Sprout

Sprout is a great supporter and superb Toon for many types of runs. His mobility is above average with 4-star Movement Speed and 5-star Stamina, the highest in the game tied with Blot, making him a very capable distractor. The only real downside to playing Sprout is his low extractability at 2 stars for both Extraction Speed and Skill Check, but this can be mitigated with Trinkets such as Vee's Remote or Stress Ball. However, because Sprout's healing utility often overshadows pure distraction, he is best applied as a backup distractor rather than the primary one. If dedicated distractors like Pebble or Flutter are in the lobby, let them fill that role while Sprout focuses on scavenging Tapes and Items to fuel multiple heals per run.

Sprout's active ability Baked Sweets allows him to heal any hurt Toon in range for 1 Heart at the cost of 100 Tapes with a 100-second cooldown. Since Tapes can be scarce, prioritize healing distractors, other healers, and Toons at one heart. Save around 200 Tapes for emergencies unless the Floor is particularly dangerous. Having multiple Sprouts in the same run is inefficient, as the ability cost increases by 50 Tapes and the cooldown extends by 30 seconds per additional Sprout. Note that healing Items like Health Kits can heal at the same price or less, and Bandages for nearly half, so save Tapes in case a Bandage appears in Dandy's Elevator Shop. Ensuring all players start with around 80 Tapes before Sprout collects the rest allows everyone to purchase heals or useful Items that appear. Since Sprout cannot heal himself, having a Cosmo or stocked healing Items is essential for his own survival.

Sprout pairs exceptionally well with several Toons. Cosmo is his strongest partner, as their combined higher Stealth stats and Cosmo's shorter cooldown let them deliver Hearts more efficiently to those in peril. Sprout can reimburse Cosmo for Hearts lost, and Cosmo can heal Sprout in return, creating a highly effective healing loop. Teagan in the party means one fewer Toon to worry about, easing resource management. Cocoa can drop BonBons worth 5 Tapes every 21.8 to 40 seconds depending on Trinkets and Cards, providing a steady supplementary income. Yatta offers another strong pairing, as she drops Items from completed Machines for Sprout to use for Tapes, reaching full potential with rarer drops like Jawbreakers or in smaller runs. If a Bassie is present, she can help Sprout search for Items before dropping them with her ability, and Sprout can alert her to who needs healing when no Cosmo or Ginger is available.

Sprout's passive ability Overprotective shows how many hearts each Toon has and where they are located, providing far more value than simple health tracking. Use it to optimize distraction routes by adjusting your path in real time to avoid running into teammates, and to identify when damaged teammates are drawing near so you can initiate emergency maneuvers. Track movement patterns to determine if a Toon running in circles is distracting a Twisted or if one staying stationary is working on a Machine. Check how many players have reached the Elevator before popping the last Machine to avoid triggering Panic Mode prematurely. Monitor individuals at specific heart levels to track Shrimpo or a one-heart Looey who is distracting. If a teammate dies or is critically injured, a keen-eyed Sprout may be the first to realize who and where it happened, information that can be relayed to Cosmos or Gingers to save lives.

For Tape income, Sprout should focus on scavenging and using Items on the ground, preferring common and uncommon Items like Stealth Candy, Gumballs, Skill Check Candies, Jumper Cables, or Instructions. During Panic Mode, freely use any Items teammates have left behind. Additional Tape sources include encountering Twisteds, completing Machines, and using Penny Pincher or Spare Change Cards. Blind Grab, Lost and Found, Avaricious, and Covetous Cards also provide slightly more advantage for Sprout. When comparing Sprout to Ginger, who has a more potent healing ability but lower mobility, choose Sprout when your team can withstand 1-Heart heals from Main Toons or needs a backup distractor, and choose Ginger when the team handles distraction well but needs stronger extraction and healing support.

For Trinket combinations, the meta distractor set is Dog Plush plus Speedy Shoes, which lets Sprout outwalk fast Twisteds and loop Twisted Pebble at 20.2 walk speed. Dog Plush alone unlocks distraction at 19.3 walk speed, and can be paired with Dandy Plush for affordable shop purchases, Vanity Mirror for 35.75 run speed during Panic Mode, Train Whistle to nullify the Slow debuff against Twisted Vee and Ichor Leaks, or Bone for quick scouting at floor start. For extraction, Magnifying Glass paired with Vee's Remote speeds up floor progression, while Participation Award maximizes Skill Check extraction at the cost of window size. For ability support, Sweet Charm reduces Baked Sweets cooldown to 92 seconds, and adding Ghost Snakes In A Can further reduces it to approximately 87 seconds. Star Pillow is useful for regenerating Stamina faster while extracting, taking advantage of his high Stamina and slow extraction speed.