The Spitter

"Oh great, now they're spitting burnin' shit on us?"

- Ellis

"So that's a Spitter, huh? Do you think she's single?"

- Nick

The Spitter, also known as a "Neck", "Fat spittin' bitch", "Crazy Lady", "Long necked bitch", "Spittin' thing" and "Goo guy", is a Special Infected that made her debut in Left 4 Dead 2.

The Spitter's mutations enable her to spit out a ball of mutated stomach acid which, upon hitting the ground, spreads out into a large pool. Any Survivors standing within the pool of acid take increasing amounts of damage based on how long they stand in it; this can be up to about 3 quarters of their heath with just one puddle. Overall the Spitter's acid does the most damage of any Infected, but is also the least reliable as it only lasts for a short time, and once it pools out it is stationary and relatively easy to escape. When killed, the Spitter leaves a smaller pool of acid around her corpse. She can sometimes be a bit difficult to hear, making somewhat faint squealing noises as opposed to the more distinct noises other Special Infected make, but the hacking noises she makes when she actually spits are easy to hear.

She is clothed in a yellowish-beige bra, dark indigo capris, and a pink thong. She also wears a number of rings on her fingers, including a wedding ring, hinting that she was possibly married before becoming infected.

Extent of Mutations
Through mutation of the Infection the Spitter has developed the ability to project an extremely caustic ball of acid from her mouth in a mortar-like fashion. This projectile will collide with a ceiling or wall and drop down to the nearest solid walkable surface, and upon contact will spread into a large puddle of acid that increases in damage over time. This damage increase is a part of the puddle, not a Survivor standing in it, as such moving through a puddle about to dissipate will cause a massive amount of damage. The Spitter's lower jaw, cheeks, nose and lips seem to have become noticeably eroded, signs that she may not be entirely resistant to the acid she is coughing up. Also, just above her breast, and on the top of her stomach are two red sore, most likely eroded spots from where the acid drips down from her mouth. First onto the spot above her breast and then onto the second spot. Her proportions are awkward and stretched, including the sagging breasts, elongated neck and bloated stomach, which are most likely used to accommodate and produce the fluids, and the big toe on her right foot has shifted to the side of the foot like the thumb of a hand. While running, a trail of acid can be seen dripping from the creature's mouth. This cannot be used to track the Spitter; due to the fact it disappears shortly after she walks away from it. The Spitter's fingernails are very long but are not particularly sharp, doing about 4 damage per hit.

Survivors
* The Spitter's acid projectile takes a moment to travel to its target, giving alert Survivors some time to get out of the way. You can also listen for the hacking noise the Spitter makes.
 * If players kill a Spitter with a close combat weapon, they should immediately leave the area before the acid damages them.
 * When the Spitter spits, she'll be slow for a few seconds, then return to normal. Try to use this time to kill her.
 * If someone is incapacitated whilst in acid, it is better idea to simply wait out for the pool to dissipate. It is a frequent mistake to think that you can revive the person before the acid knocks you down, but this is hardly ever the case.
 * If you and your teammates are separated by a pool of acid, wait for the pool to dissipate before you join them or they join you. It is better to stay together when a Spitter is around.
 * Do not attempt to jump over a Spitter's acid pool, because it can still hurt you even if you do so.
 * Do NOT try to get through a Spitter's acid pool, it chips off health very, very fast. Only do so if it is absolutely necessary (i.e. a Hunter pounces a teammate and an acid pool is in your way).
 * When playing Scavenge or the Dead Center finale on versus, remember that Spitter goo will destroy gas cans bathed in it. Try to spread gas cans far apart so they cannot be hit by a single puddle, or place cans inside a puddle of water if there is one around. (Spitter goo will appear above the water, while the gas can will sink below and not be harmed)

Infected

 * If you are for some reason unable to spit on the Survivors directly in a tight hallway on versus, spit in their path. They will have 2 choices: Go through the acid and take damage, or wait until it disappears. If they choose to wait, this will allow your teammates time to respawn.
 * Spit when you know the Survivors won't move from the area for a while, preferably bunched together in a room.
 * The Spitter is one of, if not THE most valuable Infected in Scavenge mode, for two reasons: The Survivors cannot pour gasoline when there is an acid pool around the generator, and the Spitter's acid can light gas cans the Survivors have picked up and dropped (outlined in yellow) on fire. If you are a Spitter in scavenge, get to a good spot and spit away!
 * The above also applies to gas cans in the finale of Dead Center that have a yellow outline, at least in Versus. Spitter players should take advantage of this, as the gas cans are what increase the opposing team's score during this finale.
 * Try to spit as far away as possible from the Survivors, making it less likely for them to kill you (unless you are right in front of them). Remember that after you spit, you'll move slower than usual for a few seconds.
 * When playing as a Spitter and you're assured to die, try to die in front of the Survivor's path. The acid pool created by your death will delay them and give your teammates time to respawn and group.
 * If you have the opportunity to escape, take it! Those who spit and run away live to spit another day.
 * In addition to escaping when possible, try attacking from unusual positions. For example, above the Survivors. By spitting down, you can get several attacks in without being killed. If you don't reveal your position, it's possible to incapacitate everyone. This works best if the Survivors are in a cramped area.
 * If one of the Survivors is incapacitated and there is another Survivor nearby to revive him/her, try saving your spit until the other Survivor is reviving the fallen. This will cause their rescuer extra damage and force them to stop reviving the fallen Survivor. Unless it seems likely that you can kill the incapacitated Survivor, focus on doing damage to the ones that are up, you might just incapacitate them too! Spit does greatly reduced damage against incapacitated Survivors, and is unlikely to kill them unless they are already near death (it WILL take multiple applications to kill a freshly incapacitated player).
 * If a Survivor is surrounded by Infected, or even covered in Boomer bile make their day worse by spitting on them. If they are covered in bile they may be so worried about killing all the Infected around them that they will panic and possibly be either too distracted by the spit to kill the Infected, or too distracted by the horde to get out of the spit.
 * Help out your friends! Spit on Survivors who are being choked by a Smoker, pounced by a Hunter, or pounded by a Charger.
 * When the spit-projectile hits a vertical surface, it drops straight down. This is extremely helpful when you are far away or behind a wall when the Survivors are in a small space. Spitting onto the wall above them or into a window where they are will cause the spit to drop on top of them, doing major damage and the Survivors will have an extremely difficult time locating where the spit came from.
 * Aim carefully when spitting from a high vantage point. If the goo glob hits any horizontally flat surface that is above the Survivors, the puddle will float above them and do no damage.
 * On the fourth level of Dead Center, Atrium, you can easily climb all the way to the top level of the area. From there, you can spit slobber to yer hearts content on those below. Aim for Jimmy's car when the Survivors are refueling.
 * Remember, even though the Spitter is designed for long range, don't forget she can scratch. If you are caught up close with the Survivors, and have no way to escape, try scratching away at a Survivor in a corner or surrounded by common zombies. If you're lucky, you will get some melee damage in and then die in a steaming puddle of corruption right under the Survivor's feet.
 * Ladders are a great spot to trip up a team. Spitting at the top will force them to run through the goo or drop back down. The spit will often fall onto the lower level as well, trapping them. If your spit lands at the bottom of a ladder, any survivor on the ladder will be damaged as if standing directly in the spit.

Trivia

 * The Spitter is currently the first female-only Special Infected to be playable, followed by the female Boomer.
 * According to Steam's global stats, as of December 2009, the Spitter has the most easily acquirable Game Achievement with the "Acid Reflex" achievement being awarded to 59.6% of all players of the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2.
 * The Spitter's walking animation is extremely similar to Nosferatu's creep.
 * It should be noted that in Mercy Hospital, one of X-rays shows an elongated neck. It is possible that this X-ray is a person that has been Infected with the same strain of the virus as the Spitter.
 * The Spitter's attack music cue is called Enzymicide, possibly derived from Enzyme and homicide. This perhaps suggests that not only the gastric acid expelled from the Spitter hurts the Survivors but also the digestive enzymes such as proteases which are corrosive to the protein of human skin.
 * The Spitter's goo attack has a very strange trajectory. It will travel completely horizontally for a certain distance, and if it does not hit anything it will make a sudden 90° turn toward the ground. Very skilled players with good judgement can take advantage of this, using it as a sort of mortar attack.
 * During the roller coaster event, spitting on the moving coaster causes the puddle of spit to travel along with the amusement park ride. While this is of no benefit to your team as the Survivors will never be ahead of the carriages, it is certainly peculiar to watch the green puddle speeding around the circuit.
 * For some reason, the Spitter's acid isn't diluted if it hits a large pool of water.
 * When playing as the Spitter in Versus mode in first person, no acid is visible dripping from its mouth like it is in third person.
 * As seen in concept art, the Spitter's pigtails originally were not tucked behind her head but stuck out like antenna. The Spitter also had a large, rounded stomach to give her a logical place to brew her acidic goo. However, during playtesting, it became apparent that many playtesters thought she was pregnant or called her pregnancy themed names. Valve decided that this was rocky territory and made her stomach flatter to avoid any confusion. She also had a comical pidgeon toed bird walk, changed for being more humorous than frightening.
 * The Spitter's attack icon more closely resembles its concept art (seen above) than its final design.
 * It is possible for the Spitter's acid to destroy gas cans in Scavenge and Versus modes, but only after the cans have been picked up by the Survivors. In Campaign and Survival, the Spitter acid does nothing to them.
 * If the A.I. Director detects the Survivors standing in an area which the Infected A.I. cannot reach during a Survival (such as via noclip command or an exploit), it will spawn Spitter acid directly under the Survivors feet, whether there is a Spitter present or not.
 * Though the Survivors have many names for the Spitter's emissions, including "goo" and "fire spit," none of them ever refer to it as acid.
 * The Spitter's goo, despite commonly being called acid, does not show properties typical of acids (for example, it will not dissipate in water)