Zombie file · Mysterious Swamp — Center
Archer Zombie
One transformation arrow draws from two different candidate sets.
Durabilityapproximately 340–600 damage to critical by difficulty
Speedslow
Lore
Archer Zombie's arrows do more than pierce a target. The game diary describes rare meteoric material in the arrowheads, capable of changing plants and awakening abilities in ordinary zombies. A familiar figure may look very different after being struck.
Homing Thistle wonders what such an arrow might awaken personally, then rejects the danger of testing it. Red Stinger is more interested in a rumor that the stone can be used in soup. Neither curiosity becomes an experiment, nor does the rumor become verified fact.
Opti-caltrop even cites these arrows in arguments with Wiremoss about local ingenuity. Machines from the Mechanical Snowfield do not have a monopoly on formidable inventions. The swamp's materials and techniques can be as unsettling as its terrain.
Mechanics
Role
Ranged transformation · Zombie activation
Durability: approximately 340–600 HP damage to critical by difficulty; slow speed.
Arrows transform plants into other legal carried plants costing at most 50 sun above the original.
A bare Basic Zombie can activate into a zombie type seen in this battle or a Silver Chariot; 0.17r changes some candidate weights.
A transformation arrow selects its candidate set from the hit object: carried plants or zombies seen in the current battle.
Arrow impact branches
A transformation arrow first finds a valid hit, then branches by target type. Plants enter the transformation path and eligible basic zombies enter activation. The event is not ordinary projectile damage followed by a transformation bonus.
Carried plants and value cap
Plant candidates come from the currently carried plants. A candidate must cost no more than the original plant’s sun value plus 50, differ from the original type, and be legal.
This gate limits the candidate set; it does not guarantee an equal-value exchange or draw uncarried plants from the full guide.
Seen zombies and armor condition
Basic-zombie activation draws from zombie types already seen in this battle or produces a Silver Chariot. In 0.17r, Flag Zombie weight drops slightly outside Unbalanced, as does the Silver Chariot easter egg; the set still follows the battle record.
Intact armor blocks the bare-body activation path. Removing a cone, bucket, or similar armor restores the equipment eligibility of the exposed basic body.
Two candidate sources
The plant branch reads carried cards and sun value; the zombie branch reads the battle’s spawn record and body eligibility. The hit target selects which candidate set applies; the sets do not supplement each other.
Interactions & counters
- Basic Zombie
Can activate Basic Zombie into a seen zombie type or Silver Chariot.
- Carried plants
When transforming plants, the target only becomes one of the player's carried plants with limited sun-value gain.