Hypno-shroom

*When zombies eat Hypno-shrooms, they will turn around and fight for you.*

**Hypno-shroom has no trouble persuading zombies to fight on behalf of the plants. But he has yet to convince one to cluck like a chicken. "One day," he says. "One day."**

**Hypno-shroom** is a plant in *Plants vs. Zombies 2: Reflourished* and the sixth plant obtained in Dark Ages. He is unlocked at Dark Ages - Night 23.

Hypno-shroom converts the zombie that eats him to the player's side, causing it to turn around to attack other zombies and damageable grid objects. The zombie retains its current health, and in some cases, special abilities when converted. He doesn't affect zombies that attack him through means other than eating, such as crushing or burning. Upon coming into contact with him, Zombie Chickens and Ice Weasels will be hypnotized without damaging him.

## Almanac entry

**Hypno-shroom**

When zombies eat Hypno-shrooms, they will turn around and fight for you.

Hypno-shroom has no trouble persuading zombies to fight on behalf of the plants. But he has yet to convince one to cluck like a chicken. "One day," he says. "One day."

## Plant Food effect

When fed with Plant Food, Hypno-shroom's cap will start glowing, and any zombie that eats him transforms into the level's respective world version of Gargantuar.

## Strategies

Hypno-shroom is unique amongst other instant-use plants in that he does not flat-out kill zombies that eat him, but instead convert the zombie to fight for the player, dealing high damage to their former allies (that is, assuming they can survive). Due to the nature of hypnotization in this game, it is highly recommended to target zombies with high toughness and/or eating DPS, such as Buckethead Zombie and Newspaper Zombie. His unique hitbox allows for easier targeting of desired zombies; however, if the wrong zombie eats Hypno-shroom, this can directly harm the plant's overall effectiveness, especially compared to other types of on-death effects provided by plants like Chili Bean and Electrici-tea. Furthermore, there are some zombies that do not rely on eating, which can hamper his performance if many of them are in the level.

With hypnotized high-toughness zombies being strong meatshields that can also leave a serious dent on the zombie horde, Hypno-shroom becomes very potent in worlds that prominently feature tough zombies like in Far Future and Jurassic Marsh, where even some of the the healthiest zombies can often be converted, in contrast to single-use plants like Squash that struggle with such high levels of health. Hypnotized zombies can also be affected by various zombies and mechanics, such as Zombie King, Slider tiles, evil potions and Dinosaurs, often to the player's benefit. Plus, zombie summons created by zombies such as Chicken Wrangler Zombie, Weasel Hoarder and Disco-tron 3000 will also be allied to the plants' side, providing additional and even recurring sources of bonus damage. Hypno-shroom's Plant Food effect is especially powerful with the ability to transform a zombie into a Gargantuar, often having enough power to clear an entire lane. It is also recommended to pair him with stalling plants like Snow Pea and Sap-fling as their effects slowing the eating and walking speed of the opposition can indirectly increase the potency of hypnotized zombies.

A notable competitor to Hypno-shroom that also specializes in hypnotization is Caulipower. While Hypno-shroom can only hypnotize one zombie when planted, Caulipower can continuously hypnotize zombies from time to time, and can also hypnotize zombies that cannot eat (including Gargantuars), which can give the latter plant an advantage in levels that are heavily populated with such targets. However, Caulipower has a much more expensive sun cost and higher recharge compared to Hypno-shroom, and as such requires good management of sun producers to get as many Caulipowers as possible on the lawn. This caveat isn't as prevalent with Hypno-shroom, but he does require constant planting as an instant-use plant. The question of bringing Hypno-shroom, Caulipower, or even both at once for decks involving hypnotization can depend greatly on the situation.

## Balance changes

### Initial launch

* ▲ Adjusted hitbox to let it be eaten easier