Wall-nut is the first defensiveplant obtained Plants vs. Zombies and is the fourth plant unlocked overall. He acts as a shield for the player's other plants, as he has high durability. He is mainly used to stall or block zombies in order to buy time for the player to plant an offensive plant, or for offensive plants to take out zombies with high health.
Wall-nut absorbs 3600 DPS, changing appearance at 1200 and 2400 DPS. He begins to show cracks in the top of his shell, and his smile becomes a straight line, and then a frown.
Almanac entry
Wall-nut
Wall-nuts have hard shells which you can use to protect your other plants.
Toughness: high
"People wonder how I feel about getting constantly chewed on by zombies," says Wall-nut. "What they don't realize is that with my limited senses all I can feel is a kind of tingling, like a relaxing back rub."
Cost: 50
Recharge: slow
Upgrades
While he has no upgrade in the main game, in both Beghouledmini-games, he can be upgraded into Tall-nut for 250 sun.
Strategies
Main Game
Wall-nut's main role is to provide a buffer layer between the player's other plants and the horde, as most plants are very vulnerable to being eaten by zombies. Compared to Tall-nut, Wall-nut is 2.5x as cheap and therefore can be planted earlier, but his lower durability and inability to block vaulting zombies makes him a worse choice in later levels. Regardless, both of them are useful for delaying zombies and giving time for setting up additional firepower.
Note that Pogo Zombies, Pole Vaulting Zombies, and Dolphin Rider Zombies can easily get past Wall-nuts, but two Wall-nuts in a lane can prevent Pole Vaulting Zombies and Dolphin Rider Zombies from advancing and attacking other plants. Wall-nut is also ineffective against Gargantuars, Zomboni, and rolling Catapult Zombies because they can instantly crush plants regardless of toughness. In Pool and Fog levels, Wall-nut can be used to force Snorkel Zombies to raise his head from the water and eat, making him vulnerable to attacks. Jack-in-the-box Zombies can instantly destroy it.
Wall-nut can be used in tandem with Spikeweed or Spikerock for great effect, as he can hold the zombies back, allowing Spikeweed or Spikerock to deal damage. However, keep in mind that Imps are small enough to attack it without getting harmed by the Spikeweed/Spikerock. Potato Mines can be used to take out zombies before they reach it, or from behind on the aforementioned zombies that can get over Wall-nut, once they have done so.
It is recommended to purchase Wall-nut First Aid from Crazy Dave's Twiddydinkies later on, as this will allow damaged Wall-nuts to be replaced without having to dig them up first.
Mini-games
Wall-nuts are the standard ammo in Wall-nut Bowling and Wall-nut Bowling 2. They will take out normal Zombies, Dancing Zombies, and Backup Dancers in one hit, Conehead Zombie, Pole Vaulting Zombies (assuming with pole) and Newspaper Zombie in two, Buckethead Zombie in three, and Screen Door Zombie (if head-on) in four. After striking any zombie, Wall-nut will ricochet off at an angle toward the right, possibly hitting more zombies before rolling off the screen. To maximize its efficiency, Wall-nut should be aimed at large clusters of zombies on multiple lanes - not only will the combo yield increasing amount of coins per zombies killed (zero silver coin for the first, one for the second, two for the third, three for the fourth, and a gold coin from the fifth onward), but it will also yield for the player the Roll Some Heads achievement. Screen Door Zombie also only take one hit when hit at an angle. Also, it should be remembered that the Wall-nut does not have to go directly at a Pole Vaulting Zombie to make it jump - it just has to be near enough.
Wall-nut Zombies are analogous to Buckethead Zombies in the ZomBotany and ZomBotany 2, but without vulnerability to Magnet-shroom. Therefore, Wall-nut will be capable of holding them back while other plants attack, as most strategies against Buckethead Zombies should also work fine against them. Wall-nuts also serve to stop Tall-nut Zombies and the peas of Peashooter and Gatling Pea Zombies.
It is difficult to control when and where Wall-nuts are generated in Beghouled and Beghouled Twist, so it is almost pointless to upgrade them to Tall-nuts before upgrading other plants. If there happens to be three or more on the front column however, it is advised leave them there and only complete matches in the rear lanes.
In Portal Combat Wall-nut should be used to protect particularly vulnerable portals (e.g. ones that lead straight to the back columns, behind most offensive plant) from the front or from behind in Portal Combat. However, make sure that Balloon Zombies do not end up floating over them.
Ladder Zombie is essential in completing this level unless the game generates a lane with no offensive plants at all, as he can survive many hits and his ladder can neutralize the Wall-nuts, allowing other zombies to pass through and attack the plants. The ladder can also absorb a great amount of damage from Peashooters, and shield the horde from Snow Pea's chilling effect. If there is more than one attacking plant of any kind, especially Snow Pea and Fume-shroom, additional Buckethead Zombie and Ladder Zombies should be used to break through.
In Plants vs. Zombies, Explode-o-nut is found only in Wall-nut Bowling, Wall-nut Bowling 2 and Co-op Bowling. It is a red Wall-nut which creates an explosion that is identical to Cherry Bomb upon impact with a zombie. It should be used where there is a cluster of stronger zombies.
Giant Wall-nut is found only in Wall-nut Bowling 2. When used, it will roll down the lane it is placed on, squashing any zombies caught in the trail. It cannot be vaulted through by a Pole Vaulting Zombie. However, the player does not get any coins or get the Roll Some Heads achievement from the combos dealt from a Giant Wall-nut.
However, Giant Wall-nut also makes another appearance in a canceled mini-game, Big Time. It acts exactly like a Wall-nut, but it is more durable, having as much health as a Tall-nut.
He, Magnet-shroom, Threepeater, and Squash are the only plants that are seen in a smaller size other than in the Zen Garden. The Wall-nut is seen as small as Squash as seen on Crazy Dave in Upsell.
In the Plants vs. Zombies website, when on the Zombatar tab, a Wall-nut with red hair can be seen in a corner of the screen.
