The Smoker

The Smoker is an Infected with a long, whip-like tongue that is hundreds of feet long. The Smoker's tongue can be launched out of its mouth at high speeds. When the Smoker's tongue reaches one of the Survivors, it automatically wraps up their body and drags it off toward the Smoker. When constricted, Survivors have a brief moment (1-2 seconds) to shoot the offending Smoker before their arms are ensnared by the tongue; if they fail, the Survivor is helplessly dragged off, and will take damage until either the Smoker or he/she dies. The Smoker claws at an ensnared Survivor when they are dragged all the way back to him, while at the same time the Survivor takes damage from the tongue constricting them if an obstacle obstructs them from being dragged to the Smoker. If a Survivor isn't dragged all the way back to a Smoker due to an obstruction (for example, a horde surrounding the Survivor) the Survivor will only take damage from the tongue's squeeze (this damage seems to be the same as when the Smoker is clawing at them, however). When killed, a Smoker leaves a haze of dark green smoke, obscuring the Survivors if they stand in it. Like most other Special Infected, a melee hit from the Smoker does about twice as much damage as the horde. Only one Smoker is allowed on the Infected team while playing Versus.

Left 4 Dead 2
It seems that in Left 4 Dead 2, the Smoker has a different physical appearance. The Infection has caused the Smoker to now have very large lumps and tumor-like appendages on the left arm, rather like the Boomer's boils and blisters, hinting at a form of infected strain for the Smoker, while these lumps are completely removed on the right. Aside from his original tongue, he now has two relatively short tongues sticking out the back of them his shoulder, one tongue coming out the right side of his neck, one looped at the bottom, and a large tongue is sticking out the back of his neck, which makes a total of 6 tongues. Most notable is the presence of a massive tumor on his throat and chest which pulse in game. Using the pressure from this combined with muscle control could explain how he is able to shoot his tongue. His skin is also no longer dark gray, and remains normally colored, and he also seems to be a great deal shinier, as if he is covered in either infectious pus or some other oily substance, making him look very disgusting. In terms of clothing, he now wears a blue T-shirt, and jeans with a slight sag that show the strap of his under garments. Also, his tongue wraps mostly around the Survivor's throat, instead of just their chest and arms. Aside from the new skin, sound effects and he stands straight when he shoots his tongue, the Smoker remains the same as in the first game.

Extent of Mutations
The Smoker has been heavily mutated by a strain of the Infection, though it resembles most typical Infected, it is taller, and its skin has become covered in growths that causes a little spurts of green smoke and blood when shot, and a large musky green cloud to form when ruptured during death. Its face is bloated and appears to be covered by a large tumor. It has also developed an extremely long, powerful tongue capable of extending great distances (up to 50 meters) and can easily drag and strangle its unlucky target. Occasionally, when killing the Smoker, hundreds of feet of "tongue" will spew from its mouth, supporting the intestines theory. Though its mentality is similar to that of the typical Infected, it's not distracted by such things as the flashing lights of pipe bombs nor is it apparently attracted by such things as car alarms going off. Some have suggested that the mutated "tongue" could actually be its intestines. It is said that the smoke it expels gives off a putrid smell, but it otherwise harmless. In Left 4 Dead 2, the tumor on the front of the face has grown and now covers the back of the head, and a tongue shaped growths are all over its neck and on its left shoulder. Said tumor also pulses in game contracting and expanding. The arm growths have also gotten much bigger, but seem to only cover one side. The Smoker also bears a massive cavity in the back of its head/neck similar to that of a long time chain smoker, but from there, what appears to be a second tongue is protruding from the cavity. A second theory leading to the Smokers mutation is that the strain of infection has caused a type of fungus, or similar bacteria to grow along its face. This could also be responsible for the spore or smoke clouds, and its tongue(s), since in many cases fungus has been known to grow tentacle like appendages. This is supported by the fact that upon death, the Smokers original tongue disappears and you can see the true tongue in his mouth.

Survivors
General strategy:
 * Always have at least one buddy close at hand.
 * Listen for the distinctive hacking cough sound the Smoker makes.
 * When snared, immediately start shooting towards the Smoker as there is a brief moment while you are still able to fire.
 * If at close range, and Smokers tend to be very agile when escaping, four melee attacks will kill a Smoker, much like the Hunter due to the same number of health points.
 * Look for the green cloud the Smoker leaves in his wake.

Upon seeing a Smoker:
 * If it is far away: open fire
 * If it is close: quickly do a melee attack. This is important because if you get tongued at very close range, you may not get any window of opportunity for shooting at all.

Just after being ensnared:
 * There is approximately a one to two second window of opportunity after getting captured by the Smoker's tongue to shoot the Smoker.
 * If you can't see the Smoker, shoot the tongue instead. Don't neglect to kill the Smoker afterwards. It does take a while for the Smoker to "recharge" that tongue for another attack, but it will happen. At the very minimum, warn fellow Survivors that the Smoker is still an active threat.
 * Don't bother trying to melee the tongue if you have been captured, this used to work but a patch from Valve means that now the only way to get free is lead rain.
 * If a Smoker grabs you while you're throwing a pipe bomb, and no other Survivors are around or notice you, throw the pipe bomb at the Smoker. The resulting explosion will free you from the Smoker's grasp.

Helping a captured Survivor:
 * Use a melee attack. You can melee two things to instantly free them and avoid nasty friendly-fire incidents:
 * The Survivor themselves
 * The Smoker
 * Shoot
 * Target the Smoker (the tongue should lead you right to it)
 * If you can't see the Smoker then target the tongue instead
 * If you can't see the Smoker or the tongue then shoot the Smoker through the wall or ceiling (i.e.: judge the position of the Smoker relative to the Survivor getting clawed)..

Infected
If you're playing as a Smoker, a common yet useful tactic is to exploit the advantage of higher ground. Choking a Survivor from above is far more effective than dragging a Survivor straight to you. Being higher makes it harder to see and kill you, giving you the advantage. When executing this properly, you can be extremely dangerous, just constrict, step back, recharge, repeat. This can possibly lead to all Survivors at orange health before your death.

The key point to the Smoker is to be patient and wait until the Survivors are distracted or separated.


 * The Smoker also works well with the Hunter. Between them, they can immediately silence two separated Survivors without a fight.
 * There are several locations where a Smoker can pull a Survivor and have a Hunter pounce on them to kill, not incapacitate. One such spot exists on the roof of No Mercy, on the area where the Survivors exit when they climb the ladders. Another exists in the first chapter of Dead Air, when survivors must exit onto a tin roof with the words "HELP" writen on it.
 * The Smoker is the Tank's best friend. The last thing a group of Survivors need is to have one of their friends dragged a long distance away during a Tank battle.
 * When a Survivor is facing a Smoker after it grabs them, their first instinct is to send a hail of gunfire towards him in an attempt to escape. This can be used as a deadly advantage when it comes to car alarms. Stand in front of the car, and pull a Survivor toward you. If you're lucky, instinct will overcome common sense, and the Survivor will trigger the car alarm while attempting to escape. If you are even luckier, you will then entangle the Survivor before they can shoot their way free, and the oncoming horde will help you deal triple the damage you normally would.
 * A better tactic to use as the Smoker is to hide behind an alarmed car and drag your victim from there. This buys you extra time against the more experienced players as they shuffle around to attack you, and it provides you with a protection from not-so-experienced players who shoot blindly in a panic.
 * Cocky Survivors will usually chase after a fleeing Smoker whose tongue is recharging in order to kill them off. If you notice this behavior, take advantage of it. Have a Hunter wait around a corner, and then get one of the Survivors to chase you, and have the Hunter pounce the Survivor chasing you.
 * If Survivors are chasing you and it you will likely die, go ahead and try to use your melee attack against them and do as much damage as you can before death. Every bit of damage counts.
 * Common Infected don't stop attacking a Survivor just because you have him entangled, in fact it's the bane of a Survivor covered in Boomer bile. Try to prey on Survivors covered in bile, especially when they're weak.
 * Alternatively, if a Boomer has vomited on the three other Survivors, you can take the opportunity to grab the fourth. While the other three are covered in bile, they cannot see aura signals of their allies. In the mess of the Horde battle, the lack of an aura means they may not even notice.
 * If the Survivors are near a large vertical drop - such as an overhang or rooftop - take advantage of this by pulling them over the edge. This will either cause a great deal of falling damage or incapacitate them by making them cling to the edge. However, also be careful when doing this as the Smoker's tongue can remain tied around the survivor leaving the Smoker defenseless.
 * There are also certain points on each map where dragging a Survivor off a certain rooftop or out of a certain window will kill them instantly. This is a game changing tactic and can mean the difference between winning and losing a Versus match, so learn those points! Generally this manifests in the form of the Survivor dangling over an area that a drop from freeing them would result in instant death.
 * Higher ground is a great advantage, but sometimes the low ground plays to your advantage. If the Survivors are on a high structure that takes precious time to get back on top of and you pull them off being in a position where you are not easily hit, someone else will have to come down to rescue the entangled Survivor. This can split the Survivors and will cost both the Survivor and his rescuer precious time to scale back up the building and get back with the team.
 * Try to think like a Survivor. Consider the worst possible time you've been dragged away by the Smoker. In particular, being dragged into the arms of a Witch or Boomer, off ledges or rooftops, and into a raging inferno are devastating.
 * Unlike the Hunter, a Survivor can still attack you for a second or so before they are knocked over and dragged if they spot you. If they do you'll most likely die a quick death. In light of this, always attack from above or behind and never in front.
 * Your main job is to halt the Survivors, force them to backtrack, and give your teammates more time to re-spawn. Any damage you cause is just icing on the cake. Again, prioritize your targets - red outlined people first. During finales, your main job is to pull people away from the group.
 * Survival sometimes leaves you well behind the Survivor team with no way to move quickly ahead of them and set up another ambush. Keep this in mind - it's sometimes better to run away from them until you get that "Press E/X to respawn" message, rather than trying to run behind them and grab someone while in broad daylight. Note that due to a recent patch, this will no longer reset your health to 100%.
 * If there is ever an area where Survivors need to drop down and there is no way back up (for example, The Apartments in No Mercy chapter 1) a Smoker can wait behind the Survivors until 3 of the 4 Survivors drop down and then quickly grab the 4th. As long as the 4th Survivor doesn't kill you before he's knocked over, you are almost always guaranteed a kill. Just be careful to be definitely out of the line of sight of anyone down the hole.
 * One of the Smoker's best strategies is to grab Survivors at the back of the group. That way, the other Survivors probably won’t notice a missing Survivor.
 * You can grab a Survivor through thin objects such as doors, or windows, though normally, as you drag the Survivor away, he will be stopped by the object. They will sometimes, however, just slide though, allowing you to pull them even farther away.
 * When a Survivor is on a higher area (e.g. on the second floor of a building) look for a dividing between you and your target, such as a car, or a shipper container for example. Then walk closely towards your chosen obstacle, and find an optimal distance where you are hidden behind it but still can see the target if you jump up. Jump up and drag the Survivor. Most commonly, the Survivor will be hung at the other end while you are safely behind the divider.
 * If you are above the Survivors, and are able to aim straight down and grab one with your tongue, they generally fall into a fully constricted state immediately, as there is nowhere for them to be pulled to. This is handy for removing one of the four guns from a fight.
 * Try to team up with the other Special Infected on your team. As a Smoker, it's your job to stop the Survivors and if a Special Infected, for example, a Tank, can kill them whilst they're snared, you've done your job well.
 * On Dead Air, try to shoot your tongue through the metal detector into a Survivor. They will be dragged back through the metal detector and set it off, spawning a horde for the other Survivors to deal with.
 * In The Turnpike, at the beginning of Death Toll, there is a bridge that has been destroyed, littered with abandoned cars. There are ladders the Survivors have to climb - if you stand on the bridge ahead of the Survivors spawn and snag one while they are climbing near the top, they will be pulled into mid air. If at this point you are killed, the drop will incapacitate them due to the height of the bridge and most likely previous attacks from the Smoker.

Good Ambush Spots
There are a number of places a Smoker can pull a Survivor that will result in instant death or incapacitation. There are also a few places that you can grab a Survivor, and others will not be able to help them.

No Mercy
The Apartments The Subway The Sewer The Hospital Rooftop Finale
 * If a Survivor is careless enough to jump on the slightly higher ledge on the rooftop they start on after you spawn, you can grab a Survivor, and they will hang helplessly. If another Survivor frees them, they will fall to their death. If they don't help your victim, you will eventually kill them.
 * Grab the last Survivor before they jump through the hole to the ground floor, but be conscious of the fact that the other Survivors can shoot through the ceiling. Also be aware of the AI survivors ability to climb back up through the hole.
 * There is a long corridor of tall buildings outside the main building you leave from, which makes a great rooftop ambush area.
 * In the generator room, once the Survivors are on the walkway above the crescendo event trigger, a Smoker can grab a Survivor from up there and incapacitate or kill them, depending on their health.
 * If you go ahead of the Survivors before the crescendo event, you can break the windows of the first office, and, if they go near a window, you can drag the Survivor to their doom.
 * You can grab the last Survivor trying to go into the sewer.
 * You can possibly pull a Survivor back into the manhole that they came out of near the hospital, and incapacitate them.
 * After the Survivors activated the Crescendo Event, grab the last Survivor crossing the roof and pull them down behind the trucks. This will hold the Survivors back severely.
 * On a walkway, after a flight of stairs leading from the starting safe-room, there is a walkway which, if you break the metal bars that support it, you can drag survivors off to slow their progress, as they have to climb some stairs to its far left to get back onto it again. This is most useful in the middle of a horde or Tank attack.
 * On the 28th floor, there is a curve on the roof. As shown in the video below, you can grab a Survivor and dangle them until they die or another survivor kills you.
 * You can hide on the roof with the satellite and grab a Survivor as they emerge from the roof access ladder, the unsuspecting Survivor will be pulled off and most likely perish, though incapacitation is possible.
 * If you grab the last Survivor to leave the high roof, you will likely kill or incapacitate them because the other Survivors cannot get back up to save them.
 * When the rescue chopper arrives, try to stay hidden and as the Survivors run to the chopper grab the one with the most health. Pull him behind a building then have the other infected attack the Survivors at the chopper. This will give the Tank a good chance to kill the three others and keep them from getting out to rescue the one you snag while you slowly kill them.

Death Toll
The Turnpike The Drains
 * You can pull a Survivor off the broken bridge, and kill them or incapacitate them with low health.
 * There are many holes in the roof inside the tunnel that you can attack from with relative safety.
 * There are many trains you can pull survivors off, including some that other survivors can't get back onto to rescue their freind.
 * You can drag survivors back down the hill that leads up to the saferoom.
 * To the left of the starting safe-room is a high wall with some generators on it. This makes a great spot to attack from, as it is close to where the survivors start, and if you team up with a boomer, hard to hit you from behind the generators.
 * Inside the right pipe there is a hole in the top of it that you can attack from to grab stragglers or anyone running ahead.
 * There are a series of manholes and holes in the floor, as well as many overhanging walkways near the exit to the sewers, which are a haven for ambush Smoker attacks.
 * You can pull a Survivor back down the walkway after the crescendo event.
 * Just outside the safe-room, there is a walkway you can pull survivors off.

The Church The Town Boathouse Finale
 * The watchtower at the beginning of the level can prove dangerous to the Survivors if they go to the top of it, as you grab them and pull them off.
 * After the Survivors jumped off the train car, if you ensnare the last one, they won't be able to save them.
 * Right at the start, you can pull a Survivor off the balcony they go onto for serious damage, or even a kill.
 * Later on in the level, there is a walkway that the survivors must jump up onto from a van. You can slow survivors by pulling them from this.
 * Outside the safe-room, before all the survivors jump down behind the mesh fence, you can pull the last one back where the other survivors can't save him.
 * You can pull survivors into the water from many different places, but the best is from the back of the house and from the walkway where the boat arrives.
 * You can also pull survivors from the walkway on the house, down into the horde below.

Dead Air
The first two chapters in this campaign were made for Smokers.

The Greenhouse The Crane The Construction Site Runway Finale
 * As the Survivors are crossing the first wooden bridge, you can pull them off, either from below them or on a nearby rooftop. There are also many good spots to pull a Survivor off in this chapter.
 * When the Survivors are on the rooftop that contains the Crane itself, you can pull them off from many directions.
 * When the Survivors cross the wooden bridge linking the two buildings, you can pull an enemy off from the narrow alley down below.
 * When the Survivors are on the upper areas, you can pull the Survivors off for some fall damage.
 * If you stand right in front of the static fire in the crater, and pull a Survivor into it, you can kill or incapacitate them quicker, plus, in the time it takes to get someone to help them, they may die.

Blood Harvest
The Woods The Tunnel The Bridge The Train Station Farmhouse Finale
 * If a Survivor walks by the ledge of the chasm, you can pull one of the Survivors off into the abyss.
 * If a Survivor walks too close to the edge of the train tunnel below, you can grab them, but they may just be hanging for their life. They may still fall and die, but hanging is usually the case.
 * You can pull a Survivor off the walkway immediately after the office-like areas for death or incapacitation.
 * You can pull an enemy out of the first window they come near after going up the stairs by the emergency door.
 * After the Survivors go up the bridge that they broke down, you can pull a Survivor off the cliff they are on, and kill them.
 * If you pull a Survivor out of the barn, you can do a good bit of damage. Also on the train station, pulling an enemy off the roof onto ground level can kill or incapacitate someone. On the same level, there is a very long, large chasm, and, needless to say, you can drag them down to a misty grave.
 * When the Survivors jump down to the cornfield, if you grab the last one, they are pretty much doomed. Make sure you are far back though, because anyone with a hunting rifle can take you out before you do any serious damage. You can also, right at the start, hide in the very edge of the cliff beside the safe room and right as they go out spawn and pull one of them and kill him/her.

Videos
300px|left|thumb|General tips and tricks on playing as a Smoker.

Behind the Scenes
The original design of the Smoker was to "pop in" to the Survivor group in a cloud of smoke, seize any Survivor, and "pop out" again to leave the unlucky Survivor stranded. Valve changed the design, however, saying it was "too challenging for the players." This design has never been seen in any video footage, suggesting that it was dropped early in development.

In early footage, the Smoker seems to have the ability to release pitch-black smoke whenever he wants to. If a survivor is near the Smoker when he fires his smoke, he/she will be pushed back, like he was hit by a Boomer explosion. In addition, the Smoker's tongue would drag a victim at a significantly faster rate, but the victim would be able to fire at the Smoker while he/she was being dragged. A video of the old Smoker behavior can be seen here.

A later video shows that the player took something called "poison damage" from a Smoker. When a person was affected by poison damage, the damage inflicted would turn into temporary health.

An unused server variable shows that the Smoker's smoke was supposed to injure anyone that walked through it. The command is set to "0" by default, meaning that the player takes no damage while walking through it. However, some servers have changed the variable to other numbers so that the player takes damage by running through the smoke. The altered variable is the damage that the Smoker's smoke does to players.

In development, you used to be able to release victims, via right click while a Survivor was being pulled. This can still be accessed by using the console command z_tongue_allow_voluntary_release.

Trivia

 * The Smoker is the tallest Infected. Even taller than the Tank, this is odd, as smoking stunts growth in real life. The Smoker may in fact be this tall for intended irony. But it also could be that the Smoker is in fact not emitting smoke and is instead releasing spores of some sort, because he couldn't actually be emitting smoke unless if he was on fire. His height may also be a design to help the Survivors distinguish the Smoker from regular Infected, as well as allowing Survivors easier shots of the Smoker, should he have someone entangled. Alternatively, this can help the Smoker see over things in front of him to help snare the survivors more easily.
 * It is possible that the Smoker was as tall as he is before he was infected. By looking at his clothes, one can see that they are not short, meaning he didn't grow much since being human.


 * According to Steam's global stats, as of November 2009, the Smoker has unfortunately the most easily acquirable Game Achievement with the "Drag and Drop" achievement being awarded to 73.0% of all players of the PC version of Left 4 Dead.
 * The long tongue and constriction aspect of the Smoker is similar to the Licker zombie from the Resident Evil series.
 * The Smoker is also similar to the Marvel villain Toad, who also uses his long tongue to ensnare his enemies.
 * When a Survivor is killed by a Smoker's constriction attack, a loud crack can be heard. This is most likely due the Survivor's ribs breaking under the pressure, or possibly the Survivor's neck snapping.
 * After a Smoker has shot his tongue, it cannot be avoided unless it hits a solid object, is shot, the Smoker dies, or if the player noclips out of the map. This means Smoker tongues grow longer while going after their target, regardless of range, while also homing in on the Survivor targeted.
 * The Smoker was ranked #3 in Game Informer magazine's "Top 10 Villains of 2008", stating, "There's not a lot more terrifying than being dragged up the side of a building and realizing that there's nothing you can do to save yourself.".
 * Smoker bacteria. The Smoker's music.
 * Like the Tank, The Smoker appears to have no claws, but when his ensnared victim gets close, he starts swinging his hands as if it was scratching the Survivor. This could be why the Survivors do not seem to take extra damage from the Smoker clawing at them. It could also be possible that when the survivor is close to the Smoker, he stops tightening his grip and it's his claws that are doing damage.
 * It is possible for a Smoker to pull a Survivor on top of them, or even behind them. This usually happens when a Smoker pulls a survivor that is almost directly above them, causing them to fall onto the Smoker, but resulting in them hovering above the Smoker while being strangled.
 * In the Zombie Survival Guide trailer for Left 4 Dead 2, the Smoker's tongue stays wrapped around Ellis after the Smoker's death. In a normal situation, the tongue simply disappears.