Template:Plantpic
- For the Brain Buster, see Bulb Bowling.
Bowling Bulb is the third plant obtained in Big Wave Beach in Plants vs. Zombies 2. They shoot half as quickly as a Peashooter (at the same speed of a Cabbage-pult). They can roll up to three types of bulbs (one at a time) of varying damage and recharge rate. Their bulbs bounce between zombies, crossing lanes, similar to Wall-nuts in Wall-nut Bowling. Before level 3, the order of the bulbs is aquamarine first, then blue, and finally orange. Bowling Bulb's attacks are only triggered by a zombie appearing in the same lane in which they are planted.
The aquamarine bulb is the weakest and has the shortest recharge time at level 1, while the orange one is the strongest and has the longest recharge time at level 1. However, the Bowling Bulb will only use their blue and orange bulb if enough time is given for them to recharge before a zombie enters the lane that it is in, except for submerged Snorkel Zombies which the plant will ignore and proceed to recharge their bulbs if they are the only zombies in the lane.
The orange and blue bulbs will recharge only if there are no zombies in its lane.
Origins
This plant's name is a portmanteau of "bowling ball," referring to their ability and the holes that it has and "bulb," the part of some plants that might be eatable. They're probably based on onion bulbs in which they have different size and colour.
Almanac entry
Note: The stats shown below only apply to Level 1.
Bowling Bulb
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Bowling Bulb |
Bowling Bulbs rolls shots that can bounce into multiple zombies.The Larger [sic] bulbs deal more damage. Guess which team has won the League Championship for five years running now? Team Bowling Bulb, that's who. They are on a ROLL. You and your pals think you got what it takes to stop 'em? Yeah sure. Keep dreamin, bub. |
Overview
Aquamarine bulbs deal 40 damage per shot, blue bulbs deal 120 damage per shot, and orange bulbs deal 180 damage per shot.
At level 1 and 2, the priority order of bulb recharge is Aquamarine > Blue > Orange. At level 3 to 6, the priority order changes to Blue > Orange > Aquamarine. At level 7 and above, the priority order is Orange > Blue > Aquamarine. The first bulb in the order takes 2.5 seconds to recharge, the second bulb in the order takes 5 seconds to recharge, and the last 10 seconds to recharge.
Upgrades
Plant Food effect
When given Plant Food, Bowling Bulb will get supercharged and armed with three explosive plasma bulbs. It will then proceed to rapidly fire them, unless there is no valid target in its lane. Each plasma bulb explodes on impact and deals 600 damage per shot to all zombies in a one tile area, and can also bounce like normal bulbs. After firing all three plasma bulbs, Bowling Bulb will regain all of its normal bulbs back. Jester Zombies cannot deflect these plasma bulbs, unlike the normal bulbs.
Appease-mint effect
When boosted by Appease-mint, Bowling Bulb will deal an additional 80/240/360 DPS with its small, medium, and large bulbs respectively, and it will regrow its bulbs in reverse order, starting with the largest bulb.
Level upgrades
Level | Seed packets | Coins | Upgrades | |||||||
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Sun Cost | Recharge (Fast) |
Toughness (Typical) |
Damage (Heavy) |
Special (Bulb Recharge)* |
Range | |||||
Aquamarine | Blue | Orange | ||||||||
1 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 5 seconds | 300 damage | 40 damage | 120 damage | 180 damage | Aqua > Blue > Orange | Multi-Hit |
2 | 10 | 1,000 | 200 | 4.5 seconds | 350 damage | 45 damage | 130 damage | 200 damage | ||
3 | 75 | 5,000 | 200 | 4.5 seconds | 400 damage | 50 damage | 140 damage | 220 damage | Blue > Orange > Aqua | |
4 | 200 | 10,000 | 175 | 4.5 seconds | 450 damage | 55 damage | 150 damage | 240 damage | ||
5 | 400 | 20,000 | 175 | 4 seconds | 550 damage | 60 damage | 160 damage | 260 damage | ||
6 | 750 | 30,000 | 150 | 4 seconds | 600 damage | 65 damage | 170 damage | 280 damage | ||
7 | 1,000 | 40,000 | 150 | 4 seconds | 650 damage | 70 damage | 180 damage | 300 damage | Orange > Blue > Aqua | |
8 | 1,250 | 50,000 | 125 | 3.5 seconds | 700 damage | 75 damage | 200 damage | 320 damage | ||
9 | 1,500 | 60,000 | 125 | 3.5 seconds | 800 damage | 80 damage | 220 damage | 340 damage | ||
10 | 2,000 | 75,000 | 100 | 3 seconds | 900 damage | 80 damage | 240 damage | 360 damage |
*Order of bulb recharge. Each bulb in the order takes 4 seconds to recharge.
Level upgrades (China only)
Costumed (China only)
Any zombies that are in a 3x3 radius around it while is "charging" will be killed. Then, it will shoot out some projectiles: first, a fiery orange bulb which is the biggest and undoes slowing effects, then a white bulb that gives a slowing effect and has a medium size, and an electricity bulb which is the smallest compared to the other bulbs that stuns zombies.
Strategies
General
Bowling Bulb is an interesting plant, as its damage capability actually increases with zombie density, but works better when supported with other offensive plants. This means that while it will struggle early on against lone Buckethead Zombie, Bowling Bulb can prove devastating against hordes of enemies at the end of the level. It can also last well into later Endless Zone levels unlike other projectile plants. Its Plant Food follows the same trend: It does not deal much damage to a lone Gargantuar, but will be able to devastate a horde of them with little trouble.
Bowling Bulb works very well with Primal Peashooter. While Primal Peashooters can stall a low number of zombies with high health such as Gargantuars, Bowling Bulbs can deal high damage to groups of zombies.
Due to Bowling Bulb's ability to bounce through zombies/obstacles and cross lanes, you can use it against zombies that can shield themselves such as Barrel Roller Zombie and Excavator Zombie as an advantage to help defeat other dangerous zombies such as Pirate Captain Zombie and Turquoise Skull Zombie. In addition, Bowling Bulb can be used early on in Ancient Egypt or Dark Ages to break a field of tombstones quickly, especially if the tombstones are in adjacent rows. Bowling Bulbs are also useful on minecart rails in Wild West, as you can move the Bowling Bulb into a lane clear of zombies so it can regenerate its stronger bulbs instead of firing the weakest one repeatedly. Bowling Bulbs work very well against flying zombies such as Seagull Zombie, Jetpack Zombie, Bug Zombie and Balloon Zombie as their attack can bounce through groups of them. Bowling Bulbs are also effective against Shield Zombie. The zombie cannot fully shield itself as the bulbs can cross lanes and damage it. Bowling Bulb's plant food effect can be used to quickly get rid of ice blocks and arcade machines pushed by Troglobites and Arcade Zombies respectively. In addition, Bowling Bulbs work very well at destroying groups of 8-Bit Zombies spawned from the arcade machine that may overwhelm your defenses.
Avoid using Bowling Bulbs against Chicken Wrangler Zombies or Weasel Hoarders when the Bowling Bulb has only the aquamarine bulb (unless you feed it Plant Food). That is because when these zombies release their flocks of Zombie Chickens or Ice Weasels, they will eat up your plants very quickly, since the Bowling Bulb's firing time is quite slow. Another zombie to not use it against is Jester Zombie, which can deflect the bulbs and have them bounce through your plants, dealing serious damage to the player's defense, especially if the Jester Zombie reflects the orange bulb. Do note, however, that it cannot deflect explosive bulbs back at your plants. Although Bowling Bulb cannot damage Snorkel Zombie, it can recharge its other bulbs so it can be ready to deal massive damage to them when they're on the surface.
Bowling Bulb's main weakness is its bulb recharge. Initially, the aquamarine bulb will recharge first. Being the weakest bulb, it will not do much damage against the zombie hoard, especially in worlds such as Jurassic Marsh or Big Wave Beach. Most levels will constantly spawn zombies in every lane, making it difficult for Bowling Bulbs to recharge their bulbs efficiently. Garlic, Sweet Potato, and Escape Root can help Bowling Bulb, as they allow zombies to move away from it, or allow Bowling Bulb to move itself, giving it time to recharge its bulbs. However, this weakness can be ultimately fixed by leveling up Bowling Bulb, as its bulb order will change at certain levels. Once the bulb order changes, Bowling Bulb can easily take down high-heath zombies while gaining much more crowd control ability.
It is a good idea to use Bowling Bulb against Tomb Raiser Zombies, Disco-tron 3000, Octo Zombies, Hunter Zombies or Imp Porters (if it has all three bulbs) as a group of them can quickly destroy any tombstones, summoned Disco Jetpack Zombies, frozen blocks, tents or thrown octopi with their bouncing shots, preventing major threats (especially Imp Porter's case), as well as, deal some damage to these zombies if the bulbs do manage to hit them. It is best to support this plant with heavy duty plants like Winter Melon or area-of-effect plants like Laser Bean so they can perform a combo to groups of these zombies.
Bulb Bowling
In the Brain Buster Bulb Bowling, you must use the four types of Bowling Bulbs against the incoming zombies (like in Wall-nut Bowling in the original Plants vs. Zombies). Save the charged and orange bulbs for dangerous zombies (Surfer Zombies and Deep Sea Gargantuars) to deal more damage. Use the weaker bulbs for everything else.
Related achievements
Gallery
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Bowling Bulb.
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Trivia
- If the player feeds Plant Food on a Bowling Bulb and there are no zombies in that lane, the Bowling Bulb will wait until a zombie appears in that lane. This is similar to how Citron acts, as it will hold the plasma ball until zombies appear in its lane.
- Their facial features resemble the three holes in a bowling ball.
- When Bowling Bulbs are used in Pirate Seas and Big Wave Beach, they will cross directly over a path of water rather than falling in.
- Bowling Bulbs are physically connected to the soil but still can be planted on Lily Pads. It shares this same attribute with Potato Mines, Spikeweeds, Spikerocks, and Phat Beets.
- Although they are buried in the ground, they can still be planted on planks in Pirate Seas.
- Bulbs normally cannot damage submerged Snorkel Zombies.
- Additionally, energized bulbs can only damage submerged Snorkel Zombies via splash damage.
- All bulb types can damage submerged Snorkel Zombies in Bulb Bowling levels.
- When Plant Food is given to Bowling Bulb, the explosive projectiles are about the same size as the small bulb, even though each bulb has a different size.
- The aquamarine Bowling Bulb shares the same idle animation with Magic-shroom and Sun Bean.
- When a bulb recharges, its idle animation will reset in a non-smooth animation. This is likely an oversight.
- Before 7.1.1, Bowling Bulb was in the Enforce-mint family despite not using a melee attack.
- In his Battlez icon, the aquamarine bulb appears more green.
See also
View · Edit | L · G |
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Plants vs. Zombies | |
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Day | Peashooter · Sunflower · Cherry Bomb · Wall-nut · Potato Mine · Snow Pea · Chomper · Repeater |
Night | Puff-shroom · Sun-shroom · Fume-shroom · Grave Buster · Hypno-shroom · Scaredy-shroom · Ice-shroom · Doom-shroom |
Pool | Lily Pad · Squash · Threepeater · Tangle Kelp · Jalapeno · Spikeweed · Torchwood · Tall-nut |
Fog | Sea-shroom · Plantern · Cactus · Blover · Split Pea · Starfruit · Pumpkin · Magnet-shroom |
Roof | Cabbage-pult · Flower Pot · Kernel-pult · Coffee Bean · Garlic · Umbrella Leaf · Marigold · Melon-pult |
Upgrades | Gatling Pea · Twin Sunflower · Gloom-shroom · Cattail · Winter Melon · Gold Magnet · Spikerock · Cob Cannon |
Others | Imitater · Explode-o-nut · Giant Wall-nut · Reverse Repeater · Giant Sunflower · Giant Marigold · Sprout · Tree of Wisdom |
Plants vs. Zombies: Social Edition | |
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Normal | Peashooter · Sunflower · Cherry Bomb · Wall-nut · Potato Mine · Chomper · Repeater · Puff-shroom · Scaredy-shroom · Snow Pea · Sun-shroom · Fume-shroom · Grave Buster · Lily Pad · Squash · Spikeweed · Tangle Kelp · Torchwood · Sea-shroom · Jalapeno · Coffee Bean · Tall-nut · Pumpkin · Magnet-shroom · Blover · Melon-pult · Cactus |
Premium | Pickled Pepper · Icy Fume-shroom · Fire-shroom · Flamewood · Vine-nut · Gatling Pea · Twin Sunflower · Gloom-shroom · Winter Melon · Super Chomper · Future Star · Calm Chuck |
Plants vs. Zombies Adventures | |
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>Normal | Peashooter · Sunflower · Aspearagus · Wall-nut · Cherry Bomb · Popcorn · Beet · Snow Pea · Jalapeño · Magnet Plant · Flaming Pea · Shamrock · Bamboo Shoot · Repeater · Chilly Pepper · Twin Sunflower |
VIPs | Sweet Pea · Beeshooter · Hard-nut · Acespearagus · Power Flower · Beetboxer · Ice Queen Pea · Shamrockstar · Bamboom |
Others | Trees |
Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version) | |
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Ancient Egypt | Peashooter · Sunflower · Wall-nut · Cabbage-pult · Bloomerang · Iceberg Lettuce · Grave Buster · Bonk Choy · Repeater · Twin Sunflower · Snow Pea · Cherry Bomb · Torchwood |
Pirate Seas | Kernel-pult · Snapdragon · Power Lily · Spikeweed · Spring Bean · Coconut Cannon · Spikerock · Lightning Reed · Tall-nut |
Wild West | Threepeater · Squash · Split Pea · Chili Bean · Jalapeno · Pea Pod · Melon-pult · Winter Melon · Imitater |
Kongfu World | Resistant Radish · Fire Gourd · Heavenly Peach · Bamboo Shoot |
Far Future | Laser Bean · Blover · Citron · E.M.Peach · Infi-nut · Magnifying Grass · Tile Turnip · Starfruit |
Dark Ages | Hypno-shroom · Sun-shroom · Puff-shroom · Fume-shroom · Sun Bean · Pea-nut · Magnet-shroom · Oak Archer · Coffee Bean · Plantern |
Big Wave Beach | Acid Lemon · Lotus Pod · Lily Pad · Bowling Bulb · Banana Launcher · Guacodile · Tangle Kelp · Homing Thistle |
Frostbite Caves | Hurrikale · Fire Peashooter · Hot Potato · Pepper-pult · Chard Guard · Stunion · Rafflesia · Whirlwind Acorn |
Sky City | Rotobaga · Loquat · Asparagus · Saucer · Horsebean · Groundcherry · Anthurium · Pineapple |
Lost City | Lava Guava · Red Stinger · A.K.E.E. · Stallia · Gold Leaf · Toadstool · Jackfruit |
Neon Mixtape Tour | Morning Glory · Phat Beet · Thyme Warp · Celery Stalker · Spore-shroom · Garlic · Intensive Carrot · Cactus |
Jurassic Marsh | Primal Peashooter · Primal Wall-nut · Perfume-shroom · Primal Sunflower · Primal Potato Mine · Primal Rafflesia · Dino-Roar Grass · Timid Thorns · Sugarcane Master |
Modern Day | Shadow-shroom · Caulipower · Moonflower · Grimrose · Nightshade · Dusk Lobber · Blooming Heart |
Steam Age | Gold Bloom · Flat-shroom · Maypop Mechanic · Lotus Shooter · Wind-Blowing Vanilla · Lily of Pharmacy · Mulberry Blaster |
Renaissance Age |
Aloe · Bearberry Mortar · Wax Gourd Guard · Oily Olive · Jeweler Pomegranate · Dartichoke |
Heian Age | Dripping Diphylleia · Stephania · Tupistra Stalker · Dendrobium Windbreak · Chef Cypripedium · Boophone Geigi |
Fairytale Forest | Ents · Heath Seeker · Hat Mushroom · Hocus Crocus · Princess Spring Grass · Bamboo Trooper |
Monthly special | Pyro-shroom · Carrotillery · Cryo-shroom · Dandelion · Strong Broccoli · Machine Gun Pomegranate · Chomper · Sweet Potato · Landlord Bamboo · Sap-fling · Ghost Pepper · Chestnut Squad · Bamboo Bro · Rose Swordfighter · Magic-shroom · Electric Blueberry · Mischief Radish · Endurian · Pumpkin Witch · Sunflower Singer · Snow Cotton · Agave · Kiwifruit · Pretty Plum · Dragonfruit · Angel Starfruit · Gatling Pea · Banksia Boxer · Flame Flower Queen · Cattail · Grapeshot · Cold Snapdragon · Shrinking Violet · Cob Cannon · Apple Mortar · Witch Hazel · Escape Root · Electric Currant · White Melon Sumo Wrestler · Wasabi Whip · Explode-O-Nut · Parsnip · Missile Toe · Kiwibeast · Electric Peashooter · Hot Date · Icy Currant · Tulip Trumpeter · Eggplant Ninja · Banana Dancer · Dual Pistol Pinecone · Narcissus Shooter · Alarm Explosive Arrowhead · Holly Barrier · Shadow Peashooter · Snap Pea · Crystal Orchid · Sling Pea · Thunder Snapdragon · Electrici-tea · Imp Pear · Strawburst · Egret Flower Plane · Goo Peashooter · Elaeocarpus-pult · Water Chestnut Brothers · Pokra · Dollarweed Drummer · Ultomato · Shadow Vanilla · Splendens Blade · Stickybomb Rice · Gumnut · Olive Pit · Earthstar Nuclear Silo · Headbutter Lettuce · Dazey Chain · Boom Balloon Flower · Celebration Soda Palm · Claw Gloriosa · Impatiens Shooter · Turkey-pult · Hammer Flower · Fishhook Grass · Mangosteen · Inferno · Tigerstool · Gardener Grass · Draftodil · Buttercup · Byttneria Meteor Hammer · Laser Crown Flower · Zoybean Pod · Orchid Mage · Jack O' Lantern · Twin Year of the Rabbits · Pea Pharmacist · Pike Hoya · Vamporcini · Burdock Batter · Pumpkin · Capaci-cone · Cranesbill Fencer · Meteor Flower · Gorgon Pitcher · Power Vine · Parkour Mandrake · Abyss Anemone · Abyss Devil's Claw · Hoya Heart · Pea Vine · MayBee · Oilseed-pult · Leaf-Blade Dracaena · Bamboo Spartan · Shine Vine · Sunshine Leek · Nightcap · Pyre Vine · Gluttonous Snapdragon · Bun Chi · Heliconia Gunner |
Others | Potato Mine · Flower Pot · 8-Bit Peashooter · Tactical Cuke |
Hero Plants | P-Mech Assembler - Flamestar |
Removed | Rotten Red |
Plants vs. Zombies Online | |
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Player's House | Sunflower · Peashooter · Wall-nut · Potato Mine |
Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum | Bruce Bamboo · Carrot Rocket · Pomegranate · Dandelion · Venus Flytrap · Wax Gourd · Sod |
Ancient Egypt | Bloomerang · Bonk Choy · Grave Buster · Iceberg Lettuce · Cabbage-pult |
Pirate Seas | Snapdragon · Spikeweed · Spring Bean · Kernel-pult · Coconut Cannon · Narcissus · Endurian · Spikerock · Pineapple-pult · Threepeater |
Far Future | Laser Bean · Blover · Citron · E.M.Peach · Tile Turnip · Ganoderma · Banana Tree · Nitro-shroom · Infi-nut · Magnifying Grass |
East Sea Dragon Palace | Oxygen Algae · Garlic · Bubble Flower · Electric Sea Pine |
Upgrades | Twin Sunflower · Repeater |
VIPs | Winter Melon |
Power Ups | Cherry Bomb · Jalapeno |
Premium | Squash · Snow Pea · Tall-nut |
Adventure Mode only | Magic Vine · Split Pea · Chili Bean · Lightning Reed · Pea Pod · Melon-pult · Starfruit · Chomper · Fire Peashooter · Cattail · Rose Swordfighter · Clivia · Sap-fling · Acid Lemon · Magic-shroom · Ghost Pepper · Guacodile · Hurrikale · Plantern · Oak Archer · Homing Thistle · Pepper-pult · Resistant Radish · Toadstool · Blooming Heart · Red Stinger · Electric Blueberry · A.K.E.E. · Moonflower · Agave · Asparagus · Pumpkin Witch · Mine Fruit · Sea Anemone · Lychee Drill · Sea Starfruit |
Plants vs. Zombies 3 | |
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Neighborville | Sunflower · Wall-Nut · Bamboo Shoots · Peashooter · Bonk Choy |
Lost Keys Lake | Lily Pad · Tangle Kelp · Squash |
Mt. Quesogrande | Chili Bean · Silversword · Cabbage-Pult |
Power-Ups | Grapes of Wrath · Chilly Pepper · Jalapeño · Cherry Bomb · Blover |
Pre-2021 | Puff-Shroom · Buttercup · Garlic · Potato Mine · Pushywillow · Chard Guard · Spikeweed · Kernel-Pult · Caramel Popcorn · Lightning Reed · Melon-Pult · Shuffle Truffle · Blockbuster · Butternut Squash · Ragweed · Sawgrass · Fire Peashooter · Pine Needler · Snow Pea · Night Cap · Aloe Vera · Sweet Potato · Hydrangea · Dogwood · Chomper · Flak Seed · Gravitree · Gloom-Shroom · Lemon-Aid · Starfruit · Snapdragon · Fairy Ring Mushroom · Kalestorm · Star Tree · Magic Beans |