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- "Oh, I know what to do with this!"
- ―Rochelle
- "Man, I'm gonna beat these sons of bitches 'til I lose my watch."
- ―Ellis
The Shovel is a close combat weapon in Left 4 Dead 2, introduced in The Last Stand Update alongside the Pitchfork.
It is found in the following campaigns:
- The Passing (PC version only)
- Swamp Fever (PC version only)
- Hard Rain (PC version only)
- The Parish (PC version only)
- No Mercy (Left 4 Dead 2 PC version only)
- Death Toll (Left 4 Dead 2 PC version only)
- Blood Harvest (Left 4 Dead 2 PC version only)
- The Sacrifice (Left 4 Dead 2 PC version only)
- Cold Stream (PC version only)
- The Last Stand (Left 4 Dead 2 version)
Melee Mechanics
Melee weapons replace Pistols in the secondary weapon slot. Unlike Pistols, close combat weapons never need to be reloaded and cannot run out of ammo (excluding the Chainsaw). They have two main drawbacks: a limited reach and (with a few exceptions) relatively long cooldown periods. Close combat weapons cause minimal friendly fire damage to the Survivors, even on Advanced and Expert difficulty levels (the Chainsaw is an exception).
These weapons are extremely effective. All melee weapons, on all difficulties, kill Common Infected and most Special Infected in one hit, aside from the Charger (which takes two—but see point below), the Witch (which takes four), and the Tank (which takes twenty, excluding the Chainsaw). Due to their death effects, it is generally advised to melee neither the Boomer (unless there is no choice) nor the Spitter (unless it is possible to move away immediately from the resulting acid splash).
The melee weapons appear to do more damage if an Infected's head or upper body is targeted. With the correct timing it is possible to kill a Charger with one hit while it is charging, allowing a Survivor to "level" a charge without first dealing damage to the Charger and to gain the achievement "Level a Charge".
The Shovel is classified as a bludgeoning weapon. It spews blood on the screen, but never dismantles or mutilates the Infected.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Has a wide attack range, allowing multiple kills with one swing.
- Stumbles crowds of Infected relatively easily.
- It is one of the most common melee weapons.
Cons
- Slightly poor hit detection.
- Cannot be used to cut a Smoker's tongue.
- Not recommended for killing Boomers due to bile showering attacker and any nearby Survivors.
Achievements
- Main article: Achievements
CONFEDERACY OF CRUNCHES | (30G) | |
Finish a campaign using only melee weapons. |
TANK BURGER | (30G) | |
Kill a Tank with melee weapons. |
BEAT THE RUSH | (15G) | |
In a Survival round, get a medal only using melee weapons. |
LEVEL A CHARGE | (15G) | |
Kill a Charger with a melee weapon while they are charging. |
PC exclusive
PURE SATISFACTION | ||
Kill 20 Jockeys with the shovel or pitchfork. |
Notes
- Like the Pitchfork, the Shovel has unique swing sounds and hitsounds.
- Similar to the Frying Pan and the Nightstick, any Infected (except the Tank) can be sent flying a short distance when killed with the Shovel.
- The shovel has a unique attribute that allows it to hit around ragdolls with greater force than other melee weapons.
- One of the community developers who were involved in The Last Stand Community Update confirmed in a Reddit post that the inclusion of the Shovel in Left 4 Dead 2 is a homage to the Postal video game series, in which the protagonist can wield a shovel as a melee weapon. This is reinforced by the observation of the Shovel's first-person viewmodel being a near-identical mirroring of its Postal 2 equivalent, as well as its size being similar to that of its Postal 4 counterpart.
- A Shovel can always be found at the starting point of The Junkyard in The Last Stand, standing upright beside a makeshift grave to the Survivors' right.
- You were likely suppose to be able to decapitate infected with shovel at some point. Script file for it includes decapitation line but is set to 0, meaning no decapitation happens (line is not present in other scripts for melee weapons which are unable to decapitate). Changing script with mod allows decapitation to be turned back on.
Weapons | |
---|---|
Primary Weapons | |
Tier 1 | Chrome Shotgun / Pump Shotgun / MP5 / Silenced Submachine Gun / Submachine Gun |
Tier 2 | AK-47 / Combat Rifle / M-16 Assault Rifle / SG 552 / Auto Shotgun / Combat Shotgun / AWP / Hunting Rifle / Scout / Sniper Rifle |
Special Tier | Grenade Launcher / M60 Machine Gun |
Secondary Weapons | |
Sidearms | M1911 Pistol / Magnum Pistol / P220 Pistol |
Melee Weapons | Baseball Bat / Cricket Bat / Crowbar / Fireaxe / Frying Pan / Golf Club / Guitar / Katana / Knife / Machete / Nightstick / Pitchfork / Shovel |
Special Tier | Chainsaw |
Other Weapons | |
Grenades | Bile Bomb / Molotov Cocktail / Pipe Bomb |
Upgrades | Explosive Ammunition / Incendiary Ammunition / Laser Sight |
Fixed Weapons | Heavy Machine Gun / Minigun |
Items | |
Usable Items | Explosive barrel / Fireworks / Gas can / Oxygen tank / Propane tank |
Special Items | Cola / Gnome Chompski |
Featured in both games / L4D1-exclusive / L4D2-exclusive (Counter-Strike weapons / PC-exclusive) |