General Strategy
From survival
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[edit] Ammo Runs
[edit] Left 4 Dead
In Left 4 Dead, there are breaks in between the waves of tanks. This is the opportunity when the survivors are able to make a run to replenish their ammo at the ammo pile. The times are:
- 1:30
- 2:30 (optional)
- 4:00
- 6:00
- 9:00
- 12:00
- 14:30, 16:30, and every two minutes afterwards
These times are dependent upon what times the tanks spawn and die. If tanks spawn far away, they might interfere with the ammo runs. Likewise if the tanks are not killed fast enough.
[edit] Left 4 Dead 2
In Left 4 Dead 2, there are breaks in between the waves of tanks. This is the opportunity when the survivors are able to make a run to replenish their ammo at the ammo pile. The times are:
- 1:30
- 2:30 (optional)
- 4:00
- 6:00
- 9:00
- 12:00
These times are dependent upon what times the tanks spawn and die. If tanks spawn far away, they might interfere with the ammo runs. Likewise if the tanks are not killed fast enough.
After 12:00, the ammo runs are not set in stone, and tanks will come continuously. If the team is very efficient at killing the tanks, ammo runs will be possible in between tank spawns, and opportunities may open up at times such as 15:00 and
17:30.
[edit] Tank Spawns
For further details of the tank spawns and the reasoning of the ammo run times, the times are listed here:
- 0:40
- 1:55
- 2:55
- 4:25
- 5:25
- 5:35
- 7:05
- 7:45
- 8:25
- 10:05
- 10:45
- 11:20
- 11:30
- 12:50
- 13:00
- 13:20
- 13:30
- 13:50
- 14:00
- 15:05
- 15:15
- 15:30
- 15:45
- 16:05
- 16:20
from here on out i’ve noticed a repeating pattern with the spawn rates, and it goes as this:
- 17:10 (00:00)
- 17:20 (+00:10)
- 17:40 (+00:30)
- 17:50 (+00:40)
- 18:10 (+01:00)
- 18:20 (+01:10) 35 second gap
- 18:55 (00:00)
- 19:05 (+00:10)
- 19:25 (+00:30)
- 19:35 (+00:40)
- 19:55 (+01:00)
- 20:05 (+01:10)
- repeat same pattern.
But there cannot be more than 2 tanks in play at any one given time. If there is 2 tanks already in play a new won’t spawn, till 10 seconds after one of the tanks dies. Further investigation still needs to be conducted into the spawn behaviour of tanks and spawn queues.
[edit] When to heal
The correct time to heal is a subjective measure but it can greatly affect the outcome of the game.
[edit] Pills, Adrenaline, and Medkits
Pills give temporary health but are applied instantaneously whereas medkits give permanent health and take time. Medkits should be used when the health is low and there is sufficient time to heal. Pills should be used in times of emergency when you need an extra boost to prevent from getting incapacitated.
In Left 4 Dead 2, there is also the option of using adrenaline. Adrenaline gives instant boost to the speed of all actions of the survivors. It allows you to outrun special infected and pick up survivors faster. However, it does not give a great bonus to your health. The adrenaline should be saved for crucial times such as when multiple survivors are incapacitated or a quick escape is necessary. It should not be used for normal healing purposes.
[edit] Essential Skills
[edit] Awareness
General Awareness is vital in Left 4 Dead. Taking advantage of the directional sound in Left 4 Dead will allow a survivor to identify:
- Where and when Tanks spawn.
- If there are threats behind or just out of sight.
- Where teammates are if they’re in trouble.
Survivors need to be weary of where their teammates are at all times and whether they’re in need of assistance, as well as being mindful of any nearby threats so as to not get capped or take damage and require teammates to divert their attention from their own position unnecessarily.
Good awareness will help prevent friendly fire and reduce damage taken from getting capped, as well decreasing the chances of being caught off guard or out of position.
[edit] Communication
Good communication goes hand-in-hand with good awareness, as no matter how good a survivor is, they’re bound to miss the occasional threat, but between 4 players it’s usually possible to identify all threats and shut them down effectively.
Good survivor teams will call when and where tanks spawn, as well as calling for ammo runs or any time a survivor has to leave their position. This informs the other players of the fact they will need to react differently if you are capped and that they may need to temporarily cover your position as well.
Also calling when you are capped will minimize the chances of you taking damage from infected, when doing so try to give positional clues as well to help quickly identify where you are (especially helpful on ammo runs or if you’re out of position slightly).
Lastly, you can continue to help your team once you’re dead by calling spawns and watching blind spots and calling when your team needs to turn around to deal with a threat, after all, the round isn’t over until everyone is dead, not just yourself.
[edit] Map & Team Knowledge
Map knowledge is arguably the most important factor in improving your record. The easiest way to gain map knowledge is to simply play the map repeatedly, you will learn more about the map and how strategies work by doing this than simply is possible by reading a guide.
There are many subtle nuances to each map and to each position on that map, such as infected spawn points and ai pathing as well item spawn locations, and the path of least resistance for supply runs as well as alternate paths (if you’re cut off).
With map knowledge there is also a degree of ‘team’ knowledge required, which is to learn how your teammates like to play their positions, as each player has a slightly different playstyle, some players will be more aggressive and chase infected down, others will play more defensively and bait infected better, some people can deal with the horde better than others but might not be as good at dealing with tanks quickly. So find a team you enjoy playing with and practice together and play each position to each members strengths and weaknesses, switch around if things don’t seem to be working.
