The Terminal

"Oh god, Bill was right. They bombed the airport!"

- Zoey

"This is the most sober I've ever been in an airport."

- Francis


 * For the actual in-game airport terminal, see Metro International Airport.

The Terminal is the fourth chapter of the fourth campaign, Dead Air. The Survivors exit the safe room, and walk through a series of offices and break rooms. Once they reach the lobby of the terminal, the Survivors start a crashed van, which crashes through a gate and leads them to the next area. Starting the van alerts the horde, and the Survivors must either fight, or run to safety. The Survivors must go through the baggage handling area, and come out into a security checkpoint. There are still working metal detectors in the area, and if the Survivors walk through them, they activate them and alert the horde. The Survivors then work their way through the waiting area, and find the next safe room.

The Survivors may comment on how it seems that the Military had bombed the airport, instead of the Infected causing the damage, in order to control the spread of the Infection.

July 2011 saw the release of a Left 4 Dead 2 version of this campaign. Salient details of the changes introduced to The Terminal chapter can be found by scrolling down to the requisite section.

Campaign
When starting from this chapter, the AI Survivors 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 from the last chapter. (See The Construction Site for a list of weapons they will grab there.)

Whether you're starting out here or continuing from a past chapter, grab your weapons and whatever else you can. There are Tier 2 weapons on the table, so grab whatever suits your style. If you can, try to snipe what enemies you see that are walking around outside, as there are gaping holes in the wall that enable you to do so. Before you go out, if you're continuing, make sure everyone is healed and ready before you open the door! Once you do, you start off on the second floor of the airport. If you look over the edge of the railing, you'll probably see quite a few Infected down below. It's up to you whether you choose to engage them via sniping or a pipe bomb, or simply leave them be, though you'll have to cross paths with them, one way or another.

Seeing how jumping over the railing is impossible (and even if it weren't, it's still dangerous), you need to go through the offices. It's dark, but it's not very difficult if you listen carefully. To get through them, all you have to do is follow the corridor. It is not necessary to go into all of those rooms that you'll pass. However, it may be beneficial as some of them contain pills, molotovs, or pipe bombs. Regardless of how long you spend in the offices or how much you find, eventually you'll get through, and find the other side.

Now, you'll probably notice a few things at this point: wide, open space, a metal riot-wall in the distance, and a van. You have to start that van, which, of course, calls your buddies from the horde, because it bashes down the wall on the far side. Keep in mind, this horde is rather difficult when compared to some others, so be on your toes! It's recommended not to try and outrun this one, especially not if you're doing well. The horde and a Tank do not mix well. There are gas cans that, as you probably know, help tremendously if used properly. There are a few ways to handle this: Once you pass the gate, you'll enter the luggage department of the airport. It is quite common here to get a Tank, in which case be sure to use the short crawlspace to outsmart him, witches also often spawn in the lower levels of this crawl space meaning it's easy to avoid them. Ducking through one then back to the other side through the second one just as he is about to escape is a good tactic to keep the Tank trapped in one vent, as he always goes for the shortest route. Generally, there are weapons and ammo scattered about the room and sometimes some pills or even a First aid kit, so look carefully. After you stock up on ammo and heal yourselves if needed, continue on through the crawl space. In the space beyond, be especially careful. Witches can be a recipe for disaster in these narrow walkways. Fight your way across the raised walkways and head down at the other side. Enter through the double doors at the bottom. When you're out of that area and back in a terminal area, be careful to avoid the metal detectors! They trigger a panic event and summon a horde that you could have avoided. However, it is alright to shoot through them. The AI Survivors seem to like to travel through the metal detectors, so make sure you are ready for a fight just in case one decides to. Get past the detectors, and take a quick look around the ruined place. There is a café to your left and a shop ahead. In either of those, pills can spawn. When you're finished, continue up the stairs.
 * 1) The first and most effective way is to fight from the far corner under the escalator the you've come down from. This corner provides a wide open space to move, yet the Infected generally charge at you in a line. This method deals with Smokers, Boomers - and to a lesser extent Hunters - easily. Smokers will have to get fairly close to grab you whilst leaving themselves open to attack. Boomers will have to come down and charge at you to have any hope of vomiting on you, which gives you ample time to kill them first. Hunters generally decide to not go down there and if they do, their first pounce will usually not hit anyone.
 * 2) The second and nearly as effective method is to fight from the bathrooms. If you find a wall to put your backs to and aim towards the bathroom entrance, you should have no problems. It should be noted, however, that the wall dividing the two different gender bathrooms can be destroyed by Infected, giving them another entrance. Do not fight with your back to this wall.
 * 3) The third tactic is to fend off the horde from the desk next to the metal riot-wall that you'll knock over with the van. This desk provides an obstacle for the Infected to climb before they attack, slowing them down somewhat. The desk is also often home to pills, molotovs or pipe bombs. The downside to this tactic is that you have 180° to watch.
 * 4) The final method is far less effective at first but will prove effective once the wall has come down. Wait by the wall for the van to knock it down and then head through. There is a small office room to your left or a smaller storage room through a door to your right. Either of these places work well to fight the horde from.
 * 5) An overlooked, but extremely effective way of fighting this horde, especially on expert, is to alert the horde and make a mad dash back to the safe room. If done successfully, the horde will be stuck at the door, allowing you to destroy it with no risk to yourself. However, you may encounter the first wave of the horde in the office complex, on the way to the safe room.
 * 6) Another tactic is to run back up the stairs, and stand in the corner directly at the top. The hordes will run mostly towards the elevator, and you most likely won't see any of the horde that runs up the stairs or the elevator due to the AI standing there. Smokers often spawn at the double doors, and hunters often aim for you here, but you will face significantly less common infected from this angle.
 * 7) A useful and desperate tactic, especially playing alone on Expert, is to rush ahead and leave your computer bots to the Horde and Special Infected. Please note that the Special Infected, specifically Smokers and Hunters, that may have spawned during the crecendo must stay alive and have their attention on your bot buddies you left for dead or else this tactic is more than likely to fail. Also note that this tactic works even better when the Tank, if one has spawned, has been delt with early in the level before starting the crescendo if possible.

Up the stairs are many, many rows of chairs, and big windows, from which you can see the destruction outside. Proceed through the aisles until you find the safe house door along the right wall, but be careful, Tanks and Witches appear to be abundant in this area and it is rather frustrating to die in front of the safe room, Witches are often easy to avoid at this point as they spawn in rooms off the side, but with many common infected it's easy to let a stray bullet alert her so watch out. Get everyone inside and close the door, watching out for the inevitable special infected. Congratulations, you've made it through the Terminal. You're almost out of here. Take a breather, pat yourself on the back, and get ready. You've got a flight to catch, so head for that runway!

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!

This level is not entirely difficult, however, there are many points in the level that you need to be wary of:

Just outside the safe room and next to the door to the offices, there is a large hole in the ceiling that Infected can hide in and literally "get the drop on you". Hunters, Boomers and Smokers can each exploit this hole with equal tenacity. Stay sharp.

The offices can prove difficult for a fairly incompetent team of Survivors. Here, a coordinated group of Special Infected can wipe the Survivors out with ease, due to the sheer amount of rooms and side passages. Not only do these allow for Smokers to drag them in and Boomers to lie in wait, but Hunters can pounce any lone Survivor searching for goodies. Stick together and stay united.

The Crescendo Event will be a problem for the Survivors. There are not many places that the player Infected cannot exploit in some way. It is recommended that you fight from the bathrooms to restrict their abilities and narrow your fields of fire. Otherwise find somewhere you believe gives you an advantage over the Infected and bunker down for a fight. Do not expect the Special Infected to go easy on you; this is their opportune moment to attack.

The baggage check-in area can also prove troublesome as Tanks are generally spawned here. If the Tank spawns before the crawlspace, you're out of luck, you just have to fight him. However, if the Tank spawns before the crawlspace, you can exploit his near inability to crouch by moving in and out of the crawlspace. Even human players can fall prey to this tactic.

After moving through the baggage area and entering the metal detector area, listen out for the tell-tale Smoker cough. Smokers - especially human Smokers - have a nasty habit of dragging Survivors through the metal detectors. Keep your wits about you and do everything in your power to avoid both the Smokers and the detectors.

As with every level, do not rush for the safe room once you see it. Hunters simply love to pounce lone wolves who charge into the safe room alone. You could easily be killed before your teammates can help you. Stick with your team and do not stray away.

The Infected
Boomers: Your keyword is "hide". Hide from the Survivors and lie in wait, hide after you've vomited on them and hide them from their teammates by clouding their vision and generally ruining their day. This level is generally a mixed level for you. There are close quarters which is where you shine, and there are open spaces where you often find it impossible to succeed. Try to attack only when the Survivors are distracted or in fairly tight spaces. Vomit on them and create chaos for your team to exploit. Also, when a Survivor is low on health and you vomit on them, it can be highly beneficial to help by hitting them with your melee attack. You may find that you'll incapacitate them before they can retaliate.

Hunters: Indoors. Not great for your kind. That doesn't mean you can't be a lethal force, though! Attack the ones who head for supplies alone, the ones foolish enough to dash ahead and especially the ones farther behind. Your main opportunity to be a burden to the Survivors during this level is if a Witch shows up. Hide in front of her and watch as they shoot and startle her, or as they wait and wonder what to do with you. The former could break the Survivors, the latter would give the other Infected a chance to spawn, find a good position and attack. Remember that a badly hurt Survivor may go down in one swipe of your secondary melee attack. This will save time and possibly your life if you incapacitate them and leave to attack the others.

Smokers: Indoors. Like your Hunter counterpart, this is not great for you. However, the situation is inverse for you. Open spaces are generally good, so you can drag them far away from their friends and closed spaces are not so good. If you can manage to grab a Survivor and pull them through the metal detector, give yourself a pat on the back for doing so. 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. As with the Hunter and the Boomer, don't underestimate your secondary melee attack.

Tanks: This could either be the best or the worst area for you. It all depends on where the Director decides to place you. If he puts you just after the crawlspaces, you'll have a tough time. Survivors love to exploit your terrible crouching and you may die before even getting a chance to attack properly. This is in contrast to spawning around the metal detectors. If you spawn here, you've got a good chance to finish them off, especially since you have the ability to use the Atlas statue to your advantage. Your fellow Infected can drag Survivors through the metal detectors or you can hit them through. They may even inadvertently go through them whilst backing away from you. If this happens, a horde will arrive to the party. A horde with a Tank means almost certain doom for the Survivors.

Survival
Far Corner Method


 * Survivormode.jpg most effective way to fight the endless waves is to fight from the far corner under the escalator the you'd normally come down from. This corner provides a wide open space to move, yet the Infected generally charge at you in a line. This method deals with Smokers, Boomers - and to a lesser extent Hunters - easily. Smokers will have to get fairly close to grab you whilst leaving themselves open to attack. Boomers will have to come down and charge at you to have any hope of vomiting on you, which gives you ample time to kill them first. Hunters generally decide to not go down there and if they do, their first pounce will usually not hit anyone. The Tank can even be killed with little effort because as mentioned before, there is a lot of room to move around. There is even enough time to kill him before he reaches you. This location is also fairly close to the ammunition and first-aid kits.

Bathroom Method


 * The second method is to fight from the bathrooms. If you find a wall to put your backs to and aim towards the bathroom entrance, you should have no problems. It should be noted, however, that the wall dividing the two different gender bathrooms can be destroyed by Infected, giving them another entrance. Do not fight with your back to this wall. Molotovs can effectively "barricade" the entrance from regular Infected for a few moments, giving the Survivors time to heal and recuperate. This is not a recommended way to deal with the Tank. When he shows up, it is advised that you leave the bathrooms together. Alternatively, you can wait and concentrate your fire on him in the hopes that he'll die before he can do any real damage.

Desk Method


 * The third method is to fend off the horde from the desk next to the metal riot-wall that would normally be destroyed by the van. This desk provides an obstacle for the Infected to climb before they attack, slowing them down somewhat. The desk is also often home to pills, molotovs or pipe bombs. Smokers can only constrict you against the desk, and unless Boomers come from around the left side, they won't be a problem. Hunters are still a menace here, though. Tanks can be seen at long distances and hopefully slain before they can reach you. The molotovs behind the desk can be useful to assist in the take them down. Sometimes Tanks will spawn above the area on the balcony that you proceed across imediately after leaving the safe-room in campaign. This can be troublesome, because it will drop the tank in front of you and often allow it to take a good swing at you before you have enough time to run away. A tip off to this is when you can't see the tank ahead, but the screen rumbles, signaling he's close by, scoot toward the riot-wall, and drop a molotov close in front. Hopefully, this will give your team enough time to relocate to take down the tank.
 * The downside to this method is that you have 180° to watch. Staying to the left of the desk by the riot-wall can give snipers and assault rifles clear shots, but you always have to watch the right side, in the darker area, where the horde can flank you if you are not careful. Another issue is the ammo, which is laid out near the van, straight ahead. Although it is a fairly easy travel to get ammo, you are suceptible to Smokers along the way. A good strategy would to move up for ammo and health packs as a group, and to only go between waves. Fire can help to limit where you need to watch for a short period of time.

Left 4 Dead 2
In the Left 4 Dead 2 port of Dead Air introduced in July 2011 players are obliged to pass through a metal detector and thus activate a panic event. Likewise, the event is now a crescendo gauntlet staged from the metal detector until the player reaches the safe room. This gameplay scripting is the most significant change introduced thus far in any Left 4 Dead 2 chapter porting.

Easter Eggs

 * When Zoey comes across the statue, she will sometimes say, "Look, it's Ayn Rand International Airport." This is a reference to Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged. Francis may sometimes predictably reply with, "I hate Ayn Rand."


 * There is a sign that reads "We've got PILLS HERE!" which advertises the painkillers found throughout the game and is a reference to the Survivors' common phrase upon finding them.