Infected, which is the best?

**Lorax74** · 12-17-2008, 04:54 PM

I've got a few rounds of Left 4 Dead versus under my belt (not many due to home remodeling again), but enough to have a feel for each of the infected.

So, which do you feel you are most effective with?

**Lorax74** · 12-17-2008, 04:56 PM

I'm OK with the hunter and the boomer, but I suck with the smoker. The tank is hit or miss (no pun intended), depending on the map, but often enough I die before I manage to get any hits in with it.

**Kulmar** · 12-17-2008, 06:55 PM

I must say I like the hunter the best. The satisfaction received after you have pounced from a high-rise building to the floor on a human is indescribable. Definitely if you get the 25 damage bonus (On hit). Also the melee scratches are fun to use when the survivors get boomed.

I am pretty good with the boomer, but don't find it that fun. I usually just boomer-bomb them from roof tops, or run around corners at 'em. I am not that good at arching, but I get it done sometimes.

Smoker, eh haven't really had any satisfactory moments... usually just pick up the scraps.

Tank, fun to play... until you get on fire. Then its just panic! Usually get around 2 survivors down when i play the tank... or more. I want to try to just kill one survivor straight out, but its hard to hit them when they are down.

**Havok** · 12-17-2008, 09:48 PM

I'm best with the hunter, lately I've been practicing wall jump+pounce or really long range pounce for the +25 pounce damage... and so far it works out well. If I end up getting knocked off someone then I just simply start slashing away or, more preferably, try and hop away (but only when I know I'll be able to).

Plude220 · 12-18-2008, 12:40 AM

I like the smoker the best they are like ninja in that you sneak around not being seen and strike from cover fun to me.

**Lorax74** · 12-18-2008, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plude220

I like the smoker the best they are like ninja in that you sneak around not being seen and strike from cover fun to me.

I've had minor success with the smoker, mostly when playing on the high ground like a roof top. I still have to figure out how to aim effectively with him though.

Morganan · 12-18-2008, 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorax74

I've had minor success with the smoker, mostly when playing on the high ground like a roof top. I still have to figure out how to aim effectively with him though.

Dont bother with the aiming thing, you will just get frustrated and annoyed. The tongue seems to have a mind of it's own at times. The only consistency I have found with the smokers tongue is you at least *might* hit a target if you get the orange circle, you never will without it. Of course the target you *might* hit only *might* be the one you were aiming at.... I think the tongue just shoots out and with the hit/scan hit detection source uses along with it's netcode and lag compensation, you get whatever target the server thinks you should get. I've had that damned tongue shoot past 3 guys to latch onto the front survivor when I aimed at the back one..

*shrug*

FrankManik · 12-18-2008, 06:07 AM

I don't really have a preference. I suppose the hunter is the most active infected, but all of them 'work' when you're working with everyone. There's something very satisfying about vomitting on all the survivors or managing to drag someone off a cliff before they get ten feet from the safe house.

rylak · 12-18-2008, 08:09 AM

It depends on where you are as to which is the best. The smoker can break survivor's necks and taking 1 guy out greatly increases your chances of taking out the other 3 just like hunters can quickly get one of them out of the fight during all sorts of chaos forcing the other survivors have to expose themselves a bit so they can go rescue their friend.

**Pokerface** · 12-18-2008, 11:46 AM

I love a good Boom. It works well for those of us who are gunshy and have no aim, since all the real damage comes from the Horde.

**Superfast** · 12-18-2008, 12:45 PM

I'm gonna go with the hunter. If nobody saves the poor soul that's being attacked, he's zombie dinner!!!

But it's the most fun when we can all four coordinate an attack and almost knock everybody out at the same time.

**Unload** · 12-18-2008, 12:51 PM

I love vomiting on people. However, the Tank is probably the most rewarding in terms of violent destruction of the survivors

Lazz · 12-18-2008, 12:59 PM

Hunter, definitely. I have this weird thing whereby whenever I manage to pin someone to the ground I seem to automatically get right up close to the monitor and frantically click right mouse button (not sure if that does anything or not). Its a great adrenaline surge.

As for the others, Tank is ok but from experience, theres 3 problems/annoying things. Firstly, a decent team will always have a molotov ready for the tank - that combined with auto shotguns isnt great for the tank. 2. A decent team will spread out and run in different directions and you cant catch them up unless by chance you manage to throw an object at them which I rarely do. 3. (also similar to 2) From experience of playing with the tank, you really need your team mates to use their infected ability's to slow down the survivors, but instead they have a tendancy to hold off until you've done some damage to the survivors.

Boomer is ok but quite frustrating because it seems to be the easiest infected for the survivors to kill. Also, it isn't so good if the survivors are at an elevated position, say a roof top for example, because even if you are lucky enough to puke over at least 1 survivor, the delay in the infected climbing to the survivors makes them sitting ducks.

The Smoker Im actually starting to find quite interesting. Infact some of the best moments in L4D have been when the smoker co-operates with another infected - e.g. pulls a survivor to one side while the boomer vomits on him/her and of course they cant move while a horde of zombies are attacking them.

People tend to be less keen on the smoker (judging by the steam forums) compared to other infected but while they dont have the power that hunters do, they can do some very handy things. For instance - in No Mercy: Subway, when the survivors are in the room with the minigun, there is a hole in the floor. Once when I was a survivor, one of my team mates was pulled through that floor which of course, even if the smoker gets killed, the survivor is still 1 floor below the other survivors which is a great opportunity for the infected to attack.

**peardog** · 12-18-2008, 02:58 PM

I have to say that the SMOKER, while a bit of a pain to play (he's kinda week), gives me the most satisfaction when you get a good smoke in.. a Boomer-Smoker combo can be disastrous to an opposing team.. You just gotta know where the good smoke spots are...

But looking at the above selections..it kinda shows how reliant all the classes are on the other classes.. It's like a chess match.. One missed pounce or an off timed boom and the whole plan goes south... Good stuff...

**† Disciple †** · 12-18-2008, 03:30 PM

As always I am the sniper and therefore I enjoy the smoker most of all, countless times I have had fun as the smoker once you know the maps and know when to hold on to the smoker untill a good spot so that you don't lose him.

Such as on no mercy when you go up the elevator thing outside to the roof top and as the smoker I will just pull people down off the roof and then hiude and copy and paste till they are dead, once down the horde gets them.

A similar spot is on dead harvest when you have brown up the bridge to climb up to get to the safe house and as the smoker you sit on the house below and tounge the survivors down one by one to be completely seperated from their team.