Rescue Closets

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

- Bill

Unlike in many games, when Survivors' health in Left 4 Dead drops to zero, they are incapacitated. If they aren't rescued, they bleed out. Survivors may also be thrown from high places (generally by something like a Tank). Regardless of the method, it all leads to the same thing: death. If the person that died was a human player, they enter spectator mode, which allows them to watch their teammates actions (except in Single Player). This was implemented into the game so that the people who died would be able to watch how their living teammates survived and learn how to react next time. Yet, in the event of a Survivor dying, there's still a chance. Once the others have traveled a certain distance from their body, the Survivor will respawn in a room (this does not happen in Versus or Realism mode), usually a closet or other small room.

However, the Survivor can't get out on his or her own, wherever they spawn. They must be found and rescued by another person. The Survivor will be outlined in an orange aura, and they will yell for help. When the door has been opened, they 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.

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 if on the First Level, the Safe Area). This is because Bots cannot navigate the level by their own (unless "sb_all_bot_team", and sv_cheat is set to "1") and rely on Human Players to help them reach the end.

Players trapped in closets cannot be "rescued" by Infected breaking down the doors, as is the same with gunfire.

The concept of the rescue closet was that a Survivor got so hurt they crawled into a closet and barricaded themselves in but could not get out as stated 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're in (all Survivors will respawn in the same closet) and rescue them. However, if you're closer to a safe house, go there and close the door behind you. When the next chapter starts, everybody will be back.
 * 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, and the chapter is restarted from the beginning safe house. You can only respawn if there are other people playing.
 * In Left 4 Dead 2 on a campaign, if you find a defibrillator and are far away from a dead Survivor, go straight on 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 with 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 due to 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.