Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2

121 ratings
☣ Versus tips ☣
By Phantasmal Warlock
This guide is meant for those new to "versus" in left 4 dead 2. I will bring up common mistakes people make and why you shouldn't do like that way.
   
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Versus
You probably know what versus is, but just in case you don't, versus is kinda like playing regular campaigns, but the special infected (Hunters, smokers, boomers etc) are controlled by players. You either start by playing as zombies yourself and then play as survivors or vice versa. The team to gain the highest score wins, and you gain points by getting as far as possible as survivors. Getting to the saferoom or escaping during a final will give your team the highest score, obviously.

I have played versus a lot and see many players do certain things that gets them wounded or killed very quickly. I will bring up some of them and explain why you shouldn't do that way.

Running after special infected
This is something I actually see rather often. A zombie, a charger for example, attacks a survivor but miss. The charger runs away in hope to be able to recharg and attack again. The survivor follows the charger, hoping to be able to kill it before it escapes. The charger has recharged his attack, charg at the survivor again and the survivor dies because he/she ran after and got separated from his/her group.

The best example of this was one time when I tried to smoke someone to a ledge. I missed and the survivor ran after me. I recharged my attack, got him on my second try, charger came and insta killed him by charging him off the roof.

If a special zombie tries to attack you but miss, try to kill it, but do NOT run after it! It works sometimes, because it often need some time to recharg, but run after it and you are in a risk zone, especially if you are new to the game. It's often better to let it run away and kill it next time it tries to attack you.



Respawning too early
Something I see people do every once in a while is respawning way too early while playing as zombies.

Why is it bad to respawn early?

Every zombie make sounds (except hunter while being idle) so when you spawn very early, the survivors will know where you are and be ready for an incoming attack. This will often result in a fail attack. It might sometimes even get you killed before even being able to attack, since survivors can kill you by shoting through thin walls, doors etc.

What should you do instead?

Respawn somewhere up high where they can't hear you very well or kill you outright. Or wait untill they are very close and then spawn (which is what I recommand the most). By doing so, the survivors will hopefully be taken by surprise and it will higher your chances to make a sucessful attack.

Obvious attacks
Many teams always attack at the same place everytime. This makes it so obvious and will keep the survivors on extra guard. Good examples of this are areas everyone always attacks at and rooftops (I'm thinking especially of No Mercy hospital roof).

I'm not saying obvious attacks are always bad, they can still suceed very well if the team is good, but it may sometimes be better to attack at less obvious locations. Places the survivors do not expect you to attack.

Keep in mind though that you should pay attention to what your team is doing. If your whole team wants to attack at those obvious places, then do that as well. It's better to attack with them than attacking alone.

But if you can get your team to attack as less obvious locations, that's good. Surprise attacks often works better if executed well.

Tank attacks
A tank may have a high health, but they are not unstoppable. What some people tend to do while playing as a tank is to simply run forward to the survivors and die instantly. If all 4 survivors attack the tank at the same time from a safe distance, then the tank can actually die in less than 10 seconds.

What do I do?

When you play as a tank, take a quick look around your enviroment and see where the survivors are. It is suicidal to just run in open areas, especially if they have green health since, as earlier said, it can kill you almost instantly.

Instead...

1: If you can't think of a good tactic, then it may be better to lose your control and leave it up to someone with more experience. You lose control over the tank by not attacking the survivors for too long. KEEP IN MIND though that it only works if you start as the tank! If someone else played as a tank before you, then losing the control will turn the tank into a bot, and you don't want that to happen. Bots are terrible. Your team can only lose control over the tank once.

2: Look around for powerful objects such as cars, forklifts and dumpsters you can punch towards the survivors. One hit will incapp a survivor no matter his/her health. There are smaller objects a tank can use that doesn't always incapp them, but can still be good to use against them. Bricks and boats in "The sacrifice" campaign for example.

3: If you can't find any cars or other good objects and you can't reach the survivors safely, then you can either try to find a high place, like a rooftop and throw rocks at them, or wait for your team to attack. Boomers are especially good at situations like these since it will slow the effected survivors down and it will keep the survivors busy. A combination with rocks and help from your team might also be a good idea.

4: But if the survivors are already in a bad situation, like if they are in a crowded area (inside buildings with small corridors/rooms), very busy fighting off other zombies or very low on health, then attacking directly may be a better option.

5: If they throw a molotov or lit you on fire with a gascan, if possible, try to put the fire out by walking into water. Not deep water though! Any type of water that will kill the survivors if they fall in will kill you as a zombie as well, but water you don't die in can be of great use. Examples of this are sewer water, the water at the Death toll final, water puddles in Hard rain, The passing and the puddle in the container in The sacrifice final.

So always keep an eye out for the survivors health, enviroment, if you have any objects to use and if you have any alive teammates that can help you out and decide what to do based on the situation in hand. Don't be afraid to change tactic! If it doesn't work to run towards them or throwing rocks or whatever you are doing, change tactic and try something else, and communicate with your team if you are unsure.




Attacking alone
While playing as a zombie, always attack togheter with your team!

Why?

Because when you attack alone, all the other 3 survivors can help the one you attacked togheter and kill you very quickly. It is especially stupid to attack alone when you are a spitter (which I actually see people do quite often) since spitters are useless alone unless the survivors are trapped inside a crowded area.

While attacking togheter however, if you do it right, instead of 3 survivors helping one, it's the opposite. 1 survivor helping the other 3. If you make a very good attack, then you might keep all the survivors busy at the same time and potentially kill them all in one attack.

The only time it's a good idea to attack alone is either when a survivor is alone and you know you can take him/her, or when someone is incapped and you know you can finish him/her off as a hunter without getting killed by the other survivors (which by the way is a very good tactic if you can pull it off).


If you are unsure where and when to attack, communicate with your team. Don't be afraid to ask if you don't know. You will most likely learn where most teams attack (going back to the obvious attack locations), but if you have never played that map before, or the team you are with are more creative, then it may be hard to know what to do sometimes without communication.

Bad priorities
While playing this game, especially in versus, it's important to know how to prioritize properly.

A good example of this is when one survivor is incapped (down on the ground) and one is taken by a hunter. A third survivor arrives and tries to help the incapped survivor up first before killing the hunter which result in death for the survivor taken by the hunter.

Another example is when 2 survivors are incapped. One is just down and is okay otherwise, and the other one is puked on and surrounded by zombies. He/she can be saved if someone kills the zombies, but instead, the third survivor focus more on the okay survivor.


You must be able to make fast decisions. If all other survivors are incapped, make a decision who you should help first. Does one have high health and one low? Then perhaps it's better to help the one with low health first. Is someone getting killed by a hunter? Kill the hunter first, then help the incapped survivor.


Same thing with aidkits. You need to decide who to heal and when sometimes. Do you think you can go on for a while without healing? Or is it better to heal now? Is a tank going to spawn or a panic event (incoming hordes) about to start? Then perhaps you should heal now if your health is low. If the coast is clear, then perhaps wait.

Should you touch yourself now, or wait? Lol


Going alone (rushing)
Unless your whole team is down and you have zero chances to save them, do not run alone!

The odds of you surviving by yourself is very low, even if you have a lot of experience with this game. Not only will you most likely die eventually, but you leave your team behind with one less survivor to help them out, which in turn makes them more vulnerable as well.

You will most likely get kicked from the server as well.

Stay togheter and work as a team to survive. That is what this game is about after all.

Secondary weapons
Something some players don't think about is the secondary weapon. You always have one! Can be a pistol, dual pistols or a melee weapon.

Sometimes when a SI gets me, let's say a charger, and a teammate starts shoting the charger but suddenly need to reload, what they do is wait for the gun to be fully reloaded before they keep attacking the charger.

If you run out of ammo or need to reload, pull out your secondary weapon and kill the zombie immediately and reload afterwards!

Why?

Because if it takes a few seconds to reload. By waiting, your teammate will get hurt even more and in worst case even die. If you pull out your secondary weapon, then you can kill the zombie immediately.

Keep in mind though that a single glock pistol is very weak, so if you have done no damage to a charger, then it may not be enough to kill it. But for the most part, it's good to pull out your secondary weapon.

It doesn't always have to be for someone else either. If you are surrounded by zombies and must reload, then it may be better to kill the rest of the zombies with your pistols/melee weapon instead to save some health.

Speaking english
I see many people speak their native language while playing online, and you know what, that's fine. BUT do not get mad if other people from other countries don't understand what you say.

If one or more people from your team don't understand your language and you want to tell them something, speak english. I hear people do this all the time. They speak their native language and then get pissed off and starts a kick vote against someone in the team. ^^

Granted, not everyone knows english, but a majority of players knows at least basic english.

Suggestions
If you have any more tips, please leave a comment below and I might add it to the list.

Also more touching lol.

33 Comments
♠ Freeman 8 May, 2022 @ 12:42pm 
First rule, play for fun.
Second rule, everyone in this game is toxic.
Third rule, always play with at least one friend, so you cant get kicked.
Xeno-Scout 31 Mar, 2021 @ 9:57pm 
I remember a time where my team kicked me even though I took down the entire team. I was spectating and they kicked me I guess for being idle. Some people are incredibly D E N S E
Phantasmal Warlock  [author] 29 Dec, 2015 @ 12:24pm 
I feel you K-9. It happens less now when I have a lot of experience with this game, but it happens from time to time that people kick me for no good reason, like I made a small mistake, or they want a spot for a friend, or someone wants to troll or what ever.
Oxolotl 29 Dec, 2015 @ 12:08pm 
nice tips im just pissed that im never able to use them cause of how abusive people are with the vote kick system they think their winning the world cup or something
Phantasmal Warlock  [author] 25 Jun, 2015 @ 12:36am 
You don't always need to speak or chatt with your team. Sometimes, the team agrees and know what to do anyway, but when you try to communicate and they answer you in a different language or try to command you something and expect you to know the same language they do and get mad if you don't, that's annoying.

Sometimes, coordinating is crucial for your team's sucess.
I guess it's more like an urge more than a tip, but I decided to include it anyway.
Kitsolin 24 Jun, 2015 @ 5:14pm 
Well, honestly, I don't see how speaking english is a tip. Yes, sure, it may be helpful to know atleast basic english, but really, it's not going to help you with much except for coordinating with your team, or just talking to them.
russames 22 Jun, 2015 @ 9:22pm 
one time i did somthing noone expected as charger poor people i hid in vent after them and followed last guy up ladder and boweled 2 off the roof a smoker grabbed one and hunter got the other i feel bad for spitter he got NO action XD
russames 22 Jun, 2015 @ 9:18pm 
just wanted to tell you
:)
russames 22 Jun, 2015 @ 9:18pm 
i realize your front page congrats :)
Phantasmal Warlock  [author] 22 Jun, 2015 @ 12:09pm 
I know Preaze. Some are relevant, some are not, but it doesn't matter to me.
Also, you can jump to that spot in No Mercy, I have done it several times, but it's not a good spot to be at ^^