The Witch

"Lights Off!"

"Stay away from the ones that cry..."

- Safe Room Graffiti

"A crying girl. Do you think she's sad the mall's closed?"

- Nick

"Sounds like a witch!"

The Witch, also referred to as "crying girl" or the "bitch" in Left 4 Dead 2, is member of the Infected, and the only one initially passive to the Survivors. It is also the only non-playable Special Infected, deemed to be "too dangerous" by Valve. It resembles the average female Common Infected, except with some notable mutations. The Witch makes loud and eerie noises which resemble sobbing (which can be heard long before it's ever seen, allowing the player a chance to prepare a plan to deal with it) and, in the nighttime, crouches and slumps over, mostly immobile, to herself when in her 'passive' state. However, during the daytime, she will sob standing up and will slowly wander, with her elongated fingers up to her face.

The Witch, like the Boomer and a few other special infected, can cause problems when you shoot her. When a survivor gets too close to a Witch or damages her without killing her (which is usually impossible to do, with the exception of crowning her), she becomes 'startled'. When she is startled, she screams and advances the survivor that has startled her with great haste. Once she has reached the survivor, she will slash at the survivor, instantly incapacitating (or actually killing, only on the Expert mode) him/her. If she is still alive and the survivor is dead, she will run off sobbing out of sight.

Extent of Mutations
The Witch has been heavily mutated by a strain of the infection. It is unknown if there is a male equivalent to the Witch or if this strain of infection even affects males.

Though resembling a typical female Infected, she has sharpened elongated fingers, similar to the effects of a type of Marfan syndrome, which is known as Arachnodactyly. She has gained a massive increase in strength, enabling her to incapacitate or instantly kill Survivors in one hit. Needless to say, great care is vital on expert. Her strength is not visible via muscle growth, as with the Tank. She is known to cry when not aware of the Survivors, though the exact reasoning behind it is unknown. Even though her mentality is largely similar to that of the typical Infected, she is not distracted by things like the flashing lights and beeps of a pipe bomb, nor is she apparently attracted by things such as car alarms going off, though this will alert her of the Survivors' presence. In an interview with Chet, he claims the Witch has a strange attraction to the smell of sugar, explaining why there are a large number of Witches near the sugar mill in Hard Rain.

Meet the Witch


It appears that Bill was the only Survivor to have prior knowledge of Witches. When he and Zoey encounter a Witch in the Intro Scene, Zoey originally thought it was another Survivor crying. Bill tells her to turn her flashlight off, aware of the consequence of shining lights in a Witch's direction. It is possible that the rips on the back of Bill's jacket were made in a prior encounter with a Witch. Upon noticing that the Horde was coming, Louis accidentally shone his flashlight on her.

It is a widely-held belief that it is never worth starting a fight with a Witch. However, she is often unavoidable, sometimes spawning directly in the path of the Survivors with no alternative route. The Director will sometimes give a sign that a Witch has spawned on the map; there's a split second where a faint chord of the Witch's Theme will sound, after which you can hear the Witch crying.

She can and will appear on every difficulty and level, (except in Chapter one co-op mode or in Survival mode) sometimes even twice or more. Her first strike on any Survivor will incapacitate them, after which she will pause and then begin tearing them to shreds. An exception to this is on expert or realism mode, where she instantly kills the Survivors instead.

Witches have a quite a long reach due to their long arms and claws, and have been known to incapacitate Survivors in mid-air causing them to land, incapacitated, in areas inaccessible to fellow Survivors.

After she has killed her target, the Witch begins to run around and scream, and cover her head with her hands, seemingly to escape further hostility. She will still attack anything in her way, pushing Survivors back if they run into her. If she managed to escape from the Survivors, she mysteriously disappears once she is completely out of sight.

It would appear that the more you evade or "cr0wn" her in one campaign, the more the Director tends to spawn her. This will result in around two to four Witches being spawned throughout the fourth level. It is also interesting to note that the Director appears to spawn her more frequently if you continue to startle her and kill her before she can harm anyone, rather than if you kill her without disturbing her.

The Wandering Witch
During daylight time in Left 4 Dead 2, the Survivors will come across The Wandering Witch (also known as Walking Witch or Daylight Witch) that acts almost the same as the original Witch, but rather than just sitting and crying while waiting for the Survivors to come to her, she is able to wander around the map and even surprise one from the back. In the Hard Rain campaign, in which the Witches wander during daylight, but remain idle when the rain comes, she is still zoned out like the original Witch, she still cries but with different sounds and also has a new music cue. Due to the way the new wandering Witch covers her eyes and moves (possibly to escape it) she may not like the light. This would explain why flashlights startle her in the original Left 4 Dead. The Wandering Witch is hard to avoid, leaving the new Survivors in a situation that they must kill her to get past her. However, the range for angering the Witch due to proximity appears to be severely reduced to the point where one can nearly touch her with little reaction

The higher difficulty the level it is, the more likely the director will get creative and make you startle her like walking to a hazard you created to make you startle her. An example would be that you threw a molotov and it didn't hit the Witch. He may get creative of this attempt and make the Wandering Witch walk into the fire, startling her and putting you in a fight with the Witch.

The Witch will also throw out her arms in running pose when touched or run into by Survivors, and a second later she will be startled.

When the sun goes down, the Witch will act like the she does in Left 4 Dead, sitting and sobbing while waiting for the Survivors. The Witch is significantly less aggressive during the night time in Left 4 Dead 2, even compared to the original game, as players can stand within her aggro circle and while she looks up at them and growls, she won't stand up or attack them unless they stand alongside her, shine a light in her face or attack her.

She also has a new music cue and a new "cry" sound. When a Survivor is near, the music cue gets more intense, probably because she cannot growl while covering her face. However, when she is startled, her music cue becomes the startled music cue from the first Left 4 Dead.

Behind the Scenes
Originally, the Witch was to attack the entire group upon being startled. However, this was cut from the final game because it was deemed too difficult as she would often wipe out the whole group with little trouble. Despite only attacking one person in the final game, writing about the Witch on a safe room wall reads "I once saw one tear apart 10 people!", implying that the Witch may still attack entire groups, even if she doesn't during gameplay.

What startles the Witch?
A Witch will at first growl threateningly and stand as a warning. If left alone she will eventually return to kneeling and sobbing. She will only attack upon being startled, homing in on specifically the character that startled her; however if she is blocked by another survivor in pursuit she will attack that one instead, ignoring her old target. There is a long list of things that she does not appreciate:


 * Touching the Witch, or standing near her for too long.
 * Staring at her for too long.
 * Explosions near her. Explosions will at first cause her to stumble, followed by attacking the Survivor who caused the explosion. If a Boomer is killed within her proximity, this will also startle her. If the Witch is not within a Survivor's line of sight, this will not startle her. You will simply hear the Witch scream, followed by sobbing.
 * Being within the Witch's "anger" proximity. In other words, if one Survivor makes the Witch start growling, another Survivor standing stock still and outside the Witch's usual personal space (being totally innocent) may startle her.
 * Shooting the Witch. If you don't actually hit the Witch, shots can land quite close to her without disturbing her, but you have to be far away; if you are too close and shoot near her (especially with shotguns), she will be startled immediately.
 * Setting her on fire. Even if another person has already startled the Witch, setting her on fire will cause her to change targets to the one responsible. This also means that setting the Witch on fire after she has killed her target will cause her to continue her attack until both the person who startled her and the flamer are dead.
 * Throwing a Bile bomb at the Witch.
 * Medium proximity with a flashlight pointed at the Witch.
 * According to in-game cvars, see console commands for details, one can discover that z_witch_personal_space 100 and z_witch_flashlight_range 400
 * In other words, a flashlight will startle the Witch at exactly 4 times the distance mere proximity would.


 * In extremely rare situations, the Tank will actually attack the Witch to startle her but the Tank will kill her before she attacks anyone.
 * On rare occasions, if a Witch is approached from behind, she will not immediately notice that Survivor. But if she begins to stand and comes under large amounts of retaliating gun fire (from about 3 Survivors), instead of targeting the one who shot first, she will cover her head with her hands and try to run away. If she cannot escape the Survivor's line of sight, she will simply stand in a defensive position, covering her head. This sight is extremely rare since Witches are usually killed before they gain the opportunity to retreat.

Survivors
Avoid confrontations with Witches whenever possible. If you are skilled at cr0wning, you might want to kill her that way, as it will save you the trouble if you wander off near her previous location when under attack by a Tank or other Special Infected (sometimes even Common Infected).

If sobbing is heard, it means a Witch is nearby, so it's well advised that you switch off your flashlight, as they startle her from a further distance. When you hear the distinct Witch music, it means she is close, and this music will get louder the closer you get to her. You should alert your team once you hear crying, then again when you hear the music, so turn up your volume. If seen, tell the other Survivors exactly where she is. It helps a great deal to know they cast a red glow on themselves and their surroundings in dark areas. If there are Common Infected blocking your alternate path, try to snipe them from a distance or move through quickly using melee attacks, and avoid landing rounds anywhere near the Witch. This means to never use the shotgun near the Witch, as the shot pellets spray. Should the Witch be inside a room, the best solution is to shut the door and notify your teammates to not open that door. If low on ammo, or no one has explosives, the best solution would be sending in the Survivor with the least health. That way, if the Witch incapacitates them, there won't have been a very large health loss.

Inevitably, however, Witches will be provoked. The Director loves to put a Witch at choke points, such as outside the doorway of a safe room or underneath a Panic Event trigger, and it often places them in areas where Hordes arrive due to Panic Events. If the Witch is obstructing a choke point and must be startled, set up a defensive line and throw explosives before opening fire. Use obstacles like subway cars, escalator ramps, office partitions, etc. to slow her down so that she never catches up to you.

Another alternative is to have your team stand a fair distance from her, and bypass her one at a time. Move quickly so you can get past her before she even fully stands up, and duck out of her line of sight. As soon as she's back to sobbing, have another teammate cross her path, and repeat until all four Survivors have made it past her without trouble. If the Witch is accidentally startled (for instance, when a Smoker is choking an ally and you must shoot, or during a Horde attack), backpedal away from her while firing. The Witch pursues and will incapacitate or instantly kill the Survivor that startled her if she reaches him/her. It is also a good thing to keep in mind that Witches are slightly faster than the Survivors, so it is always a good idea to attack her at the farthest range possible (unless using the cr0wning tactic or carrying a shotgun which can be used to unload lead into the Witch, effectively killing her). However, lighting her on fire, such as with a molotov, will startle her as well, and make her slightly slower, giving a Survivor a tiny advantage in speed.

Another method for avoiding her one-hit kill on expert is being incapacitated by a teammate. The Witch will try to shred the incapacitated Survivor, allowing the others a chance to kill her before she kills the Survivor. Only attempt this if the Witch has already been startled.

Another tactic proven to work on Advanced and lower (Expert is not yet known) is to sneak up behind a Wandering Witch and fire the Combat Shotgun into her backside as fast as possible. If done fast enough, the first two shots should of been fired without her reaction, and she should be dead before the she can make a move to attack you. This is very useful in the Sugar Mill, but it is advised to practice it first.

In Left 4 Dead 2 you can use a chainsaw on her back, she should stay paralyzed, and should die immediately. However this tactic has been known to encounter failure on advanced and expert difficulties, on these difficulty levels avoidance remains the best strategy. Another way to deal with the Witch is to unload an entire round of Explosive Ammunition on her, which is effective (since the explosions will stun her long enough) as long as there's enough Explosive Ammunition to spare. Regardless, avoidance still remains the best strategy.

The Witch, unlike the Tank, can't break down the safe house door after it's been opened and closed again, so of course, there are a few tactics to exploit this fact. One tactic, if the Witch is close to the beginning of the level, would be for three Survivors to hide in the safe house with the door open and for the Survivor with the most/least health to startle the Witch and get inside the safe house before the Witch incapacitates/kills them and close the door. The Witch will run away after a few seconds, and as soon as she does, it is safe to leave the safe house again. Although It is to be noted that Witches seem to be able to attack further through a safe room door, so It is recommended to stand well back from the door.

Be careful around Jockeys when there is a Witch around. AI Jockeys almost always steer Survivors toward Witches, given distance factors.

Preparing for a Witch

 * It is smart to have at least one person on the Survivor side armed with an Auto Shotgun or at least a Pump shotgun. That way, if you have no way of sneaking past her, you will have a better fighting chance against her. Shotguns have the remarkable ability to "cr0wn" Witches — kill in one headshot — whereas the other weapons cannot. The Hunting rifle's long range can prove useful in striking the Witch from a further distance - especially if there are several terrain impediments the Witch must cross. This gives your team more time to eliminate her.
 * Potentially dangerous, but useful, it is smart to locate the Witch first, that way, if you are retreating or need a place to hide during a Crescendo Event, you will know where not to go.
 * Turn off your flashlight, this way she is less likely to be startled.
 * Even without the flashlight, she can still be seen as she casts a red glow on herself and the area around her; watch out for her glowing red eyes!
 * Make sure you are reloaded and stocked with ammo; you don't want to upset her and have nothing to back you up.
 * It is often best to have 3 or more players equipped with tier 2 weapons or, failing that, at least have variety in your weapons, as it truly helps it to make her go down faster.
 * If you're going Witch hunting in Left 4 Dead 2, have the Witch Hunter be equipped with a Magnum pistol and an auto shotgun. Auto shotguns, with their short delay, are excellent for cr0wning Witches, and if the Witch-Hunter is incapacitated, a Magnum with the force of the other teammates' bullets will down the Witch in seconds.
 * The best secondary weapon against Witches is the Chainsaw. With the chainsaw, rev it up and charge the Witch. She will be surprised and start growling, but it is possible to kill her without startling her; it kills Witches very quickly.
 * The best primary weapons against the Witch are the Grenade Launcher, the Combat Shotgun and the Tactical Shotgun. Grenades are especially effective in their ability to stumble the Witch. The SPAS-12 with its tight spread will also down the Witch. The auto shotgun is also effective, but with its wide spread one needs to be close to the Witch and being close to the Witch is what you don't want.
 * If you have adrenaline, take it before you attack the Witch. The speed boost will keep you out of her range until your teammates shoot her down.
 * Explosive Ammunition is incredibly useful, as it causes the Witch to stumble, allowing more time to do damage to her. You can also shoot a Witch with a full clip from an Explosive AK and do enough damage to kill her. This has the added benefit of not causing her to become startled - so long as she never gets the chance to recover - like a proper cr0wning, handy for achievements.

Witch tactics that fail

 * Meleeing against a Witch with the butt of your gun, unless she is stunned.
 * Only the shotgun can deal a great amount of damage to the Witch at close range. Attempting to use anything else in a confined space with little means of escape will cause you to get incapacitated or killed by her.
 * Startling a Witch from several rooftops away (especially on the Dead Air campaign) and expecting the Witch to have difficulty reaching you. Unfortunately, she can climb buildings quickly, so you are not safe.
 * If the Witch killed a Survivor and is fleeing, do not attack her. This would waste ammo, and it is possible to startle the same Witch more than once by setting her on fire. Also remember to stay out of her way or she may hit you if you block her path when she's running away. Eventually, she would disappear and be spawned somewhere else in the map.
 * Closing a door on her while she's chasing you. Although the Intro Scene shows the Witch having difficulty destroying a door, she tears it down in one or two hits in-game. Though this may buy you some time to get farther away; on most occasions it does the opposite as you waste time closing the door when you could be running for your life.
 * Using a Bile Bomb. It will not slow her down like how she was on fire, and the Witch is usually already gunned down once the horde arrives (which means the horde will attack you since its target is gone). However, if thrown at a great distance, a bile bomb will cause a Witch to become confused and eventually retreat.
 * Blocking her path in a narrow space (such as a doorway) when another Survivor has startled her. If a Survivor is blocking the only available path to her original target, the Witch will forget her first victim and instead attack the Survivor standing in her way.

Hit & run
The best strategy for defeating the Witch relies on her established tendency to attack only the person who startled her. There are many tactics to exploit this:


 * Have a designated runner to disturb the Witch from afar while the other Survivors form a defensive line between the runner and the Witch. The runner should attack the Witch, preferably with a Molotov cocktail or a Gas can detonated by gunfire to ignite the Witch. While the runner is being chased, all the other Survivors must concentrate fire on the Witch, who generally moves in a straight line towards her target. If the runner is sufficiently far away and the other Survivors are sufficiently competent at aiming, then the Witch would be unable to inflict any damage. Keep in mind, however, that the Witch can switch targets if a Survivor other than her initial victim blocks her movement for too long. For example, she shoves you back but you are on a narrow catwalk and continue to block her path, or if she climbs something and you are right in front of her when she gets up. For the latter, no knocking back from her is needed. Also, in L4D2, she will change targets to a closer aggressor if the initial target doesn't attack her/does not do enough damage to her (unsure which). The behavior seems somewhat similar to "threat" from MMO games.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2, the above strategy is even more effective if the runner uses adrenaline prior to disturbing the Witch.
 * If you're fortunate enough to find her at the top of a ladder that has a space Survivors can use, use it by having the person who startled her climb a ladder and make the Witch follow, you can trap her under or above the Survivor and she can be easily picked off with any weapon (though you should be very careful with the shotgun, to avoid harming the bait).
 * Fire does damage over time to a Witch. She will do a weird swayed run at you that is slower than usual, screaming from the heat, but can still attack you, unlike normal Infected. Throw a Molotov at the Witch from as far away as you can, then run back towards the beginning safe room while your allies open fire on the Witch. If you are near the beginning of the level, make sure you close the safe room door behind you.
 * The Witch will retreat if someone startles her and runs into the safe room at the end of the chapter.

Hunting rifle melee
It appears that, somehow, if one stuns the Witch via a hunting rifle headshot, she can be still stunned by your melee attacks, which makes her an idle victim (a pipe bomb and gas canister also work as well). To perform this tactic, you must stun (shooting her when she is crying, not growling) her with a headshot and start using your melee attack on her before she can recover - then unload your Hunting Rifle rounds into her. Once you need to reload, switch to your Pistols and continue. Is also possible to melee her when she's on fire. However, it's not recommended do so.

Note: This does not count as startling the Witch.

Other Witch killing tactics

 * At maximum possible distance, have your hunting rifle man shoot the Witch in the head as many times as possible. One can kill a Witch by unloading a full magazine into her. It is always wise, however, to have the other Survivors around you, just in case.
 * Line up your team like a firing squad, within suitable distance from the Witch. Using the hunting rifle, a well placed headshot will stun the Witch and knock her back before she is startled. During these few seconds of startled time, have everyone open fire on her and she will die surprisingly fast. This method is also extremely useful against Tanks, if you're not using shotguns which have an aggressive damage dropoff.
 * Using miniguns if they're nearby. They have the power to kill a Witch so quickly that it may not even be startled. This is rare, however.
 * Explosions can stun the Witch, startled or not. A good tactic that involves minimal risk is to throw a pipe bomb and then making a run for it. The Witch is only startled when the pipe bomb goes off, so if the other Survivors kill it while you run away. Propane or oxygen tanks can also stun the Witch. Throw one next to her, and stun her with a headshot from the hunting rifle. When the initial stun has worn off, blow the tank next to her for a double stun and finish her off.
 * Form a square, while not that complex or daring, it is possible, with enough firepower to have her switch targets just before incapacitating/killing the player. Keep on shooting to make sure she's dead, because if one person thinks she's dead, you all will be soon. Don't use shotguns because of the wide spread will not be effective, and possibly hit other teammates.
 * A good strategy, (especially on easy when the Witch has less health), if someone has a grenade launcher, shoot the Witch with it. This will not kill the Witch, not even on Easy, but it will make her stumble, and give plenty of time for the team to kill her.
 * Using any melee weapon, you may be able to kill the Witch quickly by running up to her and hitting the back of her neck twice. This works well if everyone else is shooting at her while you do this (Note: Make sure that they only start to shoot it after you have already hit it the first time, otherwise it will proceed to attack whichever Survivor shot it.) However, this method is in no way advised, as it usually results in the melee person being incapacitated or killed by the Witch.
 * You can kill the Witch very quickly and effectively with the chainsaw. You do not need precision or experience either, just good timing. (Note: If someone in the group knows how to cr0wn the Witch, let them do it, as it is a less dangerous method to kill it). To kill the Witch with the chainsaw, run over BEHIND her with the chainsaw already started up and attack her anywhere on the body, but the back is the best place, as she can attack you if you are standing in front of her. Continue attacking, even when she becomes startled. If you do this, she should be dead before she even starts to run.

Non-violent tactics

 * Simply abandoning the poor soul who startled the Witch to his/her fate. A very viable solution, particularly when the team is near the end of the level on expert.
 * Without touching the Witch, Survivors file past her one-by-one, each waiting for her to go from growling back to the "safe" crying state before making their move. If you don't wish to wait so long, you can try a more risky option and file past her two-by-two.
 * In rare situations, the Witch will spawn in an open doorway. If you can run up and close the door on her body without startling her, thereby jamming her in the doorway, she will get up and run away without a fight. In addition, if the Witch spawns on the opposite side of a closed door, one can open the door on to her with the same result. This has been confirmed on normal, advanced, and expert modes.
 * A risky tactic is to run and jump over her if she's blocking a choke point such as a doorway. This is possible on easy or normal. This will aggravate her a lot, however, if done correctly, she will not be startled. It is not advisable to do this if the Witch is in front of stairs.
 * Another, quite useful and easy tactic for the Witch is to crouch by her and repeatedly melee her. She will not move at all while doing this, and eventually will sit back down on the ground. Once she is on the floor once more, she will proceed to ignore the Survivors unless shot. Valve has confirmed this was not intended, but decided to leave it in the game for humors sake.
 * If someone startles the Witch, have them hang off a ledge. A good level is The Hospital. The game counts as the player being downed, and the Witch will just run off. If the player is helped up, she won't attack them because she thinks she killed that player. This is a good alternative to downing the player to friendly fire on expert to avoid the one-hit kill, because hanging deals no damage to the player. It will, however, lower your health once you've been helped up if you've been hanging for a long time.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2, it is possible to outrun the Witch if you have used adrenaline recently.
 * A non-violent tactic with Wandering Witches is to make someone spy on her until she exits the path, and when the path is clear, you run past the Witch without disturbing her
 * If you are near a safe room and the person that startles her stands outside and then runs in to the saferoom there is a chance she will run off.
 * Another tactic with the chainsaw is to let someone aggrevate her and confine her to a space, leaving her only one exit such as a door. Stand in the doorway and rev up your chainsaw when she starts running at you.

Infected
Although you cannot play as the Witch, you can "use" her:
 * Smokers can drag Survivors to the Witch.
 * Jockeys can steer Survivors near the Witch.
 * Hunters and Boomers can crouch in front of the Witch, obscuring her from the Survivors sight. Alternately, if a Boomer is killed while the Survivors are relatively close to the Witch, the explosion will startle her, sending her after the person who killed the Boomer. it is also useful to crouch behind her as they will not risk trying to kill you if it would alert the Witch.
 * Spitters can protect the Witch by spitting acid near her. As instinct, Survivors will usually attempt to get away from the acid puddles quickly, which may cause them to touch the Witch, or near the Witch which will force them to deal with her quickly.
 * If you pounce a Survivor as a Hunter while the Witch has already incapacitated someone and is attacking, you will not be damaged and the Survivor will die twice as fast. You will also get points for the damage she inflicts.
 * Some Hunter players crouch just out of sight near the Witch, waiting until a player runs up to attack the Witch, then pouncing them just before they get a chance to fire. This gives the Witch the potential to do a lot damage, possibly even killing the Survivor if timed properly.
 * Most experienced Survivor teams will have three players take up defensive positions while one goes up to Cr0wn the Witch. As a Smoker, you can strangle the player who was tasked with Witch killing just as he/she is about to Cr0wn her. The Witch will be startled, and the Survivor is basically a sitting duck.
 * An Infected player can melee the Witch just as she looks up when a Survivor gets too close, sending her after them. Melee damage is negligible for all Infected other than the Tank.
 * Have all of the Hunters surround and circle the Witch as if you are guarding her. Upon confrontation or encounter, the Survivors will be discouraged from advancing past her knowing that the Witch is both dangerous and heavily guarded by its weaker counterparts. However, judgment should be used for more experienced players, who may be able to pick off the Hunters from afar without damaging the Witch. If the Witch notices the Survivors' presence, a single scratch will cause her to stand up and instantly give chase to the first Survivor she sees.
 * Chargers can bring a Survivor to a Witch, but this requires a lot of work and proper aim. Instead, try using a Charger to protect the Witch from Survivors (auto shotgun or chainsaw wielding survivors.) When the Charger grabs one, the other Survivors will run to their rescue, which is prime time for a Jockey or Smoker to pull a Survivor right to her.
 * If a Wandering Witch is around in an area Survivors must go, attempt to cause some panic near her. Survivors may hit her by mistake, or move too close attempting to kill you or your team mates and startle her
 * Remember that the Wandering Witch's movements are erratic. Smokers and Chargers may miss bringing Survivors close to her, attempt to predict her movements and grab Survivors when she stands still or in enclosed spaces.

Cr0wnd

 * Kill a Witch with a single headshot. Contrary to popular belief, this achievement cannot be earned with a Hunting Rifle, usually taking 12-15 shots even with a headshot.

The achievement is surprisingly "easy" (if nerve-wracking) to do if you have a Pump shotgun, and even easier with an Auto Shotgun. To get the Cr0wnd achievement you have to kill her in one shot. The achievement name "Cr0wnd" splits into two words; "Crown" (as in Crowned) and "0wned", and can also refer to "crowned", referring to the placing of a 'crown of lead' on the Witch's head (also meaning "crown"). Crone is another name for a Witch, 0wned is a common gamer term used when the victim is very easily slaughtered. The word combination leads to Cr0wnd — an effortlessly killed Witch. Another possible origin comes from the fact that "crown" is an archaic term for head.

Approach the Witch without startling her, preferably quickly to give you a chance to do something while she starts moving to get up. Aim your shotgun at her head when you are in extremely close proximity. If you fire your shotgun and miss with the weapon's spray, the Witch will be startled and attack you. If the Witch is approached from behind, she will even present her face as a prime target by looking over her shoulder. From there, a single blast from the shotgun will defeat her (though as a cautionary measure, always shoot more than once). If feeling particularly audacious, another tactic involves running at the Witch and shooting straight downward into her face while jumping over her. Make sure the Witch is still kneeling before attempting this, however, because if she is standing, the only thing this tactic yields is a freshly-opened chest cavity. Also note that this will not count against Do Not Disturb, as she will die before becoming startled. To get the achievement, you need to make sure every pellet from the shotgun's blast impacts her head. Some things to remember include:
 * You do not have to shoot her in the head to get this achievement. The real point of this achievement is to kill her without startling her. If multiple shotgun blasts make contact, but it never said she is startled, it will count as a Cr0wn. Some players have found that it's actually easier to shoot her in the back, rather than the head. It's possible to kill her from the front, side, or even from below if she is on a platform (as long as you are close to her -- doing it from below will not work if she is much higher than you are).
 * Some players prefer crouching in front of the Witch, thereby tightening the shotgun crosshairs and increase the chance of getting all the pellets in the Witch's face. The only downside to crouching is that it does not let the Survivor run away fast enough from the Witch if the first couple of shots fail.
 * Don't hesitate. If you approach her and hesitate to fire, you may find she'll be startled before you attack her. If she's startled, It will be extremely hard to kill her before she gets you. However, if you try to kill her too quickly, you are likely going to miss and lose. Take your time and preferably wait for her to stand up to get a clear shot.
 * With a mere shotgun you can get in two shots if you are hasty, but you'll want to be sure your teammates are still there to get her off you before you try this, unless it's expert difficulty in which case you'll be instantly killed.
 * Practice will easily teach you when to shoot and when not to. This can be achieved in the Developer Commentary on the level The Sewer. At the very end of the level, in front of Mercy Hospital's entrance, there's a commentary node that when activated, will spawn a Witch. The Witch can be killed and respawned for an infinite amount of times. This way, you can practice killing her in one shot. However, the achievement itself cannot be unlocked in "Commentary Mode". It is only useful for practice. It's important to note that she can still attack any bot teammates, and if shot with a hunting rifle she will stumble, then attack you.

Do Not Disturb

 * Sneak past all Witches in a campaign without disturbing one. Successful Cr0wning does not disqualify the player(s) from getting the "Do Not Disturb" achievement.

This can be difficult if trying to achieve by yourself. The Director seems to like putting them in the way, particularly at the bottoms of ladders, or in front of an invitingly open door to a safe house, and realistically every group of Survivors finds they absolutely must come into conflict with the Witch. This is why getting the "Do not Disturb" achievement is considered somewhat hard to obtain, as it depends on The Director not placing one in the way of the Survivors, and because your bot teammates usually fail at sneaking past her. It is quite possible for two Witches to spawn near each other, so it's best to leave your flashlight off until you can no longer hear her crying. Your bot teammates will usually notify the team if they hear another Witch. This can even occur on easy. Your best bet would be to play through the Blood Harvest campaign, Death Toll campaign or the Crash Course campaign. The Witch sometimes spawns in the woods, and makes sneaking past her a breeze. It’s important to note that when the Witch threateningly growls and stands, this will not count against this achievement. Once you get the "X has startled the Witch" message, it isn't possible to get the achievement on that playthrough.

Witch Hunter

 * Kill a Witch without any Survivor taking damage from her.

This is more difficult than "Tankbusters" (a similar achievement for the Tank), but the easiest way is to do it in levels with platforms, like the No Mercy campaign. Just try to get above the Witch, and then have everyone unleash hell on her. If there is plenty of space between you and the Witch, and you are playing with two or more person controlled players, just make sure everyone has a full magazine in an assault rifle, and just start unloading on her from a safe distance, she should die before reaching you. It's best to do this on easy. It'll take her a while to reach you. Likewise, you may also single-handedly kill the Witch by arming yourself with a semi-auto shotgun and unleashing all of your rounds on her. This requires long open space behind you, however; you will wish you hadn't attempted such a stunt if you hit the back of a train, or a gate, or wall. This achievement can be automatically awarded upon achieving Cr0wnd. This achievement can also be easily achieved on easy by releasing several shots from the auto shotgun in close range, killing her easily, make sure to back up as you are doing this as she will get close.

Burn the Witch

 * Light a Witch on fire with a Molotov. You still get this achievement if you do it with gasoline, this also applies to the Towering Inferno achievement.

Just like Witch Hunter, try to get onto a platform above the Witch, just for the easiest shot, since she'll be immobile, and you can take aim. If there are no platforms, just get at the closest range you can without her reacting, and Hail Mary.

Sob Story


A Left 4 Dead 2 achievement. It is earned by navigating through the second level in the Hard Rain campaign, a Witch-infested sugar mill, without killing a single one. However, if you do happen to startle a Witch, letting the teammate die will not ruin your chance at the achievement. It's recommended that players use melee weapons and grabbing any defibrillator units the Survivors find. If used properly, bile bombs may also be useful for non-lethally removing any Witches in your way.

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Trivia

 * The Witch resembles the final "Infected" from the Spanish zombie horror film, REC
 * When the Witch is examined up-close, it can be noted that her face was not given any facial animations like the Common Infected. This is also the case with most Special Infected, except for the Boomer, who slightly moves his mouth.
 * When the Witch dies, her eyes still glow. But when the Wandering Witch dies, her eyes do not glow.
 * Some graffiti in the safe room at the beginning of The Church makes references to the Witch.


 * Witches occasionally glitch and freeze on ladders; if she incapacitates a Survivor on a ladder, she will climb down to attack them on the ground, but may freeze and not be able to move off the ladder for the aforementioned reason, setting up an ideal moment to get the Cr0wnd achievement.
 * Witches have been observed spawning in several odd locations. Some of which are on top of hand rails and places you could not reach otherwise, such as on the other sides of tall fences. It is also possible for a Witch to spawn on top of the crane's container in the second level of Dead Air after the Crescendo Event associated with it has finished. Another odd spawn that can happen is The Witch spawning near a source of fire and getting burned to death.
 * The Witch can attack and kill any Common Infected in her way. She may also attack any Special Infected in her way if they block her path, but she doesn't seem to do damage to them, and they do not retaliate.
 * Sometimes, if you are in a room directly above the Witch, you will hear her growl softly like you entered her territory, despite the fact that you cannot see her and she can't see you. This happens in areas like the Crane, in the office buildings.
 * Sometimes in campaigns, another Special Infected may attack a Witch to make the first Survivor that gets close to her be her target. This can be avoided by letting the Infected kill the Witch.
 * Although rare, sometimes two Witches will spawn at the same time in the same general area.
 * On rare occasions a Witch will be startled and freeze with her arms raised and her head will keep following the person who startled her. This will sometimes even happen after she incapacitates the person who startled her.
 * The Witch and the Hunter are the only Special Infected that don't appear in the Zombie Survival Guide trailer.
 * The Witch seems to have a different running animation in Left 4 Dead 2
 * According to an interview with Chet Faliszek, the Witch apparently enjoys the scent of sugar, which explains why there is a Witch-infested mill in Hard Rain.
 * Despite this, Coach sometimes suggests that the rain brings out so many Witches.
 * Music Cue: Witch
 * In Left 4 Dead 2, her music cue is different if she is wandering around. The song actually gets different and more intense as you get closer, instead of just louder
 * When examining a Wandering Witch up-close, it can be noted that her footsteps are not in sync with her movement. Thus, making her appear as if she is 'gliding' on surfaces or 'moonwalking'.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2, it seems that the Witch moves slower if she is being continuously shot at, therefore making the Witch not reach the one who startled her.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2, never use Incendiary Ammo on a Witch if you didn't startle it, especially after the Witch incapacitated or killed its victim. Setting it on fire will make it immediately go after whoever shot them, even if it just killed or incapacitated the person who originally startled her.
 * This has been fixed on PC, but is still present in the XBox 360 version. Cr0wning the Witch with incendiary ammo will glitch her into becoming invincible and the bots will not register her alive and attempt to revive you while you are down. She will continue to attack until you die, but instead of running away after the player is killed, she runs around in a certain area with her arms flailing instead of over her head. If you do 'cr0wn' her with Incendiary ammo, in the Witch Hunter screen, it will show that you did enough damage to kill her (near 1000), even if you unloaded many more shots than what would do that amount of damage.
 * Witches have been seen being clawed by Special Infected bots. Even when you go near them the Special Infected bot will not notice you and keep attacking the Witch. It is mostly Hunters that have been seen doing this.
 * Sometimes, if you 'cr0wn' a Witch, it will say you inflicted more than 1000 damage to her (often between 1020 to 1050.) This is probably extra damage you inflicted to her as she was performing her dying animation. Also, if you use a molotov to kill a Witch, it rarely states that you actually inflicted any damage to her (sometimes saying you inflicted about 30 damage.) This is likely because it was the fire, not you directly, that killed her. The small damage that is does register to her in this way is probably from the the small initial explosion the molotov gives off.
 * Although a Witch spawning in a finale is highly unlikely, it has happened when the Director is feeling particularly sadistic.
 * Even though Witches don't have any physical features that show her strength, there's no question that she is the strongest Infected in the game. Though a Tank could deal a large chunk of damage on Expert Difficulty, the Witch can instantly kill the Survivor, meaning Survivors could live after being punched, but not being slashed by a Witch.
 * The Wandering Witch can be stunned with explosives like the Grenade Launcher or Pipe bombs, but cannot be stunned with a headshot with a Hunting Rifle or Sniper Rifle, and as such, the Wandering Witch can't be cr0wned in that fashion.
 * Given that the strain of infection that affected the Jockey gave him mania, it is possible that the strain that affected the Witch put her in a depression. People also Believe that the witch has her own emotions, therefore she cries and when startled kills the startler as she does not want to be seen in her infected form, and when she kills the target she runs away in disbelief of killing a human being.