Left 4 Dead Hands-on Preview - Infected Side
SMOKER CONTINUED
Choking shouldn't always be your goal, however, as many times a Survivor out of position may result in a dead team. Yank a Survivor past a mob of zombies and suddenly he's stranded and checking his fire to avoid friendlies. Sometimes this hesitation can be enough to get the Survivor overwhelmed. As an added benefit, the Smoker poisons the Survivor as he pulls them in. The longer you have your tongue around their neck, the more of their health will turn into temporary health. If you manage to achieve a "full pull," meaning all the way to you, the Survivors health is entirely temporary and will begin to slowly drain away unless they use a health pack.
The Smoker's namesake is his final ability. With the press of a button, the Smoker may release a temporary cloud of smoke that will obscure the vision of anyone inside it. This has many purposes, usable as a tool for ambush, a way to separate the Survivors or conceal a zombie horde, or even be a decoy for Survivors who expect something to be sitting within the cloud. I found the smoke to be most effective in tight indoor areas where Survivors cannot see if or where the others have moved, effectively separating them (the green outline does not kick into effect when vision is obscured by smoke or darkness). Creating a smoke cloud can create useful cover for a zombie like the Boomer allowing him to get close without being seen, ready to puke and cause mayhem. On top of obscuring vision, the cloud also makes any Survivor inside of it start choking and unable to use voice communication.
In regards to the Smoker's simple appearance, it should also be noted that the Smoker releases a cloud instantly when killed. As all Infected have a reuse time on their abilities, the Smoker typically can only release one cloud at a time. Since the Smoker is so similar to the rest of the horde, it is very easy for the Survivors to accidentally shoot the Smoker while firing into the rest, which may result in a very bad time for the Survivors to be blinded. If done correctly, the Smoker may be able to use both clouds to cover a much larger stretch than one cloud alone.
The Smoker like the other boss Infected has certain map conditions that it works best in. I think you'll find that rooftops are your friend, while vast stretches of open areas, or tight, enclosed corridors are bad news. This is where you have to decide just what you're looking to do: smoke, choke, or separate.
One of the worst things that I saw from any boss Infected came from a Smoker (and I say worst because I was on the Survivor side at the time). The finale was over, both Tanks destroyed, and the helicopter on the landing pad. The Survivors were climbing up the ladder and piling into the copter when the Smoker decided to strike. The last one up the ladder was suddenly pulled away from safety and into a pile of swarming Infected, including a number of bosses. There was no saving the Survivor, despite the best efforts of the man behind the copter's machine gun. No other Infected can rob a player of victory quite like that.
