The Infected

"I'll see peace back on earth if I've gotta murder every one of these bastards with my own bare goddamn hands!"

- Bill

"Call these freaks whatever you want!"

- Francis

"If it's not one of us... kill it!"

- Zoey

"Humanity's gonna bounce right back, you watch!"

- Louis

The Infected are the "zombies" in Left 4 Dead. They are more akin to the antagonists from 28 Days Later than to the more popular slow, shambling type. Instead of being the living dead that hungers for human flesh, they are living humans who are thought to have been infected with a mutated rabies virus, that causes increased rage and aggression in the infected and even mutation as in the case of the special infected. There are ten varieties of the Infected, seven of which are playable. Eight varieties are considered "Boss Infected", or "Special Infected", which have special abilities in addition to doing more damage against the Survivors. All AI-controlled Infected are procedurally spawned by the Director.

Common Infected


Common Infected are the most commonly-faced enemy, as well as the easiest to defeat. They are exclusively AI-controlled and fairly weak. Their strength lies in their tendency to attack in large groups of up to several dozen, known as hordes. While they seem capable of ignoring pain, they can still be killed easily. They are capable of climbing ladders and scaling objects, as well as breaking down weak walls. This type of Infected are attracted by flashlights, loud noises such as car alarms, or by Boomer bile.

Hordes


A horde is a large group of Common Infected that will rush the Survivors at random intervals, after triggering a car alarm or other Panic Events, Crescendo Event or during a finale.

The Uncommon Common
The Uncommon Common, or the Uncommon Infected, are new forms of the Common Infected that will be introduced in Left 4 Dead 2. They have the same general weaknesses and health as most Common Infected, but there are a few differences that can affect how they're dealt with. Valve has hinted that there will be a different variety of Uncommon Common in each of the campaigns. A total of six Uncommon Infected are planned. Four have so far been revealed:

Hazmat-suited Infected
The Hazmat-suited Infected appear exclusively in the Left 4 Dead 2 campaign, The Parish. Players will occasionally come across Common Infected wearing a Hazmat Suit, which was likely being worn prior to the person being infected.

Though not as numerous as normal Common Infected, they share the same health, abilities and weaknesses. However, due to their Hazmat Suits, they are immune to fire in all forms. This includes: According to Chet, there is going to be an area that is "literally filled with them".
 * Incendiary Ammo
 * Static Fire (e.g. Burning barrels)
 * Gas Canisters
 * Molotov Cocktails

Mud Men


The Mud Men will appear in the campaign Swamp Fever. They are similar to the Common Infected in most ways, except that they are covered in mud and use this as camouflage. They sprint on all fours. However, if it is shoved, it will go back on to two feet, the same way the Hunter does. They also run even faster than regular Infected. This makes them particularly harder and annoying to kill, especially when traversing through water as they can run below water as their own ground, while Survivors are slowed when inside the water. When a Mud Man hits you, your screen is partially covered in little mud; the more it hits you, more mud covers your screen.

The reason why they walk on all fours could be that it's hard to get around in the mud using just their legs, so to help them traverse, they adapted by using all four limbs to move. Or it could be an Infected half way turned into a Hunter.

Riot Infected
Chet Faliszek stated in an e-mail that "The Parish" would gain another Uncommon Infected, the Riot Infected. While human, they were members of a private security firm, which was hired by CEDA to protect civilians; in layman's terms, they were "Rent-A-Riot-Cops." However, they were Infected while wearing their gear, and their Kevlar armor gives them immunity to bullets from the front. Chet has stated, however, that they will not be immune to fire, melee weapons, or explosives.

Clown Infected
A once laughable, lovable comedian, the Clown Infected is now a victim of the spreading infection. They wander around the Dark Carnival campaign and when they spot Survivors they will charge, calling other Infected in with their noisy squeaky shoes for an attack. This Uncommon Infected may be based on the same ideas as the Screamer, but the horde it summons is not as large as a regular one.

The Witch


The Witch generally only appears a few times per campaign, and is passive unless provoked by flashlights, gunfire, or Survivors in close proximity. She is very powerful, and is capable of incapacitating/killing players with a single attack, as well as sustaining much damage before dying. Luckily, many hints are given to let Survivors know when a Witch is nearby. The Witch cries loudly, which Survivors will mention they hear, and dramatic music will play. While the Witch can be killed, it is best to avoid startling her unless absolutely necessary and remember to turn your flashlight off. The Witch is very rarely found in small rooms and normally stays off the main route but has been found in front of safe rooms, doorways and in the middle of streets. Once a Witch has killed a Survivor she will retreat out the area and completely disappear. If a Witch must be killed then you have one of three options:
 * 1) Sneak up on the Witch and attempt to cr0wn it with the Auto Shotgun. (If the initial head shot connects but does not kill, only one or two more shots should kill it.)
 * 2) Have one player move far back, as far away from the Witch as possible. The Witch will target the player that disturbed it, meaning it will attack the farther away player providing he shot or shined a flash light on it. This will allow the other players to shoot the Witch as it is running to the farther away player. When using this method watch for Special Infected as they may ruin the plan or even kill the team if they attack at the right moment.
 * 3) Use the powershot method (Tier 2 assault rifle or 2 tier 1 Uzis).
 * The Witch's music cue.

The Wandering Witch


The Wandering Witch is a term used for the Witch in Left 4 Dead 2 during daylight time only, the wandering Witch acts almost the same as the original Witch but rather than just sitting and waiting for the Survivors to come to her, she is able to wander around the map and even surprise one from behind. Apparently she is still zoned out like original Witch, but she cries less.

The wandering Witch is harder to avoid, leaving the new Survivors in a situation where they must kill her to get past. Apparently, she's able to "sing" instead of cry, when the sun goes down, it is assumed that the wandering Witch will act like the original Witch, sitting and sobbing, waiting for Survivors.

The Screamer


The Screamer is a cut AI-Controlled Special Infected that would have appeared one or more times per map. It would wander around until it came in contact with the Survivors. Once it saw them, it would quickly run away and hide. When it was successfully hidden, it would let out a scream that would attract the horde.

During testing, play testers complained that the Screamer would end up being too hard to spot in a crowd of Infected. Its horde-attracting scream ended up evolving into the Boomer's bile. The Screamer didn't have any actual attacks. (However it is believed that it may have been able to use a "headbutt attack" as a final defense.) Its only ability was to summon the horde with a scream. When the Screamer was removed, the Boomer inherited its horde summoning abilities in the form of the vomit attack, and the bile death explosion.

A sound file describing the Screamer and a picture of the Screamer can be found in the Left 4 Dead Folder, by searching for screamer.vtf, and com-thescreamer.wav.

The Boomer
The Boomer is an Infected that vomits a special bile at Survivors, which blinds them and draws Common Infected to them. At a distance the Boomer is little threat, since he is extremely slow and weak. However, if within range he can vomit on Survivors, attracting the Horde. When he dies, he explodes and covers any Survivors who are close enough in his bile. If a Boomer is killed, nearby Survivors will additionally be blinded, and will stumble backwards. Boomers can be anticipated because of the gurgling noise they make.

The Charger


The Charger is a new Special Infected in Left 4 Dead 2. The Charger runs forward and knocks down Survivors in its way, running after the last Survivor and grabbing them. Once a Survivor is in its grasp, it continues sprinting untill it approaches a wall or over hard surface and starts slamming them into the ground until an ally frees them. Despite the fact that the Charger is almost the size of the Tank, it does not have as much health, but it still has more than the Hunter. The Charger has much in common with the Tank. Many people theorize that the Charger is actually halfway mutated into a Tank. Even though the Charger isn't as strong as a Tank it can do a large amount of damage.

The Hunter
The Hunter is similar to the fast zombies from Half-Life 2, although they are not as mutated on the outside. The Hunter is extremely quick and agile, capable of quickly scaling walls. Additionally, he can pounce and pin down Survivors, clawing at their abdomen until either the victim is dead, or the Hunter has been knocked off by another Survivor. They are not the most physically adept Infected, having relatively low health, and thus it doesn't take very much to kill them. When the Hunter crouches down in preparation to pounce, it growls, giving it away to any nearby Survivors. However, whilst standing it makes no noise. The Hunter is the only Special Infected that can remain absolutely silent.

The Jockey
The Jockey is a new Special Infected that will be appearing in Left 4 Dead 2. It is a smaller, hunched back Infected that attacks Survivors by clinging to them from behind and literally riding the Survivor while attacking them. He can also shift his weight around and cause the Survivor to stumble in his desired direction giving this Special Infected a type of control over the Survivor. It could be a reference to the headcrab in the Half-Life series. The Jockey seems to have a spinal disease, similar to Kyphosis.

The Smoker
The Smoker is an ambush class who can strangle Survivors with his long tongue, similar to Half-Life ' s Barnacle. The help of another Survivor is required to escape from a Smoker's hold. As the name implies, Smokers emit smoke to impair Survivors' vision and voice communication when killed. A Smoker also will frequently cough, letting the Survivors know when he is in the area. The Smoker can drag players that he has captured with his tongue towards himself, though he remains stationary and cannot move. The Smoker is also momentarily paralyzed for a few seconds after having his tongue removed from his captive by another Survivor.

The Spitter
The Spitter is a new Special Infected introduced in Left 4 Dead 2. Its primary task is to spit at the Survivors, similar to the Antlion Worker in Half-Life 2: Episode 2. The phlegm bomb it spits contains an acid that spreads upon impact. Any Survivor caught within the acid puddle will take small amounts of damage, thus prompting them to move. Its goal is to separate the Survivors when they hide in enclosed spaces and ultimately get them to keep moving away from small spaces. It is often compared to the Boomer, as it is a support type of Infected. Also, much like the Boomer, when the Spitter is killed, an acid puddle spreads from where she was killed (Although her body is not destroyed or damaged in the process).

The Tank
The Tank is the strongest of the Special Infected, though also one of the slowest. If any Survivors at full health are running away from the Tank, the Tank will not be able to catch them as they can run slightly faster. Even though the Tank has incredible strength and resistance, it is also highly flammable, and will die within 30 seconds when set on fire, this has been patched by Valve in versus, meaning the tank takes damage from fire, but the timer still occurs in co-op or single player campaigns. When controlled by a player, the Tank has a "Control Meter" that slowly runs out whenever the Survivors aren't in view. Unless the player is able to locate the Survivors and hit them, the control of the tank will slowly lessen, and once it runs out, the player will lose control of the Tank. The Tank is capable of throwing large objects (such as blocks of concrete, cars, or tree trunks) with sufficient force to momentarily stun Survivors, or even incapacitate them instantaneously. The Survivors are alerted of an approaching Tank by dramatic music, and the loud pounding and furious roaring a Tank makes when it runs. You will know that a Tank is dangerously close when the screen starts to shake, ominous music plays, and when Survivors start screaming.
 * The Tank's music cue.

Behind the Scenes

 * All of the Infected's melee attacks are based off of the Counter-Strike: Source Knife programming. This is why the CS:S knife sounds can be found in the game's files.
 * The Boomer has been shown to have a female model in Left 4 Dead 2. An interesting thing to note is that Chet Faliszek, the team leader behind Left 4 Dead and it's sequel, said that the infected in Left 4 Dead 2 will have variations, looking different from other members of the same infected. Having both a female and male Boomer could be an example of these variations, even meaning there could be female models of Smokers and Hunters, as Chet said some form of variations will effect those two as well.