More expert Left 4 Dead strategy

People are still coming here by searching for Left 4 Dead strategies, so I’d figure that I’d flesh out my previous post a little more. These are the strategies I employ for co-op, not versus, though a lot of them carry over to versus.

First off, here is a video of myself playing the second chapter of Death Toll without having taken damage since starting the campaign:

General strategies

• Always be aware of the situation and always have full control over it.
  • Try to avoid open spaces as much as possible because hordes come without warning. When you venture into open areas, look around for somewhere to run to in case a horde comes.
  • Always make sure your back is clear. You don’t want to be surprised with a single hit.
  • Be meticulous in killing zombies hidden in corners, for the reason above.
  • Use your ears to your advantage. If you hear one approaching you, quickly turn around and melee the approaching zombie to push it away.
  • Learn to melee naturally! This is by far the most effective way to avoid hits.
  • If you follow the above guidelines, you should be able to easily go through chapters on expert without taking damage (although it also depends on the chapter). If you are having trouble going through expert, every time you get hit, figure out what you did wrong. Now, don’t go crazy about avoiding every possible hit, but at least you do need to stay alive.
• For tanks, the best strategy is to light it on fire and run, because it will die after some time if it’s on fire.  Most people who stay behind to shoot the tank always mess up, so just avoid the trouble.
  • Remember to distribute pills to your fellow teammates that do not have the health to run. If you do not have pills, then those who are hurt the most should start back tracking so that they get a lead. If all of you are in the red, then cross your fingers.
  • If you do not have a fire making device, then you will just have to live with running and gunning.
  • It is usually a bad idea to enter the beginning safe room in order to protect yourself from the tank. While the tank is unable to knock down the door about half of the time (and it may be map-dependent), if you have some circle or loop that you can run around in, then it is a much better idea to go around that.
  • If things didn’t go so well and a tank is pounding at a survivor, you can melee the tank a few times in order to try to get him to run after you instead. Four survivors is always better than three.
  • Tip: If one of you want to achieve the Man vs. Tank achievement, have the person light the tank on fire and have this same person shoot at it once or twice. No one else should fire at the tank. This will easily get you Man vs. Tank.
• Always have at least one molotov for your team for the single reason listed above. Defeating a tank without fire is such a royal pain. However, as for what your teammates should carry, I usually like to have my teams stock up with at least two pipe bombs. They are to be used for emergencies (sudden hordes).
  • Be quick in throwing a pipe bomb during a sudden horde. If you do not think everyone on your team will be able to run to somewhere safe, throw the pipe bomb. Do not hesitate.
• For special infected, you need to be quick.
  • If you hear a hunter, be prepared to melee a teammate. It is possible for you to knock a hunter off before it deals damage in most cases (this does not apply on versus), so you need to all be very quick. If a teammate is far away enough that you cannot melee him or her, be prepared to shoot.
  • If you hear a smoker, the same applies. However, if a smoker gets you, it is possible to save yourself. Right when a smoker latches onto you with its tongue, you have about one second to fire at the smoker to fre yourself. If you hear the sound of a smoker shooting his tongue, be prepared to look around and find the location of the smoker very quickly so that you can shoot at him (and save yourself).
    • You can shoot at a smoker’s tongue to save a teammate.
  • For boomers, if you melee him while has just started puking, the puke will dissapate and not drench you in puke. If you turn a corner and find a boomer, do not shoot! Melee him so he cannot puke on you. However, if you hear a boomer ahead, you should try to turn the corner from a far distance away so that you can shoot him sufficiently faraway where his puke reach cannot get you. One person should advance at a time so that the entire team is not covered in puke should things not go according to plan.
    • When a teammate is covered in puke, the horde will go only for this person (and any others with puke). Save your teammate(s) instead. Towards the end of the horde, be aware that the zombies may start going after you as well. Also, if you block a zombie, you may become his or her target instead.
  • Witches can be taken care of easily if she is on the floor and you have an auto-shotgun. Do not be scared of her. Here’s the strategy for cr0wning (or otherwise killing) a witch on expert: Run up to her casually like you would to your teammate (don’t bother crouching or walking), touch her, spend 1-2 seconds to aim at her torso/chest, and rapdily fire your gun (be sure you had reloaded beforehand!). If you don’t cr0wn her, she’ll be dead by the 2nd or 3rd shot anyway and you will take no damage. Don’t rush yourself. You have plenty of time to run up to her and aim.
    • However, if you can avoid the witch, avoid the witch.
    • If the team is trying to avoid a witch but it is not working (she is getting angry), she will most likely get alerted and kill one of you. If you know how to kill witches, just run up to her and get it over with. You will have to touch her. You cannot cr0wn a witch from long range.
• Gas cans can be very helpful during a crescendo because it will lower your risk of damage and take off a lot of stress. Place your gas cans in a manner that elevates their effectiveness. Locate the choke points where zombies will pour in and place gas cans at those locations. If you can use one single gas can to control two choke points, great! Even if a few zombies get through because you tried to control two choke points with one gas can, this is better than running out of gas cans and having to deal with an entire horde later on. Don’t stupidly just surround your team with gas cans.
  • If you have multiple gas cans, conserve your gas cans and do not light them all at the beginning.
  • Be aware that, when throwing a gas can that you have saved, it may hit a teammate (or a zombie, I think), and fall straight to the ground and burn your team. Make sure the area in front of you is clear and tell your teammates as you prepare to throw the gas can.
  • To avoid the previously mentioned problem, you can place gas cans in a manner where they will not light each other up but you can shoot at them through the course of the crescendo. You can only do this in some places. You won’t have to take the risk of throwing gas cans if you do this.
• On expert, medkits never spawn by random. They will only appear on the map if the map maker specifically placed them there. For that reason, conserve your medkits until you go “grey-screen” (which happens after you have been incapacitated three? times). However, if your team is entirely in the red and you have a medkit, it is a better idea to heal.

Specific finale strategies

1. No Mercy: There really is no single best way to handle this campaign’s finale. I recommend getting into a closet for the duration of the horde and running out for the tank. Be aware that the minigun is very effective, but it can only be used if the tank is far away. The minigun’s fire will slow down the tank and do exceptional damage to it.
2. Death Toll: Either the dock or the closet/bathroom works. There are glitches for this finale, but they’re no fun if you’re going for the expert achievement.
3. Dead Air: The closet in the side of the building works best.
4. Blood Harvest: This is the easiest finale in my opinion. The corner in the barn (near the large window) on the second floor is the best. The horde will be unable to touch you (if done right) and you can run across the beams to trick the the tank (this is borderline glitch though). He cannot climb up to the beams in the barn most of the time.