The Parish - 2/5: Park

"Man, I wish we had a horse right now. I loooove horses."

- Ellis

The Park is the second chapter of the campaign The Parish. It involves players running through a park and a military evacuation station, in which a Gauntlet Crescendo Event will cause Survivors to run through wave after wave of Infected in a fenced "maze" to the top of a tower to shut off an alarm. Once the doors are open and the Infected around the evac center are dead, the Survivors must then trek through a bus station until a freeway comes into view, which seems to head the toward the bridge. Close by is a safe room.

Campaign
The chapter starts in a 99 Cent store. In there you will often find Pipe bombs, Molotovs, Adrenaline, Pills, Tier 1 Weapons and Frying pans. Once you leave the room, you will come to a street that is blocked off, an Army Humvee, which occasionally may have first aid kits, pills, adrenaline, or various throwable weapons, and a giant staircase. Make your way up the stairs and to the Bienville Park. Once in side the park there will be an underpass where you may find some pills or adrenaline, sometimes also a throwable weapon. After that you will have to make your way through a maze of hedges. Make your way to the middle of the hedge maze and you will see a generator with a randomly spawned Tier 1 or Tier 2 Weapon. Take the path to the left of the generator to an open area with a gazebo. The gazebo typically has melee weapons (Machete and Guitar most often) a few Tier 1 weapons and a select Tier 2 weapon amongst the white chairs underneath it.

If you take the right path there should be a restroom. There is a chance of finding a melee weapon and possibly a Tier 2 in both places though the melee weapons would be inside the restrooms. Head behind the bathroom and go toward the row of buildings. Go left and you will see a generator. Behind the generator is a small canopy which usually has two first aid kits or 1 kit and 1 defibrillator. Throwable weapons, pills and/or adrenaline can often be found next to the door at the far end of this area. Head through the alley to the right of the generator. On the other side, there is a trailer to the left. This is the Gauntlet Crescendo Event. Watch out! Don't go into the trailer while being chased by a Tank, because he'll climb on it and break in via the glass ceiling. However, he cannot break through the door. AI Tanks, when lured into the trailer and trapped in there, can be safely dealt with, as they make no attempt at exiting through the glass ceiling. There are healing items and other supplies inside. Once you're ready, open the door and head to the tower to turn off the alarm. You must make your way from one end to the other while fighting off infinite numbers of Common and Special Infected.Keep an eye out for the ladder as you may get a wrong turn and die.After this you will make your way through an abandoned bus station, leading you to a lot filled with buses. At the far end of the lot, take the way to the right, and the safe house is directly in front of you. Conserve and gather your resources! This level is much less painful if you have the right equipment. Boomer Bile seems to be a good choice for this segment, such as the Gauntlet Crescendo Event. In most cases, if you look around the field under the freeway you will find at least one Bile Bomb lying around. You can put it to good use just as you leave the trailer. If you throw the Bile towards the alarm, you won't have to deal with the oncoming horde for a while, making the running just that tad easier.

The Infected
This stage contains a lot of open areas and multiple paths. Teamwork must be enforced in order to cause any significant damage to Survivors. Keep in mind that the Gauntlet Crescendo forces Survivors to be on the move or risk more and more Common Infected. If you don't feel confident enough to kill, slowing down the Survivors during this event and preventing them from pressing that button should be enough to have your AI Infected partners damage them enough.

Boomers: You are easy prey here, as the fences make them easy to shoot before you can barf on the Survivors. Try staying out of the Survivors' sights until you get close to them, and if you need to recharge your bile, hide behind a solid wall instead of running away, but don't practically hug the wall, as parts of your bloated body will stick though the walls, giving the Survivors an easy kill, and not allowing the bile from the explosion to cover them. In the case of the Gauntlet Crescendo Event, vomiting on Survivors might not attract additional Infected, but it will help focus their attacks on covered Survivors, damaging them enough to slow down the team. Also, the bile will blind them temporarily, which will cause a lot of problems attempting to go through the narrow walkways, (just be sure not to vomit on them too early, as the Infected do have to climb the fences first, which will take time.)

Chargers: During the first areas of the chapter, the open areas may not help you. Survivors can easily dodge a running charger, and even if you do capture a Survivor, the open areas will still make you an easy target. The hedge maze can give you decent cover if you aim properly, but at least attempt to capture lone wolf Survivors rather than charging the group. You are a lot more powerful in the Gauntlet Crescendo event, as the fences make the area very cramped (in a good way for you). Charges will be very hard to dodge, and a well aimed one could allow you to bowl into all 4 Survivors and separate one of them from the rest. Also, the nearby Common Infected help, as they can act as both a way to slow down the remaining Survivors from getting to their pinned comrade, and also work as a sort of meat shield for you, lowering the damage you will take from the Survivors before they get closer. Both help you to incapacitate or even kill your victim.

Hunters: This chapter is similar to the Waterfront, minus all the high buildings. You will have to be a little more tactical when it comes to damage pounces. Try to work together with other Infected or pick off loners. Bile covered Survivors make great targets. In the Gauntlet Crescendo event, as the Survivors try to turn off the alarm, try pinning one to slow their team down. While protecting the alarm is a great idea, attacking the last Survivor allows for the common Infected to get closer; and someone attempting to save that Survivor would get caught in the damage as well, especially should another special Infected attack the would-be savior.

Jockeys: Because of your ability to control Survivors, you can do well in the hedge-maze. Taking a Survivor away from their team and forcing them into a trap can turn tides for each team. Remember to talk and plan with your Infected team, as the Jockey (though underestimated) can excel here. You can really be helpful during the race to the alarm. While the Survivors are busy trying to mow down a horde of Infected, try riding one backwards in the map. This will slow down the Survivors, damage their companion, and give your teammates time to respawn. For maximum damage, ride the Survivor into an oncoming horde of common Infected, which will more than likely incapacitate the victim, slowing the Survivors down even more.

Smokers: Attempt to separate the Survivors anyway you can. Work with other Infected and use the chapter's static objects as cover and to damage Survivors. During the Gauntlet Crescendo Event, grab the Survivors into covered areas or as they are on the planked walkway. Keeping the alarm going, even for a little bit longer, can damage the Survivors.

Spitters: There are a couple of areas where your spit can delay Survivors, but your main goal this map should be to add on any extra damage you can. Spit on Hunters, Smokers, or Chargers when they are stationary with their victim, and attempt to spit as close to a Jockey you can. Your acid will slow the Survivors down during the Gauntlet Crescendo event, as they will not be able to cross it without taking damage, which, when mixed with damage from the waves of commons, will make crossing acid a very unwanted choice. Your objective as a Spitter will obviously be to spit directly in their path, preferably close to them, as it will slow them down even more. If you're about to die, try to die right in front of them, as this will cause the same general effect. The acid will also give your teammates time to respawn.

Tank: You can incapacitate a team of Survivors quickly if he spawns near the starting safe-room or right before the trailer, as the start contains a car you can incapacitate Survivors with, and the area between the park and the trailer contains a dumpster. Also try and get the Survivors into the trailer (as it's likely they will not exit until you're dead) so that you can take out the glass ceiling, forcing them to either face you in a cramped space, or face you and the horde by leaving. In some cases, it is possible to incapacitate all 4 Survivors at once with these if they're bunched together, making for a very easy round.

Videos

 * *IGN Video: Left 4 Dead 2 PC Games Gameplay - E3 2009: Safe Room
 * IGN Video: Left 4 Dead 2 PC Games Gameplay - E3 2009: Garden Maze
 * IGN Video: Left 4 Dead 2 PC Games Gameplay - E3 2009: Stop the Alarm