Because someone was gonna write about it sooner or later. =P
So, we’ve got five special Infected classes, four of which are playable. There’s the horde-attracting Boomer, the teamsplitting Smoker, the individual-destroying Hunter, the dangerous-if-provoked Witch, and the battlefield-changing Tank. All are quite different from each other, and all are played in very different styles. If we look at them individually, we see that they’re more similar to some particular classes than others in TF2. Perhaps we can find the class that’s most like the one we’re good at in TF2. Perhaps they’ll be the same one we’re best at. Or not. I dunno. =P
So here’s Dr. Ryan Hal Secret-Agent Godzilla Clank here with his analysis of the classes and further thoughts. Presenting to you, Class Comparisons!
The Smoker
This one’s pretty hard to classify, since he’s probably the least similar to any class as all. However, regardless, we can easily say that he’s the Sniper, with Engineer coming in a very distant second.
Camping: surprisingly important for SmokersIt's not too hard to imagine; they both attack targets from a distance, unlike most of the other classes. They both pick out important targets for their teammates, and they can both turn the tide for any single enemy; the Sniper with a fully charged headshot, and the Smoker by dragging someone off a high roof place/into fire. And both are also potentially devastating when used in tandem with help from teammates.Imagine a situation in which a Smoker drags you, and then your teammates arrive to help, only to get pounced by a Hunter or vomited on by a Boomer. Now that's a winning combination.Now, think of the Sniper removing the enemy Sniper for your Heavy to go on, or saving a teammate from a backstab. Consider how he could headshot the engineer, making it cake for the Soldier/Heavy to demolish the Sentry.Their weaknesses? As both classes, if you allow an enemy to get near your, you're likely finished, unless you're intentionally waiting there for a Smoke/Kukri. Unless you're waiting with the Kukri/smoke, of course. The BoomerThis one doesn't need a whole lot of thinking; the Boomer is like the Pyro. Both are suicide classes who work well with ambushes rather than direct attack (especially so for the Boomer). The intention is to hide, then reveal yourself, causing chaos amongst the enemy which can be used to your advantage.Now with 20% more flame damage.
Pyros and Boomers both, accordingly, have the shortest life span of any class in game. Neither expect to survive very long most of the time, unless you’re a master of the class who’s extremely lucky, and even then, a kamikaze run almost certainly benefits your team by causing the enemy to become disorganized and at the very least, buys your team some time to build sentries/respawn.
SURPRISE!!!
Neither causes much as much damage directly as they would indirectly. The Boomer bile attracts zombies, but it can be warded off by the enemy team. The Pyro sets people on fire, but they can make it out alive and find health. The real important deal is to have perfect timing, surprise the enemy and take them out when they can’t get away.
The Hunter
One word; Spy.
Look at ‘em. Ain’t they both grand? At first it seems contradictory that I would say they’re the same; the Hunter’s mobility most fits the Scout/Demoman, his one on one advantage seems to match that of the Scout, and he’s nowhere near a hit and run class like the Spy, because if you manage a successsful attack that badly damages your enemy, you will most likely die at the hands of their teammate.
But consider the similarities; both are usually loner classes who do their best work picking of individual enemies, whose effectiveness is increased with the assistance of teammates distracting other enemies. Both have a single attack that does the most damage to any one person that can’t be avoided once it’s started; the Hunter with his long range pounce and the Spy with a single backstab. And both do best when their enemies don’t know they’re there till the time to attack arrives. Both are also the most silent; the Spy for obvious reasons, and the Hunter being the only class in Left 4 Dead that can keep absolutely quiet. Not to mention that both their regular melee attacks do the least damage of all the melee attacks in the game.
Scout comes in a somewhat close second, but the Hunter, I claim, is the most Spy-ish class in Left 4 Dead.
The Tank
Tough choice, eh? 
The Tank is, of course, quite similar to the Heavy, and a little like the Soldier. Actually, no, the Tank is more like a Medic Heavy combo with one full charge ready. He dishes out the most damage directly, and can take a whopping load of damage before falling. He, like the Heavy + Medic, is the most noticed combo in the field, and is usually the one to be shot at first based on the threat alone. And the further away his enemies get, the more useless his attacks are (and yes, the rock throw is pretty useless unless your enemy doesn’t realize he/she has both an “A” and a “D” button on his/her keyboard).
Potentially, he can take out the entire opposition, but if they work well enough, they can defeat him before he can even so much as scratch them. One of the most important things for both Heavy and Tank is the support of his teammates.
Heavy:
- People to watch his back for Spies
- A Medic to heal him
- Other teammates attacking so that he’s not the only target
Tank:
- Teammates to watch out for molotovs (the Tank’s main weakness)
- … can’t come up with a Medic comparison oO
- Other teammates attacking so that he’s not the only target
The Witch
“But wait!” you cry. “The witch isn’t playable! Besides, what class could she possibly be compared too?”
To which I respond “So what? ;)”
Don't mind me. Or else!
Actually, my studies have shown that the Witch is most like the Engineer. That’s right, folks! Our friend the Engy. If you leave either alone, they can’t do anything to you really. The Witch will just lay there sobbing while the Engy sits behind his Sentry and whacks it (except the better ones, really). If luck would have it, placement happens to be the most important for either class. Your entire team could be held back entirely by a single Witch/Sentry in the worst possible place, or could just let them sit in a corner doing nothing.
Teamwork is also important pretty for both of them; a Hunter in the wrong place can draw fire to a Witch, startling her and sending her shrieking, while one of my favorite tactics in TF2 is to draw an enemy or two into an area with a Sentry. See an Engy with his sentry under fire? Assist him. See a witch about to get crown’d? Go bug the survivors.
Both are also easily taken out of you know how. The Witch can be taken down with a single shotgun blast to the head, although if you mess it up, you will die. The Engineer and his sentry can be taken out with an uber, but if the uber fails, he kills them easily, much like the Witch. In addition, the Engy is open to the stab-n-sap technique, which is like crowning the Witch. Do it right, you get away completely scott-free. Do it wrong, and you’re dead. Engy dead, but his sentry’s still there.
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And there you have it folks; the class comparisons of Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2. Perhaps it was with this mind that Valve choose the Infected? I mean, I can imagine The Screamer possibly being a version of the Medic? Both are dangerous of you let them get away to get reinforcements, I mean. Probably not. But hey, perhaps if we look at the other TF2 classes (Scout, Soldier, Demoman, Medic), we could get an idea of what new Infected class Valve would bring out, should they decide too. And perhaps they will. Doesn’t that just sound grand?
Props to tf2wiki.net for the pics.
