The Streets

"Hey, I know a gun shop near here where we can get some real weapons."

- Ellis

The Streets is the second chapter of the Dead Center campaign in Left 4 Dead 2. After escaping the burning hotel, the Survivors follow the helicopter as they head towards the evacuation center at the mall. This chapter contains a Crescendo Event in which the Survivors must obtain a pack of Cola from a Save 4 Less convenience store, with an alarmed door, for the owner of a nearby gun store. He returns the favor by clearing the roadblock that prevents the Survivors from reaching Liberty Mall.

This chapter will introduce these new elements (note that some of these are randomly generated and may not be introduced until the next chapter):
 * The Tank
 * The Witch
 * Alarmed cars
 * Weapons (AK-47, Combat Rifle, Assault Rifle, Hunting Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Combat Shotgun, Tactical Shotgun, Pump Shotgun, Submachine Gun, Grenade Launcher)
 * Gas Cans and Propane Tanks
 * Laser Sights
 * Ammo Upgrades (Explosive/Incendiary)

Strategy
Grab a gun from the counter, a health kit and ammo from the table, and (if in Versus), check near the right wall (facing the exit) and the back room on the floor for melee weapons. Upon opening the safe room door, turn right and clear the Common Infected there. A melee weapon, and at times, a Grenade Launcher, can spawn in this area. After this area, there are two paths to take. To the left, on the right side of the CEDA trailer next to the hedges, there is a table that often has a grenade or Ammo Upgrade on it and a Gas Can or Propane Tank near it. To the right, there is a section of fence, near the base of which a grenade or pain pills may spawn.

Go to the street now. You might hear crying, and/or soft music (which indicates a Witch), or grunting and/or heavy music (which indicates a Tank). Clear the tent first to search for a Grenade Launcher or Chainsaw. If you are running low on ammo, search the nearby truck for a tier 1 weapon. A grenade may spawn here as well. Keep moving down the street. Watch for hordes coming in from both sides of the street as you proceed. Search the police car and look on the left side, as an Ammo upgrade may spawn there. Open the door, and get your throwable out if you hear or suspect a Tank is hiding inside there. If the Tank is in there, fall back and don't let him get near the dumpsters or police car, as he can punch them at you and instantly incapacitate you.

After going down the staircase, ignore opening the door first. Search the boxes to find a tier 1 weapon, and open the rescue closet door to look for a Grenade Launcher or Chainsaw. Hordes may swarm in at the door and from the staircases you just went through, so stay alert. Search the room thoroughly for other supplies, which can be found in corners and under the stairs.

Exit the room and head to the left (there is nothing of interest to the right). The nearby truck, under the overpass to the left, may contain a melee weapon and will contain a tier 1 gun. A grenade may also spawn here. Next, proceed to the other side of the overpass. There are two paths: one is more direct, one has a few extra spots where supplies can spawn. To the right is the more direct route, straight ahead is the indirect route. Supplies can spawn on the hill to the right (which is on the direct route), near the tree straight ahead (in the form of either a Grenade Launcher or Chainsaw), in the truck to the right of the tree (also contains weapons), behind the van near the truck, between the portable restrooms and the dumpster that much be climbed to reach the next area (to the left of the dumpster), and under the overpass to the right of the dumpster. When you are satisfied, proceed to the ladder and climb over the dumpster.

Clear the Infected out carefully, and turn right to look for guns or ammo upgrades. Proceed up the stairs to the building in front of the dumpster, and check the corners of the concrete platform outside for supplies. Enter the building. Search the first floor of the building, making sure to check the corners of the room and the closet near the back, where supplies or a Grenade Launcher may spawn. Proceed up the staircases, where a health closet, melee weapon and Tier 2 guns will spawn. Always watch for the Witch, as she usually tends to spawn there or at the street below.

Clear the Infected out from the balcony above the street. Hordes can spawn at the fencing to your right, so move quickly. Supplies may spawn near the portable bathroom on the street. Proceed down the sidewalk to the right, keeping an ear out for a possible Tank spawn. Take the stairs at the end of the sidewalk. There may be supplies next to the staircase, near the generator in the area above, or in the corner against the wall directly to the left of the stairs. Proceed around the corner, and go inside the stairway to the nearby walkway. Search the rescue closet and the stairs themselves for supplies. While on the walkway, Hordes can spawn from the fencing below you. Be wary of any Witches or Tanks if none have spawned yet, as they may appear outside the Gun Store. Once all remaining Infected are cleared, go inside the store and resupply on health kits if any were used and grab a weapon of your choice. Don't forget to pick up a laser sight upgrade, and check the floor throughout the store for other supplies that may have spawned. Talk to Whitaker to proceed further.

Once Whitaker opens the door, search the room to your right for supplies, then proceed up the stairs. Unlike other Crescendo Events, a Witch can spawn in this area, so if you find one be sure to kill her. You certainly do not want to stumble into her while bringing the Cola to Whitaker. Before opening the store doors, make sure that your teammates are ready for the horde. Adrenaline shots will greatly help you get the cola to Whitaker faster.

In single player, you may want to throw a Bile bomb or Molotov outside to stop the Infected from running into the store for a moment. The Molotov will prevent the bots from coming in, although this is not advised on Expert because of the rapid damage they will take from it. In co-op, one player can go inside the store to grab the cola while the other stays outside to prevent the Infected from running in.

Note: There is a white van in the parking lot. Tanks cannot punch this, but it can be used by Survivors. Climb on the van to skip at least 25 % of the gauntlet.

Note: There is a drop down from the stairs into the parking lot, just across from the store. The Cola can be thrown over this drop down to a second player, significantly shortening the Crescendo event.

Note: You can shoot or push one or more shopping carts over to the hedges to build a makeshift staircase over the hedge, significantly shortening the Crescendo event.

Once the Cola is given to Whitaker, he will blow up the tanker truck that blocks the path to Liberty Mall (the explosion will turn off the Save 4 Less alarm, and the horde will stop after 1-2 minutes). Now head for the mall, and search carefully. Search the desks for ammo upgrades, and search the tents for weapons and supplies. Watch for Alarmed cars. If shot or jumped on, these cars will sound a blaring alarm which will summon a horde. A Tank or Witch tends to spawn near the end of this chapter as well, so remain vigilant. Get inside the safe room to proceed to the next chapter.

Easter Eggs

 * The convenience store's name, Save 4 Less, is a reference to the name of the game. Additionally, the logo at the top of the store is modeled after the logo on the game's box art, minus the hand.
 * Save 4 Less may also be a reference to a chain of supermarkets known as Food 4 Less.
 * There is a trailer outside the saferoom with the words "Disease Emergency Assessment Dispatch"; this ironically spells out "DEAD" in acronym form. This can also be seen in The Parish.
 * By using noclip during the scene where Whitaker destroys the truck, the player can see Whitaker himself. Oddly, he shares a similar model to the Fallen Survivor, which appears in the next chronological campaign.
 * In Whitaker's Gun Shop, the sign advertising the Magnum's price lists the name of the gun as the "Desert Cobra". This is a reference to the pistol the Magnum is based on, the Desert Eagle, as well as the naming convention of certain revolvers being named after large snakes (Colt Python, Colt Anaconda, etc.)

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