Tala

## Tala Yazdi

— **Tala**

**Tala Yazdi** is the newest playable Cleaner in *Back 4 Blood* who has been introduced with River of Blood, the third and final expansion of the Annual Pass which got released on December 6th, 2022.

For Back 4 Blood's Campaign mode, Tala is available exclusively for owners of the third expansion. This Cleaner is not available in Swarm mode.

## Official description

*A type-A overachiever, Tala once dominated academic and social life at school. The fiery fifteen year old aspired to attend Berkeley and pursue a career in robotics. However, the Collapse dashed her plans. After her parents were killed, she promised to do everything in her power to protect her younger brother Derek. Surviving the Collapse brought the siblings into the arms of a dangerous cult, “The Children of the Worm”—a mistake she’s trying to rectify. Having recently escaped and figured out she could control Jeff (her latest project) via high-frequency whistles, she is determined to win over the Cleaners so together they can free her brother and put an end to the cult’s mad schemes.*

## Traits

The following traits are being granted to Tala with her Cleaners card:

* **TEAM EFFECT**
+ 1 Warped Chest and Whistle spawn in each map
* Jeff can be called by anyone with his whistle
* Tala's attacks cause targets to bleed
	+ The bleeding deals 1 point of damage per 0.2 seconds per stack up to 10 stacks.
	Each stack lasts for 5 seconds. Shotguns apply the effect per pellet. Punching Cultists and Ridden also applies the bleeding effect.
* She starts with a Bait Jar as her accessory of choice

## Appearance

Tala sports a short brown haircut and has a scar on her right cheek. Unlike her little brother Derek, Tala does not seem to have fallen victim to the Devil Worm's transformation. Like other members of the Cult, she wears inmate clothes from the Kanowa County Jail

She also wears a torn dark long-sleeved shirt and over it a light blue sweat jacket whose sleeves she has removed. The Runes of the "Camp" and "The Chosen" can be seen on the sweat jacket and her arms are covered with scraps of her sweat jacket. In addition, Tala has belts from an execution chair on her right forearm and she wears padded dark gloves on both hands. Around her torso Tala wears a bandolier reinforced with duct tape that holds several power inductor-looking accessories that can be used for Jeff's helmet, in addition to her quiver.

At her hip she wears several leather belts to which pouches and a rope are attached.
Her inmate pants feature over large leather patches. Tala also wears brown leather boots that she has reinforced with a piece of metal and duct tape.

## Developer comments

On Turtle Rock Studios' Discord server, **Alex Boatman**, Senior Character Artist at Turtle Rock Studios, mentioned that the items Tala wears on her bandolier are based on power inductors.

Believe I modeled it after a power inductor because I liked the idea of those prongs being stabbed into his brain lol
— **Alex Boatman, Senior Character Artist at Turtle Rock Studios**

## Journal entry

Tala's journal entry has been shared on the Back 4 Blood 𝕏 account on November 17th, 2022.

Armageddon can't come fast enough for these people. I hope this note finds its way to you. I found out I could control Jeff (that's the name for my latest project) via high-frequency whistles.
I can't loop back to get you without calling attention to ourselves. I PROMISE I WILL RETURN FOR YOU. I'm going to reach out to those folks you helped at Fort Hope. If they're good people, we'll be back in force to tear this cult apart. If they're not..well, there's always me and Jeff. We will never abandon you. Love, Tala
— **Tala's journal**

## Notes

* Tala's Cultist Knife bears the Runes "The Four" and "The Maw" on its hilt.
* The IMDb (International Movie Database) website lists the role of voice actress Dalia Rooni as Tala Yazdi.
Yazdi is a common name for someone from the city or province of Yazd in central Iran. Thus, Tala and her brother Derek not only share the same roots as Rooni, who is also of Iranian descent, but also the same family name as Turtle Rock Studios' Systems Administrator Kevin 🐢"MadnessMetal" Yazdi.

## Gallery

* Main Gallery
* Concept Art
* Promotional Material
* Miscellaneous

Official character render of Tala

Character concept art by John Grello.

Promotional material featuring lore text of Tala.
Tala is voiced by Dalia Rooni
Promotional material featuring the quote: "I'm ready for this. I'm a straight-A ass-kicker."

A rough overview of Tala's traits
Tala's Cleaner card.
Tala alongside her brother Derek.
**Tala's** Cultist knife

## Sources

1. ↑ Dalia Rooni on IMDb.
2. ↑ Official description from the official Back 4 Blood website.
3. ↑ Tala's journal entry release (𝕏)
4. ↑ Dalia Rooni on the International Movie Database.