"Holy shit. Call me a crackpot again." ― Timur
The Infector is a special zombie in World War Z. She became a permanent addition to the undead horde in the Undead Sea Update.
The Infector's toxic saliva will quickly turn any living person unfortunate enough to get spat on into a zombie if they do not clean it off in time.
Physical Appearance
The Infector is a zeke dressed in a torn straitjacket and ripped blue jeans. A yellow medical knee brace is attached to her right knee. A green hospital bracelet with writing on it is worn on her right wrist. Several catheters going through the right side of her neck are secured with catheter dressing. An eye pad covers her right eye and is anchored there by some bandages wrapped around her head. Two syringes containing different colored liquids, red and greenish-yellow respectively, are plunged through the back of her right shoulder and through her straitjacket.
The Infector's straitjacket has been ripped up in a few areas. The right arm sleeve and the straps that restrain it have been torn off, freeing her right arm. The sleeve on the left arm has been partially torn open, revealing her left hand. However, it remains restrained, unlike her other arm. Her blue jeans are also tattered, torn up around the ankle for the right pant leg, and up to the knee for the left pant leg. The straitjacket is slightly loose-fitting, revealing from behind that the Infector does not appear to wear anything underneath of it.
The Infector's mouth and cheeks are heavily damaged. Her lower lips have been torn and pulled down, and some of her teeth are missing. Because her mouth is always open, her tongue sticks out prominently.
Her fingernails are painted pink and her hair appears to be dyed a tinge of green.
Abilities & Behavior
The Infector proves to be fairly calculating and cunning compared to other zekes. Given her strange abilities, she is capable of attacking from a distance and running away during combat. Due to her condition, she produces a lot of gurgling and drooling noises as opposed to the more usual moaning and groaning sounds regular zekes make.
The Infector has several abilities that make her an exceptionally dangerous threat. Her main ability is to spit a large ball of toxic saliva that can infect humans if they do not wipe it off in time shortly after getting splashed with it. In addition to spitting out her saliva as a projectile, she also spews it out of her mouth while swiping at her targets in melee range, enhancing her melee attacks. After sustaining a lot of damage, the Infector collapses on the floor and writhes around for some time. If she does not get killed during this time, she will get back up at full health while shedding some blood.
The Infector's ability to spit out her fluids as a projectile is quite impressive as a means of spreading the infection. Equally impressive is her proficiency to aim her spitballs with enough accuracy even from considerably long distances. Most oddly though, the Infector proves to be very resilient to damage, being capable of absorbing all sorts of damage despite not wearing anything that could even remotely be considered protective. The Infector's unnatural toughness also lends to her near-supernatural ability to regenerate some time after being taken down and left without being properly handled afterward. The combination of abilities she possesses makes her quite an enigma amongst the undead.
Strategy & Tactics
"The Infector is resistant to bullets and can get back up after being knocked down, but she can be finished off with one melee strike when she's on the ground."
"The Infector's spit is extremely dangerous. If you get hit by it and don't disinfect quickly enough, you'll immediately become a zombie."
"If you get hit by the Infector's spit, getting up from incapacitation or healing with a medkit will also remove your infection." ― Tutorial Tips
Role
The Infector is capable of quickly killing survivors with an infection if they do not clean themselves in time. Utilizing her own fluid as a means of attack, she can fire projectiles from a distance to keep her distance from survivors while spreading her infection.
General
- Work together. The Infector can be a difficult zeke to put down and may require everyone alive to work together to kill. While an Infector can certainly be killed by just a single person, your odds against her are simply greater when others are around to help. A collaborative effort with other survivors can swiftly eliminate an Infector without risk of anyone getting slimed.
Against
- The Infector can spew out a ball of infectious saliva that can cause instant zombification among players if they do not disinfect themselves after getting splashed with the fluid. It takes 12 seconds for infection to successfully kill and turn you.
- If you get spit on, you must clean yourself off. The typical method of disinfecting is simply wiping it off. This method only takes three seconds and is the quickest and easiest method. Make sure you are not currently being attacked by zekes and in a safe spot when you decide to disinfect or surround yourself with teammates that can protect you.
- Another option is to use a Medkit. Although Medkits take four seconds to apply, this is largely negligible since you can heal yourself at the same time. If you are low on health (preferably) when you get infected by the Infector, using a Medkit allows you to multitask and be more efficient. If you also have perks that speed up healing times, this option could be helpful in a pinch since you can clean at a faster speed than wiping it off.
- If you get incapacitated while infected, you can clean it off by being revived. Obviously, you must be revived by your teammates to clear yourself of infection. However, a few perks that allow you to revive yourself also work. However, if you do not have such perks active, you can be in serious trouble.
- A spitball takes a little under three seconds to be spat out. The Infector must charge before launching her toxic saliva. Use that opportunity to get behind something, dodge her putrid projectile, or shoot her down before she gets the chance to spit.
- The Infector's spitball travels relatively fast and far. It also travels in an arc. Do not underestimate the Infector's aim and play it safe. Despite how it is described, it is simple to dodge as the spitball is
- After spitting, the Infector must wait for some time to recharge before being able to spit again. What she does from here depends on how close you are to the Infector. If somewhat close, she will resort to attacking you with her swipe attack or run away somewhere relatively safe to recharge undisturbed.
- The Infector can rise back to full health if she has not been killed after being downed. Upon taking sufficient damage, the Infector will fall down to the ground and writhe. However, if she is not killed while in this state, she will regenerate back to full health in just 13 seconds. In the last three seconds, she will slowly get back up on her feet which signifies she is almost ready to fight again.
Class-specific
Gunslinger
Hellraiser
Medic
Fixer
Slasher
Exterminator
Dronemaster
Notes
Trivia
- The Infector was the first new special zombie added to the game since launch.
- The Infector's green hospital bracelet on her right arm reveals a few extra details about herself.
- The green color of the bracelet itself indicates that she had a latex allergy.
- Her age at the time of her hospitalization was 26.
- She was assigned to bed #42 at the facility that treated her.
Gallery
| Zombies/Enemies | |
|---|---|
| Zeke • Lurker • Gasbag • Bull • Screamer • Infector • Bomber • Rat Packs • Booster | |