Boathouse Finale

"If there is anyone out there, this is John and Amanda Slater. We are a small fishing vessel anchored off Riverside."

- John Slater

"Haul ass to that boat; RUN!"

- Bill

The Boathouse Finale is the fifth and final chapter of the third campaign, Death Toll. The Survivors must fight their way from the safe room, through Riverside Park, to get to a boathouse on the riverbank to call on the radio for a boat that is circling outside the city to come and pick them up. When they call for rescue, the Infected attack, as with every finale. The Survivors must stay alive until the boat comes to rescue them, fighting off multiple hordes and several Special Infected, including two or three Tanks. When the boat arrives, they must run on to the boat and board it, upon which the credits begin to roll.

The Survivors
Kill Lanes, Bottom Deck Method

All players collect melee weapons from the house and surrounds. Those that want pistols for the horde should exchange them on the back deck to leave the melee there for later. Everyone posts near the supply cache with whatever firearms.

The downstairs balcony has only 3 feasible entrances - the left and right sides, and the back door. This creates such an effective funnel that 2 Survivors can defend the entire team, as long as everyone stays in formation.

The minigun is very tempting, but its position is very limited both offensively and defensively. This gameplan falls apart when the team goes inside the house or to the upper level of the balcony, but it only takes 2-3 to pull it off successfully. Don't compensate for individual stupidity and compromise the entire team. If someone makes a bad decision and won't listen, let Karma Charger teach them humility. You can get out without them. Everyone needs to stay on the bottom level, within sight and easy shooting range of at least 2 other Survivors. The door and the two lanes are all that needs covered, and that can be done with 2 people in a pinch.

There's plenty of room to sidestep Spitter goo or Charger rushes, and a small railing at the back that protects against "ring outs" from Smokers, Jockeys, and Chargers. When the tank music plays, everyone takes center field in front of the house to kite, and gets back to the porch before the next wave. No detours are needed ever, as the supplies are in the center of the defensive formation. Kill the second tank and bail afterwards. Do not attempt to duck the second tank because another one will show up with the rescue vehicle. Drop it in the field, with a 4 man surround and hopefully a molotov. Start prepping for your exit as soon as that second tank goes down. That means grab ammo and a melee weapon, regroup at the cache, and start heading to the dock, ideally all in the grace period before rescue music plays.

When rescue arrives, use the melee weapons and a grenade or two to cover your exit. Grab ammo, then run for the dock and prepare to stand off the horde for a good 20-30 seconds. There's a small box on the dock that can serve as limited cover, but it's very, very vulnerable to ring outs and general special ambushes. So definately drop the 2nd tank and grab ammo, you don't want to try and hold it against 2 tanks + horde with a couple of Berettas.

When rescue arrives, use the melee weapons and a grenade or two to cover your exit. Prepare for accusations of cheapness, OP weapons, and poor map design when you run this strategy in VS - it works that well.

Safe Room Method
Have everyone run to the boathouse and load up on pipe bombs and med kits. Once you are healed to maximum with a medical kit and pain pills if possible, call in for the boat. Once the boat is called in everyone runs back to the start of the map right outside of the safe room door. If two people stand in the back with two crouching in front of the door you can kill all of the Common Infected before they even get inside. Continue this until you hear the boat horn, and your characters say rescue has arrived. Special Infected do not have time to use their attack when running in the door, and Tanks can easily be put down by the four Survivors' overwhelming concentrated firepower. Everyone can kill them before the player dies and then revive them. Sometimes the Tank bugs at this point, and completely fails to appear — the Tank's theme will play, Infected will stop coming, but the Tank itself will never show up.

Once the boat arrives, have everyone stay together and run back to the docks. This is where you will need the pipe bombs. There will be about 4 hordes of Common Infected as you run back. Pick an order to have everyone throw the pipe bomb if you feel you will be overwhelmed. If a Tank attacks again, have the person it attacks stray away from the group and try to outrun/dodge it using trees and houses. This usually results in 3 players always making it to safety with no ammunition or health problems. Sometimes you can get all 4 back if you avoid the final Tank. This is based on a game played in expert mode, so all four players should be able to make it back to the boat on other difficulties.

Harry Potter Method
Note: This does not work in Versus

There is a cupboard under the stairs in the house. Have everyone get in there. Two should be crouching in the front, using their melee attack and shotguns. Then two should be in the back, firing over the two crouching players. It's easy to take down the Infected. The two in the front have to make sure to bump off the Boomers prior to shooting them. If you do not do this, you will get sprayed and the hordes will continue to flow in, even when the Tank makes his entry. You are also close to the ammo. When the Tank arrives, run out of the house. There are usually molotovs right out the back door on the right. Once you kill the Tank, get back in the room. Once you kill the second Tank, run for the dock. Throw a molotov at the entrance to the dock once you're on it and watch for Smokers. Get on the boat as soon as it arrives.

A variation on this is to have two people in the aforementioned closet, and two in the bathroom across the hall. The people in both rooms should back away from the door as much as possible, to avoid friendly fire. It is possible to have one person in the bathroom sit on top of the toilets tank. Otherwise, do everything in the same way as mentioned before. This also does not work in versus, as both rooms are absent.

Balcony Method
Have everyone arm up with their weapons, preferably a mix of Auto shotguns and Assault Rifles. One Survivor handles the Minigun while another covers him. The other two take the bottom floor until it cannot be protected further or is overrun, in which case they cover the stairs.

As a minor but very effective alternative: during the preparation phase go up to the balcony and shoot out the railing nearest the jetty to remove an obvious impediment to bugging out when the second Tank is killed and players need to get to the dock. Next, restock with ammo, send the second radio message and then have everyone get up on the balcony and cluster around the minigun. One player takes control of the gun whilst the others provide covering protection.

This method works exceptionally well as the minigun has a wide field of fire and supporting players can mop up those Infected who manage to climb the stairs, the scale the balcony and deal to Smokers who get up onto the roof above. In co-op play, the nearby stock of Molotovs or Pipe Bombs is a defense multiplier whilst in between hordes it is an easy matter to run downstairs for ammo and health kits. Co-op team members should never jump down to ground level during the action but fight from the balcony around the minigun at all times. Even when the Tanks appear, let them come to the team who stay on the balcony and back away and maneuver only insofar as they need to avoid being hit by thrown rocks or (worst case) being punched out into the river (an automatic incap).

The moment the second Tank is killed, the team should not hesitate but bug out for the dock - making a defense there if necessary. Two invaluable tips associated with the Balcony Method are: firstly, have at least one Pipe Bomb in reserve for bug out distraction purposes - throw it the moment the grenadier's feet hit the ground and the throwing direction is clear; and secondly, preferably when bugging out, run and jump from the front veranda roof. Although this is somewhat counter-intuitive, this route gives players a much faster and clearer run to the dock than running around to the riverside face of the house and jumping from the balcony itself. (The latter route is such that it is very easy for a player to get fatally hung up on railings and shoreline obstructions - so avoid it if at all possible.) As always, a good idea is to have the team rehearse their bug out drills during the finale's "make ready" phase and the front veranda roof route is marked out by the pile of cut firewood next to the house.

The cabin outside can be run to for resources but it is not advised to do so in the middle of the horde. If a player must run to the cabin, this should be done in the brief interlude before the Tank gets close to the house. Even better, of course, is to forget about the cabin altogether during the finale (apart from, that is, taking the supplies it contains when players first arrive on the scene) and rely exclusively on the supplies provided in the house itself.

As noted above, the death of the second Tank is the sign that the rescue boat is drawing close. Hesitation at this point is fatal as the next wave of Infected is effectively unstoppable. Ideally co-op teams will stick together and drive hard for the dock - throwing a distracting Pipe Bomb at the opportune moment and (most important) protecting one another against a lurking Hunter or Smoker.

In Single Player, like most other finale strategies and methods, it is something of a lottery as to whether the AI Bots will co-operate and not behave stupidly. As a general rule, the cluster-around-the-minigun method does help keep them on a short leash during the house defense sequence, however they can straggle and stray during the bug out phase and human players are pretty much thrown back on their own wits and energy.

Dock Method
Have everyone stock up, then once the rescue has been called, run out to the dock where the boat arrives. The vast majority of the Infected will come from the front, with a few running around to the sides climbing up, but these are easy to deal with. For the Tanks, staying on the dock isn't advised due to a lack of room to run, and an abundance of water, rendering your Molotovs useless. When the Tank is present, have everyone move back onto the mainland to deal with it. This is also a good time to restock. Move back onto the dock as soon as it's been dispatched. Another obvious advantage to this tactic is at the very end, where you will hardly have to move to reach the boat, as it picks you up right where you've been holding out. There is also occasionally a propane tank or gas can on the dock that can be used. Sometimes, if you're lucky, when a Tank spawns he won't notice you. The music will play and you will hear him but you won't see him. This will result in the Tank committing suicide after a certain amount of time.

Rock Method
To the left of the house there is a group of two rocks in the water. With a bit of practice you can jump to the top of the rocks. An easy way to get onto the rock is to jump and crouch at the same time on the surface of the rock nearest to the wall/cliff side. From here, Common Infected have a difficult time getting to you as there is only one place they can get up and if there is a horde they will constantly be pushing each other out of position. Three of the Survivors are on Smoker protection while the fourth Survivor uses his melee attack to stave off the Infected to conserve ammunition. The Tank usually cannot find the Survivors and will die after losing control, but should he successfully spot them, he likewise has difficulty climbing up, but he can still toss rocks and the surrounding water makes Molotovs impractical so it is advised to fight him on the mainland. If someone is pulled off or falls off the rock, have them go as far back into the water as they can (remember to turn off your light!). The horde should focus mostly on the closer Survivors, allowing the far off Survivor to snipe in relative safety. The strategy is slightly more dangerous than the closet strategy on expert unless someone is a good shot with the hunting rifle.

Silent Rock Method
Mostly the same as the above method, except this one uses a glitch that causes the Director to spawn very few of the Infected until the boat arrives. Make sure everyone has a pipe bomb if possible. On the way to the rock, make sure your team's flashlights are off at all times! If done correctly, very few Common Infected will come to attack your team before the boat arrives. When the Tank appears, stay on the rock and gun him down. However, if using this tactic, the Tank will sometimes simply die by losing control before you can even see him. But, if you do have to get off the rock, get back on it immediately. Whatever you do, do not turn on your flashlight. Eventually the boat will arrive and when this happens, get off the rock and into the water. Have a teammate throw a pipe bomb with your other teammates throwing their pipe bombs after each other. The only problems with this tactic are dealing with the Tanks, getting to the boat, and the fact that the tactic is very anti-climactic until the boat comes. You'll be surprised at how few of the Infected will come at you before the boat comes.

Glitch Rock
Note: This does not work in Versus

There is also a rock to the far right of the house which can be climbed up on. If you shine your flashlight around the rock on the front side - not any of the sides in the water - you can just about jump onto a surface to get onto the rock. Hordes can very rarely climb on top of this rock. The only things that the team will need to be aware of are Smokers that can pull you off, a Tank throwing rocks and an occasional Common Infected. The Tank can sometimes, although very rarely, climb the rock.

Gazebo Roof Method
In the gazebo in front of the house there are a number of picnic tables. Using propane tanks and gas cans,move the table towards the rock to the left of the structure when your back is facing the boathouse. Align it perpendicular to the wall, on the little hill leading to the rock. The table should at least touch the pine tree. With proper positioning, you can jump onto the table, and then jump to the very corner of the roof. Once on the roof, all four Survivors can crouch by the chimney with hunting rifles and remain there until the boat arrives. Bring hunting rifles as you will have to kill a few Smokers on either side in the first few minutes, but after that, they stop spawning in places where they can see you and no enemies can get onto the roof. The other secret to this is staying still when crouched, and being prepared for the odd Hunter that will sometimes jump onto the roof.
 * When the Tank arrives, use the minigun to shoot him if he is in range.
 * Get out of the house when a Tank comes. Also head for the dock after the second Tank, for rescue will be in sight.
 * Smokers sometimes spawn on the roof. So watch out if you use the balcony method.
 * Have a pipe bomb when rescue comes. This way the Common Infected will go where you throw it, and ignore you.
 * If you get swarmed from the front of the house when the boat comes, go out the back, and jump over the railing.

Left 4 Dead 2 Version
The map uses the Versus version from Left 4 Dead even on co-op modes, meaning the supplies are found outside at the back of the boathouse, and the building is significantly less defensible due to less small rooms to hide in and more breakable walls. The supplies are also randomised, as oppose the original version which had First Aid Kits and Pain Pills found at specific spots on the way to the finale every play. Since there is no Rescue Closet, Survivors must be careful to not be killed at any point, especially before the finale, if they have a chance of escape (unless a player has a Defibrillator). In addition to the changes already present on Versus in Left 4 Dead, the structure of the finale area was changed based on player feedback. The buoy line in the water has been moved closer to the shoreline, giving Survivors less cover in the water, and rocks have been added in the water to give the Infected cover should Survivors camp in the water. The invisible wall over the buoy line was removed, meaning if a Survivor gets knocked beyond the buoy line by a Tank or Charger, they get instantly killed. The Dock is now an especially dangerous place when faced with player controlled Infected due to this.

The Infected
A general tip to all Infected is to jump in the water if lit aflame.

The Boomer
The Boomer is a valuable asset here, not only because there are a lot of forest areas, but also because it is a finale. There are a few key things you need to keep in mind for this level:


 * The Hunter can work well with the Boomer. The Hunter can pounce on the Survivor covered in bile to add terrible confusion to the situation; the bile will summon more Infected, who will create a meat shield for the Hunter. By the time the other Survivors are able to get to their pinned friend, it may be too late.
 * The Smoker can constrict a Survivor who has been covered, effectively creating a hanging target for the Common Infected. This is a very effective way to incapacitate a Survivor quickly, especially since the other Survivors are likely to be busy.
 * The Tank can distract those who are not covered in bile, cutting them off from helping their friend. It can also incapacitate a covered Survivor, rendering them nearly helpless against the Infected onslaught all over them and adding the chance that they'll bleed to death.
 * However, stay away from the Tank. If you get hit or shot next to him, he gets knocked off balance, and gives the Survivors an opportunity to kill him.
 * If the Survivors use the rock method, sneak up behind the rock, vomit on them as quickly as you can and run for cover. Let the Common Infected take care of the rest.
 * Boomers are large, making them very easy targets. If you manage to slime a group of Survivors in a place where running away is going to be difficult, and finding cover will take some time, don't be afraid of running in and clawing them! This will deal extra damage. While in the middle of the finale's chaos, it can also confuse the Survivors from which direction the horde are actually attacking them from. Also, if they're not careful, they can shoot you once they're clean, resulting in being covered again.

The Hunter
Although you are outside, the Hunter is not completely at home. However, even here the Hunter can cause some serious damage, especially during the chaos of the finale. There are a few key things to remember:


 * The Hunter's bonus pounce damage is based on the distance between your launch-point and the point where you hit the Survivor, therefore launching straight up or down is not the most effective pounce. Instead, climb on top of a rock or the boathouse roof if the Survivors are nearby and propel yourself up and forward at a 45° angle. You have some limited control in the air and can somewhat guide yourself to your target once airborne. Twenty plus damage pounces are not as hard as they seem once you become better acquainted with the pounce mechanic, 25 extra damage is the maximum.
 * When the finale's horde has surrounded and is attacking the Survivors, it is a very good idea to simply claw away at them. The Survivors might melee you once or twice, but they will have an extremely hard time identifying you as a Special Infected, and you can easily chip away quite a bit of health. This also works well with Survivors covered in bile, as they cannot see you.
 * If the Boomer covers three people, it is better to pounce the clean Survivor as Boomer bile diminishes vision and the Infected meat shield will prevent them from getting to you. The Boomer's victims are unable to see the aura surrounding their teammates while they're covered, so they won't be able to see the pounced victim until the initial blindness wears off.
 * When the Smoker snares someone, don't melee the Survivor who is being strangled by him, as your claw will break the tongue and free the victim. Also, do not kill steal from Smokers by pouncing on a grabbed Survivor. Protect them by pouncing would-be rescuers.
 * Team up with the Smoker. Incapacitate Survivors in the water after the Smoker pulls them in, then the team will have to go outside to help.
 * The Tank will most likely inadvertently kill you if you pounce his close and immediate target. Instead, try to go for someone who is either not running from the Tank, or someone who you don't think the Tank will attack first.
 * It is very important to note that you cannot pounce while under water. You can however, use your aquatic hideout as a means of getting close enough to claw at any Survivors taking refuge in the water. You should be able to deal a good amount of scratch damage before they notice you.

The Smoker
The Smoker is designed to separate the group and make it difficult for the Survivors to stand together during horde attacks. Here, there are certain things you need to bear in mind:


 * When the Survivors reach the finale, a good place to hide is in the water behind the boathouse. From there, snag any Survivor who steps out onto the back deck to get ammunition or first-aid. Not only are you hard to spot in the water, despite getting a very clear shot, if you incapacitate a Survivor, then the Survivor's allies need to revive them immediately or they'll drown!
 * The Hunter, despite having the ability to steal the Smoker's target, can work together with the Smoker in many ways:
 * Between them, they can immediately incapacitate two separated Survivors without a fight.
 * Confident Survivors will usually chase after a fleeing Smoker whose tongue is recharging in order to kill them off. If you notice this behavior, take advantage of it. Have a Hunter wait around a corner, then get one of the Survivors to chase you, and have the Hunter pounce the Survivor chasing you. If you're lucky, by the time help arrives for the Survivor, your tongue ability will have recharged.
 * Hunters can aid Smokers by lying in wait. Once the Smoker has snared a target, the Hunter can then pounce the Survivor trying to save the snared Survivor.


 * If a Boomer has vomited on the three other Survivors, you can take the opportunity to grab the fourth. While the other three are covered in bile, they cannot see aura signals of their allies. In the mess of the finale battle, the lack of an aura means they may not even notice. Plus, once they do notice, your target will most likely be far away and in bad shape.
 * The Smoker is the Tank's best friend. The last thing a group of Survivors needs is to have one of their number dragged a long distance off during a Tank battle. You have two Tank battles during the finale to help the Tank to defeat the Survivors.

The Tank
The Tank has two opportunities to crush the Survivors during the finale. In order to do so, you will need to remember a number of things:
 * First and foremost, note that there is a very large body of water in this finale. If you get set on fire, jump in and extinguish the flames. Their molotovs will be practically useless!
 * Your rock throw is usually very underestimated. With practice it can be devastating and deal a lot of damage to the team of Survivors quickly. As a rule of thumb, aim your reticule above, and often ahead of, the target while throwing.
 * If you incapacitate a Survivor, immediately target another. If someone has managed to get around you to help their incapacitated friend, show the Survivor their mistake by knocking them out as well.
 * Do not attempt to help a Hunter or a Smoker with their trapped target. You will end up killing the Hunter or freeing the Smoker's victim respectively. You can, however, use them as bait for other Survivors and attack those who try to rescue their fellow Survivors from them.
 * The Minigun can be an even bigger pain than fire. It can kill you before you reach the Survivors.
 * Avoid being set on fire as best you can! Even though the water can extinguish the flames, try not to get set alight anyway.
 * Take notice at who has a Molotov before you become the Tank, and avoid these players until the fire they throw burns out.
 * If you hit a Survivor you see has a Molotov, be sure to incapacitate them if you can.
 * If you see somebody about to throw fire, change direction immediately! If worse comes to worst, use the rock throw to hit Survivors.
 * Fire kills a Tank after 30 seconds, and it shows the damage in your health.
 * If things get bad and you've caught on fire, don't panic. Simply jump into the water. This may, however, set you back a fair bit.
 * When the rescue vehicle arrives though, don't worry about the fire. They will get to the vehicle, so don't hold back if your enemies made a blockade of fire. Just charge through.
 * Remember that the survivors don't know where the tank is coming from. You can enter the house from a point where the survivors can't see you, giving you the opportunity to get closer to the survivors without being fired at.

Survival
Rock Method
 * To the left of the house there is a group of two rocks in the water. With a bit of practice you can jump to the top of the rocks. From here, Common Infected have a difficult time getting to you as there is only one place they can get up and they will constantly be pushing each other out of position. Three of the Survivors are on Smoker protection while the fourth Survivor uses his melee attack to stave off the Infected to conserve ammunition. The Tank usually cannot find the Survivors and will die after losing control, but should he successfully spot them, he likewise has difficulty climbing up, but he can still toss rocks and the surrounding water makes Molotovs impractical so it is advised to either fight him on the mainland or bring him down quickly with heavy concentrated fire. If someone is pulled off or falls off the rock, have them go as far back into the water as they can. The horde should focus mostly on the closer Survivors, allowing the far off Survivor to snipe in relative safety. When using this method, do your best to conserve ammunition. The ammo pile is a long trip away.

Behind the Scenes
Originally, the finale took place near a houseboat that was docked at the edge of a river. An early photo of the area, seen in the folder /materials/console, shows this houseboat. The houseboat was such an memorable part of the map that this map's filename is "l4d_smalltown05_houseboat". It is unknown why the houseboat was removed, but based on the screenshot, it seems that the Houseboat would be too easy to defend, as the team would just need to camp the second floor until the rescue vehicle arrived.

Of note is that the image shows that there originally was no burning city in the background. Instead, a clear dark sky can be seen. It seems that the idea of adding a burning city across the river was added later, possibly to add some sort of connection between Death Toll and Dead Air.