Farmhouse Finale



The Farmhouse Finale is the fifth and final chapter of the fourth and final campaign, Blood Harvest.

Survivors must reach and defend a farm area (containing several barns, a large cornfield area, and a central farmhouse) from the Infected while waiting for military rescue in the form of a TPz Fuchs APC. Rescue is triggered via a radio located within the farmhouse, and once called takes 10 minutes to arrive.

Caution: This is the only finale that has a Crescendo Event before the actual finale. It also is provoked without warning, taking one by surprise. It is also the only finale without a mounted minigun.

During this time, Survivors must consolidate their defences and be prepared to fight a constant stream of Common Infected, as well as multiple Tanks and other Special Infected. There are fewer gas cans and explosives than other finales, although oxygen tanks can often be found in the house. Once the rescue vehicle arrives, the Survivors must board it from the open hatch in the back, after which the vehicle is shown driving off, with the Horde in pursuit, before the screen fades and credits roll.

Landing Method
Two players should grab an auto shotgun, one player should grab a hunting rifle, and the last player should grab an assault rifle. Go up the stairs and have one of the players that is using the shotgun cover the stairs and the other one cover the hallway. Have the player using the assault rifle cover the back door (the left door when walking up the stairs) while the rifleman makes sure no one gets taken by a Smoker. Make sure everyone is in a tight group, but watch out for Boomers. The player covering the stairs should be in front of them while the player covering the hallway and the player covering the back door are back to back. The rifleman stays close to all three and continually uses melee attacks when the Survivors get overwhelmed.

When a Tank attacks, scatter into the separate rooms, staying in pairs (so the Boss Infected can't pick anyone off) and keep whittling the Tank down using the tactics described on the Tank page. Repeat until the rescue vehicle makes a complete circle around the house. It will only stop after circling the house.

Barn Method
After calling for rescue, run out of the house to the right. There should be a barn. Climb the ladder to get to the rooftop area. Conveniently, ammo is usually stored up there. Fight off the horde by staying in the corners. When the Tank comes, it's very likely to come up the stairs. If so, it's very easy for all of you to unload on him. This Tactic also works very well with Versus mode.

Shed Method
Most often shown in the preview videos of Blood Harvest, this option is similar to the above barn, but in the opposite direction. You should find a long shed with one ground level entrance. There is sometimes a propane tank near this shed. The advantage of this position is that it funnels most of the Infected through the ground level, although a few use a hole in the roof. This will make combating the Infected fairly easy, and auto shotguns are perfect for this location. The main problem is when the Tank arrives, you don't have much space to get around him and can take a lot of damage trying. The other drawback is that the shed is farther than both the house and the barn from the rescue vehicle, putting the Survivors at greater risk during the escape. Try to escape the shed when the Horde starts to noticeably decrease in intensity, and fight the Tank in the open. Return to the barn for the second wave, then fight the second Tank in the open, staying near the barn. The APC should arrive directly adjacent to the barn.

Kids Room Method
Get two shotguns and two Assault rifles. Stock up on items and go upstairs. Go to the middle room that looks like a kids room. Get one player with a shotgun at the doorway and the other at the window. Have an assault rifle man on each entry door. If the Tank comes by the outside, leave the room and scatter into the other 2 rooms. Everyone should be shooting him. If you are playing expert mode, it's best to fan out onto the roof when you hear the Tank music, split up into 2 groups of 2, and carefully walk onto the thin strip of roof at the sides of the building. The Tank, being so large, has a hard time getting up there, and will usually fall or occasionally even get 'glitched', where one of his arms clips inside the house. This immobilizes him, giving survivors a chance to pour their lead into his cranium. Once he dies, get ready for another wave and hold out like before. When the second Tank comes. Jump down the window. You'll probably get around 15 damage. Fight the Tank outside and killing him will be easy. Again, if you're on one of the harder difficulties, then it's best to utilize the 'roof' method to dispatch the Tank. The APC should come soon so throw one pipe bomb and RUN to the vehicle. After 5 seconds of running, if you have another, throw another pipe bomb. If you don't a Molotov does second best. Get into the vehicle and turn around. Shoot every Infected. If you were stopped by a Tank, attempt to kill him. With at least 3 people firing at him he should fall rather quickly.

If one guy is pulled out by a Smoker, the assault rifle man should use a melee attack against him immediately. If you can't, the assault rifleman should stay up in the top and shoot the Smoker before the player with the shotgun reaches the Smoker. Cover him while he gets against the wall. The 2 at the other door should head back downstairs and help him get back into the room. The assault riflemen should be able to take care of the other Infected.

Haystack Method
Get your Weapons, first aid kits, and prepare, but don't radio the rescue just yet! Go to the area with the haystack piles and climb up them. There should be a fence to your left; climb over it. If you see the metal bars then you're in the right spot. Now look to the left and crouch jump. You should be in between the bars. It takes a while to get use to but practice. Once everyone is up, one fast person should call for rescue then get back fast and get on the bars. If done right the Infected shouldn't get you except for Smokers; watch out for them! When a Tank comes, he can't get to you but watch for the concrete he throws. Get off immediately if he does this and kill him normally. If this happens get back up there on the bars. If you can't just go to barn or house and use tactics 1, 2, or 3.

First Floor Method
Get two guys manning Auto Shotguns and two guys with Assault Rifles or more Auto-Shotguns. Have the two with the shotguns go to the windows in the room where you call for help, and shoot any Infected that try to get through. Have the other two go into the hallway just outside this room and shoot any Infected that come through the front/back doors, or come down the stairs. The only flaw to this plan is that there is a wall in the room which is breakable. If this happens, retreat to a different area and use one of the other tactics. However, when a Tank comes, go outside. If you are caught inside, you will be killed very easily, and the Tank might be tempted to break the wall, compromising your position.

Closet Method
Utilize the closet strategy inside the house. This involves backing into a corner and having some of your players melee spam while the others shoot any Infected that appear. This is easiest in the radio area or bathroom. To counter this strategy in versus, camp the room they are using to closet and ambush the Survivors when they make a run for the rescue vehicle. Alternately, camp the barn next to where the APC arrives.

Cornfield Method
This tactic is only for players who are crazy, or just bored. Just stock up on supplies, call the radio, and go into the cornfield. Yes, you read that correctly, head into the cornfield. It's best if you equip M16's since the common Infected tend to spread out and attack from all directions. When fighting the hordes, try to have all four Survivors have their backs to each other, forming a "diamond" or a "+", or just get on the tractor and shoot them as they come. When a Tank comes, play a game of cat and mouse with it until it dies. When the APC comes, make a mad dash for it. After trying this, you shall know what true terror is.

Tips for Expert Mode
Generally, in the regular difficulties this level can easily be beaten by staying inside the kids room or either of the closets or the bathroom, but in Expert mode, this strategy does not work well as the Tank usually arrives while you are still killing Infected, killing everyone before you have a chance to leave the room.

The two best methods for beating the end of this level on expert are either the closet in the back of the house (which is less safe for the reasons stated below), or the best method for beating this level is to camp in the barn. Neither strategies work well if you are playing with bots. It is ill advised and nearly impossible to beat the end of this campaign with bots. This campaign is also said to be the hardest level to beat in expert, as there are not many good places to camp and escape from before the Tank comes.

Using the closet on expert

If you are a fan of the closet strategy and are playing on expert, the best closet to use is the closet in the upstairs room in the back of the house (has white walls and a closet, to your right walking out of the kids room). You can usually get lucky and exit this room before the Tank comes.

Using the barn on expert

The barn strategy, although the scariest and trickiest (besides holding out in the cornfield), works the best with 4 players on expert (if you have any bots on your team, you will not be able to use this strategy at all). It is very important that most of the fire power is geared towards the big hole in the barn, and that at least one person watches the ladder.

The reason why the barn is the safest is because it is difficult for the Tank to reach or climb into the barn, thus giving the players time to leave the barn to safely outrun the Tank. The Common Infected usually have to climb up to get to the Survivors giving them more time to shoot them. There is an ammo stash and (if you're lucky) sometimes Molotov cocktails on the table.

Witches

For every campaign in expert mode comes this nasty responsibility: staying away as much as possible from the Witch. Witches in expert mode can kill a Survivor in one hit, and Witches can spawn in the most quirky places in the cornfield. You can easily spot her with her red glowing eyes, so you can sneak past this nasty Infected. Otherwise, run!

The Hunter
Depending on where the Survivors decide to take refuge, you'll have to change tactics slightly. The main idea is to pounce the Survivors while they are distracted by something else; mobs, hordes or other special Infected. One tactic which works well is to team up with a Smoker and pin the Survivors that he pulls out of the building, leaving the Smoker to grab someone else. Pouncing them while they're inside the house/barn ready for you is certain death simply because they will gun you down without a moments thought due to the close proximity of the in-doors area. If a Boomer is able to vomit on at least three Survivors in the cornfield you will most likely be able to attack the other Survivor and kill them while the rest run frantically to the house.

The Boomer
Banzai! Rush them; that's all you can really do in this finale. They're either expecting you or can hear you coming. If they decide to stay in the house, you can easily sneak in through one of the upstairs windows and leap out while they're shooting. Usually you'll get one trigger-happy Survivor shooting you and coating everyone in Boomer bile. If they decide to stay outside, then all you can really do is jump off of one of the surrounding buildings and hope to get shot. Alternately, you can try to "mortar" your vomit onto the Survivors from a high building; this tactic doesn't always work though. Suicide one is usually your best bet on this finale.

The Smoker
The only real tactic for the Smoker is to drag the Survivors through the windows. If the Survivors are useless, you can kill one of them yourself. If the Survivors are great as a team then you need to work together with the Hunters to incapacitate them all. If you can manage it, climb on the building that the Survivors aren't in and then try to drag them from the top of it. Of course, if the Survivors take the almost suicidal tactic of going into the cornfield, your job gets far easier due to their poor vision while there.

There is also a possible chance to kill a Survivor before they even reach the finale, all that is required is perfect timing and a bit of stealth. Right before the Survivors jump into the cornfield right after climbing up the train cart, wait patiently for the Survivors to jump into the cornfield, usually they do it one-by-one. Once three Survivors jump down, quickly pull the last one to you. The farther the better because the Survivors will not be able to shoot you, nor will they be able to reach the Survivor in anyway. Even if they manage to kill you, the Survivor will most likely be incapacitated and die from bleeding out. A Boomer vomiting on the Survivors will cause confusion, and they definitely won't notice one of their pals being strangled to death.

The Tank
This is actually a fun level for the Tank; you get to cause chaos and panic and have a large play area to chase and kill the Survivors. If they decide to stay indoors, break down the walls so the other Special Infected and Hordes can pour straight into the house rather than get bottle-necked in the doors. From here, pin them in corners and beat them to death. Usually, outside, the Tank will get slaughtered by a good team due to the fact that it can only run at the same speed as the Survivors, and a good Survivor can dodge the concrete attack. In this finale, the cornfield is good to confuse them, then destroy them. If they decide to run around the house, like they usually do during a Tank attack in single player, take advantage of the huge fallen tree close to the house. This is good to surprise groups of Survivors who like to chase the Tank into the forest. Mainly, use the environment and punchable objects to your advantage. Don't forget you have allies who can take advantage of this huge Tank sized distraction. Be sure also to know what tactic the Survivors use; if they use the Closet Method, charge them QUICKLY. Don't let these wannabes escape. Have some buddies outside in case your opponents escape through the windows. By that, there's no chance to escape.

Survival
Barn Method


 * After calling for rescue, run out of the house to the right. There should be a barn. Climb the ladder to get to the second floor. Conveniently, ammo is usually stored up there. Fight off the horde by staying in the corners. When the Tank comes, it's very likely to come up the ladder. If so, it's very easy for all of you to unload on him. Or, you can head onto the rafters in the barn where the Tank has serious trouble reaching you. Once he's dead, head back into your corners and continue the fight. Alternatively, the Survivors could constantly fight on the rafters. This has the advantage that you won't have to move, but it means that Smokers can pull you off and Boomers can vomit up at you.

Shed Method


 * This method is similar to the above "Barn Method", but in the opposite direction. You should find a long shed with one ground level entrance. There is sometimes a propane tank near this shed. The advantage of this position is that it funnels most of the Infected through the ground level, although a few use a hole in the roof. This will make combating the Infected fairly easy, and auto shotguns are perfect for this location. The main problem is when the Tank arrives, you don't have much space to get around him and can take a lot of damage trying. Try to escape the shed and fight the Tank when the Horde starts to noticeably decrease in intensity, and fight the Tank in the open. Return to the shed for the more, then fight the second Tank in the open, staying near the shed. Rinse and repeat. Unfortunately, there is now a breakable wall at the back of the shed the Infected will break through, allowing for three points of entry - the front door, the hole in the roof, and the breakable wall to the rear of the building.

Behind the Scenes
An early screenshot of the Farmhouse Finale in the folder materials/console shows that early versions of the Farmhouse looked significantly less fortified by the military; there is no sign that designates the area as Echo and there is much less military equipment surrounding the farmhouse; the only equipment present are two stadium-style lights on the sides of the farmhouse. In addition, it lacked fog, which is a vital component of the final Farmhouse Finale. Finally, the area is much more greener than it is in the final version.

The image's name is traintracks.vtf. It likely gets its name because two of the maps in Blood Harvest force the Survivors to follow traintracks.

Early images show that the rescue vehicle was a Flatbed Truck with a Minigun on it. This model can still be seen in the final version on Dead Air's Runway Finale, but it lacks a Minigun.

Trivia

 * TPz Fuchs in the rescue says "TK-421" to the right of the door. This is a reference to the one of the stormtroopers that Han Solo and Luke Skywalker incapacitate in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * This is the only finale without a minigun. This is peculiar, because the area was previously defended by the military and it is commonly believed that the miniguns found throughout various levels were left there by the military.
 * The finale Farmhouse's complex has a striking resemblance to the farmhouse from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
 * It is somewhat odd that rescue vehicle provided by the army at the end of the Farmhouse Finale does not provide any form of complement evacuation protection such as soldiers, rescue vehicle gunners, etc.
 * This is the only finale that has a Crescendo Event directly before the actual finale. When you walk into the cornfield, you will startle the horde. In addition, this is the only Crescendo Event where you don't have to shoot or activate something. You simply head into the cornfield which startles the crows and causes them to squawk loudly. That, in turn, alerts the horde.
 * In the toddler's room of the farmhouse, there is a naked baby doll on the floor that is recycled from Half-Life 2.