The Cemetery

"Man, if these were real zombies, going into this graveyard would be like death."

- Ellis

The Cemetery is the third chapter of The Parish campaign in Left 4 Dead 2. After exiting the safe room located in a maintenance room underneath the freeway, the Survivors must make their way through residential New Orleans towards an open manhole, make a foul-but-brief trip through the sewers, and must then quietly navigate an abandoned impound lot before reaching the next safe house at the far end of the dangerous and ever-changing Saint Roches Cemetery.

This chapter is a classic "game of two halves" in the sense that initially all the action takes place in relatively open ground followed by a lot of close-quarter fighting subsequent to entering the sewer. The impound lot and Saint Roches Cemetery are two innovative and particularly well crafted scenarios that provide players with challenging opportunities to showcase their situational awareness and skill-at-arms.

In Versus Mode, the Cemetery Chapter is a great place for a losing team to make up lost ground; the last three-quarters of the chapter are narrow, limiting the Survivors chances of evading harm. Here, a well co-ordinated team of Player-Controlled Special Infected can spell death for the Survivors.

Strategy
All the tried and trusted combat drills apply in full to this chapter. Survivor co-op teams must to stay together, provide mutual support and keep a close watch on ammo supplies. It is recommended that firearms be biased towards Sniper, Hunting, Assault and Combat Rifles although players should naturally take every opportunity to experiment with the many possible permutations and combinations in this field.

Team cohesion is particularly important for inexperienced players because navigating through the residential areas and cemetery can be somewhat confusing at first.

Players should take full advantage of the fact that The Director is fairly generous with supplies of grenades, gas cans, weapons and special ammo.

A Witch will often spawn near the corner shops in the residential area. If she is near the two-story building with the collapsed balcony that players must climb in order to proceed and she refuses to shift herself, it may be necessary for a co-op team to form up at a safe distance and saturate her with gunfire when the command is given.

Because of the presence of multiple armed cars, combat in the impound lot should ideally be weighted towards melee weapons, gas cans and distracting Pipe Bombs. Unfortunately this is also a spawn spot for both Special Infected (in all their varieties) and (more rarely) a Tank and players should thus fire and move with great care to avoid hitting alarmed cars and so adding multiple Hordes of Common Infected to their anxieties.

A Pipe Bomb or a couple of Molotovs should be kept in reserve until players arrive up on the collapsed freeway after the impound lot stanza. After healing up and restocking at the ambulance, it is necessary to go the end of the freeway and jump down to the ground near the cemetery. This area is usually packed with Common Infected and a Pipe Bomb or a Molotov or two is an excellent way of taking them all off the board.

It is essential that players remember that in any particular game the cemetery layout is a randomly determined maze selected from four alternatives (refer the Notes section below).

Players will face a full spectrum of Common and Special Infected in the cemetery. Many Common Infected will be encountered as scattered loiterers at medium to long ranges and min-Horde attacks often build up at such distances: two conditions that naturally favor rifles.

In the cemetery The Director is usually generous with Molotovs but invariably abstemious with ammo.

Players are almost certain to meet a Witch and a Tank in the cemetery stanza. The open area at the cemetery's rear exit is a popular spot for the latter to spawn.

Campaign
After leaving the safe room, the Survivors travel underneath the freeway and continue through multiple residential streets, trailers and houses (some partially destroyed) before entering a thankfully short stretch of dark sewer.

They then reach an impound lot tightly packed with both Common Infected and cars many of which are actively alarmed.

Important: Each alarmed car can attract its own Horde!

This becomes a nightmare when Boomers, Chargers, Spitters, Smokers and Jockeys appear to throw a high-stealth game plan into chaotic disarray. The impound lot is also a Tank spawn point. Overall, players should anticipate significant health damage and individual incaps during this phase of the chapter.

Important: A player accompanied by AI Bots must remember that they will not help if their human comrade is attacked by a Special Infected when the player is perched on top of a car.

After passing through the lot, the Survivors climb up a service ladder onto a freeway overpass where they can investigate an ambulance for supplies, witness bombings by the military and prepare themselves to enter the the Saint Roches Cemetery.

As The Director changes the path through the cemetery every time, it is often hard to navigate and may initially take a few minutes for players to get orientated.

A noticeable feature of the cemetery for navigation purposes is that The Director always leads players towards a tall funeral memorial surrounded by benches and offering a Grenade Launcher. Players should thus keep their bearings by visual reference to this feature.

Pressing on for the rear of the cemetery usually presents no navigational difficulties but (as noted above) players may be obliged to fight a Tank before they quit the cemetery, cross the street outside and enter the safe room.

The Survivors
The first place that the Infected may ambush you is right in the beginning. The Infected will often be hiding on top of the freeway, waiting to attack the last Survivor who passes by. Be careful when atop the bus: an Infected may take you off the opposite side, forcing you to backtrack. That one Survivor is then open to an ambush by himself/herself, so someone should stick with that Survivor.

The house you must pass through with the broken wall leading onto the trailer is a great ambush spot. The last Survivor to jump off may be grabbed by a Jockey, Smoker, or Charger, and it may take someone with full health a couple tries to jump back into the house to save them.

The sewer is one of the worst places to get ambushed. If the last Survivor to jump down is pinned by a Special Infected or incapacitated, there is almost no way the other Survivors in the sewer can help them. If one of your teammates is the last one down, and can't be helped, try to run through the sewer. That leaves one less Infected on your hands. The narrow sewer is also a great spot for a Charger, so beware.

The impound lot is filled with alarm cars. All you need is one alarm triggered, and prepare for a horde. Do not shoot a Boomer if you see it near an alarmed car. The blast may trigger a horde. Jockeys, Smokers, Chargers and Hunters can easily make you set off an alarm, so watch out for them.

The cemetery can also be dangerous, for the AI director changes the maze everytime. As always, stick together. After you pass through the cemetery, the safe house is in a room across the street. Get in, close the door, and you're safe, for now.

The Infected
Charger: Remember, a charge that separates the team is always a good charge. Before in the sewer, if you can, try to charge the last Survivor that jumps in the hole. Their fellow Survivors won't be able to help. While inside the sewer, try to charge at the Survivors, and drag one of them away from the group to break their formation. Also, a good strategy for a stealthy Charger is to hide until the Survivors descend into the sewer, wait until they finish dabbling about near the entrance, and then jump down and charge all of the Survivors at once in one go. Properly timed and aimed, this will scatter the entire team and carry your unfortunate victim a considerable distance into the sewer. The effect is doubly fatal for the captured Survivor because not only will the water slow their potential rescue, but you will usually carry them into a cluster of idle Infected. Charging a Survivor in the cemetery may also break the team's formation.

Hunter: As always, go for lone wolves. Pouncing on a Survivor off the freeway may help you deal some more damage if done correctly. Pounce Survivors climbing ladders, you may deal extra damage. Pouncing the last Survivor to jump down the hole into the sewers will make it nearly impossible for their teammates to help. Pounce on them from inside the dark sewer and it may be difficult for them to see you or move around to help your victim. Pounce the last Survivor to come out of the sewers. If you did it when he/she was still on the ladder, he will go back down, buying you and the other Infected time as they scramble down the ladder to get their teammate. If a Smoker can manage to pull a Survivor back down the ladder to the impound lot, pounce anyone in the sewer who dares to save their teammate.

Smoker: The freeway and rooftops are your best playgrounds, use them! Pulling a Survivor off the bus backwards will cause their teammates to backtrack. Pulling ladder climbing Survivors will make them fall and will deal some extra damage. You can also hide in the broken tombs, and wait to catch the loner of the group. Lone wolves are the best to aim for, especially when they are behind the rest of the group. This is particularly fatal if you manage to ensnare a Survivor when the rest of the team has reach points of no return, such as the drop from the house into the construction area, the fall into the sewer, or the descent from the bridge into the cemetery.

Spitter: Inside the first house the Survivors enter is a great spot to cause some damage because it is a close area. Try to help out your teammates when they are attacking a Survivor. Also, spitting right at the ladder as the Survivors are coming up from the sewers can cause some serious damage. Blocking or spitting on the correct paths in the impound lot may startle the Survivors and have a higher chance of them bumping into an alarmed car, or shoot everywhere if they're being attacked by Common Infected. If a foolish Survivor stays in the ambulance, you can spit inside the ambulance and it will cause major damage because the Survivor is crouched, making them slower, so it is harder to escape the goo. If you should spawn simultaneously with a Tank, your ability to spit at the ends of narrow hallways and one-way escape routes can destroy the Survivors' ability to flee.

Jockey: Riding a Survivor away from the group is the best thing to do. This leaves that Survivor vulnerable to your teammates attacks. Riding the last Survivor off the bus will slow your enemies. If you can ride the last Survivor to jump out of the room and onto the trailer, it will cause a great delay for the other Survivors to try jumping and backtracking trying to get you. Riding a Survivor into or near an alarmed car may cause a fellow Survivor to try shooting you and accidently hit the car. If possible, familiarize yourself with the cemetery before the Survivors arrive. After that it is a simple matter to ride him him/her throught the cemetary. One or two of the other Survivors may get lost attempting to follow.

Boomer: Work with your teammates! Whenever you see a teammate attacking a Survivor, don't be afraid to vomit on the helpless survivor and maybe even their rescuer. But be careful, if you are shot and explode, and are close to your teammate, you may stun them, and ruin their chance to damage a Survivor. Booming on a player where there is a great amount of Infected nearby will increase your chances of dealing damage. When boomed on in the sewers, it is nearly impossible for the Survivors to see, leaving them vulnerable for your teammates. With all the various nooks and crannies in this level, your ability to scare a Survivor into shooting without thinking is at its peak. Hide in the trailer and vomit on the first Survivor in, or wait in the deeper part of the trailer and make a kamikaze dash on the group when they huddle in. If you make a beeline for a Survivor while standing in front of an alarmed car, even a skilled Survivor might shoot a few too many bullets to get rid of you.

Tank: Whenever a Tank spawns, a lot of panic is created; but this is the one level where the sadistic powers of the AI director can spell death for an entire team. Tanks can spawn nearly anywhere in this chapter, but the most common area is the impound lot. Should a Tank spawn here, go nuts. Even though smashing an alarmed car breaks its horde summoning capabilities, there are plenty of alarms to go around, and your panic will more than likely make them touch or shoot another by mistake. Should you spawn in an open area, hurl rocks at the Survivors, forcing them into the developed houses or corners; get them in an enclosed space and then punch them till they are down. Don't be afraid to turn around and give chase to another Survivor who is unloading ammo into your backside.