THE HOLLOW
Wiki / Threats

Special Infected

The Heart under the Ashgrove Annex does more than raise the dead. Where its black roots stay in a body long enough, they rewrite it. Survivors call them the Special Infected: eight strains, each with one ability, a tell you can learn to spot, and a way to beat it. They were people once; the Heart remade them. (Rift demons are something else: they come through from outside.)

How it works

  1. Tiers by game stage. Tier I from GS 30: Leaper, Spitter. Tier II from GS 60: Bloater, Shade, Leech. Tier III from GS 100: Juggernaut, Reviver, Frostbound. One may come out of the dark for you now and then (more at night), never more than 2 around you (3 from GS 100), and they join hordes from the same tiers.
  2. LEAPER: crouches, hisses, then pounces 6-10 m, a heavy bite that can knock you down (Pounced). Tell: the hiss and the crouch. Counter: step sideways, or shoot it while it winds up. "It drops low and hisses before it jumps. That half second is all you get."
  3. SPITTER: lobs acid up to 24 m; the splash burns (Acid Burn) and leaves a puddle for 6 s that eats into blocks. Tell: a gurgle and a green glow in its throat. Counter: keep moving sideways, stay out of the puddle, use cover. "Hear it gurgle, see green in its throat: move."
  4. BLOATER: slow and tough; belches bile up close, and bursts into a toxic cloud when it dies or is gut-shot too much (Toxic Cloud). Tell: swollen, dripping, flies, a deep gurgle. Counter: head shots from range, never gut-shoot it up close. "Don't shoot it in the belly up close. Ever."
  5. SHADE: nearly invisible in the dark and takes 30% less damage there; when hit in the dark it blinks 4-6 m away (at most 3 times, 6 s apart) and is EXPOSED for 2 s after each blink: visible, glowing, +50% damage. It can also step out right behind you (Shadow Mark). Tell: whispers, eyes that always glow faintly, and a hiss with a puff of smoke before every blink. Counter: LIGHT IT UP. In a flashlight beam, headlights or a lit room it is fully visible, takes full damage and cannot blink. "Put a light on it and it's just another corpse."
  6. LEECH: every hit drains your stamina and heals it (Leeched); up close it latches a blood tether for 3 s (Drained). Tell: a red glow pulsing like a heartbeat. Counter: keep your distance; break the tether by running, breaking line of sight or hitting it hard. "Every scratch leaves you winded and it looks healthier."
  7. JUGGERNAUT: armor plates cut head shots to 30% and body shots to 55% until they shatter; roars, then charges in a straight line through weak blocks and throws you back (Staggered). Tell: a roar and ground-shaking stomps. Counter: shoot the plates off first, dodge the charge line, or let it slam into concrete or steel: it stuns itself. Stuck behind your wall, it slams the wall instead (see Base Raids & Sieges). "Shoot them off first, then aim for the head."
  8. REVIVER: chants over fresh corpses and raises up to 3 as Risen at half health; when it dies its Risen collapse. Tell: a droning chant and a purple glow. Counter: kill it first; heavy hits break the chant. "The dead get back up when it sings. Kill the singer first."
  9. FROSTBOUND: a freezing aura slows your movement and attacks within 7 m (Frostbite); up close a frost nova roots you (Frozen). Mostly in the snow and the pines. Tell: icy breath, a mist trail, frosted screen edges, crackling ice before the nova. Counter: fight from range. "The cold comes before it does."

Tips

PreviousOld Faces & Zombie OutfitsNextHordes