Disco-tron 3000


 * For the version in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, see Disco-Tron 3000.

Disco-tron 3000 is a mechanized walker in Plants vs. Zombies 2 that appears in Far Future. It is a large machine that is operated by two Imps. It summons four Disco Jetpack Zombies around it every 15 seconds. It is very similar to the Dancing Zombie in Plants vs. Zombies.

Description
The Disco-tron 3000 is a reference to the new design of Dancing Zombie from the first game. Like the Mecha-Football Zombie, Disco-tron 3000 is a bipedal walker but without legs to support its feet.

The head resembles an orange afro and has a bent antenna atop of it. It features a sound system on its forehead with red and green sirens, and a speaker adjacent to the two sirens. It has a satellite dish designed to look like a disco ball with a microphone acting as the tip on its left side.

It also features yellow-colored sunglasses with the lenses acting as windows for the drivers. The lower part of the face of Disco-tron 3000 are the same color as the zombies's skin. Its "shoes" have fish sealed within them just like Dancing Zombie's shoes.

Almanac entry
TOUGHNESS: Machined

SPEED: Basic

Drops in disco zombies when dropping the beat.

Special: summons disco Jetpack Zombies

After some initial problems with the sideburn suspension system, the Disco-tron 3000 went on to become the shufflin' dance-bot of doom it is today.

Overview
Disco-tron 3000 can absorb 100 normal damage shots, and its appearance changes upon an absorption of 16, 30, 43, 56, 73, and 87 normal damage shots before dying at 100 normal damage shots.

Encounters
Player's House: Piñata Party

Far Future: Days 10, 12, 19, 21, 24, and Terror from Tomorrow

Frostbite Caves: "Electrical Boogaloo" Epic Quest - Step 6

Lost City: "Rescue the Gold Bloom" Epic Quest - Step 8, and "Electrical Boogaloo" Epic Quest - Step 9

Modern Day: Days 10, 14, 26, and "Electrical Boogaloo" Epic Quest - Step 2

Strategies
Use an E.M.Peach wisely against the Disco-tron 3000 because it is a one-time use plant. The Disco-tron 3000 will be difficult to destroy without the Citron's Plant Food upgrade. It will send Disco Jetpack Zombies, similar to the Dancing Zombie from the original Plants vs. Zombies. This strategy will be very difficult without the Blover when it sends many Disco Jetpack Zombies. A Cherry Bomb or Grapeshot would be an ideal choice as they can destroy all the summoned Disco Jetpack Zombies and heavily damage Disco-tron 3000.

They are unable to summon Disco Jetpack Zombies while eating plants, so planting Wall-nut and similar plants right in front of them are effective for preventing it from summoning more, buying time to set up traps, such as Potato Mines.

Tall-nuts can block the Disco Jetpack Zombies' forward movement, giving plants like Snapdragon and Winter Melon time to destroy them. Snapdragons are especially effective and two columns of them can effectively keep the waves sent by the Disco-tron 3000 at bay with minimal damage to the Tall-nuts.

Also, you can try using the Laser Bean or Fume-shroom because they can attack through the Disco Jetpack Zombies, as they can penetrate the Disco Jetpack Zombies, damaging the Disco-tron 3000. Otherwise, use a Blover.

Bowling Bulbs can also be very helpful even though most of the times, the Aquamarine ones are the only bulbs that functions well in dealing with large numbers of Disco-tron 3000s, which can provide support to other plants like Citron and Melon-pult.

Primal Potato Mines can easily take down groups of Disco-tron 3000s. Why is that is because Primal Potato Mines do 120 damage while the zombie can absorb only 100 damage. However, they cannot take care of the Disco Jetpack Zombies.

Trivia

 * Disco-tron 3000, Zombot Tuskmaster 10,000 BC, Zombot 1000 and 8-Bit Zombie are the only zombies in the whole series that have numbers in their names.
 * The first three aforementioned zombies are coincidentally all robots, and all four relate to technology in some form.
 * It resembles the new Dancing Zombie's head and dance moves from Plants vs. Zombies.
 * Disco-tron 3000 also resembles Darth Vader's helmet from the Star Wars films, as well as the vampire robot from Contra.
 * Much like Dancing Zombie, there is a fish on the feet of the Disco-tron 3000.
 * Disco-tron 3000 is first of the two machines controlled by Future Imps, the second being Gargantuar Prime.
 * Bug Bot Imp is also controlled by Future Imp.
 * There was a glitch where if the player planted an E.M.Peach or destroyed the Disco-tron 3000 before its Disco Jetpack Zombies finished spawning, they would instantly fall down and die. However, after the 2.4.1 update, this glitch has been fixed.
 * However, this glitch is still present in the Chinese version.
 * While Disco-tron 3000 summons Disco Jetpack Zombies, it starts to play its music.
 * In every level, the first Disco-tron 3000 to appear is the only one that plays music.
 * Disco-tron 3000 music is a futuristic remix of the Señor Piñata music.
 * Disco-tron 3000 is one of the few zombies to interrupt the song currently playing in the game. The others being Dancing Zombie, Pianist Zombie, and Boombox Zombie.
 * As of the 3.1.1 update, it can now appear in the first and fifth lane. Before, it would only appear in the second, third, and fourth lane. If it spawns in one of these two lanes, it can only summon three Disco Jetpack Zombies instead of four, much like Dancing Zombie summoning Backup Dancers on Pool and Fog levels in the first Plants vs. Zombies.
 * Disco-tron 3000 and Mecha-Football Zombie are the only zombies that absorb 100 normal damage shots.
 * Like Dancing Zombie from the first game, if the player hypnotizes the Disco-tron 3000, it will summon hypnotized Disco Jetpack Zombies that fight on behalf of the player's plants.
 * In the Chinese version of Plants vs. Zombies 2, it always appeared to be in its last degrade, but this was fixed in the Dark Ages update.
 * Disco-tron 3000, Dancing Zombie, Jack-in-the-Box Zombie, Pianist Zombie, Announcer Imp, and Boombox Zombie are the only zombies that play music.
 * Whenever at least one is alive and onscreen, its music will replace the stage's current music. This trait is shared with Pianist Zombie, but with unlimited times while this zombie plays only one time, even if more spawn.
 * It can be killed by Chili Bean in the Chinese version.
 * Disco-tron 3000 is the second zombie to play music while using its special ability. The first is Pianist Zombie and the third is Boombox Zombie.
 * In the Travel Log, it is mistakenly known as "Disc-tron 3000 Zombie". (missing the O in "disco")