Infected Defense
The Horde / Common Infected
The infantry of the semi-conscious masses, the Horde throw themselves at you and attack with their claws. It is easier to kill the horde one at a time, since when they crowd you they do exponentially more damage and slow down your attacks. It is nearly impossible to keep them at a distance all the time though, and that's why melee weapons are the perfect cure for a crowd of zombies.
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Witch
The Witch sits or wanders around while wailing softly. She will scream if you interrupt her with light, sounds (explosions!), bullets or if you get within a few body lengths of her. Light and proximity will make her grunt, but if she doesn't scream you won't have to worry about anything. If the Witch is startled, you will be alerted of this on your screen. The Witch will then instantly incapacitate the survivor that knocked her down. Turn off your lights, keep a wide birth and avoid looking at the Witch and you'll be fine.
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Boomer
The massive Boomer is a walking bile factory. It can puke on the survivors, making your screen cues disappear and obscuring your vision for several seconds while the horde seeks you out. It has a very small amount of life and can be shot safely form a distance. If a Boomer is killed at point-blank range, bile will cover the nearby survivors. Thus, the best strategy for nearby Boomers is to melee attack them to stun them and send them backwards before firing.
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Smoker
The Smoker is only effective if you aren't working as a team. It snags a survivor and pulls him or her away, constricting the survivor for damage. If the survivor is pulled back to the Smoker's position, it will claw the survivor for additional damage. The survivor cannot fire after the first few seconds of being constricted, thus teammates must free the Survivor by sever the tongue with a melee attack or bullet or by shooting the Smoker.
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Tank
The greatest threat to the survivors is the mini-boss-like Tank, a quick powerful form of infected zombie that relies on brute strength to deal massive damage. At a distance, the Tank can throw pieces of the ground at you which can be difficult to sidestep (you cannot sidestep them if you are wounded limping). You can, however, shoot these projectiles out of the air with a few shots of an assault rifle. The Tank can also knock cars at the survivors. If the tank gets close it can smack a survivor and send him or her flying. This attack deals the most damage. Backing away from the tank and constantly firing seems to be the preferred method of dealing with it. This works well for whomever the Tank is not targeting. Take advantage of the Tank's slow throwing animation and shoot it or hit with a melee weapon to finish it off.
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Jockey
The Jockey's main purpose is to separate a survivor from the group , and a separated survivor is a dead survivor. The Jockey approaches low and fast -- making it hard to hit -- and then attaches to a survivor's upper torso, not only dealing damage but assuming partial control of the survivor. You can fight the Jockey's control by attempting to move in the opposite direction that the Jokey chooses. You can shoot or melee a Jockey off of a survivor, but the attacked survivor has no defenses against it once it's attached.
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Spitter
The Spitter can shoot a projectile that spreads into a puddle of extremely dangerous acid. This acid can sap your life quickly. The Spitter has little life of its own, so killing it after it spits is usually not a problem. The Spitter leaves a puddle of acid behind when it dies, so beware. Melee attacking the Spitter is not a good idea. The acid will dissipate eventually, so wait before proceeding if the acid blocks your path.
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Charger
The Charger, much like the Smoker and Jockey, serves to separate a survivor from the group -- and pound the snot out of him or her. The Charger's charge is leveled directly at a survivor, and it will carry that survivor a pre-set distance or until it hits a wall. The survivor will then get pounded repeatedly for huge damage (15 points a slam) until the survivor is dead or the Charger is shot. The Charger will knock back any survivor it encounters in its charge. If a Charger misses, he will be stunned briefly upon colliding with a wall. While the best strategy is to eliminate the Charger before it charges, its bulky form makes it an easy target once it has charged.
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Hunter
The Hunter is a quick zombie that pounces on the survivors to pin them. While pinned, the survivor loses life until the Hunter is shot and killed or hit with a melee attack. If not rescued, the pinned survivor will become incapacitated. The initial pounce deals damage as well. Although you can kill a Hunter before it attacks, they are quick and hard to hit. Stay together and react quickly to a teammate getting pounced to reduce the threat of the Hunter.
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