Hag

— **Description**

**Hags** are powerful Boss Mutations in *Back 4 Blood.*

## Description

The Hag is a towering, eyeless monstrosity that stalks the land, dragging its hunchbacked body forward with a relentless hunger. Its mouth is a nightmare of writhing human hands, writhing and grasping like teeth as it drags its prey closer. With a swift and sudden strike, the Hag will swallow its victim whole, dragging them down into the darkness of its belly.

But the horror does not end there. As the Hag feasts on its prey, it will begin to burrow into the ground, disappearing from sight as it flees from the scene of its latest kill. No one knows where it goes or what it does when it disappears into the earth, but the thought of being dragged underground by this wicked being is enough to send shivers down the spine of even the bravest soul. Be warned, for the Hag is a Ridden to be feared and avoided at all costs.

As the Hag burrows through the earth, its prey is dragged along with it, trapped inside the creature's stomach and left to suffer in the darkness. The Hag's digestive juices are said to be incredibly corrosive, capable of breaking down even the toughest of bones and tissues in a matter of hours. Those who are unlucky enough to be swallowed by the Hag can only hope for a quick death, as the Hag’s stomach is a place of unimaginable agony and suffering.

## Overview

The Hags are rare, isolated Mutations that only appear on specific maps. They are initially non-hostile and will wander around a small area in search of prey. If a Cleaner deals damage to the Hag, a small message will appear ("[Player] startled a Hag!") and the Hag begins chasing them down, ignoring all other Cleaners while doing so.

The Hag's only attack method is to grab and devour the Cleaner that startled it. Once a Cleaner is in its grasp, they become effectively incapacitated the Hag begins to swallow them. After the cleaner is completely devoured, the Hag attempts to burrow away with the Cleaner in its stomach; if it is successful in escaping, the Cleaner dies. The only way to free the devoured Cleaner is for the Hag to sustain sufficient damage, which is when it will release its captive.

In any case, if the Hag sustains too much damage, it will attempt to flee by burrowing into the ground. While fleeing, it becomes the most vulnerable as its back is completely exposed.

## Strategy

* **Avoid it.** Hags are not immediately hostile towards the Cleaners and can be evaded entirely if players are careful enough not to damage it. One of the key arguments for avoiding a Hag is that, due to its high health, it can take a lot of resources to eliminate it (similar to Ogres and Breakers). If avoiding it fails, there are several ways to defeat the Hag.
* **Draw away its attention.** If your party decides to take on a Hag, designate one player (preferably one with high movement speed) to attack the Hag and draw its attention; this method is commonly known as *kiting*. The chased player should try to maneuver the Hag so that its back is turned to the other Cleaners, allowing for the weakspot to be more exposed and easily attackable.
* **Target its back.** The Hag's largest weakspot is the mass of growths on its back, so focus fire on that whenever possible.
	+ The size of the weakspot makes it easy for shotguns to deal maximum damage at close range, as each of the pellets are more likely to land.
* **Bring the boom.** A common strategy for boss fights, the Hag can be quickly defeated with Frag Grenades, Molotov Cocktails, Propane Tanks and other explosives. However, conserving resources is one of the main reasons to avoid fighting a Hag in the first place, so make sure that your team is prepared to expend your explosive inventory before you use them.
* **Be prepared.** Any Cleaner with the Breakout skill or a Taser can instantly escape from its clutches,allowing for a risk free kill.

## Notes

* Players can defeat the Hag to earn a bonus reward.
* Due to their similar mechanics of targeting and potentially incapacitating a single player, the Hag draws many similarities to the Witch from Valve's *Left 4 Dead* series. In particular, its wandering behaviour makes it more closely resemble the Witch's *Left 4 Dead 2* incarnation, which introduces a more mobile version of the enemy that aimlessly walks around the area.
* In early concept art, the Hag more closely resembled a Stinger or Stalker, until eventually its design was changed into a more grotesque form.
* As of the Tunnels of Terror Update the Hag can spawn as a roaming boss in the No Hope difficulty.

## Gallery

Early concept art made by Gue Yang.Concept art made by Gue Yang.Promotional material featuring lore text of the Hag.Hag render by Alex Boatman.Hag render by Elliot Betancourt.Hag render by Elliot Betancourt.Hag render by Elliot Betancourt.Hag render by Elliot Betancourt.Hag render by Elliot Betancourt.Hag render by Elliot Betancourt.The Hag getting ready to devour a CleanerThe Hag with its inner hands ready to drag unfortunate humans inside its mouth