The Boomer

"They've been calling those Boomers. For obvious reasons."

- Rochelle

"Boomer, don't let it puke on you."

- Zoey

The Boomer is an extremely bloated Special Infected.[1] Its mutation has caused it to produce vast quantities of bile which it attempts to vomit on the Survivors temporarily blinding them and summoning a small Horde. Though fragile and slow, the Boomers can be dangerous to a Survivor team whose health or combat abilities are compromised.

The Boomer's role in Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 is to slow down, blind and sow confusion amongst Survivors, giving Common and Special Infected openings to mount attacks with higher probabilities than normal to achieve damaging results. The known presence of a Boomer may also cause Survivors to spread out a little (to avoid being coated in bile) and this too works to the advantage of Special Infected such as Smokers or Jockeys when mounting a co-ordinated attack.

Appearance
In both games, the Boomer has short black hair and wears a navy blue shirt and brown pants, both stained with sweat and puke and stretched to breaking point around the Boomer's enormous gut. When idle, the Boomer makes loud burping and gurgling noises which change to loud groans when it sees a Survivor.

If a Boomer encounters a Survivor team at distance and out of range of its projectile vomited bile, it will waddle off into cover and attempt to stalk the team. At closer distances, a Boomer will move into an ambush position (e.g. behind a pillar or vehicle) until the Survivors get within range. However its unrepressed groans and large body make it relatively easy for an experienced team to fix its location and deal to the threat without harm to themselves.

Extent of Mutations
The Boomer has undergone extreme external and internal mutations by some adverse reaction to the Infection. The most notable observation of the Boomer is its extremely bloated belly, most likely caused by its stomach (and possibly most, if not all of its gastrointestinal system) being hijacked by the infection to overproduce bile in massive quantities. The sheer tension on its skin and organs has resulted in a breakdown of the epidermal and dermal layers, causing the skin to become thin and fragile. In some places the skin has even ruptured, exposing some of the bile-filled internal organs. This enormous buildup of internal pressure makes the Boomer quite vulnerable to any outside agitation, as even the slightest gunshot wound or melee shove will result in the Boomer violently exploding, sending blood and bile everywhere - hence its name. Even so, the Boomer can autonomously engage in strenuous self-directed physical activities (e.g. jumping down from a height) without injury.

Other physical mutations observed include massive boil-like growths that appeared upon its skin and face. Whether this is due to overproduction of bile is unknown. Similar to the other Special Infected, it is not distracted by high frequency noises such as pipe bombs or car alarms going off.

The Boomer's bile has a unique chemical binding effect with infected and/or non-infected flesh which produces an extracellular stimulus. This chemical stimulus induces a pheromone-like attraction from nearby common infected which causes them to swarm and attack the bile-saturated source. The exact nature as to why this induces a negative response is unknown but the response is non-discriminatory between infected and non-infected flesh (i.e. using a Boomer bile vial on the Tank triggers the same violent response against the Tank). It should be noted that typically common infected have been known to exhibit an extremely basic form of logic (hence their ability to recognize non-infected). The bile-flesh response seems to trump this logic, which could mean that the stimulus is extremely intoxicating for the common infected.

Left 4 Dead 2
As with all the original Special Infected, the Boomer reappears in Left 4 Dead 2 and has received a slight change of appearance. Its skin tone is more fleshy, it has shorter hair, and has a few more boils. Though when compared to his Left 4 Dead counterpart, he seems more wrinkly and "deflated", and his skin seems to be breaking out in several spots. The greatest change in the Boomer's appearance, however, is the addition of a female counterpart.

CEDA has shown some interest in the Boomer, hoping to utilize its unique abilities to their gain. A wall chart detailing its appearance and abilities appears early on in Dead Center, and Infected Hazmat-clad CEDA operatives can be found carrying vials of treated Boomer bile.

Female Boomer
The Female Boomer (or "Boomette") is seen wearing a dark blue or black tank top and blue jean shorts, drenched in bile. Unlike the male Boomer, she doesn't have boils or growths. Instead, her flabby flesh shows signs of fungus growth, and perhaps highly Infected forms of tinea around her shins. The skin on her hands and wrists appears blackened from necrosis, similar to gangrene. Her eyelids and the skin in the area around her eyes are also black. Her teeth seem to be heavily misshapen and worn down, either meaning she either lacked proper dental hygiene before she became Infected, or her constant puking has broken down the enamel in her teeth. She makes higher-pitched gurgling noises as compared to the male Boomer, and sounds more pig-like. In terms of gameplay, she functions exactly the same as the male Boomer. In Versus you will be randomly picked by male or female, if you are the female, the hands will remain the same as the male even though the female's hands are dark, black and don't have boils.

Abilities
The Boomer's primary attack is to launch a stream of vomit which can hit multiple Survivors that are close to it. If it is killed, it will explode, causing Survivors (and Infected) close to it to stagger and cause Survivors to be covered with bile. Survivors hit by Boomer bile will have their vision obscured (losing outlines of their teammates as well) and will instantly attract a Horde to attack them, as well as any individual Common Infected who happen to be in the area. They will glow yellow to teammates and purple to the Infected. Multiple Survivors hit by Boomer bile will not each attract a Horde to them; the one Horde will instead attack all of them. This is also true of Survivors who are covered in bile by the Boomer's death after the Boomer has used its vomit attack; a second Horde will not be attracted until the effect has worn off upon the Survivor's first hit, and until the Boomer itself attacks again. The Boomer may vomit on incapacitated Survivors and on those who have been pinned by other Infected. Boomer bile, at least that issuing from the Boomer itself, has no effect upon other Infected. The Boomer may also claw the Survivors to do 2 points of damage on Normal.

Left 4 Dead 2
Note: Information still needed for some areas.

Survivors
General:
 * Listen for the heavy breathing, gagging, moaning, groaning and burping sounds.
 * If Boomer is trying to hide, find it's large belly and then give it a little poke, go on!
 * If a Boomer is taking cover behind thin walls, use a Hunting rifle (or weapon with high penetrate abilities) to shoot through walls and kill him/her.
 * If Boomer is nearby, and has not vomited on anyone, shove him back to a safe distance and shoot him.
 * Turning subtitles on allows players to read the Boomer's noises if it is near. This is extremely useful in noisy situations such as the rainstorms during the latter half of Hard Rain or during finales.
 * Keep an eye out for defensive positions. That way you'll be ready if the Boomer blinds you.
 * Avoid being too bunched up with the other Survivors. There's no sense in all survivors getting puked on at once.
 * On Expert, finding and killing the Boomer before it can vomit or explode is incredibly crucial, as the Boomer bile attracts the Horde, which, on Expert difficulty, is much more dangerous than any other.
 * Boomers will often claw Survivors they have vomited on, dealing even more damage. Survivors should be cautious, especially on expert, because it will do 20 damage per hit.
 * The Boomer is probably one of the most difficult Infected to deal with. This is mainly due to the Boomer's ambushing capabilities. They will usually hide around corners or drop down from a high rooftop to "pop" on the Survivors.
 * Take advantage of the fact that Boomers will explode if any part of their body is attacked. Due to their bulk, their arms are often exposed around corners. Just a few rifle blasts could mean the difference between being drenched in puke and escaping unharmed.
 * Never use melee weapons against it if you are shoving it away to shoot it from a farther range.
 * When a Boomer is near, stay away from ledges. The recoil from the explosion can push players off. On the up side - the recoil will also stun Infected who are located near the Boomer for a moment.
 * When a Boomer spawns, it will give an alert. When it starts to say [Boomer Rage!], this means it is getting closer. When it gets into the [Boomer Warning!], it is even closer. If it says [Boomer Falls], this means it fell off somewhere, so go find it and kill it!

Before bile vomit or Boomer death explosion:
 * If the Boomer is too close, it's a good idea to hit it with your melee attack (which will push it back to some degree), then back away to a safe distance before shooting, or there is a risk of getting covered in bile.Post-75275-1229068253.jpg
 * Caution: It is only possible to safely push a Boomer back about three to four times.
 * Only if the Boomer is sufficiently far away from all Survivors should players shoot it.
 * Hiding behind something or running away when it's vomiting makes it harmless for some time and may even force it to rush in and try to melee.
 * If the Boomer has vomited on someone and is still close to the bile-covered Survivor, shooting the Boomer and (again) covering the Survivor in bile will not attract an additional Horde.

After being vomited on:
 * Know that a massive Horde will immediately descend upon you (and any others who have been slimed).
 * If teammates are nearby, do not shoot. It is hard to see and friendly fire is more likely. You need to:
 * Run to a defensive position (corners and doorways are particularly good). If confident that your teammates can deal with the horde and help you up, try falling off a ledge so that you'll hang. While this can be very risky, most of the charging Horde will run off the ledge (often to their deaths) and deal no damage to you.
 * Crouch! Other Survivors will be able to shoot over you safely if you do so.
 * Use melee continuously to survive the incoming Horde.

Helping a slimed Survivor:
 * Stay close to the stricken Survivor; give them a pat on the back, they deserve it.
 * Help melee the Horde back or shoot if the blinded Survivor stays safely crouched.
 * Help the stricken player to safely get to a corner or high ground to protect him/her from the Horde.
 * Throw a pipe bomb to distract the Horde; however, if you throw a bile bomb, it will go to waste, as the Survivors covered in bile are primary targets for the Common Infected

Survivor Bots' reaction to Boomer:
 * Bots will always try to shove Boomers away if they are too close. They will not attempt to attack the Boomer with any melee weapons if holding any.
 * Bots will not shoot Boomers if they are too close.
 * Bots can shoot like normal even they are slimed but only in Left 4 Dead. In Left 4 Dead 2, if they got vomited, they will start to shove at 'random' directions or run and shove, but semi-rarely shoot.
 * If all human players are outside the vomit and explosion range, let Bots take care of Boomers by themselves. They are better at handling Boomers' exploding range.

Infected
While playing as the Boomer, one must keep in mind that one is playing a support class. He/She serves as the initiator of ambushes, the one who starts panic, and the one who must remain hidden. While playing as the Boomer, do not try to inflict damage by melee attacks or charge in with ravenous zombie hordes. Instead, puke on Survivors from unseen locations, wait for teammates to start an ambush, and jump in at hectic moments to explode on unwitting survivors. The Boomer takes a while to master, but three things should be focused on when playing as the Boomer: patience, stealth, and timing.

While it may be difficult to be completely stealthy as a Boomer, try to hide in shadows, around corners, or within hordes of Common Infected. To ensure the Survivors are hit, vomit on them at close range, then run up to attack them so that they will be more likely to shoot. The explosion will spread bile within a certain radius of the Boomer. Once one or more Survivor is covered, the Survivor(s) will appear with a bright purple outline replacing the original one indicating health status.




 * A very helpful tip, especially when handling rushing Survivors, is to wait for them. Sometimes it is more effective to wait around a corner and let them come into puking range. This is because there is a delay between a Boomer stopping its movement and puking. Play it safe and let them come.
 * To master the Boomer, as with any Special Infected, players must learn the role and spawn patterns for each Infected. In Left 4 Dead, the Boomer will only spawn once per wave of Infected. In Left 4 Dead 2, he/she will spawn even less. When playing as the Boomer, realize that it is a support class - not designed to deal damage directly, but to assist other Infected.
 * Boomers are easily distinguishable from other Infected classes because of their pudgy features. And, given the variety of noises they make, Survivor teams will know when a Boomer is active. Therefore, Boomers should know that spawning and vomiting in rapid succession can lead to a painful experience for the Survivors.
 * The Boomer's explosion can send loose items (such as a dropped Gas Can or supplies dropped by a dead teammate) flying everywhere, making it difficult for survivors to relocate the precious items they had their eye on. This can also have a very devastating effect in Scavenge mode, The Atrium, and The Port where it is likely that the survivors will be tossing cans as they move, allowing an exploding Boomer to send the gas cans flying away and force the survivors to go out of their way to retrieve the cans. While players cannot control where the gas cans will fly off to, it is possible for a can to be launched to a place where the survivors can't retrieve it, such as a rooftop. This will force the survivors to try and destroy the can so it will respawn, giving the infected team more time to pounce on the survivors.
 * Once a Boomer has vomited on the Survivors, whether or not it has actually slimed anyone, there are two options: use the kamikaze method, or run, hide, and recover.
 * The most basic kamikaze method a Boomer can use involves walking up to the Survivors after vomiting on them, and clawing them. This will not only cause a bit more damage, but will intice panicked Survivors to shoot the Boomer at close range (note that a Survivor whose vision is already impaired may be more likely to shoot if clawed). If the Boomer is killed close enough, its bile explosion will cover any missed targets, re-cover victims already covered in bile, and cause the Survivors to stumble for a brief period. The downside is that this leaves the Infected a man short and, in Left 4 Dead 2, there is no guarantee that a Boomer will reappear next wave. Additionally, alert Survivors will easily melee shove the Boomer back to a safe distance and dispose of it. Exploding near a Special Infected while they are attacking an already incapacitated Survivor releases the attacking Special Infected, allowing them to escape and attack again later. This is particularly useful with Chargers and Hunters, because they can attack almost immediately after being knocked free.
 * A variation to the kamikaze method is to stand in an area above where the Survivors will pass later. Jump down into the middle of the group and get killed. The resulting bile attracts the horde and makes it easier for other Infected players to deal damage due to the confusion caused. A boomer can also light itself on fire, and then explode all over them before they realize it was even there. This is not recommended for new players as the survivors might take a longer time than anticipated to reach the area player, resulting in death.
 * The final trick is to stand next to an alarmed car facing the Survivors. They will most likely open fire, killing the player but also hitting the car and summoning a horde. Do note that Survivors need to be close enough to a car to trigger the alarm; bullets fired from far away won't do.
 * This method can be applied to the Witch as well. Once the Witch has been startled, the Infected team should attack to create even more chaos and to prevent the Witch from being killed before incapacitating someone.
 * Alternatively, the Boomer can flee after puking, let their bile recharge, and puke again later. This allows the Boomer to recharge its bile while the Survivors are currently dealing with the panic you caused. Some Hordes last longer than the time it takes the bile to recharge, allowing you to pull off the combos in quick succession and can be used to buy your teammates more time. However, since you are still a part of the field, you will be making a lot a noise, which will keep Survivors aware of your presence. To counteract this, hide in locations they wouldn't expect to see a Boomer or in the Infected-only areas. If you can get enough distance between you and the Survivors, you can get the game to prompt you with the "Press E/X to move closer to the Survivors" message, which will bring you right back to them in Ghost Mode, allowing you to have the perks of respawning without having to die.
 * To generate additional Infected, you must either explode on a non-purple Survivor or wait until all Survivors are no longer surrounded by a purple aura and then strike again. Therefore: he who pukes and runs away lives to puke another day.
 * Another tactic that many experienced players use in gameplay is a maneuver called a Rocket Boomer, in which the player is in spawn mode and they climb to an elevated surface, then they run toward the edge at the survivors, and while in mid-air, they spawn and land in the center of the survivor players.
 * The Hunter can pounce on the Survivor covered in bile to add terrible confusion to the mess; the bile will summon the Infected, who will create a meat shield for the Hunter. By the time the other Survivors are able to get to their pinned friend, it may be too late. If the Hunter pounces the only clean Survivor, the others might be too distracted by the horde to save him.
 * The Charger, the Smoker, and the Jockey have a pretty nasty effect on bile covered Survivors. Their ability to carry someone away to and from a location can lead to panic when teams try desperately to regroup after being slimed. Also, the group of Common Infected will help damage their victim; perfect for the Smoker and Jockey, who do not deal a lot of damage quickly.
 * If a Boomer and Spitter are on the field at the same time, Infected teams can deal out a lot of damage to the Survivors who cluster close. The Boomer must first summon a wave of Infected on one or more players. Once the Common Infected surround a player, having the Spitter spit on them creates pretty nasty results. Since Survivors can't go through the Infected, they have no choice but to try to clear out while taking damage from the Spitter's puddle.
 * If the Tank spawns, having a Boomer slime even one Survivor is a huge bonus. The Tank will cause a lot of confusion, but if he is assisted by a wave of regular Infected, the Survivors can get overwhelmed quickly.
 * Unfortunately, there is a delay between the time where a bile attack leaves the Boomer's mouth and before it hits a Survivor. If the Survivor kills the Boomer, the bile will disappear in mid-flight, leaving the Survivor clean.
 * While a Survivor is covered in bile, they cannot see the outlines of the other Survivors (or that of the Hunter, Charger, or Jockey after being pinned). While another Infected is attacking a straggler, take the opportunity to cover the other Survivors with bile. While this may cause the Horde to spread out, it is important to impair the other Survivors' vision so that it becomes more difficult for them to work together and to aim.
 * Waiting behind doorways and in small rooms will often guarantee at least one successful slime.
 * If you are outdoors, hide in a place where the Survivors cannot see you and wait for them to be distracted by something else, then run in and vomit (rooftops work well for this).
 * The Boomer should almost always attack an incapacitated Survivor. If you can, try to vomit on downed Survivors so that the Horde comes for them. This makes them almost impossible to rescue, since the sea of zombies will slow down the rescue effort.
 * There is a maximum distance the vomit can go before disappearing into thin air. If from too high of a vantage point, the bile will never hit Survivors.
 * Don't hide right next to thin walls. Not only can Survivors shoot through most of them, but your ample mass may stick through (due to vector errors), giving them a free kill. The slime from the aftermath will, unfortunately, be unable to get through. Try to hide slightly off the wall to minimize cheap kills.
 * When the Boomer explodes, it knocks everyone back. This includes both Survivors and all Special Infected, even when they are using their special attacks. The good news is that you can push Survivors off high places and make them hang there; the bad news is that you can do the same thing to Tanks or other Special Infected, pushing them down to their death.
 * If you have used your Boomer bile and missed a downed Survivor, sneak up on a single incapacitated Survivor and simply stand right next to him/her or start clawing them. The incapacitated Survivor cannot do anything about your presence other than shoot you, which will cause him/her to be covered in bile, resulting in swift death. You can also do the same to a pinned Survivor, and if any of his/her friends try to shoot the Hunter or Smoker pinning him/her, they may hit you, causing a similar result.
 * Remember that a Boomer has no pinning attacks, meaning that even with a full team of Infected, you can't all pin a full team of Survivors. You must, instead, try to have your Horde incapacitate at least one Survivor, allowing your Infected allies to sneak in and get all the other Survivors while the single incapacitated Survivor is killed by the Horde you summoned.
 * One of the best ways to do lots of damage is to spawn as close to the Survivors as possible. Then jump around a corner once you have a chance to explode on all of them, or vomit and run away.

Boomer Tips and Tricks Gameplay
Here is a video with a lot of helpful information and tactics for the Boomer, courtesy of Criken2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqc6p5KU06E&feature=channel

Achievements

 * See Main Article: Achievements

Behind the Scenes


In the Developer Commentary, it's mentioned that originally the Boomer's explosion simply caused damage to nearby players, and that the Horde-attracting abilities were assigned to the Screamer, another Special Infected that was cut from the final game. When the Screamer was dropped, the screams that formerly attracted the Horde were changed to the Boomer's bile. The Boomer's old explosion behavior can be seen in this video at 1:57:

When the Boomer's bile was first added to the game, it was red. It later was replaced by the green seen in the final version.

In the leaked Half Life 2 Beta files, this can be found: "A bloated, disgusting, fluid-spurting zombie created by a poison headcrab," commenting on the Poison Zombie. Take out the bit about the Headcrab, an alien creature which does not appear in Left 4 Dead, and this effectively describes the Boomer.

Gallery
See image archive for more images...