Rescue Closets

"I know you're out there! Now LET ME OUT!"

- Bill

When co-op Survivor players die in Left 4 Dead, they enter Spectator Mode. Once the other team members have traveled a certain distance from their body, the dead Survivor will respawn in a Rescue Closet; usually a small room with a single door.

The respawned Survivor cannot get out of the Rescue Closet unaided and must wait until the door is opened by another Survivor. During this hiatus, alive human players will "see" the resurrected Survivor outlined in an orange aura and will will hear that person yelling for help.

When the door has been opened, the once-dead Survivor will rejoin the team with a Tier 1 weapon, a Pistol, and 50% health.

The weapon they spawn with depends on what weapon they had when they died. If the player had a Submachine Gun or Assault Rifle, they will spawn with a Submachine Gun and Pistol. If the player had a Pump Shotgun or Auto Shotgun, they will spawn with a Pump Shotgun and Pistol. If the player dies with a Hunting Rifle, there is a 40% chance of spawning with a Pump Shotgun, and a 60% chance for a Submachine Gun.

Rescue Closets do not feature in Versus and are removed from Realism mode, so Survivors that die in either of these modes will only respawn in the Safe Room at the start of the next chapter.

When a player rescues a Survivor from a closet for the first time in Left 4 Dead, they get the achievement Hero Closet.

If all the human players in a game die, the mission will end and restart at the safe room at the start of that chapter (or the safe area if on the first chapter of a campaign). This is because Survivor Bots cannot navigate the level by themselves (unless "sb_all_bot_team", and sv_cheat is set to "1") and must rely on human players to lead them.

Players trapped in rescue closets are safe from Infected and random gunfire. Left 4 Dead 2 has fewer rescue closets due to the inclusion of Defibrillators.

The plot line logic behind rescue closets was that a "dead" Survivor was instead so badly hurt that they crawled into a closet and barricaded themselves in but could not subsequently get out. This is explained in the Left 4 Dead Commentary.

Tips

 * If you are the last Survivor, move to a safe location and attempt to wait things out. Once you see the orange outline and hear the respawned Survivors shouting, run to the closet they are in (all Survivors will respawn in the same closet) and rescue them. However, if you are closer to a safe house, go there and close the door behind you. Everyone will be back when the next chapter starts.
 * If the last Survivor dies, everybody will restart at the chapter's starting safe room.
 * If a Survivor needs to be rescued in a bathroom full of stalls, you can go to the other stall, climb the toilet and see them banging the door but they will not see you until you open the door.
 * If you die in Single Player mode, you are given no chance to respawn. Instead the chapter is restarted from the beginning safe house. In other words, you can only respawn in a co-op game.
 * In a Left 4 Dead 2 campaign, when far away from a dead Survivor it is often better to go straight on instead of using a defibrillator because chances are they will respawn closer to you in a Rescue Closet.
 * AI Bots will not take defibrillators or revive other survivors in any mode in Left 4 Dead 2.


 * Sometimes opening the door will do nothing. In this case walk in and the survivor should spawn.
 * When the door is destroyed, the closet will lose the ability to spawn survivors.

Closet Stratregy

 * In Left 4 Dead, the rescue closets can be also used as a defensive point during hordes, crescendo events, or even finales, known as the closet strategy.
 * The strategy is:
 * 1. After starting the Crescendo event or Finale, the team runs into the closet together.


 * 2. Two Survivors crouching at the front using Shotguns, while the other two stand at the rear using Submachine Guns, Assault Rifles, or Hunting Rifle variants.


 * 3. As the enemy can only attack from the doorway, the Survivors can simply spam gunfire on the doorway to eliminate the horde.


 * During the Panic events or the Crescendo events the team should stay in the closet until the event is finished.
 * During the Finales, the Tank is a problem as he can easily defeat the Survivors when they stay in the closet. So when the Tank music cue starts, the Survivors have to leave the closet immediately to fight against him. After the first fight, Survivors should grab ammo and any supply they need and return to the closet, while after the second fight, the Survivors should go for the rescue vehicle.
 * This strategy only works in Campaign mode. In Versus mode and Survival mode, respawns are off and the closets are removed for game balance. While in Single player, Bots have problem following human players into the closet.
 * This strategy is ineffective in Left 4 Dead 2, not only because Chargers and Spitters can easily do a lot of damage to the Survivors, but also the new Gauntlet Crescendo events require Survivors to be on the move. However the general defensive tactic when Survivors have to stay in one place is still the same: Stay together in a corner or hallway that the enemies' can only attack from one or two direction, while the place is open enough to manuver from Chargers, Spitter goo, and even the Tank.