Plank Country

"Nick, What the hell, you shot the pilot!"

- Ellis

"They figured out how to stop going to the bathroom? That's AMAZING. Ohhh. No, wait. Oh, I just got that. Shit, that's gross as hell!"

- Ellis

Plank Country is the first chapter of the campaign Swamp Fever in Left 4 Dead 2. The map begins with the Survivors leaving the railway box car in which they found temporary shelter in the wake of their Dark Carnival helicopter pilot turning into a zombie, obliging Nick to shoot him and bringing the helicopter down in the Louisiana swamps.

In front of the Survivors is an abandoned gas station near a collection of trailer homes and shotgun shacks bordering a tourist attraction gator farm (Earl's Gator Village) and many square miles of bayou. The townspeople mistakenly thought they could wait out the Infection by barricading their community, to which end they had fought off Infected whilst spurning outside help and refugees. Unfortunately the plan failed and everyone has either fled in panic, died or become infected.

Campaign
The boxcar has basic starting supplies; four first-aid kits and tier 1 weapons. An opening cut scene shows players the initial route into the map.

The crashed and burning helicopter can be seen by peeping between two neighbouring railway wagons.

Players approach the gas station and will find a melee weapon and throwable nearby. Turning left, a shed usually holds further throwables, ammo pack, melee weapons, or even laser sights. A mini Horde, Spitter and/or Smoker or Charger will usually spawn at this point.

Zig-zagging, players should inspect each of the dwellings as The Director often shows its rarely seen benevolent side. (So much so that it is common to reach the cable-ferry Crescendo Event with all four Survivors brimming with Pills, Special Ammo, Bile Jars and grenades, or even rarely a Grenade Launcher and Laser Sights.) Ammo upgrades are usually common before a team can deplete theirs; so use a health kit to heal anyone and hold them!

A second mini Horde will usually materialize once players enter the village and start exploring. The juke box is playable (counts towards an Achievement) and players should look upstairs in the general store overlooking the ferry dock: another mini Horde should be expected at this point. The gator village is one more likely place for a Witch/Tank to spawn. Special Infected (Charger, Jockey, Boomer and Smoker) are commonplace.

Once players reach the old cable-ferry, they should prepare to fend off the Infected once the Crescendo Event is triggered. A common place to defend is the second floor of the nearby general store, as there are often molotovs, incendiary/explosive ammo, and pills/adrenaline. Defending next to the river is questionable as Survivors are easily separated by all manner of Special Infected (including a Tank - see below), they are attacked from all three sides, they have only light weaponry (this is the major problem), and it is very easy for individual team members to get incapped without much hope of rescue by hard-pressed colleagues. Worse, a Charger or Tank can bowl players into the gator pond and kill them instantly. Even with good luck and a tail wind, it is rare for a waterside defense team not to get into the ferry at the end of the Crescendo Event without having suffered severe health damage and perhaps the loss of at least one member.

Once on the other side of the gator pond, this is of the few most likely times for a Tank to appear: and it cannot be at a worse time since players are handicapped with paltry Tier 1 weapons. Hence, if the distinctive Tank sounds are heard near this point, it is essential to get into a defensive posture, heal and ideally have a Molotov or a Bile Bomb ready.

Players who died at the ferry dock will respawn in a wooden shed on the left of the walkway.

After following a wooden walkway for a short while, a cabin appears on the left. It often holds valuable supplies: from rare weapons (like the Chainsaw, Grenade Launcher and Laser Sight) to common accessories like Pain pills/Adrenaline and ammo.

Players are presented with a choice either to go left or right on elevated walkways but in practice it does not matter which route is taken since they join up again and both paths often hold Tier 1 weapons like the Submachine Gun and Pump Shotgun, as well as other supplies. If a Witch is heard, the chances are that she will be located at the point where the two paths meet, though sometimes she is on the staircases on one path. Look for a lighted shelter on the walkway, it will often contain very welcome Tier 2 weaponry (e.g. Sniper or Hunting Rifle).

The walkways soon end and the obvious way forward is down into the swamp (Nick and Ellis will usually complain at this point). Players can either press on directly ahead (mopping up the many Common Infected and Mud Men loitering around as they go) or they can turn off to the right to follow a path of wooden planks (a faster option).

A light will soon be espied in the distance. It is the entrance to a safe room housed in a drainage culvert under a railroad causeway.

Note

 * Players attempting to jump into the ferry before it docks will fail: they will either die by falling in the water, get crushed by the ferry, or be incapped by hanging from the edge of the dock.

The Survivors
Now that humans are controlling the Special Infected, things can only get worse. However, they can't spawn until you leave the campsite area. That doesn't mean that you should let them have a good chance to find just the right spot, though! Hurry up and get your supplies, and get moving!

This level can be very tricky for the human controlled Survivors, since the Infected are not bots any more. There are some "instant kill" spots in the Crescendo Event area. Also, Tanks may spawn after leaving the ferry.

Whilst most of the level through the Shanty town is relatively easy due to its wide main street which easy fire ways into most buildings things can become incredibly hard once the winch for the barge is activated. Not only will tons of Common Infected swarm on you, even if you camp in the building, but you will become easy prey for Special Infected like the Smoker, the Jockey and the Charger who are all capable of dislodging you from your camping spot and getting instant kills by throwing you into the river. The best strategy then is to stick together and watch all directions, using a Bile bomb or a Pipe bomb to siphon off the majority of the Horde and leaving you free to spot any of the Special Infected unencumbered.

The Infected
Chargers:
 * You can make instant kills here. For you to finish off unlucky Survivors, you must charge them into the water, making them fall to their death. This applies on both sides of the water.
 * Charging Survivors off the walkway is a good strategy.
 * Try to hit the Survivors on the docks and don't let them see you.

Smokers:
 * L4d2_return01.jpg there are many houses in the plank country, you can try ensnaring them from the rooftops. Be sure to not be at the highest spot as the Survivors may spot you easily and kill you.
 * If a Witch spawns in the village try to drag Survivors to her, they will all be equipped with tier 1 weapons so they will have troubles killing her fast. If the Survivor is not dead but incapacitated your comrades can take their chances to finish them off.
 * Pulling players off of the walkways and into the water can slow them down and separate them from the pack, forcing them to take precious time to backtrack and regroup.
 * Dragging Survivors while hidden among the bushes will often result in their rescuers having difficulty hitting you, as you will be concealed. However this is best on Realism Mode, since Survivors that are the victims of Special Infected have an aura around them, making it useless on Versus Mode.

Hunters:
 * The swamp has many hiding spots, use them to your advantage to pounce unsuspecting players!
 * Practice your damage pounces from the rooftops.
 * If one player goes off on their lonesome in the houses to search for supplies, let this be their downfall.
 * If the Survivors are bunched up next to the river, and you pounce one, the knock back effect just might push one or more of their teammates over the edge.

Spitters
 * Spitting on the boat while the Survivors are in it will cause them to take a vicious amount of damage, because there is no escape from the ferry.Left4dead2_jockey.jpg
 * Likewise, spitting on the boat just as it arrives will force them to make a decision between spit damage, or the horde of Infected charging at them, though if players hold out for enough, no Infected will spawn and the players will feel free to walk onto the ground. Spit on the boat WHEN they activate the boat to take them to the other side if possible.
 * If the Survivors are camping in one spot at the Crescendo Event, feel more than free to spit on them and disrupt their formation.
 * As always, spitting on incapacitated Survivors as their rescuer arrives is a great strategy.

Jockey: Boomers:
 * If you're riding a Survivor and he's not resisting, you can send him/her into the water for an instant kill.
 * In the village itself, riding Survivors into and out of houses can buy you a few extra seconds to do damage.
 * Wait for the Survivors in the houses, then ambush them.
 * During the Crescendo Event, it can be crucial to vomit on the Survivors. Obviously yes, but when vomited on, players (especially inexperienced ones) can tend to move around to try and get away from the horde. If they make this mistake when their back is to the river, things could turn ugly for them fast.
 * As a Boomer, try to explode near them all of the survivors some unlucky ones will fall into the water.and the rest will still have vomit on them. Try to do this before the ferry comes. However, if any Bots are around, it is not recommended since Bots will instantly shove you and then shoot you.

Tank:
 * If you spawn as a Tank in the village you can try tossing some of the cars at the Survivors to instantly incapacitate them.
 * The swamp is full of trees, so your rock throws will fail most of the times. Try to punch the Survivor near the water to instantly kill them.

Scavenge
During scavenge, grab several gas cans, and drop them under the water to make sure the Spitters cannot destroy them. This also prevents you from having to run farther away to grab them. This is probably the best strategy for Plank Country. Another strategy is to have two actually in the swamp water, two on the platforms with snipers. These two will cover the ones in the swamp using their scopes, while the others have rifles or shotguns, grabbing gas cans. You can also have two people grab adrenaline shots, and inject them when they get to the swamp water, causing them to run faster than normal speed in it, grab the gas cans, and toss them over. Another way is to run in a sort of line leading to the tanker, one grabs the gas, throws it back, the next person throws it back, repeat, then the last one puts it in. So, the 4 strategies are:
 * Grab several gas cans, put them in the water close to the tanker, then repeat.
 * Two snipers on platforms, providing covering fire for two grabbing gas cans in swamp.
 * Two people with adrenaline shots tossing cans over to two Survivors at tanker.
 * Line up to tanker, tossing the gas tank backwards.

Survival
A good tactic is to hold up on or behind the picnic table(to prevent a charger shoving you off into the water) and wait for the boat to arrive. Then have your team stay in the boat and when needed go for ammo runs. It is suggested to have your team to take shotguns(to kill the tanks and the infected coming in the boat) or assault rifles(to pick off specials, common infected, and to deal damage to the faraway tanks.)