Ragweed is a plant in Plants vs. Zombies "3": Back to the Roots. She is unlocked upon beating Grey Matter Gardens - Level 2. She costs 150 sun, and sneezes in a 1x3 area in front of her, damaging zombies with a 25% chance for knockback. She additionally serves as a counter to Zombees, immediately sneezing when they get near, sending them flying offscreen.
Origins
She is based on the plant of the same name from Plants vs. Zombies 3. Her design has been slightly modified, now having purple eyelids instead of white, though otherwise she retains largely the same appearance.
Suburban Almanac entry
RAGWEED
Ragweeds sneeze on zombies in an area in front of them, with a chance for knockback.
Special: Sneezes Zombees off-screen
What's with Ragweed, and why is she so sick all the time? Well, to put things simple, she's a plant with a pollen allergy. You can guess how well that works out for her.STATS
Cost: 150
Recharge: 7 seconds
Damage: 3 peas
Attack speed: 4 seconds
Range: 1x3
PLANT FOOD
Gesundheit!: Damages and knocks back all zombies in its lane.
Damage: 10 peas
Range: Full lane
Plant Food effect
Ragweed's Plant Food ability is named Gesundheit!. When used, she unleashes an enormous sneeze, dealing 10 peas worth of damage to all zombies in her lane, and knocking them back up to three tiles. Zombies, however, will not be pushed behind the back of the screen.
Strategies
Ragweed has a noticeably low damage output compared to other plants in the game, and combined with her low range, gives her less offensive use than a number of other plants in the game. However, her ability for area-of-effect knockback is where she shines, as her attack has area-of-effect damage, and knocks back all zombies in her range. Although this ability is largely determined by chance, players can take advantage of it, by pairing her with defensive plants, such as Pumpkin and Tall-nut, and backing her up with groundcover plants, such as Spikeweed, Spikerock, and Sawgrass. Other Ragweeds can also cover for her, as having multiple in a lane may increase the chances of knockback. However, with a slow attack speed and a 25% chance of knockback, players should not rely on this happening, and back her up with more powerful offensive options. Plants that can slow zombies, such as Snow Pea, Winter Melon, and Popsicle Stick may be good choices to pair with Ragweed, as she is able to further stall zombies with her chance of knockback.
Ragweed effectively counters Zombees, sneezing whenever they get near, effectively knocking them off-screen, so she can be selected on levels that include them. However, other options can be considered to counter Zombees such as Blover and catapult plants, so Ragweed can simply be considered one of multiple options. Ragweed is additionally useful for stalling other dangerous zombies, as well as helping against Breakdancer Zombies by knocking zombies back after he kicks them.
Ragweed faces competition from Chard Guard, another plant with Area-of-Effect knockback. Compared to Chard Guard, Ragweed can potentially knock back zombies infinite times, covers a larger area in front of her, and has a much better recharge speed. Chard Guard, however, is cheaper, more defensive, and is guaranteed to knock back zombies on contact up to three times. Chard Guard, in most instances, will be more reliable, though Ragweed still can be used as a backup offense.
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