The Port

"That is for Bill!"

- Louis

"All right, look, no messin' around, let's get these cans."

- Coach


 * For the actual in-game port, see Rayford Port.
 * For the finale of The Sacrifice, see Port Finale.

"The Port" is the third and last chapter in Left 4 Dead 2 "The Passing" campaign. It follows a basic Scavenge format wherein players must retrieve a set number of gas cans and refuel a generator to enable the Rayford Bridge to be lowered whilst under continual attack from Common and Special Infected interspersed with Tanks.

Zoey and Francis provide direct covering fire and a constant stream of throwables and healing items while Louis operates a Heavy Machine Gun on the bridge.

Campaign
This Chapter is basically a Scavenge map similar to that of "Dead Center"'s finale. Players have to collect a stipulated number of gas cans from widely separated locations, bring them to a generator, and pour them in, all the while under attack from the Infected. As usual, there will be a Horde, a Tank, and a second Horde followed by another Tank (or Tanks).

When players emerge from the safe room, they walk up a series of riverside steps (noting the original Survivors' sailboat anchored nearby on the way) until they reach a landing next to the bridge from whence they meet Francis, Louis, and Zoey who offer greetings and instructions of how to refuel the generator. A key part of the dialogue is the point that they will provide covering fire from the bridge. Louis is on a Heavy Machine Gun, with Francis and Zoey both equipping an AK-47 or Sniper Rifle from the bar room balcony next to the bridge. Zoey and Francis will also assist by randomly throwing down various supplies (signified by statements such as "Here you go!") like bile bombs and Adrenaline (refer Notes section below).

Important: The covering fire delivered by the original Survivors is a key consideration. The original Survivors can kill the Infected easily, especially with Louis using the Heavy Machine Gun. They can even save the player if their teammates are killed. One should be aware that they do have a limited range though, and will be unable to help if they cannot see the team.

If playing Single Player or any Single-Player based Mutation it is only necessary to scavenge 10 gas cans, as opposed to the normal 16 gas cans required for Campaign, Realism, Versus or other Mutations. Take note that if the game drags on for too long without filling the generator, unlimited hordes and unlimited Tanks will spawn until either the generator is filled up or the team is killed.

Once the requisite number of gas cans have been fed into the generator, the bridge will automatically lower the deck after a short time. A mass of Infected will soon appear, including a Tank, so prepare to make a short stand before retreating to the car.

General Strategy
A strategy you can use at the finale is circling around the map, collecting gas cans as you go. Start from the nearest gas can and work your way around clockwise. This is a great strategy to use with Campaign and Versus, due to the street in the center being a quick way to fuel the generator, grab ammo, and get extra items and weapons from the original Survivors.

On Expert (and perhaps Advanced), it is only recommended to go for the nearest gas cans upon dropping down. This means that only nine gas tanks need to be grabbed as the remaining eight are within close range to the drop-off/original Survivors. When the Tank spawns, one player should get the Tank's attention and lure him around in a loop away from the original Survivors while everyone else scatters to grab the remaining nine gas tanks from afar. No Common Infected spawn during a Tank fight unless bile is present, so the only threat will be stray Common and Special Infected.

If the Tank dies, grab any remaining gas cans and return to the middle and hold off the Infected until the Tank wave resumes. On Normal, there is a slight chance of two Tanks appearing, while they are guaranteed on Advanced and Expert, making it vital to obtain as much gas tanks as possible before the second Tank wave.

Note: When the Tanks spawn, do not stay in the middle road, as there are several cars the Tank(s) can punch, which will send them flying and incapacitate/kill Survivors.



Easter Eggs

 * Bill's lifeless body can be found in the generator room right next to the elevator. Any Survivor can take his signature Assault Rifle, set with a unique skin.
 * In the Sacrifice comic when he was hit by the Tank, he laid next to the machinery with no ammo. However, in the game, picking up his weapon will provide the player with a full reserve of the rifle's ammunition.
 * Defibrillators don't work on his body, as his death is canon. His body is merely a prop asset used in this chapter.
 * If you take Bill's weapon and empty some ammo from it, then pick up another primary close to Bill's corpse and pick up Bill's rifle again, its ammo will be completely refilled, just like other randomly-spawned firearms.L4d2 m16.jpg
 * Bill's rifle is treated as a normal gun spawn with only one gun in it, so if a player picks up Bill's Assault Rifle before picking up another primary close-by, Bill's rifle will go back into his hands as part of the game's mechanics. This can be symbolic in a way.
 * There is a boat in the water on the right of the bridge. Once the bridge has been lowered, the player can clearly see that the boat is called One 4 All. Similar to "Save 4 Less" and "Just 4 Kids" in "Dead Center", and the Left 4 Dead achievement "All 4 Dead"; this is a reference to the game's name and probably to Bill's act of courage. In "The Sacrifice", this is the boat the Survivors plan to use to sail to the Florida Keys.
 * To symbolize the meeting of the cast of both games, the "zombat" (horde theme) of The Port is a combination of both horde themes from L4D (the dramatic drums) and L4D2 (the more action-focused drums and electric bass guitar), played together as one track.

Survival
There are two effective strategies that can be employed on this map: a hold in front of the bridge, or laps around the map.

The hold in front of the bridge is very simple: all four survivors line up along the barrier in front of the bridge, pressed against it. One survivor covers the roof of the building surrounding the generator, one survivor covers the alleyway and door to the bar on the other side, and the remaining two focus on infected coming down the street directly in front of them. If all four survivors use the AK-47, their damage output will be more than sufficient to eliminate individual Tanks before they reach the Survivors. Double Tanks may require a molotov or gas can to safely deal with. Can cans should be stored in the small alcove next to the building on the left side of the hold point (facing the street) in order to minimize the risk of accidentally setting them off. Under ideal conditions, this strategy is sufficient to achieve a time of approximately 15 minutes if gas cans are used on all Tanks, and more if they are only used on double tanks.

The second strategy, laps, begin on the second floor of the generator room, with all four survivors standing on the railing, three covering the main generator room and one covering the door behind them. This is the standard hold position where the Survivors will stay until the Tank arrives. When the Tank arrives, Survivors should jump down to the first floor of the generator room (possibly over the Tank's head — ensure that it is climbing before jumping down to avoid being hit). From there, proceed out the leftmost exit and move forward up the road until the hedges end on the right side. Behind the hedges, there is a ledge that leads to the road below. Stay on the ledge until the Tank catches up to you, then jump down and proceed across the street, travelling up the stairs on the left. From there, go through the bar, jumping down to the first floor and exiting through the front door. From there, travel straight back into the generator room and back to the hold position to await the arrival of the Tank. This lap route is effective at avoiding the Tank as long as it is adhered to strictly, but hesitation or deviation can result in a Survivor being quickly taken down by pursuing infected. Additionally, survivors that are separated from the group are difficult to retrieve due to the wide-open nature of the route. Overall, while it is effective, it is difficult to maintain for any significant length of time.

One particularly effective strategy is to employ the bridge hold strategy until the gas cans have been exhausted, then proceed to do laps for as long as possible. This allows the Survivors to maximize the effectiveness of the bridge hold while still avoiding being overwhelmed by double Tanks later in the Survival round. Simply fight through the infected from the front, move around the fence and proceed into the generator room to begin the laps.

As with most Survival maps, it is possible to utilize a grenade jump or grenade launcher jump (in which a Survivor crouches under their teammate with either a thrown grenade or grenade launcher and uses their projectile to launch their teammate as they jump, allowing them to reach extremely high areas) to reach an area where infected cannot reach. In this particular map, boosting to the top of the bridge is effective at avoiding infected and achieving an arbitrarily high time, so long as smokers are dealt with before they pull you down and kill you.