Primary Attack: Vomit (medium range)
Secondary Attack: Claw (short range)
Strengths: Blinds it's victims; extremely potent when attacking with other Special Infected
Weaknesses: Useless at range; ineffective claws; vomit takes a long time to build back up.
Audible Clues: A gurgle means a Boomer is closing in.
Description: The fat, plodding Boomer is helpless at long range, but in close quarters, he (or she) can vomit a thick green Bile at unsuspecting Survivors, which temporarily blinds them.
This has the added “benefit” of signalling any nearby Common Infected to attack. When a Boomer is killed, he (or she) explodes in a shower of Bile, covering any Survivors within range.
Tactics For Survivors
- A Boomer usually announces its presence with a thick discharge of vomitus, but listening for panting, belching, and gurgling sounds alerts you early enough to prepare for this entity. Attack using a ranged weapon, but ensure that you and all of your teammates are out of the range of the explosion!
- Be sure to Melee Shove a Boomer to a safe distance before shooting one. Don’t do this constantly, as continuous Melee Shoves result in a close Boomer death explosion. If you’re caught in the shower of an exploding Boomer, you’re coated in Bile, which is just as problematic as the vomit.
- Aside from causing temporary blindness, Boomer bile attracts the Horde, so expect to have a mass of Common Infected to fend off as your vision returns. Due to this dangerous outcome, retreating out of vomit range or stepping into a defensive location to hide is recommended. Once the vomit occurs, step out and blast the Boomer. When a Boomer appears, fan out as a team, so the Boomer can’t vomit on more than one of you (at the very most).
- React when being vomited on by immediately switching to your Melee Weapon and begin to slice and spin around to maximize your constant melee attacks. Sometimes, such as in the close corridors of the hotel (in the Dead Center Campaign), it is actually helpful to get vomited on, because you can slice or stab your way through the Horde quickly and effectively as you progress.
- Firing after being vomited on is the biggest concern—not for you, but for your teammates, who may be caught by your blind firing. Ranged weapons should not be used until your sight begins to return. The other problem the vomit causes is that it stops you from being able to make out the outlines of your teammates, so stay close to a friend who’s coated in Bile so they don’t freak out and think they’re alone!
- Help out a colleague who has been struck by vomit by hacking at the Horde yourself, and lob in a Bile Bomb or a Pipe Bomb so the Horde switches to swarm another area. When blind, remember where your nearest wall or defensive position is and move to it, so the Horde is only attacking you from 180 degrees, rather than all around you. Then crouch so your friends can blast at zombie heads and not yours.
Tactics For Infected
- The Boomer is designed to provide a supporting role to other, more powerful Special Infected. It is a distraction that allows others to get into position or launch a more potent attack. Work well with your Infected brethren.
- Spawning as close to your foes as possible is essential, so that you’re not spotted and shot at range (and thus deprived of any offensive capabilities), and so your gurgling sounds don’t alert your foes until it is too late. Attacking within a building, just as foes enter a room, is the best bet for a successful vomit strike. In more open areas, wait for Survivors to pass, back up another Infected’s attack, or else drop in from above onto a Survivor and hope you’re not shot at.
- Learn the exact distance your vomit attack can reach before engaging Survivors. Continue to hone your vomiting talents so you know (for example) how far down an alleyway you can stand so that your vomit lands on a major pathway adjacent to the alley. Now do this for every tactical location you normally use.
- Coaxing a foe into receiving your liquid attack is the key to your success, as is self-sacrifice. Attempt to emerge from a dark or unseen corner, reach a Survivor, and vomit on them as close as you can. If your attack misses, charge them so they are tempted to fire and end up coating themselves in your exploding innards. The force of your detonation also staggers anyone near it backward, which is handy if your human foe is near a hole or ledge.
- If your attack hits its target, charge the nearest other Survivor not hit by your vomit. You’re turning yourself into a bomb and if you can vomit on one foe and then explode (and coat) a second, you’ve maximized your potential, as both players are incapacitated.
- Although rarely completed, you can vomit on a foe, then head out of combat immediately, and hide in a safe place to let your Bile build back up. (Ideally you hide somewhere later in the stage, or else hide and follow the Survivors after they pass you.) Then, when you have enough Bile again, vomit a second (or additional) time. But do this only after your human targets clean themselves off (that is, when you see they aren’t outlined in purple).
- Use your vomit with other specific Infected types. Vomit on a Survivor being pummeled by a Charger (or Tank, Hunter, Smoker, or Jockey) so a Horde is summoned. These additional Infected attackers shield the Charger and cause further damage. The Smoker has the added benefit of stopping the Survivor from attacking the Horde, completely nullifying the human’s offensive capabilities.
- Remember to attempt these tactics in conjunction with your Special Infected friends. You are much more effective if the Survivors are worrying about a Spitter, Smoker, or Charger attack at the same time.