Jack O' Lantern

When he sees zombies, he goes SPLAT!

This item is only obtainable during certain events. However, it can still be used if you have already obtained it. It is currently not available.

For the version in Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, see Jack O' Lantern (PvZH).

Jack O' Lantern
Jack O' Lanterns spray fire down a lane, doing extensive burning damage over a short distance.
Statistics
Sun Cost	225
Recharge	20 seconds
Toughness	300 damage
Damage	300 damage
Flame Length	3 tiles
Plant Food Power	14.29%
Family	Pepper-mint
Plant Food effect	Summons 5 green ghosts on random tiles, that continuously deal fire damage to zombies.
Special	Fire recharges over time
Statistics (China)
Sun Cost	200
Recharge	20 seconds
Toughness	300 damage
Damage	60 damage
Attack Rate	6 seconds
Range	3 Tiles to the Right
Area	AoE within Range
Duration	5 seconds
Class	Vanguard
Tags	Damage, area of effect, ash
Plant features	Orange plant, full of anger
In-game statistics
Unlocked	NA: $6.99 · EU: €5.49 · UK: £4.99
Costumes
Code name	jackolantern
"Boo! Mwah-ha-ha-haaaaah," opines Jack O' Lantern. Oh, yes. Things and stuff are scheduled to be seriously spooky when he's around. Count on it.

Jack O' Lantern is a special-edition premium plant in Plants vs. Zombies 2, tied with the Lawn of Doom 2015 event released with the 4.1 update.

He blows a flame jet three tiles ahead of him against oncoming threats which defrosts frozen ones and ignores combustible objects. He is immune to all freezing effects and emits heat every 6 seconds to nearby plants in a 3x3 area.

As of the 9.1 update, Jack O' Lantern will automatically attack once zombies enter his range and does not need to be manually prompted.

Origins

Jack O' Lantern is based on a pumpkin, specifically a real life object, the Jack-o'-lantern. These are mostly put out at Halloween, referring to how Jack O' Lantern is only available during the Halloween event "Lawn of Doom" (unless there is a special event).

Its fire based attack and Plant Food ability are based on the "Will-o'-the-wisp", a mythological "Ghost Fire" in European folklore often sighted in bogs, swamps and marshes. This is a play on how "Jack-o'-lantern" also serves as an alternate name for the Will-o'-the-wisp.

Almanac entry

Note: The stats shown below only apply to Level 1.

Jack O' Lantern
	SUN COST 225 RECHARGE 20 TOUGHNESS 300 DAMAGE 300 Special Flame Length PLANT FOOD POWER 14.29% Pepper-mint Plant Food: Summons 5 green ghosts on random tiles, that continuously deal fire damage to zombies. Jack O' Lanterns spray fire down a lane, doing extensive burning damage over a short distance. "Boo! Mwah-ha-ha-haaaaah," opines Jack O' Lantern. Oh, yes. Things and stuff are scheduled to be seriously spooky when he's around. Count on it.

Jack O' Lantern

SUN COST 225 RECHARGE 20 TOUGHNESS 300 DAMAGE 300 Special Flame Length PLANT FOOD POWER 14.29% Pepper-mint Plant Food: Summons 5 green ghosts on random tiles, that continuously deal fire damage to zombies. Jack O' Lanterns spray fire down a lane, doing extensive burning damage over a short distance. "Boo! Mwah-ha-ha-haaaaah," opines Jack O' Lantern. Oh, yes. Things and stuff are scheduled to be seriously spooky when he's around. Count on it.

Chinese version (China only)

杰克南瓜灯会向前方喷火，对僵尸造成伤害 植物特征：橙色植物，满腹怒火 “Trick or treat！”杰克南瓜灯试图让其他植物们交出糖果，他要好好的保存在自己空空的肚肚里。可是他不小心一边念一边将火焰喷给僵尸了，也许僵尸们在心里也想学他。 In English: Jack O' Lantern will breath fire forwards, damaging zombies Plant features: orange plant, full of anger "Trick or treat!" Jack O' Lantern tried to get other plants to hand over candy, and he wanted to keep it in his empty stomach. But he accidentally sprayed all of them on the zombies, maybe the zombies are also silently repeating this sentence in their hearts?

Upgrades

Plant Food effect

When fed Plant Food, Jack O' Lantern summons five to nine green wisps on random tiles on the lawn. The wisps, which resemble Jack O' Lantern himself, will inflict up to 900 damage before despawning. His attack cool down is also instantly reset.

Jack O' Lantern burning Gargantuar and Conehead Zombies with his Plant Food ability.

Plant Food ability (animation)

Pepper-mint effect

When boosted by Pepper-mint, Jack O' Lantern's damage per tick will increase by 550, his primary attack will cover five tiles ahead, and his Plant Food damage will increase by 350.

Level upgrades

Level	Seed packets	Coins	Upgrades
			Sun Cost	Recharge (Sluggish)	Starting Recharge	Toughness (Typical)	Damage (Heavy)	Special (Flame Length)	Plant Food Power (Damage)*
1	0	0	225	20 seconds	15 seconds	300 damage	300 damage	3 Tiles	120 damage
2	10	1,000		19 seconds	14 seconds	350 damage	350 damage		150 damage
3	25	2,500				400 damage	400 damage	4 Tiles
4	50	5,000		18 seconds	13 seconds	450 damage	450 damage		200 damage
5	100	10,000	200			550 damage	500 damage
6	200	20,000		17 seconds	12 seconds	600 damage	550 damage		250 damage
7	400	30,000				650 damage		5 Tiles
8	800	50,000		16 seconds	11 seconds	700 damage			300 damage
9	1,200	75,000		15 seconds	10 seconds	800 damage			325 damage
10	1,600	100,000	175			900 damage			350 damage

*Per second. The wisps last for 7.5 seconds.

Mastery upgrades

• Chance to Boost
• Damage Pierce

Level upgrade (China only)

Level	Upgrades	Description
	Increased Fire Volume 火量增加	Jack O' Lantern flames can be sprayed farther, and the range of pumpkin flames becomes 4 tiles. 杰克南瓜灯的火焰可以喷射得更远，南瓜火焰的范围变为4格。
	Combat Training 战斗训练	Jack O' Lantern gains 50% more attack power and health (150% of initial).
	Enhanced Fire Volume 火量加强	Jack O' Lantern flames can be sprayed farther, and the range of pumpkin flames is changed to 5 blocks. 杰克南瓜灯的火焰可以喷射得更远，南瓜火焰的范围变为5格。
	Cell Activation 细胞活化	Jack O' Lantern gains another 50% more attack power and health (200% of initial).
	Ability Awaken 能力觉醒	Jack O' Lantern may be boosted when planted.
	Fighting Power 战斗能力	Jack O' Lantern gains another 50% more attack power and health (250% of initial).
	Pumpkin Ghost 南瓜幽灵	Every 15 seconds, a fluorescent blue-green pumpkin ghost flies out of the pumpkin's mouth. It tracks a zombie that is not on the leftmost side of the line. After tracking it, it attaches itself to the zombie, makes the zombie walk in the opposite direction, and ignites it when passing by. It deals constant damage to itself and passing zombies. 每过15秒从南瓜嘴里飞出一只荧光蓝绿色的南瓜幽灵，追踪非本行最左侧的一个僵尸，追踪到后附身到僵尸身上，使僵尸反向行走，在路过僵尸时点燃它本身和经过的僵尸造成持续伤害。
	Fighting Power 战斗能力	Jack O' Lantern gains another 50% more attack power and health (300% of initial).

Strategies

Since he is a short-ranged plant, it is best to place him near your defensive plants. Using him in the tile behind your Wall-nuts can be useful, as you can stop zombies on the tile of the Wall-nut. This plant is especially useful when combined with a boosted sun-producing plant and Tile Turnip, because multiple copies of him can easily cover the whole lawn if linked.

However, he should not be used against Imp Dragon Zombie in Arthur's Challenge, as they can't be damaged by fire attacks. Otherwise, his utility isn’t hampered. Note that he instantly defrosts frozen zombies, so beware when using ice-based plants alongside him if their range doesn't exceed that of his. Alternatives like Pokra may serve better in this case.

Jack O' Lantern is a warming plant, making him a good choice for use on Frostbite Caves. However, due to his slow recharge, you may want to add extra sources of warmth for your plants, as well as for general attacking. Putting Jack on the front lines naturally protects your other plants against Hunter Zombie's snowball effect. Jack O' Lantern also does excellent on Glitter Zombies and zombies behind them, as he can defeat them all at the same time.

Because of the 9.1 update, Jack O' Lantern can now automatically attack zombies that enter its range without needed to be tapped. This allows all of the Jack O' Lantern to attack by itself when a zombie enters it range, and prevents the player from having to constantly tap on several Jack O' Lantern in order to attack.

Jack O' Lantern becomes much stronger when powered up by Pepper-mint. Not only does he get a substantial damage boost, but his range is increased to 5 tiles, making Jack O' Lantern an incredibly destructive force in Pepper-mint based strategies or if leveled.

He is very fragile when he is resting, so it is a good choice to plant defense plants in front of him or Pumpkin on top of him.

Balance changes

Update 9.1.1

• No longer attacks with manual prompts, instead firing as soon as a zombie appears in his range.

Update 9.2.1

• ▲ Can now be planted on minecarts.

Update 9.4.1

• ▲ Jack O' Lantern now ignores zombies and grid items that are favorable to the plants (eg, Zomboids, etc).

Update 11.5.1

• ▲ Normal Attack Fire is now a grid item. The damage is calculated in tiles, a zombie can take multiple damage per second.
• ▼ Normal Attack Grid Item Damage deals to Gargantuar, General zombies and Zomboss is reduced by 25%.
• ▲ Normal Attack deals multiple damage to Zomboss.

Related achievement

	So Thawful Thaw 13 ice blocks in a single level

Gallery

Jack O' Lantern has a gallery!

Visit this page to see it.

In other languages

Please note that only official translations are used.

Language	Name	Description
English	Jack O’ Lantern
Simplified Chinese	杰克南瓜灯	From Jiékè and nánguādēng
French	Citrouille-lanterne	"Lantern-pumpkin"
German	Kürbislaterne
Italian	Jack O’ Lantern	Same as English name
Brazilian Portuguese	Lanterror	Portmanteau of lanterna and terror
Spanish	Calabaza iluminada	Illuminated Pumpkin

Trivia

• Although his flames only cover ground tiles, he can still burn aerial zombies.
• He is the second plant related to the Lawn of Doom event. The first is Ghost Pepper, the third is Witch Hazel, and the fourth is Shadow Peashooter.
• Along with Fire Peashooter, he is the second plant to have a unique sound when dug up.
• Prior to version 9.1.1, he could not be planted on minecarts. Trying to plant one would give the player the message, "You can't plant Jack O' Lanterns on rail carts". The reason was likely similar to Lava Guava, as he would melt the minecart with his flame attacks otherwise.
• His flame jet uses the flame tile's sprite from Lost City.
• He is the only plant to have an apostrophe in his name.
• Like Fire Peashooter, his flames are not affected by the water in Pirate Seas and Big Wave Beach nor do they receive any penalties.
  • Update 9.1.1 introduced a bug, where he attacks empty water tiles in Big Wave Beach. As of update 9.5.1, this has been fixed.
• When he is stunned by a Boombox Zombie, he will glitch and starts playing his activation and deactivation sounds repeatedly until the Power Ballad jam is finished.
• His incendiary appearance may refer to how candles are used alongside Jack O' Lanterns.
• According to the credits, he is voiced by John Stumme.
• Sometimes, his flame will not light up correctly. He can still be used the same way, but the player will not know how powerful the flame is.
• In Jack O' Lantern's Tournament, there are five frozen Jack O' Lanterns on the lawn, which is ironic as Jack O Lantern is immune to freeze effects.
• He, Dartichoke, Stickybomb Rice and BoomBerry are the only four plants in Plants vs. Zombies 2 to have a sun cost of 225 at Level 1.

See also

• Ghost Pepper
• Witch Hazel
• Firebloom Queen
• Pumpkin Witch

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