Left 4 Dead: 19 Ways to Survive Zombie Hell

GamePro unearths nearly twenty tips to staying alive (or undead) in the zombie-shooter, Left 4 Dead!

Left 4 Dead: 19 Ways to Surviving Zombie Hell
#19: Leading is Not Cheating

In Left 4 Dead, it doesn't matter if you're playing as or against the walking dead--leadership is essential to your survival. It's a good idea if someone takes the lead at the beginning of every round. And seeing as this is the most dangerous job in your team, you may want to leave this role to more advanced players. It's crucial for the leader to know the ins and outs of the maps in the game, including where the safehouses and checkpoints are. And most of all, leaders should act as point man and damage tank.



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#18: Know Your Role

Aside from the leader, the rest of the team acts as scouts and sharpshooters. Stay close to the leader, but scout out adjacent rooms (quickly) for health, ammunition, and bombs. Don't shoot people in front of you if you are acting as the sharpshooters.



#17: Cierra la Puerta

When playing as a human, a good habit to have is closing doors behind you. Zombies can smash through them, but it will hold them off for a good amount of time.



#16: Duck, Duck, Shoot!

Duck when you are in the front of your group of allies. When you are crouched, people behind you can shoot over your precious head.



Left 4 Dead: 19 Ways to Surviving Zombie Hell
#15: Zombie Skulls Smash like Rotting Fruit

Melee-bash zombies whenever you get the opportunity to do so. It will knock pesky zombies back, and will even kill them if you hit them with enough force.



#14: Gas Stations Are Flammable?

The gas station in the No Mercy campaign can be blown up and will kill dozens of zombies if timed right. Do it!



#13: Pistol Power

Always pick up a second pistol. This will allow you to fire faster, and you have unlimited pistol ammo.



#12: Communication is Key

Put on your headset. Don't be the one person without one because working together as a team will get you the best results.



Left 4 Dead: 19 Ways to Surviving Zombie Hell
#11: Zombie Pals Stick Together

Whether you're a Smoker, a Hunter, or any other type of zombie, staying close to your fellow flesh-munchers is your best bet when trying to destroy your human adversaries. Remember: don't stray away from the pack!



#10: Use Flashlights Wisely

Know when to use your flashlight and when not to. Zombies can see light and some will be alerted by it. The Witch boss zombie will be instantly startled if you shine the flashlight on her.



#9: Zombie Barf Kills

While playing as a Boomer zombie, make sure you unload your blast of projectile vomit at the right moment. It attracts A.I. zombies to your human target and your zombie barf takes a while to accumulate, so make it count!



#8: Pipe Bombs: Instant Zombie Extermination

Pipe bombs kick ass. The flashing red light on the pipe bombs attracts zombies. You'll even earn an achievement if you can obliterate 20 or more with one pipe bomb.



Left 4 Dead: 19 Ways to Surviving Zombie Hell
#7: Not Your Everyday Vomit

Shoot the Boomer zombie who can regurgitate deadly vomit from unbelievable distances. If you don't, you'll get sprayed by his toxic puke, which will both blur your vision and attract other ravenous zombies.



#6: Stay Healthy

Pain pills only provide a limited boost that will slowly deplete over time. Health packs provide a permanent boost in health.



#5: Weapons of Choice

The automatic shotgun is hands-down the most devastating weapon in Left 4 Dead. If you get first pick, snag it off the table loaded with firearms. Don't believe us? Watch the post-game stats for the guy who dealt the most damage to the Tank boss zombie--it's virtually guaranteed to be the guy with the automatic shotgun. The assault rifle is a close second and is capable of mowing down swarms of onrushing flesh-eaters with ease.



#4: Vomit Clean Up Procedure

If you get puked on, let your team know. Everyone should then surround the puke stained player and prepare for the zombie horde attracted by the barf scent. It happens everytime.



Left 4 Dead: 19 Ways to Surviving Zombie Hell
#3: Human Hunting 101

When playing as a Hunter zombie, the best time to pounce on victims is when they're traveling solo. Lone humans are pretty much a free meal in this rare but awesome situation.



#2: De-Tonguing

Got a Smoker's putrid tongue wrapped around your neck? You can actually shoot off its elongated tongue to break the strangle.



#1: With a Little Help from my Friends

Heal your friends when you notice that they're injured (if you're not in a situation where you'll die as a result of helping them). Keeping as many members of your team in the game will greatly increase your chances of surviving. And don't bother healing A.I. teammates. They're pretty damn good and rarely loose any health.

Comments [11]

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igotpwned

lol i bet you were! who else played? you and tae? your my favorite staff members! Tae and you rock!

MaximusPM

Pipe Bombs: Instant Zombie Extermination

Pipe bombs kick ass. The flashing red light on the pipe bombs attracts zombies. You'll even earn an achievement if you can obliterate 20 or more with one pipe bomb.

Just to be very clear: They infected are attracted more by the blipping sound then the blinking light... The achievement is broken and you can get it killing less then 20, but that's not really an issue, since most of the times there are even more then 20 zombies around it.

Also, I recently noticed that in some RARE occasions, the pipebomb don't kill EVERY zombie. Some of them stay alive.

About the bots, dont ever heal them, thats true. Because if all human players die and the bot remains alive, the game will end, but if it dies, you can always revive him in those closets. So keep the medkits for the humans... Give bots the spare pills when needed, and be sure when to do it, because they seem to take pills EVERY time you give them, even when it's not needed. If possible, tell the bots to get the pills on the world themselves and they will only use them if their health is orange.

BenKarl

I've heard from some people that the Hunting Rifle is the way to go, but I guess it really depends on whether you like to hang back or go in guns blazing. In any case, this article makes me want to go home and play L4D right now.

JimMcDosh

Wow, now THAT is one cool looking game. A Must have for sure!

Jess
www.anonymity.at.tc

ponsgame

This is a finite set of ideas to improve the playing.
One more to add, use the cylinders and oil cans which can be used when we expect a zombie wave from a direction, Mostly helpful while playing in skill level above normal .

plasticgear

It's interesting that you say the autoshotty and the assault rifle are the best weapons because i ALWAYS use the sniper rifle and i'm ALWAYS the one with the most common infected killed. If you know how to use the rifle, you'll be able to kill entire rushes with only a few shots because the rifle shoots right through the zombies. I may also point out that i also kill the most special infected too. I dno if skill plays into this but you can't say the the auto is the best just because you do the most to tanks. At long range the auto blows. Just pointing this out. I guess it's realy preference. Good post though!

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