Still More Tank:

Just a quick one here. The Tank is stupid. On levels like Dead Air, if you play your cards right you can lure this lumbering pile of pus right off a ledge (you can knock infected off the ledges too, saving ammo!). Same goes for No Mercy. If you place a propane tank just right, you can shoot it and knock the tank off the ledge. No fuss no muss. The propane tank is located right before the second forklift in a room off to the side. The next doorway (the one right before the tank usually spawns ) is a great place to put the propane because it takes the tank a few extra seconds to get through the door. As soon as he lines up with the propane shoot it and it will knock him off balance and WHOOPSIE, of to the wild blue yonder.

Bypass: (the easy hard way to to get past hard parts)

The Crane: There is a way to get past the crane without starting the crane and alerting the horde (Dead Air campaign) If you jump up on the fence using the air conditioner you can follow it around to the edge and jump at the next building. You need to jump right at the electrical box, just to the right of the "tubes" Hit it right and you can jump again and WALLA , your at the next building , NO HORDE! But fall short and SPLAT your a man down. If you make it far enough to just grip the edge and hang , do not fear, your friends can help you up. Since this horde is not really hard to beat (especially with well placed gas cans), I recommend doing this only when playing on expert.

Free your mind

The Whiny B*T*CH (witch) (part 2)

It has come to my attention that when playing on versus, you can use a Hunter to wake a witch. It seems to work only if she was already partially roused. If you pounce her just right, she will attack you! (as the hunter), you can then jump away and she WILL chase you as far as you go (unless she catches you, then you die!). If you pounce a survivor she will attack you and the survivor. I have not figured out exactly how this is done every time, but as soon as I do, I'll post it for all to read.

Slap a B*T*CH, and you too can have this look of satisfaction

Special Request! END GAME!.

I have been asked to share some secrets on the finale sections. Normally I do not give away all of these, but since your all close friends here it is.

NO MERCY: This is a difficult end game, although there are ways to get by. The best way to survive is to go under the stairs near the landing pad. Everyone needs to get in as far as possible. Then 1 team shoot in the entrence, the other shoots out the sides. This is all well and good for the simple infected, but when that tank comes high tail it back to the top of the radio room.

TOO BAD THIS GUY ISN"T COMING TO PICK YOU UP!

DEAD HARVEST: This is actually a very easy finale. The second floor of the barn is the place to be. There is ammo here, and goos cover. 1 team takes the ladder another team takes the windows. It is important that you stay back from the windows. The smoker is the only real threat here. If you stay low and have a good team , even he cannot mess up your escape. . Again when the tank comes, hit the ground in front of the barn as a team (where the assault vehicle parks) and kill the tank fast. Then get back up to the second floor.

Meeting this guy in the cornfield would REALLY be scary!

DEATHTOLL: This is actually also very easy. The trick is to set yourselves up as 2 teams in the closet and bathroom (across from each other near the ammor and health on the first floor. Its becomes a shooting gallery and makes dealing with the hordes easy. One team member melles them back the second picks them off. If done right , only the boomer is a threat, and it doesn't matter because your getting horded anyway. Here's a bonus hint. One team member will wait on the second floor balcony where the moltovs are. After the radio is triggered he will throw all the moltovs on that floor at each entrance. This effectively takes out the first horde and burns them to a crisp. Be sure to save 2 moltovs for the tank though. Also it is CRITICAL that you save 1 pipe bomb for the final run. There is a horde that is timed to hit you as you run to the boat. Use this pipe bomb to clear the way so you all can get to the boat together. There is also a last minute tank, if you get caught by the horde on your way to the boat , he WILL OWN YOU!

AGAIN, why is this not the boat coming to save us?

DEAD AIR: This is also an easy finale. There is a closet against the wall behind the planes. Again all 4 members get in the closet. The front team crouches and melees , the back teams have lots of fun shooting the off balance infected. This is THE ONLY spot for this finale. Why? Because when the tank comes, you have a really open area to deal with him. There are also concrete pillars you can hide behind , so you do not get hit with those giant chunks of street this guy lobs at you. Converge on him together and he does not stand a chance. Then Rinse and Repeat.

Hopefully you have a better flight.

SO its been over a month with Left 4 Dead, and some thing have definitely changed. Here's the long awaited update to the tactic section.

But first let me get out my soapbox and mention a new kind of L4D player I have encountered.

SCORE WHORES

Come on, admit it you have seen them, maybe you are one? If so, I have a few choice words for you. Why in the world would you run away from your downed team just to "score" a few more points? Are you so number fixated and competition bound that getting 100 more points is more important than saving a team member? You cannot survive on your own and that Hunter is waiting around the corner to pounce your ass, so whats the deal? I know what the deal is your a coward, and someone that does not understand CO-OP play. Next round, I'll be duty bound to save your butt, because thats the person I am, but you will be the last on I help. Rest assured, when I am an infected you'll be the first to go. You really should go back to playing counter strike, you will be happier there.

BOOM (PoP goes the boomer)

This is still my favorite infected in versus mode. This flabby shambling pile of pus, is very close to my heart. So here's a few tips. This guy is ready to pop. So stay behind cover (no kidding right?) But try this. IF you can get up high, it turns out that vomit is gravity dependent , so you can vomit further. ( IF you vomiting downward!) Also, when the survivors have holed up in a small area, join the party, They will TRY to melee you back but in a tight spot they may not be able to corral your fat butt out the door, then someone panics and BOOM , they are awash with your entrails Corners are you friend also, but remember that many guns can shoot through those flimsy walls, so choose a strong cover. It is really best to vomit on all the survivors if you can. Hitting just one is OK. as long as you get away to puke another day. It's fairly easy to defend against a horde if they are only focused on 1 survivor. Here's another tip, if a survivor is down, be sure to puke on him, it will finish him off and make it really difficult for anyone to revive him. I only wish the sound emanating from the gelatinous mass didn't make me sick to my stomach.

The TANK (part 2)

I have become sort of an expert on this over-steroid filled , rotten muscled, hulk impersonator. He actually is not that hard to deal with so long as you have 3 team members. It is critical that 2 team members use the auto shotty when on a finale. The auto shotty at close range can bring down the tank in 2 clips. (head shots). Before you start to deal with him, make sure to burn him, A cooking tank will go down much faster. If you happen to have a play who can use the hunting rifle well, then this guy does not stand a chance. When the tank is computer controlled you have another advantage. If the tank is punding away at your team mate , run up behind him and melee his back, he will drop what he's smashing and come after you!. (I know what you saying, why the HELL would I want to do THAT?) Well, it takes 4 to really win this game, you need that guy that the tank is beating to death in order to survive to the finish. Plus its the honorable thing to do.

+=

First , let me say if you are on the fence about this game , get off it and buy it. I was skeptical at first, even though I love zombies, but I was wrong. Great game. (Great if you like FPS multi player) I have been putting in quite a few hours and let me share what I have learned about fighting the Zombie Hordes. You will also find this updated as I can on my BLOG.

Please post your tactics here as well, this was we can win back the earth for mankind.

Tactics

1. Save a zombie: You do NOT have to shoot every zombie: Often if you leave them be, they will ignore you. Shooting a far off zom' can alert other out of your view of your presence. Stealth can be your friend.

2. Close those doors people: Always close doors behind you. (just like your mom told you) Zombies can break down doors , but it takes them quite a bit of time, and most of the time you'll be long gone when to door finally comes crashing down. Also when searching rooms , do a quick scan for anything you might need before shooting anything. If the room is empty of anything but the undead, back out quickly, and shut the door behind you. Many times, they will stay in that room, never knowing you were there.

3. Puke and Run: Bleeeech, what a lovely sound. But that boomers vomit attracts the infected like moth to a flame. If your the unfortunate recipient of this dark bile, RUN AWAY from your group. But not to far away. This serves two ends. The first is that the horde will go after you, and ignore your teammates, saving them a beating with you. The infected will run right past them if they are just off to the side in a room or behind an object. But more importantly, if you duck when being attacked you team mates can easily mow down the infected by aiming head high, and you will not be shot by mistake. SO-> Bleeeech -> Run away-> DUCK!. And the boomers bile aint so bad....except the smell. (Hint: If everyone is close to death, sacrifice yourself. If you are vomited on, run as far away from you group as possible, let the horde fall on you. It will give your team a break from the attack, and help them escape to to the safe room.

GET HIGH!: No this is not what you think :D. Anytime you can get up on a dumpster, bag of cement, car , van, fence,whatever. Again there are to reasons. The first, as any marksman will tell you, is you get a clearer shot from the high ground. The second is it takes an infected a few second to climb up to you, giving you a precious shot or melee so you can reload or redirect your assault. (Hint: at the beginning of Dead Air : the Crane, you leave the safe room and enter an area separated by a fence. If you balance on the top of the fence and climb over toward the brick wall, all 4 player can easily defend against any horde, because they cannot climb it to get you. )

Having gas is good: Propane tanks and Gas cans are everywhere, and they go boom. Propane tanks can be found lying around but the are also where you would expect them, under barbeque grills. You can take these and use them for destruction. The gas cans make a great spread of flames, and are almost always found at end segments of the game. Place them in strategic points, and wait for the horde to get on top of them, Shoot the can and watch them burn. (Hint: in Dead Air: The crane all 4 team members can fit on top you the crane, if you place the 2 gas cans found there at the entrence of the gates, you can burn the entire attacking horde and escape without injury, and without wasting ammo.)

The B!tch is Back (uh I mean Witch): Quite possibly the most intense and terrifying part of Left 4 Dead is your first encounter with a Witch. (and each encounter after that.) The sad sobs and moans of this deadly foe are you fist warning, but just because you hear her does not mean you will see her. The standard rules apply here, Douse your lights, she hates them. Go into crouch mode and be quiet. there are hints if your not doing it right. If she looks up from her position at you, then you are doing it WRONG! Stop and stand still and she might got back to her tissue box. If you do happen to wake her, treat her like a tank, everyone concentrate fire on her head, and she will go down quickly. I have heard it whispered that if you snipe her with the rifle in the head when she is still crying, she goes down in one shot....try this at your own risk!.

MORE SOON STAY TUNED!

Tactis UPDATE

Editors note: Left 4 Dead is a CO-OP game, Last night on the servers I had a very difficult time finding a game worth joining. Teamates cussing and arguing with each other, yelling at each other for making mistakes, failing to help teammates out with reviving or health. You cannot win this game without teamwork, its what the game was designed for. If you can not share and be helpful, and cooperative, then this is not the game for you. You would be happier playing Unreal of COD4 on Deathmatch. Leave L4D to the people who want to play the game they way it was ment to be played. ( insert angry replies below, since thats what you do.)

Togetherness: Well as you can tell from the above rant, this is the core of this game. Stay together and you might make it. Separate by more that 50 feet and you doomed. (smokers love when you do that.) Occasionally it will be a good idea to send someone ahead as a scout, often this is the scout is near death anyway. This scout can lead the infected away from the group is needed , or just give you a heads up on what is coming.

Fire and BEEP BEEP; Molotovs are very handy if used correctly. They best uses are often not to burn a horde, but to place a barrier between a horde and your team. This gives you time need to heal up, reload and re-group. PipeBombs are your best friends. After a boomer attack you can often redirect the entire horde with a single pipe bomb. When entering areas of uncertainty, you can toss an extra pipe bomb to find out jst what lay ahead. This is really only useful when you are low on health and ammo and near a re-supply area. (but it could save your team.) Best advice is to save these two for end of map horde rushes whenever possible!

The Sherman (The Tank) : What can one say about a 400 lb, little head, steroid addicted , dead guy? You can say he's a BAD A$$. If your playing on expert its 2 hits and you dead. So the tactic is Do NOT get hit. The tank will often pick on someone, if that someone is you run away! Let your team unload on him, and pray you don't get stomped. The rest of the team needs to shot him on the head as much as possible from a distance. A molotov will help bring him down faster , but a burning tank can do double damage to your team , buy beating and burning at the same time. If he decides to re-asphalt the ground, you had better get some cover, you cannot out run it in the open. On expert even the fragments from the piece of concrete can get you so total cover is essential.

Just got it for XMAS. Been behind due to the birth of my daughter.

Can anyone recommend some MODS for this game which enhance the experience?

Game till you die..

XIPOTEC