Maypop Mechanic

*Maypop Mechanic launches two gears at zombies. One is launched forward and bounces from zombie to zombie before breaking. The other is launched backwards but rebounds forward while dealing heavy damage to a single target.*

### Special

Throws a bouncy gear forwards and a big gear backwards that rebounds forward, dealing heavy damage

### Special

Plant food will permanently upgrade gear damage

## In-game statistics

### Average DPS

Small - 5.479 per hit
Large - 27.397

### PDE

Small - 7.808 per hit
Large - 39.041

### Codename alias

unused\_49

**Maypop Mechanic always had complaints about having to work in such a hazardous environment. She just can't stand all the steam, smog and rotten mustaches from the nearby factory. Going on a worker strike proved futile, as the zombies weren't particularly fond of having a plant around doing their kind of dirty work in the first place.**

**Maypop Mechanic** is a plant in *Plants vs. Zombies 2: Reflourished* and the fifth plant obtained in Steam Ages. She is unlocked after beating Steam Ages - Day 22.

Maypop Mechanic launches gears in two directions, tossing a small gear forward and a large gear backward. Small gears bounce between up to 5 zombies, doing 20 damage per hit. Large gears travel 3 tiles backward then rebound forward, dealing 100 damage to a single zombie.

## Almanac entry

**Maypop Mechanic**

Maypop Mechanic launches two gears at zombies. One is launched forward and bounces from zombie to zombie before breaking. The other is launched backwards but rebounds forward while dealing heavy damage to a single target.

Special: throws a bouncy gear forwards and a big gear backwards that rebounds forward, dealing heavy damage
Special: plant food will permanently upgrade gear damage

Maypop Mechanic always had complaints about having to work in such a hazardous environment. She just can't stand all the steam, smog and rotten mustaches from the nearby factory. Going on a worker strike proved futile, as the zombies weren't particularly fond of having a plant around doing their kind of dirty work in the first place.

## Plant Food effect

When fed Plant Food, Maypop Mechanic tosses an upgraded large gear, dealing 200 damage to a single zombie. Afterwards, she becomes permanently upgraded, doubling the damage of both small and large gears.

## Strategies

Compared to other plants of similar sun cost, Maypop Mechanic not only offers good single-target damage through large gears, but also provides good multi-hit damage against spread out hordes through small gears. With large gears being fired backwards before rebounding forwards, Maypop Mechanic ends up as one of the more versatile single lane, offensive plants that performs well in typical defensive situations.

Maypop Mechanic's backward firing lets her help to defend the back side of the lawn. From Prospector Zombies in Wild West, to Pterodactyls in Jurassic Marsh, to zombies emerging from sewers in Steam Ages, and tossed Imps; any zombie ambushes will bear the brunt of Maypop Mechanic's single target firepower, making it easier to deal with them. However – unlike other backward-firing plants like Split Pea and Starfruit – when dealing with a backwards zombie, Maypop Mechanic loses out on the single target damage against zombies in front, hampering damage dealt to the front line until all backwards zombies in her lane are disposed. If planted too far forward, Maypop Mechanic won't be able to reach ambushing zombies in the first place. Because of this, it may be wise to use instant plants like Cherry Bomb and Squash to dispose of backwards zombies that are either too numerous, durable or hard to reach, allowing Maypop Mechanic to refocus her damage onto the front line.

It should be considered that while Maypop Mechanic's small gear gives her some competency at dealing with high numbers of zombies in combination with her large gear's single-target damage, maximising the gears' damage requires zombies to be spread over multiple lanes, and yet can struggle when pitted against particularly dense hordes. In scenarios where the zombie density is too high for Maypop Mechanic to handle, it is recommended to supplement her with plants like Bowling Bulb and Laser Bean that hit a higher or infinite number of targets, breaking down low health zombies for Maypop Mechanic to focus her damage – particularly the large gears – onto tougher targets. Lane-redirection such as Garlic and Sweet Potato should be used with caution to ensure that Maypop Mechanic still has zombies to target and to ensure that she can utilise her small gears' bounciness.

When it comes to the department of heavy-duty plants that can deal high damage to zombies attacking from behind, Cattail can also be thought as a competitor to Maypop Mechanic. While Maypop Mechanic only targets zombies in her lane with zombies in adjacent lanes able to be hit by small gears, Cattail can see zombies in any lane, albeit with a short horizontal range. Cattail's short range inadvertently gives her the edge in the early game, as it allows the pace of the game to still be controlled through use of stalling plants. Cattail can also focus her damage to the point where even Brickhead Zombies last mere seconds against her spikes. However, Maypop Mechanic does not suffer from the short-range drawback that Cattail has and has better crowd control abilities. The choice of using Cattail or Maypop Mechanic differs depending on the situation and what specific plants you are bringing, as well as the layout of the level.

## Balance changes

### Version 1.2

Compared to PvZ2C version 3.2.5:

* Added to the game
* ▲ Now fires gears in both directions
	+ Backward gear rebounds forward after traveling 3 tiles
* ▲ Backward Gear Damage: 30 -> 100
* ▲ PF now permanently doubles the plant's damage after activation
* Gears no longer freeze in place on initial collision to hit zombies multiple times
	+ Forward gear instead bounces between up to 5 zombies
	+ Backward gear is destroyed after hitting one zombie
* PF Projectile now behaves like main attack's backward gear
* ▼ Only targets zombies in own lane
* ▼ Sun Cost: 125 -> 250
* ▼ Forward Gear Damage: 30 -> 20
* ▼ PF Projectile Size: 3x3 -> 1x1

## Gallery

Seed packetBoosted seed packetHD Maypop Mechanic
## Trivia

* Prior to the introduction of Maypop Mechanic, her ricochet attack was originally planned to be used for Berry Blaster.