Back 4 Blood Swarm Mode: The Best Tips & Tricks
In our swarm mode guide to Back 4 Blood you will learn :
- How swarm mode works
- Which infected you can control
- How to play to the infected's strengths
- How to best defend yourself as a human against the infected team
In addition to the campaign, Back 4 Blood also offers the asymmetrical Versus mode "Swarm". In Swarm mode, you play not only as survivors, but also as zombies. We'll give you tips on how to play both teams in this guide.
If you're looking for tips for the campaign playthroughs, you'll surely enjoy our Back 4 Blood tips guide. For trophy collectors, we recommend our Back 4 Blood trophy guide.
How does a match work in swarm mode?
You start a match randomly as either a survivor or an infected. The survivor team must stay alive as long as possible. The Infected, on the other hand, must wipe out the Survivors as quickly as they can.
At the start of a match, the survivors have 1:30 minutes to collect weapons and equipment scattered around the arena and prepare. The infected can use the time to find a good spawn point in the arena.
As an Infected, you can only spawn in places where people can't see you.
Once all survivors are down or dead, both teams switch sides. At least two rounds are played - if there is a tie, a third round is added. The team that achieves a higher time than the opposing team at least twice wins the match. After each round, the map is also changed.
Which infected can I control in swarm mode?
On the side of the infected, you can hunt humans as one of nine special infected. We will introduce you to the individual Special Infected in tables and give you useful tips for each Infected.
The Special Infected are divided into three categories: Tallboys, Stingers and Reekers. Among these three categories, there are three subspecies you can choose from.
Tallboys
The tallboy is the tank class on the zombie side. These mutants are very large, can withstand the most and are equipped with a mutant giant arm.
The Tallboy can dish out massive damage thanks to its mutant arm.
The following Tallboy variations exist:
| Subspecies | Ability | Tips |
| Tallboy |
| Attack the survivors with the smash attack when they are particularly close. This way you'll do as much damage as possible with just one attack. |
| Crusher |
| Attack survivors who have moved away from their group to inflict as much damage as possible for as long as possible. However, as a Crusher, don't go after multiple survivors at once. |
| Bruiser |
| A similar strategy applies to the Bruiser as the regular Tallboy: Attack the gathered survivors with Frenzy to deal as much damage as possible in one hit. |
Stinger
Stingers are the thin, four-armed zombies. The Stinger class has the least health of all the infected, but is equipped for ranged combat and surprise attacks.
As a Stinger, you should always attack from higher levels.
The following Stinger variants exist:
| Subspecies | Ability | Tips |
| Stool |
| Since the stool can withstand very little, you should only go for the harpoon attack when you are out of the survivors' field of view. After the attack, you should immediately retreat and wait for Harpoon to recharge. |
| Stalker |
| The Stalker is especially good for pinning survivors who have moved away from the group. |
| Stinger |
| Spit on survivors when they don't have you in sight. Also, only attack from higher levels like rooftops so you have enough room to retreat once the survivors start shooting at you. Also, move to another location after an attack so you can surprise the survivors again. |
Reeker
Reekers are fat zombies that cause area-wide damage with their acid.
The Reeker class consists of particularly resistant zombies.
The following Reeker variants exist:
| Subspecies | Ability | Tips |
| Retch |
| Sneak up on survivors from the side or behind to puke all over them at once. Never run head-on at the survivors and only sneak up on them when you're not in their field of vision. |
| Exploder |
| Sneak up and trigger your explosion attack as soon as you get close enough. If the survivors are near rooftops or other higher levels, you can also surprise them from above. |
| Reeker |
| Pick out individual survivors to focus your attacks on. This will allow you to deal enough damage to a survivor in a short amount of time to force them to the ground. |
General tips for the infected team
At this point, we would like to give you some general tips for fighting as an infected.
Always attack together
If you constantly attack the survivors alone, you will be easy cannon fodder. Always attack together with other infected - this way you will cause chaos among the survivors faster. If your teammates are still spawning, you should wait for them and only then attack together.
Coordinate your choice of infected
It's best to discuss with your teammates who should play which class and which subspecies. Some infected complement each other really well. For example, if a player plays as a Stalker, he can trap a survivor in one place, while a Retch player can vomit acid all over the trapped survivor. Such team play is only possible if you coordinate with your teammates.
Coordinate with your teammates so that multiple people don't play the same zombie.
Improve your skills with mutation points
You will steadily accumulate mutation points during a match - for example, when you damage survivors. You can spend these points on improvements for your special infected whenever you spawn. You can use them to improve the mobility or health of your zombie, among other things.
You can always access the upgrade menu between spawns.
You can also unlock improvements for the ordinary infe cted, who are also spawned during the match, but are controlled by the A.I.. The common infected are comparatively weak and you won't be able to rely on them. Still, it's worth investing points in them every now and then, as they distract the survivors and even put quite a bit of pressure on them under certain circumstances.
Tips for survivors in swarm mode
Basically, the gameplay of the survivors in Swarm mode doesn't differ from that in the campaign. You just have to be prepared for the special infected to act in a much more coordinated way than in the campaign. Again, we advise playing with a team.
Assemble swarm card decks before the match
As in the campaign, you can create your own decks for the swarm mode. Definitely do this before looking for a match so you won't be pressed for time. Also, coordinate with your teammates on who is focusing on what style of play. Above all, make sure that at least one player is acting as a medic!
We have summarized which decks are particularly strong in our Back 4 Blood deck guide.
Barricade yourself at an area
The maps are really not big in swarm mode, but they usually offer spaces where you can barricade yourself well. During the looting phase, look for barbed wire and gas cans, which you can then place at the entrances to the area.
Always stay together!
What was already important in the campaign counts twice here: never separate from each other! The infected will always be on the lookout for escapees. As soon as you get too far away, it's virtually guaranteed that you'll be caught by one of the settling zombies like the Crusher and have to accept massive health losses. Also, a split team is much less capable of fending off multiple special infected attacking at once.
Use the looting phase effectively
You always have 1:30 minutes at the beginning of a match to search the arena for good weapons and equipment. Do not dawdle! Search the entire map and pick up any weapon that is better than your current one - even if it's a completely different weapon category. Ping especially useful equipment for your teammates.
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