The Left 4 Dead Tips Thread

[Hawkeye Fierce]

Since it drops tomorrow, I thought we should start to collate the strategies everyone has developed from the demo. A few tips that I think are really basic:

1) Don't run and gun.

Everyone's instinct in shooters is to circle strafe, which will get you shot in the back by your teammates really quick in L4D. When the firing starts, be aware of your position relative to the others, and think before you move. You don't need to be a stationary turret, but be deliberate in how you relocate. This is strategic as well as tactical: the team's movement through the map should be slow and steady, not hellbent for leather. This is related to:

2) Don't panic

Keep your cool at all times. Freaking out gets you and others killed. Getting incapacitated isn't the end of the world, and is sometimes the smartest move. While you're down, the zombie horde (for example) that got you will remain around you, giving your friends time to react and save you. If you need to retreat, do it calmly and deliberately. Don't run backwards spraying gunfire, as you'll probably shoot the guy who was running up to help you. Don't forget that your melee attack (right mouse button) is actually your best "defensive" weapon.

3) LISTEN

Sound cues are huge in this game. You can hear every type of boss infected long before you can see them, which lets you prepare to deal with them. Learn the sound and music cues and react appropriately. The survivor dialogue, likewise, is meant to help. Listen to your teammate's voice comms, too.

4) Move as a group.

A single survivor is zombie bait in this game. There are challenges that you simply cannot overcome without the help of another. If a smoker or a hunter grabs you, you're toast unless you get help. Communicate your movements to the team, so that everyone can benefit from mutual protection. Be aware of your position in the group, as well. If you're in front, crouch so that others can fire over you. If you're in the rear, WATCH THE REAR. There's no such thing as a "cleared area" so you need to be vigilant in all directions.

Probably all really obvious stuff, but hopefully it'll help someone.

[DoomMunky]

Good idea for a thread! I'll add one thing:

5) Don't Shoot Every Time, or Switch to Pistols: If everyone else is nice and alert and regularly shooting lone zombies that approach, save your ammo and don't shoot at every one that gets close. I regularly see fire from all four of us converge on one lone zombie that charges us. Save your ammo when you can, especially on Expert. For precisely this reason, many people like to switch to pistols when things are relatively calm.

[Drastic]

- When someone's grabbed by a smoker, if you can't get an immediate good angle to just shoot the offending zombie, melee-bashing the trapped squadmate will free them from the tongue.

- Melee in general is good, because it doesn't do friendly-fire damage. So it's also a good option for knocking a hunter off someone who's pinned if the angle's also bad, getting a mob of zombies pummeling a downed squaddie off of them so they can be shot easier, etc.

- Melee doesn't interrupt reloading, so it's very useful when a horde's all up in your face and your gun just went dry.

In short: melee is your friend!

[Horrible Oscar]

The "Look!" voice command is context sensitive. Use it while pointing at a survivor to shout their name. Point it at ammo/weapons/health and you'll shout it out for others. Point it at an incoming zombie and you'll shout "OH GOD THEY'RE COMING". This is an important survival tactic in zombie movies.

[JM]

When in front, DUCK!

[Houngan]

I'm not 100% on this, but I think that you can safely shoot through teammates when they are incap. from a smoker or hunter. Once the beastie is dead/off though, friendly fire applies.

H.

[Telefrog]

Originally Posted by Drastic

- Melee in general is good, because it doesn't do friendly-fire damage. So it's also a good option for knocking a hunter off someone who's pinned if the angle's also bad, getting a mob of zombies pummeling a downed squaddie off of them so they can be shot easier, etc.

I thought gunfire didn't damage a teammate when they are pinned down by a Hunter. Did that change?

[Drastic]

Originally Posted by Houngan

I'm not 100% on this, but I think that you can safely shoot through teammates when they are incap. from a smoker or hunter. Once the beastie is dead/off though, friendly fire applies.

Huh. Well, that figures. The times I take pains not to shoot teammates are the only times it's safe to!

[nabeel]

Proven tactic for tanks and witches : Molotov and then leg it.

[xahlt]

Originally Posted by Horrible Oscar

Point it at ammo/weapons/health and you'll shout it out for others.

I like to rapidly turn the flashlight off/on at the drop as well - people can hear the clicking (it's an unusual sound compared to the voice chatter) and pinpoints exactly who's pointing it out and where.

[roBurky]

Shooting incapacitated teammates does hurt them. There's just quite a few more hitpoints for going from incapacitated to dead then there are for going from healthy to incapacitated.

If you keep shooting at your buddy on the ground with your shotgun, you will kill them.

[Telefrog]

Originally Posted by roBurky

Shooting incapacitated teammates does hurt them. There's just quite a few more hitpoints for going from incapacitated to dead then there are for going from healthy to incapacitated.

If you keep shooting at your buddy on the ground with your shotgun, you will kill them.

Why would you shoot at a buddy lying on the ground anyway? I guess if you just wanted to be a griefer about it...

[roBurky]

Cos there's zombies on top of them.

[DavidKaye]

Heh, I was going to start a thread like this. Good idea.

If you're the last person through a door, close it behind you.

Flashlights attract zombies - so turn it off when you don't need it. I'm convinced that sneaking past some huge groups is going to be a necessary part of staying in good shape while making progress on Expert. If you don't need to engage them, don't.

Hordes often seem to come from two directions, often with a slight delay on the 'second' horde's arrival. Many times I've seen a group get overwhelmed by being distracted by one horde while the other swarms in right behind them.Try and figure out what directions those will be and pair off to make sure you cover both angles.

[Telefrog]

Originally Posted by roBurky

Cos there's zombies on top of them.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, the only time they're safe form your friendly fire on the ground is when the Hunter is sitting on top of them and flailing away. Of course, the Hunter is doing his damage anyway.

[DavidKaye]

I don't think they are safe from friendly fire then either. I'm pretty sure I have taken a lot of damage from a point blank shotgun blast intended to get the hunter.

[Kirian]

If you're on point, a shotgun is preferable (personal opinion), as you can thin down the ranks of a rushing horde. Hunting rifles are very useful. It may help if one takes a hunting rifle and keeps an eye out for boss Infected.

One survival tactic is to unload your gun quickly, and if they're too close, whack the zombies like mad. Trying to shoot them will get you eviscerated. The other survivors will cover you. It's not the only tactic.

Check corners really carefully. Boomers and Hunters love to hide around a corner and pounce, which can cause a panic.

Careful with your movement. Stay as still as possible when firing. If you have to move, a warning is a good idea but rarely feasible. I have shot survivors and been shot far too many times when someone suddenly jumps into my view as I fire. Similarly, I have been downed by moving myself.

Don't be a hero. Don't try and fight a witch even if you think you can. Waking a Witch is guaranteed to down at least one member.

[SolomonGrundy]

Never go first...or last. :) Send the noob first.

reload often

If you are using the shotgun- hold your fire to the last second. I usually will kneel down with the shotgun, and have an uzi guy spraying over me. i hold my fire until the ones he missed are on top of us.

Tanks: they aggro on the one who did the most damage first- you can kite the guy all over the map- just dont turn around to look, you slow down. In a full out run you can outrun him, and have the rest of your team kill him. If you lose aggro, try to get it back.

Melee is king. Ifyou get puked on, find a corner and start using the melee key and let your teammates take out the zombies.

On Expert when you respawn in the safe house dont use your medpack right away- use those 30 hp. Its better to have a full heal later into the level. Chances are pretty good you are not going to find health too often on expert.

If an idiot on your team strayed from the group and starts yelling for help-IT'S A TRAP!
Don't try to kill every zombie- the exit is your goal, not a clean sweep of the level...there is no clean sweep of a level.

DONT SHOOT THE CAR.

Shut your damn flashlight off. that would be the F key.

If you hear music- the horde is coming. Dum dum dum.......

I'm a big fan of letting Zoey lead cuz of the red shirt, the old guy is wearing the smae clothing as most of the zombies...I shoot that poor guy alot.

Tanks and witches seem to ignore pipe bombs, but stalkers the fat guys and hunters chase them.

[Alan Au]

Originally Posted by DavidKaye

Hordes often seem to come from two directions, often with a slight delay on the 'second' horde's arrival. Many times I've seen a group get overwhelmed by being distracted by one horde while the other swarms in right behind them.Try and figure out what directions those will be and pair off to make sure you cover both angles.

Yeah, most of the time you'll want a dedicated rear guard. The rear guard has a limited but important role, which very specifically does NOT include shooting teammates in the back.

- Alan

[Jab2565]

When fighting hunters if they are leaping at you , it's better to melee them rather then shoot them. If you can hit them with a melee while they're in the air it will knock them out of the attack animation and set them up for an easy kill. This also works if a smoker grabs you and you're close enough to melee before getting stuck.

Never use molotovs to clear infected off a downed partner, it will just kill them faster.

When fighting the tank, strafing when he starts throwing concrete is alway better then finding a place to hide behind.

[DoomMunky]

Originally Posted by Jab2565

When fighting the tank, strafing when he starts throwing concrete is alway better then finding a place to hide behind.

Please explain.

[Jab2565]

When hiding behind objects in the enviroment in a large area (pillars, corner in a train car) there is a chance that he can still hit you. If you can't get completely out of his sight, then it is better to try to strafe as he gets into the animation to avoid it as you have a better chance then hiding behind some part of the scenary.

[Houngan]

Originally Posted by roBurky

Shooting incapacitated teammates does hurt them. There's just quite a few more hitpoints for going from incapacitated to dead then there are for going from healthy to incapacitated.

If you keep shooting at your buddy on the ground with your shotgun, you will kill them.

Not incap on the ground, but incap being attacked, either with hunter on or smoker tongue wrapped. Once you are loose you're fair game, but I've been shooting through smoker victims for a while without causing damage.

Tip from other thread: Your reload continues while you are meleeing, so run all the way out of ammo before starting to swing. Three swings and you should be ready to rock again.

New Tip: Weapons are always reloaded when you pick them up, so if you're near a weapon table and a horde/tank whatever comes, you can empty a weapon, then pick up another and empty it, then switch back without reloading at any point. Autoshotgun and this equals a dead horde.

H.

[SolomonGrundy]

Originally Posted by Jab2565

When hiding behind objects in the enviroment in a large area (pillars, corner in a train car) there is a chance that he can still hit you. If you can't get completely out of his sight, then it is better to try to strafe as he gets into the animation to avoid it as you have a better chance then hiding behind some part of the scenary.

Also I've seen the tank blow right through pillars and other objects in the enviroment. I'm not sure if he can throw through them too...

[Igor Muravyev]

Don't heal until you're downed at least once (and then at about 30hp) , you will know this when you are limping and your health bar is in red stripes. Doing this will bring you up to the solid green 80hp regardless of what your HP was before.

Using a medkit earlier is wasting it, since the only way you could die if your HP is still solid is from a boss infected or witch (but then that's your team's fault for not saving you). After a few downs though, your health will go black & white and the next incapacitation will permanently kill you.

Also it's important not to be limping if you're about to face a tank, since you can't outrun it then.

----------------

Always save a Molotov. When you see the tank, don't wait for it to come to you. Throw it at the tank and then run, keep running, and run some more (towards the beginning of the level). I'm almost positive the Director will not spawn a Zombie horde on you when already fighting a tank.

[Jonathan Crane]

Originally Posted by Houngan

Not incap on the ground, but incap being attacked, either with hunter on or smoker tongue wrapped. Once you are loose you're fair game, but I've been shooting through smoker victims for a while without causing damage.

This is amazing. I've actually been diligently trying to get an angle where I can shoot the infected without plugging my comrades.

[Houngan]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Crane

This is amazing. I've actually been diligently trying to get an angle where I can shoot the infected without plugging my comrades.

I tired of that during a game and started just blasting, thus the discovery. Of course the real danger is all the "helper" fire after the boss is killed. Some folks have very different reaction times.


Big Tip:

If someone is easing up to a new doorway, they are going to start shooting infected through it. DON'T WALK IN FRONT TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON. I can't count how many rifle headshots I've done on teammates entering the pillar room in the demo. FFS, crouch and go by, or hug the wall and clip through. The guy in front has the right-of-way for firing lanes.

H.

[wisefool]

Wait, so if Zoe is outlined in orange and pinned down by a red hunter, we can blast away?

[Houngan]

Yepper, from what I can tell.

H.

[Telefrog]

Originally Posted by wisefool

Wait, so if Zoe is outlined in orange and pinned down by a red hunter, we can blast away?

Provided you stop blasting as soon as the Hunter gets knocked off.