Special thanks goes to Necross at the Steam Forums for allowing this Left 4 Dead 2 Charger walk through to be posted here.
A Charger Walkthrough
==Preface==
Okay, so this was obviously inspired by that “Enzymicide” walkthrough for the Spitter for a while back, and considering how I didn’t see a Charger one (didn’t SEE one; even if one exists I’m still posting my own), I decided to whip one up. Enjoy, whine about TL;DR, do whatever, I’m just posting some tricks and tips that I came across as a Charger.
==Introduction==
The Charger, in terms of design, is a bulky, malformed Infected. Its head has been caved in and eroded by the constant onslaught it suffers from ramming face first into rough walls and objects. It makes distinguishable muttering and growling noises that distinctly warns Survivors when one is in an area.
The Charger is one of the most overrated Infected in Left 4 Dead 2, only second to the Tank in terms of inflated perceived power. The Charger might be able to bowl through opposition, but he can also have his 600 HP blasted away in seconds, be beaten to death while he’s preoccupied with a Survivor, and be halted in his charge by a mere garden chair or a slightly small doorway.
That being said, when used correctly, the Charger can be considered the most powerful Infected in the game (sometimes even more so than the Tank); the Charger can drag a Survivor down to a swift watery grave or a huge plummet, it can plow through and scatter a tightly packed group of Survivors, and can claw a weakened team to death single handedly, thanks to his immunity to bashing. However, the Charger does require a learning period, considering how different his modus operandi is from his Infected brethren, and it can be rough, but stick with it and you’ll become a relenting onslaught against the Survivors.
==The Basics==
The Charger possesses 600 HP (350 HP more than the default Special Infected, and still far more than the 325 HP Jockey), is resistant in every way to shoving (not melee attacks, however), and has an immensely powerful primary ram with a relatively small regeneration. It also has a very powerful secondary claw attack, when you need to take down a low health Survivor quickly.
The Charger is meant to scatter clumped groups of Survivors across the map and cause general chaos and disorder amongst Survivors as a whole. To accomplish this, a player needs to have a honed sense of intuition and a strong perception of their surroundings. Due to the Charger’s extremely linear attack method, the player needs to compensate for three primary things: what objects stand in the Charger’s path, where their target currently is, and the movement pattern of the target(s) in question.
What objects that stand in the Charger’s way are crucial; a single good charge can be ruined by a poorly placed dumpster or pole. Unfortunately, the Charger has no physical capability of destroying said objects within the game, and the player must be vigilant of these, regardless of their size or whether or not an actual Charger in our reality could destroy it or not.
Where the target is is also crucial, especially in wide open areas. In enclosed places, it’s not as much of a problem; for example, in a cramped room, you can charge at a Survivor, and chances are at the sound of your howl s/he’ll panic and try to duck out of the way (usually directly into your path), and in a stairway or escalator the target it generally doomed. However, in wide open ares, targets will often be leaping around and being difficult to pin, therefore, you need to pay attention to their movement patterns.
Very rarely will a target be moving generically back and forth at any given time; usually they move in circles, shift around to face a surfacing threat, et cetera. Therefore, you need to be craftier. Usually you can wait until one of your allies (for example, a Boomer) spooks them, and when they’re leaping/running away, you can thunder out and grab them. You need to make youir first attack count, though; if you miss, chances are you’ll be shot to death as you’re stumbling away from the object you collided with.
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Tags: Charger Walkthrough, left 4 dead 2 Charger Walkthrough