Axileaf (pronounced /ak-si-LEAF/) is a lobbed-shot plant that appears in Plants vs. Zombies. It rides a winged Lily Pad and hurls spiked projectiles at zombies.
Origins[]
Axileaf's flying and throwing abilities were based on the Hammer Bro enemy found in a fangame named Mario Forever Galaxy. Its design was modeled after a typical Repeater, minus its snout where it fires peas.
About[]
Axileaf attacks zombies by throwing a spiky stick on the strongest zombie closest to the house, in an arc every four seconds, dealing 100 DPS (five peas) worth of damage to the target it hits. Because of the winged Lily Pad, it can be planted above water without regular Lily Pads, or in Roof tiles without a Flower Pot. Tapping on Axileaf will make it attack like a regular peashooting plant, and return to its default attack mode if tapped again.
Prior to adjustment, Axileaf formerly costed 375 sun, and dealt 60 DPS every five seconds, targeting the strongest zombie present in the lawn, and can pop balloons. When it was placed too far, the stick bounces to the target. He also had a rare chance to throw a massive amount of spikes on the lawn. He levitated and turned around to attack zombies that passed by him, but cannot be protected by Umbrella Leaves, and was prone to attack by Balloon Zombies (unless popped) and Catapult Zombies.
Strategies[]
Axileaf is comparable to Cattail, as it features a whole-lawn attack range. In comparison to the latter, Axileaf behaves more like a sniper of sorts, taking down individual strong targets than serving as general-purpose attacker. Having multiple Axileaves allows the player to concentrate their attacks on stronger targets such as Buckethead Zombies, Football Zombies, or Gargantuars. The player has the option to make it shoot forward, allowing it to target zombies normally like most offensive plants, although it will no longer bypass shields such as ladders or screen doors.
An important feature of Axileaf is it can be planted without Lily Pads or Flower Pots, making it a suitable in any terrain. However, using Axileaf in peashooting mode to guard a lane on the Roof will render its attacks useless planted on the flat side or first sloping column; using other lobbed-shot plants would be a more viable choice.
Do not rely on this plant alone as zombies may overwhelm it due its low firing speed, and the relatively expensive sun cost may make it hard to deploy quickly in large amounts.
Axileaf will find its use mostly as a middle-game supporting plant in regular or Survival Mode levels where strong zombies appear, but not to a point where the horde is dense, which can hamper its overall effectivity. In the late-game, it may be outclassed by Cob Cannon, whose attack can eliminate large, strong groups of zombies outright.
Trivia[]
- Early developmental concepts for Axileaf include having an arm cannon in his design and having an upgrade plant named ZLeaf X. However, these were ultimately scrapped.
- Design-wise, Axileaf was formerly a single plant. Succeeding designs featured him as a separate plant, although they are still counted as one plant in-game.
Gallery[]
