Playing Co-op in Plants on Fire is a little different from a normal run because your board isn’t the only thing you need to think about. You also have to help your teammate, plan around monster and boss rounds, and make sure the right Minions are in the right places.
The biggest mistake new players can make is building one general-purpose team and hoping it works for every round. Some waves are packed with regular enemies and require strong AoE, while boss rounds reward heavy single-target damage. Your assists also matter a lot, since your teammate can summon an assisted Minion for free.
Below are three recommended Co-op setups, along with the important rounds and mechanics you need to know.
Plants on Fire Co-op Guide – Co-op 1 Recommended Deck
Monster Rounds
Rounds 1, 2, 4, 5
These rounds are fairly easy. Just make sure your lineup has plenty of AoE Minions, such as Apple Sheriff, and use Cheerbloom, Leeky Beats, and Gourmand Baker to buff them.
The main goal is to clear the incoming waves quickly. Since you’re dealing with groups of enemies rather than a single powerful target, spreading your damage across the battlefield is much more valuable here.
Boss Rounds
Rounds 3, 6
For boss rounds, make sure you have strong single-target units, such as Pop Gunner and Muscle Melon. Pair them with your buffers to maximize your damage.
Instead of focusing entirely on clearing small enemies, put your resources into the Minions that can consistently damage the boss.
Tips
- In Co-op, remember to give your teammate an assist Minion every round. In general, the higher the Minion’s cost, the more valuable the assist. Your teammate can summon an assisted Minion for free.
- If you’re struggling against a boss, try investing more into Pop Gunner, or look for 8-Cost Minions such as Muscle Melon and Lady Tulip to send to your teammate. High-cost Minions like these can make a big difference in their overall damage.
Co-op 2 Recommended Deck
Monster Rounds
Rounds 1, 4, 7
These rounds are fairly easy, but Round 7 deserves special attention because it throws a huge swarm of enemies at you.
Make sure your lineup has plenty of AoE Minions, such as Pomblaster or Apple Sheriff, and use Azure Astrologer and Floral Friar to buff them.
Boss Rounds
Rounds 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
For boss rounds, make sure you have some strong single-target units, such as Pomblaster, Pop Gunner, and Muscle Melon. Pair them with your buffers to maximize your damage.
Tips
- Don’t forget to assist your teammate in Co-op. Generally, the more expensive the Minion you send, the more value you’ll get from the assist, as your teammate can summon these for free.
- Round 7 throws a huge swarm of enemies at you, so this is the time to lean into Apple Sheriff and Pomblaster and build up their AoE damage. You can also send Shroomurai to your teammate as an assist to buff their Apple Sheriff or Pomblaster for the round.
Still struggling to clear the wave? Bring in Berrinetta to weaken the whole enemy team and give your damage dealers more time to work.
- Having trouble taking down the bosses in Rounds 8 and 9? Invest in Pop Gunner or Muscle Melon for their extra damage against bosses and focus your firepower.
You can also assist your teammate with Shroomurai to buff their Pop Gunner or Muscle Melon. If you need even more time, use Berrinetta to weaken all enemies while you pile on the damage.
- Final Boss – The Queen Wasp
The Queen Wasp gets a little trickier toward the end. Whenever her skill finishes charging, she’ll summon more enemies to join the fight.
Once she’s nearly out of HP, she’ll gain multiple layers of shield and start charging forward. If you’re struggling to finish her off, Pop Gunner is your best friend.
Pop Gunner locks onto the enemy with the highest HP, which will usually be the Queen Wasp, and can shred through her shields once they go up. Two Pop Gunners with around 100 ATK should make this final fight pretty manageable.
Co-op 3
Co-op 3 introduces a few mechanics that make positioning much more important. The three tiles in the far-right column start out locked, but each one unlocks at a different point in the match and provides its own unique effect.
Special Tiles
Slayer Tile
Unlocks: Round 2
Every time an enemy goes down, the Minion standing here gains +3 ATK.
This is a great spot for your main damage dealer to ramp up throughout the fight. The more enemies you defeat while your carry occupies this tile, the more ATK it can build.
Blaze Tile
Unlocks: Round 5
If an enemy breaks through and damages your Captain, the Minion on this tile blows itself up, dealing 3× its ATK to every enemy.
It’s a powerful effect that can take some pressure off when things get out of hand, particularly when a large number of enemies manages to get through your defenses.
Sacrifice Tile
Unlocks: Round 8
When the Minion here Readies Up, a 3-Star Minion will transfer 2 Stars to the Minion directly to its left.
This gives you a way to push an expensive Minion all the way to 3 Stars, making the tile extremely valuable during the later rounds.
Recommended Deck
Monster Rounds
Rounds 1, 2, 5, 7, 9
Your main goal here is to set your team up for the later rounds.
Build Your Carry – Orange Bros
If you have Azure Astrologer on the field, freeze an Orange Bros in your hand and hold onto it.
Then, between Rounds 8–10, place Orange Bros on the Slayer Tile to maximize its growth.
The Slayer Tile gives ATK whenever enemies are defeated, so placing your intended carry there at the right time lets you take full advantage of the mechanic.
Build Your Semi-Carry – Guaca Sage
During Rounds 2–7, place Guaca Sage on the Slayer Tile and let him build up ATK as enemies are defeated.
This gives you a strong semi-carry for the later rounds while you prepare Orange Bros for the final stretch.
Boss Rounds
Rounds 3, 4, 6, 8, 10
For the boss rounds, use the recommended lineup shown in the images.
The important part isn’t simply having the right Minions, but making sure they are positioned correctly for the special tiles and each boss mechanic.
Key Rounds
There are three rounds in particular that deserve extra attention in this Co-op setup: Rounds 4, 8, and 10.
Round 4
This round requires some careful positioning.
Put your highest-ATK, most-developed Guaca Sage on a regular tile, and place a 1-Star Guaca Sage on the Slayer Tile.
The setup shown in the original example is actually the wrong way around.
The boss will skewer whichever Minion has the highest ATK, split its ATK evenly among the other Minions, and leave a fork on its tile, making that tile unusable for one round.
For the safest setup, aim to have four 1-Star Guaca Sages on the field and as few other Minions as possible.
This makes the mechanic much easier to control because you don’t want your strongest Guaca Sage to be the one getting targeted.
Round 8
The Lord Caterpillar is back in Round 8.
Keep your highest-ATK, most-developed Guaca Sage on a regular tile, and keep Orange Bros on the Slayer Tile.
If you’ve got Archmandrake (the ideal choice), Broc Presley, or Tomato Twister, put it directly to the left of the Sacrifice Tile, then place a non-essential 3-Star Minion on the Sacrifice Tile.
Remember to use the Sacrifice Tile’s Star transfer effect on both Rounds 9 and 10. It’s something you really need to capitalize on because it can provide a huge boost to your late-game setup.
Round 10
The Ultimate Snail Boss arrives with a hefty 30-layer shield.
Break through it to stun the boss for a while, after which it gets a value-based shield. Break that too, and you’ll get another window while the boss is stunned.
Once it recovers, it’ll switch into its charging phase and start pushing forward.
Bring Pop Gunner to help tear through the initial shield. After that, whether you can finish the fight comes down to your core damage dealer.
You’ll need enough ATK and attack speed to burn through the remaining value-based shield and finish off the boss before it gets through.
Tips
- Don’t forget to assist your teammate in Co-op. Generally, the more expensive the Minion you send, the more value you’ll get from the assist because your teammate can summon these Minions for free.
- To have Broc Presley buff the attack speed of Orange Bros, Broc Presley needs to occupy a tile that comes before Orange Bros in the attack order.
That way, Orange Bros can receive the buff, and its clones can inherit the increased attack speed as well. In the example setup, the Minions on the three blue-highlighted tiles all act before Orange Bros.
- Got Tomato Twister? Pairing it with Broc Presley can also make the final stretch much easier. You might well be able to breeze right through Round 10 if both of them survive the Lord Caterpillar in Rounds 4 and 8.
Co-op in Plants on Fire becomes much easier once you stop treating every round the same. Monster waves generally call for strong AoE Minions, while boss rounds require you to concentrate your investment into powerful single-target damage dealers.
Your assist Minion is also an important part of the strategy. Don’t forget to send one to your teammate every round, and whenever possible, use the opportunity to give them a high-cost Minion that can immediately improve their board.
For Co-op 3, positioning becomes even more important because the Slayer, Blaze, and Sacrifice Tiles can completely change how your board develops. Save the right Minions, plan around the unlock rounds, and make sure you use the Sacrifice Tile during both Round 9 and Round 10.
With a little coordination between both players, these stages become much more manageable. The key is to plan ahead instead of waiting until a boss or massive wave is already on top of you.