Tallboy

— **Tallboy description**

The **Tallboys** are Mutations of towering stature. They are the eponymous members of the Tallboy family of the Ridden, which also include the Bruiser, Crusher, and Ripper variants. All Tallboy variants feature an oversized right arm and shoulder that they use to crush Cleaners to death.

## Official description

*These large Ridden stalk towards their victims while periodically bursting forward to cover ground. When close, Tallboys swing their massive club-like arm in overhead arcs and smash the life from them. Be sure to focus fire on his weak spots. (Aim for the shoulder!)*

## Overview:

All Tallboy variants are very effective at close range and can absorb a significantly higher amount of damage than most other Ridden. They each have a powerful, long-range melee attack that can knock Cleaners away and break up tight formations. The key difference in the variations are the methods of offense that they employ in addition to their signature slam attack.

### Abilities:

**Smash**
—Slow overhead attack that deals high damage and knocks back.

After picking up speed, the Tallboy swings its massive arm down onto the Cleaner. The attack deals high damage and knockback, giving it the ability to forcefully separate Cleaners away from each other.

**Burst**
—Burst forward to cover ground quickly.

This ability allows the Tallboys to traverse quickly through the area.
Burst can be canceled by the usage of Smash and has a cooldown of three seconds.

### Upgrades (Swarm Mode only):

For the Tallboy/Bruiser/Crusher/Ripper upgrades see it here

## Strategy:

* **Combined Fire.**The team will make disposal of it easier opposed to fighting it alone. This also will allow for easier access to its weakpoint.
* **Maintain a safe distance away from it.** In addition to dealing greater damage, the melee range of the Tallboy exceeds that of other Ridden. Staying out of the Tallboy's proximity and attacking it from a considerable distance away is the safest method of eliminating it.
* **Target the right shoulder.** The Tallboy has a distinct growth on its right shoulder that presents a visible weak point. If the growth takes enough damage, the Tallboy will lose its entire right arm and become severely weakened. The Tallboy arm will separate from the host, instantly killing both.
	+ When moving quickly at the Cleaners, the Tallboy will turn its shoulder away from its target to keep its weakspot out of sight. Circle around the Tallboy as it is doing this to get a better shot of its shoulder, or aim for its head instead.
* **Take advantage of its missed attacks.** After executing its primary slam attack, the Tallboy takes time to recover and is more open to hits. Use this chance to hit its weak spots.

## Notes:

* Due to their overgrown arm, all Tallboys bear a striking resemblance to Chargers from Valve's *Left 4 Dead 2*.
* The Tallboy is the second playable Mutation who has a lot of health, first being is the Bruiser.
* The Tallboy has the same weak spot as the Bruiser, which is the overgrown pink cyst on their right shoulder.

## Gallery

Attack of the Tallboy, and the Ogre.Attack of the Retch, Exploder, and Tallboy.Attack of the Tallboy, and Retch.Justin Cherry Realtime VFX 2021 - -Reel 1 of 6 -Retch & TallboyVFX Reel featuring the Tallboy by Justin Cherry.The Tallboy shown with its ability, in the left side on the Mutations icon.