Fireaxe

"Axe me a question, I dare ya!"

- Rochelle

"Alright, I've always wanted to be an axe murderer!"

- Ellis

The Axe is a new close combat weapon introduced in Left 4 Dead 2.

The axe, along with all other new melee weapons introduced in Left 4 Dead 2 will be carried in the same slot that the pistols would, adding yet another tactical choice to make in the game.

The axe has unlimited uses, and can be carried for an unlimited time. It kills all Common Infected in one hit, along with all Special Infected minus the Tank..

The axe should not be used against Boomers, for obvious reasons. It should also not be used for chasing Special Infected, despite the one-hit-kill. However, when used on a Special Infected, an "Execution Move" occurs. The axe is raised above the player's head, then brought down on the Infected. This occurs quickly, taking just a second longer than a normal slash.

The axe is a slashing weapon, and has the ability to sever limbs. As with all Close Combat weapons, it can cause friendly fire damage to The Survivors.

When using the melee attack the player will grab both ends of the axe and shove the wooden handle at infected making them stumble back. It is presumed this has a "cooldown time" like regular melee attacks.

Every time it is used on a common infected, a large splatter of blood will appear on-screen.

Trivia

 * The axe, like all other melee weapons, seems to gather blood as it is used more. It starts as a normal looking red fire axe, but after a fair amount of usage, it shines with splattered blood.
 * The axe seems to have nearly twice the range of the other melee weapons. It's also has a much wider swing.
 * The axe can instantly kill the witch, if you bring it down on the back of her neck.