Lava Guava


 * For the version in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, see .

Lava Guava is a gem premium plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2. He was released on May 26, 2015 for 129 gems, along with the Lost City part 1 teaser Piñata Parties. His price has been reduced to 99 gems during the Big Brainz event.

Lava Guava erupts upon contact with a zombie, briefly splashing lava around him and dealing 200 damage per shot to all enemies in a 3x3 area. Afterwards, a lava puddle which lasts for 12 seconds (only 1.5 seconds on the water in Big Wave Beach) will be formed, capable of damaging zombies that step on it as well as preventing other plants from being planted on the tile until it disappears. Lava Guava is also a thawing plant, emitting heat every 1.5 seconds that gradually unfreezes frozen or chilled plants in a 3x3 area surrounding him, as well as being immune to all freezing effects himself.

Origins
Lava Guava is based on the guava fruit, most likely the common guava (Psidium guajava), a common tropical fruit that is cultivated and enjoyed in many tropical and subtropical regions: and a volcano, a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. His name is also a reverse of "Guava Lava," a type of cocktail.

Plant Food effect
When fed with Plant Food, Lava Guava creates a fissure in the ground on all tiles in front of him, dealing a total of 900 damage per shot over 12 seconds to all grounded enemies walking along the crack. In addition, he warms nearby plants twice as fast in Frostbite Caves.

Costumed
Lava Guava will now create a fissure in a cross pattern.

Strategies
Similar to Ghost Pepper, Lava Guava benefits greatly from his long damage-dealing duration, low sun cost, and relatively quick recharge rate compared to other instant-kill plants. Because of this, he is best used as an aid to other offensive plants, or an emergency option to quickly neutralize large clusters of zombies. While Ghost Pepper has a greater range and therefore will be better suited to fighting quick-moving enemies, Lava Guava deals more damage in a smaller area and will prove to be better at attacking slower targets.

Lava Guava should ideally be positioned in areas where large groups of zombies will walk through. Directing zombies with Sweet Potato or Garlic, as well as delaying them with stalling plants such as Stunion or Stallia, or stopping them with Wall-nut can also greatly increase Lava Guava's efficiency. Lava Guava's Plant Food ability should not be relied upon, as he deals relatively low damage compared to other plants. However, Lava Guava works as a barrier while using his Plant Food ability.

Lava Guava is particularly useful in Frostbite Caves as the ice floes can create natural choke points, forcing enemies from multiple lanes to walk through the lava tile and maximizing Lava Guava's potential. Additionally, Lava Guava can be used as a thawing plant if the player opted not to carry other fire-based plants into the battle. It also a good idea to use Lava Guava against Chicken Wrangler Zombie or Weasel Hoarder as his explosion can easily destroy a flock of Zombie Chickens or pack of Ice Weasels. The player should be aware of Troglobites because their frozen block can crush Lava Guava, as well as Dodo Rider Zombie, as they can fly to bypass the lava tile.

Do not use Lava Guava against Imp Dragon Zombies, as they are immune to all fire-based attacks, or against Parasol Zombies, as they will deflect the lava. It is also a poor idea to use this plant on water tiles in Big Wave Beach - not only will the Lily Pad supporting Lava Guava be instantly destroyed, the lava tile will also disappear very quickly and deal little damage to zombies, wasting the player's sun in the process. Also, avoid using this plant when the zombies are frozen from Iceberg Lettuce as they will unfreeze, rendering Iceberg Lettuce's ability useless.

It is a good idea to use Lava Guava against All-Star Zombies. An All-Star would tackle the Lava Guava and lose his high running speed, but Lava Guava will still activate and survive the damage from the tackle as well as doing high damage to the zombie.

Trivia

 * He, Banana Launcher, Jack O' Lantern, Bamboo Shoot, Escape Root and Missile Toe are the only plants that cannot be planted on minecarts.
 * Trying to plant a Lava Guava on a minecart will yield the message, "Lava would melt the railcart."
 * However, this does not happen in the Chinese version.
 * If his Plant Food ability is used in Pirate Seas or Big Wave Beach, the water in the lane will boil and bubble up.
 * Even after leaving his lava puddle behind, he could be shoveled up for sun refund before the 3.7.1 update. The lava would stay on that tile after Lava Guava had been dug up.
 * He can nullify Sap-fling's sap puddles it has left on the lawn.
 * However, in rare occasions where Sap-fling and Lava Guava synchronize, the sap will not melt.
 * If a zombie is about to reach near him but then gets immobilized, he will not activate.
 * If any plant is planted to the right of the lava puddle, Mecha-Football Zombie will push that plant two tiles backwards. He will be placed to the left of the lava puddle.
 * Excavator Zombie will sometimes attempt to attack Lava Guava with his shovel.
 * In the 3.6.1 update, his splash damage effect was delayed and took a few seconds more to hurt the zombies. The delay was removed again in the 3.8.1 update.
 * His seed packet was changed to his in-game texture in the 3.6.1 update.
 * In the Chinese version, his seed packet image is sharper than that in the international version.
 * One of his costume is a lei, a string of flowers originated from Hawaii.
 * This might be a reference to the fact that Hawaii is a series of islands formed from volcanoes, and that Lava Guava looks and acts similar to a volcano.
 * MC Zom-B can kill an idling Lava Guava using his microphone attack.
 * However, the lava puddle will also cause him to use it, stalling him for a while. This was fixed in the 4.1.1 update.
 * As of the 3.8.1 update, he can get eaten if he is planted behind a blocked zombie, similarly to how zombies can eat defensive plants from behind.
 * His Chinese level 3 upgrade makes plants unable to be planted in a + plus shape. But strangely, plants that are there before will be fine.
 * According to the credits, he is voiced by Scott Porterfield.
 * He and Doom-shroom are the only plants that can destroy another plant (in this case, Lily Pad).
 * In the Chinese version, his level 5 projectile is the same as those of Primal Peashooter's level 5. The lava pools that they create also look different than the main pool, resembling larger versions of Pitaya's costumed Plant Food pools and Primal Peashooter's level 5 pools.

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