Plant upgrade system

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For the version in Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Chinese version), see Plant upgrade system (Chinese version).

The plant upgrade system is a feature in Plants vs. Zombies 2, introduced in the 5.7.1 update. This system allows you to level up your plants, which increase their capabilities. Plants can be leveled up by collecting seed packets, which are obtained via Piñatas. Piñatas can be obtained either by completing quests in the Travel Log, winning up to five Piñatas by replaying levels, or via purchases from the store.

Imitater and Marigold cannot be upgraded.

Overview

Although leveling up plants usually increases the plant's capabilities, or statistics, not all plants' statistics are increased per level. The player has to spend a lot of seed packets and in certain cases coins, with the cost of each upgrade increasing with each level of the plant's upgrade progress. The maximum level to which each plant could be upgraded was 3, 4 or 5 for the 5.7.1 and 5.8.1 updates, rising to 6, 9 and 12 for the 5.9.1 upgrade. As of the 6.6.1 update, all plants are able to achieve level 10, 15 or 20, depending on the characteristics of the plant.

Some benefits of leveling up your plants include a greater toughness (damage sustained), higher damage output, faster recharge times, decreased sun costs, or a greater amount of sun produced. Many plants also have their own unique benefits from being upgraded.

Strategies

Do not instantly upgrade plants which you will not choose to use, as it only wastes coins. Upgrading instant-use plants is useful, because instant-use plants usually take a long time to recharge. Upgrading them will allow you to deal more damage, and also to plant them more frequently.

Some plants have a special effect when leveled up, these additional effects may be useful, but if you don't need the effect, it's better to not upgrade them, these plants are:

• Iceberg Lettuce - when Iceberg Lettuce is at level 5 or higher, it will be able to chill zombies after freezing them. When Iceberg Lettuce is at level 11-20, it can freeze multiple zombies in a 1x3/3x3 area.
• Grave Buster - when Grave Buster is at level 6-10, he will explode after destroying a grave, dealing damage on that tile. Additionally, when Grave Buster reaches level 4, he can be planted on the Surfer Zombie's surfboards, and starting from level 9, he has the ability to destroy Imp Porter's tents
• Hot Potato - starting from level 2, Hot Potato deals damage to zombies on her tile. Starting from level 5, she can melt Octopi thrown by Octo Zombies.
• Stunion - starting from level 5, Stunion poisons his targets.
• Stallia - starting from level 5, Stallia causes knockback to targeted zombies.
• Missile Toe - starting from level 5, Missile Toe's attacks can freeze zombies.
• Fire Peashooter - starting from level 5, Fire Peashooter has a chance to fire plasma peas.
• Solar Tomato - when Solar Tomato is at level 3-10, she can damage zombies.
• Witch Hazel - when Witch Hazel is at level 7-10, she will turn zombies into Fume-shroom instead of Puff-shroom. If she is boosted by Enchant-mint, she will turn zombies into Toadstool instead of Fume-shroom and her plant food effect will turn zombies into Hypno-shroom instead of Toadstool.
• Tomb Tangler - just like Grave Buster, being upgraded to level 4 and 9 makes him being able to destroy surfboards and tents for each level respectively.

Suggested plants to upgrade would be expensive plants like Winter Melon, area-of-effect plants such as Snapdragon or Fume-shroom, sun-producing plants such as Sunflower and the aforementioned instant-kill plants, such as Cherry Bomb. It would also be useful to "level-up" specific plants that can be used to assist with levels that are particularly tricky, such as leveling-up Bowling Bulb in preparation for Big Wave Beach - Day 16.

Some plants' Mastery is only used for Arena (and levels which have Buffz & Bruisez mechanics in them). See the following to see what these plants are.

You may not want to upgrade some plants to Mastery; Ultomato is a notable example, as his Plant Food power will destroy him. Caulipower and Electric Blueberry will change the chance to target a specific zombie when leveled up. If you want them to target more basic zombies, it's better not to upgrade them.

Upgrading plants seems to be necessary when you play Arena or Penny's Pursuit, because both scenarios can and will contain overbuffed zombies that have dramatically increased health and damage. Upgrading them allows plants to adapt to the scenario in question and increases your odds of success.

Mastery

Introduced in the 7.0.1 update, you can now level up your plants to Mastery level once they're maxed out. As you upgrade a plant to Mastery, the lightning bolt icon on the top right corner of seed packets will turn into a star, displaying what Mastery level, the plant is at. Mastery for all plants caps at M200.

When some plants reach Mastery 50/100 or higher, their effects are not influenced by Buffz & Bruisez. These plants are:

• Blover
• Boingsetta
• Caulipower
• Chili Bean
• E.M.Peach
• Gumnut
• Hurrikale
• Hypno-shroom
• Hocus Crocus
• Iceberg Lettuce
• Imp Pear
• Levitater
• Magnet-shroom
• Sap-fling
• Shrinking Violet
• Stallia
• Sun Bean
• Solar Sage
• Witch Hazel

There are also plants that do not upgrade to Mastery, these plants are:

• Gold Leaf
• Gold Bloom
• Thyme Warp
• Intensive Carrot
• Perfume-shroom
• Power Lily
• Power Mints
• Tile Turnip

Depending on the plant, the following may be upgraded:

• Chance to Boost: Every 10 levels, going from Level 1, the plant gains a 1% chance to use its Plant Food effect on planting, up to 21%.
• Damage Pierce: Damage is increased by 1% per level, up to 200%. The increased damage is only effective on zombies and not influenced by Buffz & Bruisez.
• Toughness Bonus: Increases by 10 per level, up to 2000.

Mastery Level	Seed Packets	Coins	Upgrades
			Damage Pierce	Toughness Bonus	Chance to Boost
1	10	0	1%	10 damage	1%
2	20	250	2%	20 damage
3	30	250	3%	30 damage
4	40	250	4%	40 damage
5	50	250	5%	50 damage
6	60	500	6%	60 damage
7	70	500	7%	70 damage
8	80	500	8%	80 damage
9	90	500	9%	90 damage
10	100	1,000	10%	100 damage	2%
11	20	1,000	11%	110 damage
12	30	1,000	12%	120 damage
13	40	1,000	13%	130 damage
14	50	2,000	14%	140 damage
15	60	2,000	15%	150 damage
16	70	2,000	16%	160 damage
17	80	2,000	17%	170 damage
18	90	3,000	18%	180 damage
19	100	3,000	19%	190 damage
20	110	3,000	20%	200 damage	3%
21	30	3,000	21%	210 damage
22	40	4,000	22%	220 damage
23	50	4,000	23%	230 damage
24	60	4,000	24%	240 damage
25	70	4,000	25%	250 damage
26	80	5,000	26%	260 damage
27	90	5,000	27%	270 damage
28	100	5,000	28%	280 damage
29	110	5,000	29%	290 damage
30	120	6,000	30%	300 damage	4%
31	40	6,000	31%	310 damage
32	50	6,000	32%	320 damage
33	60	6,000	33%	330 damage
34	70	7,000	34%	340 damage
35	80	7,000	35%	350 damage
36	90	7,000	36%	360 damage
37	100	7,000	37%	370 damage
38	110	8,000	38%	380 damage
39	120	8,000	39%	390 damage
40	130	8,000	40%	400 damage	5%
41	50	8,000	41%	410 damage
42	60	9,000	42%	420 damage
43	70	9,000	43%	430 damage
44	80	9,000	44%	440 damage
45	90	9,000	45%	450 damage
46	100	10,000	46%	460 damage
47	110	10,000	47%	470 damage
48	120	10,000	48%	480 damage
49	130	10,000	49%	490 damage
50	140	20,000	50%	500 damage	6%
51	60	0	51%	510 damage
52	70	250	52%	520 damage
53	80	250	53%	530 damage
54	90	250	54%	540 damage
55	100	250	55%	550 damage
56	110	500	56%	560 damage
57	120	500	57%	570 damage
58	130	500	58%	580 damage
59	140	500	59%	590 damage
60	150	1,000	60%	600 damage	7%
61	70	1,000	61%	610 damage
62	80	1,000	62%	620 damage
63	90	1,000	63%	630 damage
64	100	2,000	64%	640 damage
65	110	2,000	65%	650 damage
66	120	2,000	66%	660 damage
67	130	2,000	67%	670 damage
68	140	3,000	68%	680 damage
69	150	3,000	69%	690 damage
70	160	3,000	70%	700 damage	8%
71	80	3,000	71%	710 damage
72	90	4,000	72%	720 damage
73	100	4,000	73%	730 damage
74	110	4,000	74%	740 damage
75	120	4,000	75%	750 damage
76	130	5,000	76%	760 damage
77	140	5,000	77%	770 damage
78	150	5,000	78%	780 damage
79	160	5,000	79%	790 damage
80	170	6,000	80%	800 damage	9%
81	90	6,000	81%	810 damage
82	100	6,000	82%	820 damage
83	110	6,000	83%	830 damage
84	120	7,000	84%	840 damage
85	130	7,000	85%	850 damage
86	140	7,000	86%	860 damage
87	150	7,000	87%	870 damage
88	160	8,000	88%	880 damage
89	170	8,000	89%	890 damage
90	180	8,000	90%	900 damage	10%
91	100	8,000	91%	910 damage
92	110	9,000	92%	920 damage
93	120	9,000	93%	930 damage
94	130	9,000	94%	940 damage
95	140	9,000	95%	950 damage
96	150	10,000	96%	960 damage
97	160	10,000	97%	970 damage
98	170	10,000	98%	980 damage
99	180	10,000	99%	990 damage
100	190	20,000	100%	1000 damage	11%
101	110	0	101%	1010 damage
102	120	250	102%	1020 damage
103	130	250	103%	1030 damage
104	140	250	104%	1040 damage
105	150	250	105%	1050 damage
106	160	500	106%	1060 damage
107	170	500	107%	1070 damage
108	180	500	108%	1080 damage
109	190	500	109%	1090 damage
110	200	1,000	110%	1100 damage	12%
111	120	1,000	111%	1110 damage
112	130	1,000	112%	1120 damage
113	140	1,000	113%	1130 damage
114	150	2,000	114%	1140 damage
115	160	2,000	115%	1150 damage
116	170	2,000	116%	1160 damage
117	180	2,000	117%	1170 damage
118	190	3,000	118%	1180 damage
119	200	3,000	119%	1190 damage
120	210	3,000	120%	1200 damage	13%
121	130	3,000	121%	1210 damage
122	140	4,000	122%	1220 damage
123	150	4,000	123%	1230 damage
124	160	4,000	124%	1240 damage
125	170	4,000	125%	1250 damage
126	180	5,000	126%	1260 damage
127	190	5,000	127%	1270 damage
128	200	5,000	128%	1280 damage
129	210	5,000	129%	1290 damage
130	220	6,000	130%	1300 damage	14%
131	140	6,000	131%	1310 damage
132	150	6,000	132%	1320 damage
133	160	6,000	133%	1330 damage
134	170	7,000	134%	1340 damage
135	180	7,000	135%	1350 damage
136	190	7,000	136%	1360 damage
137	200	7,000	137%	1370 damage
138	210	8,000	138%	1380 damage
139	220	8,000	139%	1390 damage
140	230	8,000	140%	1400 damage	15%
141	150	8,000	141%	1410 damage
142	160	9,000	142%	1420 damage
143	170	9,000	143%	1430 damage
144	180	9,000	144%	1440 damage
145	190	9,000	145%	1450 damage
146	200	10,000	146%	1460 damage
147	210	10,000	147%	1470 damage
148	220	10,000	148%	1480 damage
149	230	10,000	149%	1490 damage
150	240	20,000	150%	1500 damage	16%
151	160	0	151%	1510 damage
152	170	250	152%	1520 damage
153	180	250	153%	1530 damage
154	190	250	154%	1540 damage
155	200	250	155%	1550 damage
156	210	500	156%	1560 damage
157	220	500	157%	1570 damage
158	230	500	158%	1580 damage
159	240	500	159%	1590 damage
160	250	1,000	160%	1600 damage	17%
161	170	1,000	161%	1610 damage
162	180	1,000	162%	1620 damage
163	190	1,000	163%	1630 damage
164	200	2,000	164%	1640 damage
165	210	2,000	165%	1650 damage
166	220	2,000	166%	1660 damage
167	230	2,000	167%	1670 damage
168	240	3,000	168%	1680 damage
169	250	3,000	169%	1690 damage
170	260	3,000	170%	1700 damage	18%
171	180	3,000	171%	1710 damage
172	190	4,000	172%	1720 damage
173	200	4,000	173%	1730 damage
174	210	4,000	174%	1740 damage
175	220	4,000	175%	1750 damage
176	230	5,000	176%	1760 damage
177	240	5,000	177%	1770 damage
178	250	5,000	178%	1780 damage
179	260	5,000	179%	1790 damage
180	270	6,000	180%	1800 damage	19%
181	190	6,000	181%	1810 damage
182	200	6,000	182%	1820 damage
183	210	6,000	183%	1830 damage
184	220	7,000	184%	1840 damage
185	230	7,000	185%	1850 damage
186	240	7,000	186%	1860 damage
187	250	7,000	187%	1870 damage
188	260	8,000	188%	1880 damage
189	270	8,000	189%	1890 damage
190	280	8,000	190%	1900 damage	20%
191	200	8,000	191%	1910 damage
192	210	9,000	192%	1920 damage
193	220	9,000	193%	1930 damage
194	230	9,000	194%	1940 damage
195	240	9,000	195%	1950 damage
196	250	10,000	196%	1960 damage
197	260	10,000	197%	1970 damage
198	270	10,000	198%	1980 damage
199	280	10,000	199%	1990 damage
200	290	20,000	200%	2000 damage	21%

Gallery

Piñatas in store

Sunflower almost ready to upgrade

Threepeater ready to upgrade but locked

Piñata rewards in Travel Log

HD level up

Level Up textures

Iceberg Lettuce leveling up

A player receiving bonus seed packets for Missile Toe

Wall-nut leveling up

Plant upgrade reminder for Wall-nut. It will appear even if the player has already done so.

Plant upgrade system banner advertisement with Peashooter

Melon-pult reached Level 3

Advertisement for the plant upgrade system

Level 1 Repeater and level 20 Peashooter

Parsnip reaching Mastery 200 (Max Level)

Trivia

• Most plants that fire projectiles will have their projectiles' appearance changed as they level up.
• When a plant is ready to be leveled up, it will play its Zen Garden animation unless it doesn't have any.
  • All instant plants up to Far Future, Teleportato Mine, Puffball, Ice Bloom, Heath Seeker, Rhubarbarian, and Chilly Pepper (PvZ2) includes their animation; all others will have their idle animation reset.
• Bonus seed packets can be assigned to any premium plant present in the game, even if the player does not have it or even if it is not available in the store.
  • Bonus seed packets could also be given for Epic Quest plants. However, if you already owned that plant before the 5.7.1 update, you have to complete that plant's Epic Quest in order to receive the seed packets.
• Seed packets from plants that are unlocked in the Player's House appear in Ancient Egypt piñatas, along with Ancient Egypt plants.
• Missile Toe has the greatest number of statistics that can be upgraded, with a total of seven statistics.
• The player cannot upgrade plants that have not yet unlocked or purchased; however, they may collect seed packets for them.
• In the 5.7.1 update, although there were Jurassic Marsh quests, five gems were given as rewards instead of piñatas. The player also could not find them in the store. The Jurassic Marsh piñatas became available in the 5.8.1 update.
• Currently, the plant upgrade system does not apply to Vasebreaker levels. All plants involved remain at level 1, with the exception of Cherry Bomb in Vasebreaker Endless.
• Damage increased by Power Mints is also influenced by Mastery level, in other words, plants' final damage = (original damage + damage increased by Power Mints) × damage percentage increased by Mastery level.
• Plants' damage increased by Mastery is not influenced by Buffz & Bruisez.
• As of the 8.7.1 update, Chili Bean and Imp Pear are only plants whose Mastery increases their three capabilities (damage pierce, toughness bonus and chance to boost).
• Before the 8.9.1 update, despite having a Plant Food effect, Draftodil's Mastery did not increase her chance to boost.
• Before the 9.5.1 update, Boingsetta and Hocus Crocus could not upgrade to Mastery.
• Before the 10.9.1 update, Tumbleweed could not upgrade to Mastery.
• Boom Balloon Flower is currently one of the few damage dealing plants who lacks Damage Pierce in its Mastery upgrades. Instead, she has Toughness Bonus, therefore she could get bruised even if she reaches Mastery 200.
• Plants whose max level (before Mastery) is 20 require 5,788 seed packets and 354,750 coins in total to upgrade to max level.
  • Plants whose max level (before Mastery) is 15 require 9,810 seed packets and 426,000 coins in total to upgrade to max level.
  • Normal plants whose max level (before Mastery) is 10 require 7,185 seed packets and 291,000 coins in total to upgrade to max level.
  • Some Premium plants require 4,385 seed packets and 293,500 coins in total to upgrade to max level (before Mastery).
  • Some Premium plants require 3,950 seed packets and 0 coins in total to upgrade to max level (before Mastery).
  • Power Mint require 4,050 seed packets and 0 coins in total to upgrade to max level.
  • It requires 30,000 seed packets and 972,000 coins in total for a plant to upgrade from Mastery 1 to 200.