The Cricket Bat (also known as a paddle bat or simply a paddle) is a close combat weapon found in Left 4 Dead 2.
It spawns in the following chapters:
Melee weapons replace Pistols in the secondary weapon slot. Unlike Pistols, close combat weapons never need to be reloaded and cannot run out of ammo (excluding the Chainsaw). They have two main drawbacks: a limited reach and (with a few exceptions) relatively long cooldown periods. Close combat weapons cause minimal friendly fire damage to the Survivors, even on Advanced and Expert difficulty levels (the Chainsaw is an exception).
These weapons are extremely effective. All melee weapons, on all difficulties, kill Common Infected and most Special Infected in one hit, aside from the Charger (which takes two—but see point below), the Witch (which takes four), and the Tank (which takes twenty, excluding the Chainsaw). Due to their death effects, it is generally advised to melee neither the Boomer (unless there is no choice) nor the Spitter (unless it is possible to move away immediately from the resulting acid splash).
The melee weapons appear to do more damage if an Infected's head or upper body is targeted. With the correct timing it is possible to kill a Charger with one hit while it is charging, allowing a Survivor to "level" a charge without first dealing damage to the Charger and to gain the achievement "Level a Charge".
The Cricket Bat is classified as a Bludgeoning weapon. It will spew blood on a user's screen and may decapitate Infected.
Achievements
CONFEDERACY OF CRUNCHES | (30G) | |
Finish a campaign using only melee weapons. |
HEAD HONCHO | (15G) | |
Decapitate 200 Infected with a melee weapon. |
TANK BURGER | (30G) | |
Kill a Tank with melee weapons. |
BEAT THE RUSH | (15G) | |
In a Survival round, get a medal only using melee weapons. |
CLUB DEAD | (15G) | |
Use every melee weapon to kill Common Infected. |
Notes
- The Cricket Bat seen in-game is based on a standard wooden cricket bat used in the sport of cricket. Cricket bats are made from wood taken from the willow tree and feature a sprung handle made of compounded layers of wood and rubber to give the bat extra snap when striking a ball. Like a baseball bat, cricket bats come in different lengths and weights with a weight bias towards the lower end to maximise hitting momentum.
- Shaun, the main character of the 2004 British film Shaun of the Dead used a cricket bat as a weapon against the zombies. The cricket bat's inclusion in Left 4 Dead 2 may be a reference to this. Since cricket is a popular sport in Britain, a common trope in British movies and publications involves characters picking up a cricket bat as an extemporized weapon before (e.g.) "investigating a noise downstairs", much in the same way Americans would think of a Baseball Bat in a similar situation.
- For whatever reason, Nick and Rochelle are the only characters to identify this weapon correctly as a cricket bat. The other characters refer to it as a paddle, a paddle bat, or as Ellis calls it at some points, "that bat thing" or "a problem solver."
- It's odd that Coach with his background in sports and the fact that he was a gym teacher doesn't identify the Cricket bat with its true name and usually as a paddle bat, but it's possible he never played cricket.
- The Cricket Bat has grip-tape wrapped around the blade of the bat, suggesting its previous owner did not "knock in" the bat prior to using it. Knocking in a cricket bat involves compacting the willow wood fibers of a new bat with repeated tapping of a special 'bat mallet' or cricket ball. Failure to do so can lead to the blade of an unknocked bat splitting when striking a ball or the pitch really hard.
- In the Australian version of Left 4 Dead 2, the Cricket Bat has a Southern Cross on the bat and the dates of when Australia has won The Ashes, a Test cricket series held between Australia and England.
Weapons | |
---|---|
Primary Weapons | |
Tier 1 | Chrome Shotgun / Pump Shotgun / MP5 / Silenced Submachine Gun / Submachine Gun |
Tier 2 | AK-47 / Combat Rifle / M-16 Assault Rifle / SG 552 / Auto Shotgun / Combat Shotgun / AWP / Hunting Rifle / Scout / Sniper Rifle |
Special Tier | Grenade Launcher / M60 Machine Gun |
Secondary Weapons | |
Sidearms | M1911 Pistol / Magnum Pistol / P220 Pistol |
Melee Weapons | Baseball Bat / Cricket Bat / Crowbar / Fireaxe / Frying Pan / Golf Club / Guitar / Katana / Knife / Machete / Nightstick / Pitchfork / Shovel |
Special Tier | Chainsaw |
Other Weapons | |
Grenades | Bile Bomb / Molotov Cocktail / Pipe Bomb |
Upgrades | Explosive Ammunition / Incendiary Ammunition / Laser Sight |
Fixed Weapons | Heavy Machine Gun / Minigun |
Items | |
Usable Items | Explosive barrel / Fireworks / Gas can / Oxygen tank / Propane tank |
Special Items | Cola / Gnome Chompski |
Featured in both games / L4D1-exclusive / L4D2-exclusive (Counter-Strike weapons / PC-exclusive) |