Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Complete Guide

Everything you need for PvZ Garden Warfare 2 (Deluxe Edition on Steam): the 14 classes and their abilities, modes, the Backyard Battleground hub, coins and sticker packs, leveling and promotions, and the secrets hunters chase.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC build (Steam Deluxe Edition, released on Steam May 2022; the game's content updates ended in 2016-2017). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status check: GW2 originally launched in 2016 (on Origin for PC); the Steam Deluxe Edition arrived in May 2022. It still requires an internet connection and an EA account, and EA's terms say online features can be retired with 30 days' notice. As of September 2026 there was no shutdown notice on the Steam page, and online modes were running. The sequel, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (2019), is the newer game but has its own separate playerbase.

Quick Start

Start in the Backyard Battleground. It is the hub: quest board, sticker shops, multiplayer portal, mailbox, customization room, stats rooms, a shooting range, and hidden secrets. Treat it as your menu.
Pick a side you enjoy, but level both. Plants and zombies each have seven classes. Quests often reward playing specific characters.
Coins buy sticker packs. Sticker packs give character variants, customization, consumables (like Potted Plants and Zombot Turrets for Ops), and upgrades. Deluxe Edition owners start with a bonus 200,000 coins.
Every class has three abilities. Learn the cooldowns and use them constantly; they are as important as your main weapon.
Do quests from the quest board. They are the fastest way to earn coins and XP, and there is an XP multiplier you can build up (an achievement tracks maxing it).
Promote characters. Leveling a character eventually lets you promote it, which resets the level but raises your overall rank. Promotions are a big part of long-term progression.
Solo is a real option. Solo Ops and the hub's Flag of Power challenge work offline-style against AI. Online is where most of the fun is, though.
Play Garden Ops / Graveyard Ops for co-op. 4-player wave defense against AI is the best place to learn a class without a human opponent shooting back.
Ops difficulty scales rewards. Harder Ops difficulties (up to "CRRRRRAAAZY") pay more but will wipe unprepared squads.

Classes and Abilities

Garden Warfare 2 launched with 14 core classes: the four returning from GW1 on each side plus three new ones per side. The free Trouble in Zombopolis update (June 2016) later added two more: Torchwood for the plants and Hover Goat-3000 for the zombies, so the full roster is eight per side.

Plants

Class	Role	Abilities
Peashooter	All-round damage	Pea Gatling, Hyper, Chili Bean Bomb
Chomper	Ambush melee	Burrow, Goop, Spikeweed
Sunflower	Healer	Heal Beam, Sunbeam, Heal Flower
Cactus	Sniper / area denial	Potato Mine, Tallnut Battlement, Garlic Drone
Rose (new)	Magic control	Goatify, Time Snare, Arcane Enigma
Kernel Corn (new)	Burst damage	Shuck Shot, Husk Hop, Butter Barrage
Citron (new)	Tank / vehicle counter	Peel Shield, EMPeach, Ball Form

Zombies

Class	Role	Abilities
Foot Soldier	All-round damage	ZPG, Rocket Jump, Zombie Stink Cloud
Engineer	Builder / area control	Sonic Grenade, Jackhammer, a Zombot drone gadget
Scientist	Healer / close burst	Sticky Explody Ball, Warp, Zombie Heal Station
All-Star	Tank	Sprint Tackle, Dummy Shield, Imp Punt
Imp (new)	Fast skirmisher with a mech	Impkata, Gravity Grenade, Z-Mech call
Super Brainz (new)	Melee brawler	Heroic Kick, Super Ultra Ball, Turbo Twister
Captain Deadbeard (new)	Sniper / scattershot	Barrel Blast, Cannon Rodeo, Parrot Pal

Deeper notes:

Imp's Z-Mech is a separate form with its own weapon and abilities. When the mech breaks, you pop out as the Imp. The Deluxe Edition includes the Grass Effect Z7 Imp variant.
Super Brainz relies on Heroic Fists and Heroic Beam for his primary attacks, so he plays like a brawler rather than a shooter.
Captain Deadbeard swaps between the Scurvy Scattershot and a zoom-in Spyglass Shot.
Rose's Goatify turns an enemy into a goat briefly. Goats can't attack, which makes it a strong answer to an incoming Super Brainz or All-Star.
Citron's EMPeach stuns vehicles like the Z-Mech and turrets, making Citron the go-to answer to Imps in mechs.

Character variants

Each class has many variants (for example, elemental or specialty versions of Peashooter or Foot Soldier) unlocked from sticker packs. Variants change weapon behavior and sometimes damage type, so a variant can play very differently from the base class. Try variants in Ops before relying on them in PvP.

Game Modes

Mode	Type	Notes
Herbal Assault	24-player objective	Plants attack, zombies defend. The GW2 flip of Gardens & Graveyards
Gardens & Graveyards	24-player objective	Zombies attack plant gardens
Team Vanquish	Team deathmatch	Up to 24 players; first to the kill count wins
Garden Ops	4-player co-op	Plants defend a garden against waves of AI zombies, with boss waves
Graveyard Ops	4-player co-op	The zombie version, defending a graveyard against AI plants
Capture the Taco	Objective	Capture-the-flag style; a reworked version of GW1's Taco Bandits
Soil Survivors	Objective	Team objective mode carried over in spirit from GW1
Private matches	Custom	Set your own rules (there is an achievement for this)
Mystery Portal	Rotating events	Special limited-time events and Boss Hunts

Post-launch updates added maps such as Aqua Center (Graveyard Variety Pack, March 2016) and Zombopolis (Trouble in Zombopolis, June 2016), the Torchwood and Hover Goat-3000 classes, and community challenges (Trouble in Zombopolis: Part Two). Everything from those updates is included in the Deluxe Edition.

Ops tips

Place Potted Plants or Zombot Turrets (consumables) at choke points before waves. They are free extra DPS.
Protect the objective, not your kill count. Waves end when all enemies are down, but a lost garden/graveyard ends the run.
Boss waves spawn tougher variants. Focus fire, and have your healer ready.
Higher difficulties reward more coins; practice on Easy/Normal first.

The Backyard Battleground

The hub is split between plant and zombie territory with a contested middle. Features include:

Quest board: daily and weekly quests, plus an XP multiplier you can grow by completing them.
Sticker shop: spend coins on packs.
Customization room and stats rooms: your own side's rooms plus the other side's rooms (entering the enemy's stats room is an achievement).
Flag of Power: a King-of-the-Hill wave challenge against AI; reach the boss wave for an achievement.
Shooting gallery / Crazy Targets Range: practice aim; S-rank is an achievement.
Infinity Time: a secret-heavy area of the hub linked to story quests; entering it as each side is an achievement.
Gnome secrets: hidden Garden Gnomes, a Chamber of Gnomes, and four colored Gnome Kings (Blue, Green, Yellow, Red) culminating in Gnomus, the Gnome King.
Mysterious Fish: you can train with it for an achievement. Look around the water.

Story quests

Both sides have short quest chains voiced by characters in the hub. Achievement names confirm several: "Boom Tombs," "Zero Bark Thirty," "Showdown," "Yuck!," "Well That Escalated Quickly," "Captain Smasher's Curse," "Steve-cation," "The Bean Situation," "Gold Rush," and "Strong Coffee." They are an easy source of XP and good tutorials for new classes.

Progression and Economy

System	How it works	Tip
Coins	Earned from all matches and quests	Spend on the sticker packs that complete variants you want
Character XP	Earned per character	Rotate characters to level several at once
Promotions	Promote a leveled character to raise your overall rank	Promote often; it's the main long-term progression
Stars	A secondary currency earned through play	The "Star Crazy" achievement is for spending your first star
Upgrades	Equip upgrade cards per character	Upgrades matter more in Ops than in casual PvP
Consumables	Potted Plants, Zombot Turrets, and similar	Use them in Ops

Coin farming

Ops on harder difficulties pay the most coins per match.
Quests with XP multiplier stacked are efficient.
Spend coins on the highest-value pack you are chasing rather than many cheap packs.

PvP Tips

Play the objective in Herbal Assault / Gardens & Graveyards. The winning team is usually the one standing on the point.
Healers win games. Sunflower and Scientist keep the push alive. If your team has none, switch.
Counter vehicles: Citron's EMPeach and focused fire from Peashooter or Kernel Corn break the Z-Mech quickly.
Chomper ambush: Burrow under enemies from behind; avoid open fields.
Use verticality. Rocket Jump (Foot Soldier), Husk Hop (Kernel Corn), and Hyper (Peashooter) let you take high ground.
Watch for Sticky Explody Balls and Potato Mines around corners; they punish predictable routes.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring abilities. Every class has three; use them every time they're up.
Spending coins on random cheap packs. Target packs that complete variants you'll actually play.
Never promoting. Promotions are the main long-term progression; don't keep a character at max level forever.
Staying on one class. Many quests require specific characters; rotating also earns more XP.
Going into CRRRRRAAAZY Ops early. The rewards are good, but a wipe earns less than a clean Normal run.
Playing without a healer. In objective modes, swap to Sunflower or Scientist if nobody else is.
Skipping the hub secrets. Many achievements and rewards are tied to Infinity Time, the Gnome Kings, and hidden Garden Gnomes.

Advanced Tips

Variant damage types matter. Some variants trade raw damage for splash, fire, ice, or poison; pick based on the mode.
Zombot Turrets and Potted Plants can get kills. "Hero to Zero" is an achievement for exactly that.
Use Goatify defensively. Rose's Goatify stops an incoming All-Star or Super Brainz dead.
Imp Z-Mech timing: call the mech when your team is pushing a point, not alone. A lone mech is a free kill for a coordinated Citron.
Gesture after kills for the "Prance vs Samba" achievement (and style).
Mystery Portal events rotate. Check it regularly; its Boss Hunts and Rainbow Stars feed several achievements.
Community Challenges grant reward chests once the contribution requirement is met (there are achievements for three and five).

FAQ

Q: Are GW2 servers still online? A: As of September 2026 there was no shutdown notice on the Steam listing, and online play worked. EA can retire online features with 30 days' notice, so check EA's announcements if matchmaking breaks.

Q: What does the Deluxe Edition include? A: The base game plus the Grass Effect Z7 Imp and Mech variant, exclusive plant and zombie accessory packs, a Phenomenal character variant pack, a 200,000-coin starter pack, and an emoji pack.

Q: Can I play offline or solo? A: There are solo options (Solo Ops, the Flag of Power, hub quests), but the game still requires an internet connection and an EA account to launch.

Q: What's the best class for beginners? A: Peashooter or Foot Soldier. Both are straightforward all-rounders. Sunflower is a great way to help any team while learning.

Q: How do I get more coins? A: Complete quests with a high XP multiplier and play Ops on the highest difficulty you can reliably clear.

Q: Is Garden Warfare 2 better than Battle for Neighborville? A: They are different: GW2 has the larger class and variant system and the Backyard Battleground hub; Battle for Neighborville has newer classes and open areas. Many fans still prefer GW2's variant system.

Q: How do I unlock the Gnome secrets? A: Explore the Backyard Battleground: find the hidden Garden Gnomes, enter the Chamber of Gnomes, and defeat the four colored Gnome Kings before facing Gnomus, the Gnome King.