The Witch

"Y'all better kill ya lights."

- Ellis

"RUN LIKE HELL!"

- Zoey

The Witch is a member of the Infected and the only one to display an initially passive response to presence of Survivors. She is also the only non-playable Special Infected.

The Witch is highly sensitive to light and the close presence of uninfected humans. Shining a flashlight on a Witch or approaching too closely will "startle" her and trigger an attack. Hitting her with a bullet has the same result. She is totally unresponsive to Infected and the passage of nearby bullets.

When alert to the presence of an uninfected human or flashlight, she will look in the human's direction and make a low warning growl: this signals an incipient attack. If the human backs off, switches the light off or moves quickly out of her presence, she will fairly soon settle back into a passive state. But if the threat persists, she will launch an attack directed at the human who "startled" her at great speed, singling out the person who provoked the attack. She is able to incapacitate her victim instantly whereupon she frenziedly slashes that person with her clawed hands, only stopping if either she or the victim die.

If an attack is successful and she is still alive, she will run off sobbing out of sight. She will display the same behavior if her attack is frustrated (e.g. the victim is able to outrun her), again she will give up and run away.

Killing a Witch is not always required, since players can often sneak around her or wait until she wanders away from their intended path. However if she is immobile because it is dark and it is not possible to go around her, the only option is to work out a plan to kill her.

Appearance
A Witch's physique is that of a extremely thin young woman with pale skin, shoulder-length platinum-blonde hair, sunken red eyes, and a bloody mouth full of sharp teeth. She is only clad in the remains of a tattered white tank top and a pair of white panties, and like most Special Infected she does not wear any shoes. Her most distinctive features are the twelve-inch-long, bloodstained claws her fingers have grown into. Her knees and feet are stained with dirt and blood.

Extent of Mutations
The Witch has been heavily mutated by a strain of The Infection, in terms of physical strength rather than appearance. Though resembling a typical female Infected, she has sharpened elongated fingers that are similar to an effect of Marfan syndrome known as arachnodactyly. Sometimes when a Witch is around Francis might say, "I smell a Witch *sniff* *sniff* and she is close," and in the beta version of the opening trailer Louis comments upon startling the "Funky-smelling bitch!" which means that she could have a putrid odor. Similar comments are made about the other Infected, meaning they could all have their own distinguishing odors. In an interview with Chet, he claimed that the Witch had a strange attraction to the smell of sugar, which explains why there are a large number of Witches near the Sugar Mill in Hard Rain. Her choice of attire when compared to other Infected could indicate a raised body temperature such as a fever, which could also explain the sluggishness, constant signs of distress, irritability, and sensitivity to light and sound.

Despite her petite figure, the Witch has incredible strength and stamina, enabling her to incapacitate or instantly kill Survivors in one hit, depending on the difficultly level. Needless to say, great care is vital on Expert. She is known to cry when not aware of the Survivors, although the exact reasoning behind it is unknown. It's likely she is incredibly depressed - a symptom that could accompany her loss of sanity. Alternitively, it could be an evolutionary advantage, meant to lure unsuspecting Survivors to her, as further demonstrated in the intro of Left 4 Dead, when Bill and Zoey go to investigate her crying, thinking she may be a Survivor. 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 (though setting her on fire will anger her). She is also not apparently attracted by things such as car alarms going off, although this will alert her of the Survivors' presence. Oddly, she glows red in dark areas, possibly due to her glowing eyes. It is also unknown whether or not the Witch is extremely thin is because of the Infection (I.e weight loss due to starvation) or this was her body shape before the infection took place.

General Information

 * 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 her crying.
 * She can and will appear on every difficulty and level, sometimes even twice or more. Her first strike on any Survivor will incapacitate them, after which she will pause and then begin ripping them to shreds. An exception to this is on Expert difficulty or Realism Mode, in which she instantly kills the Survivors instead. The mutation, Death's Door, also has Witches cause an instant kill to survivors, due to incapacitation being removed from the game mode.
 * Witches have quite a long reach due to their long claws, and have been known to incapacitate Survivors in mid-air, which causes them to land, incapacitated, in areas inaccessible to fellow Survivors. She is also known to attack through the windows of closed doors such as the CEDA trailer in The Parish.
 * After she has killed her target, the Witch begins to run around screaming and covers 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 manages to escape from the Survivors, she mysteriously disappears once she is completely out of sight.
 * If you run past the Witch when she is not facing you, you will hear a quick gasp, this means she knows you're there but will not attack unless you stay near her.
 * The Witch will stare at whoever is making her angry before she is startled.
 * If the initial survivor who startles the Witch manages to gain enough distance from her, she may attack a fellow teammate.
 * Rarely, but possible, the Witch may decide to attack another survivor after she kills the first one if another survivor irritates her (mainly from continued gun fire).
 * It is impossible to shove her with a bash unless you catch her while she is stunned from a stun-inducing headshot or explosion.

The Wandering Witch
thumb|250px|right During daylight time in Left 4 Dead 2, the Witch changes her behavior: instead of sitting in one spot, weeping, she walks aimlessly through the map, crying as bitterly as ever. In this state, they are referred to as Wandering Witches (also known as the Walking Witch). In the Hard Rain campaign, the Witches wander during daylight but become idle when night sets in.

She is still zoned out like the original Witch and still cries but has different sounds and a new music cue. When a Survivor is near, the music cue gets more intense, as she starts growling, with her hands slowly moving away from her face. As she grows more agitated, she may stop moving and may start looking around for the Survivors with her arms spread to maim whatever is disturbing her. When she is startled, her music cue becomes the startled music cue from the first Left 4 Dead. The Witch does not like the light, based on the way she covers her eyes and moves. This would explain why flashlights startle her in the original Left 4 Dead. This is probably the reason why flashlights do not anger her as much in the day as she is already in sunlight, hence this extra light would not startle her very easily if kept at a smaller distance to her than at night. The Wandering Witch is sometimes hard to avoid, leaving the 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 or even slightly damage her without startling her (end-of-level tallies have shown over 50 damage).

Despite the Wandering Witch's unpredictable nature, they are often easier to handle during the day than during the night. She is much harder to anger by proximity and presents a larger target, making it relatively easy to simply walk up behind her and fire a single shotgun blast to the back, killing her instantly. However, her height, motion and level lighting makes it harder to tell her from a Common Infected quickly and at range, and a hasty shot can easily set her off. Once startled, her actions are the same as at night; if she kills a Survivor she will immediately flee. Shooting the Witch while she is running away may cause her to attack the person who shot her. The Witch may sometimes stumble into hazards the player has created, such as patches of fire, so that she becomes startled and attacks. Her gait appears to be moderately slow, but do not be deceived: just like at night, she can move surprisingly fast even before being startled.

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

When the sun goes down, the Witch will act the same way she does in Left 4 Dead, sitting and sobbing while waiting for the Survivors. Oddly, the Witch is significantly less aggressive during the nighttime in Left 4 Dead 2, even compared to the original game. Players can stand close enough that she looks up at them and growls, but she won't stand up or attack them unless they stand within poking distance, shine a light in her face, or attack her. In part two of The Sacrifice comic, Louis warns two soldiers guarding his and Francis' cell of the Wandering Witch's habits, advising them to keep silent and press their backs against the wall, allowing the Witch to walk past undisturbed. This was likely a lucky guess or assumption on his part, as Wandering Witches are never encountered by the Left 4 Dead survivors.

Bride Witch
A new skin was introduced for the Witch in The Passing where she is the bride left at the altar. Here she is dressed in a tattered gown and veil with her loyal wedding guests surrounding her, still awaiting the groom. Her behaviour is the same as any other Witch in the game, however a player may startle her by changing the song on the radio the same as if they were standing over her. She plays the role as the Crescendo Event for the riverbank chapter in Rayford Park. Though it's somewhat difficult and extremely tedious, she can be avoided, making it the only Crescendo Event you can avoid without involving some sort of exploit or glitch. Once she is startled or killed (if cr0wned), the infected guests will go berserk starting the horde within the Crescendo.

The Bride Witch is also the only Witch in the game that is guaranteed to appear, whereas all other Witches spawn randomly. Since that she is right outside the gazebo, it may be particularly difficult to avoid her.

Preparing for a Witch

 * It is wise to have at least one Survivor armed with an Auto (Tactical) Shotgun or a Combat Shotgun, or at the very least a Pump Shotgun or Chrome 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 head shot — whereas the other weapons cannot, however the tier-2 shotguns are more efficient for killing Witches than the tier 1 shotguns. There is a certain time span with which the Witch can be killed with a single fire from a shotgun and the tier-2 shotgun has a much larger duration that tier 1 — plus a faster fire rate adds more damage in less time if you fail to cr0wn the Witch. The Hunting Rifle and Sniper Rifle have much longer range, which 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.
 * A Molotov is able to slow a Witch down slightly as well as doing damage to her. Gas cans have the same effect as lighting her on fire, though Survivors will have to shoot the gas can near her. If the Witch is on fire, she can be shoved. Have someone that didn't startle her and get behind her, and keep shoving her while everyone else shoots her. A Propane tank, when used correctly, can stun the Witch and make her stagger momentarily, as well as inflicting damage. Putting the propane tank in her running path and exploding it at the right moment can allow more time for the Survivors to shoot her. Also, throwing a Molotov at the Witch will unlock the achievement Burn The Witch.
 * A burning Witch moves slower (in Left 4 Dead 2 only) and will die after 15 seconds.
 * If you are in any of the campaigns in which the Wandering Witch appears and if you hear her music cue and don't spot her outright, take care when shooting a horde or idle Infected in the area that you are going as sometimes she is wandering among them and it is pretty easy to shoot her by mistake in the heat of the moment.
 * 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 three 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 a Tactical Shotgun or Combat Shotgun. The Tier 2 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 faster.
 * The best secondary weapon against Witches is the Chainsaw. With the Chainsaw, rev it up and charge the Witch. It is most effective when you attack her in the back while she is still in passive mode. She will be surprised and start growling, but it is possible to kill her without startling her; it kills Witches very quickly (as aforementioned, not recommended on Advanced or Expert difficulty).
 * If Survivors have melee weapons, they can kill the Wandering Witch before she can incapacitate anyone on any difficulty. It is unknown if this works for the normal Witch, and was only tested with Nightsticks, Katanas, and Machetes (the fastest weapons according to testing). It is possible to kill the Wandering Witch alone with a Machete, but it is more luck-based, requiring you to dodge the Witch's first slash in order to squeeze in all four attacks.
 * The best primary weapons against the Witch in Left 4 Dead 2 are the Grenade Launcher, the Sniper Rifle, the Combat Shotgun, and the Tactical Shotgun. The Grenade Launcher is effective with its ability to stumble the Witch, however it lacks the damage to kill her in one or even two hits, leaving you fairly vulnerable to her attack. The Combat Shotgun with its tight spread will also down the Witch. The Tactical Shotgun is also effective, but with its wide spread one needs to be close to the Witch.
 * 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, as long as you keep moving away from her. However, if the Witch is not killed before the speed boost runs out, she can catch up with you and incapacitate or kill you (depending on the difficulty).
 * 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 magazine of Explosive Ammunition, and an AK-47 will 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.
 * If a Witch is spawned by a ladder, you can use inherent problems in the Witch's pathfinding to your advantage. After startling her, climb to around the middle of the ladder where the witch can't reach you but don't climb to high or she will start up after you. She will not climb the ladder if done correctly, becoming an easy target for your allies.

Events/Actions that startle the Witch
A Witch will growl threateningly at first, and may also 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 (though on rare occasions you can actually jump on or jump past the Witch in Left 4 Dead), or standing near her for too long. The Wandering Witch has a much higher tolerance for this. Melee shoves can also startle her immediately.
 * Staring at her for too long, even from a VERY far distance. This usually only applies if she is aware of your presence (such as staring at her back from far away will not startle her, because she doesn't know you're there). The Wandering Witch has a much higher tolerance for these actions.
 * 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.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2, Wandering Witches can sustain at least 2 shots from weak weapons such as the Submachine Gun without being startled. End-of-level tallies have shown un-startled Witches having sustained over 50 damage.
 * Recommended that anybody carrying a shotgun in a horde fight, switch to any weapon to reduce risk of her being startled.
 * On the other hand, carrying a shotgun can add chances of killing her, but it is highly improbable.
 * 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. This means that two players with incendiary ammo upgrades can take turns firing at her one at a time, so she will keep running back and forth, not ever reaching a target. This can also be used to save someone from certain death on Expert.
 * Throwing a Bile bomb at the Witch. As long as it doesn't hit her, it can land very close to her, but Common Infected will not damage her.
 * Medium proximity with a flashlight pointed at the Witch. The Wandering Witch has a much higher tolerance for this.
 * 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 four times the distance mere proximity would.
 * In extremely rare situations, other Special Infected will attack the Witch causing her to be partially startled. This can be dangerous as she is a figurative bomb ready to pop, so the first Survivors who she sees she will instantly go after. Though if attacked by a Tank, 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 three 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.
 * A laser sight will NOT startle a Witch, unless you are too close (as always).
 * In The Passing, playing the sound system to the right of the Bride Witch will cause her to become startled and attack the person who turned it on.

Crowning the Witch
The achievement "Cr0wned" is awarded for killing a Witch with a single shot from any shotgun. Despite the implication in the name and common FPS logic, it is actually inadvisable to aim for her head: the back presents a much easier target. As the Witch has 1000 hitpoints and a shotgun blast does just slightly over that, every pellet from the shotgun must hit the Witch or she will only be startled (if the player is using a tier 1 shotgun they will not have time to fire a second killing shot before the Witch can incapacitate or kill them). The easiest way to do this is to walk up behind the Witch, wait for her to stand up (to give you a bigger target), and fire at point blank just before she startles.

Many players use "crown" as a verb, meaning simply to kill the Witch with a shotgun before she can attack anyone. This includes conditions that would not result in the achievement being awarded, such as killing her with two quick shots from an automatic shotgun, a much easier proposition. Sometimes, if you try to cr0wn the Witch via headshot and she sees you when you fire, the game will state that you have startled the Witch.


 * 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 become 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. It may be easier to shoot her in the back, rather than the head, due to a larger target area. It is 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 cross-hairs and increasing 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.
 * The flashlight will affect the speed at which the Witch gets aggravated before being startled. If possible, turn off the light before attempting to cr0wn her, as it may mess up your timing.
 * With an Auto 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 is a commentary node that when activated, will spawn a Witch. The Witch can be killed and respawned for an infinite number 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.
 * It is possible to cr0wn the Witch with a Minigun, although this may be rare, as Witches generally do not spawn near turrets.
 * If you are cr0wning with a shotgun, make sure all Common Infected in the area are killed first, as they may run up and hit you, which will mess up your aim, and possibly accidentally startle the Witch.
 * The Assault Rifle's power shot is still active for those who don't have the Crash Course pack for the Xbox 360, enabling you to cr0wn the Witch using this method.

In short, the basic steps for cr0wning:


 * 1) Equip a shotgun-type weapon.
 * 2) Move as close to the Witch as possible, and as fast as possible.
 * 3) Aim for an area where all the pellets of the shotgun fire is likely to impact (such as the body).
 * 4) Fire as accurately as possible before the Witch gets angry enough to attack.

Hunting Rifle/AK-47/explosion melee
It appears that, somehow, if one stuns the Witch via a Hunting Rifle/AK-47 headshot, or if she is blown up using a Propane tank, Oxygen tank or Pipe bomb, she can be still stunned by your melee attacks, which makes her an idle victim. To perform this tactic, you must stun (shooting her when she is crying, not growling) her with a headshot or explosion and start using your melee attack on her before she can recover - then unload your ammunition into her. Once you need to reload, switch to your Pistols and continue. In Left 4 Dead 2 it is recommended that you have a melee weapon as well since the shove fatigue can prevent you from killing her before she is startled. The best tactic is to shove, then hit her with your melee then shove again (repeat till she dies). It is also possible to melee her when she's on fire. However, it's not recommended do so. In Left 4 Dead 2 headshots with a Hunting Rifle/AK-47 only stumbles stationary Witches but does nothing towards the Wandering Witch. Pipe bombs and Oxygen tanks still work, however.

Note: This does not count as startling the Witch.

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 Left 4 Dead 2, she may change targets to a closer aggressor if the initial target doesn't attack her/does not do enough damage to her. 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, and will kill her in 15 seconds. 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 (if close enough) while your allies open fire on the Witch. Also, 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 or at the beginning of the chapter.
 * It is possible to just run away from a Witch. All you have to do is shoot her once and then turn and run. Don't look behind you at her, just keep running and looking ahead, as Source games are programmed to let people run slightly faster forwards. Just make sure nothing gets in your way and you know where you are going. After a bit she stops chasing you and goes into retreating mode, meaning she won't attack again unless startled again, but she will disappear if left alone for a bit.

Other Witch-killing tactics

 * At maximum possible distance, have your Hunting Rifle/Sniper Rifle player shoot the Witch in the head as many times as possible. One can kill a Witch by unloading a full magazine into her from the Hunting Rifle, however the larger magazine size and rate of fire of the Sniper Rifle is clearly better for taking down a Witch. It is always wise, however, to have the other Survivors around you, just in case.
 * As an added variant of the above, you can use a Molotov, Gas can, or a Propane tank to finish the Witch if you are on a wide even ground. This tactic needs preparation and foresight, and works better with the regular Witch rather than the Wandering Witch. You must use Sniper Rifles for this to be effective. Lay down said items to the path in front of you, preferably midway. Set your distance. Then shoot the Witch as many times as you can. When she approaches the area where you laid down the said items, shoot those to inflict more damage. If you used Molotovs instead, keep shooting, as when the Witch approaches the fire, she'll be engulfed in flames and will be depleted of health faster. On easier difficulties, the fire or blast will finish the Witch off. If you used a propane tank, this will stumble the Witch, buying more time to finish her off.
 * Line up your team like a firing squad, within suitable distance from the Witch. Using one of the scoped rifles, 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 drop off.
 * Use the ladder to your advantage. If you startled a witch, you can stay at the middle or top of the ladder, make sure you are beyond her attack range, then your teammates can kill her without a risk. ( DO NOT use Incendiary Ammunition)
 * Using a Minigun if one is nearby. It has the power to kill a Witch so quickly that it may not even be startled. This is rare, however.
 * 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, she may strike down a Survivor. Don't use shotguns, because the wide spread will not be effective, and possibly hit other teammates.
 * A good strategy (especially on easy when the Witch has less health) is if someone has a Grenade Launcher and shoots 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. But you can also kill her on easy with three grenade shots.
 * 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 (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.
 * "Using" a Tank to kill a Witch. It has been seen by some people where the Tank hits a Witch (most common with a thrown rock), killing her instantly. This is usually done by accident, however, by moving into the path of the Witch when running from a Tank.
 * Going out of the map. In some campaigns in Left 4 Dead, you can glitch outside the map, shoot her, and she will run away.
 * In Left 4 Dead, en route to The Sewers, the Witch may spawn near a destructible gasoline station near the lift that takes you to the rooftops. If the Witch is located very near the gasoline pumps, you can destroy the gasoline station and the Witch along with it. The environmental damage it causes will kill her outright.
 * Other map hazards can be exploited either to kill the Witch or buy time to kill the Witch. One such example is the cliffs in The Highway in the start of Dark Carnival. Have the startler provoke the Witch if she's down on the river. Once startled, let two or three members (human-controlled) go down the cliff and unload on the Witch while she's climbing up. Keep distance and shoot only when she's climbing. This may not be a good idea if the other three Survivors have incendiary rounds, as this will cause the Witch to fall from the cliff and switch targets.
 * Having high ground is always an advantage. If you spot the Witch on an extremely low ground, do not hesitate to open fire. Just make sure she will die before she can even reach you. Sniper rifles are the best weapon to use in this situation. This is best done on maps such as on the slides in The Fairgrounds. During the Sugar Mill, if you startle a Witch while on high ground (and they are below), even a regular pistol can deal a lot of damage due to the large amount of climbing she may need to do and depending on how accurate you are.
 * Kill any Witches first before starting a Crescendo Event. This means before summoning endless Hordes, eliminate the greatest danger first; in this case, the Witch. This is advisable on The Barns approaching the safe room leading to The Concert, especially if the Witch is inside the fence.
 * At the start of The Tunnel, once you have gone down the stairs, there is a good chance of a Witch spawning. If that happens, there is a narrow ledge at the other end. Stand or crouch on it and find the Witch. If you have a pipe bomb (you WILL need it for this to work), throw it at the Witch. Stay on the ledge while she chases you down. She will then run HALFWAY up the yellow door (the one at the 45 degree angle) and then fall off. She will repeat this until dead.
 * Arm two (or more) people with Incendiary Ammo, then have the people surround the Witch (give yourself some distance) and fire at her one by one. She will rage and switch targets over and over with each shot, ensuring that she will not reach any one of the Survivors.
 * Have a weapon that has a zoom scope like the Hunting Rifle or the Sniper Rifle. Aim for the head, and she will be stumbled. Keep shoving her and do damage to her - melee weapons or sidearms. The Witch will die faster if all of the survivors shove and do damage to her. Not recommmended to use the Molotov. Although, she may sometimes die if you throw several molotovs at her, or explode several gas cans etc.
 * If aiming at the right angle, if you throw a pipe bomb directly at her, she will not notice the pipe bomb at all. If it explodes, the Witch may stumble, just like the Grenade Launcher, giving you a chance for you to shoot her with a Auto Shotgun, AK-47 rifle or a Assault Rifle.

Witch tactics that do not work

 * Meleeing against a Witch with the butt of your gun or any other item, unless she's on fire or stunned.
 * Attempting to use anything else than a shotgun 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. However, she can climb buildings quickly out of sight, so stay cautious.
 * If the Witch has killed a Survivor and is fleeing, do not attack her. This is a waste of ammunition, and it is possible to startle the same Witch more than once by setting her on fire. Remember to stay out of her way, as she may attack you if you block her path while she's retreating. Eventually, she will disappear and respawn 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. Stopping to close a door will most likely result in the Witch catching up to you. However, it is possible to close the door while running. The only doors that are impossible for the Witch to break are safe room doors and large freezer doors, which are only found on The Church level in Death Toll, and The Crane in Dead Air, in Left 4 Dead.
 * Using a Bile bomb. It will not slow her down like when she is on fire. By the time the Horde arrives, the Witch may have already been killed or killed her victim. However, if thrown from a great distance, a Bile bomb will cause a Witch to become confused and 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 change targets and instead attack the Survivor standing in her way.
 * Setting her on fire. If the Witch has killed her original target and someone sets her on fire, she will get startled and attack that Survivor, although this Survivor may be able to escape the Witch due to her slowed speed.
 * Throwing a Bile bomb on a Witch causes similar results as with a molotov; the Witch will attack whomever threw the Bile bomb, even if her original target is dead.
 * Shooting her and then using a Chainsaw. The long claws of the Witch have a much more greater range then the Chainsaw itself, as using this means a quick incapacitation or death.

Survivor Bots vs Witches

 * Survivor Bots will automatically shut off their flashlight if the Witch is close. This is the only time Bots will shut off their flashlight in the game.
 * Bots will not shoot the Witch if she is not startled yet, but they will slow down and keep aiming at her if she is close.
 * Occasionally, Bots will accidentally shoot the Witch and startle her. This often happen when another Special Infected or Common Infected is near the Witch. Even more occasionally, Bots will accidentally shoot the Witch (inducing a scream of pain from the Witch), but she will not be startled. This may be due to shooting through another Infected, but is not clear yet.
 * Walk past and move away from the Witch fast. If you stopped right after passing the Witch, Bots may not follow you even they are too near to the Witch until they startle her.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2, Bots will not get away from the wandering Witch if she walks to them. Lead them away from the Witch fast.
 * Rarely, Bots will successfully cr0wn the Witch. This only happens when a Bot with a shotgun is very close to a Witch, so he/she will fire one or two shots into the Witch right when she is startled, killing her instantly.
 * In Mutations where the Bots only have access to a melee weapon, their AI will conflict, as they will go into melee range against the Witch, but refrain from attacking until the Witch is startled.
 * Sometimes a bot will unknowningly stand next to the witch and not move until the witch attacks and incaps/kills them

Non-violent tactics

 * 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. Remember to turn off flashlights so the Witch isn't aggravated as quickly. When teamed with Survivor Bots, your only option is to all move at the same time. Try to move when she is in a crying state and move from behind her and as far away as possible. Do not stop moving until the Witch is out of sight and possibly out of hearing range. It may be worthwhile to snipe any Common Infected lurking around her so you won't be distracted by them when moving.
 * 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 her with the same result. This has been confirmed on Normal, Advanced, and Expert modes. Just keep an eye on Survivors' positions so you don't block her fleeing path.
 * 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, but if done correctly, she will not be startled. It is not advisable to do this if the Witch is in front of stairs, as it goes up, and you might end up on top of her head and startle her.
 * Another quite useful and easy tactic is to crouch by her and repeatedly melee her. She will not move at all while you are doing this, and eventually will sit back down on the ground. Once she is on the floor again, 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 humor's sake. This does NOT work on the Xbox 360 Game of the Year version. It will just make her angrier.
 * 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. Another reason this tactic is preferred to attacking the startler is because the Witch cannot reach the hanger, gets confused and runs off, unlike while incapacitated, she may still proceed to attack her target on the ground. Also, you can hang off a ledge even while in a critical condition (a.k.a, black and white mode), unlike if incapacitated while in this mode will kill that person instead of downing them. Good examples of places to hang are the hospital (No Mercy), a building roof (Dead Air), a cliff-face (Blood Harvest), a ledge of an apartment or upper mall floor (Dead Center), the slide just before The Fairgrounds Crescendo Event (Dark Carnival), deep water (Swamp Fever), the top of the Sugar Mill (Hard Rain), which can be extremely helpful when heading through the many Witches, and off the top of the freeway (The Parish).
 * A tactic with Wandering Witches is to simply watch her until she exits the path, and when the path is clear, you run past the Witch without disturbing her. This, however, risks for the Director to think you stayed in one place for too long and may summon a Horde.

Infected
Although you cannot play as the Witch, you can use her in your tactics:
 * Smokers can drag Survivors to the Witch.
 * Jockeys can steer Survivors towards the Witch.
 * This works especially well on the Sugar Mill, due to the extra number of Witches.
 * 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.
 * Additionally, as the Boomer, you can stand in front of the Witch, blocking her with your massive girth. The Survivors, being nonethewiser will shoot through you, killing you, but almost certainly startling 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 get 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, but very rarely, if a Survivor disturbs a Witch and you pounce on the fleeing Survivor, the Witch will attack and instantly kill you.
 * Some Hunter players crouch just out of sight near the Witch, waiting until a player runs up to attack the Witch, then pounce 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.
 * The Tank can throw Survivors when he punches them, which could be used to get a Survivor near a Witch. It would be difficult to actually get the Survivor to hit the Witch.
 * 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.
 * 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 to, attempt to cause some panic near her. Survivors may hit her by mistake or move too close, attempting to kill you or your teammates 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 is in an enclosed area, or it is advised you use a Jockey instead.
 * If a Survivor has set the Witch growling, you can claw her, which will send her rage to its peak, making her "personal space" area much larger.
 * In the first Left 4 Dead, it has been known for several players to, as the Hunter, crouch by her, claw her until she gets startled, and leap away toward the Survivors, where she will proceed to kill the player playing the Hunter, then angrily incapacitate or kill one or two Survivors.
 * An update by Valve has given the Witch an aura colored in white for VS mode when playing as the infected. This can help players locate the Witch more easily and plan strategies around her. The white aura will graudally change to red as she gets more angry and it becomes a full red when the Witch rages out and attacks the survivors.

Achievements

 * See Main Article: Achievements

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. But if the Witch has been startled by someone and someone else threw a Molotov at the Witch, the Witch will attack whoever burned her, even if she already incapacitated someone. The Witch was also featured with black hair and black clothes instead of white and pale green.

Glitches and Oddities

 * Sometimes, in No Mercy, if you startle a witch by using a molotov, run through the gas station then blow it up, she will sometimes infinitly stumble.
 * 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.
 * If a Witch is in a closet and you pass by, she will notice. You will hear her growl. If you stay in that area, she will continue to be angered, despite the wall. After about thirty seconds, she will become startled. This may be a glitch.
 * When being healed by an AI-controlled Survivor and a Wandering Witch is in the area that would cause her to become startled, she won't attack until the AI is done healing the player.
 * 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.
 * On rare occasions a Witch will be startled and freeze with her arms raised and her head, and will keep following the person who startled her. This will sometimes even happen after she incapacitates the person who startled her. She may also glide in the direction she was running instead, not being able to move and stopping all her animations after incapacitating the Survivor.
 * 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, never use Incendiary Ammo on a Witch if you didn't startle her, especially after the Witch incapacitated or killed her victim. Setting her on fire will make her immediately go after whoever shot them, even if she 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 mistake her for being dead 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.
 * 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 just the extra damage during her dying animations. 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 it does registered to her in this way is probably from the the initial explosion the Molotov gives off.
 * If a Witch slashes a door that is indestructible (like a freezer door), blood will come out the door, despite the fact she didn't hit anything living, like a Survivor. However, it could be the blood from her claws that still hadn't dried.
 * If the Witch misses at attempting to slash a Survivor somehow, blood will still splatter. This is probably because Valve set this up so whenever the Witch would attack, she would hit her target. This shows that the blood splattering effect is actually a product of the Witch's attack, rather than its impact with a Survivor. This could also indicate that her claws either have blood on them from another attack, or possibly that her hand is bleeding from some area.
 * If a Pipe bomb is set off right next to a sitting Witch, you will see a blood spatter and hear her scream, but her corpse will just disappear. The game will also show that you only dealt about 15 damage. If you do it on a Wandering Witch she will likely walk far enough to not disappear but attack the Pipe bomb thrower instead. If the Witch is sitting and your Pipe bomb explodes on her when she is in the growling part, you will startle her.
 * Opening a door on a Witch will cause her to run away instead of becoming startled. It will also not register as startling her (unless you set her on fire).
 * In the Left 4 Dead 2 version of The Sacrifice, shooting a Witch near an explosive barrel with a grenade launcher will cause her to become glitched and walk as slow as a Wandering Witch while on fire and doing her "on fire" animation, this can be used to your advantage as the Witch will only take a couple more shots to kill.
 * An extremely rare glitch involving the Witch will make her disappear entirely. This glitch takes place at the hotel in the first level of the Dark Carnival campaign and requires the Witch to have been spawned by the stairs next to the destroyed wall, as well as at least two players having explosive ammunition. One player must have the Sniper Rifle and approach her from the upper flight of stairs. The other must have the submachine gun and approach her from the ground floor. Both players open fire at once, and the Witch disappears.
 * Another rare glitch can occassionally occur when you attempt to file past the Witch one by one. If the Witch comes close to being startled because of one survivor, and another passes by close enough to startle her, she will become startled, however instead of attacking, she will run away with her hands covering her head, as if she had just killed a survivor. This is most likely because the Witch actually became almost-startled at one of the earlier survivors (who is now out of line of sight), so when she does finally get startled, it is actually at the earlier survivor, and so she becomes confused and runs away.
 * Oddly enough, if you shoot a Witch in the Sugar Mill at the elevator (when the Witch is in the sugar field), you can see her move very fast, but it does not say "You startled the Witch".

Gallery
See image archive for more images...