Left 4 Dead n00b Q&A

Q: It's pretty easy to pounce survivors, why do you say the Hunter is the hardest to learn?
A: The Hunter doesn't do any damage from the pounce and does damage relatively slowly. If the Hunter is knocked off or killed quickly, the pounce basically doesn't hurt. An effective Hunter finds isolated victims where he can spend some time clawing at them after the pounce.

Q: The Boomer seems clumsy, how do I use him effectively?
A: The Boomer is a huge target and is easy to kill, so it's important to spawn someplace where you can barf on the survivors as soon as you reveal yourself. Good examples are in the next room, around a corner, or on a rooftop. Bad examples are way out in front, down a long hallway, or way behind the survivors where you have to run for a long exposed stretch to reach them.

Q: Why does it take so long for the Infected to respawn?
A: This helps to balance the teams and encourages the Infected to be smarter about their attacks. All of the Infected (except for the Tank) can recharge their attacks if they aren't killed. The Hunter can actually recharge health as well.

As an Infected, you should go into hiding after your attack so that you can recharge and attack again. As a Survivor, you should exploit the long respawn time and cover as much ground as possible after you kill the special Infected.

Q: I'm not sure how the smoker works. Everytime I tongue someone it never seems to drag them and then it gives away my position and I'm dead.
A: Wait until your smoker reticle turns red before attacking. It's very unlikely that you'll grab somebody unless your targeting reticle is red. If you drag them over a rock or through a big tree, it will break your tongue. Doorways are usually ok, if you have a clear shot and don't get them caught on the doorjam. A good survivor team will break the tongue before you can do damage. In general, the smoker does best at pulling a survivor back or from the rooftops...it's much harder to attack survivors from in front. No damage is done until you get them all the dragged to you or they're hanging. A long drag backwards is SUPER useful, even if you don't do any damage. That usually separates the survivors or makes them backtrack.

Q: Once you've pounced with a Hunter or dragged somebody in with the Smoker, do you have to use LT to secondary attack?
A: No, you will automatically damage them when they're dragged in or pounced. You can basically go get a beer at this point.

Q: What is the best way to knock off a Hunter or Smoker?
A: LT (melee) is VERY versatile. It will knock off a Hunter, block a Hunter from pouncing, break a Smoker's tongue, block a Smoker's tongue from locking on, or push a Boomer far enough way to kill without getting barfed on. LT does not do any damage to Survivors, so it's a safe way to save your teammate without hurting them.

Q: If pounced by Hunter or dragged by a Smoker, is there anything you can do?
A: Once you're pounced, you're helpless, there's nothing you can do. Which is why, above all else, you can't be by yourself.

Q: What can I do to get better as a Survivor?
A: I'd recommend playing through the No Mercy and Blood Harvest (1st and 4th) campaigns on your own a couple of times. It's the exact same layout as versus, so you'll learn the maps. The other two campaigns are beign released as versus maps in the Springtime. You can just play on easy for a while, you mainly want to know the maps inside and out. Spend some time exploring so you know which rooms have stuff in them and which are just death traps. Most of the rooms are death traps that you don't want to wander into, but you want to pay special attention to the ones that have health cabinets on the wall, or ones that you find advanced weapons in. The cabinets are always there, but the AI director will decide whether to spawn pills or health packs. The tables for advanced weapons are always there, but the weapons aren't always there. Second pistols, molotovs and pipe bombs spawn at the AI director's discretion, they may or may not be there again on your next play through.