Which character to choose in Back 4 Blood

From healers to explosives experts, here’s every Cleaner in Back 4 Blood.

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Before you grab a gun and start blasting zombies, you have to choose your Back 4 Blood character. Or rather, your ‘Cleaner’. With eight in the game, there’ll be plenty of options to fit your playstyle. Perhaps you’ll find your perfect match in melee expert, Holly, or Army Ranger, Walker. Who knows, it might even be conspiracy theorist, Hoffman.

Who qualifies as the best Cleaner largely depends on your role in the team. Some are true Ridden-killing machines, while others are more focused on keeping the team alive. Here’s an overview of all the Back 4 Blood characters, their abilities, and how to unlock them.

How to unlock Back 4 Blood characters

Before you get to choosing your main, you’ll notice once you start the game that only half are available to begin with: Hoffman, Doc, Jim, and Karlee are missing. But if you were keen on choosing them, don’t fret.

You’ll unlock the four remaining characters once you’vefinished the first Chapter of Act 1, The Devil’s Return while playing online with others. With the four levels included in it done, you’ll be treated to a cutscene and, crucially, the missing heroes.

Meet the Back 4 Blood characters

Hoffman

As running out of ammo is pretty common in Back 4 Blood, Hoffman is almost always useful. Thanks to his first skill, he can easily recover ammo for himself as well as his teammates. He’ll also upgrade everyone’s overall ammo capacity and he can carry an extra Offensive item (like pipe bombs and molotovs). The latter is a lot of fun and super handy if you need some quick kills (and ammo).

Walker

Walker is one of the best Back 4 Blood characters to pick if you want to show off a high kill count. For starters, he deals higher damage compared to other Cleaners. Furthermore, he gains increased accuracy if you manage to kill Common Infected with headshots or Special Infected by aiming at their weak spots. His team skill isn’t bad either, but may feel a bit superfluous if you already have Doc or Mom on the team.

Doc

Perhaps the name ‘Doc’ gives it away somewhat, but this Back 4 Blood Cleaner is the game’s specialized healer class. Her team skill alone makes her extremely useful, as Trauma Damage (reducing max HP after talking hits) can be a real pain. Doc’s first skill also means she can heal low-health allies even when you’re all out of med kits.

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Mom

Let’s not beat around the bush: Mom’s ability to instantly revive a teammate is pretty damn good. It’s only once per level, but it can easily save the team from a domino effect when surrounded by a large Horde. Mom can also carry extra bandages and med kits. In comparison to Doc, Mom’s support role is more focused on bringing downed allies back in the game and less on normal healing. This elderly biker truly shines once the team gets in real trouble.

Holly

If smashing zombie heads with a baseball appeals to you, Holly will be your favorite Back 4 Blood character. While her teammates can easily get overrun in close-quarters combat, Holly just keeps going as long as she lands fatal blows. As such, Holly is the perfect Cleaner to swipe up large groups of Common Infected.

Evangelo

Every player who knows the pain of getting grabbed while your teammates are nowhere in sight is probably happy to see Evangelo’s first ability. This highly mobile character can be a true blessing if you plan on joining random teams. However, this reactive first skill is far less useful if you can rely on teamplay. Whether you save yourself from a Grab or depend on a teammate to do so, you’re still going to receive the initial Grab damage.

Karlee

Karlee is blessed with the useful ability to warn the team when approaching a tricky situation. She’ll also make it easier to clear objectives by increasing Use Speed (interaction times such as opening a lock) for the whole team. Finally, Karlee has an extra quick slot, which means she can carry an additional defibrillator to instantly resurrect an ally, or a stun gun to escape a grab.

Jim

As his abilities suggest, Jim is one of the best Back 4 Blood characters if you enjoy sniping. His aim is much faster compared to other characters and he deals higher damage if he lands headshots on Common Infected or weak spot hits on Special Infected. Having Jim on the team will make it a lot easier to take down the particularly intimidating Ridden, especially if others go for the weak spots as well. It probably goes without saying that playing as Jim requires a steady hand.

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