Difficulty

There are four difficulty levels in Left 4 Dead. Each level refers to the difficulty of the campaign, and each is drastically different than the others. For example, on Easy difficulty, it's rare to see a Horde outside of the occasional Crescendo Event, whereas on Expert, it's likely you'll face a Horde around every corner. The specific differences between each difficulty level are listed below.

You can change the difficulty of a campaign by searching up "Make a vote" and changing the difficulty. Like voting in Versus, it requires more than half the votes to pass. In Single Player this is automatically done as you are the only human player in that campaign. This only affects the AI's damage and reflex output; if a Tank is being fought on Advanced or Expert difficulty and the team changes the difficulty to Easy, it will still retain its 8000 health pool but deal damage that it would deal on Easy difficulty. The change takes 2 seconds to take effect after the vote passes however, so be wary of the damage output of the Infected if you change from a hard to easier difficulty.

Easy
As the name suggests, this difficulty is the easiest of the four. This mode is recommended for beginners and those who want to try new strategies. This mode is also useful when specifically trying to earn achievements, as the Infected are less dangerous compared to other difficulties.

Details

 * Common Infected receive × 2 damage to the body and deal 1 damage per hit, 0.5 if attacking a Survivor's back.
 * There is roughly a 1/2-second grace period where the Survivor will not take damage after being inflicted upon. This only affects damage dealt by the Common Infected.
 * The Tank has 3000 health points, does 12 damage per hit and 75 when pounding an incapacitated Survivor. Only one Tank will ever spawn at a time during scenes where normally multiple Tanks can spawn, such as the Finales of Swamp Fever or The Sacrifice (multiple Tanks can still spawn if enforced by console commands or scripted sequences in Custom Campaigns).
 * The Witch receives × 2 damage to the body and is startled in 8 seconds. She does 12 damage to an incapacitated Survivor every half a second (equivalent damage is dealt every 2 seconds on the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead 2).
 * Friendly fire does not inflict damage, but friendly fire incidents will still register and disqualify players from earning the SAFETY FIRST achievement in Left 4 Dead. The number of friendly fire incidents will also be recorded on a Steam player's statistics on PC.
 * Molotovs, gas cans, fireworks, and explosive barrels, once ignited, can still cause damage to you and other Survivors, so watch where you throw or shoot them.
 * Note that a Survivor Bot can accidentally hit gas cans, fireworks, Explosive barrels and deal damage to you and the team. In Left 4 Dead 2, this only happens if they are using Explosive Ammo.
 * Pipe bombs, oxygen tanks, propane tanks, and Grenade Launchers will not do damage to your teammates, but will do roughly 5 to 30 damage to yourself if detonated too close.
 * As before, Survivor Bots may accidentally hit oxygen and propane tanks and damage themselves.
 * In The Sewer, Survivors can incapacitate or kill themselves by shooting the gas station.
 * The Smoker deals 10 damage per hit on ensnared Survivors and has a 3 seconds reaction time before attempting to ensnare one. The reaction time resets when the Smoker moves or is out of the Survivor's sight for more than 5 seconds.
 * The Hunter deals 10 damage per claw and 5 damage every half-second to pounced Survivors.
 * The Charger deals 5 damage per punch, 10 damage when it finishes a charge while carrying a Survivor, and 15 damage per slam.
 * The Jockey does 3 damage per hit while riding a Survivor and does 1 damage per hit.
 * Spitter acid deals an average (because damage increases as Survivors remain exposed to it) of 32 damage, and clawing does 1 damage per hit.
 * The Boomer will not vomit as soon as it sees you, waiting approximately 3 seconds before vomiting. The timer resets when the Boomer moves or is out of the survivor's sight for more than 5 seconds.
 * Special Infected usually don't sneak up on you.

Normal
Normal mode is fairly balanced, as far as the difficulties go. It is harder than easy, but not something that will quickly decimate an inexperienced player, such as in Advanced or Expert.

Normal is also the set difficulty for Versus mode and Survival mode. Differences between other modes and Versus will be stated in parentheses.

Details

 * Common Infected receive × 1 damage to the body and inflict 2 damage per hit in the front, 1 from the back.
 * There is roughly a 1/3-second grace period where the Survivor will not take damage after being inflicted upon. This only affects damage dealt by the Common Infected.
 * The Tank has 4000 health points (6000 in Versus), deals 24 damage per hit and 75 damage when pounding an incapacitated player. The Tank cannot pound incapacitated players in Versus mode and will only do 24 damage to them.
 * The Witch receives × 1 damage to the body and is startled in 5 seconds. She does 30 damage to an incapacitated Survivor every half a second (equivalent damage is dealt every 2 seconds on the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead 2).
 * Friendly fire inflicts 10% of the weapon's damage to the Survivors.
 * The Smoker does 10 damage per hit on ensnared Survivors, 2 damage per claw (4 damage per claw and 3 while dragging in Versus). And has a 1.5 second reaction time before ensnaring a Survivor. It resets when the Smoker moves or is out of the survivor's sight for more than 5 seconds.
 * The Hunter deals 10 damage per claw (6 in Versus) and 5 damage every half-second to pounced Survivors. In Versus mode, it will always deal 1 damage on a successful pounce and can inflict extra "pounce damage" depending on the linear distance from the start of the pounce to the Survivor being pounced. In addition, in Versus and Survival modes, a successful pounce will cause nearby Survivors to stumble.
 * The Charger does 10 damage per punch, 10 damage when it finishes a charge while carrying a Survivor, 15 damage per slam and 2 damage if the Charger hits an obstacle near its target.
 * The Jockey does 4 damage per second (2 every half-second in Versus on the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2) while riding a Survivor and 2 damage per claw (4 in Versus). Like the Hunter in Versus and Survival modes, a successful lunge will cause nearby Survivors to stumble.
 * Spitter acid does an average of 68-69 damage, and clawing does 2 damage per hit (4 in Versus).
 * The Boomer waits for 1 second before vomiting. The timer resets when the Boomer moves or is out of the Survivor's sight for more than 5 seconds. Clawing does 2 damage per hit (4 in Versus.)
 * AI Special Infected such as the Smoker takes longer to aim before attacking than in Advanced and Expert difficulty but takes a shorter time than in Easy difficulty.

Advanced
Advanced is for more experienced players. Although it's not as devastating as Expert, it demands a high level of competency and care. If a single player is not careful, then the entire team should be ready for multiple tries per map, as things can get pretty hard — and friendly fire incidents are the bane of a serious player, as they take off quite a bit of health here. The fact that first aid kits don't spawn very often only serve to exacerbate the problem further, unless the Director feels generous. Tanks pose a serious problem as they gain double amount of health points compared to Normal, needing Survivors to adopt more effective tactics for dealing with it. Common Infected are also more dangerous, but still manageable with teamwork. Other Special Infected, excluding the Witch and Tank, will hide better, and in the Smoker and Boomer's cases, use their abilities immediately upon spotting a player within their range. The sounds of the Infected should be heard well so players can be aware if any of them have spotted a Survivor and get the drop on Tanks and Witches. Turn on the subtitles or captions in the settings: it'll say things such as "Tank growls" or "Boomer groans", which can be very useful in noisy situations like the second half of Hard Rain or in the middle of a Horde attack.

Players are recommended to start using weapons that have high ammunition, a scope, a Magnum pistol or at least a fast melee weapon when playing this difficulty. Common Infected can no longer be killed in one shot with an AK-47 at a close distance, the Special Infected begin to play smarter and have instant reaction times, and damage is increased from all sources. Headshots are highly advised against Commons and Specials to deal more damage against them. An average Advanced playthrough will usually take anywhere from 50 minutes to 1 hour depending on playstyle and campaign length.

Details

 * Common Infected receive × 0.75 damage to the body and inflict 5 damage per hit from the front, 2.5 from the back.
 * There is roughly a 1/2 second grace period where the Survivor will not take damage after being inflicted upon. This only affects damage dealt by the Common Infected.
 * The Tank has 8000 health points, does 33 damage per hit and 100 when pounding.
 * The Witch receives × 0.75 damage to the body and is startled in 5 seconds. She also does 68 damage to an incapacitated player every half of second (every 2 seconds on the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead 2), making it dangerous if you have no assistance and she has high health.
 * Molotovs and other explosives deal more damage to allies than before. Be careful where you throw them!
 * Friendly fire inflicts 30% of the weapon's damage to the Survivors. Be careful when firing at close quarters.
 * The Smoker does 20 damage per hit on ensnared Survivors and 5 damage per claw.
 * The Hunter deals 20 damage per claw and 10 every half-second on pounced Survivors.
 * The Charger does 15 damage per punch, 15 damage when it finishes a charge while carrying a Survivor, 15 damage per slam and 2 damage if the Charger hits an obstacle near its target.
 * The Jockey does 8 damage per hit while riding a Survivor and 5 damage per claw.
 * Spitter acid deals an average of 68-69 damage, and clawing does 5 damage per hit.
 * Special Infected reactions, especially those from the Smoker, Boomer and Witch are greatly increased. The Smoker will immediately attempt to ensnare a Survivor if they are within range and Boomers will immediately puke in the same conditions.

Expert
Expert mode is the toughest difficulty of the four. It is not at all recommended for the inexperienced or impatient, as it may take many tries for players to complete a single chapter. In this mode, always fear death, and always be on the move. With higher health and 20 damage per hit on frontal attacks, Common Infected become extremely dangerous, and if ignored even a single Common can easily incapacitate a player. Standing still is an almost guaranteed way to be killed here. Regardless, you must be extremely cautious when moving forward, as an inconveniently placed Tank can wipe the team and going too far is a sure way to get yourself killed. With determination, it is possible to get through the most difficult of chapters.

Special Infected are much more deadly on Expert; although they retain the same reaction times as from the Advanced difficulty, their damages are greatly increased, especially their normal attacks. The claw damage from normal Special Infected can easily deal 20-40 damage for every hit. The Tank also basically becomes a mobile Witch, with any Survivors hit by his punch or rock throw becoming instantly incapacitated.

They will have a much smarter AI, such as Boomers falling at high elevation to explode on nearby Survivors or Hunters clawing rather than pouncing on Survivors. This makes it very difficult should they accompany a Horde as the players are most likely to be downed from either them or the Common Infected. You will want to be careful to avoid friendly fire; a player hit by a full shotgun blast by another player will be immediately incapacitated. The Magnum Pistol still kill Common Infected in one shot. Witch hunting is highly discouraged on Expert, due to the increased damage reduction and her ability to now kill Survivors upon hitting them rather than instant incapacitation. Though she possesses greater threat, she still can be cr0wned (killed by a shotgun in 1 shot).

Damage from the players are reduced greatly to the point where it almost deals no damage at all; on Expert Realism point-blank shotgun blasts to the Witch will only deal a mere 200 damage to her. You may want to have a variety of weapons to deal with both long and close-range skirmishes. Melee weapons retain their damage rates to the Infected, but because they hit much harder pistols may be recommended instead. Experienced players should be listening to the sounds of the Infected and have captions on; this will give them more awareness against incoming Hordes and if Special Infected have spotted the players.

Expert can be done by yourself with the aid of the bots, but it is usually recommended to play in a full human team. Despite the potential risk of friendly fire, player-controlled humans can carry grenades which are extremely vital for the completion of a chapter. They can also use items more efficiently, such as using a health kit when they are very injured or in black and white mode, unlike Bots, which immediately use them when they are below 40 health.

The Horde
The time between Panic Events in Expert mode is a lot shorter than in the other modes, with around four hordes in three minutes, and the size of the horde is bigger. On top of that, Boomers will constantly be sent at the Survivors (though not as much in Left 4 Dead 2 due to more Special Infected), vomiting and exploding all over them. This makes progressing somewhat difficult as they may be stuck within one area for long periods attempting to deal with the Infected.

Gauntlet Crescendo Events such as the Tower Event on The Parish can pose players great difficulty, due to the endless amounts of Common Infected. Pipe bombs are often one of the only options to disperse the Horde long enough to reach safety.

Details

 * Common Infected receive × 0.5 damage to the body and deal 20 damage per hit from the front, 10 from the back.
 * There is a one-second grace period where the Survivor will not take damage after being inflicted upon. This only affects damage dealt by the Common Infected.
 * The Witch receives × 0.5 damage to the body, can instantly kill a Survivor regardless if they are in normal or black-and-white vision and is startled in 4 seconds.
 * The Tank has 8000 health points, incapacitates Survivors in one hit and deals 150 damage when pounding (killing an incapacitated Survivor in two hits).
 * Fire inflicts 40 damage per second to the Survivors. Be careful with Molotov throwing and gas can placement.
 * Friendly fire inflicts half damage to the Survivors. Avoid friendly fire at all costs.
 * First aid kits are extremely rare on Expert outside of the safe room, before the finale, and at other designated guaranteed first aid kit spawn areas (such as the area to the left of the alley after traversing Bienville Park in The Parish and in the ambulance right outside of Mercy Hospital); They are instead replaced by pain pills, which become surprisingly common. However, health packs may spawn in the health closets if the team has been seriously hurt and possess limited or no forms of healing.
 * The Smoker does 30 damage per hit on ensnared Survivors, does 20 damage per claw and takes 8 seconds to kill a full-health Survivor.
 * The Hunter does 40 damage per claw, 15 damage every half-second to pounced Survivors and takes 9 seconds to kill a full-health Survivor, or 3 seconds to incapacitate them if clawing.
 * The Charger does 20 damage per punch, 20 damage when it finishes a charge while carrying a Survivor, and 15 damage per slam.
 * The Jockey does 12 damage per hit while riding a Survivor and 20 damage per claw.
 * Spitter acid does an average of 68-69 damage, and clawing does 20 damage per hit.
 * At close range, the Tank is extremely good at cutting off and closing in on Survivors who try and turn, even a little (by turning in any movement other than running directly away from him). The only way to outrun a Tank on Expert at close range is to continue to run directly away from him.
 * The Tank also perfectly tracks rock throws on Survivors and will successfully hit any Survivor in range if they don't take cover or change directions mid-throw.
 * The Boomer appears to have noticeably increased range with his vomit attack and does 20 damage per claw.
 * Players are penalized more severely if they wander off course, back-throttle, or stagnate at a location, causing Infected to spawn on the paths which you have already taken.

Realism
Realism is meant for people who play frequently together online. It can be activated on any difficulty level and changes gameplay to become, like the name suggests, more realistic, or in the developers' words, "like in the movies." Realism can't be accessed in Left 4 Dead as it is an exclusive mode for Left 4 Dead 2. Playing on Realism at higher levels of difficulty like Expert is ill-advised until you have garnered sufficient practice to grasp an intuitive feel and instinctive anticipation of other players' behaviors. Thus, it is recommended that players should familiarize with each other before attempting Realism. Survivor silhouettes and item glows are disabled, closet respawns are disabled, and Common Infected take reduced damage to body hits from most weapons, making melee weapons, Magnum or headshot essential.

Before playing Realism on a specific map, players should use that map with realism off and explore every area thoroughly. The Director can place supplies off the hidden path, and they can be helpful for progress, especially if specific items are badly needed at a given time.

Details

 * Common Infected receive × 0.5 damage to the body on Easy difficulty, × 0.375 on Normal, × 0.25 on Advanced & Expert. They are still killed from one shot to the head from any weapon, and from Magnum, M60, melee weapons and weapons loaded with Explosive Ammo regardless if it's a body hit or not.
 * The Witch receives × 0.5 damage to the body on Easy difficulty, × 0.375 on Normal, × 0.25 on Advanced & Expert. She still receives × 1 damage to the head, but can no longer be crowned with shotguns, forcing the use of other tactics such as using special ammo, burning and running away, and others. See the Witch's page on killing her.
 * Witches will now kill any Survivor they hit on all difficulty (except on Easy, which the survivor will be instantly downed just like in non-Expert campaign); hence, in those difficulties, The Sugar Mill requires extreme caution on Realism.
 * Realism removes the outlines that normally appear around teammates when there is a sightline obstruction between one another. Similarly, outlines around weapons and items also do not appear unless close enough to grab them (items that would normally have blue outlines have no outlines). Outlines around survivors that notify teammates about Special Infected attacks are also removed. This makes it particularly difficult for players to keep track of each other, and friendly fire will be much more difficult to avoid. Given the above circumstances, players are expected to rely more on sound to locate one another when they get separated.
 * Only white and orange outlines remain.
 * White outlines are around items that are within reach, as well as gas cans that have not been picked up in The Atrium and The Port.
 * Orange outlines are around gas cans that have being picked up and dropped during the The Atrium and The Port.
 * You do not respawn in Rescue Closets, so if you die, you must either wait until the next chapter or be revived with a Defibrillator.

One possible strategy to cope with the increased difficulty is to have at least one player carrying a Defibrillator along and consider killing anyone who is below 50 permanent health while they're inside the safe room before closing the door. This way, they will respawn at 50 health and regain the things they had before death when the next chapter is loaded.

Players will find it useful to use vocalization commands (Z and X by default on PC/Left Stick button on 360), or to use microphones or text chat (PC only) to inform each other when they are in trouble.

The AI of Survivor Bots seems to be not affected by Realism mode. They still retain good accuracy, can find hidden Special Infected, find items that players may normally not find immediately, and can find and travel to players, regardless of distance or visual obstructions.

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