GameGuide » Blog Archive » Left 4 Dead 2 Multiplayer Tips & Achievements
If you’re reading this, we’re going to assume you have a basic understanding of how to play Left 4 Dead 2 – You know, killing all the infected zombie like people trying to kill you.
So here’s a basic rundown of some tips for Campaign, Versus, Scavenge and how to unlock some of the more unusual achievements.
CAMPAIGN MODE
If you need to reload in a pinch (say after being puked), remember you can reload and then melee throughout the animation. You might eventually suffer melee fatigue but it’s better than eating damage the entire time. Melee weapons are really good for dealing with hordes, as using them won’t cause melee fatigue. Combine standard melee (LT) with weapon swings (RT) to clear narrow corridors. Adrenalin is new and far more useful than pills. You might get a smaller health boost (25 as opposed to 50) but you run faster, heal faster, revive faster, reload faster and don’t suffer from melee fatigue. Always worth keeping for those clutch situations where everything has gone disastrously wrong. Using Boomer Bile on the Tank is a gimmicky way of using it. It works better as a long-lasting distraction. For the sections where there are enforced alarms (rollercoaster, shopping mall, etc), throw the Boomer Bile and when the infected attack the green mist, run past them. It’s also a good way of grouping infected together for the Dismemberment Plan achievement (kill 15 infected with one grenade launcher shot). For the witches walking around in Sugar Mill, use your audio cues. The music will change if you’re too close, so back off and find another way around. This is vital for safely getting through the cornfield. If someone uses the defibrillator to bring you back to life, remember to pick up the items you dropped around you when you died. When the Tank shows up, you want to get your running speed up to ‘green’ levels. Either heal yourself, take pills or take adrenalin. Your running speed drops when your health hits yellow. You can only outrun the tank when your health is at ‘green’ levels or boosted up to that level via pills. As always, the best way to play is to stick together and keep a brisk pace. Try not to leave anyone behind but don’t linger. The longer you hang about, the more time you’re giving infected to spawn and chip away at your health.
VERSUS MODE
The best way to use the Spitter is to keep a low profile and stay at distance. You want to spit in areas that will block narrow passageways (will trap the team and give your team-mates a chance to attack), at people being revived (does lots of damage to whoever is reviving him unless he backs off) and at players tightly bunched together. Jockey is fairly slow, has no range and is weak, so you need to use him in tandem with the other Infected. You can use him to ‘guard’ players being constricted by Smoker or pounced by Hunter, or to drag someone away after the group has been puked, or to drag someone in the opposite direction to split up the group after the Charger has grabbed someone. Charger is arguably the most useful of the new Infected. It will almost always do some damage – use its high HP to get in close and ‘rugby tackle’ a Survivor (RT) to ensure you don’t miss. They work just as well on their own as they do in a group but if you can steer someone off a building for an instant kill, do that. The best way to play Versus as the Infected is, as with Left 4 Dead, to work in groups. Hunters, Smokers and Jockeys work well together as they can guard each other when they’ve snared someone. Boomer works well with Smokers, Jockeys and Chargers as their puke disguises what the others are up to. Spitters work well in tandem with anyone. Always wait for another Infected spawn if you are alone, unless there’s a really good opportunity that arises (someone splits apart from the group). Two Infected attacking are much harder to deal with than a solo attacker. Keep a mental note of dead bodies. If someone finds a defibrillator, they might go back for the dead body (especially if they’re clearly friends with that person, look for split-screen gamers to do this a lot). If they do go back, they tend to split apart from the group, giving you an easy opportunity to do damage. As the Survivor team, same rules as Campaign. Stick together, keep a brisk pace, try to save medkits for when you’re one knockdown away from death. If it looks like you’re about to die and you’re the last person remaining on the team, push forward as far as you can. Points are earned for % of level completed, which is worked out by distance. In other words – the further forwards you travel, the more points you get. The points bonus for completing levels are the gamebreaker they were in Left 4 Dead, so there’s more of an emphasis on covering as much ground as possible now.
SCAVENGE MODE
Best way to play as the Survivors is to split into groups of two. Two players travelling as a single unit for the gas cans and throwing them down to the other two players, who are filling the generator as a unit. Don’t panic if you’re about to run out of time. As long as one of you is holding a gas canister, Overtime will kick in and refilling the generator will give you another time bonus. Just make sure you protect whoever is holding the gas can. When Survivors throw a gas can, their outline turns from white to orange. When their outline is orange, it means the Spitter can destroy it and Survivors can shoot it. Keep an eye on orange gas cans, because these are what will tempt the Spitter out from hiding. The key to the Infected is the Spitter, who should concentrate on destroying thrown gas cans with spit. The Spitter can also use spit to temporarily ‘block’ players from filling the generator. Disorganised teams are easy to deal with. Just wait before spawning to see who will break away from the group and use your faster pre-spawn speed to get ahead of them and near the fuel can they’re running towards. Once they get there, pounce them. Remember that apart from melee attacks, Survivors carry fuel cans are defenceless. Even if they see you, they’ll have to drop their fuel can if they want to take shots. Therefore, you can be a little riskier and play more aggressively than you otherwise would. Just make sure you don’t get clobbered by that melee attack. Because Survivors are usually very mobile and don’t have a set movement pattern, Boomers can have a hard time. The one constant is that they have to return to the generator, so this is a good place to hide for ambush attacks. You only need to beat the score of the other team if you’re playing second in the round. In other words, if they scored six and you have five, don’t start heading to the furthest away fuel cans and start throwing them down, as you only need two more to win! As a final, last ditch attempt to stop Survivors pouring in the fuel, melee attack them. This resets the ‘pour’ timer and forces them to deal with you. It’s not much but it could buy that vital extra time you need for another Infected to join in the attack and stop them.
ACHIEVEMENTS
CL0WND – Melee attack 10 Clowns. Clowns are the uncommon common you find throughout Dark Carnival.
STACHE WHACKER – During Dark Carnival, you’ll notice one of the fairground games is a Moustachio version of whack-a-mole. Fire it up by pressing X on the button there and shoot Moustachio as he appears. When the time runs out, press X to continue and keep going. When your score is high enough, the machine explodes and you get your achievement. Just be careful – the noise summons a horde.
GONG SHOW – There’s a test-your-strength machine in Dark Carnival just before the bumper cars. You have to take an Adrenalin Shot, then hit the machine with your melee weapon for the achievement. Again, the noise alerts the horde, so be ready.
GUARDIN’ GNOME – There’s a target shooting game at the start of Dark Carnival 2. You have to score over 750 points on this game (shoot the Moustachios for 100 points) to unlock Gnome Chompski. You now have to get him through the rest of the act and onto the helicopter at the end of the finale to unlock the achievement. Remember you can drop him if you really need to defend yourself.
VIOLENCE IN SILENCE – During The Parish, you’ll stumble into an area just before the cemetary full of alarmed cars. You need to make it to the other end without setting off a single alarm. All you need to do is stick to melee attacks and DON’T go anywhere near the cars with a flashing alarm. Take your time and it’s pretty easy.
DISMEMBERMENT PLAN – You have to kill 15 Infected with a single grenade launcher blast. Easiest way to do this is with a Boomer Bile vial. Simply throw it near an area full of infected, wait for them all to gather, then fire away.
