The Last of Us Part II: How to Defeat Runners and Effective Weapons Guide

How to Defeat Runners

Stealth Kills

Runners tend to move around less and often stay crouched in one place. They are not sensitive to sound, so you can approach them from behind and take them out one by one. It's a good idea to take note of nearby enemies so that you won't be noticed by other infected while performing stealth kills.

Silenced Weapons

If it's difficult to approach from behind, try using silenced weapons such as a bow or a pistol with a silencer to perform stealth kills from a distance. Unlike human enemies, infected won't notice you even if other infected fall right in front of them, so it's safe to take down infected that are close together.

Keep Your Distance

If a Runner spots you, other infected will also come rushing towards you. Run away from the Runner to create distance. Once you have some distance, aim for headshots and take them down one by one.

Use Melee to Take Down Isolated Runners

Since Runners have low health, you can easily take them down with melee attacks such as using a knife or engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Additionally, you can quickly defeat them with Strikes by stunning them with thrown objects like bottles or bricks.

Effective Weapons Against Runners

Short Guns

Due to their low health, use short guns, like pistols, to defeat Runners and conserve high-damage weapon ammo. Even with a pistol, a headshot can take a Runner down quickly.

Melee Weapons

Since Runners have low health, even non-upgraded melee weapons can easily take them down. It also helps to conserve ammunition, so try to use melee weapons when facing a small number of enemies.

What is a Runner?

They attack Survivors as a group

Runners are in the early infected stage and they will run towards and attack a survivor they notice. They often appear in groups, and when one runner sees a target, all the nearby runners will go after the same target, too.

They have vision

Runners have vision similar to humans, allowing them to spot survivors within their line of sight. When approaching runners, try to sneak behind them or cover to remain unnoticed.