Back 4 Blood Holly guide – Tips, tactics, best cards

Holly is the designated close combat character in Back 4 Blood. Her passive abilities make her the only Cleaner who thrives when she gets stuck in the thick of the zombie horde. In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to play Holly in Back 4 Blood, including the best cards for her deck.

Abilities and playstyle

Holly’s entire kit is about one thing: cleaving through the ranks of the Ridden with reckless abandon. The combination of Cardio and Grand Slam allows her to swing and keep on swinging, provided that she manages to get kills; having a melee weapon instead of a sidearm is key. With the right card deck, Holly can finish entire missions without firing a gun — and she is the only Back 4 Blood character who can reliably play this way by default.

• Grand Slam: Holly recovers 10 Stamina when she kills a Ridden.
• Tough as Nails: Holly has 10% damage resistance at all times.
• Self–defense: Holly starts each mission with a Stun Gun.
• Cardio: Holly and her teammates have +25 base Stamina.

Holly’s primary concern should really be to stay out of her team’s lines of fire, as stray bullets could be a bigger problem for her than zombies. When playing as Holly, make sure to approach fights from the side instead of barreling straight down the middle. Also, make sure not to block doorways or chokepoints – if a large group of Ridden is coming through a narrow opening, step aside and let your team handle them, or use your offensive utilities.

Best cards for Holly

The cards listed below enable Holly’s playstyle as a bruiser, giving her excellent damage resistance and healing as long as she can keep herself in the thick of things. The only drawback to this deck is that it severely limits your ability to use firearms; luckily, you won’t need to do that when playing as Holly in Back 4 Blood.

• Hydration Pack: + 25 Health, – 20% Ammo Capacity.
• Ignore the Pain: Gain 20% Damage Resistance against Mutations while using a Melee weapon.
• Battle Lust: Melee kills heal 2 Health.
• Face Your Fears: Gain 3 Temporary Health whenever you kill a Ridden within 2 meters.
• Vanguard: + 10% Melee Speed. Melee kills grant 1 Temporary Health to nearby teammates.
• Motorcycle Helmet: + 25% Damage Resistance. You can no longer aim down sights.
• Batter Up: + 50% Melee Damage, + 5 Health
• Slugger: + 5 Health, + 10% Melee Efficiency, + 20% Melee Attack Speed.
• Spiky Bits: + 25% Melee Damage, + 10% Damage Resistance while using a Melee Weapon, – 20% Ammo Capacity.
• Berserker: Gain 10% Melee Damage, 10% Melee Speed, and 5% Movement Speed for each Melee kill in the last 4 seconds.

On a final note, you might be tempted also to include Adrenaline Rush to maximize your melee potential: it grants you +100 base Stamina at the cost of -75% Stamina regeneration and regenerates 20 Stamina for you when you kill a Ridden. This card is pure overkill for Holly, although it’s great if you want to indulge in a melee playstyle with another Back 4 Blood character.