Alright so this guide will be updated as often as possible. Why? Simply because there is too much to say about Versus mode and its myriad aspects. There are already a few basics you can read, but I need the community to participate.

Everyone's opinion is different and matters; there can be multiple different strategies on the same spot.

Feel free to leave comments about anything you want to add to the guide in English and as detailed as possible. If it is constructive and legit, it will be added to the guide with your name on the text (unless you wish to remain anonymous).
You can post whatever you want as long as it contributes to Versus mode, like strategies as Infected or Survivors or even specific spots/maps in-game.

Also, you can link additional guides or packs that could be accommodated at the end of the guide for additional references.

Non-constructive and harsh comments will be deleted as well.

Lazy job well done!
Thank you for participating!

This guide will not teach you how to be a god at Versus mode if you do not know how to aim or if you do not know how to listen to or follow your teammates—you might just end up posting a complaint thread on the forums. The game requires an abundance of hours of games to learn all the facets, which is not simply to aim and shoot.

If you want to practice more specific stuff, I linked a Workshop training map collection. I highly recommend HSTM.

This is an extremely simplified yet useful guide, so you don't need to read tons of boring lines that you won't even understand because you don't know any mechanics. However, for those who are interested, I listed below different guides similar to this one with more profound explanations.

There are simple rules in Versus mode that have nothing to do with the game but that which every human being should follow:

• Always be polite.
  
• Never cry when you lose.
  
• Never troll, flame, glitch, cheat (unless you're in a bad lobby, go ahead. Just don't go BRUTALE style on us).

Here are the mandatory rules of Versus mode if you want to avoid getting kicked and show that you know a minimum of what this game is about

• You must know the map
  At least the 14 Official Campaigns that you will do again and again in Easy/Normal difficulty in order to learn where to go, be aware of dangerous areas, events, items placement, etc.
  
  
• Never do shopping
  If you know the map then you know where items are located so you don't need to shop. Need pills? You will get some at a specific area so don't go into that useless room solo!
  
  
• You must use sound
  Sound is like a wallhack. Hear a Boomer behind a wall? Shoot that spot and you will kill him. People will call you a cheater but you're a brain user.
  
  
• Always follow your team
  Your team should keep an eye on you yes but it's also your job to know where they are and stay near them to not get caught alone. If you're playing front, watch your back to check for them. If you're playing rear, watch your back to see if any Common or Special Infected are following you.
  
  
• Always fight the Tank in a safe area
  Don't activate events or go in risky areas (like the edge of a building for example). Instead, find a clear and open spot with no Tank “toys” (hittables that the Tank can use to inflict damage) if possible.
  
  
• Never camp for a Horde
  You don't need to rush like crazy but don't stay in one spot. Always move unless it's a risky area or if there is an expected Tank fight ahead.
  
  
• Burning a Witch is not always good
  Well, it's usually good but not when she is already killing someone because she will stop what she’s doing and chase you in return. Instead of having one survivor down, you will end up with two. Don't forget the fact that fire ammo will accomplish the same effect as the Molotov.
  
  
• Never rush or be too slow
  You must adapt to your team’s speed and always stay with them.
  
  
• Heal only when you’re under 40 HP
  It's totally useless to heal when you're still in green; same goes for pills/adrenaline. Also, you should prioritize to keep pills or adrenaline for dangerous situations (like being completely surrounded or during an event) and using health kits in safe areas and clear situations.
  
  
• Choose your gun wisely and quickly
  This depends on what kind of weapon you like to use. Choosing to use a shotgun, rifle, sniper rifle, may also depend on the environment you are playing in, such as whether it is a clear and open map or a closed and short map. Also, if you played the Infected team first in a particular round, you will know if there is a Tank or a Witch—use that prior knowledge to adapt and choose a good weapon to kill them.
  
  
• Never shoot a Boomer right beside a teammate
  This is a very bad reflex and will bring the Horde where there should have been none in the first place, potentially endangering your entire team. Shove the Boomer away first before shooting them.
  
  
• Never use a bile jar when you're covered in vomit or there’s no Horde
  When you're boomed, the bile jar won't have any effect whatsoever as the Common Infected will always prioritize attacking you over the spot where the bile jar landed. It will be a complete waste of valuable resources. Besides that, when there is no Horde then what’s the point of creating one? It gets especially worse when used on a Tank because you will have now to deal with a Horde + Tank + other Special Infected.
  
  
• Use throwables wisely
  What is the point of throwing a Molotov a bile jar or a pipe bomb right in front of you? Just throw them on the side or your back to make it efficient but without blocking your path moving forward.
  
  
• Don't try to kill every single Infected of the game
  There is no point to hunting everything, even Special Infected if they are too far back—it's a trap so don't try to chase them. Don’t chase every Common Infected either. It’s just stupid.
  
  
• Shove the Spitter
  Don't forget to shove the Spitter while she is standing above an incapped teammate or if she is in the way before killing her. When you're in a hallway, you can shove her and your teammates passing by will do the same, so the last one can kill her and no one will have to wait for a pool of acid to subside nor take damage from her.
  
  
• Last but not the least...
  Use your common sense. What would you do in real life? You hear a weird noise from a certain direction. Do you run toward the source without your group or with your group? Also, why would you waste time in a zombie event? You would like to move quickly, but not too quick to the point that you can get killed ahead.

As Infected

• Never spawn too early nor too late
  You have to know which Infected will go first and follow your team. For example, the Boomer usually (not always) goes first. The Charger does too. It all depends on the setup / situation / area.
  
  
• Don't attack right away
  You don't need to attack right when you spawn, you must observe and anticipate a potential better attack depending on the terrain you're playing on.
  
  
• Don't attack in the Safe Room
  When the round starts, it's totally useless to attack right inside the Safe Room. Wait for them to go out a little bit so you can trap one inside the room while others get caught outside for example.
  
  
• The Tank should never rush impulsively
  As the Tank, prioritize throwing rocks from a safe and hidden spot like a roof. You should never rush the Survivors unless you have a great support team and the situation calls for it (like 4 Survivors boomed and 1 or 2 pinned for example). If you do decide to commit, make sure to go for a wipe as much as possible. After successfully incapping a Survivor, don’t pound on them—chase the others that are still standing. If there are Tank “toys” in the area, then use that to your advantage.
  
  
• Don't be predictable
  Once you have played a few hours in Versus mode, you will see common areas on where to attack, yet you can still attack in the same area but from different spots or angles for the same effect. Keep the Survivors guessing and on-edge.
  
  
• Do not explode next to your team as a Boomer
  You will end up accidentally freeing any Survivor that would have otherwise been pinned. One exception would be to explode next to a Charger if their victim is already incapped so he can instantly charge another one afterward.

These are more advanced rules/tips that are not absolutely necessary to avoid getting kicked, but will be very helpful to increase your skills and make your team love you so much that they might even add you as a friend.

• Count the Infected team’s spawn timer
  When you start a round, the Infected are all ready. When the first Special Infected dies, you can approximately count their next spawn time depending on how many humans are in the team, which can range from 8 to 20 seconds most of time. With that, you can reasonably expect when the next attack will take place.
  
  
• Walk or stay still to be invisible
  This is a skill called “ghosting” and is named as such because your silhouette will vanish and you will be completely invisible to the eyes of the Infected team when not in direct line-of-sight. This is a situational skill and not commonly used. When you walk (hold Shift button), you will be invisible to the eyes of the Special Infected. There is one caveat: If you shoot, mic spam, change position, or the Special Infected spotted you in plain sight, then this will be useless. However, in rare cases, if you are fighting a Tank or you are very low on health/on your last life, it's better to walk rather than run and try not to give out too much "noise" to Special Infected.
  
  
• Shoot the Boomer on yourself
  If you are safe enough with enough HP to spare, you can let a Boomer vomit on you or shoot him on-purpose to attract all the Common Infected to yourself and let your teammates breath—saving them from potentially dangerous situations.
  

As Infected

• Sacking
  To sack, it means you need to kill your Special Infected so you can refresh the spawn cycle. This is done so that you don't get stuck with 2 S (Support) and 2 P (Pinner). However, in rare cases, sometimes it's better to have 2 S and 2 P. Such a strat with this spawn cycle can do massive damage in a tight room, but it's better to have 3 P and 1 S for the most part.

Here you will get some random tips to use as Survivors.

As you may have noticed, when you kill a Boomer too close to you, you will get stunned for a few seconds.
It is possible to avoid that by jumping right before you get stunned. Why is that useful? Simply because you can avoid getting stunned when a teammate gets pinned by a Hunter or a Jockey right next to you and then instantly save them from the initial damage they will get. This can also work by saving your teammate right before you get pinned yourself. It will work when a Charger hits a wall right next to you as well. This will work with any Special Infected that stumbles, but exercise caution with a Charger. If you are in his path, do not try to jump. Not only will you fly harder through the air, but the landing can be fatal if the initial point of impact was high enough.

The Cr0wn
Using any shotgun to instakill a Witch is very easy. Shoot her in the chest from any side at point blank. You can also shoot her from far away and wait for her to come at you (the Draw Cr0wn) to shoot and kill but it will be harder.

The Melee Cr0wn
As you should know, every melee weapon in-game deals the same damage. You need 4 hits of any melee weapon in order to kill a Witch. It is possible to kill her using only melee weapons but you need excellent dodging skills, which is very hard and pointless in Versus mode.

The Stun
You can stun a Witch (for a few seconds) and then shove her by using explosive ammo, a pipe bomb, or shooting her right in the head with a sniper, AK-47, or a Magnum. This tactic is very good because you can shove her forever as long you as you don't stop. If you stop shoving, she will get alerted and attack you. While shoving her, the best tactic is to either hit her with a melee weapon (4 to kill) or shoot her until she dies.

The Draw Cr0wn
If a Special Infected happens to be behind the Witch, generally speaking you should let the SMG or assault rifle user pick it off or force the rest of the Infected to spawn before you attempt to draw cr0wn. Here's how it works: You shoot at a Witch to startle her, she will run at you, and the moment she's at the range of slapping the ever loving ♥♥♥♥ out of you, you give her a bucket full of leads with a shotgun. Now this is generally risky because Witches are known to be unpredictable and can even change direction while charging at you at the last second. Failing a draw cr0wn can make things go downhill really fast—getting your team ambushed by Special Infected while you are incapped. Only do this if you have full confidence in your abilities and your team to back you up in case of failure.

Here you will have random tips for Infected players.

The Smoker, the Jockey, and the Hunter can do it as well in specific spots.
Even the Boomer and the Spitter can perform it with high luck.

Here you will have random tips about any kind of weapons/items.

It's not so hard. Just don't be stupid by shooting in close range and hitting your teammates all the time. Use a Magnum or a melee weapon as secondary for close combat and use the launcher only for mid and far combat. When you get caught by a Smoker, shoot at him before the dragging animation starts and you will be free. Shoot at the Witch close to you—this will stun her so you can shove her (yes it's possible). Shoot the Tank while he is throwing a rock since he will not be able to move and you can dodge the rock throw in the process without having to stay stationary in one spot. The Grenade Launcher will instakill any Special Infected that has a Survivor pinned and the pinned Survivor will take zero damage from the blast. The Grenade Launcher will also cause a high-pitched ringing sound to any player-controlled Special Infected if they are killed by it, which can be annoying to some.

Yes. In-game sound is important; the Common Infected are more attracted when you shoot and the Chainsaw is the worst but it could be strategic to use it in certain situations if you clearly know what you are doing.

The M60 light machine gun will quickly mow down any Tank in plain sight without ever having to reload. When upgraded with fire ammo or explosive ammo, it can be a godsend during a Tank fight. Pick it up when available and the situation calls for it, then discard it after use.

Map knowledge is the most essential thing you can have with you when you're playing Versus mode. Understanding every single weak point, choke point, hidden spot, or even Jesus spot will benefit you both as Infected and Survivors.

I will list out every chapter’s killzone (instakill/death charge) so you can understand and plan for/avoid such locations. I will start from L4D1 Maps to L4D2 Maps.











The Roof
This one is very rare because usually Survivors go down quickly, yet it's possible to instakill with the Charger by touching 2 Survivors—one gets pinned and the other one gets hit and flies to their death.

The Lift
A well placed charge from the roof can incap 1 and instakill 1 as well.

No Mercy Roof
With the help of a Smokee or any pinner (like a Jockey), a Charger will then proceed to grab the pinned Survivor from a Smoker/Jockey and charge the Survivor to their death.

The Sandbag
This one is tricky. You need to get a Smoker (blue circle) and catch the Survivor behind the sandbag and he will automatically climb it (red circle). At this moment, the Hunter will pounce on the Survivor and they will naturally fall to their death.

The Elevator Shaft
A jockey can grab the last Survivor, pull them away from the team, and the Charger can spawn to charge the Survivor down to their death.

The Ladder
Smoker and Charger can spawn above the Survivors and there are 2 charge spots. Only 1 can guarantee an instakill. If the Smoker pulls a Survivor southwest, there isn't much that the Survivor can do because a Charger can just get on the guardrail and charge them off the roof. However, if a Smoker pulls a Survivor northwest of the ladder position, there is still a chance for the Survivor to live through the encounter and in some cases they may not even take any heavy damage (note that this game is very strange so sometimes a Survivor may end up getting incapped or sometimes instakilled).

The Pipeline
Between the main house and the small tower, east of the Minigun. Smoker or Jockey can pin a Survivor and a Charger can death charge them.

The Radio Room Top
Being in the middle of the main house (where ammo, health kits, and the Minigun are located). If a Survivor stands around for too long and is alone, a smart Charger can perform a quick death charge or a Tank can even slap them off the roof.

The Ramp
Usually safe to walk, however if fighting against a desprate team, they may actually attempt to death charge from there and pull it off, leaving only 2 Survivors alive and 2 dead. Rare, but not a very well-known and common spot.

The difference between these and instakill spots is that you won't kill the Survivors but you will instacap them regardless of their HP at the time of the attack.

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https://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=129067759

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Thank you to those who have helped me create this guide and give a chance for this community to be better!

• Red™
  
• FireWolfBoy
  
• 
  

Thank you to all the newbies for posting "I got kicked for no reason" threads that motivated me enough to create this guide!

Make sure to share this to every beginner and wannabe veterans you meet. Share it during winter and summer sales!