The Sugar Mill

"Shit... I'm about to start crying in a minute."

- Ellis

The Sugar Mill is the second chapter in the Hard Rain campaign. Once you exit the safe room you see the Ducatel 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, it's one of the most difficult levels, 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 (similar to the corn fields in Blood Harvest of Left 4 Dead).

Campaign
In the safe room, there are some Tier 2 weapons sitting on the table, along with health packs, grenades, and temporary health items scattered around the room, and most of the time, defibrillators. Grab what you like, and head down the stairs and out of the safe room. Follow the hallway and turn outside in the parking lot. Deal with any Common Infected here and head into the outskirts of the sugar mill. Keep on heading around the scaffolding, avoiding any Witches that may be around. It is not uncommon for several Special Infected, including Tanks to spawn here, so stay on your toes. Keep on going, and soon there will be a small trailer in front of you that houses either Tier 1 or Tier 2 weapons and usually pills. Advance farther past that, and there will be a larger trailer, which contains first aid kits, Tier 1 or Tier 2 weapons, and on occasion, defibrillators. This is also a possible spawn location for a Tank, so if you haven't encountered one so far, be ready if one does come. Next you will head into the sugar mill itself. Enter on the ground floor, and simply head up the stairs. Watch out though-Hunters and Chargers like to camp at the top of the staircases and wait for you. Head up to the top level, be sure to clear the area before you activate the elevator.

After you call the horde, the overall most effective way to fight it is in an "L" shape. One person covers the small left passage, another one is in the corner behind them with a long range weapon (the Combat Rifle works very well for this) taking care of any Infected coming at long range from the right side, another (preferably with a shotgun or melee weapon) occupies the right flank from close range, and the last one (also with a ranged weapon) covers the far side of the floor, to make sure no Smokers pull anyone away.

Good job, you have survived the Crescendo Event. After you exit the elevator and before you enter the cane field, turn right. There will be a small shed that houses medkits, pills, oxygen tanks, and pipe bombs. Continue through the field-but be careful not to run into any Witches-and the gas station will be right in front of you. Head into the safe room, regroup, and prepare for the Mill Escape.

Tactics

 * Be aware that "full of Witches" does not mean 3-4 Witches. The level can contain up to 20 Witches, often more than one in a single area and even lurking around in the sugar cane fields where you can't see them until you've spooked them.
 * Unfortunately, the Witch Bacteria usually gets glitched in this level if you are not in a versus match, making it a lot harder to tell the location of the witch easily.
 * Since this chapter takes place during the day, you will have to try your best to sneak around the Witches as they wander around instead of being stationary.
 * One tactic you can use to get across the sugar fields is to head all the way to the right or left of the field where the water levels are lower than in the middle so you don't slow down through the field. Another method is to jump constantly through the field looking for any nearby Witches,but be wary though, as you may hit a Witch or two.
 * Another tactic is to walk on the large pipe going through the field; there aren't many sugar canes near it and it gives you a higher ground, two useful things that can help you spot a Witch.
 * Because you should focus on the Witches, it is VERY easy to forget a Tank may spawn in the area. A good idea is to turn the subtitles on to full captions, and wander through the sugar mill carefully.
 * A riskier method is just to walk as fast as possible through the campaign. If a Witch is in the way, let it pass and keep moving.
 * If you want to kill the witches, a combat/tactical shotgun at about instant startling distance will kill them, but you must unload on them and it uses alot of ammo. A chainsaw will do the job on easier difficulties. The witch will stand up and die. If you choose the chainsaw save it for them.
 * Because of all the Witches in this chapter, it is not worth throwing a pipe bomb into the distance to clear out common infected or shooting with a grenade launcher, as the chances are that you will inadvertently startle one, and this can prove to be a problem, PARTICULARLY on Expert or Realism.
 * The sugar cane field can contain around 5-10 witches. It would be wise to avoid using molotovs and pipe bombs here.
 * Witches in the cane field can climb up to where you must start the elevator to finish the level. Throwing a molotov and just letting them die, won't work.
 * On realism or expert it is a good idea to have at least one survivor with a defibrilator just in the case the Witches manage to kill someone.

Achievements

 * Note that the achievement says without killing any Witches. It is possible to earn the achievement if a player startles a Witch and then escapes or is killed by her, as long as the Witch is not killed.
 * You only need to make it into the safe room in the gas station, not necessarily close the door.
 * Since this part of the campaign takes place in the day, the Witches will be walking around the Sugar Mill. This makes it much harder to sneak past them.
 * Expect that you or your ally will die a lot if you want to get this achievement, especially if you play with AI Survivors since the AI usually struggles to sneak past them, often opening fire when she becomes agitated. This is not always the case, however.
 * You can also kill some or all of the AI survivors before encountering Witches, just leaving you and a possible live partner.
 * It is possible to get the achievement if you join the game part way through the level, making it much easier to get.
 * If you try being a pacifist with her, she can push you back to the beginning of the level or next to another Witch, so be careful.
 * Take ladders, stairs, or other shortcuts to avoid Witches.
 * Faster isn't always better.
 * Ladies first! Let the Witch take her time walking, then you walk into the area.
 * Avoid rooms with one exit (with the exception of safe closets) if a Witch is around, EVEN if they contain objects, because a Witch may wander into the room leaving you no choice but to fight her. For this reason you should avoid lingering in these rooms should you choose to venture inside. Another reason why the rooms should be avoided is because a witch may spawn in there, and the Director wants you to enter the trap.
 * When inside the Sugar Mill, it would be wise to use melee weapons to deal with Common Infected, so that you don't risk missing and hitting a distant Witch.
 * Avoid molotovs and incendiary ammo packs because Witches can be set on fire, not only will that eat away her health but the person who set her on fire will startle the Witch, even if she's chasing after another Survivor.
 * Record every area where you find a Witch. Sometimes, obstacles like Tanks or other Witches can push you to another Witch.
 * If you startle a Witch, try not to startle another Witch, because most likely a Survivor(especially AI) would try to fire on both Witches, which could ruin your chance of getting the achievement.
 * Be careful! There is a rare chance that a Witch will appear at the bottom of the elevator ruining your chance at getting this achievement. If this happens, the next chapter Mill Escape will also have a stationary witch on the top floor of the elevator right where the elevator door is at.
 * If you are unsure of where the Witch is, while having to fend off multiple infected, aim for the feet of your targets. This may inflict less damage, but ensures that the bullets will not pass through the infected and into a witch. This is especially effective while using the shotgun.
 * Be careful if you plan to use the Grenade Launcher. A stray blast can hit a Witch and startle her. Explosive ammunition is also to be used with caution since they cause splash damage upon impact and can hit a Witch.
 * Be careful of Tanks. A punch or a slab of rock from a Tank that accidently hits a Witch can instantly kill her in one blow.
 * You don't have to be that cautious to make sure the Tank doesn't kill the Witch, since you only have to worry when the Tank notices your presence, and the chance the Tank would hit the Witch is extremely low, but accidents could happen.
 * If a Wandering Witch is close but behind a window, keep an eye on her, chances are you will lose her and you wont notice her being right next to you!