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    The Tank

    Character » appears in 4 games

    A special type of Infected from Valve's Left 4 Dead, the Tank uses his inhuman strength to pummel survivors and throw heavy objects (as well as the floor).

    Short summary describing this character.

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    The Tank and Extent of Mutations

    Like the other special infected, the Tank was heavily mutated by the strain of the infection. The infection caused it to develop thick muscles. 
    These muscles indicate its strength, endurance and makes it nearly bulletproof, which is why it takes so many bullets to take one down. 
    However the extreme growth in its muscles makes it a very large target and like all other infected, it is easily set on fire. The infection nearly destroyed its mind which made it bloodthirsty. 
    Although still is an infected, it is not distracted by pipe bombs or car alarms. It seems that the tank is missing the lower jaw which makes its tongue flop out, possibly because the immense chest crushed it. The Tank's chest is too heavy and the Tank's weak legs can't lift the torso, this is why the Tank uses its hands to walk on all fours, similar to a gorilla.

    The Tank. Notice its missing its lower jaw.
    The Tank. Notice its missing its lower jaw.
    The Tank uses his superior strength to crush human players. The Tank also has speed and copious amounts of health on his side so he can rush up to survivors and knock them back, dealing large amounts of damage, and can continue to pummel them until they are dead. The Tank can also throw cars, dumpsters and other large objects at survivors, and rip chunks of earth from the ground and throw them at the survivors. He can also break certain kinds of walls. He has his own unique musical cue to announce his arrival.

    The Tank is a playable character in the Versus mode but will only spawn a few times due to his superior strength and difficulty to defeat. When playing as a Tank there is a time limit to find the survivors, otherwise he becomes frustrated and is given to the computer or another player to control. His primary attack is a devastating strike against a survivor, which can send them flying a large distance, or completely off the map on later No Mercy levels. His secondary attack lifts a chunk out of the ground and hurls it towards a targeted player.

    The Tank's two main weaknesses are being set ablaze, or concentrated weapons fire. When set on fire all zombies will take burn damage till death, and with the Tank's long lifespan, if set aflame early on, the damage will add up considerably. In addition it appears that if left to burn long enough the tank will die even before his HP reaches zero. For both reasons this denies a burning player controlled tank from acting conservatively, forcing his attack.
    Also when shot at the Tank's movement speed will decrease, going slower the more damaging the attack. So if the survivors can continually suppress him together, especially  with a minigun, and keep distance and/or the high ground, the tank will be hard pressed to reach any of them. This makes the assistance of other infected for distraction very important on versus.

    There are a few achievements associated with the Tank in the games. They are:
     Left 4 Dead: 
    • All 4 Dead: Kill all four Survivors in one life as a tank.
    • Man vs Tank: Single-handedly kill a Tank.
    • Tankbusters: Kill a Tank without it dealing any damage to a Survivor.
    • Towering Inferno: Light a Tank on fire with a Molotov.
    • 20 Car Pile-up: As a tank hit 20 Survivors with a car in the Crash Course campaign.
    • Tank Stumble: Stun a tank with an explosion in the Crash Course campaign.
    Left 4 Dead 2:
    • Kite Like A Man: Kill a Tank only with damage from the original Survivors. (Note: Only available on The Passing)
    • Septic Tank: Use a bile bomb on a Tank.
    • Tankburger: Kill a tank with melee weapons
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