Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming

How to heal fast in Back 4 Blood 4

By

Back 4 Blood is all about survivability, especially as you near the end game. With no background healing, players will have to manage their inventory and watch for wayward bandages, pain meds, and first aid kits while on a run. While some characters have passive healing abilities, you’re not always guaranteed to have those cleaners on your team (unless you assume the role of medic yourself). So how do you heal fast in Back 4 Blood? What are the best cards to play for maximum healing, and which Back 4 Blood characters will heal other players?

How to heal in Back 4 Blood

Shooting in Back 4 Blood.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There are several ways to heal yourself in Back 4 Blood. The most common and reliable way is to use whatever health item you’re carrying to patch up your wounds and dull the pain. These items include bandages, pain meds, and first aid kits. Your healing item is bound to the right D-pad button by default. If you’ve changed up your control scheme, you’ll want to double-check which button ties to healing. To use the item, press right on the D-pad and pull the right trigger (or whatever your shoot button is).

Recommended Videos

Be careful not to apply bandages or first aid kits in the middle of a fight. These items take time to use, and you’ll leave yourself vulnerable to attacks. Have your teammates cover you while you heal or retreat to a safe distance. However, no distance seems safe in Back 4 Blood, as several mutations can hit you with long-range attacks. How well does each item heal you, and how long does each take to apply?

Related

Bandages

Bandages will heal you or a teammate for a base 25 health. They take two seconds to apply and are plentiful throughout each run. They are the fastest way to heal on the fly in Back 4 Blood but don’t heal as much as first aid kits. Use bandages between fights to keep yourself at max health, especially if you know an inevitable horde alert is up ahead. Don’t stockpile bandages, and don’t be cheap with bandages either. As long as you’re keeping a sharp eye out for supply bins, you’ll never feel like you’re running short.

First aid kit

First aid kits, on the other hand, are much harder to come by. You’ll most likely grab one from the buy box at the beginning of each chapter. We recommend buying as many first aid kits as you can carry. Purchasing the team support inventory upgrade will allow you to carry more. Mom can also carry +1 support inventory. First aid kits will heal 50 health but take three seconds to use. While three seconds doesn’t sound like a long time, it’ll feel like an eternity in the middle of a heated battle.

Only use your first aid kit when you’ve got the time between hordes or when a mutation deals a heavy amount of damage to you. Otherwise, grab nearby bandages or pain meds to keep yourself healthy during combat. Just don’t forget to pick up your first aid kits after the fight. Furthermore, don’t be a selfish teammate and steal another cleaner’s first aid kits when they drop them.

Pain meds

Pain meds grant what’s called temporary health, a mechanic Left 4 Dead fans remember all too well. Temporary health drains over time, ultimately leaving you where you started. Pain meds grant 40 temporary health but can be used instantly, making them the fastest way to heal on the fly, albeit only for a short while.

While the temporary health boost will save you in the middle of a fight, you’ll still need to find a way to recover your health afterward. For that reason, never head out on a run with pain meds in your back pocket. You’ll find plenty throughout each level to use in a pinch. First aid kits are far more valuable and rare.

Med cabinets

While on a run, you’ll come across med cabinets hidden throughout the level. You’ll find them off the beaten path, so make sure to explore each area carefully, especially if you’re low on health. If you don’t find a cabinet, you’ll probably find some pain meds or bandages lying around. You’ll often find them behind locked doors that require tool kits to open. These cabinets will fully heal you, but they only have a limited number of free charges. They will also heal a little bit of trauma damage.

You’re free to hit the cabinets again and again, but it’ll cost you 400 copper each additional time. Med cabinets will save you in a pinch when you find one, but they won’t always be in the same spot on each run. Don’t forgo healing yourself on the off chance that you’ll come across a med cabinet; it’s not always guaranteed.

Buy box

Before the start of each chapter, make sure to heal yourself at the buy box. It only costs 100 copper, and it’s the first step every cleaner should take before leaving the safe room. You’ll find the buy box heal under the Refills category. It’s the first option (which should be enough of a hint). Don’t waste your healing items if you’re low on health and about to enter a safe room. Every safe room comes with a buy box, so you can always get back to full health before starting the next chapter.

How to heal trauma in Back 4 Blood

The Ogre in Back 4 Blood.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Trauma is a new health mechanic in Back 4 Blood that caps your overall health as you take damage over time. Basic healing items won’t recover trauma by default. To heal your trauma, you’ll have to find a med cabinet or make it to the safe room. Making it to the safe room will only heal some of your trauma if you have the right cards equipped. We’ll go over the best cards to play for health purposes later on. Med cabinets only heal a portion of your trauma too. You’ll have to hit it several times to fully recover, which will ultimately cost you 1,000+ copper.

You’ll accumulate trauma as you take damage over time. Taking damage from normal zombies won’t leave too many lasting scars, but a devastating attack from a Tall Boy or Hag will leave you with some serious trauma. Going down also handicaps your health. You’ll know how much trauma you’ve accumulated by the black portion of your health bar. You’ll also see your health capped. Pain meds will override trauma, but the health will eventually deplete over time. Your trauma will remain unchanged.

Healing cards and abilities

Mom from Back 4 Blood.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

We’ve gone over the default ways to heal yourself, but how can players stack their decks and cleaner teams to maximize healing potential?

Essential cleaners

If you’re looking to go deep in Back 4 Blood, there are two essential characters that you’ll have to run to maximize your healing potential. Doc and Mom are must-have members of your team, but what makes them primary cleaners?

Doc

Doc can heal teammates for 25 HP without using her healing items. However, she can only do this once per level. While she’s basically a bonus bandage for every cleaner, she’ll also boost trauma resistance by 25%, which is arguably better than the 25 HP. She also boosts her own healing efficiency by 20%, meaning her base first aid kits will heal 60 HP instead of 50.

Mom

Once per level, Mom can instantly revive a downed teammate. She also grants every teammate an extra life, allowing them to be incapacitated one additional time. However, Mom’s most helpful passive ability is her extra support inventory slot. This, by default, allows her to carry a spare first aid kit. As the cleaners progress and buy more support boosts from the buy box, Mom will quickly become the first aid pack mule of the team.

Healing cards

The following cards will boost your personal or team healing in one way or another. Stacking them together will increase your survivability. Keep in mind, the following cards do not include ones that increase damage resistance or boost max HP. While there are plenty of cards that make you stronger, we’re more concerned with the ones that’ll heal you more effectively. Damage in Back 4 Blood is inevitable.

  • True Grit – When you take a single hit for 15 or more damage, heal eight health over five seconds.
  • Battle Lust – Melee kills heal two health.
  • Face Your Fears – Gain three temporary health whenever you kill a ridden within 2 meters.
  • Fresh Bandage – Heal 10 Trauma Damage at the start of each level.
  • Buckshot Bruiser – When using a shotgun, gain temporary health for each pellet that hits.
  • Medical Expert – +15% healing efficiency. When you use a medical accessory, gain 15% move speed for 15 seconds.
  • EMT Bag – +40% healing efficiency, –20% stamina efficiency.
  • Charitable Soul – Healing a teammate also applies 50% of the effect to you.
  • Medical Professional – First aid kits and defibrillators also recover 15 Trauma damage and one extra life.
  • Shoulder Bag – +2 support inventory, –10% damage dealt.
  • Saferoom Recovery – Your team heals five trauma damage and refills 10% ammo at the start of each level.

Of the cards mentioned above, one valuable healing combo is Battle Lust and Face Your Fears. Since all of your melee kills will be within 2 meters, you’re effectively healing for five health with every melee kill. Even though three are temporary, a melee-focused deck will keep you healthy against regular zombies. You’ll still need to pull out the big guns for mutations, though.

We also like EMT Bag over Field Surgeon because Field Surgeon comes with a –50% debuff to use speed. Unless you counter that with the Multitool card (+75% use speed), the minor stamina debuff is easier to manage.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Mike Colucci
Mike Colucci
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Michael Colucci is a lifelong video game fan based out of the greater Boston area. He's the one insistent on searching every…
All weapons in Payday 3 and how to unlock them
Robbers shoot guns in Payday 3.

No one should walk into a robbery in Payday 3 without a reliable gun in their back pocket. Sure, there are plenty of skills and tools to help you and your gang pull off many jobs with no one being the wiser, but mistakes happen. And when they do, you'll be glad to have some firepower on your side. You won't be picking up or finding weapons on the map in Payday 3, and instead must rely completely on which weapons you have equipped in your loadout before starting a heist. You will only start off with a single assault rifle and pistol to your name, but there is a nice selection of shotguns, revolvers, and marksman rifles to add to your kit. Here are all the guns you can unlock in Payday 3 and how.
All weapons in Payday 3

Guns in Payday 3 are all first unlocked by reaching a certain level. Levels are simply gained by completing heists and objectives in the game, so every match you play will contribute toward your overall level. Once you reach a threshold where a new weapon becomes available, you can head into the Vendors menu and purchase t with your cash so they become available when building your loadout. Here's every weapon you get in the order you naturally unlock them:

Read more
All status effects in Lies of P and how to cure them
Pinocchio in Lies of P.

Lies of P is a challenging role-playing game that will test your mettle at every turn with deadly enemies and dastardly environmental traps. But to make things even a bit more difficult, you'll have to contend with a collection of status effects that can majorly affect your character and make things much harder for you in battle. We've compiled a list of all status effects in Lies of P, as well as a list of ways to cure them.
All status effects
There are a total of seven status effects, with each either dealing damage or having a noticeable impact on your ability to perform in battle. Here are all of them and how they work.
Overheat
Overheat is caused by taking too much fire damage too quickly. When the Overheat bar fills entirely, you'll begin to burn and lose health until it is cured or wears off naturally. During this time, your Guard Regain recovery amount will also be reduced, which can drastically impact your survivability in fast-paced encounters.
Shock
When Shock is applied, your character's stamina recovery will be reduced significantly, which can have devastating consequences. Until this effect is cured or wears of naturally, you'll be stuck with very limited movement and attack opportunities due to your decreased stamina.
Electric Shock
Not to be confused with standard Shock, Electric Shock is caused by taking too much Electric Blitz damage in a short period of time. When this happens, you'll take increased Electric Blitz and physical damage for the duration of the effect, and your Fable meter will drain continuously, which can reduce your attack options in combat.
Decay
Decay is caused by taking too much Acid damage within a small time window. This will cause constant weapon and acid damage, both of which can make life difficult for you in battle since letting it go on for too long can result in needing to repair your weapon while also dodging your foes' attacks.
Corruption
Corruption is caused by a buildup of, well, Corruption. When this happens, you'll be afflicted with what is essentially your textbook poison effect, meaning your HP will drain continuously until it wears off or is healed with an item. This can be especially challenging to cope with when also fighting enemies, so avoiding sources of Corruption is highly advised when possible.
Break
Break is an annoying status effect to contend with, as letting its bar build up entirely will temporarily decrease how much health your Pulse Cells heal. This can be especially frustrating when you already find yourself at low health and don't have many Pulse Cells left, but it's usually best to wait until the effect wears off before healing so you can ensure you get the maximum amount of health possible.
Disruption
Disruption is perhaps the most concerning of all status effects in the game, as you'll be instantly killed when the Disruption bar fills up entirely. If you find yourself in a situation where a lot of Disruption damage is being doled out, it's best to back off until the bar depletes some or you'll soon be seeing a Game Over screen.
How to cure status effects
There are multiple items in the game designed to help you cure specific ailments, as well as items that can increase your resistance to them so that you can reduce your chance of becoming infected to begin with. You can find these cure and resistance items in various places while exploring throughout the game, or you can buy them with Ergo from Polendia at Hotel Krat.

Attribute Purification Ampoule - Cures Overheat, Electric Shock, Decay, and Corruption
Special Purification Ampoule - Cures Shock, Break, and Disruption
Attribute Resistance Ampoule - Enhances resistance to Overheat, Electric Shock, Decay, and Corruption
Special Resistance Ampoule - Enhances resistance to Shock, Break, and Disruption

Read more
How to increase health and magic in Immortals of Aveum
A character wields blue magic in Immortals of Aveum.

Your two most important meters in Immortals of Aveum will be your health and magic as you trade out guns for magic in this unique FPS. Health speaks for itself -- if it runs out, you die -- but magic isn't used to power your normal red, blue, or green projectiles. Instead, you need this to cast the more powerful skills you unlock throughout the game. Even though there are crystals you can find and hold to replenish these resources, the amount you can hold at the start is fairly limited for both. Thankfully, there is a way you can buff these with permanent increases.
How to increase health and magic

To increase your maximum health and magi,c you will need to collect Radiant Health Stones and Radiant Mana Stones, respectively. These come from two sources. First is from defeating bosses during the campaign. These will typically come at the end of chapters and be unique, challenging encounters. The other method is to earn them by completing the 26 Shroudtrials scattered across the various maps. These are shorter, bespoke optional challenges you can run through to earn a reward at the end. There's no guarantee you'll get the type of stone you're looking for before you complete it though, and there are trails that you won't be able to access when you first encounter them. Once you unlock new abilities, you can go back to old areas and seek them out to buff Jak up as much as possible.

Read more