Back 4 Blood isn’t just about landing headshots and cracking skulls – it also has a robust deck-building mechanic. You can build custom decks to take with you into levels, granting specific bonuses and buffs. There are a fair few to choose from at first, some offering health boosts and others bolstering your ammo supplies, but not all of them are going to be equally as useful.
To help you build your first deck in Back 4 Blood, we’ve put together this guide on the best cards for beginners. We’ll walk you through which cards to include in your decks initially, as well as how to unlock new ones to choose from. Let’s get started, Cleaners.
Best Back 4 Blood cards for beginners
Back 4 Blood allows you to put together custom decks of cards which grant bonuses to your character. When starting the game you will automatically have access to a Starter Deck, as well as 9 cards to choose from. It’s worth creating a custom deck as soon as possible, so that you can add extra cards into the mix for each stage. Before a level begins, the game will offer you a selection of cards to add to your character from your chosen deck. Because of this, you want to make sure that selection is filled with the best cards.
Let’s start off by taking a look at the best cards available to you at the beginning of the game, before moving onto some great cards that can be unlocked from the Supply Lines menus. Focus on getting the following cards into your first custom deck:
Second Chance
First up is the Second Chance card. It gives you an extra life and +5 health. This card can really help out while you’re learning the ropes initially, especially if you are playing with bots that might not be as quick to revive you. You’ll get one extra life before dying, allowing you a bit of a buffer when being swarmed by enemies. Use this card when learning a new area, and to give yourself more chances at stronger types of Ridden.
Superior Cardio
Something you may struggle with at first is Back 4 Blood’s sprint system. Depending on which character you choose, you may be running out of sprint often, and during sections like the cruise ship this can mean the difference between living and dying. The Superior Cardio card grants +50% Sprint Efficiency, as well as +5 Health.
Reload Drills
Reload speed is something that you are absolutely going to want to increase as soon as you can. When using shotguns and LMGs, you’re going to be waiting for your gun to reload, all the while being attacked by enemies. This card increases reload speed by 10%, which can really save you in a bind.
Battle Lust
This is perhaps the best card available to players at the start of the game. For every melee kill, 2HP is added to your health. With some careful positioning and good stamina, you can take out enemies one after the other, healing yourself slowly. This is a great option to have if you don’t have any healing items on hand.
Combat Knife
If you would rather carry two guns in place of having a melee weapon, the Combat Knife card is for you. It replaces your Bash attack with a knife, which counts as a melee weapon. This deals impressive damage, and can even kill enemies in one hit on the lowest difficulty.
By trying these cards out when starting in Back 4 Blood, they should give you enough of an upper hand to get a good feel for the game. Once you’ve started to gather Supply Points, try these more advanced cards:
Ammo For All
At Veteran difficulty or higher, you’ll struggle to keep your ammo stocks filled. This card increases ammo capacity by 10% for your whole team. The other players in your squad will certainly appreciate you throwing this into the mix.
Inspiring Sacrifice
This is another great Team Card to use once you’ve unlocked it. When you or a teammate becomes incapacitated, all teammates heal for 25 health over 10 seconds. When activated, this card can really help turn the tide, especially if your team is being swarmed.
Evasive Action
When you take a hit for 10 or more damage, this card will activate. You’ll gain 20% movement speed for 3 seconds, allowing you to outrun hordes that have surrounded you. Without this, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to get away from a group of enemies, as they will slow you down as they attack.
Ridden Slayer
Special Ridden types are going to become more and more of a problem as you increase the difficulty. Hitting weak spots will start becoming essential, so adding this card can help get them down faster. It adds 20% Weakspot Damage, which is especially effective when paired with a sniper rifle or LMG.
How to unlock new cards
To unlock new cards for your Custom Decks in Back 4 Blood, you will need to visit Chenda back at camp. She can be found opposite the entrance to the Firing Range. She offers Supply Lines, essentially collections of items that can be purchased using Supply Points – including new cards. Just select a Supply Line and then spend the required amount of Supply Points to unlock each card. These will then be added to your available cards which you can then assign to a Custom Deck. Getting Supply Points is as easy as playing through each level. Keep in mind that you’ll get more per level at higher difficulties.
That should be everything you need to get started with cards in Back 4 Blood. Make sure to only add cards that you want to use in your Custom Decks, as having more cards in your deck means a lower chance for each being drawn.
Back 4 Blood launches on October 12 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4, with the PC open beta launching on August 12. Back 4 Blood is expected to be available through Xbox Game Pass at launch.
The post ‘Back 4 Blood’: here are the best cards for beginners to use appeared first on NME.
