Fume Shroom is possibly my favourite plant in Plants vs Zombies. Although it may not be as destructive as the Gatling Pea and Torchwood or as effective as the Winter Melon, or even as reliable as Puff-Shroom, there are several reasons why it is my favourite plant.
Table of Contents
Stats
Note: Credit goes to Freakywu2
Fume-Shroom is a nocturnal plant unlocked by beating Level 2-2. It costs 75 sun at base, costing a total of 150 sun to wake it up during day.
It recharges at the same rate as and deals damage at the same rate as the Peashooter, but only reaches four tiles ahead of itself rather than the full lane.
Therefore, in theory, would it not be counter-intuitive to use this instead of peashooter?
In a competition against one basic zombie at day, the Peashooter would win in almost every aspect. However, the Fume Shroom has some very specific advantages that make it versatile and very useful.
Pierce
The Fume-Shroom’s unique characteristic is that it penetrates shields – it is designed to counter the Screen Door zombie. It also penetrates zombies, though – it will deal damage to all zombies in its range simultaneously in its range when it attacks.
Why is this useful?
This means that the Fume-Shroom can not be overwhelmed. If it can kill one zombie, it can kill one hundred. It has the same base damage as a peashooter and up to four can attack a zombie at once (five if the zombie is on the same tile as the front fume-shroom protected by Pumpkin)
Spikeweed is the only non-instant-kill plant that shares this characteristic. However, Spikeweed’s range is one tile and still costs 2/3rds as much sun (assuming you’re using Fume-Shroom at day)
Its ability to ignore Screen-Door zombies and Ladder zombies is also useful in Last Stand, where they appear frequently.
Damage Output
Fume-Shroom has surprisingly decent damage for its range. It is the same as a peashooter and can’t be buffed, as well as limited range, but this still allows it to defend most zombies.
Basic Zombie will die before it can get to one fume-shroom.
Coneheads will die before they can get to three fume-shrooms.
Bucketheads will take significantly longer to kill and require a wall plant to defend (or Magnet-Shroom)
Given that Fume-Shrooms are frontliners, this damage output can still be aided by powerful backliner plants (ie. Winter Melon, as seen in the previous screenshot)
Versatility
Fume-Shroom is surprisingly cheap for its abilities. It is easy to replace and quick to set up defenses with (though some early defenses such as Squash and Potato Mine will be necessary).
In night levels, Fume Shroom costs 75 sun (5 mini-suns). It is designed to counter Screen-Door zombie, but is also effective against Disco Zombie, Bobsled Zombie and Ladder Zombie.
Fume-Shroom is only accessible at day once 5-3 is beaten, but it is very effective on roof levels; it is one of the only plants that has an attack capable of ignoring the roof tiles. The Roof levels are known for their significantly dense waves, making AoE attacks extremely useful.
During these day levels, Fume Shroom costs 150 sun (6 suns). This makes it difficult to use in Pogo Party, but most roof levels give you the time to gather enough sun to plant them before being overwhelmed.
Gloom Shroom
Fume-Shroom can be upgraded into Gloom Shroom, a plant with similar abilities but a significantly higher damage output – 80 damage per 1.9 seconds.
This makes it an incredibly popular choice and a contender for one of the best plants in the game. Fume-Shroom and Coffee Bean are both prerequisites for Gloom-Shroom, making it useful even if it’s not the plant being used.
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