How to defeat Holler? | Side quests - Other locations Dying Light: The Following Guide

Holler can be found at the household located at the northern section of the map, shown on the above screenshot. You can get there at your own accord, or during the completion of the Reclamation side quest, which is precisely about the elimination of this monster.

Holler is a huge mutant.

You can enter the household by climbing through the main gate, or (which is a better idea) by climbing the wall of the building deprived of the barbed wire (you can either enter the building, or get up on the roof). Stay alert, as during the first visit of this location there might be a Toad standing on the roof - use the crossbow to quickly get rid of the monster. Holler is a (significantly) stronger version of the regular mutant. The monster will try to attack you in melee with his upper limbs and charges, while throwing blocks of concrete at you from afar - a successful hit will result in Crane getting knocked back and to the ground.

Note - aside from the main monster, you have to reckon with the fact that the sounds of battle might lure other monsters (like running infected) to join the fight. If you are able to take position at a place that is unavailable to them, you should be relatively safe during most of the encounter. However, monitor the mini-map all the time and attack them as soon as they are close to Crane.

The boss can be attacked from a safe distance, from the roof of the main building of the household.

If you are planning on weakening the boss with ranged attacks, you should take position at one of the two places. The first one is the slope roof of the main building of the household. The main advantage that this position offers is unobstructed view of the area - additionally, running infected will have a hard time to get there, preventing them from attacking you. The flaw of this spot is that when Crane gets hit by the concrete "projectile" of the boss, he can fall from the roof, receiving serious fall damage. To prevent this from happening, you should constantly move around the roof and use the slope roof as a cover.

The second good spot to attack from is a side balcony, located to the left of the main building - which can be seen on the above screenshot. You can get there by running through the courtyard, jumping down from the roof, or from the inside of the building. You can use the spot to easily hide behind the wall, preventing the enemy from hitting you with the concrete chunks and throwing Crane down from a height. Some of the running infected can reach the balcony, but fortunately for you, the only route available for them leads through the courtyard, as all of the other ones are blocked by barbed wire. Regardless of your approach, use your firearms, bow, crossbow and throwing weapons to gradually weaken Holler (try to destroy the monster's headgear as quickly as possible, and when that happens aim all of your attacks at that spot). If you have some explosives (such as Exploding Throwing Stars, Fragmentation Grenades, or Exploding Bolts) at your disposal, you should definitely use them, as they should quickly deplete the health bar of the enemy.

Note - the only exception to this strategy is a scenario in which you are planning to use a shotgun against the enemy, given the fact that you have to fight Holler at a medium range for the weapon to be effective. Run around the courtyard and rely on side-stepping and jumping backwards to avoid the enemy's attacks. You should always be prepared to run to a safe place in case Crane gets injured and is on the brink of death.

If you are planning on taking the enemy out with a melee weapon, you can use the same method as above, focusing on running around the courtyard and waiting for a chance to attack. However, this approach is extremely risky, the enemy is perfectly suited for melee combat. You should consider another approach and begin from reaching the aforementioned side balcony, located next to the main building of the household. Wait for the enemy to get closer to the balcony (the monster won't be able to jump on it) and attack the enemy by using height advantage (such an attack can be seen on the above screenshot). Perform one or two attacks and quickly hide behind cover, as Holler will without a doubt try to hit you with concrete chunks. It's an effective approach against this boss, provided that you have access to a powerful melee weapon (two-handed preferably), which is capable of dealing high amount of damage.

Note - You can SIGNIFICANTLY increase the power of your attacks if you manage to destroy the enemy headgear, or any other key part of the boss' armor (explosive bolts, as well as throwing objects are best for the task). This will allow you to hit the exposed parts of the boss' body and you won't have to worry that a huge portion of your damage will be absorbed by the said armor.

You must deplete the health bar of the enemy in order to defeat the monster. As a reward for your hard work, you will be given an unique blueprint - Heavy Venom.