The Bridge (Left 4 Dead 2)

"Encountered? Boy, I am covered in zombie blood and puke and eyeballs and twenty other parts I don't even recognize. We are immune as SHIT!"

- Coach "You heard the man, let's get across the goddamn bridge."

- Nick

For the actual in-game bridge, see Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The Bridge is the fifth and final chapter of the final campaign, The Parish.

Campaign
Note: If you've started from previous chapter, there will be up to 10 health kits (4 on the first level, 4 on the second level and additional health kits if the team did poorly) waiting for you, in addition to a second set of weapons on the first level. Compared to other finale saferooms, there is no ammo pile present inside.

After stocking up on supplies, leave the room and interact with the radio by the dead soldier. The dialogue can be skipped immediately by interacting with the controls to the side after using the radio. Wait for the barrier to drop down before advancing.

Caution: Throughout the bridge, be wary of Chargers, Jockeys and Boomers! They can cause Survivors to hang onto the ledges, weakening the strength of the Survivors. Chargers and Tanks are especially dangerous on the bridge, since they can also kill players instantly if they manage to get a Survivor off the bridge.

When the barrier drops, move forward immediately. The first set of Special Infected spawn from behind, while the Common Infected appear from the front. Dash your way towards the other end of the bridge. Stick to the sides of the bridge, since the middle will have large holes that discourage jumping.

The team will eventually find a crashed Humvee and a ramp leading to the top level. Go up the ramp, then backtrack to find an ambulance containing pain pills and/or adrenaline shots. Keep moving forward until you drop down to the bottom level. There will be a truck to the left with a corpse slumped onto some boxes, along with ammo and extra supplies.

Caution: As soon as you touch an invisible line from the back of the truck, The Tank's music will cue. It is extremely dangerous to fight the Tank in the middle of the bridge, as there are plenty of cars for it to punch. For balancing reasons, these cars will deal reduced damage. However, it is imperative to avoid getting hit by the cars, since players can get stuck and/or take extra damage to cause incapacitation.

As soon as the Tank spawns, either rush past it (if it hasn't visually appeared yet), or fall back to the second level and fight it. While the second level is much more dangerous due to the risk of being punched off the bridge, there is very little for the Tank to punch.

If the players rush past this Tank (or kill it), the Hordes start resuming. Cut your way through them to reach the other side of the bridge.

Upon reaching the last truck, the finale music cues. Unlike other finales where it signifies an endless wave of Tanks, these Tanks will not spawn until the previous one was killed. If the team rushed past the Tank on the bridge, no Tanks should spawn as the team makes their descent to the helicopter. Grab the pipe bombs from the Humvee if you don't have any throwables and launch it at the horde. While there are supplies at the truck, they aren't worth grabbing.

A Heavy Machine Gun is present in this area; however, it's best to ignore it as it provides little for the Survivors. Run towards the helicopter and enter it with any remaining teammates to finish the chapter.

The Survivors

 * Plan ahead. A good plan is better than just running and hoping for the best.
 * You need to keep moving as much as possible.
 * Newcomers should be on the lookout for gaps in the bridge. A few careless steps can send you off the edge.
 * It's good to stop for a few seconds every now and then to clear the path ahead; however, tell your teammates when you do this and resume movement as quickly as possible.
 * When the Tank comes, you can climb on the scaffolding on the left and right sides of the bridge to avoid being hit by cars. If the Tank follows, be sure to jump back onto the bridge carefully.

The Infected


The Hunter: Try to pounce the last Survivor during moments of confusion (Tanks, Boomer Bile, etc.), as most Survivors will keep moving before they realize their teammate is in trouble. It's a good idea to claw weak Survivors who usually trail the pack until you incapacitate them, and then hide and then pounce the rescuer to add more damage to their team. Practice makes perfect, so if you can practice, the bridge holds few very good wall-jump positions, which leave Survivors wondering where you are going to come from.

The Jockey: You can do wonders on this stage, especially if the Survivors are scattered. If you can successfully ride one, you can take them backwards and/or cause them to hang on the side of the bridge. Be aware that this will most likely end in your demise, so have a buddy close at hand to take care of any rescuer, or your sacrifice will be in vain. You can also ride a bot off the bridge as bots do not resist the Jockey's influence, allowing you to disable them quick.

The Charger: When the opportunity arises, try to charge a Survivor off the bridge from the sides or one of the many holes in the middle of the bridges. If this isn't possible at the time being, try to grab the Survivor at the back and carry them back; this way, Survivors either need to go back and kill you, or leave their teammate to die. Chargers can take Survivors from Jockeys, which can confuse Survivors, as well as it can let the Jockey set a new ambush position. You can also follow up when a Jockey carries a Survivors off an edge by grabbing and carrying their rescuer to their death.

The Smoker: Try to grab the one that is behind. This can slow the whole Survivor team down. They will either run back to save him, buying your team more time, or run ahead, leaving him to die. Also remember that the many holes in the bridge can instantly incapacitate or kill a Survivor, so try to drag stragglers off whenever possible. Your tongue will break and you can hide. As with Jockeys, have a buddy close to grab any wannabe heroes.

The Boomer: Try to vomit on Survivors when possible. This will summon a horde that can slow down Survivors, especially those that are in the front and away from the other Survivors. This will leave one person fighting off the horde. Remember that when you explode, you can push players back. Take care when near captured Survivors or Tanks, but attempt to explode near Survivors who are close to holes or the sides of the bridge. The blindness has an added effect: it might cause the Survivor to mistakenly run into a hole, which is instant death.

The Spitter: You might not do so well this level as the Survivors are constantly moving; your spit is stationary once fired and there are usually multiple paths through the bridge. There are also no "good" hiding spots to take cover in. Attempt to do as much damage to the Survivors as you can, trying to get in places where they have to go, such as the ladder on the fuel truck after the Tank. Also, since most players won't cross goo even here, try to spit to split up the Survivors so your team can pick them off, or put the Survivors in immediate (and deadly) danger. Another way to slow Survivors is spitting at where they need to call the pilot, though there is not a great hiding spot to do this from. If you plan to do this, expect to die shortly after you spit.

The Tank: If the enemy team is not climbing on the scaffolds, you can easily bash them with cars. It's a great way to slow down Survivors and then rush up to them. For The Bridge, cars will not instantly incapacitate Survivors, instead doing a set amount of damage, so follow up attacks. Do realize that even though you are a feared team member of the Infected, the large number of cars and the distance you will spawn from the Survivors will mean more time to get to them. It is usually faster to punch cars out of the way than to bother jumping and hopping over them. Keep an eye on your frustration meter. Be aware that there are several propane tanks on the bridge, and if Survivors time it right, they can stumble you off into the water. It is also good to punch the Survivors off the bridge.

Survival
The Helipad Strategy


 * The helipad is an open and wide area, so Tanks can be killed effectively with minimal damage taken. The water on one side acts as a barrier from behind, the only area from which you will be attacked is the front so you can easily focus fire on the hordes of Infected heading for you. Be wary, however, because Special Infected such as the Charger or the Jockey can carry you into the water, leaving you incapacitated on the edge. Equally, there's no room to flee or retreat due to the water. There are plenty of item stashes, including inside the helicopter itself where there are health kits and a defibrillator. The helipad is accessed by the two walkways at the front, which creates a useful choke point for funneling the Infected.

The Radio Strategy


 * As it's at the center point of the map, it has quick access to all the ammo piles and pill stashes around the area but is equally far away from every other stash including the helipad. The area itself has its own ammo pile which can be camped by and used when needed, so you're not short on bullets. There are many fences and walls in this area that can act as blockades, causing Infected to be thinned out and easily picked off, and the lower walls allow a quick escape from Spitter acid. Unfortunately, this area has a large problem because with the bridge looming over the area in front, Infected have a tendency to drop off and land all around, causing chaos and increased difficulty in controlling the horde.

The Bridge Strategy


 * Fighting from the high end of the bridge, like with the helipad, allows Survivors to funnel the Infected and mostly there won't be any Infected attacking from the sides. Special Infected, such as Smokers, can attack from behind however, leaving you vulnerable. There's an Assault Rifle and an Auto shotgun near the area for ammo. Collecting gas cans and hoarding them from this position can be extremely useful for dealing with Tanks, throwing them down can set a Tank on fire long before he can reach the Survivors. The tents at the high end of the bridge allow an excellent vantage point for taking out Tanks with a grenade launcher or a sniper rifle for the Special Infected. Chargers are the main concern as they can bowl through the tightly knitted group and cause disturbance in the line. This area falls short with no health kits, a few pain pills and adrenaline shots. This makes it dangerous if you plan to get supplies from the radio below as you can easily get swarmed and overwhelmed. Just like the helicopter strategy, there is nowhere to retreat, making it hard to escape from an attack.

Bridge Video Guide Rusty Woud has made many survival videos along with extensive coverage of the Left 4 Dead games, here he can be seen trying out the bridge method to great effect.

Behind the Scenes
This chapter was at first called "The Table Bridge" and then "The Lift Bridge" before being changed to simply "The Bridge". Originally, The Bridge was created with no cars or anything other than the Infected in the way. Valve changed this later, as described in the Developer's Commentary for this chapter.

The bridge itself was going to be bombed by the military while the Survivors were crossing it. This was cut for unknown reasons, though still appears in the Zombie Survival Guide Trailer, with Rochelle speaking to the military through a hand-held radio, requesting the bombing stop. The jets that were meant to bomb the bridge can still be seen in-game, returning from the city and bombing the bridge only before and after the survivors' run.