Cattail

*Cattails launch homing spikes at zombies near them.*

**Cattail is very active on social media, notably on Leafter. She’s mostly known for being an icon of “Cat-Like Creatures who are not actually Cats” independence and frequently voices her controversial opinions on various cat foods.**

**Cattail** is a plant in *Plants vs. Zombies 2: Reflourished* and the first plant obtained in Steam Ages. She is unlocked after beating Steam Ages - Day 1.

Cattail launches a volley of two homing spikes every 1.4-1.6 seconds, dealing 25 damage per spike to the leftmost zombie in her range. Cattail can only target zombies that are 3 columns ahead or behind of her.

Similar to Ghost Pepper and Rotobaga, Cattail can be planted on the waters of Big Wave Beach without drowning.

## Almanac entry

**Cattail**

Cattails launch homing spikes at zombies near them.

Special: can be planted on tides

Cattail is very active on social media, notably on Leafter. She’s mostly known for being an icon of “Cat-Like Creatures who are not actually Cats” independence and frequently voices her controversial opinions on various cat foods.

## Plant Food effect

When given Plant Food, Cattail creates a massive missile and launches it at any zombie in her range. The missile then explodes into a burst of electricity, dealing 500 damage to all zombies in a 5x5 area, ignoring corners. If there is no target in her range, the missile will fly off lawn, hitting random targets on its way.

## Strategies

While Cattail is fairly short-sighted, this is made up for by her ability to target any lane within 3 columns. A single Cattail can greatly defend against early waves thanks to solid single target damage, with her limited range even allowing for zombies to be stalled outside her range, giving time to build a stronger early-game defense.

Being able to attack the leftmost zombie in range also allows Cattail to be used as an effective deterrent of flanking zombies such as Prospector Zombie or the sewers of Steam Ages, as well as hard-advancing zombies such as surfing Surfer Zombie and Octo Zombie's octopi. Planting multiple Cattails can make this trivial, as their damage quickly accumulates onto a single target for swift elimination.

Cattail functions much in the same way as Homing Thistle, so which of the two is used will depend on the needs of the level. Unlike Cattail's limited range, Homing Thistle has a full map range, guaranteeing that he will always have a target and sharing that target with every Homing Thistle on the field. This allows him to be planted anywhere on the lawn, from the very front column to the far back.

On the other hand, Cattail is capable of dealing much more damage in spite of her short-sighted range. Her range can itself prove to be a blessing, allowing Cattail's targeting to be somewhat controlled based on her position in the lawn, especially when it comes to either prioritising zombies that reach the back of the lawn, or instead focusing on zombies at the frontline. Cattail also has the ability to be planted in the waters of Big Wave Beach, ironically making her a more versatile pick for besting the tides, despite Homing Thistle being unlocked there.

## Balance changes

### Initial launch

Compared to PvZ2C version 3.2.5:

* ▲ Shoots two spikes instead of one
* ▲ Sun Cost: 325 -> 250
* ▼ Recharge: 7.5s -> 25s
* ▼ Firing Rate: 0.9 -> 1.6/1.8
* ▼ Damage: 45 -> 20
* ▼ Range: Full Screen -> 3 Columns (in front and behind)
	+ Due to an oversight, range only reaches up to one lane above the plant.
* ▼ Removed chance of stunning zombies
* ▼ Removed chance of throwing missiles
* Has a different Plant Food effect

### Version 1.0.2

* ▲ Improved range
	+ Developer note: Cattail was unintentionally not able to hit zombies that were more than 1 tile above her. This should be fixed now!

### Version 1.1

* ▲ Firing Rate: 1.6/1.8 -> 1.4/1.6
* ▲ Damage: 20 -> 22
* ▼ Fixed accidental increase of range in front of Cattail.

### Version 1.2

* ▲ Damage: 22 -> 25
	+ Developer note: A small change so Cattail can really pack a punch in the harsh climate of the industrial revolution. Especially now that she has a fierce contender in Maypop Mechanic!

## Trivia

* Cattail's "Cataway Gag" costume is based on Peter Griffin, the main character of *Family Guy*.
	+ The name of the costume is a reference to how Peter Griffin constantly makes "cutaway gags".
* Cattail's "Digital Style" costume is one of the costumes based on PvZABFan, the lead developer of *Reflourished*.
* Cattail's "Duck Tails" costume is based on lanzacreepers, a former developer of *Reflourished*, who's also known for his duck emotes.
* Cattail's "Not a Cat" costume is based on Niko, the protagonist of *OneShot*.
	+ Additionally, this costume is Cat Lass' developer costume, one of the mod's level creators.
* Cattail's "Beeline Feline" costume is ShowtimevonParty's developer costume, a media editor for the mod.
* Cattail's "Cat Lady" costume originates as a combination of three Cattail's costumes in *PvZ: Online*, slightly redrawn to fit the mod's artstyle.
* Cattail's "Follow You Wherever You Go" costume is based on May, a recurring character in the *Guilty Gear* series.