The Church

"There's lights on in that church."

- Zoey

"Mister, if one of us gets killed out here, I'm gonna shoot my way in there and beat you to death with my gun!"

- Louis


 * For the actual in-game church, see Riverside First Church.

The Church is the third chapter of the third campaign in Left 4 Dead, Death Toll. It takes place near the town of Riverside, beginning inside of a safe room located in a caboose. The Survivors must make their way through an abandoned trainyard, down an empty street bordered by thick woods, and ultimately they reach a church with a safe house.

Campaign
When starting from this chapter, the AI Survivors will grab:
 * Bill will grab a Pump Shotgun.
 * Francis will grab a Pump Shotgun.
 * Louis will grab a Submachine Gun.
 * Zoey will grab a Submachine Gun.

When the Tier 2 weapons are found, they will grab:
 * Bill will grab an Assault Rifle.
 * Francis will grab an Auto Shotgun.
 * Louis will grab an Assault Rifle.
 * Zoey will grab a Hunting Rifle.

Otherwise, they will keep the weapons they had in the last chapter (see "The Drains" for a list of weapons they will grab there).

Those drains must have been awful, assuming you went through them. However, you're out now; enjoy the fresh air! If you're starting here, just get ready as usual. Have everyone grab a weapon (you only have Tier 1 weapons if you started here) or ammo if they need it. If anyone's injured from the past chapter, go ahead and heal up. You've earned it. When everyone's ready, open the door and head out into the dark, creepy train yard. Lovely, right?

At this point, there's a few key points of interest, which may even hold some nice goodies, like Tier 2 weapons or other supplies:


 * To the player's right, there's a big brick building. Inside the dark room through the door, there might be some nice stuff.
 * To the left, although it's pretty hard to miss it, there's a big tower. Ascend the stairs to the lighted room at the top and check the table against the far wall. Just be careful up there! There's one nasty fall, and the AIs like to break the staircase railing.

Whenever the player is ready, keep heading through the trainyard until he reaches some stairs. Looking to the left of those, there's another room which may yield good things. Head up the stairs, either way, and be sure to check the rooms to your left! There's an unbreakable door in the darker one, which is effective if the player needs a place to catch his breath, and items will usually spawn in the lighter one. Continue over the fence and drop down.

''This is one of the few most likely times for a Tank or Witch to appear. If you hear either before this, get ready as you will, and try to spare a Molotov for the Tank.''

Another dark street. Why is everything dark around here? Oh, well. Go up the street, where avoiding the woods is advised, and take a look inside of the building to your right. There's a first-aid station in there, and maybe further supplies (or weapons, if you're still looking) on the table. Get what you can, and keep following the street. Oh, nice, a cabin in the middle of nowhere... It's not as bad as it might sound. The garage to its right is a nice place to fight hordes from, and there are usually even more supplies inside of the house itself. If the player has found no weapons yet, chances are, there will be some in here next to the television set. Give it a thorough search if you can (you're going to need it), and get going.

An abandoned ambulance stands in the middle of the road, which usually has health supplies. Bodies pile up in front of a wall, and somebody painted over the sign so that it now reads, "Welcome to Hell." Totally a great omen, right? Ignore it and enter the graveyard. It's dark; it might be scary; but, no, nothing is going to crawl out of the graves... yet. There's lights on in the church at the end of the path. Get there.

Though there might be a safe house here, don't open the door just yet. The player might hear the disjointed rantings of somebody. Oh, a new friend? Maybe you can add him to your entourage! ...Not quite. The player should find weapons and ammo in the entrance room, and probably gas cans scattered around the place. As long as the player doesn't leave the gates of the yard, you won't get jumped by anything. Set up, and be prepared to talk to the person in the church.

At this point, a few hordes are going to come rushing at you in a mini-finale. Deal with them how you like best, just watch out for each other. Take advantage of the supplies presented to you here. Once the player has gotten through the several somewhat difficult waves of the Infected, you'll hear the Church Guy either start growling, coughing or most likely gurgling. When the player is finally able to open the door, our friend the "Church Guy" will have changed into either a Hunter if the player heard him growl, a Smoker if the player heard him cough, or a Boomer if the player heard him gurgle. Kill him, but be careful if he's a Boomer (which he usually is)! Covered in bile, it's especially urgent to get everyone inside and close that door!

You've made it. You're in Riverside. But this is not the end, of course. Take a moment to catch your breath and heal up, and get ready for The Town.

Left 4 Dead 2 Version
The map uses the Versus version from Left 4 Dead even on co-op modes, meaning there are more entry points for infected during the church crescendo. Most notably the blockade over the large windows opposite the safe room door are removed. In addition to the changes already present in the Versus version, the freezer door has been removed to prevent players from camping there and not continuing their progress. The Church Guy still only transforms into a Hunter, Smoker or Boomer.

The Survivors
Now that humans are controlling the Special Infected, things can only get harder. However, they can't spawn until you leave the safe room. That doesn't mean that you should let them have a good chance to find just the right spot, though! Hurry up and get your supplies, and get running!

There is a building to the left of the starting safe house that if you climb up the stairs towards can be deadly. It is easy for a good Special Infected team to rip you apart whilst climbing the stairs. Smokers will have an easy job of pulling you off the stairs and instantly incapacitating you. There can sometimes be a second pistol or Tier 2 weapons, but it is often not worth the risk of possibly losing large chunks of health.

Whilst progressing through the level, remember that you are playing against human players, not computer-controlled players. They will not wait for you to come to them, and if they do, it's because they have an ambush location that could be fatal to you and your team. With this in mind, you need to keep moving. However, moving hastily and without concentration could be your downfall―move quickly, but with caution.

This level is not too bad for the Survivors, but not too great. This is because most of the level is open and your only real concerns are the Hunters and the Smokers. Unfortunately, the Boomers can also effectively induce havoc and chaos in certain sections of the level. There have certainly been worse levels, but overall, it's a rather mixed bag. Remember that your enemies will try to anticipate your moves and will attack when you are vulnerable or alone. Keep in mind the locations that you'd hate to be attacked in and exploit your knowledge as an Infected for use as a Survivor.

One area that will be quite bothersome to the Survivors is crossing the fence through the stalled train. Smokers enjoy pulling Survivors off the ledge, forcing them to wait for their teammate to climb back up. If you see a friend of yours get pulled down to the trees, you can either quickly rush to his aid or attempt to shoot the Smoker from the bridge. Bear in mind that a Boomer may be waiting for another Survivor to vomit on, or a Hunter may be lying in wait for a victim. Once you have freed the fellow Survivor, make your way as quick as possible back to the top of the bridge. It is not advised going ahead without your team, as a Hunter can lie in wait and take down a lone wolf before his teammates could come to his aid.

The Crescendo Event at the end will more than likely be difficult for an inexperienced team of Survivors. Remember that while making use of common tactics is generally a good idea, your enemies will most likely be aware of these tactics and will exploit their weaknesses. Stick together and cover each other's backs during the oncoming waves. Make sure that everyone is still standing and not being attacked by Special Infected.

This level is a Tank nightmare; the Tank can rip apart any Survivor team, especially a human-controlled Tank. Bear in mind the locations he will spawn and how best to deal with him. Also remember that he can spawn right in front of the safe room. This is one of the worst places for him to spawn as it not only serves to attack you, but to give the other Infected ample time to set up for the horde attack when you interact with the safe room door. The Tank normally takes a tired team of Survivors by surprise if it does show up there.

The Infected
Boomers: This level was made for you. You are the sneaky one, hiding around corners and in dark areas. You stalk your victims, wait for them to be distracted, then―attack! Vomit spews in their direction; they scream rants of anger as they back into defensive positions, waiting to embrace the force of your approaching horde. The forests of this level are perfect for Boomer ambushes. There are many deadly areas that the Survivors must pass on their journey. If you notice a Smoker trying to pull Survivors off the bridge, assist him by showering the other Survivors so that they have a tough time helping their fallen friend. Even if their captured friend manages to kill the Smoker, the horde will deal some damage to the other Survivors and force them to wait in one vulnerable spot for their friend to get back up to the bridge, giving your team enough time to respawn and reposition for another pull and vomit combo. If a Tank shows up, do your best to cover as many Survivors as you can. A horde and a Tank at one time is often enough to overwhelm the Survivors. Although open spaces aren't your forte, go for it! You can charge down at them while their backs are turned and kamikaze into their defensive formation. Then you can rain down your putrid bile! If you can cover the Survivors while other Infected are in position, Smokers and Hunters can use the opportunity you created to put the hurt on the Survivors. There's a Witch? Conceal her! Odds are that one genius Survivor is going to shoot you and the Witch in one go.

Hunters: Certainly, you are a deadly foe worth revering, though it's a rule of thumb to see your prey before they see you and revel in your excellence. Hunters work best in ambush situations. Another rule is to not attack a group unless you're trying to distract them, or simply scare them. Try to hide in small spaces, though. Pounce people who wander off. Always remember that you have a strong melee attack, so if you can't quite pounce, feel entirely free to melee. Hiding around Witches is also quite devilish, and effective. Remember all of those times you were pounced by a Hunter and it couldn't have happened at a worse time? Well, exploit that knowledge. Think like a Survivor, and attack when they're vulnerable.

Smokers: This is great for you. The areas are generally wide open. Open spaces are usually good because you can drag them far away from their friends. Closed spaces are not so good. Experienced Survivor teams will often adopt a "squad formation". This usually consists of three facing the front and one covering the back every so often. Let this be their downfall and snag that rearguard. With no one else watching the back, it may take the Survivors a few vital seconds to realize what has happened. A great way to pester those Survivors is to take advantage of that ledge-less bridge. When you spawn, hide inside the trees and wait for the Survivors who try to cross the train car over the fence. Once one is in a good spot without ledges, snare them and pull them down. Usually, another Survivor will come along with them to make sure that they kill you. While that is a setback, the Survivor pair must walk all the way back toward the staircase, and back again to the fence's makeshift bridge, thus, buying your team time. And if you can get your team to stall them even further for another chance for you to spawn, you can do it all over again, getting on Survivors nerves and chipping away at their health with every pull. During the mini-finale, use the graves as cover to draw the Survivors from the safety of the church to rescue their entangled comrade; chances are, the Hunters, Smokers and Infected will overwhelm and finish the team. As with the Hunter and the Boomer, don't underestimate your secondary melee attack.

Tanks: Here, the Tank is strong. Where is he not? He can strike with swift precision and force, breaking through walls of Survivors and charging through seas of lead and fire. Perfect. As with most areas, you are a force to be reckoned with. You can be the very difference between victory and defeat. However, this level is fairly open. Because of this, your rock-throw attack can be a lifesaver. Or a killer, whichever way you want to put it. As long as your enemies are not a team of extremely efficient players, you should be able to do a large amount of damage to those immune annoyances.

Survival
Corner Method


 * This method requires the Survivors to take positions in the main church room with the piano, just outside the safe room. The best corner in this one to use is the corner that is to the far left while your back is to the safe room door. With all four Survivors in this corner, the sheer firepower of your team should keep the regular waves at bay. However, when the Tank arrives, your team will be forced to either rush frantically around the room or outside to the graveyard. From either of these positions, they can conquer the Tank and then return to the corner as quickly as possible. Using gas cans and Molotovs to buy you some time for getting back into position is often highly effective.

Piano method
 * This method requires to be on the piano in the main room of the church. Have two people armed with auto shotguns, and two with assault rifles. Stand or crouch on top of the piano. Common Infected tend to run in and get stuck under the piano. Watch out for Special Infected, though. Try to use your pistols as much as possible. Smokers tend to hide outside, shooting their tongue through the windows. Have a Survivor cover the windows to stop teammates from being pulled. Hunters usually come from the small room in front of the piano. During Tank attacks, unload on him. He can't climb onto the piano, but he can punch you while on the ground. If he gets close to the piano, jump off and run while shooting. You don't have to really worry about Boomers, considering the Common Infected it attracts will get stuck under the piano.

Easter Eggs

 * The blockade and fences in front of the entrance to Riverside could be a reference to the film, 28 Days Later, in which the Survivors arrive at an abandon military blockade near the entrance of Manchester, only to find out that there are not any other survivors.
 * In the church, you can see some graffiti that has the names and death dates of the developers of Left 4 Dead. The majority of them died in October 2009, which is, of course, when the infection came to Pennsylvania.
 * In the beginning of the section, you can find one of the two "unbreakable freezer doors" found in the entire game, the other on Dead Air's second chapter, The Crane.
 * In the Church, you come across a safe room being occupied by a paranoid survivor. The survivor threatens you and yells that it "is his church". This is a reference to Resident Evil: Apocalypse where Jill Valentine and her RPD partner use the church as a hiding place, but find it is occupied by a scared and paranoid survivor. Both survivors shout "This is my church! I was here first!"