Back 4 Blood is here, and you get to choose which character you play as. And unlike Left 4 Dead, the character you play actually means something! So, which character should you play as in Back 4 Blood? Check out our review of each character to help you decide who you will main in your next run with your friends. Here's our ranking of each cleaners, err, in alphabetical order. Because to be honest: their skills have minimal enough that they don't really affect gameplay much. But including all of the cards available in the game, customizing your characters for specific playstyles is possible. So, without further ado:

Doc

Traits:

  • Heals low health teammates even without items
  • Increased Healing Efficiency
  • Increased Team Trauma Resistance

About Doc. Doc is a no-nonsense who has been instrumental in keeping Fort Hope alive. She's an immigrant who came to America – just to face the zombie apocalypse out of nowhere. Thankfully, she turned out to be immune to the Devil Worm, so her medical career will not come to waste. Even though she's mostly antisocial, Doc still takes care of her teammates rather well. Her healing is a great boon for the team, making sure that everyone can still live another day.

Pick Doc if: Back 4 Blood has a lot of blood-curdling moments, especially at higher levels. Most of the time, you can also only carry one healing item. Having Doc around can help you heal your teammates better, even if she has ran out of band-aids. Pick up Doc if you prefer healing your teammates than going on the front lines gun-ablazing. Pick her as well if you're the kind who likes keeping score and having everyone owe you for your healing.

Evangelo

Traits:

  • Can break out of grabs once every minute
  • +75% Breakout Speed
  • +25% Stamina Regen
  • +5% Team Movement Speed

About Evangelo. Evangelo is the Back 4 Blood crew's little younger sibling. He's feisty, energetic, and quips out one-liners left and right. He also talks a lot, obnoxious sometimes, even. He's very eager and hates the Ridden so much that he'd usually whack them with a bat than shoot them from afar.

Pick Evangelo if: You like running fast and fighting melee. Evangelo's traits allow him to hit and run with his melee weapons, and allows himself to catch his breath faster than others. Evangelo's team boost is also almost essential, so if you're not too keen playing anyone in particular, go with Evangelo.

Hoffman

 

Traits:

  • Has chance to find Ammo whenever he kills a Ridden
  • +1 Offensive Inventory
  • +10% Max Team Ammo Capacity

About Hoffman. Howard Robert Hoffman is meticulous, enthusiastic, and theorizes conspiracies in his free time. He's the gun-toting kind of person – which comes out as obvious based on his stats. He's also over-eager to join Back 4 Blood missions, wanting to be the hero and rid the great ol' United States of the Ridden.

Pick Hoffman if: You love guns and shooting at zombies. Really, if you don't mind aiming well and just want to be trigger happy, Hoffman's the guy for you. He can easily recoup all the wasted bullets from the zombies he actually hit, making him a valuable ally. Pick Hoffman if you love guns, period.

Holly

Traits:

  • Holly recovers 10 Stamina when she kills a Ridden
  • +10% Damage Resistance
  • +25 Team Stamina

About Holly. Holly is a bubbly Cleaner that keeps the party together as its foundation. She's resilient and a ray of hope for everyone she's with. After losing her family to the Devil Worm, Holly has directed all her energy to get rid of The Ridden.

Pick Holly if: You like melee weapons. In fact, she starts with a nail spiked baseball bat. Her traits allows her to continue hitting the Ridden in a frenzy indefinitely. While she's not as fast as Evangelo, she has a lot of stamina and can cast longer than everyone else on the roster. If you like hitting enemies to a pulp with a baseball bat, pick Holly.

Jim

Traits:

  • Precision Kills increase damage
  • Increased ADS Speed
  • Increased Team Weakspot Damage

About Jim. Jim is an expert on the lay of the land. He's been a very good hunter as a kid, and has had experience in the military. However, just as he finished completing his tour of service, he returns to a Ridden-ridden United States.

Pick Jim if: You like your rifles and you love precision. You get rewarded extra for your well-aimed shots, dealing extra damage for head shots as well as being faster in aiming down your sights. Jim's military career shows up in his traits, and if you can identify yourself with this veteran, then Jim's definitely your pick.

Karlee

Traits:

  • Senses Hazards
  • +1 Quick Inventory
  • Increased Team Use Speed

About Karlee. Karlee's the punk rock lone wolf type of Cleaner, preferring to keep things to herself. Had she any choice, she won't be part of a group like the Cleaners, but necessity has overcome their brooding personality. She used to be just a looter, but her skills as one have proven to be useful for the group.

Pick Karlee if: You think you're the misunderstood type. Her traits aren't as impactful as everyone else in Back 4 Blood, so it's all about appearances and attitude when it comes to Karlee.

Mom

Traits:

  • Can instantly revive incapacitated teammates once per level
  • +1 Support Inventory
  • +1 Team Extra Life
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About Mom. A tough but caring person. She doesn't deal with BS and won't stand for disrespect, but get on her good side and you'd know you're going to be taken care of. She also likes a good challenge, and is very vocal of her thoughts – Mom is one of the pillars of Fort Hope and a valuable asset to the Cleaners.

Pick Mom if: You're a mom yourself. Also, if you like taking care of your teammates. Mom's ability to instantly revive incapacitated teammates may lead to some very clutch revives in one of your runs, especially during one of those higher-difficulty levels.

Walker

Traits:

  • Precision Kills grant Walker +20% Accuracy for 5 seconds
  • +10% Damage
  • +10 Team Health

About Walker. Although Walkers are basically what you call the zombies in The Walking Dead, Walker's definitely on your side in Back 4 Blood. Walker's a former army ranger and is a war-torn veteran, making him one of the skilled gunslingers in Fort Hope. He's a man of a few words – precise in speech and has a very commanding presence.

Pick Walker if: You like lining up headshot after headshot. Walker's traits let him take aim and go ham, making each headshot easier after the one preceding it. If you like army rangers and veterans, then Walker is for you. Pair him up with Jim and you've got a very formidable party of Cleaners.

Back 4 Blood Cleaners: Which Cleaner are you?

While only 4 Cleaners can be in a party at a time, there are a total of eight characters to choose from. This means there are 1,680 different permutations for team building in Back 4 Blood. That's a whole lot of options – not to mention all the kinds of weapons in the mix. Which one do you want to play as most?

Back 4 Blood is currently on its Open Beta test phase, where any players – pre-ordered or not – can try the game out. You can get it on Steam, but it's also available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Not yet sold on Back 4 Blood or unsure if you want to spend your time in the Open Beta? Check out our review and see for yourself if it's the game for you.