A very formal welcome to the beginning of this guide. Left 4 Dead 2 and it's prequel Left 4 Dead has been out for close or equal to 7 years. During this period of time, the ability to play multiplayer matches in the form of Versus matches (and other specific forms such as Scavenge), has brought about the advent of competitive play. As many new players frequently purchase this game and many continue to play on a regular basis, this guide has been written with the intent to introduce and support players into becoming better players in competitive play.

It would be good to have a basic understanding of L4D2 (Knowing how to shoot, select weapons, knowing how to finish the map) before continuing on, as this guide will assume that you are ready to step into playing competitively instead of learning how to play.

As mentioned previously, due to the popularity of competitive play, certain players and developers have thought and created configurations to replace standard Vanilla gameplay that is offered on Valve's Official Dedicated servers. This section aims to introduce and explain, hopefully in sufficient detail for you to be able to differentiate them completely apart.






Vanilla mode is the standard configuration that is available on all Valve Official Dedicated servers. This includes health kits, pills, tier 1 weapons (Pump Shotgun, Chrome Shotgun, Silenced Submachine Gun and the Submachine Gun), tier 2 weapons (Tactical Shotgun,Combat Shotgun, Hunting Rifle, Sniper Rifle, M-16 Assault Rifle, Combat Rifle and the AK-47), special tier weapons (Grenade Launcher and M60), different kinds of pistols, throwable items (Bile bomb, Molotov Cocktail and Pipe Bomb) and melee weapons. Simply put, it contains every single weapon or item as it is considered the 'full' version that was intended to be made.



Vanilla mode also does not feature static tank and witch spawns. This means that a tank or witch may or may not spawn at all during each chapter of every map. However, certain tanks or witches that are programmed to spawn at a certain part of the map such as the Witch Bride in Passing 1 or the Tank in Sacrifice 1 will spawn in the same fixed location when you play that map.




This includes certain types of servers that include static tank and witch spawns with other features largely untouched. This could be said to be a step up from regular Vanilla, as the static tanks and witch spawns make overpowering the survivors easier.






Promod is a highly popular configuration that was built by Jacob and other developers with the intention of making competitive gameplay more balanced and interesting. Changes made include the removal of tier 2 weapons, health bonuses to incentivise making saferoom with extra points to reward healthy survivors making the saferoom, certain throwable items (the Bile Bomb still exists), static tank and witch spawns, many other changes to the Special Infected, changes to each individual map such as different props within each map to balance gameplay as well as many other miscellanous changes.

It would be too difficult and tiresome to include all the changes made to Vanilla as Promod, currently in version 5.0 has been altered drastically over and over. As a result, for a complete log of all changes made, you should check out https://www.l4dnation.com/pro-mod for more details.





Acemod is a growingly popular configuration that was built by Visor and other developers. Visor has intended for this configuration to be highly balanced compared to other existing configurations. In addition to many similar changes such as in Promod, there are also other important changes such as removal of bunnyhopping (Which will be explained later) for Survivors and most Special Infected with the exception of the Jockey. The bonus system works on a basis of damage, health and pill bonuses.

For a complete log of all changes made, you should once again check out https://www.l4dnation.com/acemod-v3 for more details.







Equilibrium is a less popular, but nonetheless interesting configuration also built by Visor and other developers. It should be noted that Equilibrium preceded Acemod and as a result has many similarities to it, with the exception that there is a special type of sniper rifle added to Equilibrium. The addition of the sniper rifle has changed the dynamic of many tank fights. For example, the sniper rifle in the hands of a survivor can not only clear SI from a distance, but can also skeet (to shoot out of midair) tank rocks and shoot the tank from a long distance.

You may check out more about this configuration at https://www.l4dnation.com/equilibrium.





This includes all other less popular configurations that may have fallen out of use, but nonetheless still exists, hence they are noted here. This includes Reflux, Witch Party and Scavogl. You can check out at https://www.l4dnation.com/confogl-and-other-configs to find out more.





At the conclusion of this section, I hope that this has enlightened you on the different configurations that you may face while playing competitively. Knowledge is power, hence even if you aren't going to play on a certain or maybe all the competitive configurations, it would do no harm to learn more about them.

Read all about the different configurations and ready to get started? Let's start you off with some of the basics that you will require to become a competitive player.






There will exist a need for you to possess basic hardware that will be able to run this game at a effective rate. This means that you should have a decent computer. As long as you feel that the game runs smoothly, your computer should be fine. I am also not interested in recommending specific models as I myself am running this on a 4 year old computer which is functioning perfectly well.

Communication will be important in this game. As a result, it is ideal that you possess headphones and a microphone. This will allow you to chat with your teammates either through an external program such as Mumble, through the ingame voice chat which can be activated by holding C as the default key or even though a Steam Group chat. Typing would also be alright, albeit at the cost of some time spent in typing, hence less time to move forward and respond properly. A good pair of headphones are strongly recommended as a good pair will allow you to figure out exactly where the Special Infected spawn at based on sound.

Getting a good gaming mouse would be a bonus, as a responsive and effective mouse will make it easier for you to perform during competitive gameplay. This is not a must, but it must be noted that most competitive players have a decent mouse. In addition, a better mouse makes using the computer much easier!






Autoexecs are self executing files that load upon booting up Left 4 Dead 2. For example, instead of putting different commands such as cl_interp 0 into your console individually, you can put it into your autoexec instead so that it is automatically loaded without hassle upon booting up the game. Although I would like to explain to you what lerps, rates and other interesting commands do when changed, it would be better for me to link you to a well established guide for this.

This will be: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=366151973.

You should also check out Xby3's guide that he has linked at the bottom. It contains all the relevant essential commands relevant to Left 4 Dead 2. Xby3's guide is linked here: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=609108162.

To cut the hassle, I will also link you various autoexecs of popular and well established L4D2 players. The link will be https://sites.google.com/site/left4dead2stuff/customization/autoexec-archive and you can check it out there. However, if you would like to individualise your autoexec files, please feel free to experiment yourself.






This is just a short section to allow you to check information while ingame. For example, while you are playing in modified Vanilla or other competitive configurations as mentioned, you can use binds (which can be added through console with the command [bind "(insert key here)" "say_team !tank"]). This will allow you to quickly say !tank in team chat for example just by pressing any key that you bound.

Some useful binds you may use include, but are not limited to:

!tank/!witch/!boss = Shows the percentage in which the tank and witch spawns at.
!current = Shows the current percentage of the map in which the survivors have gotten to.
!health = Checks the current bonus of the Survivors.
!mvp = Checks the best performing player so far in the map.
!heartbeat/!hb = Refreshes the server so in the event a slot is bugged, this will reopen it.




Be sure to adjust your sensitivity and other video settings such as brightness, resolution and other miscellanous settings to your liking. This will allow you to play at the most optimal level for you and your computer.





At the conclusion of this section, you should hopefully now be prepared for actual gameplay with proper gear, a functioning autoexec and some basic knowledge!

This section intends to impart skills that will be useful for both Survivors and Special Infected gameplay.







Bunnyhopping is a fairly important skill in Left 4 Dead 2. Although not necessary to learn to perform well in competitive play, the fact that it allows you to move at a faster rate as compared to normal movement makes it worthwhile to at least know about it. In theory, bunnyhopping includes you being able to jump continuously while pressing jump. This allows you to maintain your forward momentum. When this is combined with the holding of directional keys and strafing (movement) of your mouse, you should continuously accelerate in the direction you are headed. For a complete explanation of this skill in purely theoretical terms, you should head to https://www.reddit.com/r/l4d2/comments/1an1fu/bunny_hopping/ and read the comment left by kainsavage.

It should be noted that this can be done on both Special Infected and Survivors, hence bunnyhopping may make the difference in whether your survivor can catch up with the rest of the team if you are separated, or whether your special infected can get an extra hit in which would not have been possible otherwise.

For a complete tutorial on how to learn this skill, I highly recommend ProdigySim's guide. It will be linked below. For all videos from this point onwards, a short link that can be copy pasted will be provided underneath the video so that readers who cannot load the videos directly may watch it themselves on Youtube.

youtube/Vl2S2Y8SfuA






As there are many different maps which can be played on, it is important that you get to know the map in advance. This might just include playing friendly matches to understand the fastest route through the map, or playing solo to check our various locations items can spawn at. With a good understanding of the map, you will be able to figure out many useful facts. This may include areas such as chokes (areas that have high damage potential on the Survivors), areas where you can fall back to fight the tank at, areas to take a hit at and other useful information. Without map knowledge, you run the risk of getting caught off guard regardless of your actual skill level. Check out the map before playing it, especially for custom maps!

It is also very useful to possess basic gameplay knowledge such as spawn timers (for example, after you kill a Special Infected, it will respawn in roughly 20 seconds, so you will be able to identify when the next earliest hit will come) and spawn rotations (Assuming all four Special Infected are killed together, if a Boomer died first, a Spitter should be next in the queue. This will help you organise your next hit).

You can also check out the many L4D2 Streamers on www.twitch.com to either find out more about strategies that they use or just to find out how a decent team would work together.









It is important to be able to work together with your team. I reiterate that Left 4 Dead 2 is a teamwork based game if you are playing in standard Versus (excluding 1v1s). As a result, failure to do so may result in unnecesary wipes (where your entire team gets incapacitated or dies) or unnecessary damage/incapacitations/deaths. Communicate with your team, tell them what you intend to do if it is out of the ordinary, pass pills to your slowed down survivors to keep them fast, stay close to your teammates, attack together, move together, be ready to focus something (such as the tank when it commits)... The list goes on and on. Cut to the chase, work with your team to win. Even if you have mastered every single skill I have stated later on, your team will not function optimally unless teamwork is present.






It's okay to lose. Sometimes, a very good performance by a particular team belies the many hundreds or thousands of hours that they have put in practising. As a result, if you or your team performs badly, be sure to stay calm, identify what went wrong and hopefully the next time when you play on that map, you'll do much better.






Having kept these in mind which are important while playing on both Survivors and Special Infected, we now head towards the most important portions of the guide. Skills for Survivors and Special Infected.

We now head to skills required for the Survivors for competitive L4D2. The list is not exhaustive, but as far as my knowledge goes, these skills will be very useful while playing competitive L4D2.






With a melee weapon that is capable of cutting such as the katana, crowbar, fire axe and so on (generally a sharp weapon), you are able to cut the tongue that the smoker extends towards you. In theory, this means that your melee weapon swing should land at where the tongue would touch you. Done correctly, the smoker will be unable to grab you and you will be able to either quickly change weapons and shoot it, or run away closer to your team where they can clear you.

A guide will be linked below. You can also download the custom map available in the Steam Workshop which will allow you to practise in the description of the video linked below.

youtube/YOA30DgWoAQ






There are in theory two ways to level a charger with a melee weapon.

The first way is the full level and this is achieved when the charger is hit in the head, which immediately deals 1950 damage. As the charger has only 600 health, this instantly kills the charger. However unfortunately due to ping and other issues, this may not always register even if your melee lands on the head perfectly on your screen. This is thus not a good way to consistently deal with the charger.

The second way would be the chip level, in which a melee swing done just as the charger hits you may deal either 390 damage or 487 damage depending on where your melee lands. This means that you will have to either hit it twice or hit it after you or your teammates have done damage with the primary weapon. As mentioned, the charger has only 600 health, hence if you deal at least 210 damage, you can be certain that if your melee swing lands, it will be leveled. Of course, having said this I still do recommend that you shoot the charger, as a full clip or a few shotgun blasts at close range will easily kill it. However, this skill is still useful regardless.

A good guide is linked below, although as mentioned full leveling is not always possible.

youtube/hwgi3MT_gyA





These two Special Infected are able to move rapidly towards your team, and pose a good threat in terms of damage. It would be wise to learn when to deploy your shove (which is your right click by default, also known as M2s colloquially) when they get close enough. Stopping it in mid-air would be deemed as deadstopping. In theory, this means that you should be able to judge when to shove and when to shoot.

Skeeting (to shoot them out of mid-air) is more of an acquired skill. You should be able, with enough practise to identify how the Jockey and Hunter are able to move. As a result, by roughly knowing where they will land and good coordination, you should be able to at least deal sufficient damage on them at the least which will make it easier for your team to clear you, or kill them before they touch you.

A guide on how to skeet hunters is linked below, although you should be able in theory to also translate this skill to Jockeys with sufficient gameplay.

youtube=bMsvBGml_go






The witch poses a significant threat to the Survivors. She is capable of incapping survivors in one hit, or in certain configurations such as Acemod deal 48 damage, sends the survivor flying and stumbles. Fortunately, she can be killed in a single shotgun blast. This means that all pellets from a shotgun must land.

There are in theory three ways of crowning it as far as competitive play is concerned.

The first way is simply to get close and blast her before she stands up completely. Make sure your crosshair is completely covered by her and blast her to hell. This video links to a normal crown. Note that it is not necessary to headshot her, any body part (I personally aim for her ass) will suffice.

youtube=4K8WLkRPb4Q

The next is the Draw Crown. This includes shooting her with a shotgun from a distance, letting her run towards you and then blasting her right before she hits you. An example is linked below.

youtube=N8JOnT_jVXA

The third way is the Team Crown. This includes shooting her towards you and having your entire team shoot her. She will die in a few seconds if your team is able to focus her.

However, it must be noted that the Special Infected will usually save the hit for the witch. As a result, you should shut down the hit before going for the standard crown, or be certain that you can kill her before anything can hit you.







This simply means that you shoot rocks that the tank throws at your team. Although you should usually avoid them, skeeting them reduces the risk that the tank will land a rock on your team.

A guide is linked below.

youtube=nUhUhS653_s






Part 2 will be continued below due to length issues.

Juking the tank means to avoid his punches. If done right, the tank shall not deal any damage to you and you and your team will be free to continue firing or meleeing him. As a tank punch deals 24 damage with a short cooldown, it means that with every punch avoided, you not only deal more damage to him, but you also cut down his overall damage massively. To juke it, you should go in a different direction in which the tank aims his punches. However, it must be noted that tanks with higher ping tend to have long arms (in which their punches have a wider range than normal). Take this into account when juking.

There are two ways to juke a tank, either when it is AI or player controlled.

When it is AI, it punches you at a standard and prefixed distance. This means it is easier to juke. Juking AI tanks can be seen from this video.

youtube=LC1vDu1peNI

When it is player controlled, you should anticipate when the player will punch and in what direction, and act accordingly. An example is shown below.

youtube=YKMpnWLnDN0






Simply put, this means to hide and not let the tank see you. In the event that he does, he will not lose rage. This means that he is able to maintain player control indefinitely even if he does no damage. Combine this with skeeting rocks and you will force him to commit. To LOS a tank, simply find an area where you can't see him and he can't see you. Obviously if your team is LOSing, you should not be out in the open chipping (to shoot) at him to reduce his health. Communicate with your team.








With decent headphones and map knowledge, you should be able to identify where the boomer and spitter will spawn at. If they are close enough, you can shove it (if their spit or vomit animation has just begun, you can possibly stop them from vomitting or spitting) before shooting them. Shoot them once they spawn if possible, as these support Special Infected can cause a huge amount of trouble.






This is highly important. Many people underestimate the potential of CI in dealing damage and hampering the survivor's progress. Shoot them once you see them. Just because they are far away does not mean that they are incapable of catching up and hitting you. It should be noted that many unnecessary tank wipes result from a horde that prevents the survivors from moving quickly, allowing the tank to catch up for punches for a quick corner or multiple rocks.






Learning the optimal timings to commit your pills or kit are also important. Upon going below 40 health, you will become slow. In theory, you should always use your pills or other healing items immediately so that you stay fast.

However, in actual situations there may be exceptions to this rule. For example, if the tank is playing a Rock Tank (Covered later) and you are at 39 health, taking your pills early will cause you to 'bleed out', which is where you continously lose temporary health that your pills give you. Hence, it would be wiser not to commit pills until the tank commits, so that you have the highest possible amount of temporary health when it commits, which can make the difference between a 2 punch incap and a 4 punch incap.

In another example, you are playing promod. You have 80 permanent health and pills, and you saw an extra set of pills. The tank has not spawned yet. In this situation, you should not take the pills for two reasons. The first is that when damage is dealt to you, it is removed from your permanent health instead of temporary health. After taking the extra set, you now have 80 permanent and 20 temporary health. You not only start to bleed out, but any damage done to you now removes your permanent health first. It is hence wiser to leave the extra set behind first, and handling the tank before going back for the extra set. The second reason is that it is generally a waste to use pills if you do not get the full 50 temporary health from it, and you never know when it might be optimal to go back for the extra set after a devastating hit.

However, there are exceptions. You may for example be dropping into an area where you cannot get back onto. It may then be wise to commit pills in advance. With some practice, you should be able to identify the best time to commit pills for optimal gameplay.






With all these skills, I summarise the skills needed for competitive L4D2 Survivor gameplay. If you are able to utilise these skills, you will be able to perform at a satisfactory level in competitive L4D2.

The Special Infected round is very important in either ending the Survivors' round prematurely, or reducing their health bonus as much as possible in certain competitive configurations mentioned earlier. As a result, the following skills, in addition to teamwork mentioned earlier will help you in winning the game.







The hunter is capable of pinning down a survivor and dealing significant amounts of damage. It is capable of damage pouncing, which is useful in certain situations and configurations. A configuration where this is very useful is Acemod, in which you cannot deadstop the hunter and will be forced to skeet it before it lands. As a result, I will link a video on how to damage pounce through skyboxing, although it can simply be done by climbing up a higher area and pouncing onto a survivor from there, albeit not at 25 damage as compared to the skybox.

youtube/0Asei8u9mTk

It should be noted as the hunter is completely silent, survivors at low health may be M2ed (scratched) at without pouncing to incapacitate or deal good damage before the hunter is killed.





Bunnyhopping as mentioned earlier may be combined with the Jockey's hops (M1/Left Click). For every hop, bunnyhop once, and repeat the process for vastly increased speeds. This will make it more difficult for the survivors to deadstop or shoot you, hopefully allowing you to land.

Death Jockeying can be achieved when the Jockey brings the survivors off an edge where it would usually incap them. An example, not a good one, can be seen from the video below.

youtube=dg21Mj7QxTw






The Boomer should begin the attack when it is certain that you can vomit on at least two survivors, or proxy (when it is killed, it explodes, and survivors in the vicinity will be vomited onto) on at least two. Rocket booming, where the boomer propels off at a great speed will increase the likelihood that you will land. An example will be linked below. You simply move in ghost mode and spawn while in mid air. You may combine this with a bunnyhop to jump around corners or propel yourself even closer to the survivors before vomiting.

youtube=p13YXjEuWkw






The charger should charge when it is close enough to land on a survivor (or multiple survivors). As it may be killed off without the 10 damage from hitting a wall before commencing the 15 damage pounds, it is recommended that the charger charges a survivor for only a short distance into a wall.

The charger is also capable of deathcharging, where he brings a survivor completely off an edge, killing them. Work together with your team and utilise map knowledge to know exactly when to set up the death charge for best results. An example can be seen from the video below.

youtube=kcH9ZnQBWaE

Finally, as each punch deals a significant amount of damage, it may be better to go for punches in small areas where a single punch can hit multiple survivors instead of just charging one.






You should spit when the survivors are in small, enclosed areas if you are going by yourself, which is not recommended. The standard idea with the spitter is to spit on either the hunted or charged target, where the standing up animation will result in damage done from standing in the spit.

Alternatively, you can spit delay the survivors by spitting in areas beforehand for a purpose, such as more time for your other teammates to get spawns.







You can pull a target for the charger to charge away, which can set up a charge-spit. You may also try for incap/death pulls on areas where the survivors cannot get back onto. Usually however, you should just try your best to communicate with your team so you can land a tongue on a survivor that is not targeted by another teammate.







You cannot play this on competitive L4D2, but you may however scratch the witch to aggravate her, which will force the survivors to draw crown her. This will work only if she starts to get surprised. Simply go up to her, wait for her to get surprised by the survivors movement, and then scratch her by pressing M2.







The tank is the most important Special Infected, frequently being the defining factor of which team wins that particular round. There are two commonly known ways to play a tank. This includes the Rock Tank and the Commit Tank. However, before we begin this, we should go through some basic tank skills.

There are a few skills that you should learn while playing with the tank. This includes timing your punches, multi-punches, jump rocks and curve rocks.

Timing your punches means not to punch until you are sure that you can land a punch on the survivors. Failing to time your punches and your distance will result in easy jukes which will greatly benefit the survivors.

Multi-Punches are when you are able to punch multiple survivors with one punch. Once again, you should be timing them correctly. You may also strafe with your mouse slightly so your punches will have a wider range.

Jump Rocks are when the tank is able to jump and begin the rock throwing animation at the same time. In configurations that do not ban these, jump rocks are essential in cutting off survivors or rocking more efficiently. To do this, press your spacebar key first and then immediately M2. If done right, you should jump and begin the rock throwing animation at the same time. An example is shown below, where a jump rock is performed several times.

youtube=ko5m82b4E9M
(changed as the original creator has removed a better example.)

Curve Rocks are when rocks are thrown from behind a wall. If done right, the survivors will be unable to shoot you as you are out of range, but rocks can still be thrown at them. A guide will be shown below.

youtube=1dZSscZbfho

Having said all these, the Rock Tank is when the tank attempts to keep sight of the survivors and repeatedly throws rocks at them. Once the tank deals damage, the rage meter goes back to 100%. Repeatedly landing rocks while staying at a distance will greatly stretch out the tank's survival times. Throw rocks with your team attacking to increase the chances of it landing. A great example from Killatoy is shown here.


The Commit Tank is where the tank immediately heads towards the survivors either with a hittable or without, aiming to deal as much damage as possible. Be sure for your team to have spawns up before you commit, as a tank without Special Infected support will be easily killed.

An example of good hittable control can be seen here.

youtube=TdcyoyIcLmc







As mentioned, the tank is highly important in competitive L4D2. As a result, you should always have either a boomer with cappers or three cappers. Do not be afraid to sac (to kill off) unwanted Special Infected so that you have the best set up for the committing of the tank.






Hopefully with these skills, your Special Infected gameplay will be much better, priming you for more success in competitive gameplay.

As the L4D2 competitive community is fairly small, it would be wise to take advantage of several resources aimed to bring the community together. This may include external sites L4DNation, TFPG and many others which have sprouted up. You should also add like-minded friends and join Steam Groups where you are able to schedule training matches together. As this is a team game, friends will always be important. Be nice to one another as well. Don't taunt each other, and end the game with ''gg'', ''wp'' or other friendly remarks. This keeps the community together and ensures that more games can be played together.

Most importantly, be sure to have fun, because if you are winning but you aren't having fun, the game will never be worth playing. :-)

I sincerely hope that this guide has helped you in your journey to becoming a better Left 4 Dead 2 player, having covered a large amount of information for all aspects required for competitive play. This should ultimately allow you to be able to play Left 4 Dead 2 competitively. Be sure to comment if you think that I should add anything that I have missed, or have any other feedback. I'll be sure to insert it into the guide and credit you accordingly.

A heartfelt thank you to the following:

1) Valve, for making this game.
2) L4DNation and other L4D websites which were made in an attempt to bring the community together.
3) Server hosters, configuration developers, streamers and other people who keep the scene alive.
4) All the YouTubers with the guides, whose links have been attached to credit them.
5) Sodano from Deviant Art for the awesome picture I used for the Special Infected.
6) Wesbites such as gtainside.com and gamemaps.com for their pictures.
7) Lexi, for supporting me and helping with the guide even with her massive workload.
8) My many friends who have supported my guide with kind words and constructive feedback, as well as played games with me on a regular basis (you know who you are!).

And most importantly, the reader...

YOU.