The Infected

Biters

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Biters are the most common form of Infected. Most of the time they’re slow moving, weak, and don’t have any special attacks to wield against you. They only do damage if they can smack you or grapple and bite. They’re vulnerable to head attacks, can be avoided by sprinting, and won’t pursue you for very long if you try to get away from them.

At night, Biters are more aggressive and stumble toward you with more tenacity, but they’re still the lowest order of threat among the Infected. Get higher up to avoid these creatures. They won’t crawl under barriers or climb over barricades. Use higher ground to scout for safer areas of movement.

If you stay on ground level, use distractions or Agility abilities to get through large groups of Biters. Firecrackers lure Biters away from your character and keep them focused on the sound and explosions. Once you get abilities like Vault, it’s much easier to get around Biters because you can sprint toward them, leap over a group, and keep moving without wasting any time. Very useful!

Tap the button shown onscreen if you’re grabbed by a Biter. These attacks do quite a bit of damage if you don’t counter them quickly. There are special abilities that let you break away much faster when grabbed by Biters, but they’re not available at the beginning of the game (so you must be quick about countering them).

Fast- and medium-speed weapons work extremely well when fighting Biters because they often appear in substantial numbers. Avoid slow weapons because you end up overkilling one Biter and being overwhelmed by all of its buddies before you can get around to attacking again. If you do want to use something slower or heavy, equip a two-handed weapon and try the Power skill called Whirlwind to clear large groups of Biters simultaneously.

Try not to waste many thrown weapons or bullets on these weaker Infected. Save your best items for more dangerous foes!

Bolters

Enemy Health

Bolters are lucrative Infected to hunt. They won’t appear early in the game. Instead, you must wait for a specific point in the story before they show up. Once that happens, you start to see Bolter icons on the map. These are scavenging grounds where the Bolters come out at night. You never see them during the day, so don’t even try to look for them until it’s really dark.

It’s too much to say that Bolters are lovers more than fighters, but they’re certainly the least aggressive type of Infected. They’d really prefer to flee rather than get caught in a stand up fight. Sneak up on them from behind and use ranged weapons to kill these creatures before they can react. A single shot to the head from range is the best way to ensure that you score a kill.

Hunt Bolters for their special tissue. It’s worth a great amount of money if you sell it. The material can also be used as a crafting component. It makes incredible weapon upgrades and several special potions.

If you startle a Bolter before killing it, the creature runs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get them. Ready one of your ranged weapons and sprint after the Bolter while attacking it at range. This results in an outright kill or at least slows it down so that you can catch up and finish it off.

Bombers

Enemy Health

Bombers are a foul and dangerous variety of Infected. They don’t try to bite or hit you. Rather, they wait until someone gets close to them and then detonate with only a moment’s warning. Anything within several meters is going to take catastrophic damage. Use ranged weapons to kill Bombers, or trigger them by getting close and then slipping around a wall to block the explosion.

Always try to spot Bombers before they get anywhere near you. They’re chubbier than normal Infected (without being especially tall). They are bloated, filled with pustules, and have a different groan than the run of the mill Biters. All of these signs give you the ability to look up and flee before a Bomber detonates. Another thing to look for is the awkward, lumbering gait for which Bombers are known.

You have a brief moment to Dodge away when a Bomber triggers. Once they’re about to blow, Dodge as far away as you can to minimize the damage you take. Whenever possible, use these blasts to your advantage by luring the Bomber over to groups of Infected before triggering them. That way, their explosion clears out a number of your enemies!

Demolishers

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Demolishers don’t enter the city until you’re well into the game. These ultra-heavy Infected have massive health, strong damage potential, and are usually covered in at least a couple pieces of armor. Your early attacks do less damage until the armor gets knocked off (unless you aim well enough to avoid the protected areas).

The key to killing Demolishers is to master side Dodging. Demolishers can throw debris at long range, attack at close range, or charge to bowl people over. Stay away from melee range to avoid their fastest attack, and use Dodges to either side to get away from the debris and the charge attacks. The hardest part of this is to avoid Dodging too early when Demolishers charge at you. They can adjust to your movement and still get a hit on Crane. Stay calm and wait until late in the Demolisher’s charge so that you always get out of the way.

After avoiding a Demolisher attack, use their recovery time to get in close for multiple hits. Dodge back as soon as the monster turns toward you, and resume the defensive portion of the fight.

As long as there aren’t other Infected in the area, Demolishers become very easy to kill (and they’re worth a huge amount of experience). You also get much better treasure from Demolishers than you do from most enemies. Never leave one of their corpses unsearched!

If other Infected are nearby, prioritize killing them first to make the Demolisher fight easier. Lure the other Infected into areas where the Demolisher can’t follow; the big guys can’t climb, sneak under things, or go through smaller doorways.

Gas Tanks

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The city tried to counter the viral threat in the early days of the outbreak. Instead of sending their people into the field without protection, they gave everyone Level 4 Biohazard suits. They had full physical barriers and independent air supplies, but it still wasn’t enough to save them. Biters were able to tear through the suits, infecting the teams of government workers despite their precautions. Now there are Infected wandering around with these suits still on. They’re hard to kill because the suits absorb a huge amount of damage. Also, they explode if their air tanks are punctured, so you take heavy damage if you stick around once a rupture occurs. Use ranged weapons instead of melee attacks to get the job done. A classic technique is to attack a Gas Tank’s legs to put them down, and then shoot their tanks while they’re helpless on the ground. Then, RUN!

If you don’t have ranged weapons, swing away from the rear until their tanks break and then run like it’s the end of the world! If possible, use Firecrackers to draw other Infected over to Gas Tanks before you finish them off. It’s great to detonate one of these when plenty of other targets are close by.

Later in the game, Gas Tanks become even more of a threat in some ways. Your heavier weapons do so much damage that it’s possible to cause a Gas Tank to explode without going directly after their tank. That gets you blown up quite well, which isn’t a good thing. Fortunately, you begin to carry more bullets by that point in the game. Fight Gas Tanks at range even more exclusively if detonation becomes a bigger issue.

During high-level Pursuits, or in special cases, Gas Tanks may sprint toward you in an attempt to detonate themselves. Shoot them at range to save yourself from an almost-instant death from massive explosive damage. Or, sprint away and climb to safety so that you can get a better angle of attack on them.

Goons

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Extremely large Infected like Goons are slow and ponderous, so they’re easy to outrun. However, they’re equally hard to kill. Goons carry a two-handed weapon to augment their natural strength, and they know how to use these items quite well. Be ready for a variety of dangerous attacks to come your way when you try to kill a Goon.

If you’re really close, watch for a short-range slap. This is one of the few fast attacks that you must avoid. Dodge directly backward to prevent any damage. Other attacks include a whirlwind that swings the weapon 720 degrees, and an overhead strike that has way more range than you’d expect because it has its own shock wave. Dodge way back when the Goon winds up, and keep stepping back until the weapon smashes into the pavement. Always err on the side of getting too far away; otherwise, you’re going to get knocked down occasionally.

The least costly way to kill Goons is to step forward, smack them once with a melee weapon, and then Dodge out of the way when they counterattack. Although slow, this is quite reliable and won’t eat into your supply of ammo or thrown weapons. If you’re willing to use those resources, then simply back up, use ranged attacks to wound and then kill the Goon, and then backpedal if one ever gets close to you. It’s as simple as that. Pistol shots to the head turn Goons into mush. They’re incredibly easy to hit, so take your time, aim well, and get the safe kill.

SCREAMERS

Enemy Health

Screamers are children of Harran that fell to the outbreak. They’re not able to fight the survivors in direct combat, but their screeches distract you, slow people down, and call other Infected from far and wide. Get into melee range quickly and use the “Calm Down” technique to silence the Screamers. It’s the best thing you can do for them.

You always know when a Screamer is close by; they weep when they’re on their own. It’s going to sound like a normal human child, but don’t be fooled. Get your weapons ready and try to stop Screamers before they trigger a large battle.

VIRALS

Some Infected are more recently undead and haven’t lost their mobility. These enemies are fast (being able to keep up with Kyle even when he’s sprinting). They’ll pursue you tirelessly across the city. You know when one of them is on to you because you can see their icon on the minimap.

Lure Virals into tight spaces so that you can’t be overwhelmed by them. Use ranged weaponry to soften them as they approach, and switch to melee weapons to finish them off once they’re down on the ground and injured. Watch out when fighting them so that you don’t back into other Infected while focusing too much on the immediate threat in front of you. Stay aware, and don’t let these Infected scare you into making any mistakes.

Firecrackers distract Virals that are chasing you, providing extra time to get out of their line of sight. Diving under water is also a great way to break off the chase. If these aren’t options, use thrown weapons to damage and slow the pursuers down, or leap onto higher ledges so that you can fight the Virals without needing to worry about other Infected (because most cannot climb up to join you).

It’s always better to attack Virals while they’re climbing or crawling to get to you because they won’t be able to Dodge or fight back for a short time. Make the most use of that. Kick them off of rooftops for added damage. This also buys you more time to flee or take care of other Virals that might be coming after you.

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Toads

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You don’t normally expect zombified people to have ranged weaponry, but these creeps do! They’re so badly infected that they’re able to projectile vomit at very long range. Dodge to the side to avoid their attacks, and respond with either ranged attacks of your own or sprint up to them and unleash a wave of heavy melee attacks to kill the Toad before it recovers.

Even if a Toad’s attack misses, you have a chance to take damage. The globules act like grenades when they don’t hit a target directly. An icon appears to warn you that one has landed close by. Sprint to get away from it, and hope for the best. The infected material that these guys spit does damage over time to anyone it hits. If it nails Kyle, the HUD also gets tainted for a moment, making it harder to see what you’re doing.

Toads don’t take much damage to kill, and you should absolutely focus on getting them down before worrying about other undead in the area. Once all ranged targets are down, you get a huge advantage in maneuvering because you don’t need to think about angles of fire, cover, and so forth. Toads die quickly whether you use ranged attacks or melee weapons against them.

Volatiles

Volatiles are some of the most dangerous Infected in the city. Their skin looks like it’s almost melted off, so they’re terrifying to look at. They mostly come out at night, but you can find them during the day in dark tunnels and the sewers.

Because Volatiles are photophobic, you can get a strong advantage over them by equipping a UV Flashlight. Shine that in their faces to disrupt the monsters, and attack them relentlessly until they’re dead. Traps with UV lights are similarly wonderful against them.

If you’re just trying to get away from Volatiles, use Flares to light up an area to frighten them off. Or, use Firecrackers to distract them while you get away.

Like Virals, these hunting adversaries appear on the minimap. Look for their areas of patrol and vision to avoid alerting them to your presence. Taking the time to move quietly with stealth really pays off.

During chases, Volatiles can sprint, climb, and get around most barriers. In battle, they are fast and take plenty of damage to kill. They leap onto their prey like a Biter, but this attack does way more damage. You must tap the button indicated on screen to push them off of you, and they are always ready to attack again just moments later. Fast weapons are ideal because Volatiles move quickly and aren’t great targets due to their natural mobility.

Enemy Health

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