Today is a good day

So, today I got my medal for the Soldier (thanks to joseph).

Then, like an hour later, I got my first hat. BooYa!


(IMG:http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/1980/rubberhat1.jpg)

(IMG:http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8135/rubberhat2.jpg)

L4D Tips and Tricks: Episode 4

These are just a few tips and tricks for those people interested. Veteran players may see some as common sense, but I’m just covering everything.



This Episode: The Tank



Basic Tips:

• Know Your Role

Your job as the Tank is to lead the charge and eliminate the team, or fuck them up bad enough to where they can’t recover. This is the most pivotal part of any L4D match, as killing off a team with a Tank can mean the difference between tying or winning big (depending on if your team survives their Tank). Go after anyone who is red, or orange and slow. Let your friends help you with the rest.

• Be Patient

There’s no reason to rush in when you’re alone. Especially against a team with plenty of health and Tier 2 weapons. Wait for your team to help you. You can throw rocks from a safe distance or even pass the Tank off to a teammate if they take too long to respawn.

• Use Rocks Sparingly, Or Never

Don’t throw rocks very often. The animation takes a while and gives the survivors ample time to pump you full of lead. You should only throw rocks when you are far away or shielded enough that you won’t take much damage. Then again, you could just use that time to get close and smack people.

• Stay Away From Fire

No-brainer.

• Don’t Attack Pounced Or Tongued Survivors

Another no-brainer.

• Get Good At Punching

Some people miss a lot. There are 2 reasons why.
1. Not close enough
It can be hard to tell if you’re in range. If you are chasing someone who’s slower than you, you can tell that you’re close enough as you will slow down when you run into them. This will let you know how close you need to get.
2. Timing off
There’s a 1 second delay between when you click and when the punch hits. Because of this you have to either lead your target or punch a second early.

• Abuse Your Tools

Cars, logs, dumpsters, forklifts… Anything you can smack around. Use them and abuse them.



Advanced Tips:

• Spawn Your Infected

Ever been about to spawn only to find out you’re the tank? Spawn quickly and try to attack (or get in range) before you switch to the Tank. This will cause the AI to take control of your Special Infected. It’s like a free zombie. It’s especially good if you’re a hunter as you can pounce and then let the AI take control of the Hunter while you go Tank people.

• Know When To Go For Kills

One of the toughest things for a Tank to do is admit that he won’t be able to incapacitate all the survivors, and just go for a kill. It goes against all you’ve ever known as a Tank. But think about it. You’re on fire, you’re at 1/3rd health. One survivor is down; the other 3 are too fast. Your teammates are all dead. Just go back and kill off the downed man. If you don’t, they survivors will just rescue them when you’re dead. At least this way you got one gone for good.

• Abuse The Two Tank Finale

Again, a lot of people have trouble with this. We all want to single handedly win the game. But check it. The survivors get the same amount of points whether they die at the first Tank or the second. As the first Tank, you should focus on killing off 1 or 2 instead of incapacitating the whole bunch. If you do this, they’ll have to face the next horde with less people (and that’s easier for your Hunters and Smokers) and by the time the 2nd Tank arrives they’ll be pretty screwed. This may not matter too much against weak players, but it’s the best way to take out a good team.

• Be Unpredictable

I always get people by acting like I’m going one way, then turning around and smacking that Green guy chasing me. Suddenly he’s not so green anymore. Always be unpredictable in your movements and you’ll get more people and take less damage.

• Be A Guard Dog

One tactic I’ve used to great effectiveness is being a guard dog. Basically, you incapacitate one or two survivors, then your Hunters pounce on them, and you just guard them so that the other survivors can’t save their teammates. Once the Hunters have killed their prey, you all go after the rest.



Tips For Tank Helpers:

• Wait For The Tank

If you know you’re getting a Tank soon, wait for it so you can all attack together.

• Attack

The Tank needs distractions to get close enough to kill. Boomers should spawn behind (this is the only time they’ll spawn behind) and as the survivors back up, treat them to some bile. Smokers should try to snag someone or maybe drag someone over to the Tank, and Hunters go for pounces. Try to target survivors with Molotov’s.

• Once The Tank Gets Going

Go for incapacitates on the one’s who are left standing.

• Do Something

Sometimes you’re left in a position where you can’t help out the Tank much. Say you’re a Boomer or Hunter and the Tank chased the survivors away from you. If you can boom on or pounce on someone who’s down and kill them off, do it. Your Tank may want help catching the other three, but if you’re not in position to do that, at least you can kill off someone.



Well that’s all I can think of for now, but if you have any tips you’d like to share, post them on here.

L4D Tips and Tricks: Episode 3

These are just a few tips and tricks for those people interested. Veteran players may see some as common sense, but I’m just covering everything. By the way, there will be additional tips for each class covered in the Tank Episode.



This Episode: The Hunter



Basic Tips:

• Know Your Role

Your job as the Hunter is to dish out the damage and incapacitate people. You should be working alongside other Hunters and teaming up to take them out.

• Know Your Pounce Spots

There’s a ton of great places to pounce from high up. Locate them and practice them.

• Be Patient

One Hunter attacking a group of survivors usually does nothing. Wait until you’ve got a Boomer and Smoker to help you, or at the very least wait to go in tandem with your other Hunter.

• Stay Quiet

Don’t crouch until you’re just about to pounce. Shh! They’ll hear you!

• Know Your Prey

Go after stragglers, or anyone who is alone. You’ll get the most damage that way. If you’re going to attack a group wait until they get boomed or you have a lot of help.

• Use Big Pounces On Red People

Aim for the weak ones, and take them out. A big pounce can incapacitate on contact.

• WITCH!

If you don’t have a Smoker alive to be with the Witch, then it’s your job. Wait in the shadows for someone to try to crown her, then pounce on them, freaking out the Witch. Or, the location of the Witch may make you want to simply crouch behind her and make a fuss. Either way, get that Witch in motion.



Advanced Tips:

• Bouncin’ Off The Walls

Sure, you can jump off walls to scale buildings, but it’s also great to pounce with. Try starting high, then jumping off a wall or structure even higher and using that to pounce. Or, at ground level close to survivors, jump away and up, off of a wall (or tree) and back. You can usually get a 10 point pounce, which is a lot better than doing a normal (no damage) pounce.

• To Purple, Or Not To Purple?

Should you pounce on survivors covered in bile? Depends. If all 4 are purple, go for it. If 3 are purple, your Smoker should grab the last one so you can pounce on a purple dude. If 2 are purple, it’s a toss up. If only one is purple, go ahead and pounce him, because you’ll get extra damage and defense from the horde. But back to if 2 are purple.
• Advantage Purple
Extra damage, hopefully one non-boomed is being dragged and the other is chasing after him, allowing you to fuck up the one you pounce.
• Advantage Other
Boomed survivors can’t see your red silhouette and they will have a hard time stopping you with the horde coming. This will allow you plenty of time to slay your prey.
In the end it comes down to how good your teammates are and what the survivors are doing.

• To Flame, Or Not To Flame?

With the new update, the flame damage seems to have gone completely. The update stated reduced damage, but it seems to be no damage. Until this is cleared up, no flame.

• Know Your Damage

Swipes = 6.
Pounce Impact = 0-25 damage
Pounce Damage = 5 damage per hit. (1 hit every .55 seconds, 9.1 dps)

• Know Your Impact Damage

Pounce impact damage is determined by distance. Not height. Not gravity. Distance. Think of it like a triangle. The greatest distance is the hypotenuse. So you not only need to jump from above, but also far horizontally. You’ll find you really don’t have to get that high to do 25 damage pounces. Use this to your advantage.

• SWIPE!

Don’t forget your swipe. It’s great to use after someone knocks you off a victim, it’s also great to use against people who are in the red. You can use it to stop people from helping each other up, and you can use it in tight spaces where you can’t pounce very well. You can even use if for some damage when a team is corner camping. Remember you are the fastest one… the only infected faster than the survivors (healthy).


Well that’s all I can think of for now, but if you have any tips you’d like to share, post them on here.

L4D Tips and Tricks: Episode 2

These are just a few tips and tricks for those people interested. Veteran players may see some as common sense, but I’m just covering everything. By the way, there will be additional tips for each class covered in the Tank Episode.



This Episode: The Boomer



Basic Tips:

• Know Your Role

Your job as the Boomer is cover people with bile as much as possible. Seems simple, but remember, without you your teammates are easy pickens. You’ll need to set up attacks with your bile, and give the survivors a bunch of infected to deal with while your teammates respawn.

• Know Your Puke

Your puke arcs. This is good because it allows you to actually shoot over stuff, as well as get surprising distance by aiming upwards. Practice, and you too will cause survivors to say, “How the fuck did he boom me from way over there?”

• Be Quick About It

Spawn and attack as early and as often as you can. Patience is for Smokers. That’s not to say be reckless. It’s just that you can’t wait around forever trying to find the best place to spawn and boom. You gotta be fast and effective.

• Spawn In Front

You’re slow and fat. You’re not catching up to anyone. Spawn in front and ambush them.

• Spawn At The Last Second

Boomers are easy to hear and locate via sound. To minimize this spawn at the last second then attack immediately. It takes some time to get good at it, but once you do you’ll be that ninja boomer who comes out of nowhere and is nigh unstoppable. Good places to spawn are right around corners and behind small objects (big enough to allow you to spawn, but small enough for you to easily go around and quickly spew).

• Don’t Let Downed Survivors Get Lonely

There’s really nothing funnier than swiping at a downed opponenet, knowing that if someone shoots you you’ll just send a ton of infected at them. This can quickly someone if the others are busy. Or you can always try to spew on them and then charge at the others. Whatever you feel would be best.

• Attack After The Horde

When there’s a horde, there’s no reason to boom. It won’t make the horde any bigger. Wait until they’ve finished off the horde, then move in.

• Get Them In The Open

Try to boom on people in the open. It’s often too easy for survivors to corner camp in tight spaces. Sometimes this is unavoidable, and in those cases, just do your best to separate and destroy. But still try to get them in the open.



Advanced Tips:

• Take One For The Team

Don’t be afraid to sacrifice yourself for the good of the team. You’re the only one that can actually accomplish something by dying. Use that. It takes 30 seconds to recharge boomer bile. By that time you could have already died and respawned. So after you blow chunks, hop into the mix and create as much chaos as possible. Also remember that because suicide booming is instant, (as apposed to the primary attack which takes a second) it’s more effective against good players.

• Team Up With Your BFF

Your BFF (Best Fucking Friend) is the Smoker. He’s your Home Slice. You’re his Home Skillet. When the Smoker drags a guy away, get in between him and the rest of the group. Use your swipe attack on the person being dragged. If they shoot you, you get bile on him and maybe others. If not, then the Smoker gets a protected drag and they still have to deal with you. After the carnage, the Smoker will buy you a beer. Hey, is that Smoker pulling someone dangerously close to a cliff? Hmm… let’s leave that for another section.

• Stuck In The Middle With You

This has partially been covered in the previous two sections, but it’s easily worth a mention. Say you boomed on two survivors. After that get in between the purple ones and the other ones. Start swiping away. Even if they melee you away, you’ll be too close to the other survivors. Even if you explode on people who are already covered, it will restart the amount of time they are blinded, so it’s still worth it. Add in 4 damage swipes, extra annoyingness, and the possibility of exploding on the other two? That’s good Boomer play there.

• BOOM!

What’s the most devastating thing you can do as a Boomer? How about kill the entire team? Sure, it’s hard as hell, but it’s possible. Just as your BFF loves the ledges, so should you. The knock back on a Boomer exploding is strong enough to knock people off of ledges from a surprising distance. I’ve personally seen a Boomer knock 3 off on NM4. Other fun places are NM3 (going from rooftop to inside the building after the lift) and any cliff in BH.


Well that’s all I can think of for now, but if you have any tips you’d like to share, post them on here.

L4D Tips and Tricks: Episode 1

These are just a few tips and tricks for those people interested. Veteran players may see some as common sense, but I’m just covering everything. By the way, there will be additional tips for each class covered in the Tank Episode.



This Episode: The Smoker



Basic Tips:

• Know Your Role

Your job as the Smoker is to separate the survivors (preferably right before or right after a boom) as well as force the survivors to go places they don’t want to go. Going for tight quarters pulls and acting alone is just a waste. Try to coordinate with the Boomer.

• Abuse Ledges

Whether you’re pulling guys off the edge at the end of NM4, off the roof on NM3, of the catwalk on BH2, or just pulling someone close to a cliff on BH… abuse those ledges. Fall damage is great alone, plus it separates the group. And just getting someone near the edges gives you the chance to knock them off via knock back from Boomer explosion or Hunter pounce, or just people accidentally taking a trip of a cliff.

• Abuse Car Alarms

If you don’t already do this, you’re probably a noob. Either way, pull people to cars with car alarms to treat them to a nice party.

• Know Your Targets

Who you gonna pull? Well, generally, the weakest player on the other team. The guy sucks the most. Mostly, these types of people don’t communicate well (that’s why they suck) so you should be able to drag them away and eat their brain for a bit. Otherwise, let color be your guide. That doesn’t mean, “Aim for the black guy”. Racists… It means, go after people in this order: Red, Orange, Green, and then Purple.

• Stay away from Purple

Unless all 4 guys are purple, you should never pull one. Why? Because it’s hard to pull people away when they have bile on them as the common infected will block the pull. Sure, the survivor will take damage, but you want them to slide far away from their friends and still take damage. Plus, when pulling away someone who’s not boomed, it’s very difficult for the purple teammates to help that guy out.

• WITCH!

Probably the most devastating thing I do on a regular basis is pull people into Witches. It’s almost always a free KO. Abuse it.

• Use Fire

It’s silly how many people never even try to pull people through fire. Do it. Extra 10 damage per second is great, and there are a few good locations (After the gas station explodes on NM3, NM2 subway fire. Plus Molotovs.



Advanced Tips:

• Protect Your Tongue

Since survivors and shoot your tongue to stop your drag, it’s a good idea to protect yourself. If at all possible, pull from a position that will allow you to pull them all the way to you. Not only can you get more damage in that way, but there’s no tongue to break. If you can’t do that, try to have your tongue in a location that’s hard to see or in the shadows.

• Intelligence From Above

Mostly Smokers should attack from below, pulling people down. But they can also attack from above. But you must be smart about it. Pulling someone from above doesn’t pull them very far from the group and often results in less damage and less of a problem for the survivors. What to do? Only pull from a rooftop after a boomer has boomed some people. Take advantage of the confusion. Or… attack from ground level. Try to pull them away instead of just using the safe rooftop route.

• Know How Your Damage Works

How do you deal the most damage as a Smoker in a certain situation? If you know how Smoker damage works, then you can figure it out. A Smoker does the following damage.

On Pull: (Fall damage) + (Fire damage) + Drag damage + Attack damage.
Fall damage = depends on height. Can be huge, maybe up to 80.
Fire damage = 10 damage per second
Drag damage = 3 damage per second
Attack damage = 5 damage per hit (1 hit every 1.1 seconds)

Attack damage is when they are pulled to you and you are smacking them, or when they are hanging, or when they are pinned against something. Also, don’t forget that you have a swipe attack that does 4 damage. Speaking of which…

• Don’t Forget Your Swipe

You can swipe people for 4 damage a pop. Don’t forget that. Sure, most of the time you won’t use it, but there are some times when you should. These are including, but not limited to:
1. People on the edge of cliffs – a swipe has knock back. It’s small, but it can be enough to knock someone off a cliff. If you drag them over to you, and another survivor melees them free, you might be able to get a cheap KO or instant kill by swiping one off the side.
2. Almost dead survivors who are being revived. If you’re the only infected alive, and you have to wait on your tongue, and an almost dead survivor is being helped up. Go in and swipe. Make sure you swipe THE DOWNED MAN. This will prevent them from getting up plus it gets them closer to death. It can be huge.



Well that’s all I can think of for now, but if you have any tips you’d like to share, post them on here.