What Does Torchwood Do in PvZ? The Ultimate Guide
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Torchwood is a cornerstone support plant within the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, primarily known for its ability to significantly enhance the damage output of peashooting plants. Unlike the peashooters themselves, Torchwood doesn’t launch projectiles. Instead, its core function is to act as a fiery conduit, transforming regular peas that pass through it into powerful fire peas. This simple yet effective mechanic drastically alters the battlefield dynamics, making Torchwood a vital component of many offensive strategies. In essence, Torchwood takes existing attacks and amplifies them, turning them into devastating fire-based assaults. Let’s delve deeper into the specifics of this powerful plant.
How Torchwood Boosts Peashooters
The Fire Pea Transformation
The primary action of Torchwood involves converting regular peas into fire peas. When a normal pea from a peashooting plant travels through a Torchwood, it’s instantly engulfed in flames. This transformation doubles the damage that the pea inflicts upon impact with a zombie. Furthermore, fire peas possess the ability to remove any ice-based effects from their targets. This includes the freezing effect of the Iceberg Lettuce and the chilling effect of the Winter Melon, making Torchwood an excellent counter to these plants as well.
Plant Food Boost: Plasma Peas
When given Plant Food, Torchwood undergoes a significant boost. Instead of simply turning normal peas into fire peas, the Torchwood will supercharge already existing fire peas into plasma peas. These plasma peas are even more potent, dealing an increased amount of damage compared to regular fire peas. This ability further increases Torchwood’s utility and makes it a critical asset in late-game stages. It’s important to note that Torchwood will not affect fire peas unless boosted by plant food.
Effective Plant Combinations
Torchwood’s ability to upgrade damage is only useful when combined with the correct types of plants. Torchwood affects the following plants:
- Peashooter: The basic, single-shot peashooter gets an enormous boost when paired with a torchwood.
- Repeater: The Repeater shoots two peas per shot and will gain double the damage for each individual pea.
- Split Pea: The Split Pea fires backwards and forwards, and therefore all shots that pass through the Torchwood will be transformed.
- Threepeater: The Threepeater fires three peas simultaneously and each one will be transformed.
- Pea Pod: The Pea Pod, which can grow into a multi-peashooting powerhouse, benefits from each pea being given the fire upgrade.
- Pea-nut: The Pea-nut, a defensive hybrid, has its peashooting component upgraded through the Torchwood.
- Primal Peashooter: The Primal Peashooter, which fires a larger, more powerful shot, will also be affected by the Torchwood’s transformation.
- Fire Peashooter (with Plant Food): While Torchwood doesn’t impact a Fire Peashooter by default, it can enhance them through its plant food transformation.
It’s important to strategically place your peashooters around the torchwood to gain the maximum advantage. The Torchwood enhances only the peas that pass through him, meaning a single Torchwood can boost multiple plants along its line of fire.
Strategic Considerations with Torchwood
Countering Ice Effects
One of Torchwood’s most strategic applications lies in its ability to counter the effects of ice-based zombies. While slowing zombies is very useful, being able to remove ice-based debuffs is critical, making the fire peas a potent defense and counter.
Fog Levels
While Torchwood can clear out fog, it does so in a limited area—only a 3×3 space centered on itself. Therefore, it’s generally not recommended to rely on Torchwood as a primary fog-clearing tool. Instead, focus on its peashooter buffing ability.
Placement Tactics
Placement is key when using a Torchwood. Ensure that your peashooters are positioned so that their peas will pass directly through the Torchwood. Consider placing multiple peashooters behind the Torchwood to maximize the number of enhanced fire peas you are producing.
Torchwood in Different PvZ Games
The mechanics and uses of the Torchwood may vary slightly depending on the specific Plants vs Zombies game. However, in all iterations, it retains its core function of powering up peashooting plants by converting them into fire peas. In some games, such as Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Torchwood can even be played as a unique character, boasting a range of abilities that fit its role as a fiery enforcer.
Torchwood in Garden Warfare 2
In Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, Giga Torchwood appears as a boss in Graveyard Ops and the Backyard Battleground. In addition to this, the character Torchwood is obtainable but requires an extensive quest to be unlocked through the Gnomiverse. In this mode, Torchwood can be used in a more direct manner, demonstrating how powerful the plant can be.
Frequently Asked Questions About Torchwood
1. How much does Torchwood increase the damage of a pea?
Torchwood doubles the damage of a normal pea, turning it into a fire pea. If a Torchwood has been given Plant Food, it can turn a fire pea into a plasma pea for an even larger damage output.
2. Does Torchwood affect Snow Pea?
While a Snow Pea’s frozen projectiles do go through Torchwood, it does not enhance them, but rather removes their ice effect. It turns the Snow Pea projectile into a normal projectile with doubled damage. Therefore, they are not recommended to be used together.
3. Does Torchwood affect Fire Peashooter?
By default, Torchwood does not affect Fire Peashooter’s fire peas. However, if Torchwood is given a Plant Food boost, it can relight the fire peas and turn them into more powerful plasma peas.
4. Can Torchwood clear fog?
Torchwood can clear fog, but only in a small area (3×3 grid with a plus shape). It’s not recommended to rely on it for fog clearing.
5. How do you unlock Torchwood?
In certain Plants vs Zombies games, like Garden Warfare 2, you might have to unlock Torchwood through specific challenges, but in the main titles Torchwood is available in the plant selection.
6. What happens if a fire pea goes through a Torchwood?
By default nothing, however if a Torchwood has been given Plant Food the fire pea will become a plasma pea.
7. Why is Torchwood called Torchwood?
The name “Torchwood” is an anagram of “Doctor Who,” a reference to the TV series.
8. Can you play as Torchwood in PvZ GW2?
Yes, in PvZ GW2, you can unlock Torchwood as a playable character, but it requires completing time-consuming challenges.
9. Is Torchwood a fire plant?
Yes, Torchwood is considered a fire-type plant in the context of PvZ.
10. What is a Giga Torchwood?
Giga Torchwood is a boss plant exclusive to Graveyard Ops and the Backyard Battleground in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2.
11. Is Fire Peashooter worth it?
Fire Peashooter is definitely worth it and is generally considered better than the Pepper-pult due to its faster firing speed and greater overall damage output.
12. Is Electric Peashooter worth it?
The Electric Peashooter is a good option as it fires powerful, chain-lighting projectiles, but its high cost and slow firing rate mean that it should not be relied on alone.
13. What is the strongest zombie in PvZ?
Giga-gargantuar is considered the second strongest zombie in the main Plants vs Zombies game after Dr. Zomboss.
14. What is the slowest zombie in PvZ 2?
Zombies with “Creeper” speed are the slowest zombies in Plants vs. Zombies 2.
15. What is the useless plant in pvz2?
Chomper is often cited as a weak plant choice due to its high cost and inconsistent eating behaviour.
In summary, Torchwood is an incredibly valuable plant in the Plants vs Zombies universe. Its ability to transform regular peas into powerful fire peas, along with the Plant Food boost, make it an indispensable asset for any player. By understanding its mechanics and strategic implications, you can effectively utilize Torchwood to overcome even the toughest zombie waves.