Beginner's Guide - Basics and Features
Welcome to IGN's official Back 4 Blood Wiki guide. In this section, we'll cover the basics before you jump into the story and highlight some of the important features to ensure you get the most out of your playthrough.
For helpful tips and guides for common questions, check out our additional sections by clicking the links below:
The Story
In Back 4 Blood, you and three other survivors will take on endless hordes of mutated humans in a desperate fight for survival as the remains of the human race rally their few remaining safe havens to beat back the infected - known as The Ridden. Infected by a parasite worm that has spread to all corners of the world, humanity is on its last legs, and its survival will depend on your actions.
Back 4 Blood's campaign will have your group, known as The Cleaners, undertaking dangerous missions to stem the tide of The Ridden by traveling deep into the infested remains of America to rout these abominations, and destroy key targets to win back the land piece by piece. Expect to stick close to your fellow survivors as you cross abandoned farmsteads, overrun towns, infested mines, and more.
The co-op campaign is comprised of various Acts, which are divided up into two chapters of four stages each traveling from safe room to safe room, with the fourth stage serving as a grand finale for you and your team to narrowly escape, and all the money, items, and cards you collect will carry on with you for the entirety of the Act. Should your entire party fall prey to The Ridden, you'll only have a few tries to attempt or risk losing all progress. However, individual allies that are knocked down too many times and killed can quickly be found and rescued down the line.
How Many Acts Are There in Back 4 Blood
Back 4 Blood consists of four Acts that vary in duration depending on difficulty, playstyle and if you opt to play with a team or alone.
Fort Hope - The Hub
All players will begin in a sort of open lobby hub known as Fort Hope. It is here that you'll be able to form groups, matchmake, buy rewards, practice with guns, and edit your card decks.
- Talk to the Campaign Manager to reserve a server for your next campaign, choosing the start point and difficulty, or picking up where you left off a previous run.
- Talk to the Supplies Manager to spend Supply Points earned during campaigns and buy cosmetics, as well as cards to use in your deck.
- Talk to the Card Manager to create and customize card decks to give yourself a fighting chance with your favorite perks and bonuses.
- Head outside of the camp to practice firing each of the four types of main weapons: Assault Rifles, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, and Machine Guns - as well as Sidearms, and weapon modifications.
How Many Game Modes are in Back 4 Blood
A cooperative first-person shooter that's from the creators of the Left 4 Dead franchise, Back 4 Blood features a total of two different game modes - Co-Op Campaign and PvP. These two game modes have been explained below:
- Co-Op Story Campaign:
- Back 4 Blood's cooperative story campaign sees four players working together to survive a series of challenging tasks that have been spread across a number of online missions.
- PvP:
How Crossplay Works
In Back 4 Blood, players will be able to play with other players regardless of what platform they're on. So whether you're playing on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, or PC, you're good to go!
By default, Back 4 Blood will have crossplay enabled. There's no menu system to enable or disable crossplay. Instead, what you'll have to do is enter Fort Hope and head to Phillips to open the campaign menu. The campaign menu is generally where you would go to matchmake with other players.
Once you're in the campaign menu, go ahead and select "Preferences." You'll see crossplay at the bottom turned on. Go ahead and adjust it to your liking. Whether you'd rather play with players on your own platform or on other platforms, you have the freedom to choose.
To add players on different platforms to your friends list, open up the "Social" tab located in the main menu and click on the top right where it says "Add Friends." Each player is given a unique username which can be found next to the "Add Friends" button. Have your friend give you their username to add each other to your Back 4 Blood friends list.
Control Scheme: PlayStation, Xbox and PC Controls
Below is the complete list of standard controls and keybindings for playing Back 4 Blood on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Do note, these controls can be changed and modified by heading to the Options menu and selecting the Controls tab.
Back 4 Blood Controls - PlayStation 4 | PlayStation 5 | Back 4 Blood Controls - Xbox One | Xbox Series S | Xbox Series X | Back 4 Blood Controls - PC | |||
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Action | Button | Action | Button | Action | Button |
Aim Down Sights / Item Alt Use | L2 | Aim Down Sights / Item Alt Use | LT | Aim Down Sights / Item Alt Use | Right Mouse Button |
Fire Weapon | R2 | Fire Weapon | RT | Fire Weapon | Left Mouse Button |
Ping | L1 | Ping | LB | Ping | Q |
Select Offensive Item | R1 | Select Offensive Item | RB | Select Offensive Item | 3 |
Jump / Mantle | X | Jump / Mantle | A | Jump / Mantle | Space |
Reload / Interact | Square | Reload / Interact | X | Reload / Interact | R |
Weapon Quick Swap | Triangle | Weapon Quick Swap | Y | Weapon Quick Swap | X |
Crouch | Circle | Crouch | B | Crouch | LCTRL |
Comm Wheel | D-Pad Up / Down | Comm Wheel | D-Pad Up / Down | Comm Wheel | C |
Select Quick Item | D-Pad Left | Select Quick Item | D-Pad Left | Select Quick Item | 5 |
Select Support Item | D-Pad Right | Select Support Item | D-Pad Right | Select Support Item | 4 |
Sprint | L3 - Left Analog Stick (Press) | Sprint | Left Analog Stick (Press) | Sprint | LSHIFT |
Bash | R3 - Right Analog Stick (Press) | Bash | Right Analog Stick (Press) | Bash | V |
Choosing a Character
When starting a campaign, you and your team will be allowed to pick one of several characters - each with their own personality - and more importantly, special stats and unique abilities that buff them and the party.
Doc | Evangalo | Hoffman | Holly |
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Jim | Karlee | Mom | Walker |
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There's no right or wrong answer on how you should pick, and you can't all pick the same character. When playing with people you know, be sure to communicate with your group so that you can all fulfill a role - like having Doc for healing, Hoffman for ammo, Walker for firepower, and Evangelo for speed.
The Card System - Creating Your Deck
Each player will begin with a small set of cards included in a premade deck that is used during the game. These cards will buff your character (and sometimes the entire team!) with different passive or active effects that are widely ranged, and vary from highly situational to plain personal preference.
Along with your starter card drawn at the beginning of the campaign, you'll get to choose one of several cards in your deck at the beginning of each level in an Act. If you choose to start playing later in an Act, you'll be able to draw more cards to compensate, and if your team fails a level, you'll get the chance to draw an additional card to help your next attempt.
They key to your team's survival may lie in these cards, so think carefully about what benefits you want to recieve and how they'll help both you and the team. Try and mix cards that support your playstyle with cards that help you fulfill a role for your team, and you can even create custom decks for each kind of role.
As you complete levels in an Act, you'll earn Supply Points (more if you complete the objectives of the level's Corruption Card, like making it to the Safe Room with everyone), which can be spent on Supply Line rewards back at Fort Hope to buy more powerful cards with even greater benefits.
You can only have 15 cards in a deck total, and if you have less or start to run out, you'll be offered to draw random cards that can increase your stamina, ammo, health, or speed - and can even be stacked multiple times!
Why Card Order Matters When Creating a Deck
Before you select your cards and create a deck, it's important to note that the order in which you place your cards in the deck is crucial, as it can significantly impact your overall gameplay experience. This is because cards placed at the top of the deck will be given to you earlier in your run, as opposed to just pulling from the deck randomly.
The cards at the top of the deck will always be pulled first; however, the deck's first card is always your starting card. For this reason, you should always place your most important, must-have cards at the beginning of the deck, with your lesser desired cards or ones that are dependant on your team's situation towards the bottom half as they will be pulled much later down the track.
What Are Active Cards and How Do They Work
Active Cards are best described as special perks that provide the player with modifiers that drastically alter their character with unique buffs ranging from increased health and stamina to reduced ammo capacity and slower weapon reloads.
It's important to remain wary, though, and to always read each card's full description before selecting it to be part of your deck. If a card seems too good to be true, then the chances are that is it is, as it'll likely come with a rather significant negative.
Such an example can be seen when selecting the Well Fed card, as while it may be tempting to receive +10 Team Health, you'll need to consider if the added health outweighs the loss of 20% Stamina Regen - which can be a game-changer when overwhelmed by enemies.
What are Supply Lines?
When starting Back 4 Blood, you are given a preset deck with some basic cards to start off with. To unlock new cards, sprays, cosmetics and other customizable items, players will have to earn Supply Points. Players earn Supply Points during co-op and PVP play, which can then be used to unlock Supply Lines in Fort Hope.
There are three unique sets of supply lines players can progress through individually, and you're free to choose which cards you want to unlock in each Supply Line. In total, there are 49 Supply Lines, with 16 Supply Lines in each of the three sets of Supply Lines.
Weapons, Attachments, and Accessory Items
There are several types of weapons that each player can use in Back 4 Blood, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and variations. Most important are the main weapons - Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Light Machine Guns, Submachine Guns, and Shotguns. Each of these have several different variations with different levels of damage, handling, recoil, reload speed - and more.
Players will also be able to choose between multiple types of pistol sidearms, or swap them out for melee weapons, or sidearms that don't use pistol ammo.
Since ammo can be scarce at times, and every Act will begin 4 starting weapons to divvy up between the team, it's important to communicate with your team to use the weapon type you're most comfortable with, and try to avoid everyone picking the same type of weapon to spread the ammo around.
As you progress through the Act, you can often find different types of weapons off the beaten path, or in storage chests - and even some you can buy in Safe Rooms. This also applies to Weapon Attachments - attachments for your weapon's scope, stock, barrel, and magazine. Like weapons themselves, there are many types and variations, and simply picking up an attachment will attach it to the current weapon you're holding. Better rarities that you find means improved stats, but you'll have to leave behind any weapon mods you've found.
In addition to your main and secondary weapons, each player is allowed to carry one type of Support Item, Offensive Item, and Quick Accessory Item each - which can either be found by exploring, opening crates, or buying them in the Safe Rooms. Like your weapons and cards, communicating with your team is essential so that everyone is carrying different accessories to help out with different tasks like luring the infected away with Pipe Bombs or creating a floor of fire with a Molotov.
Offensive Accessories | Support Accessories | Quick Item Accessories |
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Molotov Cocktail | Bandage | Defibrillator |
Grenade | Pain Meds | Tool Kit |
Razor Wire | First Aid Kit | Stun Gun |
Flashbang | Ammo Pouch | |
Firecrackers | ||
Pipe Bomb |
Removing Weapon Attachments
Unfortunately, once equipped, a weapon attachment cannot be removed on its own - it can only be swapped for another attachment that fits in the same slot, like swapping an extended magazine for armor piercing rounds. Some weapon mods aren't always a great fit - like a large scope on a shotgun, so be sure you are picking the best upgrade possible, and communicate with your team before equipping ones you find.
Many weapons you find will often have mods already equipped, but sometimes the attachment will be broken, and are highlighted in red. These will actually give negative modifiers to your weapon, so be sure to look for a replacement or buy one at a Safe Room as soon as you can!
The Ridden - Special Mutations
The Ridden have been described as once normal humans, who had become host to a deadly parasite known as the Devil Worm. This parasite evolved the humans into monstrous creatures known as The Ridden. These creatures have been said to possess reduced higher brain function and actively attack any non-infected beings on sight.
While the common Ridden can be disposed of fairly quickly with little issue, it should come as no surprise that they have since mutated over time to form Special Mutations known as a Snitcher, Stinger, Reeker, and Tallboy. These Special Mutations are both powerful and cunning, as they have the ability to not only wipe your entire team but also catch you off guard when you're least expecting it.
With that said, Special Mutations are known to have areas of weakness. These weak points are indicated by pink/red markings that stand out on areas such as the back, neck, arms, and face. Better yet, cards such as Ridden Slayer can increase your damage output on these weak spots by 35% - an impressive damage increase that will surely impact your gameplay experience.
Quick Tips and Tricks for Defeating The Ridden
- Have your sounds turned up, as listening for audio cues such as sleeping noises and retching can really provide your team with the upper hand. Knowing of a Ridden's location before you have the chance to visually spot them, can really be a game-changer to how your team approach certain situations going forward.
- In addition, try playing with subtitles turned on as you may just catch early indications of Ridden that lay head. Sounds such as grunting and gargling can often be displayed via subtitles long before they register as audio cues.
- Special Mutations have areas known as weakpoints, which inflict large amounts of damage upon each successful hit. The areas can be exploited and cards such as the Ridden Slayer can be utilized, thanks to its additional 35% damage bonus to all weakpoints.
Every Special Mutation in Back 4 Blood
Back 4 Blood will see up to nine Special Mutations on offer.
So, here's every known Special Mutation Ridden that you will encounter in the game.
All Special Mutations | |
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Types of Ridden | Description |
Snitcher | The Snitcher is a large mutated Ridden that creates a deafening screen when aggravated. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you avoid aggroing a Snitcher as their scream will trigger a horde of ridden to descend upon your location. |
Stinger | With the ability to traverse all types of different surfaces, you'll often find the Stinger hiding in the shadows and will more than likely catch you off guard as they hang from walls high above.You'll need to stay aware of your surroundings, as their phlegm-like attack will require assistance from a teammate or even the breakout card. |
Reeker | A Reeker is known as a slow-moving Ridden that has the ability to spews toxic, sticky pus over long distances. In addition, the Reeker will target Cleaners and upon death, will cover anything within its radius in poisonous, sticky pus. |
Tallboy | The largest of the Special Mutations, the Tallboy is arguably the most intimidating of The Ridden as the monsterous creature has a large club-like arm that it uses to swing above its head, smashing anyone that happens to get caught off guard. Known to target their enemies and rush towards their locations, you'll want to deal with Tallboy's as quickly as possible. For this reason, be sure to aim for the weakspots that have developed around their shoulder location. |
Sleeper | Immobile and fixed to walls and other standing surfaces, Sleepers will attack Cleaners who enter their line of sight, jumping at them, pinning them down and incapacitating them. Small in size, quiet and found in low-lit areas, be careful when traversing the environment, as they can be around any corner. Sleepers have the lowest health out of any Ridden in the game, even less than Common Ridden, making them extremely easy to kill. |
Breaker | This gigantic, special Ridden slams the ground with incredible force, creating a radius of effect. Breaker's are agile and can jump a great distance, so don't take its size for granted. With loads of health, you'll want to make sure you and your team take care of any Breaker's you encounter ASAP. |
Hag | Hag's at first are non-hostile and don't attack players unless they are damaged. If damaged, Hag's will target the player that damaged it and start chasing them while ignoring the other players. The Hag will grab the cleaner that startled it and begin devouring them unless enough damage is dealt to the Hag, in which case the cleaner will be set free. Hag's will try to escape by burrowing into the ground. |
Ogre | Ogres are massive mutated Ridden with tons of health that can be restored during a fight if not taken care of immediately. While they are slow, Ogre's can launch projectiles at players. However, since they're so big, there are certain spots Cleaners can go to where Ogre's can't access. |
Abomination | The Abomination is the largest enemy in Back 4 Blood, serving as the games final boss. With multiple tentacles, a long torso and an overall intimidating presence, the Abomination has an entire endgame act dedicated just to itself. |