The Sugar Mill

"Nick, have you ever seen this many Witches? Ho-lee shit."

- Ellis

"Dang. Bitches must like sugar."

- Coach


 * For the actual in-game sugar mill, see Ducatel Sugar Company.

The Sugar Mill is the second chapter in the Hard Rain campaign. Once you exit the safe room, you see the Ducatel Sugar Mill right in front of you. You go in and head through a mill full of Witches. The abundance of Witches is due to the fact that the Witch has a strong attraction to the smell of sugar. Also, according to a recent online poll, the Sugar Mill is considered to be one of the hardest levels in the game, and one of the most common places to use health kits and pain pills.

The Crescendo event in this chapter is calling the elevator to take you down to a sugar cane field.

Campaign
You start in the saferoom. Grab what the Director provides, but grab the Health packs in the cabinet first as those will respawn when you come back. On the table there is a scoped rifle (Hunting or Sniping). There is also a Tier 2 Assault Rifle and Shotgun in the table. Nearby in the shelves are some throwables and temporary healing items like Pain pills and Adrenaline Shots. One random melee weapon spawns near the weapons.

When you are done, open the saferoom door. If you have not started from The Milltown, in the small room the Director will spawn an ammo pack for you. Clear all the Infected and head towards the Ducatel entrance. Clear the first floor and search the rooms. If you haven't reached the building (you are on the opposite side for example), Infected will surge from the building on a horde. If they come when you are on the street, they will surge from the roadblock. If they come when you are in the building, they will come in where you had just come in from.

Clear the small yard, and clean up the area. As you reach another large area, be careful of Witches as one is guaranteed to spawn here, and if possible, a Tank. Once you reach the end of this area, you will be greeted with a small office trailer that contains weapons, and occasionally other items. Restock or swap your weapon, and go to the narrow passageway nearby. Clear the Infected, and go to the opposite side where two sheds are waiting. If a Horde comes in when you are in the narrow passageway, they will come from the fence on the side you came in. If you are in the area with the two sheds then they will come out from an exit from an area you will land in soon.

Search the two sheds for any items. Be careful of a Witch spawn here. Go up the ramp and then down to the final part of the building. Take the most safest path as several Witches spawn here. Once you leave the building, you will end up in a sugar tank area and the water is starting to pool. Get to the building on the other side, and climb up the three floors. Hordes come in the path you took to get in, and a Tank may spawn, usually on the top floor. Start the Crescendo.



Upon starting, a very large Horde will spawn. Once they are all killed, the elevator should have been opened by now. Use the elevator to go down to the sugar cane field. The cane field is very deadly to an inexperienced player, so try to get through as fast as you can. Once you reach the gas station, get in, and close the door. Begin for Mill Escape.



Tips
This is the hardest part of the Hard Rain campaign. Here are tips to help you with the level:


 * This level has a very large number of Witches. You may expect 3 or 5 Witches to spawn, but this is not the case. Up to 20 can spawn in this level, often in key areas and where you can't avoid them, or are lurking in the cane field waiting for you to bump into them.
 * Arguably, one of the worst case scenarios in this map include a Jockey riding on a Survivor and steering him/her to a wandering Witch. This situation can even be worsened in Crescendo Events when the Common Infected have swarmed around the Survivors thus making it hard to dodge the Jockey, rescue a player, and/or avoid a Witch.
 * Players should have Bile Bombs and Molotovs in handy in this chapter. Although Pipe Bombs can clear groups of Infected, the delay before detonation can cause a Witch to wander into its blast radius and attack the thrower. Molotovs are effective during the first half of the level but become less useful during the end because water pools start to appear and can cancel out the fire. They should only be used on startled Witches, incoming Hordes or a Tank fight.
 * Avoid spraying bullets through a molotov fire or when blinded by boomer bile when playing with others. Unlike bots, a single stray shot will startle the Witch. Bots that accidentally shoot the Wandering Witch will only cause her to scream in pain, but will not result in her attacking them, unlike the idle Witch.
 * It is a good idea BEFORE starting the Crescendo Event on this level to startle any witches players can see from above. As the players are situated fairly far above the field, witches will be forced to climb up to the survivors. In the time it takes witches to climb the vines, players can kill the witch without taking damage. By doing this, you are effectively eliminating the possibility of bumping into or accidentily shooting one. Be careful of how close you are to the edge however. It is recommened one player startle the witch and then hang back to watch for special infected and to save any survivors that happen to fall off the ledge on accident.
 * Two players should carry Defibrillators just in case someone dies, especially on Advanced and Expert difficulties.
 * Make use of the explosives in this map. Nearing the middle to end area, there are Propane Tanks and Oxygen Tanks scattered in that area. Use them to stun a Witch, shove and shoot to kill her so she is unable to attack back. Make sure you are not too close to them either, or you will end up stunning yourself at the same time.
 * Use command buttons in the sugar field when a Witch is present. This is helpful if there are no bots as when a bot sees a Witch, they will cautiously look at her while trying to avoid her. Since players are more likely to bump into a Witch, using the command button if you suspect a Witch is near will result in the player saying a standard command or a Witch command if they spot one.
 * Avoid using shortcuts when playing with bots. The bots are unable to use them and can invariably startle Witches along the way and start an early Tank fights. In addition, Smokers can grab players and can get them incapitated or killed on higher difficulties, since bots are not programmed to use shortcuts to reach the player faster.
 * Use the environment to help fight against the Witches. This increases you and your allies chances of survival if done correctly. The area with the portable restrooms and wire holders is a good example, as a player who has startled the Witch can jump back and forth on them, causing the Witch to move around them and allows your allies to have a clear shot without causing friendly fire.
 * Backtracking does not hurt on this level, as sometimes the Director can be cruel and create Tier 1 weapon spawns. You want to clear the incoming Infected quickly due to the numerous amount of Witches on the level.
 * Use secondary weapons most of the time during this level rather then your primary. As stated above, the Director can have an unusually cruel mood and result in the weapon spawns on the way to the saferoom being tier 1. Due to the Witches and hordes, ammo can be depleted extremely fast as a result. By using your secondary weapon, you can save ammo on your primary weapons for any Witch, Tank, Horde or Special Infected fights.
 * A melee weapon can help since it kills all Infected easily and prevents accidental bullet grazing on a Witch. Two players should still be using pistols or magnums to take out distant Special Infected however.

Achievements

 * See Main Article: Achievements