Academic (PvZ: BfN)

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Academic is a playable zombie class in Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. He is an Attack class that specializes in being an assassin that can weaken enemies easily and quickly with Divide by Zero. His abilities assist him in ambushing plants or surviving and thriving in fights.
==Description==
===In-game description===
Academic is a part-time student, part-time tricky assassin! His Divide by Zero deals a percentage of the target's maximum health and his abilities let him control fights.
==Primary Weapon==
Academic's primary weapon is the Divide by Zero, which throws a notebook that deals 25% of the target's max health in damage and fires at a rate of 120 RPM (rounds per minute), or RPS (rounds per second), with % DPS. 
Against horde enemies such as Pumpkin Wildflower, Giga Torchwood, Shooty Gnome, Blight Cap, or Heal Flower, Divide by Zero deals a flat 25 damage for DPS. Divide by Zero has 8 ammo and must reload for 1.5 seconds when it is depleted.
Here's a list of some of the basic damage values, with and without The Biggest Brain upgrade:
<tabber>
|-|Without Upgrade=
*Peashooter (125 HP): damage per hit
*Chomper (175 HP): damage per hit
*Kernel Corn (125 HP): damage per hit
*Night Cap (75 HP): damage per hit
*Snapdragon (175 HP): damage per hit
*Cactus (100 HP): damage per hit
*Citron (200 HP): damage per hit
*Acorn (75 HP): damage per hit
*Oak (300 HP): damage per hit
*Rose (100 HP): damage per hit
*Sunflower (100 HP): damage per hit
*Wildflower (100 HP): damage per hit
|-|With Upgrade=
*Peashooter (125 HP): critical damage per hit
*Chomper (175 HP): critical damage per hit
*Kernel Corn (125 HP): critical damage per hit
*Night Cap (75 HP): critical damage per hit
*Snapdragon (175 HP): critical damage per hit
*Cactus (100 HP): critical damage per hit
*Citron (200 HP): critical damage per hit
*Acorn (75 HP): critical damage per hit
*Oak (300 HP): critical damage per hit
*Rose (100 HP): critical damage per hit
*Sunflower (100 HP): critical damage per hit
*Wildflower (100 HP): critical damage per hit
</tabber>
==Abilities==
===Brainz Constant===
When activated, Academic pulls out a calculator and sets his health to 75, regardless of whether he has higher than 75 health or less than 75 health at the current moment. Brainz Constant also reloads all of Academic's Divide by Zeroes when used, and Brainz Constant can be used while sprinting. It takes 20 seconds to recharge.
===Non-Binder Agreement===
When activated, Academic throws a binder after 1 second that deals 100% of his current health in damage. When the binder hits an enemy, it bounces towards another enemy up to 5 meters away. If there are no enemies nearby, it just falls to the ground. Non-Binder Agreement can bounce up to 4 times and deals the same damage each time. It takes 17 seconds to recharge.
===Final Exam===
When activated, Academic throws a textbook after 0.5 seconds that deals 50% of the target's CURRENT (not max!) health in damage. The textbook has light homing and bounces off the ground once if it misses. Final Exam stops enemies from sprinting for 2 seconds on impact. Academic can hold 2 charges of Final Exam at once. It takes 18 seconds to recharge.
==Upgrades==
==Strategies==
===With===
Academic is an assassin that specializes in taking out higher-health enemies such as Oaks or Citrons. His Divide by Zero takes a set number of hits to vanquish any enemy, making it very efficient against those higher-health enemies and a lot less efficient against lower-health enemies such as Night Cap. Each Divide by Zero clip can vanquish exactly 2 enemies, given they don't regenerate any health and you don't miss any shots. Divide by Zero has a fairly quick reload time, so it isn't game over if you mess up.
Academic's abilities are no slouch either! His Brainz Constant is very effective if you drop to low health while in a fight, as you'll be able to reset your health to a decent value and allow you to keep attacking. Non-Binder Agreement is very effective against most enemies, as at full health (or overhealth) it can take out multiple enemies at once and can deal tons of damage. Non-Binder Agreement is generally weak if Academic has low health, as it likely won't help much. Final Exam is very handy for dealing quick burst damage as an opener, or sometimes as a finisher if you're lucky.
===Against===
Academic is fairly strong, as he can take out any enemy in a very short time. It's highly suggested to try dodging Divide by Zero to avoid being vanquished quickly, or simply outgunning Academic. If you're in a fight with Academic, make sure you either deal lots of damage very fast so they can't use Brainz Constant in time or try to stun them to manually disable it. Non-Binder Agreement isn't a huge threat if the Academic has already taken some damage, and if they're taking damage Non-Binder Agreement will deal less and less damage if used. Final Exam isn't very deadly unless you already have a ton of health.
==Balancing changes==
September 18, 2020
*Thinking Cap
**Duration decreased: 6s -> 5s
September 19, 2020
*Thinking Cap
**Replaced with Final Exam ability
September 28, 2020
*Flat damage decreased: 30 -> 22
*Flat damage affects all horde enemies
December 11, 2020 (1)
*Academic
**Decreased max health from 150 -> 125
*Divide By Zero
**Increased flat damage from 22 -> 25
**Decreased rate of fire from 160 RPM -> 120 RPM
*Non-Binder Agreement
**Increased windup from 0.5 -> 1 seconds
**Cannot use ability when sprinting
*Upgrade Turbo Textbonk
**Increased speed buff from 40% -> 100%
**Increased equip cost from 1 -> 2
*Upgrade Pop Quiz
**Decreased equip cost from 2 -> 1
**Triggers on vanquish instead of damage
**Increased refresh reduction from 2 -> 6 seconds
*Upgrade Bouncier Binders
**Increased bounces from 8 -> 9
*Upgrade Pass With Flying Colors
**Increased ammo gain from 3 -> 6
*Upgrade Study Hall
**Divide By Zero can bounce on impact
**Increased equip cost from 2 -> 3
**Decreased speed on reload
*Upgrade Group Project
**Decreased equip cost from 4 -> 2
**Decreased area healing effect from 8 -> 5
*Upgrade Brainz and Brawn
**Decreased max health from 175 -> 150
**Decreased equip cost from 3 -> 2
*Upgrade Stressed-Out Studying
**Increased equip cost from 3 -> 4
**Increased reload time decrease from 50% -> 66%
*Upgrade The Biggest Brain
**Increased damage % from 30% -> 34%
**Increases flat damage from 25 -> 34
**Increased equip cost from 2 -> 4
December 11, 2020 (2)
*Upgrade The Biggest Brain
**Increased equip cost from 4 -> 5
February 22, 2021
*Academic
**Increased max health from 125 -> 150
February 24, 2021
*Upgrade The Biggest Brain
**Will now only count as critical damage
**Requires a critical hit for extra damage
**Decreased equip cost from 4 -> 2
December 21, 2021
*Final Exam
**Increased sprint block duration from 0.25s -> 2s
Category:Sani's Stuff