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For other uses, see Cactus (disambiguation).
The Cactus is a ranged sharpshooter. She can deploy explosive Potato Mines to protect her flank.

Installation introduction in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare'

Cactus is a playable plant in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. She serves as a playable character on the Plants faction. Cactus is the sniper of the plants side. Her long range attack allows her to provide long range support to the plant team. However, Cacti are ineffective at close combat range due to their rather low mobility and a lack of accuracy without scoping.

Cactus also has the ability to plant Potato Mines around the map which deal 175 damage to any zombie. She can also place down Tallnut Battlements to block zombies, protect her teams and protect herself. These abilities allow Cacti to create a safe haven for plants and prevent zombies from entering it. She can also fly a Garlic Drone to scout ahead, fight zombies from other angles and call a Corn Strike dealing huge damage in a small area.

Descriptions[]

Garden Warfare & Garden Warfare 2[]

Stickerbook description[]

The Cactus is the long-range specialist of the Plant team, able to shoot high velocity needles at faraway Zombies. In her rooted form, she can dispatch her flying Garlic Drone to call in Corn Artillery strikes from above.

In-game description[]

Explosive Potato Mines, defensive Tallnuts, and a super-accurate Spike Shot make the Cactus the ultimate long-range specialist!

AI Health (Garden Warfare 2 only)[]

  • Easy: 75
  • Normal: 100
  • Hard: 125
  • CRAAAAZY: 150

Variants[]

Primary weapon[]

Spike Shot is the primary weapon of the Cactus, all info below is when fully upgraded.

  • The base damage per hit at all ranges is 27 and the critical is 33
  • The max DPS at all ranges is 84.6.
  • The weapon deals no splash damage at all.
  • The ammo in a clip is 15.
  • The reload time is 2.0 seconds.
  • The projectile speed is fast.
  • The weapon is a Semi-precision weapon.
  • The bloom is medium.

Abilities[]

Left abilities
Potato MineGW1
Potato Mine
Potato Mines force Zombies to look down. If a Zombie sets foot on a Potato Mine, it will explode and they will experience the full force of a "SPUDOW!"
Potato Nugget MineGW1
Potato Nugget Mine
These little nuggets are small, have a great sense of humor and enjoy sitting around waiting to blow Zombies sky high. While not as damaging as their potato cousins, these little nuggets still pack a spudow!
Center abilities
Garlic DroneGW1
Garlic Drone
By launching her Garlic Drone companion, she can monitor Zombies from the skies, attack them from the air, and call in devastating Corn Strikes.
Artichoke DroneGW1
Artichoke Drone
The Artichoke Drone has a really thick skin. This gives it more health and helps it last longer in a fight. However, it does not have the same firepower as its Garlic counterpart.
Right abilities
Tallnut BattlementGW1
Tallnut Battlement
Tallnut Battlements have many uses. They can be shields and they can block paths to stop the Zombies in their tracks. They're terrible card players, though.
Iron MaidenGW1
Iron Maiden
Encased in iron armor, these Iron Maiden Tallnuts will stare at Zombies with an unmatched intensity. They are very hard to destroy and enjoy getting in the way.

Left abilities
Potato MineGW2
Potato Mine
Potato Mines force Zombies to look down. If a Zombie sets foot on a Potato Mine, it will explode and they will experience the full force of a "SPUDOW!"
Potato Nugget MineGW2
Potato Nugget Mine
These little nuggets are small, have a great sense of humor and enjoy sitting around waiting to blow Zombies sky high. While not as damaging as their potato cousins, these little nuggets still pack a spudow!
Pizzazzling Potato MineGW2
Pizzazzling
Potato Mine
Need some more shine in your life? These potatoes love to pizzazle zombies, and will leave a cloud of glitter after a whopping sparkling spudow!
Center abilities
Garlic DroneGW2
Garlic Drone
By launching her Garlic Drone companion, she can monitor Zombies from the skies, attack them from the air, and call in devastating Corn Strikes.
Artichoke DroneGW2
Artichoke Drone
The Artichoke Drone has a really thick skin. This gives it more health and helps it last longer in a fight. However, it does not have the same firepower as its Garlic counterpart.
Red ArtichokeGW2
Red Artichoke
This agile Artichoke shouldn't be messed with. It's as fast as a clam and quick like a cucumber!
Dark Garlic DroneGW2
Dark Garlic Drone
The Dark Garlic Drone is infused with mystical dark energy. It has cool magical weapons and cool magical look.
Right abilities
Tallnut BattlementGW2
Tallnut Battlement
Tallnut Battlements have many uses. They can be shields and they can block paths to stop the Zombies in their tracks. They're terrible card players, though.
Iron MaidenGW2
Iron Maiden
Encased in iron armor, these Iron Maiden Tallnuts will stare at Zombies with an unmatched intensity. They are very hard to destroy and enjoy getting in the way.
Bling MaidenGW2
Bling Maiden
This Tallnut is encased in solid bling gold armor! How did a Tallnut even afford such expensive armor though?

Weapon upgrades[]

CactusUpgrade

Description about the Cactus' weapon upgrades

Fast Load Cactus Training[]

Prickle Academy provided free reload training, enhancing reload speed.

Extra Spike Growth[]

Extra needle growth offers an increased ammo capacity.

Pointier Spikes[]

Pointier cactus needles provide a more damaging impact.

Strategies[]

With[]

Cactus should play far from normal combat, as she is very outclassed by the All-Star in closer encounters. Finding vantage points and camping at them will allow a Cactus to snipe off their opponents in a (usually) safer environment. Place down Potato Mines and Tallnut Battlements to protect yourself, since both make large noises upon destruction (alerting the Cactus of nearby threats). Cactus should also be wary of nearby Scientists, who may be able to Warp next to her and vanquish her. Staying out of sight is suggested in that aspect, such as hiding behind obstacles. Cactus can be used strategically, she can provide helpful support to all nearby plants by severely wounding or killing nearby zombies and using her Garlic Drone to clear objectives with a Corn Strike.

In any defensive situation (most preferably Gardens & Graveyards) a crafty Cactus could place Potato Mines behind Tallnut Battlements, hiding the mine from players. This strategy can be very effective, since impatient players would jump over the blockade, only to be KO'd by the mine. Smarter players will either destroy the wall (alerting the Cactus of their presence) or take another route to their objective.

Mines and battlements could also be used as a last resort when under attack by a Zombie. Backing up while placing walls and mines can block off the attacking zombie, allowing you to escape or use the created gap to vanquish them.

Against[]

When up against a Cactus, it is important to keep behind cover. Making quick shots at the Cactus by randomly popping out of cover can confuse her, and allow the zombies to deal more damage to her than she can to them.

Scientists pose the least and the most threat against Cacti; at point-blank range, the Scientist's Warp allows for sneak attacks, and his weapon is brutal up close. At long range encounters, the Cactus can take down the Scientist much faster. For long ranged fights, the Astronaut and the Paleontologist are the ideal Scientists, as their weapons specialize in distanced encounters.

The All-Star's Long Bomb is great against Cacti that are too far away. The Foot Soldier's ZPG is also effective against a Cactus that's busy shooting down another target.

Watch out for Potato Mines, impatient players can overlook them easily, and damage may not be the only reason they are positioned where they are. They can act as bait to alert a Cactus of your location. Tall-Nut battlements should always be destroyed, because a Cactus could've placed a Potato Mine there.

Garden Ops[]

In Garden Ops, the Cactus is a useful defensive support class on the plant team. Cactus' Spike Shot is long range, making her effective against zombies from afar. Finding a suitable location to snipe is the key in Garden Ops. Due to her low health, she can be vanquished easily if ambushed from behind (especially using the Garlic Drone). Potato mines can vanquish most zombies instantly. Try to place them around the objective. Her Tallnut Battlement can block zombies from entering certain locations. Garlic Drone is able to shoot needles at high rate, dealing high damage to zombies, The Garlic Drone can call out an Corn Strike, dealing massive damage to group of zombies, making it effective against special waves or boss waves. Planting a Heal Flower and protecting it with Tallnut Battlements is a good idea, since its fragility would be resolved with the protection provided.

Team Vanquish/Vanquish Confirmed![]

Cactus is best just staying behind in this mode. She should sneak around the map until she finds a safe spot where she can safely snipe zombies. Cactus should be weary of any zombies around her, as if a single zombie makes it into their sniping spot, they are likely to be vanquished very quickly. Cacti should remember to make good use of their Potato Mines and Tall-nut battlements to make getting to them difficult for zombies. If a Cactus absolutely has to fight zombies at close range, she should not bother with potato mines, but instead use Tall-nut battlements. It is useful for guarding against many strong attacks that the Zombies have, such as the ZPG and Sprint Tackle. In Vanquish Confirmed!, it is recommended to use the Garlic or Artichoke Drone to collect orbs, rather than the Cactus putting themselves in danger to get one.

Balancing changes[]

Post beta[]

  • Velocity was decreased from 7.0772624 m/s to 6.45 m/s.

Trouble in Zombopolis: Part Two DLC[]

  • Reload time was increased from 2s to 2.25s.
  • Magazine capacity was decreased from 12 to 10.

July 2016 Patch[]

  • Reload time decreased from 2.25s to 2s.
  • Magazine capacity increased from 10 to 12.

Related achievements[]

Making Popcorn PSN
Making Popcorn
As a Cactus, Vanquish 10 Players with the Drone's Corn Strike
Weed Whacker PSN
Weed Whacker
Vanquish 100 Peashooters, 100 Sunflowers, 100 Chompers and 100 Cacti

Gallery[]

Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Cactus.
CactusGW1
Visit this page to see it.
CactusGW1

In other languages[]

Please note that only official translations are used.

Language Name Description
United States of America English Cactus
France French Cactus
Germany German Kaktee German word for "Cactus"
Italy Italian Cactus
Japan Japanese サボテン Japanese word for "Cactus"
Brazil Brazilian Portuguese Cacto Portuguese word for "Cactus"
Spain Spanish Cactus


Trivia[]

  • In a commentary (pre-release), a game developer pointed out its similarities to Battlefield. Cactus is the recon with a sniper like attack, Garlic Drone an MaV, Tallnut Battlement an MaV block, and Potato Mine a M18 Claymore.
  • She and her variants are currently the only plant classes who use plants for all of their abilities.
  • She was originally going to have 100 health.
  • If one zooms in fully and then places a Potato Mine while still zoomed in, then the zoom will be instant when they zoom in again. This can come in very handy with variants such as the Camo Cactus.
  • She is the only character class to have two armored variants; the Jade Cactus and the Petrified Cactus.
  • In Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, all her variants have a lazy right eye.
V · E
Plants (Shooter games)
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare plants
Playable Classes
Peashooters Peashooter · Fire Pea · Ice Pea · Toxic Pea · Commando Pea · Agent Pea · Law Pea · Berry Shooter · Plasma Pea


Sunflowers Sunflower · Mystic Flower · Power Flower · Fire Flower · Shadow Flower · Metal Petal · Sun Pharaoh · Alien Flower


Chompers Chomper · Hot Rod Chomper · Toxic Chomper · Fire Chomper · Power Chomper · Count Chompula · Armor Chomper · Chester Chomper · Chomp Thing


Cacti Cactus · Camo Cactus · Fire Cactus · Ice Cactus · Power Cactus · Future Cactus · Bandit Cactus · Citrus Cactus · Jade Cactus
Boss Mode Crazy Dave
Abilities
Peashooter Chili Bean Bomb · Pea Gatling · Hyper · Sombrero Bean Bomb · Retro Gatling · Super Pea Jump


Sunflower Heal Beam · Sunbeam · Heal Flower · Rainbow Heal Beam · Solar Flare Beam · Dark Flower


Chomper Goop · Burrow · Spikeweed · Super Sticky Goop · Sprint Burrow · Spiky Spikeweed · Cheesy Goop · Chesterweed


Cactus Potato Mine · Garlic Drone · Tallnut Battlement · Potato Nugget Mine · Artichoke Drone · Iron Maiden


Boss Mode Coconut Spotting Station · Twin Heal Flower · Cherry Strike · Revive Rainbow
Spawnable Plants Pea Cannon · Pea Repeater · Gatling Pea · Bonk Choy · Scaredy-shroom · Heal Flower · Fume-shroom · Goop-shroom · Snap Dragon · Ice-shroom · Doom-shroom · Ice Peashooter · Fire Peashooter · Bamboo Shoot · Laser Bean
Others Corn Mortar · Flax Cannon · Tallnut · Mega Flower · Tactical Cuke · Tallnut Cannon
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 plants
Playable Classes
Peashooters Peashooter · Fire Pea · Ice Pea · Toxic Pea · Commando Pea · Agent Pea · Law Pea · Plasma Pea · Rock Pea · Electro Pea


Sunflowers Sunflower · Mystic Flower · Power Flower · Fire Flower · Shadow Flower · Metal Petal · Sun Pharaoh · Alien Flower · Vampire Flower · Stuffy Flower


Chompers Chomper · Hot Rod Chomper · Toxic Chomper · Fire Chomper · Power Chomper · Count Chompula · Armor Chomper · Chomp Thing · Yeti Chomper · Disco Chomper · Unicorn Chomper · Twilight Chomper


Cacti Cactus · Camo Cactus · Fire Cactus · Ice Cactus · Power Cactus · Future Cactus · Bandit Cactus · Jade Cactus · Zen Cactus · Petrified Cactus


Citrons Citron · Frozen Citron · Electro Citron · Iron Citron · Party Citron · Toxic Citron


Roses Rose · Druid Rose · Fire Rose · Frost Rose · Party Rose · Nec'Rose


Corns Kernel Corn · BBQ Corn · Mob Cob · Pops Corn · Party Corn · Commando Corn


Others Torchwood · Junkasaurus
Abilities
Peashooter Chili Bean Bomb · Pea Gatling · Hyper · Sombrero Bean Bomb · Retro Gatling · Super Pea Jump · Dark Bean Bomb · Bling Gatling


Sunflower Heal Beam · Sunbeam · Heal Flower · Rainbow Heal Beam · Solar Flare Beam · Dark Flower · Rainbow Flower


Chomper Goop · Burrow · Spikeweed · Super Sticky Goop · Sprint Burrow · Spiky Spikeweed · Chomp Cannon · Vampweed · Rainbow Warp · Twilight Warp


Cactus Potato Mine · Garlic Drone · Tallnut Battlement · Potato Nugget Mine · Artichoke Drone · Iron Maiden · Pizzazzling Potato Mine · Red Artichoke · Bling Maiden · Dark Garlic Drone


Citron
Assault Mode EMPeach · Citron Ball · Peel Shield · Party Citron Ball · Mood Shield


Citron Ball Hyper Ball · Assault Mode · Spin Dash


Rose Time Snare · Arcane Enigma · Goatify · Arcane Lotus · Psychedelic Goat


Kernel Corn Butter Barrage · Husk Hop · Shuck Shot · Bigger Better Butter · Multi-Shuck


Torchwood Blazin' Blast · Smoldering Madness · Leaf Shield


Junkasaurus Charge of Insanity · Epic Mega Blast · Spin Override · Super Heavy Hornblast
Spawnable Plants
Soil of Summoning Weed · Pumpkin Weed · Terracotta Weed · Leaf Shield Weed · Wood Shield Weed · Vase Weed · Porcelain Vase Weed · Heal Weed · Flag Weed · Dandelion Weed · Hypno-shroom


Grow-a-Pot Bonk Choy · Pea Cannon · Gatling Pea · Lightning Reed · Scaredy-shroom · Fume-shroom · Goop-shroom · Doom-shroom · Ice-shroom · Toxic Gloom-shroom · Bamboo Shoot · Snap Dragon · Heal Flower
Bosses Giga Torchwood · Super Bean · Sunflower Queen · Big Stump · Marigold · Squash · Royal Hypno-Flower · Spooky Squash
L.E.A.F. Agent Citron · Agent Rose · Agent Corn · Grumpy Stumpy · Ironball
Others Assistant Manager Bitey · Crystal Guardian · Tallnut · Tallnut Cannon
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville plants
Playable Classes
PvZ BfN Attack Class Icon Attack Peashooter · Chomper · Kernel Corn · Night Cap · Snapdragon


PvZ BfN Defend Class Icon Defend Cactus · Citron · Acorn (Oak)


PvZ BfN Support Class Icon Support Sunflower · Rose


Swarm Wildflower
Abilities
Peashooter Chili Bean Bomb · Pea Gatling · Pea Suped


Chomper Spikeweed · Burrow · Grody Goop


Kernel Corn Butter Beacon · Husk Hop · Shuck Shot


Night Cap Casting Shadows · Fung Fu · Shadow Sneak


Snapdragon Swoop Slam · Blue Blazes · Blazing Trail


Cactus Potato Mine · Garlic Drone · Petal Propeller


Citron E.M.Peach · Spin Dash · Navel Laser


Acorn & Oak
Acorn
Solo Sap Trap · Invoke Oak · Acorn Dash


Passenger Sap Trap · Treeject · Lumber Support


Oak Super Sap Trap · Treeject · Roll for Damage



Sunflower Sunny Side Up · Sunbeam · Heal Beam


Rose Jinx · Arcane Enigma · Goatify


Wildflower Wild Life · Weed Out · Bloom Boom
Spawnable Plants
Grow-a-Pot
Range Pea Cannon · Gatling Pea · Scaredy-Shroom · Lightning Reed


Support Heal Flower · Goop-Shroom


Melee Bonk Choy · Doom-Shroom · Fume-Shroom


Soil of Summoning
Melee Terracotta Weed · Vase Weed · Dandelion


Range Wildflower · Terracotta Wildflower


Support Heal Weed · Hypno-Shroom
Battle Leaders Bam-Bam-Boo · Bluehorn Corn · Flotsamuel · Lucy · No-Neck Raffi · Pinky Rain · Pollen Kate · Pound Cake · Queen Capra · Sherman · Sproutrage · Teddy
Bounty Hunt
Weirding Woods Queenigma · Solar Sisters · Wild Bunch


Town Center Bitey Brothers · Mirror-Shroom · Tiger Klaus
Elusive Foes
Weirding Woods Amber Gemma · Pops Cyclops · Sleepy


Town Center Big Hurtle · Kitty Sparkles · Mrs. Veilbiter
Bosses Dreadroot · Giga Torchwood · Sunflower Queen · Super Bean · Marigold · Hypno Sunflower Queen · Spooky Squash · Bitter Dill · Dreadwood · Blight Cap
Quest NPCs Air Ron · Best Fishing Friend™️ · Bingo-Bongo · Brian · Corny Corn · Dandelion · Exposition Al · Gilly the Kid · Harmela · Land Phil · Major Sweetie · Mark · Mike · Sergeant Peel · Sir Crustworthy · Sir Victor-Ian · Tenderleaf · Tumbleweed Ted · Vivian
Others Weed · Pumpkin Weed · Leaf Shield Weed · Pumpkin Wildflower · Mindblower
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