Decades after an outbreak turns the United States into a dystopian wasteland full of zombie-like Infected, humankind struggles to survive in a world full of monsters and martial law. Widely believed to be one of the greatest video games of all time, Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us combines incredible graphics, fantastic storytelling, and challenging gameplay. Spurred on by the success of the first, The Last Of Us Part 2 made its climactic debut in June of 2020, but was received by fans with mixed reviews.

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The first game established various Infected types - Runners, Clickers, and Bloaters - but the second game introduced a few more stages of infection. Let's take a look at a list of every type of Infected ranked by difficulty, and the fastest way to beat each of them.

Updated on March 11, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: The Last of Us is easily one of PlayStation's biggest IPs right now. The story of Joel and Ellie in the first game was a cinematic masterpiece that has been translated brilliantly to the TV show format, with HBO's take on The Last of Us being incredibly faithful while also building upon the series' concepts in its own way. With the first season on its way to a close, more and more people can't wait to see how the show adapts the story of the second game, which received more of a mixed reception from audiences all over.

Both games feature many variations of the Infected, all of whom can be pretty imposing threats in their own right. Players need to have their wits about them and have some great weapons and enough ammo in store to deal with the many spore-infected denizens of this post-apocalyptic world. Here's an in-depth look at all the types of Infected in the game and how they stack up against each other in terms of power and difficulty.

Type Of Infected

How Strong They Are

Best Strategy

Runners

The weakest kind of Infected, but should not be taken lightly

Both combat and stealth are viable options

Stalkers

Stealthy and can attack from the shadows, but not that strong

Using Listen Mode and homing down their location is important before engaging them

Clickers

Extremely tough and can insta-kill unprepared players after closing the distance

Stealth is the best way to deal with them; move slowly and take them down using shivs to maximize the chances of surviving an encounter against them

Bloaters

Slow, hulking monstrosities that chuck toxic spores and can take a decent beating

Heavy weaponry is paramount to defeating this foe since everything else will take ages to bring them down

Shamblers

Deceptively fast enemies that spray toxic gas after getting hit

Maintaining a distance and using heavy weaponry is recommended to take them down quickly while avoiding any damage from the gas they leak

The Rat King

An unholy mashup of multiple Infected that is the most advanced stage of the Cordyceps virus infection

Prepare for a long fight with heavy weapons; the Infected detach from the Rat King after taking enough damage, so get ready to take out stragglers before focusing on the main body

6 Runners

Runners in The Last of Us
  • Weakest type of Infected that can be taken out with basic weapons

Easily the weakest type of Infected, Runners can still be challenging. These Infected do not shy away from a fight. Loud and fast, Runners earn their name from their habit of charging at their prey. Not yet overgrown by the parasitic fungus, Runners still closely resemble humans and are the earliest stage of the infection process.

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Runners both see and hear fairly well, so stealth is important if there are many of them in an enclosed area. Swift and aggressive, Runners swarm if given the chance. Once that happens, it's difficult to escape. Fortunately, killing Runners is fairly easy. They can be killed with Joel's bare hands, Ellie's knife, a melee weapon, any gun, or a simple stealth kill. If there are too many near, sprint away to a safer location to pick off a few separately.

5 Stalkers

Stalkers in The Last of Us
  • Prefer to ambush people instead of taking them on directly

Stalkers are not difficult to kill, but they definitely have a creep-factor that the others do not. They behave very differently from Runners. Rather than moving towards their target the moment they see them, Stalkers stay low and hidden to spy on their prey. They crawl on all fours and move quickly, preferring to stay behind large objects or around corners.

Just because a player does not see a Stalker, does not mean that the Stalkers do not see them. Patient and intelligent hunters, they wait to burst from their hiding spot and attack. Once engaged, a Stalker is not much more difficult to kill than a Runner, but they tend to live in packs. Players should use listening mode if they need to in order to "see" where Stalkers are, or shoot them from a distance when they peek from behind objects.

4 Clickers

Clickers in The Last of Us
  • Dangerous enemies that can insta-kill the player and sense fast movements

The middle stage of infection, Clickers are grotesque and challenging to kill. The fungus has taken over their brain and grown on their faces, rendering them completely blind. They move quickly and have an impressive sense of hearing that makes up for their lack of sight.

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Walk slowly and quietly to avoid Clickers. Sneak up on them with stealth to kill them. Do not confront them directly like a Runner or a Stalker. The fastest way to kill Clickers is with fire. A Molotov cocktail is perfect for this and is especially helpful when taking on a group. Any Clickers in the area will run towards the sound and into the fire. If the fire does not kill the Clicker, a few shots to the head should finish the job.

3 Bloaters

A bloater in The Last of Us
  • Durable monsters who have a ton of protection and use ranged toxic spores to hit the player

The third stage of infection spreads from the head to the entirety of the body. Bloaters move slowly but are far from harmless. Other than their brute strength, a Bloater's primary attack is with sacks of toxic spores. The spores will slowly cause health damage and can obstruct eyesight. This gives them the chance to get close enough to attack.

Extremely durable, Bloaters should never be fought hand to hand, or with a small handgun alone. Like Clickers, Molotov cocktails, flamethrowers, and other forms of fire are the best ways to weaken the Bloater from a distance. Once weak, they can be taken out with a shotgun or a rifle, but it is still important to remain at a distance and away from the spores.

2 Shamblers

A shambler in The Last of Us
  • Deceptively fast enemies that should be taken down with heavy weaponry

Introduced in The Last Of Us Part 2, Shamblers are one of the most difficult types of Infected to defeat. Shamblers start out slow but can pick up speed and rush across the room almost as quickly as a Runner. They have so much weight on them, that they can easily knock Ellie off of her feet.

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The most dangerous thing about a Shambler is that instead of throwing spores, they spray a toxic acid when hit, or when Ellie gets too close. Fire via a Molotov cocktail is the best way to attack a Shambler from a distance. Close range weapons are not recommended due to their speed. Pipe bombs are also a good option because they allow the player to put space between themselves and the Shambler.

1 Rat King

The Rat King in The Last of Us
  • A disturbing amalgamation of multiple Infected, with stragglers splitting off as the main body keeps on taking damage

The final stage of the Infected is a vicious and disgusting mutation of the Cordyceps Brain Infection. The Rat King is a combination of Runners, Stalkers, Clickers, and other Infected, melded together into one giant monster. It is durable and deadly.

Rat Kings spew acidic gas at a much faster rate than their Shambler cousins. The most difficult aspect of fighting the Rat King is that as it takes damage, the fungus breaks, and individual Infected can break off and rush to attack. The mutated Runner or Clicker may have the traits of other types of Infected, such as the ability to throw spores. The Rat King is susceptible to fire but requires skill and patience to defeat.

The Last of Us Part 2 is available on PS4.

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