Weapons



The main weapons in Left 4 Dead are divided into two tiers. The first is available to every Survivor when the scenario starts. Weapons in the second tier can be found throughout the maps and at the end of the scenario, just before the Finale. All weapons can be used to melee Infected within close combat, pushing them back.

There is currently no way to distribute weapons or ammunition among teammates. All weapons have an attached flashlight with an unlimited battery; however, the flashlight's beam is only visible to the player using that particular flashlight if the other player's game settings are set too low.

Picking up either tier of weapon from a table or other location holding new weapons (not from a dead Survivor) provides a full ammo refill, equivalent to interaction with an ammo pile.

Note: Weapons will continue reloading despite the lack of reloading animation during melee attacks, provided that reloading starts before the melee attacks. This is extremely useful if out of ammo, or both primary and pistol need to be reloaded as it allows the player to shove back attacking Infected while their weapon reloads in the background. When it is fully reloaded (after 2-3 melees' time) it can be used to kill the staggering Infected.

Tier 1
Each of the Survivors has the choice of starting with one of either of the first tier weapons, but they can switch or restock ammo on checkpoints.

Tier 2
Each of the Survivors have the choice of switching their first tier weapons to one of these on later checkpoints. Picking a Tier 2 weapon up will automatically fill the reserve ammo.

Left 4 Dead 2
These weapons have been seen in the Left 4 Dead 2 footage, according to Valve there will be lower versions of Tier 2 weapons such as a Tier 1 Hunting rifle.

Unknown Tier

 * Grenade Launcher
 * AK-47

Sidearm
Each of the Survivors starts with a pistol.
 * Pistol
 * Dual Pistols (Acquired when a second pistol is picked up.)

Grenades
Each of the Survivors can carry either one Molotov cocktail or one pipe bomb.
 * Molotov cocktail
 * Pipe bomb

Close Combat Weapons
Close combat weapons are introduced in Left 4 Dead 2. The weapons are found at random points in the game (Any weapon can be obtained by any survivor when found), you cannot use your pistols until you drop the close combat weapon. According to Valve, these weapons do little to no damage to some Special Infected. The only one mentioned was the Witch. However, it is widely assumed that this applies to the Tank as well. These weapons can kill Common Infected in one hit, and can even kill multiple infected in a single swing. According GI the Witch can be killed with a single shot from the axe if placed in the back of her head. As seen in Dark Carnival footage at PAX, when picked up, the close combat weapon takes the place of a pistol. This means you must choose between infinite ammo in ranged pistols that do not kill as fast as a melee weapon, and a melee weapon that is not ranged but is instant kill.
 * Axe
 * Baseball Bat
 * Chainsaw
 * Cricket Bat
 * Crowbar
 * Electric Guitar
 * Frying Pan
 * Katana
 * Machete

Usable Items
These items found in various places in campaigns and be carried, once carried the character cannot use any other weapons until thrown or dropped, you can also use this weapon to push back infected.
 * Gas can
 * Oxygen tank
 * Propane tank

Other

 * Minigun

Trivia

 * All of the weapons in Left 4 Dead 1 reuse weapon code from another Valve game, Counter-Strike.
 * The flashbang grenade was rumored to have been made a weapon at some point, which would have stunned all nearby Infected. However, there is no proof in the game files that a flashbang grenade ever existed.
 * The posters before each level sometimes show characters with scoped MP5s, but they are not usable in the actual game.


 * There also may have been a usable knife as a melee weapon, the sound can be found in the weapons/knife folder.
 * In Left 4 Dead (with the exception of one area each in the 3rd and 4th chapters of Death Toll), all tier 2 weaponry spawns in groups; allowing players to choose which weapon they want to wield against the Infected.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2 Beta footage, single weapons of different Tiers can be seen, suggesting that players can choose if they wish to carry a different gun or continue using the same one.
 * The flashlight is mounted on each gun and is sensitive to how the player moves it. It scatters with players' movements when they reload part of a clip, reload the entire clip, melee or switch weapons.