The Witch

The Witch is a member of the Infected, and the only one initially passive to the Survivors. It is also the only non-playable Special Infected, deemed to be "too dangerous" by Valve. It resembles the average female Common Infected, but instead of standing around and idling, it is usually slumped on the ground and making loud noises which resemble sobbing, which can be heard long before it's ever seen, allowing the player a chance to prepare a plan to deal with it.

Extent of Mutations
The Witch has been heavily mutated by a strain of the infection. Though resembling a typical female Infected, she has sharpened elongated fingers used as weapons, and has gained a massive increase in strength, enabling her to incapacitate or instantly kill Survivors in one hit. Needless to say, great care is vital on expert. Her strength is not visible via muscle growth, as with the Tank. She is known to cry when not aware of the Survivors, though the exact reasoning behind it is unknown. It's possible that the Witch may have real emotions, unlike what the other Infected seem to portray. For example, she may be crying because the infection causes extreme pain in the Infected, evidenced by how the Common Infected are lagging around, falling to the ground, sometimes seen sitting down holding their heads, leaning against walls, and vomiting. Even though her mentality is largely similar to that of the typical Infected, she is not distracted by things like the flashing lights and beeps of a pipe bomb, nor is she apparently attracted by things such as car alarms going off, though this will alert her of the Survivors' presence, which is strange as the other Special Infected aren't attracted to car alarms, so the Witch's infecting must give her some intelligence. It is possible that the infection caused some increase in speed as well, as evidenced by the speed at which she runs.

Meet the Witch


It is a widely-held belief that it is never, ever worth it to start a fight with a Witch. But she is usually unavoidable, and has to be fought. The Director will sometimes give a sign that a Witch has spawned on the map; there's a split second where a faint chord of the Witch's Theme will sound, after which you can hear the Witch crying.

She can and will appear on every difficulty and level, (except in Chapter one in normal and advanced mode) sometimes even twice or more. Her first strike on any Survivor will incapacitate the character which is followed up by a pause, then tearing them to shreds, except for on expert where she instantly kills instead.

Witches have a quite a long reach due to their long arms and claws that have been known to incapacitate Survivors in mid-air leaving them flying through the air on their back until they land. This can cause Witch victims to find themselves incapacitated in hard to reach areas inaccessible to fellow Survivors.

After she has killed her target, the Witch begins to run around and scream, seeming to attempt escaping further hostility. She will still attack anything in her way, pushing Survivors back if they run into her. Eventually, she can get away from the Survivors, mysteriously disappearing once she's completely out of sight.

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

What startles the Witch?
A Witch will at first growl threateningly and stand as a warning. If left alone she will eventually return to kneeling and sobbing. She will only attack upon being startled, homing in on specifically the character who startled her. There is a long list of things that she does not appreciate:


 * Touching the Witch (too close!).
 * Being too close
 * Staring at her for too long, or staying within the her proximity too long.
 * Explosions near her. Explosions will 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. But if the witch is not within a Survivor's line of sight, this will not startle her. You will simple 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 (read: totally innocent) may startle her.
 * Shooting the Witch. If you don't actually hit the Witch, shots can land quite close to her without disturbing her, but you have to be far away; if you are too close and shoot near her (especially with shotguns), she will be startled immediately.
 * Setting her on fire. Even if another person has already startled the Witch, setting her on fire will cause her to change targets to the one responsible. This also means that setting the Witch on fire after she has killed her target will cause her to continue her attack until both the person who startled her and the flamer are dead.
 * Medium proximity with a flashlight pointed at the Witch.
 * According to in-game cars, see console commands for details, one can discover that z_witch_personal_space 100 and z_witch_flashlight_range 400
 * In other words, a flashlight will startle the Witch at exactly 4 times the distance mere proximity would.

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



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

If sobbing is heard, it means a Witch is around, and its well advised that you should switch off your flashlights, as they startle her from a further distance. When you hear the distinct Witch music, it means she is very near by, and this music will get louder the closer you get to her. You should alert your team once you hear crying, then again when you hear the music, so turn up your volume. If seen, tell the other Survivors exactly where she is. It helps a great deal to know they cast a red glow on themselves, and their surroundings in dark areas. If there are Common Infected blocking your alternate path, try to snipe them from a distance or move through quickly using melee attacks, and avoid landing rounds anywhere near the Witch. This means to never use the shotgun near the Witch, as the shot pellets spray. Should the Witch be inside a room, the best solution is to shut the door and notify your teammates to not open that door.

Inevitably, however, Witches will be provoked. The Director loves to put a Witch at choke points, such as outside the doorway of a safe room or underneath a Panic Event trigger, and it often places them in areas where Hordes arrive due to Panic Events. If the Witch is obstructing a choke point and must be startled, set up a defensive line and throw explosives before opening fire. Use obstacles like subway cars, escalator ramps, office partitions, etc. to slow her down so that she never catches up to you. Another alternative is to have your team stand a fair distance from her, and bypass her one at a time. Move quickly so you can get past her before she even fully stands up, and duck out of her line of sight. As soon as she's back to sobbing, have another teammate cross her path, and repeat until all four Survivors have made it past her without trouble. If the Witch is accidentally startled (for instance, when a Smoker is choking an ally and you must shoot, or during a Horde attack), backpedal away from her while firing. The Witch pursues and will incapacitate or instantly kill the Survivor that startled her if she reaches him/her. It is also a good thing to keep in mind that Witches are slightly faster than the Survivors, so it is always a good idea to attack her at the farthest range possible (unless using the cr0wning tactic or carrying a shotgun which can be used to unload lead into the Witch, effectively killing her). However, lighting her on fire, such as with a molotov, will startle her as well, and make her slightly slower, giving a Survivor a tiny advantage in speed.

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

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

Preparing for a Witch

 * It is smart to have at least one person on the Survivor side armed with an Auto Shotgun or at least a Pump shotgun. That way, if you have no way of sneaking past her, you will have a better fighting chance against her. Shotguns have the remarkable ability to "cr0wn" Witches — kill in one headshot — whereas the other weapons cannot. The Hunting rifle's long range can prove useful in striking the Witch from a further distance - especially if there are several terrain impediments the Witch must cross. This gives your team more time to eliminate her.
 * Potentially dangerous, but useful, it is smart to locate the Witch first, that way, if you are retreating or need a place to hide during a Crescendo Event, you will know where not to go.
 * Turn off your flashlight, this way she is less likely to be startled.
 * Even without the flashlight, she can still be seen; watch out for her glowing red eyes!
 * Make sure you are reloaded and stocked with ammo, you don't want to upset her and have nothing to back you up.
 * It is often best to have 3 or more players equipped with tier 2 weapons or, failing that, at least have variety in your weapons, as it truly helps it to make her go down faster. (has been tested on all difficulties)

Witch tactics that fail

 * Meleeing against a Witch.
 * Only the shotgun can deal a great amount of damage to the witch at close range. Attempting to use anything else in a confined space with little means of escape will get you incapacitated.
 * Startling a Witch from several rooftops away (especially on the Dead Air campaign) and expecting the Witch to have difficulty reaching you. Unfortunately, she can climb buildings quickly, so you are not safe.
 * If the Witch killed a Survivor and is fleeing, do not attack her. This would waste ammo, and it is possible to startle the same Witch more than once by setting her on fire.
 * 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.

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.
 * On any difficulty, though this is more useful on expert, it is possible to funnel a startled Witch into a small hallway, trap it using one or two players, albeit not the one who startled it, and slow it down enough for the Survivors to shoot her to death, nullifying the threat she poses.
 * If you're fortunate enough to find her at the top of a ladder that has a space survivors can use, use it by having the person who startled her climb a ladder and make the Witch follow, you can trap her under or above the survivor and she can be easily picked off with any weapon (though you should be very careful with the shotgun, to avoid harming the bait).
 * Fire does damage over time to a Witch. She will still run at you and scream from the heat, but can still attack you unlike normal zombies. Throw a Molotov at the Witch from as far away as you can, then run back towards the beginning safe room while your allies open fire on the Witch. If you are near the beginning of the level, make sure you close the safe room door behind you.

Assault rifle burst
NOTE: The following is not possible on the PC version as it exploits a glitch exclusive to the Xbox 360 console. This glitch only appears once the Survival Mode Downloadable Content has been installed. On expert, the Witch can often survive the attack or at least be startled.

With the Survival Mode addition, a glitch was created with the assault rifle and the submachine gun. However, out of the two, only the assault rifle has the potential to "cr0wn" the Witch. To execute the glitch, first make sure you have an assault rifle with a full magazine. Hold down the melee button while pressing the "Y" button twice (switching from your assault rifle to your pistol, and back again) and then hold down the trigger button for at least ten seconds. At the end of ten seconds, release only your melee button to instantly empty your magazine.


 * This is much safer than the shotgun-headshot method, as you can kill the Witch without entering very close proximity and running the risk of startling her.
 * This tactic also does not require as much skill as the shotgun-headshot because a single headshot is no longer required.
 * The disadvantage to this approach is that you leave yourself open to attack for approximately 10 seconds.
 * It is not necessary for the entire clip to impact the Witch. All that needs to hit her are 31 or more bullets.
 * On expert, the Witch cannot be instantly killed by this. She will come extremely close to death. Most of the time she'll be startled. However, she can still be killed without being startled if another Survivor shoots her at the exact same time as you do. If this happens, she will quickly stand up when you shoot, growl loudly as if on the verge of being startled and then die.
 * Even though the "Cr0wned" achievement's description states that you need to kill the Witch with a single headshot, this method, despite using over 30 bullets to kill the Witch still awards the player with the "Cr0wned" achievement.

Hunting rifle melee
It appears that, somehow, if one stuns the Witch via a hunting rifle headshot, she can be still stunned by your melee attacks, which makes her an idle victim. To perform this tactic, you must stun her with a headshot and start using your melee attack on her before she can recover - then unload your hunting rifle rounds into her. Once you need to reload, switch to your pistols and continue.
 * This is a lot safer than any other method of killing the Witch.
 * It appears that you have to stun the Witch without using the scope, so you have to stay closer to her.

Other Witch killing tactics

 * At maximum possible distance, have your hunting rifle man shoot the Witch in the head as many times as possible. One can kill a Witch by unloading a full clip into her. It is always wise, however, to have several friends around you, just in case.
 * Line up your team like a firing squad, within suitable distance from the Witch. Using the hunting rifle, a well placed headshot will stun the Witch and knock her back before she is startled. During these few seconds of startled time, have everyone open fire on her and she will die surprisingly fast.
 * Using miniguns if they're nearby. They have the power to kill a Witch so quickly that it may not even be startled. This is rare, however.
 * Explosions can stun the Witch, startled or not. A good tactic that involves minimal risk is to throw a pipe bomb and then making a run for it. The Witch is only startled when the pipe bomb goes off, so if the other Survivors kill it while you bravely run away, you live to see another day. Propane or oxygen tanks can also stun the Witch. Throw one next to her, and stun her with a headshot from the hunting rifle. When the initial stun has worn off, blow the tank next to her for a double stun and finish her off.
 * Form a square, while not that complex or daring, it is possible, with enough firepower to have her switch targets just before incapacitating/killing the player. Keep on shooting to make sure she's dead, because if one person thinks she's dead, you all will be soon. Don't use shotguns because of the wide spread will not be effective, and possibly hit other teammates.

Non-violent tactics

 * Simply abandoning the poor soul who startled the Witch to his/her fate. A very viable solution, particularly when the team is near the end of the level on expert.
 * Without touching the Witch, survivors file past her one-by-one, each waiting for her to go from growling back to the "safe" crying state before making their move. If you don't wish to wait so long, you can try a more risky option and file past her two-by-two.
 * In rare situations, the Witch will spawn in an open doorway. If you can run up and close the door on her body without startling her, thereby jamming her in the doorway, she will get up and runaway without a fight. Confirmed on normal and expert modes.
 * A risky tactic is to run and jump over her if she's blocking a choke point such as a doorway. This is possible on easy or normal. This will aggravate her a lot, however, if done correctly, she will not be startled. It is not advisable to do this if the Witch is in front of stairs.



Infected
Although you cannot play as the Witch, you can "use" her:
 * Smokers can drag Survivors to the Witch.
 * Hunters and Boomers can crouch in front of the Witch, obscuring her from the Survivors sight. Alternately, if a Boomer is killed while the Survivors are relatively close to the Witch, the explosion will startle her, sending her after the person who killed the Boomer. it is also useful to crouch behind her as they will not risk trying to kill you if it would alert the witch
 * 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
 * Experienced Hunter players normally crouch just out of sight near the Witch waiting until a player runs up to attack the Witch pouncing them just before they get a chance to fire as this gives the Witch the potential to do the most damage possibly even killing the survivor if timed properly.
 * Most experienced Survivor teams will have three players take up defensive positions while one goes up to crown the Witch. As a Smoker, you can strangle the player who was tasked with Witch killing just as he/she is about to crown her. The Witch will be startled, and the Survivor is basically a sitting duck.
 * An Infected player can melee the Witch just as she looks up when a Survivor gets too close, sending her after them. Melee damage is negligible for all Infected other than the Tank.
 * Have all of the Hunters surround and circle the Witch as if you are guarding her. Upon confrontation or encounter, the Survivors will be discouraged from advancing past her knowing that the Witch is both dangerous and heavily guarded by its weaker counterparts. However, judgment should be used for more experienced players, who may be able to pick off the Hunters from afar without damaging the Witch. If the Witch notices the Survivors' presence, a single scratch will cause her to stand up and instantly give chase to the first survivor she sees.

Cr0wnd

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

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

Approach the Witch without startling her, preferably quickly to give you a chance to do something while she starts moving to get up. Aim your shotgun at her head when you are in extremely close proximity. If you fire your shotgun and miss with the weapon's spray, the Witch will be startled and attack you. If the Witch is approached from behind, she will even present her face as a prime target by looking over her shoulder. From there, a single blast from the shotgun will defeat her (though as a cautionary measure, always shoot more than once). If feeling particularly audacious, another tactic involves running at the Witch and shooting straight downward into her face while jumping over her. Make sure the Witch is still kneeling before attempting this, however, because if she is standing, the only thing this tactic yields is a freshly-opened chest cavity. Also note that this will not count against Do Not Disturb, as she will die before becoming startled. To get the achievement, you need to make sure every pellet from the shotgun's blast impacts her head. Some things to remember include:


 * You do not have to shoot her in the head to get this achievement. The real point of this achievement is to kill her with one shot. Some players have found that it's actually easier to shoot her in the back, rather than the head. It's possible to kill her from the front, side, or even from below if she is on a platform (as long as you are close to her -- doing it from below will not work if she is much higher than you are).


 * Some players prefer crouching in front of the witch, thereby tightening the shotgun crosshairs and increase the chance of getting all the pellets in the Witch's face. The only downside to crouching is that it does not let the Survivor run away fast enough from the Witch if the first couple of shots fail.


 * Don't hesitate. If you approach her and hesitate to fire, you may find she'll be startled before you attack her. If she's startled, It will be extremely hard to kill her before she gets you. However, if you try to kill her too quickly, you are likely going to miss and lose. Take your time and preferably wait for her to stand up to get a clear shot at the head.


 * With a mere shotgun you can get in two shots if you are hasty, but you'll want to be sure your teammates are still there to get her off you before you try this, unless it's expert difficulty in which case you'll be instantly killed.


 * Practice will easily teach you when to shoot and when not to. This can be achieved in the Developer Commentary on the level The Sewer. At the very end of the level, in front of Mercy Hospital's entrance, there's a commentary node that when activated, will spawn a Witch. The Witch can be killed and respawned for an infinite amount of times. This way, you can practice killing her in one shot. However, the achievement itself cannot be unlocked in "Commentary Mode". It is only useful for practice. It's important to note that she can still attack any bot teammates, and if shot with a hunting rifle she will stumble, then attack you.

Do Not Disturb

 * Sneak past all Witches in a campaign without disturbing one. Cr0wning does not count against the "Do Not Disturb" achievement.

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

Witch Hunter

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

This is more difficult than "Tankbusters" (a similar achievement for the Tank), but the easiest way is to do it in levels with platforms, like the No Mercy campaign. Just try to get above the Witch, then have everyone unleash hell on her. It'll take her a while to reach you. Likewise, you may also single-handedly kill the Witch by arming yourself with a semi-auto shotgun and unleashing all of your rounds on her. This requires long open space behind you, however; you will wish you hadn't attempted such a stunt if you hit the back of a train, or a gate, or wall. This achievement can be automatically awarded upon achieving Cr0wnd.

Burn the Witch

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

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

The Wandering Witch
During Daylight time in Left 4 Dead 2, the Survivors will come across The Wandering Witch (also known as Walking Witch or Daylight Witch) that acts almost the same as the original Witch but rather than just sitting crying for the Survivors to come to her, she is able to wander around the map and even surprise one from the back. Apparently she is still zoned out like original Witch, but she cries less, instead "singing" along her way, and she is more easily startled. The Wandering Witch is hard to avoid, leaving the new Survivors in a situation that they must kill her to get past her. When the sun goes down, it is assumed that the Wandering Witch will act like the original Witch, sitting and sobbing while waiting for the Survivors.

According to GI, using the new close combat weapons on the Witch will result in a one hit kill if using the axe by placing it in the back of her head.

Trivia

 * The concept of the lone crying girl with glowing eyes may be a reference to the popular "Cemetery Ghost Girl" video. In the video, a man calls out to a girl seen crying in a cemetery, asking for her name. When she notices him, she glares at him with bright glowing eyes, scaring him and causing him to run off.
 * Her music cue is The Witch.
 * When a Witch is dead on the floor, if shot in the face, her hair will whip around in an amusing squid-like motion.
 * When the Witch is examined up-close, it can be noted that her mouth never actually moves even when she screams or whimpers.
 * Even when The Witch dies, her eyes still glow.
 * Some graffiti in the safe room at the beginning of The Church makes references to the Witch. [[Image:Witch-deathtoll3-writing.jpg|thumb|The Witch|200px|right|Graffiti mentioning the Witch.]]
 * She is sometimes considered to be the "landmine" of the Infected, for if a survivor gets too close to her, she can instantly incapacitate or kill them.
 * 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.
 * Witches occasionally glitch and freeze on ladders; if she incapacitates a Survivor on a ladder, she will climb down to attack them on the ground, but may freeze and not be able to move off the ladder for the aforementioned reason, setting up an easy 'Cr0wnd' achievement.
 * Witches have been observed spawning in a few odd locations. Some of which are on top of hand rails and places you could not reach otherwise. It is also possible for a Witch to spawn on top of the crane's container in the second level of Dead Air after the Crescendo Event associated with it has finished.
 * The Witch can attack and kill any Common Infected in her way. She may also attack any Special Infected in her way if they block her path, but she doesn't seem to do damage to them, and they do not retaliate.