Dead Center - 1/4: Hotel

"I ain't going back downstairs unarmed."

- Ellis

"Shit, this place is burnin' up fast!"

- Nick

The new Survivors start on top of a hotel, The Vannah, converted into a evacuation center, recently swarmed by the Infected. The Survivors witness the helicopters moving to a different location, and decide to form a group to follow them through the city. On their way down, the Infected attack, but the Survivors make it to an elevator, where become acquainted and then must pry the elevator doors open, making a loud screeching noise that summons more of the horde. Afterwards, they must fight through the remainder of the ground floor, which is on fire.

Campaign
You start off on the roof with only a second Pistol, First aid kits, two Axes and two Crowbars. After that, you head down a flight stairs (this is where you leave the safe area and when the Infected can start spawning). You have two choices: you can go through the halls, or you can go on the ledge. Both have advantages and disadvantages. You can go room through room and find many useful items such as Defibrillators, melee weapons, Pistols, Adrenaline, Pills, the Magnum, Pipe bombs, and Bile bombs. You may also find a Chainsaw in one of the rooms, making the nearby Crescendo Event much easier. After going down a long hall, you make a left, and right. When you turn, half of the hall erupts into fire, forcing you to go into a supply closet and then on the ledge of the hotel. Go to the end of the ledge via the left window of the closet, then into the last triple window. Make a right, then go down a staircase with some Common Infected. You find yourself going down yet another hall. Be careful here, as two doors will erupt the surrounding area with flames if opened, forcing you to go onto another ledge if opened. These doors can be recognized by smoke seeping through the cracks on the bottom, tops, and sides. Finally, when you reach the end of the hall, you make a left and find yourself in a large room, with a map detailing the new evacuation zone, New Orleans. Road trip, eh? You then go into the open elevator and close the doors once everyone is in. While you are in the elevator, the Survivors begin talking and get to know each other.

Once you reach the bottom floor, which is on fire, you have to manually open the elevator doors, which makes a loud creaking noise causing a Crescendo Event. Since a Silenced Submachine Gun spawns outside the elevator, Survivors may wish to quickly get out and grab it before dealing with the incoming horde. The horde can be defeated by either going to the back of the hall and defend there, or staying in the elevator. After that, you can go into a room nearby with Chrome Shotguns and, almost always, a First aid kit or Defibrillator. You must then go down a small hall that is on fire also, forcing you to move into a kitchen. You have to jump over the metal table and head into the lobby. You navigate through the fire in the lobby to reach an open door that leads to the main lobby and ultimately the safe room.

Expert Strategy
When playing this level on Expert it is recommended to have at least two human players. Once the level starts, have one person grab double Pistols and the other a melee weapon. Walk down the stairs, and have the person with Pistols open the door and shoot all Infected within the hallway, while the person with the melee weapon shoves any Infected that get close. Once the Infected are clear, run to the end of the hallway with the Pistol wielder first and melee weapon wielder second in case any Infected follow. Stand in the very back corner of the hallway clearing out any Infected that followed you out of the room. After all Infected are clear, you can search the rooms, but by doing so you risk losing some health and give time for the Special Infected to spawn. After you're done with the hallway, go into the supply closet. If you're lucky, you will find either a Defibrillator or Pain pills and possibly a Bile bomb or Pipe bomb. Once you're done with the closet, break the window north of the entrance and clear off Infected on that side; you should be able to just melee them off the building. Use the same strategy of the Pistol wielder clearing off Common Infected on the side of the building and the melee weapon wielder killing Infected that get close. Don't look through the rooms slowly, just pass them; if you seen any items, take them quickly (usually Bile bombs or Pipe bombs). Turn at the end of the hallway and run through grabbing items if it's there on the way (there might also be a Defibrillator in the bathroom). Have the person with the melee weapon open the door at the end of the hallway and kill any Infected that get close, while the person with Pistols watches their backs. Walk down the stairs and open the door using the strategy once again (Survivor with Pistols clears out Infected and Survivor with melee weapon covers them). Once the Infected are clear, go into the first door on the left and kill any Infected in that room. Run through and onto the ledge; have the Pistol wielder clear out all the Infected on the ledge and run to the room at the end. In the room there could be a Defibrillator, Pain pills, or a Pipe bomb. Once you're out into the hallway again, throw a Pipe bomb if you have one (not a Bile bomb) and kill off any extra Infected. If you go to the room on the right there is sometimes a Magnum on the desk next to the bed and, possibly, a Chainsaw. Either one of you can grab the Magnum, which is highly suggested, since it kills Infected in one hit on Expert. Search the room for Pain pills or a Bile bomb/Pipe bomb then go into the elevator. When in the elevator, you should take that time to heal. After the elevator opens, immediately go out and grab the Silenced Submachine Gun or throw a Bile bomb (into one of the fires) or Pipe bomb if you have it. You should run to the first room on the right, and in there will be a First aid kit and Chrome Shotguns. Stand at the door and kill any Infected that get close. After they are done spawning, run to the next room and kill all Infected in there. When you get into the next room, one tactic is throwing a Pipe bomb or Bile bomb and running to the area with the two desks that will occasionally have Defibrillators or Pills. Throw another Pipe bomb or Bile bomb if you have one; if you don't, go left, stay as close to the wall as possible, and kill any Infected that get close, while making your way to the safe room. If you follow this, it should work. While four human players can be an advantage, Survivor Bots can easily see through the heavy smoke from the fires which human players may be unable to do.

Versus
The Hotel is a complex and difficult series of rooms and fire. The Survivors have to walk in areas that are potentially harmful to both teams. There are plenty of instant kill spots, but do realize that you have to have precise aim, perfect timing and most of the time, luck, to kill a Survivor and not just have them hanging or miss. Also note that the Survivors have to go off on the ledge once, but if possible, you can make them have to attempt the feat again. The floor with the elevator has two doors leading to rooms filled with fires. If the doors are open, the fire leaks into the hallway, blocking their path. Do note that clawing the door open will set you on fire, so only take the risk if you know what you or your team are doing. Be very careful when spawning downstairs. The fires don't "appear" until the elevator gets close, and once you spawn, you may start taking damage because you were standing in a fire you couldn't see. Look at the ground for the darker "charred" areas when spawning.

Infected Tactics
Chargers: There are several areas where you can excel in this level, but you must know how to charge correctly. The hallway where the Survivors first encounter the Infected and the hallway with the Elevator posses a low hanging window and enough room to charge Survivors down to a seven or eight story fall, which is enough to kill them. However, the window is quite small, that even an inch off will result you hitting the window pane and causing minor damage. If you have time, line up properly in spawn mode before attempting the charge. There is also a hallway, which is blocked off, forcing the Survivors to walk on the ledge. It is very easy to charge them off the side to their death if set up correctly. There are also plenty of areas where you can bowl through Survivor teams, giving you enough time to at least damage a Survivor. In the burning area of the building, attempt to push Survivors into the fire or hit them when they are grouped close together. Sometimes, these situations call for you to charge through the fire anyway, which will surprise and confuse the enemy team, possibly long enough to get some lethal damage in.

Smokers: Indoors is not prime Smoker territory, to do well and be evil here Smokers have to think outside the box. Attempt to grab straggling Survivors to hold up the group or attack any Survivor attempting to rescue a friend from incapacitation, hanging or another Infected. There are ways, although quite difficult to achieve, to pull Survivors off the edge of the building. If you can drag a Survivor off the edge using the closet that sticks out the side of the building, then just give yourself a pat on the back for doing so. If you hide on the third-highest floor's ledge, you can grab Survivors moving along the edge. If your teammates manage to keep the Survivors there for a while, the Smoker can pull down more than one Survivor. However, downstairs in the fire is your best place, as dragging Survivors into the flames will have dire consequences to both the victim and the rescuer, especially if you managed to down your target.

Jockeys: Although there are several areas you can ride Survivors off ledges, think about the idea for a second. If a Survivor is not resisting, you can pull them off to their death, however, if they are resisting, they will hang on to the ledge. This will result in the Survivor dangling while the Jockey falls to his death. And if you only pull them off when the other Survivors aren't that close or when your special Infected buddies aren't covering you, your victim can be pulled up with only a minor scratch; leaving your Infected team a player down for some time with the Survivors at the same health. Only attempt to pull off other players when they aren't resisting or when they are far away from their team. In other cases, ride the Survivors into rooms that can provide you cover, as the Common Infected and your constant scratching will do more then a failed suicide drop. As always, attempt to get the last Survivor of the group, single bile covered Survivors or the only clean Survivor if their teammates have been boomed. Once the Survivors are on the burning ground floor, you can pull the weaker Survivors into the fire, resulting in extra damage and possibly incapacitating them inside the flame. Do note that even though they receive damage from a burning floor and a Jockey, you will also be damaged by the fire. This tactic may backfire if you grab a healthy Survivor or if you are weak. If this is the case, simply ride them as far back as you can take them. If you cannot go for incapacitation or distance, just buy time for your team to respawn.

Hunters: Much like Smokers, the indoors will not treat you well. High damage dealt to Survivors will only be caused by pinning them, your claw attack, or catching one of them far away from his or her team. Watch the situation, and remember, when you stand, you are silent. When Survivors are covered in Boomer bile, simply scratching their back will do a significant amount of damage while they shoo away the regular Infected. They may not even notice you, but remember, before the elevator, they will only have melee weapons, Pistols or a Magnum. Use this to plan whom to target with which attack. Try clawing the firearm wielding Survivors while leaving the melee weapon wielding ones to other Infected that can attack from a distance (the Charger or Smoker). When it comes to using your pounce, only attempt to pounce the lone wolf or lagging behind Survivors, to do enough damage before the rescuers can get to them. When it comes time to the elevator portion, the fire below (although it seems like a static source) is really a dynamic type of fire. Setting yourself on fire and pouncing a Survivor can deal more damage then simply attacking them alone. Do note that this will kill you due to your health being burned away. There is one thing that should be decided: when a Hunter sees a Survivor in the fire, to pounce or not to pounce. While the fire will activate your extra damage, and while the fire will burn the Survivors health too, do note that an Infected who stands in the source of the fire will lose more health then one who is just on fire. Pouncing those in the fire will always depend on the situation (what is your health what is that Survivors health, what is the distance between that Survivor and the others, will your Infected buddies be backing you up, etc). If you feel the options are good, you can take the pounce. As always, the Hunters do well based on the situation. If you can manage to make it into the safe room closet without being seen and you don't charge up a pounce, you can remain unheard and unseen by the Survivors as you delay the round end. The Survivors will often try opening and closing the safe room door repeatedly in an attempt to fix it, allowing your teammates to scrape off that little (or big) bit of health needed.

Spitters: A Spitter's main goal should always be to damage Survivors that are unaware or to buy time by blocking paths Survivors must go. However, given that this level is very straight-forward, you will probably be seen by a Survivor once you spit, and it is likely that you will die once they see you. Pick your spit times carefully. When Survivors are distracted by a horde or a special Infected that captures a friend, spit to add extra damage and force them to change their plans on the spot. However, there are times when the Survivors will simply bolt through the level, getting as much distance as they can. A single spit puddle down their only path will most likely stop them as they would not want to receive any extra (and possibly unneeded damage), buying your team time. Also, when the spit is fired, most Survivors attempt to " jump out" of the puddle, whether or not they are in it to begin with (so long as they don't see the actual goo on the floor). Use this to your advantage and try spitting on areas near fire or on the ledges; you would be surprised at the panic the goo will induce. As for downstairs during the Gauntlet Crescendo, the same rules apply. The smoke should give you better cover, but don't rely to heavily on it. Remember, bile-covered Survivors distracted with a horde can take extreme damage if you add some of your goo to their feet. Especially, if they are crowded in one room. If you already spat under their feet and one Survivor is already incapacitated while the Boomered Survivors are still fighting the horde nearby, you could let them shoot you making the acid hit all the Survivors doing an extra large amount of damage.

Boomers: Before the Survivors reach the elevator, you should know what weapons the enemy is wielding. The reason is that some Survivor teams might grab all melee weapons (especially if the Magnum doesn't spawn), meaning that the Survivors will be defenseless to prevent your bile spreading explosions. However, players that wield Pistols and Magnums should be vomited on through instant spawn and vomit techniques, or avoided at all costs. You should also note if any CEDA Worker Infected are carrying Bile bombs, and if any Survivors themselves find Bile bombs. Bile from Boomers have a higher priority over bile from Bile bombs, which is not common knowledge. Survivors may typically throw Bile bombs in response to being covered by vomit from Boomers, which will not only get them to waste their supply of Bile bombs, but be helpful during the fire portion of the map and later on, once they run out of Bile bombs completely. When the Survivors are walking on the ledges of the building, your explosion can knock them off into their hanging state. A risky strategy is to light yourself on fire before you attack the Survivors. This way, even if they do not shoot you, your health will most likely hit 0 at the time they go to melee you. This must be done extremely close to the Survivors, since fire eats away at 50 health really fast. (One deadly strategy as all players tend to push the Boomer away the a shove during this section is to take damage from another Infected to lower your health, which will cause you to explode earlier than the Survivors expect.) During the burning building portion, your main goal should still be to cover Survivors in the bile, not because it attracts the horde (as only the CEDA Worker Infected will reach the Survivors without burning, and even then, can be killed quickly), but to blind the the Survivors. Given the low visibility they suffer due to the smoke, they may not notice that a Survivor has been showered, or may not be able to tell the difference between one who has been showered or one who is taking damage from another Special Infected. They may also panic thinking a horde may come upon them and attempt to get into a corner or stop to take care of it, leaving them or the rest of the team open to your teammates.

Tanks: You must take full advantage of the Tank if it spawns. It can do extreme damage in close quarters. If you spawn on the levels before the elevator, you will have a very easy time since the Survivors don't have any Tier 2 weapons. If you spawn after the elevator you might be out of luck as sometimes you can spawn before the Survivors open the elevator and you will die of frustration. The most you can do is try punch them through the elevator. Do note that they may be carrying melee weapons, and they take off 5% of health of your health per swing. Hit Survivors off the building or into the fire, but avoid the fire yourself. And be very wary of Bile bombs, as the blinding effect will apply to you, and summon Common Infected to slow you down and damage you.

Survivor Tactics

 * The best way to get through the initial area is to move as fast as possible from the spawn point to get the jump on any camping Infected before they can even spawn.


 * Though it is highly tempting to take the Axe or Crowbar and cut your way through the Infected it is generally better for most of the team to take Pistols as it allows you to keep the Common Infected and Special Infected like the Spitter and the Boomer at a distance. Those with melee weapons often have to wait for the Infected to come to them down the longer corridors making them sitting ducks, those with Pistols can pick them off from further away much faster.


 * When moving down the corridors and clearing out rooms be very careful of Spitters and Boomers which can easily slow a team down and take off massive damage in the close quarters.


 * It is strongly recommended to watch out for Chargers, Smokers, and even Boomers (whose blast when killed can knock you over the edge) while on a ledge in the hotel. If the Survivor team is only equipped with melee weapons, a Smoker on the ledge below the first ledge can defeat an entire team of Survivors, or force a team to leave a member behind. Therefore at least two Survivors should be packing Pistols (if there's only one Survivor with Pistols that should be the first person a Smoker goes for).


 * When around the ledges always stay on the lookout for the Jockey and the Charger as these are capable of getting instant incapacitations or kills in some circumstances by throwing Survivors off the ledge.


 * Once you get the Silenced Submachine Guns and Chrome Shotguns on the ground floor you can breathe easier - you now have the firepower to repel most Infected attacks and are close to the safe room.


 * Watch out for the flames! They can really ruin your day, especially if a Jockey pulls you into them.