Shack Chat: Who is your Back 4 Blood main?

Back 4 Blood launched this week and it has been scratching the co-op survival shooter itch that’s been just out of reach since the days of Left 4 Dead. It’s been a real hit here with several members of the staff. And as one would imagine, just about all of us have gravitated towards one of the game’s playable Cleaners in particular. With that in mind, we thought we’d ask everyone who their in-game stan was this week.

Question: Who is your Back 4 Blood main?

Evangelo - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Zombie Editor

I am hypnotized by Evangelo's hair. You know what kind of conditioner it would take to maintain that lush mane? And I like that he can break the grip of anything that grabs him quickly, probably because if anything holds him for too long, it'll ruin his lovely locks. Call me shallow if you must, but Evangelo just on his looks alone keeps me coming back.

Evangelo - Donovan Erskine, Zombie-slayer

Evangelo has some pretty dope hair, which is what originally made me want to play him. Also, his abilities are tailored towards speed and stamina regeneration, which really fits my playstyle. I spend a lot of time running for my life in games like this, so he’s my guy. Evangelo can also break out of grabs, which is super convenient when playing with useless teammates.

Holly - Blake Morse, Destiny’s Child-level survivor

Holly not only puts off some Harley Quinn vibes with her baseball bat covered in nails, she also happens to be quite proficient at zombie bashing with it. I dunno if it’s just the millennial in me, but Holly’s dialog in the B4B beta endeared her to me and the admiration seems to have continued in the full game. She also provides a hefty stamina boost to parties, which is super helpful when co-op playing with the homies. And Holly also has the best line in the game, “Pew! Pew! Motherf***ers!” I have yet to play as any other character in the full game, but I do have my eyes on that Phillip Seymour Hoffman dude.

Jim - Sam Chandler, Gimme that damage buff

If I’m playing a game that requires me to kill a lot of zombies, I want to be dealing as much damage as humanly possible. Enter Jim. Dear Jimbo here gets a nice damage boost after getting a precision kill, up to 50% extra damage.This makes it easier to take down some of the special Ridden or mini bosses you fight along the way. Add in the fact he has an increased ADS speed and he’s a clear winner. The ADS-ing in Back 4 Blood is horrifically sluggish, so you’ll always catch me bumping that speed up.

No preference - Chris Jarrard, Has the best opinions on staff

During my time in Back 4 Blood, I haven’t spent much time worrying about Cleaner selection. As with most co-op games, I usually defer to teammates who have preferences and then select whichever Cleaner has passive abilities that complements the team build, especially if your group is foolish enough to leave the confines of the easiest difficulty. Jim is certainly the most visually appealing Cleaner because of the ball cap and beard. It lets me know that Jim is a good conservative blue-collar guy like me. It’s the same reason I went to see that new Matt Damon movie! Also, in real life, I actually look like a Reeker.

Jim - Bill Lavoy, Faithful Cartographer

I’m a Hunter in Destiny 2 and Jim’s perks read like a build that I would really enjoy. Precision kills grant stacking damage until Jim takes damage. He can ADS faster, which is key (at least in Destiny 2). Jim also provides his team with 10 percent weak spot damage.

Damage is what I’m all about in games. I’m the “Show me what you need dead” guy. Jim’s perks just sound like they are right in my wheelhouse.

Mom - TJ Denzer writes kindly old news

Mom. It was always Mom. She’s really a badass lady to say the least and she has such fun interactions with everyone else. There’s something to be said for a figure that looks after all the rest and tries their best to keep them safe even as the world is spinning in blood, infection, and chaos. Plus, she brings so much to the table gameplay-wise. Back 4 Blood has great shotguns and Mom starts off with her sawed-off Belgian: Not a bad pick before getting to other fine boomsticks.

There’s also the traits that make Mom your team’s best medic. She can give the team an extra life in case of disaster, start with pain meds, open your slots for another support item, and other great health boosting assets. Load her up with medic cards and you’ve got a mother bear that’s good to grizzle the heck out of the Infected if it means keeping her friends safe.

The Doctor is in- Dennis White, Community Manager

If I’m not focused on being the heavy hitter in the group (which can be plenty of fun too) I really like taking on the support role. In every version of this game since alpha, I’ve been quick to remind team members of their health or use items to patch them up. Now there’s an actual character who makes it her specialty! She’s got some pretty strong perks even before you introduce additional stat boosts with the cards in play. Her team skill gives her plus 25% Trauma Resistance which means she can keep herself and the rest of the team healthy without losing precious parts of their health bars and can still stack effectively with the right card combos. She can also heal each ally once at the beginning of a level for 25 HP.

And she’s got a general 20% boost healing efficiency. With these kinds of abilities, it makes her a very capable member of the team and means my teammates can focus their resources on other support items and offensive builds. I do wish she had a Defibrillator perk, like higher health replenish on a defib, but Mom kind of stole some of that thunder. I guess there had to have been some tweaking and balance decisions made with this character for sure.

And there you have it! There seems to be a Cleaner to match just about anyone's play style and any scenario. Have we convinced you to try out a new build? Do you already have a Cleaner that's near and dear to your heart? Let us know in the Chatty comments section below and here's to hoping you make it to that next safehouse! Good luck!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.