The Docks

"Unless anyone has a better plan..." This article requires a properly written walkthrough. Please check the proper layout before contributing to the walkthrough.

Chapter 1 The Docks
Campaign	The Sacrifice
The Sacrifice Chapter Chronology
Chapter 1 The Docks Chapter 2 The Barge

"Well--better get moving. Remember, if you fall behind, Bill thinks it's okay to let you die."

―Zoey

"Hey Louis, I don't think it's a tank in there. It sounds like a puppy. You should stand closer."

―Francis

The Docks is the first chapter of The Sacrifice campaign. After a controversial hairsbreadth escape from military confinement at Millhaven, the Survivors put their disputes aside for now and adopt Bill's plan of finding a sailboat and getting away to a safe haven on an island in the Florida Keys.

Strategy

Also see: Tactics

All campaign walkthroughs are done on Normal difficulty in single player, and are meant to give tips on what to do and generally point out things that might otherwise be missed.

There are, of course, a few key things to always remember:

• Stop, look, and listen.
  • Being observant might alert you to something nasty ahead of time, like a Witch, Special Infected or Tank, and allow you to prepare yourself.
• Teamwork.
  • This cannot be stressed enough. Left 4 Dead is supposed to be a cooperative game. Communicate with your teammates, if you're playing with others, or if you're by yourself with the AI, point out things they might otherwise miss. In all cases, watch out for each other and take care of each other. You are not going to survive the zombie apocalypse by yourself.
• Be ready for anything.
• Don't panic.

With tempers still frayed from recent incidents, you move to find a sailboat. Surely there's one available here?

Campaign

At the beginning, all the AI bots will grab Shotguns.

Most Left 4 Dead players familiar with the tightly confined landscapes of earlier campaigns will find this a relatively straightforward "run 'n' gun" level since there is plenty of open space in which to maneuver, long vistas and good sunlight; moreover, the Common Infected mostly appear in open sight or are located in intuitively predictable locations, all of which simplify combat operations and even enable fast players to move ahead without bothering to engage non-threatening Infected milling around on the peripheries. A good idea is to conserve primary weapon ammunition, which is more useful for unexpected hordes and Special Infected, by making maximum use of Pistols and throwable items to clear Common Infected out of your path.

Navigate by looking for red road flares, vehicle headlights and associated "through here" visual and audio cues. The level is an industrial landscape richly endowed with opportunities for teams to detour away from the main line of approach in order to explore.

Introduced for the first time in the Left 4 Dead series are Explosive Barrels―a combination of Gas cans and Propane tanks. They generally come in sets of two and, although immovable by Survivors, can do massive damage to nearby Infected. Their power is such that they can inflict severe damage on nearby Survivors, so great care must be exercised to ensure team members are well clear of the blast area before setting them off by (e.g.) gunshot or pipe bomb.

Along the way, the Survivors will run into a locked train car containing a Tank. In order to complete this chapter, it is necessary to pass through the train car and so one Survivor must volunteer to unlatch the door and release the Tank. Letting the Tank out triggers a Crescendo event, filling the area with Infected into a combat area lacking in cover and protective angles. If possible, keep Pipe bombs or Bile bombs handy for the horde and focus the team's initial defensive fire onto the Tank. Players won't be able to advance beyond the train car if the Tank is alive since the door won't open unless the Tank is dead, preventing players from running ahead to leave the others to fight the Tank.

Versus

Important note on Tanks! Tanks do not have the frustration meter in L4D2 Versus, so starting the Tank that is in the armored train car will not cause the Tank to die.

Survival

thumb|300px|right|Achievementor's Survival video for the Sacrifice Docks mapThe Survivors arrived at the dockyard, only to find a Tank imprisoned in their way. Setting it loose was the only choice they had, but with the Tank's roars calling every nearby Infected to the yard, will the Survivors have a chance to escape?

• This map has every type of weapon including: four Chainsaws, the M60, and the Grenade Launcher.
• Due to this map having CEDA Worker Infected, Bile bombs are very common and will spawn often. So don't hesitate to use them!
• This being a small map, it doesn't really have many defensible positions so improvisation and teamwork is what will get you the high medals. Try to arrange your weapons in one area so they're easier to get at.
• Gas cans and Propane tanks should be put in several locations around the map to allow cutting off of the horde giving you breathing space and time to deal with Tanks.

Behind the Scenes

• Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 use different graphics programming. This explains why the formers fog and dark tones are noticeably enhanced relative to those encountered in the latter.

Notes

Variation skin of the Tank in The Sacrifice at The Docks.

• The intro to this campaign shows the Survivors' train coming to a stop and they fight off the oncoming Infected with their guns. This is the first time a campaign intro has active combat instead of the standard flyover introduction to a level.
  • Curiously, they fire automatic weapons from the train, but once the level begins the Survivors have only pistols once more.
  • But since it is a military convoy train, it is possible that there are mounted guns inside

Another view of the Sacrifice Tank

In Left 4 Dead, Military and Maintenance Infected normally spawn here, but in Left 4 Dead 2, CEDA Worker Infected are likely to spawn during this sequence, and sometimes they will carry Bile bombs. This can give the players an edge early on in the game since the Bile bombs remain on the ground even after the cutscene ends.

• The CEDA Worker Infected and Worker Infected make their official second campaign appearance here. As usual, they carry over their specific abilities such as the CEDA Worker Infected's ability to randomly drop Bile bombs on defeat (the spawn rate of these bile bomb CEDA Workers has been increased), and the Worker Infected's immunity to Pipe bombs.
• It is never made clear why the Tank is in the biohazard reinforced train car.

"Danger ― Live Specimens" on the side of the train car containing the Tank

• • The Tank in the train car is also the third time an Infected is tied to a Crescendo Event; the first one being the Church Guy in the Death Toll campaign, transforming into a Special Infected; the second one being the Bride Witch in The Passing. Releasing the Tank from the train car summons a horde. Unlike the Witch, there is no way to avoid setting off the Tank.
  • Additionally, the Survivors seem very reluctant to be the one to open the door, and try to convince one of the others to open it. This is especially true for Francis and Zoey.
    • Similar to what Francis said to an Infected soldier in the comic, Francis may sometimes try to convince the Tank to go after Louis.
  • The Tank has less health than normal Tanks.
    • As the Tank's door triggers a Crescendo event, it might purposely have less health to balance this.
• On the train door at the top, it reads, "Property of the United States Army."
• The Tank was given a variation skin in The Sacrifice at The Docks; specifically for the military train car. He has no hair, no shoes, is missing his two front teeth, has surgical scars, sports a Marine Corps tattoo on his chest, and appears to be wearing shorts, similar to the Tank seen in the Zombie Survival Guide trailer, and appears to have large shackles on his arms. On the Mutation TAAAANNK!!, all Tanks would have this skin.
• A glitch exists in Left 4 Dead Versus Mode. Players do not have to fight the Tank in the train car if they stop opening the train car door halfway through the process and wait. The act of first starting to open the door triggers the Tank's aggression mode meaning that after a time he automatically dies of frustration. Players are then free to open the door and continue on their way.
  • The Tank in the train car in Left 4 Dead 2 can be damaged or even killed by shooting at him through the train car's wall.
• In the Left 4 Dead 2 version of this map, opening the door to the Tank will shift your view to third-person while Left 4 Dead does not.
• In the early phases of this level, a significant volume of distant automatic gunfire can be heard.
• Bill may mention that CEDA and the military left them to die, but the Left 4 Dead Survivors have never sought any rescue directly from CEDA in-game. This suggests that Bill is either simply using 'CEDA' as a catch-all term for organized authority or is being sarcastic about CEDA's 'Don't worry. Obey our commands' publicity issued at the time it was ostensibly in control of the situation. Bill's ornery attitude towards Authority in all forms is, of course, well-documented.
• This is the second time that a Tank will spawn at a certain part of the level, the first being The Parish bridge.
• If you type in "thirdpersonshoulder" during the intro cutscene, you will find the Survivors already off the train, but not talking/moving; just waiting to start.
• If you use sv_cheats 1 to noclip into the tanker where the Tank is, the Tank will not be there and it won't spawn until someone opens the door.
• At the beginning of the level, by the train, you will find that Infected will actually spawn behind the train.

Glitches

At the beginning of the level, there is water from a lake. If you hold the space bar (PC) or "A" button (Xbox 360) while jumping in the water, you will not sink and instead be floating above the water. You are also able to walk around above the water (Left 4 Dead 1 only)

Gallery

The Survivors releasing a Tank from the refrigerator car.

The door leading out of the refrigerator car won't open if the Tank is alive.

The crashed plane in the beginning of the level.

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