The Waterfront

"Jets. Jets mean people!"

- Ellis

The Waterfront is the first chapter of the campaign The Parish of Left 4 Dead 2. A video of this campaign can be seen here. The second part is here.

Campaign
The Survivors start from a dock after being dropped off from a boat captained by Virgil, who ventures further up river to ferry more Survivors. To your right you will find Tier 1 weapons, and possibly a second Pistol or Guitar, Frying Pan, Machete or Nightstick. Go up the ramp which leads you in front of some burning houses. There are two paths: left and right, right being the primary path. After leaving this small place, Survivors head onto the streets. There is a way that leads inside to one of the town's houses. At the end of the street, there is a café with a jukebox inside. Activating the jukebox causes it to play one of the following songs: "Re: Your Brains" by Jonathan Coulton, "Still Alive" also by Coulton, originally featured in another Valve game, Portal, "The Saints Will Never Come" (a re-titled jazz band version of "When the Saints Go Marching In"), and two songs by the fictional in-game band, the Midnight Riders: "Midnight Ride" and "One Bad Man". After getting inside of the café, there is a small door and a corridor which leads to the backyard. At this place, we can see the first "alternative path" of the new director. In one of the video of E3, the Survivors have no choices to progress on the streets again, but in this video, they are just walking in the backyard, with no possibility to keep their way on the streets, because a fence is blocking them. There, you must enter a kitchen. In here you can sometimes find a Frying Pan or 2. After you leave the kitchen, you pass onto a street, yet again. Right in front of you, there is an alarmed car, so you must pass it hastily. Finally, the safe room, a small convenience store, will be in front of you. This is the second time we can see the exit of the safe room heading to on the next level.

This level is very short, and there is extremely low chance of either the Tank or a Witch appearing, yet the level features some modifiers. At times, the doorway in the café is blocked with plywood, and you cannot enter it from this end (however the other end's door is still operable). If the doorway within the café is blocked, continue forward along the street that's corner the café occupies, and continue forward, while keeping your eyes on the right side. Here we encounter a second variable in the map, there is sometimes a small corridor leading to the backyard behind the café, however, if even this does not appear, continue onward until you find a fence you can jump over near the end of the street.



The Survivors
This is one of the shortest chapters in the game. Like the other campaigns you will start with two tier 1 weapons, four health kits, a melee weapon, one pistol and a pile of ammo. You will start off on a docking bay after being dropped off by Virgil, who drove the rescue vehicle in the last two campaigns, Swamp Fever and Hard Rain. First of all equip yourself and leave the safe room, when you leave though be sure to kill all the Infected that spawned in front of the Docks. Once you do check both left and right corners for any more Common Infected in case, then head for the sign saying "French Market" and go straight through the door under the sign. Once through, deal with the Infected at the beginning of the street, once you do head up the collapsed balcony and into the window on the right. There will be two melee weapons and two tier 1 weapons inside. Once done kill the Infected down below, this will save you the trouble of going down and getting swarmed. Then continue down the street to pass a cafe, with a jukebox inside. Depending on the director, there will be at least 1 path to take, through the door in the cafe, up the steps and over the fence to the street to the right of the cafe, or through a small archway on the same street as the fence. There is a pistol/magnum at the end of the street, next to the stairs over the wall. Go through the back door to another restaurant, and the first room will be a kitchen with numerous Frying Pans inside. Note that the freezer door in the kitchen will not close as it did in Left 4 Dead so in the rare time a Tank comes, do not try to hide in the freezer. Then go through the double doors, out the cafe, then you will pass a red car with an alarm, which attracts the horde if shot. Turn left and go to the fence-like barrier then turn right, to see the safe room.

The Infected
This can be a very difficult level for the Infected team in Versus as it is one of the shortest chapters in the game. The relative closeness of the safe room from the start, gives you fewer chances to attack the Survivors. Coordination and infected teamwork is essential in this level as well as exploiting all the nooks and crannies. Remember that the AI Director can change which doorways you can access and which are blocked. While spawning, it would be wise to check which way Survivors can go; be sure to tell your team so that they can plan on taking out the Survivors accordingly. Also note that the alarmed car outside the cafe can give your team a big advantage, but at the same time, can be useless if Survivors sprint to the safe room after activating it. Try to ensure they activate the alarm and guard the safe room from anyone attempting to make a break for it. Though the car alarm is the your greatest advantage in this level don't spend all your time waiting for the Survivors to get there as a healthy Survivor can easily make it to the safe room if not attacked prior to the alarm. Use the alarm cars, teammates, and the extremely rare Witch or Tank to bring down the Survivors, and use the rooftops and balconies to your advantage.

Hunters: A level with both open areas and enclosed spaces, roofs and walkways with easy access and many places to flee should the need arise will make you a happy Hunter. The multiple rooftops will make high damage pounces a certainty, but do keep in mind that you deal high damage per second. Should the area that leads to the magnum lead to a dead end, you can pounce any player that rushes off for it on their own. There is also a glitch that involves jumping from a bus to a room in a building where Infected spawn. You can very much use this room to trap any lone wolves who decide to glitch and abandon their team, as the Survivors cannot see you from there.

Jockeys: Your primary goal in this level is just to separate Survivor teams for your Infected friends to finish off. This level is so small and littered with static objects that can get in the way of the Survivor your riding that the odds of you incapacitating one is seldom. Don't let that discourage you. Ride a Survivor who is attempting to help a friend up or from another Infected's grasp. Even if they end up killing you both, a few extra seconds of damage can mean the victory or defeat. Also, a witch may be able to spawn on the road where the safe room is, Wait in there and you can ride a survivor to the witch. If there is no witch there is always a car alarm in front of the restaurant, which will attract a horde.

Chargers: There are several areas to bowl through Survivors, scattering them and causing you to get a few extra slams on your victim. Charging at the beginning dock can hurt Survivors, plus anyone that gets scattered by the Charger can fly off the dock into the water below, resulting in an instant death. There are also walkways and small cramped rooms which can do well, but don't forget that you can carry Survivors away. Using this ability plus your other Infected can either damage multiple Survivors or severely damage the captured Survivor.

Smokers: Like the Jockey, this level may not be the best for you. However, there are several areas where you can hide should the tangled target be freed. Attempt to split up Survivors as much as possible, delaying them for your other teammates to spawn and have their change to damage them. Should Survivors attempt to use the small staircase near the magnum, pulling the last Survivor that doesn't jump over the fence quick enough will force the Survivors to attempt to hop and shoot over the fence or go around the building to free their trapped friend.

Boomers: Should you be a Boomer, you must at least attempt to vomit on one Survivor. Obviously yes, but because this level is so short, your teammates are going to need as much help as they can in taking out the Survivors. Attempt to shower weaker Survivors in bile; the Uncommon Common Infected for this campaign, Riot Gear Infected, are not only a pain to deal with but should a player be incapacitated, they will be unable to deal damage to the Infected without a teammate's help.

Spitters: There are several high rooftops and walkways that can "snipe" from, but the few access ways and narrow passages require close contact. Remember that your spit will not only damage Survivors, but it can delay them from pressing forward. Also remember that Spitter Goo will compound damage from other Infected (Jockey's riding, Hunters' pinning, etc.) Spitting just before the saferoom at the end may delay the survivors from entering, which can be very helpful if the car alarm has been triggered.

Tanks: An appearance of a Tank in this level is rare, but it can be really useful. Usually, most tanks will appear just before the safe room. There are few cars for you to punch and it will probably not go into the small cafe. Your main goal should there be a Tank, is to try to spread as much panic and separate Survivors. Your teammates should help attack any Survivor you are not attacking. Keep as much communication going as you can, be aware of what other players (of each team) is doing and attempt to at least take down one Survivor. As always never attack a Survivor who is currently in the mercy of a teammate, doing so will most likely kill your teammate and free the Survivor allowing them to kill you.