Shield Zombie


 * Not to be confused with the Shield Zombies category.

Shield Zombie is a zombie that appears in Far Future. It creates a Force Field in front of itself, covering three lanes to protect itself and other nearby zombies from incoming attacks. However, Laser Bean's laser and Fume-shroom's fume can penetrate through these shields while Bloomerang's Boomerang can push through it as long as there are no other zombies in front of it. Snapdragon's fire can hit the Shield Zombie directly if within range, and it can also receive damage from splashes done by Coconut Cannons, Melon-pults, and Winter Melons.

Almanac Entry
TOUGHNESS:  Average

SPEED:  Basic

Protect himself and nearby zombies with a force field

Special:  creates a shield to protect from incoming attacks

Shield Zombie developed his system using funds from a BiteStarter campaign. The push goal for pushing plants was not met.

Overview
Shield Zombie absorbs 25 normal damage shots while the Force Field absorbs 60 normal damage shots, and its appearance changes upon an absorption of 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, and 22 damage shots before dying at 25 normal damage shots.

Appearances
Player's House: Piñata Party

Far Future: Day 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, and Terror from Tomorrow

Strategies
Laser Bean can penetrate the shield so you can attack the Shield Zombie directly. If you plant Magnifying Grass quickly enough, it can one hit kill the Shield Zombie. An E.M.Peach can disable the Shield Zombie, stopping shield production for a few seconds. A Lightning Reed's attack cannot bypass the shield on its own, but if the lightning bolt attacks another zombie, it can arc towards the Shield Zombie and cause damage, but also there are times that it can bypass without the help of a zombie. A Bloomerang can also damage and bypass the shield. Finally, enough hits disable the shield, making a Citron viable as it deals large damage on its own. A Spikerock can attack it from below and bypass his shield, making it a good idea to use it in Terror from Tomorrow. Note that the shield can block the butter from a Kernel-pult. The shield will also stop when the zombie starts to eat a plant. Snapdragon also works, because it can ignore its shield, but because of its short range, it's better to protect it with a Wall-nut, Tall-nut or Infi-nut. Be careful if you use Citron's Plant Food ability as even though Shield Zombie has less health than the plasma ball itself, it is still a machine zombie and it disables it, thus wasting Plant Food.

Trivia

 * In the Shield Zombie's Almanac entry, BiteStarter is a parody of Kickstarter.
 * The almanac entry states that the goal to push plants was not met, possibly referring to the Mecha-Football Zombie.
 * Instead of eating it with it's face, it uses claws from the machine to eat the plants.
 * Its shield was originally going to be blue but was changed to purple. The blue shield is only seen in one screenshot which was released by Electronic Arts the Tuesday prior to the world's release.
 * The blue shield might have been changed to purple to distinguish its shield and the Infi-nut's shield.
 * The tube that goes from the Shield Zombie's head into the top of its machine is probably what lets it live, this is noticeable because when it is stunned by the E.M.Peach, it starts to move in its seat and when the machine is defeated the zombie dies.
 * This is the only machine that doesn't use a steering wheel to control.
 * The Shield Zombie, the Zombie Yeti, the Zombie Bull, and the Bug Bot Imp are the only machines in Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time that cannot survive an instant kill.
 * If Shield Zombie's forcefield absorbs too much damage all at once, it will be deactivated for a few seconds, leaving it open to other attacks.
 * It is one of the weakest zombies that operates a machine with less health than Conehead Zombies. The other is Bug Bot Imp.
 * But unlike the Bug Bot Imp, the Shield Zombie will still block a Plant Food charged Citron.
 * Even though its speed is basic, it appears to have the speed of a Pirate Captain Zombie as Dr. Zomboss will just overkill it by moving on close to it.
 * Its toughness is actually Protected and its speed is actually Stiff while currently its toughness is Average and its speed is Basic.
 * Though it's made of metal, Magnet-shroom cannot pick it up. This is probably because it's too heavy.
 * According to the game files, Shield Zombie's original name was Protector Zombie.
 * If the Shield Zombie is deactivated by E.M.Peach, it will push the joysticks and try to get the machine to move.