Cactus in Ops Tips? [ Edited ]

[PineapplePiano]

I've been trying to get my cactus to be the first grandmaster rank of all the classes, but PvP and PvE have been rough lately, so I've been playing a lot of ops. Problem is, I never have played cactus in ops because the one time I did, it didn't work very well because of the long range nature of the character. Granted, that was when I was still getting used to Cactus' new design near the release of the game, and I hadn't really considered Cactus to be my main yet.

I finally tried it again yesterday, with better results, but we ended up facing an elite boss and failing. I try to use the potato mines to the best of my ability but those can run out quickly. There's not many good sniping spots on these maps, because sometimes the gardenator is in a closed in space or building. My garlic drone seems useless because the AI's auto aim takes it out very fast. Does anyone have any tips regarding cactus in ops? I'll continue to further experiment with upgrades and playstyles for now and report back later.

Edit: My current upgrades are Calibrated, leveling up, and some other that I can't remember. XD I'll go check.

[ToastedSarnie]

@PineapplePianoCactus in Ops can be tricky, it depends on your team-mates support a lot & the drone is very hard to use as you say - I generally don't bother with it in Ops.

With the Z-Tech map, you can snipe from behind trees, Pressure Pier you could try using the roof, as if course you can do in Daisy Drive.
Most maps have a bit of decent cover, height or long-range views of approaching AI but personally I would never try using Cactus for Colossal Fossil.

I found doing some of the Battle Chests gave good xp - you've got Plant Town Centre #1 for example which is Cacti vs Pirates Suburbination.

I'm taking a couple of days break from BFN atm, but if you'd like me to give you support in Ops, I don't mind joining you for a few games tomorrow, this sort of time onwards - just msg me on Xbox 👍😊

(Edit: spelling)

[PineapplePiano]

@ToastedSarnieI didn't think of the battle chests! I did those with sunflower, and now that I think about it, it did give me lots of XP! Thank you for always being willing to help, I'll message you sometime soon and hopefully we'll be able to play together!

Edit: Also thank you for your suggestions on where to snipe! I'll try them out!

[ToastedSarnie]

@PineapplePiano You're welcome & good luck!! 🍀

[spIash_damage]

https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion/Mount-Steep-Battle-Chest-4-SOLO-Video-Tutorials/m-p/846...

That’s from before the TTK changed but still relevant.  Maybe some of it will help. 

[ToastedSarnie]

@spIash_damage Thank you, Splash - I spent half-an-hour last night using all the wrong search criteria for the advice you gave before deciding to message you this morning!! 🤦‍♀️😂

[TheSprinter85]

@PineapplePiano  Using Cactus in Ops is probably harder than other characters because of the way Cactus works, but if using her I can share some tips for you. I've used Cactus before in Ops as well. Use pots as well to help you out, when possible.

Obviously, in Ops, the enemies come in waves. The cactus isn't particularly great with dealing with multiple enemies at once, but there are some upgrades that can help you out, such as "Pressure Point" (enemies explode when you earn a critical vanquish) or "Critical Blow" (all your abilities recharge faster if you get a critical vanquish on any enemy). You can also use "Levelling Up" if not already and want to finish getting your Cactus to Grandmaster much quicker, or Health Regeneration Delay, Health Regeneration or Adrenaline Rush if you need that speed or healing as well!

Use your primary fire more often if there are hordes of enemies at once, or use your secondary if there's not many enemies at that time. With your potato mines, place them around the garden as soon as possible, this means that any enemies who try to damage the garden will get vanquished or severely damaged, and doing so quickly will allow your mines to charge faster. If you're happy to wait as well, you can go up to the garden, drop your mines around it, wait for all your mines to recharge, then place the Gardenator as well. With your drone, try to use it as soon as you can before the wave starts, and in as safe of a place as possible, then that way you'll have your Big Bulb Barrage ready which you can hopefully use before your drone gets shot down. You can use your Petal Propeller to get away or to a higher vantage point. 

I know that's a lot I've said, but I hope this helps you with Ops.  You could also try battle chests or other PvE battles as well if desired, and see if you get a better outcome from that! 

[spIash_damage]

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@ToastedSarnie wrote:
@spIash_damageThank you, Splash - I spent half-an-hour last night using all the wrong search criteria for the advice you gave before deciding to message you this morning!! 🤦‍♀️😂

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When you need that URL, just search “Solo,” that’s how I do it. 😊👍

[ToastedSarnie]

@spIash_damage Cheers, buddy!

[realitysquared]

@PineapplePianoI play my Cactus in Ops all the time.

One of the primary tactical shifts you need is to abandon the idea of long range sniping. The AI is programmed to rush the Gardenator so you're simply not going to have the time to fully charge a shot and aim.

Also, as you noticed, the aimbot nature of the AI makes using the Garlic Drone a near impossibility unless you keep it far above the battle zone so I tend to ignore it completely as well.

Since we're abandoning the long-range nature of Cactus you'll want to shift a couple of your Upgrades to maximize your short-range Ops game.

My Ops load out consists of Best Defense ( 2 ), Pressure Point ( 2 ) and Looting ( 3 ).

All three rely on you being able to land your critical shots and will benefit you immensely in Ops.

Looting ( 3 ) replenishes your ammunition by simply inflicting repeated critical damage so if your aim is good and you can land your shots you can go incredibly long periods without needing to reload at all. I've gone entire waves without reloading a single time.

The other two Upgrades, Best Defense ( 2 ) and Pressure Point ( 2 ) also benefit from you deliberately trying to inflict critical damage with Best Defense using critical vanquishes to reduce the damage you take while Pressure Point causes the zombies to randomly explode on a critical vanquish damaging other zombies around them.