Jade Cactus is a Rare variant of the Cactus in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. She was added in the Legends of the Lawn DLC. She has more health than the regular Cactus, but she is slower.
Descriptions
Stickerbook description
Formed from ancient, mystical rock, the Jade Cactus slumbers deep beneath the desert. Legends speak of a stoic, green guardian who would return to us, in a time of great need. Can she save us from Dr. Zomboss' schemes? Where exactly did she get that cool armor? Did Crazy Dave make the whole thing up? Only time will tell.
In-game description
Jade Cactus' armor plating gives her extra health at the expense of speed.
Primary weapon
The Jade Cactus's primary weapon is Shatter Shot, which deals 11 to 23 impact damage and 13 to 28 critical damage based on distance. The explosion deals around 15 damage.
Abilities
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Weapon upgrades
Improved Mining
Diamond saws produce jade shards at an accelerated rate, resulting in quicker reload times.
Rock Tumbler
Jagged jade fragments are rounded and smoothed, resulting in more shots per clip!
Mystical Energy
Imbued with mystical energy, each jade core is destabilized at a molecular level, resulting in more damaging shots.
Strategies
The Jade Cactus is useful for players who like to take on the role of "counter-sniping." That is done by shooting down any zombies that are attacking your teammates from a high vantage point like a cliff or a rooftop. The extra 25 health is useful as even if you do happen to get shot at, you are less likely to die to enemy fire, allowing you to duck behind cover to recover health. The Iron Maiden is good for this purpose as it allows you to create a semi-solid object to duck behind if there is nothing else available. The Jade Cactus may be tougher but she moves even slower than before, meaning if you get caught in an enemy's line of fire and there is no cover to get behind, you are likely going to die unless you can kill the attacking enemy. The Jade Cactus is less useful when sniping near the front-lines as the 25 extra health does not offer much of an advantage and the Jade Cactus' even slower foot speed will put you at a disadvantage against speedier opponents.
The explosive needles (and the splash damage that comes with them) on the other hand have many uses. The splash damage allows you to deal damage around corners (allowing you to attack something that you would normally not be able to) in addition to allowing you to attack zombies that are hiding behind cover. The splash damage also allows you to "check" around corners to see if there is something there. Shoot at the ground near the object and wait for the needle to explode. If it deals damage, then there is something behind the object, if you keep shooting needles at the ground near the object you may (if it is a zombie player) eventually force the zombie to reveal himself (as otherwise it will die if it does not have an escape route).
This Cactus also has excellent camouflage capabilities due to her coloration. The dark green color can blend in well with certain foliage or shadowy areas. If a player finds the correct place and applies appropriate customization (such as a dark colored tattoo, non-glowing hats, etc.), enemies will have a hard time finding you. Take advantage of the Cactus's long-ranged capabilities and try to be as far from the main fight as possible. Memorize the best places to do this in as many maps as possible, especially those in Turf Takeover. This camouflage is most effective against distracted, far-off targets, and can be used very effectively in objective-based modes. However, do note that when in hiding you may be too focused on your front and could be ambushed from other sides, becoming vanquished faster than you can get away. Always be aware of your surroundings, or be sure you are well protected behind and around you by using your nut barricades and Potato Mines.
Gallery
Trivia
- If one looks closely at one of her projectiles after it hits an object like a wall, one can see that it actually grows and then explodes, hinting at the notion that they expand from the inside before exploding.
- She is the only plant in the game based on a precious stone (the Zen Cactus also appears visually to be stone-based but it is unknown whether or not this is true).
- She is the first armored variant of the Cactus, with the second being the Petrified Cactus.
- She can do large amounts of damage very quickly to Dummy Shields and Tallnut Battlements. This is because each shot deals both the impact damage and then the explosion damage afterwards.
- She is much shinier in Garden Warfare 2.
- However, applying any tattoos will severely diminish the luster of both her armor and body.
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