemy will ASSUME you're gonna hop to CAN lead to lasting long enough to get more than just 30 shots out. When things get hairy and you notice you're at 60 or so health, you're going to want to leap off from wherever you're firing at and take cover. When I see the 60 and start to back off I can escape with 50-20 health. Players often do not know what Rose is capable of and will cease firing on you if they see you run away. Some will persue you. But that's what the next section is for

~~ Surviving with Cooldowns ~~

Rose has an incredible Arsenal of large-radius Crowd Control abilities. Pity that many Roses just fling them out whenever they can because slowing people down makes them late by about 2 seconds.

The fact of the matter is that: When a Zombie is slowed down by a Rose, they cannot turn faster than she can circle them. If you have attract one or even two or maybe even three zombies to your location, your choice to fight and run can depend entirely on how well versed you are in Roses cooldowns.

Example: Turf Takeover. Zombopolis, Third Stage dance party area. Right Side plant teleporter. You can assault the point by jumping around on the stairs and shooting over the wall. This works well in many cases (Those darn walls they can hide behind...!!!) and often you will find yourself drawing attention to your stairwell (Either from the building far across the way within the Zombie spawn or from the point itself.) -- In this very case let us assume I have attracted a Foot Soldier Scientist and Engineer to me from the point. There is also a Fire Crossbow Soldier on the building way over behind their spawn. What am I gonna do? Run away?

As a Default Rose (With all of my cooldowns ready, since all I've been doing is spamming on the point), I am going to jump onto the left railing (Since rose can jump high enough to get onto that thin little strip), I'm gonna jump around left and right, making sure to land on this railing (It's a tough jump but very rewarding. Each jump seems like you intend to fall down). I'm going to be attempting to dodge the Fire Soldier most, since he has the biggest chance to kill me. I'm gonna fling my slow onto the Scientist and engineer (Foot Soldiers don't ever seem to be in range of a group snare), I'm gonna unload on the scientist while hopping around on this railing (Takes 10 shots of homing to take him out). By the time the Scientist Vanquish has dinged, the Foot Soldier is attempting to Rocket jump up to me, the Engineer has lost his Jackhammer and is stumbling at the bottom of the stairs to get to me, I'm gonna JUMP onto the wall that is to the right of this railing. I goat the foot soldier, and play "Can you splash me while I jump from tree to wall to rail" with the engineer.

If I'm stunned I'm dead. If I vanquish the engineer before the soldier is done being goated, I've already won. If I decide I will not fight the engineer during my jumping trip of defense, I'm gonna use my arcane enigma right after goating the soldier.

From there I can hop away using the truck while invulnerable, I can stand still for about 20 secs and wait for help, or I can try to flood the Engineer with 60 damage before getting destroyed for being reluctant.

The moral from this entire story? I had each and every cooldown ready for this panic moment. In the worst case scenario I will only ever use slow on a point. And that is to stop a Scientist and vanquish him. I will also throw a slow spell on a point if I know it will hit 3+ people. Just... because. I mean no matter how useful it is being annoying like that can sometimes lead to a hidden cactus grabbing a vanquish! In a normal 4 on 1 situation you can kiss your butt good bye if you don't have the sense to run. With her cooldowns, Rose is capable of singling enemies out of groups (For just a second or so which is all she needs to unload 5-8 shots). Let's go into some tips about her weapon...

~~ The Rose Shot ~~

Magic Thistles is deadly. And the tracking it receives makes it the leading Nightmare for Scientists who are unaware of an in-range Rose. Unfortunately for many, the learning curve for knowing how to aim with Rose is just a tad bit too perplexing in a game as fast paced as "You got chomped outta nowhere!!!" as PvZ. Well let me try to change that.

First off, Rose will only shoot a homing bullet if your targeting reticule (crosshair) is red-colored (when you have crosshair over enemy it will change to red).

Second off, Homing Bullet has a range to it. If you put your crosshair on an enemy and it doesn't turn red, you aren't in range to fire a homing shot.

Third off, Every Rose gets an upgrade to her Homing Bullet at Prestige Plate SILVER level 9. This will effectively double the range at which you can initiate a Red-Reticule homing shot.

Because of this third reason, many people will confuse Rose with a close range fighter. Let me sway you from that and help you stay back from the fight by enlightening you to a couple more of her quirks.

First off, Rose's projectile moves very slow. This means that if you start shooting on a point, by the time you shoot 8 to 15 shots, the first shot is gonna make it on point. If nobody saw you start firing, you can usually reload and start firing before people begin running around. This does not apply to players who are alert to being damaged.

Second off, Rose's projectiles explode. Get that? They deal small AoE damage. It's very small, but I've been able to hit 3 players at once (I think it was 2 and a heal station). Constantly firing on groups of enemies when you cannot launch homing shots can lead to some cheap & easy vanquishes

Third off, In order to aim Rose's weapon particularly well at longer ranges (With improved homing) will require you to begin leading your targets. (Effectively predicting which direction they will go). This isn't as tough at it may seem, though I can understand why it would be. Just remember that when aiming at someone, they can really only go left or right. If they don't do that, they have to run in a straight line backwards or forwards.

Being able to place your shots with your reticule red while SLIGHTLY in front of where your target is heading will ensure you land those hits on the players who take tight turns or make circles to try and beat your homing shot. Let's dicuss class on class basic

~~ Matching Up The Rose ~~

Rose vs Foot Soldier

Rose vs Foot Soldier is a fun debate. When holding the aim and firing, the Rose can actually place accurate shots over long ranges. I have hassled snipers with Druid rose from across the map because her shots will go in a straight line if you aim while shooting them. (Works for me at least). Soldier is a power house and being vanquished by ZPG is probably the most embarassing way to go for someone who can glide around as Rose can. However....

12-13 homing shots is nothing for a Rose with upgraded homing. It's also nothing for a Rose to get these shots in on a Foot Soldier who isn't aware of her presence. By the time shot 6 homes in, you have 6 more going right for 'em. Most times you'll get a Foot Soldier in the air because they panicked and thought they could jump away.

In a close confrontation with a Foot Soldier, remember that Slow has a radial impact (Affects people around the impact zone) much like chomper goop. Landing a slow will ensure close range circling of the foot soldier. If you cannot vanquish him while circling him as he is slowed, the foot soldier can jump and cause confusion with a smoke cloud. His ZPG on the ground can finish you off if he's damaged you before approaching. I would not suggest goating unless you can avoid the ram, can use Arcane Enigma to escape after he ungoatifies, or can jump on top of something and shoot him when he decides to run.

Rose vs. Scientist

Rose can destroy a Scientist with 10 magic thistles. From mid-range, a minimal of fuss and possibly even to the confusion of the Scientist himself. Slowing a Scientist Mid-range almost signs the death certificate for the Scientist if you are able to home in while he's slowed. What's worse for the Scientist is that at long Range, he will have to pull off over 5 shots to the head at long range to panic the Rose!!! It's not all bad for the Scientist however.

Palentologist (Fire Variant of Scientist) can make life very difficult for the rose. A long range shot and upgraded fire damage can mean as little as 3 spaced shots. Usually it will only take 2 before a Rose must hide for cover.

When faced with Computer Scientists, Close Range Beaker Blasters Procupine Shooters and Goo Blaster 77 damage critical hits, you are in a difficult position.

The field is 50/50 when charged with these Variants, and charge-roses (Fire Necro Ice) are at a Disadvantage because you are REQUIRED to charge up that shot during the slow in order to perform the vanquish. (I will slow these particular zombies and jump over them to shoot them from behind. If they are engaging me as I slow them, I know they can hit me as I jump over them. I will run backwards while firing and prepare to jump over something to escape. Shotgun style DPS is very effective against a Rose. But damaging them before they approach you can ensure a successful Arcane Enigma Vanquish if you feel you do not need to use slow to stop them.)

The squirrely Scientist who can jump, Warp, shoot, throw heal bombs -AND- camp their stations with ease will give you trouble. Use homing shots on them and do not risk the slow game on them, though the victory is sweet IT WILL attract them to you. These types of players often seek vengeance on those who end delicious Scientist-Style vanquish streaks, and when you're in charge of spamming your clip onto a point, one of the last things you want to worry about is a shotgun that can teleport, move quicker than you AND possibly come at you from your blind side..

Goating a Scientist is effective. Just remember that aiming the homing shots on a goat can sometimes lead to a lost vanquish, since the stinky goat ram can lead to an escape for smart players who know to hop while moving and firing the ram, which leads to a a Stinky Goat Ram devoid of the standing still to charge.

Rose vs Pirate

The first thing you need to know is that no matter how accurate you can make your shots from long Range, only the Ice and Druid Roses stand a chance at long-range firefighting of Pirates. A fully charged Ice Shot to a Pirate results in 50 Damage, and the following shots you should be firing after shooting the charged shot will only serve to freeze him in place. Keep in mind you will normally only get one of those on a really good pirate before he watches for you to come out charging a shot.

If a Pirate has decided he wants you, he will know if you're being damaged. He will send his parrot if he spots you backing off from getting hurt. Starting a fight with a pirate means you're either messing with someone who thinks the Pirate is cool, or someone who intends to camp a streak waaaaaaay in the back where no one can touch him -- Vanquishing him may make him aim specifically for you the entire game. Some players get like that.

Your homing shot can easily stop any Parrot. A pirate will attack a Rose with a parrot if the Rose does not fight back. If the Rose can turn and throw homing shots at the Parrot, the Pirate quickly changes tune and will (Most often) fail at evading your fire. If you do not show the Pirate you can shoot his parrot down at a moments notice, he is going to shoot you with it and drop bombs on you. And those bombs just seem to do more damage to Rose, personally. Expect around 3 or so Parrot attempts before a Pirate begins to lose interest in you.

Goat is very useful against the Pirate (That ol' Mannerless goat!!) and I'll tell you why. Goatify will neutralize the cannon Rodeo. Goatify will neutralize the Barrel Blast.  In general, Goatify will stop anything a pirate can do to you and may also result in him being vanquished by someone else since Pirates are often a Priority target if they've made some enemies.

His shots hurt very much. Do not underestimate him and don't fear him. He's about as squishy as you are and with enough harassment is forced to bench himself. Long range snipers tend to overextend as well, making Frost Rose prime with her impeccable accuracy to be Pirates true contender.

(I got nothing for you Pirates. If I see a Rose giving people trouble I shoot at it and change spots to shoot at it again)

Rose vs The All-Star

I do not recommend fighting with All-Stars. As a Druid Rose your shots deal 5 damage to Tackle Dummies. A smart All-Star can camp his dummy and soak your shots for the longest time. The same goes for Fire Rose and Nec'Rose. However....

All-Stars are very slow. Using the environment to jump on top of Tackle dummies with your super-magical Rose jump will actually take most All-Stars by surprise. Remember that spamming your bullets is the only sure way to win as it's going to take more than 20 shots at close range to do the trick for you if they are at full health. Accuracy is important when dealing with All-Stars as almost every shot counts. Their Tackle and Imp Punt will vanquish you in a single hit (Assuming you are below 80 health upon engagement)

At long range it works best to leverage a height advantage in your favor, as jumping while already taller than the All-Star can lead to your bullets bypassing a tackle dummy completely. Be wary of an ice All-Star variant as being frozen in place by anyone can usually mean the end of your run. Removing the All-Stars teammates from play will cripple the All-Star entirely as your allies will have more breathing room to give the All-Star something else to worry about. If you're the only attacker, you will find great trouble when dealing with All-Stars as when they fire, people look to see what it's at. And it will be you.

Rose vs Super Brainz

I sometimes feel as though Super Brainz is the counter to Rose. He has a very high Health Pool, his ultra ball will deal considerable splash damage to you if he's accurate, his kick will stun you until you land and his twister can slow you down. Nearly every one of his moves can reduce you to a matter of 2-3 punches for a vanquish. Couple this with trying to launch homing shots onto him as he hops up and down like the big lovable goofball he is and you've got a problem.

However, Super Brainz is manageable with awareness. Knowing a Super Brainz is coming for you can be your only real defense. His 200 health will ensure he absorbs the brunt of your assault in time to get in your face. If he's smart with kicks and jumps he may even get there with more than 100 health. You may even find yourself having to use every cooldown to deal with him.

DO NOT LET MOMENTS WHERE YOU HAVE BURNED DOWN A SUPER BRAINZ TRICK YOU INTO THINKING HE CANNOT DEFEAT A ROSE

Super Brainz is a Chomper with jumping capability. He can move very fast with his heroic kick, can make it onto Rooftops to line of sight your fire. What's worse? If he closes his gap on you, you're finished if you cannot perform your slow. If you goat him he's gonna run around and come back, oftentimes dodging fire and staying near you so he doesn't have to re-close the distance. If you eat his entire tornado attack without using enigma, you're gonna be in a lot of pain. Most Super Brainz do not care to wait out an entire Arcane Enigma. They know you're theirs if you don't get away. Keep your cooldowns close at hand and don't go wasting them.

Slowing a Super Brainz and making distance between him while damaging him is a very good choice when fending him off. Remember also he cannot hurt you when jumping around except with his cooldown abilities. So changing your altitude by hopping to and from things like cars, on top of and behind low fences and of course onto and off of rooftops can lead to lengthy periods where the Super Brainz can do nothing more than try to jump with you and predict where YOU will be landing next.

Be VERY wary of Electro Brainz and Cozmic Brainz. Their Ranges capabilities are very able to make a Rose cry for their mommy. Most so if you're near other players against an Electro Brainz? You can't escape that damage no matter how much you jump.

Rose vs The Engineer

Skill for Skill these two are the same class.

Engineer Big Bolt Blaster can make your life a living nightmare. Neutralized by Goatify, but it can still lead to am embarassing loss of your own life simply by its incredible damage output. You also deal less damage to an engineer who is astride one of these terrible creations.

Engineer splash damage will make your life difficult. A smart engineer can utilize walls to hit you if you are too close to them. Really smart Engineers know it only takes 5 concrete shots to your feet to make you go down. And as a Rose you really aren't paying attention to concrete shots when you're too paranoid watching for pirates, long range foot soldiers and sneaky super brainz.

Simply spamming your primary weapon on an Engineer will make him go away, as is the case in any confrontation. If the Engineer is on his jackhammer, slow him immediately. It will stop him from stunning the people he is fighting and will usually cause them to give up right away, since your homing shots are gonna take him out before the slow even wears off. When he decides to engage you himself he is going to take AC Perry, the Welder or the Roadie to fight with you. Especially if you stop Concrete Blaster before he even gets to try and vanquish you with him. He'll think you're some hot shot and completely overlook gratuitous splash.

AC Perry is manageable with any Rose if you are good with the jump. He is going to hit you more than once and if you get frozen it's over. Your movement speed is your only defense against him and every successful splash will slow you down even more. DO NOT allow AC perry or Roadie Z to close the gap on you. Close Range AC Perry can freeze you just by looking down and shooting. Roadie Z can blast you away before you can activate Arcane Enigma. Especially if he rams you with the jackhammer first.

Very fun competition.

Rose vs Imp

Rose and Imp is simple. If the Imp doesn't see you, you will vanquish him with minimal of fuss so long as you can hit him with homing bullets.

If the Imp sees you, he is GOING TO USE HIS GRAVITY GRENADE. DON'T KID YOURSELF, HE HAS IT. AND IT'S COMING YOUR WAY.

This turns the Rose v Imp fight into a Race between slow and Gravity Grenade. If an Imp has gotten close enough to you that there is no chance you can escape the grenade, use Arcane enigma and stand still. Gauge your situation. Assess it. You get 1-2 seconds to decide to run or hit the imp with all of your Arcane Enigma Charges. Remember, you can jump in Arcane Enigma at the cost of some of its timer. Sometimes YOU can close the gap or even jump up onto where the imp is at and chase him down. I would suggest relying heavily on taking him and all other targets out at mid range however.

If the Imp uses his Mech, you are going to have to Slow it. If you are unable to kill the Mech (Because it wasn't damaged before you engaged it) before slow is over you better make a plan to book it because he's gonna getcha.

~~ Final Tips for Rose ~~

Do NOT activate Arcane Enigma after successfully reviving someone, making a teleporter or building a turret. Doing so causes Arcane Enigma to cancel out and expend the cooldown. BE VERY AWARE WHEN PLACING A TELEPORTER AS SOMETIMES WHEN I PUT A TELEPORTER UP WHILE ZOMBIES ARE ATTACKING IT I WILL ACTIVATE ENIGMA AS SOON AS I PUT THE PORTAL UP, IT WILL CANCEL MY ENIGMA, AND I WILL DIE. I'LL ALSO LOOK STUPID.

Rose can sometimes make jumps it seems like she shouldn't be able to by moving the camera around as she jumps. Sometimes her sides catch ledges and pulls her up. I have gotten onto trains in Zombopolis, statues in Zomburbia... play with it!

Rose requires Homing Upgrade to be useful. I will usually use Speed Upgrade, Homing Upgrade, Damage/Fire/Ice upgrade.

Jumping really makes a difference. Jumping and firing is a game changes. Jumping, firing and attacking multiple targets at once causes a panic.

Aim for Scientists.

If you slow a target, it better be to Vanquish them!!

I mentioned earlier I jump over targets with Charge variants after slowing them? That's because you can start charging your shot in mid-air after you jump, allowing you to come out from behind cover half way charged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope this helps someone in some way as well as gives a Rose Enthusiast out there (at least one!!!!) some insight into how better to enjoy this beautiful character. Thanks everyone and happy vanquishing!