Back 4 Blood: All zombie classes explained

Back 4 Blood is the long-awaited spiritual successor to the iconic zombie-shooter, Left 4 Dead. Longtime fans of Valve's smash hit from the late 2000s will likely be fairly familiar with the undead archetypes you'll be tasked with mowing down in Turtle Rock Studios' upcoming title, but for the uninitiated, there are some important details you'll need to know. Here are all the zombie (or "Ridden" as they're known in this universe) classes in Back 4 Blood and what you can expect from these horrifying encounters.

Common

Common Ridden in Back 4 Blood are the most abundant enemies you'll fight in the game. These speedy zombies often roam in hordes and can be alerted by loud noises like car alarms or birds screeching. These former humans don't pose much of a threat in small groups, but higher concentrations can be deadly as these undead can quickly outnumber and overwhelm unsuspecting players. As you progress deeper into Back 4 Blood, you'll even encounter terrifying variants like Flaming Ridden or Combustible Ridden.

Hocker/Stalker/Stinger

This family of Special Ridden delivers an agile assault on players. With shocking mobility, intimidating speed, and the ability to attack from a distance, these nasty Ridden pose a real threat to isolated characters. Thankfully, they don't have much in the way of health and go down quickly with proper team coordination.

Hocker: A melee-focused attacker that can pin down targets with a sticky projectile.

Stalker: A fast melee attacker that can pounce on players and drag them away from the group.

Stinger: A mobile ranged attacker with a nasty projectile that obscure's the target's vision.

Retch/Exploder/Reeker

Anyone who's ever loved or hated The Boomer from Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 will be uncomfortably familiar with this family of Special Ridden. These intimidating beasts use their toxic insides to damage and debilitate players. From acidic vomit to exploding corpses, you don't want these Ridden getting near you or your teammates.

Retch: A melee attacker that uses a vomit stream to cover an area in a pool of caustic liquid.

Exploder: A melee attacker that can charge forward and manually trigger a large explosion that deals a significant amount of damage.

Reeker: A melee attacker that can charge forward knocking Cleaners away and dealing damage. It explodes on death, covering players in sticky pus that slows them down.

Bruiser/Crusher/Tallboy

This brutish family of Special Ridden shares some similarities to the Chargers from Left 4 Dead 2. With generally low movement speed, these tanky enemies are easy enough to run away from, but for Cleaners unfortunate enough to get caught in their mighty grasp, these towering creatures deal massive damage and require some serious firepower to take down.

Bruiser: A powerful melee attacker that can use a deadly smash attack with a large area of effect.

Crusher: This is the fastest in this family of Special Ridden, and can grab and squeeze a nearby player, rendering them helpless and dealing damage over time.

Tallboy: A large, slow melee attacker with a dangerous overhead attack. Can charge forward in short bursts to cover distance quickly.

Snitcher

Snitchers are rather obnoxious Ridden that act as an alarm for other enemies. If a Snitcher sees you or receives damage from a player without being killed, it will let out a blood-curdling scream that will call a horde of Ridden upon you. If you see one of these Special Ridden, quickly and quietly take it out.

Hag

While Back 4 Blood is undoubtedly filled with terrifying and disgusting creatures, the Hag might be the most nightmarish of them all. This imposing Ridden will grab Cleaners will its lengthy arms and attempt to swallow them whole. Be sure to aid your teammates as soon as they're grabbed, otherwise, they'll end up as a nice snack for the Hag.

Sleeper

Sleepers are strange Special Ridden that lay dormant in fleshy pods attached to walls. If you make the mistake of walking underneath a Sleeper, it will burst from its pod and pin you to the ground. From here, it'll be up to one of your teammates to rescue you from its clutches. Try to take these creatures out from a safe distance.

Breaker

The Breaker is Back 4 Blood's answer to Left 4 Dead's Tank. This gorilla-like Special Ridden slams the ground with incredible force, creating a powerful shockwave that damages and knocks players back. With high health and defense, your entire team will want to focus on this enemy and defeat it as quickly as possible.

Ogre

Ogres are bigger and more intimidating than anything we ever saw in Left 4 Dead. These gargantuan monsters emerge from the ground and destroy anything in their path. They deal enormous amounts of damage and in most circumstances, it's best to just run from these encounters. These beasts can be slain, but it'll take a whole lot of ammunition and explosives.

Abomination Tentacles

These sprawling tendrils of destruction emerge from the earth to thwart the progress of our cleaners during a critical moment in the campaign. The thick skin of these Abomination Tentacles is impervious to gunfire, but the mouth-like tips open to reveal glowing red weak points. The best approach is to focus fire on one tentacle at a time.

Abomination

Abomination is the biggest and most intimidating enemy in Back 4 Blood. Defeating this gargantuan monstrosity is so intense and involved that it gets its very own act. Serving as the final boss of the game, Abomination is a multi-phased gauntlet that will require excellent coordination between you and your squad. A truly spectacular way to end the campaign.

More to come!

Turtle Rock Studios has plans to support Back 4 Blood with additional content for quite some time, so it's safe to say we can expect new enemies and variants in the future. We'll be sure to update this list as more of these terrifying Ridden are added. In the meantime, be sure to check out our list of the best horror games on Xbox.

Back 4 Blood is out now on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.