The Train Station

The Train Station is the fourth chapter of the campaign Blood Harvest. The Survivors leave the safe house, pass through some woods and find a barn which one of the characters will suggest searching for supplies. These woods and barn are thickly populated with Common Infected and at least one horde will spawn as the Survivors approach the barn. The usual Special Infected will also put in appearances in the barn's vicinity. A train station in the form of a large goods warehouse structure is accessed by dropping down from a high non-return bluff. Once again, this area is densely populated by aggressive Common Infected. Searching the station will reveal weapons, supplies and an ammo pile in a small office reached by a short flight of stairs located at the far end of the building. An rough parking lot contains an abandoned car with an active alarm. A Witch can also be expected to spawn either here or a short way over along the route the Survivors must take. Following the train tracks, the Survivors find a small passenger station that contains ammo and health. If a Witch has spawned near the doorway, the Survivors can avoid her by dropping down to the right, proceeding under the station and get back up on the tracks again. (By smashing a window on that far side, the ammo and supplies in the station can be accessed without disturbing the Witch.) A short way along, the tracks are blocked by a train wreck and the Survivors are obliged to enter a larger passenger station through a basement doorway. By climbing a flight of stairs, exploring rooms for supplies and fighting off various enemies on the way, Survivors ultimately end up in a top floor room overlooking the tracks and bridge. Jumping from this room's window will alllow the Survivors to cross the bridge and enter a train carriage (caboose) that has been converted into a safe room.

Campaign
At the beginning, the AI Survivors will grab:
 * Bill will grab an Assault Rifle.
 * Francis will grab an Auto Shotgun.
 * Louis will grab an Assault Rifle.
 * Zoey will grab a Hunting Rifle.

Otherwise, they will keep the weapons they had in the last chapter (see The Bridge for a list of weapons they will grab there.)

The Survivors exit the safe room through a small patch of woods. This is an awful area for the Survivors as the Infected densely populate the already dense forest. Move quickly and avoid getting surrounded by multiple Infected. Once you're out, you'll be at a barn where they can find Molotovs, pipe bombs, or ammo on the second floor. On the first floor of the barn, there is a shelf with a chance of an extra pistol spawning; on Expert, a Tank will possibly spawn.

Further ahead, you'll spot a train station after a short drop. Within the train station, you can find more supplies, often including pills, Molotovs, pipe bombs and ammo. A large amount of the Infected can normally be found in the area. Out at the back of the station in the parking lot, there is an abandoned car with an active car alarm―this specific panic event seems to cause a lot of problems for players due to a number of reasons, including that it's normally in this area that a Tank or a Witch spawns.

Following the train tracks, the Survivors find another train station. Here, you'll often find pills, ammo, weapons and a rescue closet. Then carry on following the train tracks again and find that the way is blocked. You must pass through a house-type train station by entering the basement. From there, fight your way upstairs, remaining vigilant for Infected and supplies. At the very top floor, there is a window you can exit from which leads out onto a collapsing awning. Then drop down to the ground and continue across the bridge.

As you near the bridge, listen for the distinctive sobs of a Witch, as the Director will often sit one right in the middle of the bridge. There isn't a lot of room to sneak around her, so be ready to kill the Witch.

At the end of the bridge, there is a train carriage that serves as the ending safe room. Be forewarned: The Director loves to place a Tank right in front of the ending safe room, extending an otherwise completed level. This converts the Survivors' feelings of euphoria when spotting the safe room into the sour taste of anger.

Deal with the Tank if he appears, and get in there! Close the door! Congratulations, you've approached the last leg of this campaign. You've almost made it to the Farmhouse for evacuation.

Note: If you are playing on Expert, do your best not to speed-run through the area if you intend on beating the finale. It is highly recommended that you take your time and search everywhere you can for grenades. These will be key, for it is rare that a sufficient number of grenades will be spawned on the finale.

The Survivors
Now that humans are controlling the Special Infected, things can only get harder. However, they can't spawn until you leave the safe room. That doesn't mean that you should let them have a good chance to find just the right spot, though! Hurry up and get your supplies, and get running!

This level can be either a stroll in the park or an experience that you will not want to repeat. On the whole, the level is fairly straightforward, especially considering the fact that there is no crescendo event to stop for. However, despite the overall simplicity of this map, there are potentially fatal ambush points where Infected can easily overwhelm you.

The first area of concern is as soon as you exit the safe room. Right outside of the safe room is a horrible narrow and claustrophobic passage through the dense forest which in turn, is dense with Infected. Special Infected can easily cause chaos from the trees. If your team is not fast enough, and their team is smart enough, they'll be able to overwhelm you directly outside of the safe room. This is more likely to happen if you dawdle in the safe room and give the Infected a chance to find excellent spawning points.

The next point to worry about is the train station itself. Within the train station is where the Infected can launch a powerful offensive by working together. Smokers lurk and pull Survivors away with Hunters covering them and pouncing the Survivor's rescuer. Boomers cause chaos by appearing at the worst times and covering the Survivors. If you're unlucky, a Witch will be around, too. If you're really unlucky, a Tank will join the party.

The train station is especially dangerous because of the car alarm. Setting off this alarm on this level is normally highly dangerous and can often be the straw that breaks the Survivors' backs.

This is a point that cannot be stressed enough. When you see the safe room, do not make a dash for it alone. If you do, you may end up getting yourself killed. It may even be a late-spawning Tank that kills you. Stick with your teammates; move as they do. Cover them and they'll cover you.

The Infected
Boomers: This level will be good for you, especially the start. If you can, get in and cover the Survivors with bile before they can leave the forest. This often does a lot of damage and frees up time for the other Infected to attack from good positions. The interiors are also good for you as you can lurk around corners and lead Survivors into your vomit. Another thing to note for this level is the car alarm. If you stand or even crouch in front of the car, the Survivors may unthinkingly shoot at you and hit the car, in turn causing a panic event. The same can be done with Witches, but you need the Survivors to shoot through you and hit the Witch as your explosion no longer startles her.

Hunters: Woodland is a nice place to be. For you, at least. For the Survivors? Definitely not. There are open spaces where it is difficult to hide, but this is not enough of a hindrance to make you ineffective. You can still lurk in dark rooms and strike at the last passing Survivor within the interiors. Try to outsmart your targets, and hide in effective yet unusual positions. Also, considering that not much height is available for you to get instant damage pounces, don't underestimate your secondary attack. Your melee is very strong and can quickly incapacitate a heavily wounded Survivor. Also note that when joining in with a horde of Common Infected to slash at your target, you are less likely to be noticed and killed than your fellow Special Infected.

Smokers: Smokers are strong in this level. You are excellent at dragging Survivors around in the exterior locations in this level. Unfortunately, the Survivors do well indoors. However, with a well-aimed Smoker's tongue, you can outdo them. Cooperate with your Hunter friend, and try to snare a Survivor attempting to get the Hunter away from his pinned target. Also, if the Survivors are foolish enough to get near the alarmed car, do your best to pull them into it! Work together with the other Special Infected and show them that Smokers are deadly to them no matter where they go.

Tanks: This level is a nice place for you to wreak havoc. Not only are there excellent spawning points for you and brilliant places for the other Infected to aid you from, but there is a large and gaping chasm. Beat up the Survivors, or as a more effective method, don't! Instead, beat them down and into that nasty chasm. They be dead before they feel any pain. As long as your enemies are not a team of excellent players, you should be able to put a heavy burden on or even overwhelm the Survivors. Crush those immune annoyances! Lead your fellow Infected, and destroy the Survivors once and for all!

Left 4 Dead 2
There have been several significant changes to the map compared to the original Left 4 Dead version. The train car below the cliff next to the warehouse has been moved to the right, preventing survivors from returning to the top of the cliff. This change is ideal for Jockeys and Smokers since they can drag the last Survivor in the group away and prevent their teammates from saving the victim. The warehouse has several sealed doors except for one, which survivors are now forced to go into since the train tracks are blocked by a fence. The train cars beyond this point have been rearranged to block the Survivor's path and the window in the small house that leads to the deck has been removed, forcing Survivors to go under the house to advance. The next house has its first floor window blocked with props to prevent Survivors from jumping through the window to skip the basement. Once the Survivors reach the bridge, an endless horde is triggered, forcing the Survivors to fight their way to the safe room. The bridge itself has portions of the guardrails removed and scaffolding was added to give the infected more places to spawn in and attack from.

Easter eggs

 * A9623b85403566082746dbc7d48d5e25567ee6db.jpg coming up to the third building, in the basement, there is a lawnmower on its side, with blood and body parts sprayed all around the room. This is likely a reference to the New Zealand film Braindead (released as Dead Alive in North America). Sometimes, the Survivors will comment on the brutality.


 * The departure schedule from Half-Life 2's train station appears near the top of the second station.