Cob Cannon

The Cob Cannon is an Upgrade Plant which can be purchased from Crazy Dave at his shop and must be planted over two side-by-side Kernel-pults, which must be placed one in front of the other in the same row, horizontally. Cob Cannons cost $20,000 to buy in Crazy Dave's Shop. It takes exactly 36.41 seconds to give out a new Corn Cob.

Suburban Almanac Entry
Cob Cannon

Click on the Cob Cannon to launch deadly cobs of corn.

Must be planted on 2 side by side kernel-pults

What's the deal with Cob Cannon, anyway? He went to Harvard. He practices law in a prestigious New York firm. He can explode whole areas of zombies with a single corn launch. All this is common knowledge. But deep inside, what really makes him tick?

Cost: 500

Recharge: very slow

Strategy
The Cob Cannon costs 500 sun to place and does not fire automatically. Instead, it has a missile effect and animation. The missile itself is a corn cob which takes 36.41 seconds for the Cob Cannon to load. Once it is ready, the player can click on the Cob Cannon and then use the crosshair to aim the shot. You can also right click to cancel the launch or you can click on the shovel two times to cancel the launch.The cob has a devastating effect, much like that of a Cherry Bomb, but will still require two hits to kill a Gargantuar, as all explosives do. The missile usually takes about 2-3 seconds between launching and detonating. The Cob Cannon, although highly expensive, is very effective and can dominate entire waves of Zombies very quickly, as the cobs do not use up sun between firings. Think of it as a reusable Cherry Bomb, if you do not plan to use it much, stick with the Cherry Bomb, but if you plan to use an explosive over and over again, use the Cob Cannon.

The Cob Cannon is better than the Cherry Bomb in 3 ways. First, it is reusable. Second, its cob recharges faster than a Cherry Bomb. Third, its cob can be fired on plants (including itself) and ice (without the need of a Jalapeno) or the pool (without the need of a Lily Pad), while a Cherry Bomb needs a Lily Pad for pool (Flower Pot for roof) use and cannot be planted on other plants (besides the Pumpkin and Flower Pot) and ice. In a few words, it is a ballistic missile in corn-cob form.

One thing to note is the cost. 500 Sun is a lot to pay for a plant. To make sure your Sun was well-used, make sure to use your Cob Cannon plenty of times. To save more sun than repeatedly using Cherry Bombs, make sure to use the Cob Cannon at least 4 times (as 150 times 4 is 600, and Cob Cannons cost 500, meaning a saving of 100 Sun), and the minimal time to make that up is exactly 2 minutes and 30.64 seconds, given the fact the first cob only takes about 5 seconds to arm. For more Cob Cannons, repeat as needed.

Note that the Cob Cannon can be eaten at the normal rate, despite its size, and cannot be protected with Pumpkins. Thus, they must be placed carefully. Fortunately, however, Bungee Zombies cannot target them. Be careful when clicking on sun that appears or falls over a Cob Cannon, as you may accidentally engage it. If this happens, you can cancel it either by clicking on a seed packet, pressing the Esc button or right-clicking. If you just click at a Cob Cannon thinking it may disengage, be warned as it will only shoot itself, (but not destroy itself) and wastes your patience on waiting for some Cobs that appear 36.41 seconds after recharging. They are good to use in almost every level.

Survival: Endless
Although it isn't usually necessary in levels (except on occasion in the Survival: Hard levels) the Cob Cannon is one of the most helpful plants for Survival: Endless. Setups can be classified as either 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8+ Cob builds, and the highest number record now is a map-filling 24 (although its author admits that it is almost impossible to sustain without using a backup save file). The 0 and 2 Cob builds require a rotation of instants and/or double Ice-shrooms (Ice-shroom with Imitater Ice-shroom), while the 6 and 8 Cob builds use constant Cob rotations. The 4 Cob build is quite flexible, with more space and more frequent Cob rotation than other builds. Easier builds are 6 cobs and 8 cob builds - 6 cob builds are the somewhat flexible as it can achieve a constant cob rotation or mixed with instants, the average time between cob launches being 12 seconds. The 8 cob build is recommended for newer players who want to achieve a constant rotation without much trouble. Theoretically a 12-cob build is also quite easy to use, because it enables rotation by launching after every 6-7 seconds, the most normal time between two waves of zombies. The main problem with these builds is that they require a constant barrage of cobs, making the game somewhat tiring.



Despite having many cobs, reducing the space available for other plants, as long as the timing of the player is good, said other plants aren't necessary. Beware, however, that some of the cobs will be quite vulnerable, since there is literally no safe place to put cobs after the first four (barring someone with extremely good timing who can time Imp landings, Digger Zombie surfacing, and/or underwater pool zombies surfacing (the ones that come up from the pool every two waves) apart from the front lines. Although this can be easily solved by using an Ice-shroom 5.5 seconds before the zombies show up, the safest cobs are the four cobs in the back of the pool lanes as there will be no Digger Zombies and Imps (or Balloon Zombies that have made it very far before being popped). Moreover, in builds with more than 20 cobs, hitting Gargantuars with many cobs at a time before the Imps are thrown is actually preferred over timing the Imps landing.

However, arguably the easiest setup is the 4 Cob setup, as it does not require perfect timing as the builds with more cobs do; nor does it require a large amount of instants as the builds with fewer cobs do. Most of the plants aren't very vulnerable to zombies, in addition to the Cob Cannons being completely safe once the setup is complete. In addition to this, the 4 Cob setup is easiest to build due to its relative ability to withstand zombies before it is completed. In fact, they are the safest ways as no zombies can come near them unless they eat the pool's front row plants which is unlikely to happen.



Buttered Popcorn
The Cob Cannon is the only plant you can have in the iPad-exclusive Mini-game Buttered Popcorn. It is a Pool level, so there are only four. Due to the slower cool-down of the cobs and the number of zombies, use butter to stall the zombies, watch out for Pole Vaulting Zombie and Dolphin Rider Zombie though, since there are no last line of defense weapons and they can eat your brains while leaving no damage to your cobs. If the Gargantuar appears, use butter to stun him first before hitting him with the cobs, or the Imp will eat a Cob Cannon.

Popcorn Party and Defcorn 5
To unlock the Achievements Popcorn Party and Defcorn 5, you must kill two Gargantuars with Cob Cannons on a single level and have five Cob Cannons on a single level, respectively (easiest way is to play the Mini-game Last Stand). It makes sense to do them both on the same level. After you have all five Cob Cannons up and the first corn cob hits a Gargantuar, it will throw the Imp off its back (assuming that two cobs were not fired at once). If the Cob Cannons are in the same row as the Gargantuar, it is wise to put a Squash or a Cherry Bomb right in front of your Cob Cannons to kill any Imps that were thrown at it. Also, because it takes time for the Cob Cannons to load, you should wait for multiple to load before trying to dispatch the Gargantuars. Keep in mind that a Cob Cannon has to deliver the killing blow, so a Squash could weaken Gargantuar, but Cob Cannon will have to get the kill for the achievement to count. Another Cob Cannon related achievement, No-Cob-No-Explode, requires you to complete Last Stand without using any Cob Cannons.

Trivia

 * The Cob Cannon looks like a giant corn supported by a wooden barge and four wheels.
 * The wheels of the Cob Cannon resemble sliced corn, though it seems impossible to support all the weight of the Cob Cannon with just four slices of corn.
 * If you use some hacking method to put a laddered Pumpkin on its hind wheel, zombies will go pass it as it does other normal laddered Pumpkins. However, if you put the Pumpkin on its front wheel, zombies will still eat the Cannon.
 * The length of a Cob Cannon is the same as the height of the Tall-nut if placed vertically.
 * This is the only non-aquatic plant besides the Grave Buster that can't be be protected by a Pumpkin, excluding the Pumpkin itself, even though the zombies can eat it at the same rate as a plant which takes up 1 space.
 * The Cob Cannon is one of the two Instant Kills that can be used more than once, the other being the Chomper.
 * The Cob Cannon, the Starfruit and Wall-nut are the only plants with Mini-games for the specific use of them.
 * The Cob Cannon and Cattail are the only plants that can shoot anywhere, although the Cattail does it by itself, while the Cob Cannon is controlled.
 * The Cob Cannon's eyes are similar to the Spikeweed's and the Spikerock's.
 * If a Cob Cannon is in a process of shooting cob missiles at zombies, and it instantly gets eaten, the cob will just disappear.
 * However, it is possibly a fake cob or an animation, so the cob will disappear.
 * When the Cob Cannon's cob projectile explodes, it looks like it makes a hole in the level image. The same image is produced when it's shot into the pool.
 * The Cob Cannon is one of the four plants that has red eye pupils, the other three being the Torchwood, Spikeweed and the Spikerock.
 * This is the only plant that takes up more than one square on the lawn.
 * However, Gargantuars and Vehicle Zombies can still squash it like a single square sized plant.
 * The Cob Cannon, the Starfruit, the Cattail, the Gloom-shroom and the Threepeater are the only five plants that can fire outside the lane it is planted on.
 * Plant projectiles or other instants don't hurt other plants, yet the Cob Cannon needs to shoot up in the air rather than straight to the zombie.
 * However this could be because it would have to be turned to aim, meaning it would have to aim upwards to shoot outside its lane.
 * The Cob Cannon takes the same amount of chomps before it's completely eaten, even though it takes up two spots. One would think it would have more durability. Therefore Digger Zombies can eat it in four bites.
 * If a Pole Vaulting Zombie tries to jump a Cob Cannon, it slides forward in midair, landing behind the Cob Cannon, because it would not make sense if the zombie lands up in the middle of a plant.
 * However, this possibly make the game more difficult.
 * For a Pogo Zombie, he has to jump 4 times before jumping over the Cob Cannon.
 * If you look closely, it seems that the seed packet of the Cob Cannon doesn't have eyes.
 * The Cob Cannon is the only plant that is both a shooting plant and an explosive.
 * When the Cob Cannon shoots the cob of corn in the DS version, it will be slow to hit the zombies, slower than the other versions.
 * The Cob Cannon, Ice-shroom and Jalapeno are the only explosive plants that don't create a word while detonating.
 * The Cob Cannon explosion, ironically, makes popcorn.
 * Possibly because the heat of the explosion pops the corn.
 * The Cob Cannon and the Kernel-pult are the only grains in the game.
 * Oddly enough, one is an upgrade of the other.
 * The Cob Cannon and Coffee Bean are the only plants that cannot be stolen by a Bungee Zombie.
 * Despite the wheels, the Cob Cannon cannot move.
 * Strangely enough, two Lily Pads are enough to hold the weight of a Cob Cannon.
 * The Cob Cannon's cob is the biggest projectile in the game.
 * In its Almanac picture, it is placed irregularly instead of on 2 squares.
 * Cob Cannon is thought to be the most powerful plant.
 * However, this is arguably not true as it has very many disadvantages. Maybe it is just by damage output if used correctly.
 * However it is still classified as one of the most powerful plants, with the others be Gloom-shroom, Cattail, Gatling Pea (usually with Torchwood or Snow Pea) and Winter Melon.
 * Ironically, the most powerful plants are obtained from Crazy Dave's Twiddydinkies.
 * The Cob Cannon, Flower Pot, Imitater, Explode-o-nut, Giant Wall-nut and other Upgrade Plants can not be used in Zen Garden.
 * Though, through hacking, these plants can be obtained in Zen Garden. Interestingly, the Cob Cannon hangs off it's Flower Pot.
 * It is one of only two plants that does some kind of work outside of the game. The Almanac says that Cob Cannon practices law, while the other plant, Grave Buster, volunteers at a zombie rehabilitation center.
 * The Cob Cannon is the most expensive plant (by Sun) and second most expensive (by Money) after Imitater.
 * Cob Cannon is the only non-Lobbed-shot plant where you can see the projectile before its fired.
 * Cob Cannon is the second most expensive plant in Crazy Dave's Twiddydinkies.
 * There is a glitch on the Vita version that Cob Cannon cannot be fired on other plants. A simple solution is to keep a clear square near the zombies to deploy Cobs.
 * However, disabling the touchscreen and going with PS3 Controls will fix this.
 * This is the most expensive plant in the game, costing 500 sun (700 counting Kernel-pults).
 * If you plant a Cob Cannon on two Flower Pots when a Zomboni is coming and it crushes half of Cob Cannon, the Cob Cannon will hang on one Flower Pot.
 * In the XBLA Version of the game, the crosshair used to aim the Corn Cob looks different.
 * In the Plants Vs. Zombies table for Zen Pinball 2 for the PSN and Pinball FX 2 for the XBLA, a Cob Cannon is used to lauch the ball.