Hard Rain - 3/5: Mill Escape

"Nobody wander off!"

- Ellis

In the Mill Escape the weather has begun to deteriorate as the Survivors turn around to bring the fuel back to Virgil's boat. Due to storm clouds blocking out the sun, all the Wandering Witches from the previous level become normal again and they sit down instead of walk around. This chapter has more Construction Workers than the previous chapter, but fewer Witches. You should try avoid the water as it will cause you to move more slowly.

There is also an unavoidable panic event during the whole level. As the Survivors move through the Sugar Mill, the storm will become stronger for a short amount of time. During this time, the Survivor's vision is shortened and a Horde may attack. Ironically, when the storm kicks up, Witch-like screams can be heard if one listens closely, suggesting the storm has some sort of major, un-expainable effect on them which causes them to shreik wildly, and evade to seek shelter, explaining why there are much fewer Witches in this level, and the few that still remain are mostly found under some sort of cover. (roofs, pipes, etc.)

When the hurricane hits with full force, mic chat can be severely affected due to the way the audio channels layer. This is likely an intended effect by Valve in order to maintain an aura of realism. While you can still use the mic, do not expect fellow Survivors to hear you clearly or at all sometimes. This effect is lessened indoors. However this effect was left out of the 360 port of the game.



Walkthrough
--This walkthrough is written as if on Normal difficulty.--

Survivors should take every possible item from the gas station safe room, as they will not return to it, unlike in previous chapters. Upon exiting the station, take out as many Common Infected as quickly as possible, to save from them attacking when the storm reaches hurricane conditions, which is fatal on advanced and expert difficulties. After such, the team should form a single file line, and quickly follow each other through the field and reach the elevator. Try to stay at the middle until you find the pipe, this should make navigating in the sugar field a bit easier. Be careful in the sugar cane field. A survivor could be abducted by a Jockey, and by the time you realise it, it would be too late, thus, teamwork is vital.

Search the shed near the elevator for supplies, and then ride the elevator up. Beware, since the building counts as shelter, a Witch could be taking refugee inside, so it is crucial you know where she is if you hear crying. Travel downstairs, outside. Check the house to your immediate left for weapons, if you are low on ammo. Head through the mill, being sure to keep high ground, as the water below slows you down significantly. Yet another house can be found to the left of the first section of the mill, which is usually rich in supplies. Be sure to check this house.

Continue forward, through the second part, checking the next house for yet even more supplies. Travel through here, and beware of any Witches, as they usually spawn on the path you need to take. If you are particularily good at "cr0wning", you could grab a shotgun from any of the before houses, to safely remove any Witches in your path. This, however, is not reccomended on expert of course, as the rate for failure is much higher, and the penalty is much greater, so avoidance remains the best strategy.

Once out of this section of the mill, you are basically home free, but Witch spawns are still possible, and on very rare occasions, a Witch could spawn directly infront of the saferoom door. If such happens, you could attempt to lure one of the AI teammates to it to startle it, however, it is a risky move. Proceed to the safe room, and shut the door. Chapter compete! Congratulations!

Notes:
 * It is vital to stay with your team, especially on realism or when the storm kicks up.
 * If you're playing as the Infected, when the chapter is about to start, go hide in the cane field with your team. It's a wonderful place to ambush survivors as it is very hard for them to see you through the canes and rain. Boomers will find sneaking up to survivors easier, giving them a better chance of survival. Spitters can launch their attack without being seen. The smoker's tongue is hidden by the cane so it's harder to follow the tongue and find the smoker. Jockeys and chargers can separate survivors by great distances, and along with hunters, can attack from any direction. Think Jaws.
 * For survivors, try to have rally points if you get lost. Any landmark that can be distinguished is good, such as the bright yellow ladder, the turned over irrigation line, and the pipe in the ground.

=Notes=


 * Oddly, while calling the elevator up triggers a horde, riding the elevator up or down does not. However, it could be argued that the severe storm may be blocking out the noise of the elevator to the horde.
 * When going through the flooded sugar mill, there are fewer Witches than in the previous chapter. This could be due to the smell of rain overpowering the smell of sugar, or the rain and heavy storms makes most Witches run away(as witnessed by some people who notices that the storm sounds like Witches screaming).
 * According to the writing outside the gas station safe room, a lot of the town evacuated with their kids and dogs. This explains why there are no children or dog infected despite there being a playground in the campaign.
 * An odd thing to note is that unlike the elevator in The Hospital, a survivor can get caught outside the elevator while it is travelling back up. Though this is hard to do and is rare to happen, it traps the unlucky survivor and they become easy pickings for any special infected.
 * This chapter is one of the most confusing and difficult chapters in the game in Versus mode due to the number of Common Infected and Witches. When the storms happen, the Infected players can easily separate your team.
 * On the Sugar Mill at the gas station, if you kill all of the Infected that are outside, they will reappear at the beginning of the next chapter. The same applies to all areas you revisit on the return journey.
 * From this chapter to the end the Survivors carry the diesel tanks on their back. But when they're shot in the back, they will not set off in fire as all other gas tanks in the game will. (This can be explained by the fact that diesel oil does not burn readily unless pressurized.)
 * The Survivors must have rested during the time they were in the gas station, since the sun was still out and the storm had barely begun before they entered the safe room, while in this level, the storm has worsened.
 * All of the item spawns in this level are transitioned from the first time you played through (and completed the level). This means that weapon spawns will be carried over, along with any throwables, medical kits, defibrillators, ammo packs, pills, or adrenaline shots that were not picked up. Dropped items are not carried over; only untouched items will spawn again. Try to remember where the more valuable item spawns are, especially if you were lucky enough to find laser sights. (However, in versus you can pick up everything and there will still be new items)
 * Similar to the above, if you took all of the items on your first time through, expect a very rough trip, as no additional items will spawn for you!
 * On your return to the safe room you may notice the doors have swapped leaving through the the barred exit door instead of the slit door that it was when you arrived previously.