Back 4 Blood Burn Cards Explained: What They Do And How To Get Them

The eagerly anticipated Back 4 Blood December update has arrived, and among a laundry list of fixes and a more robust offline campaign mode, you'll now find Burn Cards throughout the game. This new kind of card can be both acquired and used in ways that standard cards can't, and they offer brand-new perks to throw into the mix in Back 4 Blood's rogue-ish systems. Here's what you need to know about Burn Cards in Back 4 Blood.

Back 4 Blood: What are Burn Cards?

Burn Cards are single-run cards that you can't re-activate in Back 4 Blood. They can't be added to your custom decks because they don't last longer than a playthrough. Once played, a Burn Card is removed from your available cards permanently, though its effects will last as long as you're playing through your current run.

Burn Cards are so limited in their usage because they're meant to offer abilities that are more powerful than typical cards. They can give you instant access to new weapons and buffs that exceed the usual stuff you'd see in Back 4 Blood's traditional card system.

Where to get Burn Cards?

There are two ways to get Burn Cards in Back 4 Blood, though neither is quite so simple as walking up to a vending machine. One way to get them--the way the game tells you that you can--is to buy them from Roving Merchants during levels. These Roving Merchants seem to be very rare in the early post-patch days, but the idea is that when you see a Roving Merchant, you can take a breather and buy some Burn Cards using your found copper, rather than wait to spend it inside safe houses.

Because these Roving Merchants are proving to be rather shy right now, we'd recommend another method: buying them in Supply Lines. Currently, the game's newest post-patch Supply Lines, which are somewhat randomized, seem to all include at least one Burn Card. You can identify a Burn Card by its special symbol on the top right, like that shown on the cards in the image above.

It's best to save Burn Cards for when you really need the help--and for when you know you and your team are committed to a run. You can leave and return to a run and keep your cards intact (including Burn Cards), but if the run ends naturally, be it by success or failure, that'll be the end of your Burn Card too. If you're able to bump into a Roving Marchant and like what they have for sale, also know that you can hold up to 99 of any one card. That means your favorite Burn Cards can be reacquired somewhat easily, though it'll cost you. That makes Roving Merchants the ideal way to get more Burn Cards, but first, you'll have to get lucky enough to come across one of them.