Plants vs Zombies Replanted Sol Invictus Achievement Guide

The Sol Invictus achievement in Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted requires players to beat the Last Stand mini-game while finishing with 2,000 or more sun remaining. You begin Last Stand with 5,000 starting sun to establish your defense and receive 250 additional sun after completing each of the five survival flags. To unlock this achievement, your defensive perimeter must hold across all five waves without forcing expensive mid-round rebuilds that drain your sun reserves below the target threshold.

Sol Invictus Overview and Unlock Requirements

In the original release build of Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted, a coding oversight prevented Sol Invictus from triggering if a player finished with exactly 2,000 sun, requiring players to hold 2,025 or more sun. According to official developer patch notes, update v1.4.0 fixed this issue, allowing the achievement to unlock at exactly 2,000 sun as stated in the official achievement text.

Gloom-Shroom and Garlic Strategy

The most reliable community strategy for clearing Last Stand while hoarding sun relies on funneled damage using Gloom-shrooms and Garlic. By diverting zombies out of certain lanes, you can leave whole sections of the lawn empty or lightly defended, drastically lowering your starting expenditure.

Recommended Plant Selection

• Fume-shroom
• Gloom-shroom
• Coffee Bean
• Garlic
• Tall-nut or Wall-nut
• Lily Pad
• Magnet-shroom
• Squash or Potato Mine (for emergency backup)
• Tangle Kelp

Layout and Execution Steps

1. Place Lily Pads in the pool lanes, followed by defensive plants such as Tall-nuts to stop Dolphin Rider Zombies from advancing.
2. In the land lanes, establish Gloom-shrooms awakened by Coffee Beans behind defensive barriers.
3. Position Garlic at the front of the inner rows (lanes 2 and 5) to redirect incoming zombies toward the outer lanes where your Gloom-shrooms or auxiliary plants deal concentrated area-of-effect damage.
4. Place Magnet-shrooms awakened by Coffee Beans to strip iron buckets and football helmets from incoming threats before they can overwhelm your frontline.
5. Spend roughly 2,600 to 2,800 sun on your initial setup, leaving you with over 2,200 sun right at the start of flag 1.
6. Replace eaten Garlic between waves or as soon as they degrade to avoid letting rogue zombies slip past your main kill zones.
7. Avoid buying unnecessary plants during later rounds; allow the 250 sun bonuses after each flag to accumulate until the final victory screen triggers.

Repeater and Torchwood Build

For players who prefer projectile lanes over mushroom upgrades, a classic Repeater and Torchwood setup can clear Last Stand while keeping sun expenditure strictly disciplined.

Recommended Plant Selection

• Repeater
• Torchwood
• Garlic
• Lily Pad
• Magnet-shroom
• Coffee Bean
• Squash
• Tangle Kelp

Layout and Execution Steps

1. Plant Repeaters in the rearmost columns of the pool and the outer land lanes (lanes 1 and 6).
2. Place Torchwoods directly in front of the Repeaters so all fired peas turn into high-damage fireballs.
3. In lanes 2 and 5, plant two consecutive Garlics near the right edge of the screen. Two Garlics are necessary because Pole Vaulting Zombies will jump over the first Garlic; the second Garlic ensures they are still diverted into the outer firing lanes.
4. Add a Magnet-shroom in lanes 2 or 5 behind the Garlic to handle Buckethead and Football Zombies.
5. This initial deployment leaves you with approximately 1,450 sun before the first wave begins. Because you earn 250 sun after each of the first four rounds (a guaranteed 1,000 sun gain), your bank will rise above 2,450 sun by flag 5, providing ample buffer to replace bitten Garlic while finishing comfortably over 2,000 sun.

Critical Tips for Preserving Sun

• Let Garlic take legitimate damage before replanting: Do not dig up damaged Garlic with your shovel prematurely. Only replace Garlic when it is completely consumed or visibly degraded to save every 50 sun.
• Handle water threats cheaply: Dolphin Rider Zombies can bypass normal water plants if unobstructed. Plant Tangle Kelp (25 sun) or Tall-nuts on Lily Pads to negate their jump without investing in costly multi-plant arrays.
• Utilize the Sun Vacuum if playing on updated versions: Patch v1.4.0 introduced a sun vacuum hotkey (Spacebar on keyboard, Right Trigger / R2 / ZR on controllers) that automatically gathers loose sun on screen, preventing misclicks during intense wave transitions.
• Avoid panic buying high-cost instakills: Jalapenos and Cherry Bombs cost substantial sun that can quickly knock your total below 2,000 during the final two flags. Rely on cheaper 50-sun Squash or 25-sun Potato Mines for targeted recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Sol Invictus achievement trigger at exactly 2,000 sun?

On version 1.4.0 and newer, yes. In earlier launch builds of Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted, a software bug required players to finish with strictly more than 2,000 sun (at least 2,025 sun). The patch notes for update v1.4.0 confirmed this trigger was corrected to award the achievement at exactly 2,000 sun.

Can you spend sun during the five flags of Last Stand?

Yes. You do not need to hold 2,000 sun during waves 1 through 4. The requirement checks your sun count only when the fifth and final flag is cleared and the level ends. As long as you finish the entire match with 2,000 or more sun remaining in your counter, the achievement will unlock.

Do you receive sun from Sunflowers in Last Stand?

No. Sunflowers, Sun-shrooms, and Twin Sunflowers cannot be used to generate passive sun in the Last Stand mini-game. Your only sources of sun are the 5,000 sun granted at the start and the 250 bonus sun granted after surviving each wave.