Hot Potato

Hot Potatoes melt the ice blocks they're planted on.

### Costumes

How does Hot Potato stay so positive and even-peeled all the time? Yoga, that's how. She never misses a class. Also, regular meditation. It's the only way she can handle the hard work of fighting zombies, day in and day out, without melting down.

**Hot Potato** is the first plant obtained in Frostbite Caves in *Plants vs. Zombies 2*, and she is the world's exclusive plant. She is a single-use plant capable of thawing frozen blocks, freeing the zombie or plant that is trapped inside it, which makes her an environment modifier. As of the 5.7.1 update, from level 2 onward, Hot Potato is able to deal damage to all zombies within the tile Hot Potato is planted on, and as of the 6.0.1 update, from level 5 onward, she can also melt octopi thrown by Octo Zombie.

## Origins

Hot Potato is based on the real life potato, the starchy, tuberous root portion of the plant *Solanum tuberosum*. The term "hot potato" refers to a children's game in which players attempt to pass an object to each other while music plays, in an attempt to not be the one holding the object when the music suddenly stops. It's also a slang for dangerous items that will cause devastating effects if not handled with care.

## Almanac entry

**Hot Potato**

SUN COST: 0

RECHARGE: 10

TOUGHNESS: 300

DAMAGE: 0

AREA: Single

FAMILY: Pepper-mint

Hot Potatoes melt the ice blocks they're planted on.

Usage: single use
Special: melts an ice block

How does Hot Potato stay so positive and even-peeled all the time? Yoga, that's how. She never misses a class. Also, regular meditation. It's the only way she can handle the hard work of fighting zombies, day in and day out, without melting down.

## Upgrades

### Pepper-mint effect

When boosted by Pepper-mint, Hot Potato will do 60 DPS per tick to zombies on its tile.

### Level upgrades

\*This column will show the proximity damage-per-second it deals to zombies and obstacles in its tile while melting.

**Note: At level 5, Hot Potato gains the ability to melt Octopi from Octo Zombie.**

## Strategies

Hot Potato will be the first thawing option that is from Frostbite Caves available to the player. On earlier levels in Frostbite Caves, she will prove sufficient, as she can thaw single plants significantly faster than other warming plants and there is little pressure from the wind and Hunter Zombies. However, she is incapable of preventing plants from freezing in the first place, and her status as an instant plant means that she will be quickly overwhelmed in later levels and in the world's Endless Zone, Icebound Battleground.

In Special Delivery levels, try to save Hot Potatoes given to melt down important plants, such as heavy damage plants like Repeater and Bonk Choy. Avoid using Hot Potatoes on plants adjacent to a Pepper-pult or other thawing plants, as they already have the ability to melt frozen plants.

Another thing to remember is that Hot Potato can also thaw blocks with encased zombies. This makes Hot Potato a useful plant against the frozen Yeti Imps pushed by Troglobites and Zombot Tuskmaster 10,000 BC's ice barrier. It is recommended that the player only thaw zombies when sufficient firepower is present - a Weasel Hoarder freed at the wrong moment can quickly overrun the player's defense with Ice Weasels, though a Snapdragon can rectify that with sufficient Wall-Nuts.

If the player owns a level 2 (or above) Hot Potato after the 5.7.1 update, she can be used strategically to deal damage to zombies walking on the tile Hot Potato is planted on.

As of the 6.0.1 update, the Hot Potato may now be used in Big Wave Beach and Modern Day levels where there are Octo Zombies, but only if she's upgraded to level 5. She has the ability to remove octopi as long as she is upgraded to that level.

## Trivia

* When thawing a plant, she lets out a deep sigh, and steam from the melting ice block rises up.
* She can be seen frozen during the Frostbite Caves part 1 trailer, despite the fact that she cannot be frozen in anyway. This trait is also shared with Hurrikale.
* She, Perfume-shroom, and Lily Pad are currently the only plants without Endless Zone cards. This is due to the fact that the player will start their respective Endless Zones with those plants, and other Endless Zones do not allow them.
* She reappears in *Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2* as the marker for Kernel Corn's Butter Barrage ability and its alternate ability, the Bigger Better Butter.
* In older versions of *Plants vs. Zombies Heroes*, the plant summoned by Tater Toss was also called Hot Potato. This was later changed to Hothead for unknown reasons.
* Similar to other world-exclusive plants, Hot Potato cannot be used in stages with cold winds and ice blocks outside of Frostbite Caves.
* She may be based on the catch-and throw game with the same name.

## See also

* Grave Buster

ru:Горячий картофель
de:Heiße Kartoffel
pl:Hot Potato