Left 4 Dead 2 is a 2009 multiplayer survival horror first-person shooter developed by Valve Software, and the sequel to the 2008 Left 4 Dead. The game was released for Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2009, Mac OS X in October 2010, and Linux in July 2013. Set in the Southern United States during a zombie outbreak, players try to survive the outbreak by fighting their way through the horde, controlling one of the four survivors: Coach, Ellis, Nick, and Rochelle.
The following weapons appear in the video game Left 4 Dead 2:
Left 4 Dead 2 inherits much of the gameplay from its predecessor. In the regular campaign mode, up to four players must cooperate and fight their way through hordes of zombies to reach either a safe house at the end of a chapter or a rescue vehicle at the end of a campaign (which is made up of 2-5 chapters). The game was released with five campaigns: Dead Center, Dark Carnival, Swamp Fever, Hard Rain, and The Parish. Additional campaigns are released in four DLCs: The Passing, The Sacrifice, and Cold Stream as well as the community revamp of The Last Stand (which, unlike the former three DLCs, was added much later in 2020, nine years after Cold Stream was added). Also added in these DLCs are ports of all campaigns from the original Left 4 Dead, featuring the original survivors but with the new enemy types and weapons from L4D2.
Weapons in Left 4 Dead 2 function similarly to the first game, but many new weapons are added. Players can carry one secondary weapon and one primary weapon. Secondary weapon options include a single pistol (P220), dual-wielding two pistols (P220 + Glock 26), a magnum pistol (Desert Eagle), or an assortment of new melee weapons. Primary weapons include shotguns, submachine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, as well as the M79 grenade launcher and the M60 machine gun. Secondary weapons have infinite reserve ammo, while primary weapons have limited reserve ammo and need to be resupplied with ammo piles; the M79 and the M60 are the exception as they cannot be resupplied, and are dropped when their ammo is used up.
Aside from a few places with fixed item spawns, spawns of weapons and other equipment are generally randomized under an "AI Director" system, which determines the spawns of enemies and items to provide a continuously engaging experience. Weapons are generally divided into two tiers, a lower tier 1 and a higher tier 2. Using the secondary fire key will make the player character perform a non-damaging shove with their weapon, which stumbles and pushes back enemies.
Most guns in L4D2 feature equipped flashlights; the lights from these flashlights move accordingly with the weapon's animations.
L4D2 also features deployable crates of incendiary ammo and explosive ammo, which are uncommon spawns and occupy the position of the player's first aid kit. Once deployed, each player can use the deployed ammo crate once, giving their primary weapon an extra magazine of the special ammunition. L4D2 also features laser sight pickups, which are immediately fitted to the player's primary weapon when picked up; in most cases, the lasers appear to come out of the primary weapon's attached flashlight.
On a final note, weapons in L4D2 are not formally named in gameplay; names of weapons noted on this page are primarily sourced from weapon names as marked in Whitaker's gun shop (a location visited in Dead Center chapter 2), as well as some inferred names based on Source entity names.
Pistols
SIG-Sauer P220 SAO
A custom SIG-Sauer P220 is now the default handgun for the Survivors, replacing the M1911 in the first game. It is modeled after a P220 SAO (sans the beavertail), with slightly altered details, no slide release or disassembly cutout on the slide, and with a slightly shorter than standard slide and barrel. The gun also features a custom reverse two-tone finish, custom sights, and an underbarrel LT-TLP08 tactical flashlight. The P220 has an incorrect ammo capacity of 15 rounds, while the real pistol takes 8 or 9 (depending on the caliber) round single-stack magazines. Reload animations for the in-game weapon however show double-stack magazines being loaded.
A Glock 26 pistol is used as the second handgun for dual wielding. It has the Glock 26's short grip and slide shape, but its slide and frame are stretched to the length of a standard sized Glock like the Glock 17. The Glock is also the world model used for pistol spawns, even though the first pistol the player character will pick up is a P220; the P220 worldmodel appears when the player switches their sidearm and drops their pistols.
The Desert Eagle Mark XIX is a new sidearm in Left 4 Dead 2. It has more recoil and a slower rate of fire than the other pistols, and cannot be dual-wielded, but it has much more stopping power and greater accuracy. The pistol holds 8 rounds like the .44 Magnum version, though it is modelled with an unfluted barrel along with the sign in Whitaker's gun shop claiming it to be the .50 AE version. This weapon usually kills common infected with a single shot.
Interestingly, its flashlight is attached via a rifle scope ring mount and an aftermarket underbarrel rail.
The "Pump Shotgun" returns from the first game with a new but similar model. It now resembles the Remington 870 Police Magnum Riot Shotgun, but it still has an Ithaca 37-like magazine tube. Although it holds 8 rounds in-game, its magazine tube physically appears to be too short to hold this number of rounds. This time the shotgun has modeled action bars.
The "Chrome Shotgun" is a new pump-action shotgun in Left 4 Dead 2, modeled after a Remington 870 Marine Magnum with a Mariner NP3 finish. It has a ventilated rib and ghost ring sights. It has a tighter spread than the "Pump Shotgun", but deals slightly less damage. It is often the first shotgun a player will find in the game's campaigns. This shotgun shares its firing sounds with the Scout's sawed-off double barreled shotgun from Team Fortress 2.
The Benelli M4 shotgun returns from the first game, again as a Second Tier shotgun. Despite being modeled with a civilian 5-shot magazine tube, it has a 10-round capacity in-game; this capacity in reality would require an aftermarket magazine tube extension, which would've extended the magazine tube beyond the shotgun's barrel. A flashlight is clipped on the weapon's magazine tube, right in front of the handguard. Rather erroneously, the M4 can be fired in full-auto when the firing key is held down, albeit at a very slow rate that simply rapidly tapping the fire key will yield a significantly faster fire rate.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingBenelli M4 Super 90 with 5-shot tube - 12 gaugeError creating thumbnail: File missingThe in-game Benelli M4 Super 90 model.Error creating thumbnail: File missingDrawing the shotgun; Coach extends the shotgun's collapsible stock. Although not visible in this screenshot, the character animations for drawing the M4 have the player characters simply yank backwards on the stock to full extension. On the real M4 stock, you would need to push in the adjustment button on the side and hold it in while turning the stock clockwise about 45 degrees, pulling the stock to its desired mid length or full extension, and rotating it back to straight. This is due to the M4's relatively unique collapsing stock system which doesn't rely on AR-15 style adjustment levers and position holes.Error creating thumbnail: File missingCoach holds the Benelli M4.Error creating thumbnail: File missingMid-recoil.Error creating thumbnail: File missingReloading.Error creating thumbnail: File missingRegardless if the shotgun was empty or not, the end of the reload always shows the users operating the shotgun's bolt, unlike in the first game which featured partial reload animations for the Benelli. Merely doing this with an M4 would actually not feed a new shell into the chamber, as the Benelli features a shell release lever that must be pressed upwards in front of the trigger in order for a shell to feed from the magazine onto the lifter.
Franchi SPAS-12
The Franchi SPAS-12 in its semi-auto mode is a new semi-automatic shotgun added in Left 4 Dead 2. It has an incorrect capacity of 10 rounds, while the real SPAS-12 can hold 8+1 rounds at most. Compared to the Benelli M4, the SPAS-12 has a tighter shot spread and does more damage per shot, but to compensate, it fires less shots per shell. Like with the Benelli M4, the SPAS-12 can incorrectly fire in full-auto when the player holds down the firing key, but this ability is negligible because the long interval between shots is overshadowed by its much faster fire rate when rapidly pressing the fire key.
The MAC-10 is a new submachine gun added in Left 4 Dead 2. It is fitted with the famous Mitchell Werbell suppressor, a strap on the barrel to serve as a makeshift foregrip (like in the Counter-Strike series), and a flashlight attached to the suppressor with zip ties. Based on the fact that it does more damage and produces more recoil than the Uzi, this MAC-10 is likely chambered in .45 ACP. It also holds an incorrect 50 rounds despite being modelled with a 30-round magazine.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingIngram MAC-10 with a Mitchell Werbell suppressor - .45 ACPError creating thumbnail: File missingThe MAC-10 model. Note the strange presence of a heatshield covering the suppressor's rear section.Error creating thumbnail: File missingNick unloads a MAC-10 on a Tank in the cinematic trailer. Note that the muzzle flash is still present despite the suppressor. This also happens in-game in third person.Error creating thumbnail: File missingRochelle draws her MAC-10. Note that the strap is completely static and does not react to gravity in animations like these. This was fixed however in the 2020 Last Stand update in which "jigglebone" physics were implemented to the MAC-10's strap.Error creating thumbnail: File missingRochelle idles with the MAC-10. Despite the fact that the front strap is supposed to be used as a makeshift foregrip , no characters actually use it in-game, preferring instead to put their offhand just in front of the trigger on the underside of the weapon, as they do with the Uzi. Also note that the bolt is forward, as it was incorrectly depicted as firing from a closed-bolt until the Last Stand update.Error creating thumbnail: File missingFiring the MAC-10. Note that even though the muzzle flash is absent, the surrounding areas around the player are still lit up.Error creating thumbnail: File missingRochelle reloads her MAC-10. Note that the magazine actually has rounds in it.Error creating thumbnail: File missingFinishing the reload with a rack of the bolt.
IMI Uzi
The Uzi returns from the first game, featuring the exact same model and attributes of being a tier 1 weapon, having a 50 round capacity despite having a 32-round magazine model, and having a flashlight taped on its handguard.
The M16A2 from the first game appears in Left 4 Dead 2. Though it says "M16 A2" on the lower receiver, it fires in full auto and has safe-semi-auto fire selector markings like the M16A1 or M16A3. It has the highest rate of fire out of all the assault rifles, and it still has an unrealistic magazine capacity of 50 rounds despite being modeled with 30-round STANAG magazines.
The AKM is a new weapon in Left 4 Dead 2. It features a 40-round capacity despite being modeled with standard 30-round AK magazines, and also has the lowest rate of fire of the assault rifles, but makes up for that with a higher damage. The in-game model has the wider front sight of an AK-47. Like the MAC-10, it has a flashlight secured via zip ties to the weapon's handguard.
The FN SCAR-L is a new assault rifle in L4D2. It holds an unrealistic 60 rounds of ammunition while being modeled with a 30 round STANAG magazine, and fires in a three-shot burst, a firing mode that real SCAR-Ls do not have. It has a very high accuracy stat and deals more damage than the M16 but has a slower reload speed. Its model seems to have been based on the FN SCAR 16S, a civilian version of the SCAR-L with a 16" barrel and an M16A2 flash-hider. In E3 2009 footage, the SCAR-L can be seen firing in full-auto and with a 50-round capacity, but likely due to being too functionally similar to the M16A2, it was changed.
The Ruger Mini-14 returns from the first game. Like in the first game, it is the most accurate weapon in the game, and has a capacity of 15 rounds despite being modeled with a 10 round magazine.
The Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 is a new scoped semi-auto sniper rifle in L4D2, referred to as the "Sniper Rifle". It is modeled after the H&K G3SG/1 (or a scoped HK91 given the absence of a paddle magazine release), with some features from the H&K MSG90A1, namely the stock, trigger group, and barrel length. However, its selector switch lacks a full-auto mode. The Sniper Rifle also has an AK-74's muzzle brake. Its magazine holds 30 rounds even though it's modelled with a 20 round magazine. Early gameplay footage showed the G3SG/1 modelled with a 10-round magazine despite being coded with a still-incorrect 30-round capacity.
The Browning M2 heavy machine gun appears as the standard mounted machine gun of Left 4 Dead 2, replacing the M134 Minigun's role in the sequel campaigns. While it fires slower, the M2 Browning deals high damage per-shot, being able to dismember regular zombie enemies with one round. Another M2, albeit unusable by the player (without cheats) appears in the DLC campaign "The Passing", where it is manned by an AI-controlled Louis.
The GE M134 Minigun from the first game appears in L4D2's ports of the first game's campaigns. The time needed to spool up the barrels and start firing seems to be slightly decreased.
The M60 machine gun was added to Left 4 Dead 2 post-release. It is found in five campaigns: L4D2's ports of No Mercy, Death Toll, and The Sacrifice from L4D1, as well as The Passing and Cold Stream. The M60 carries 150 rounds of ammo and cannot be reloaded or resupplied; once the 150 rounds are used up, the gun is immediately dropped much like with the Grenade Launcher. If an incendiary or explosive ammo kit is used with the M60, its remaining rounds will be converted to that ammo type.
An Achievement called "Till it Goes Click" (a reference to The Big Lebowski) requires the player to mow down 25 infected with the M60 without letting go of the trigger.
The M79 grenade launcher acts appears as a special primary weapon with an uncommon spawn rate. It deals high explosive damage but is single shot, requiring a reload after every shot, and its explosions can easily damage other survivors. The M79 comes with 30 grenades plus one already in the weapon, and cannot be resupplied; once all the ammo is used up, the M79 is dropped and the survivor is left with just their secondary weapon.
The M79 can kill a Tank in only 2-5 hits (on Normal difficulty). It can also use incendiary and fragmentation rounds if incendiary or fragmentation ammo boxes are used. For some bizarre reason, the M79 can also use a laser sight, even though it grants it with almost no benefit.
Because of the strict censorship in Germany (and also in Australia and elsewhere in the world), Valve decided to add 4 Counter-Strike: Source weapons (excluding the combat knife) to those versions of the game as compensation. Players were able to use them in non-censored versions of the game if they play with someone with the German version or in custom campaigns set to spawn them, before they were officially added to all versions of the game with the Last Stand update in 2020.
Aside from the addition of the shove animation (which are extremely generic), all of the animations for the international weapons are identical to their animations in Counter-Strike: Source.
Heckler & Koch MP5N
The MP5N is one of the four international firearms in L4D2. It has a lower rate of fire than the normal SMGs in the game, but it has a slightly higher accuracy than Uzi while its damage per shot is almost the same as the MAC-10 while keeping the Uzi's damage-per-second stat. Like all SMGs in the game, it has a 50-round capacity, incorrect for this weapon instead of the real 30.
The Steyr Scout with a left-handed bolt and an extended magazine adapter is one of the four international firearms in L4D2. It has a lower rate of fire than other sniper rifles in game, but good accuracy. It also erroneously holds 15 rounds instead of 10.
Steyr Scout - 7.62x51mm NATOError creating thumbnail: File missingNick holds the console-acquired Scout. The bolt along with its handle is positioned too low this time, making the bolt itself invisible; this was fixed in the Last Stand update.Error creating thumbnail: File missingNick holds his Scout like a pistol reloads his Scout, while looking at the world model. Note the scope is mounted differently between the viewmodel and the worldmodel; this was also the case in Counter-Strike: Source.
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Magnum
The Accuracy International AWM is one of the four international firearms in L4D2. It appears with a left-handed bolt and has the slowest rate of fire (excluding the Grenade Launcher) in the game but inflicts a high amount of damage per shot. In-game it holds an impossible 20 rounds instead of the real AWM's 5.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingAccuracy International AWM - .338 Lapua MagnumError creating thumbnail: File missingNick holds the console-acquired AWM with an invisible laser sight.Error creating thumbnail: File missingNick hits Coach with the AWM's solid stock, while simultaneously breaking the wooden pallet.Error creating thumbnail: File missingNick reloads his AWM this time without magazine clipping through the mag well, while looking at the world model with solid stock and absent bipod. Note that most of the underside of the stock is not modelled, a holdover from CS:S; this was later fixed in the Last Stand update.
SIG SG 552
The SIG SG 552 is one of the four international firearms in L4D2. It has a 2x scope and two rates of fire, determined by whether the scope is in use. Without looking down the scope, it has the highest automatic rate of fire out of all assault rifles. Incorrectly holds 50 rounds instead of 20.
The AK-74M appears in several concept arts and in-game campaign posters. It is worth noting that developer commentary says that the in-game AK-47 is partially AK-74, indicating that AKM might have replaced AK-74M at some point in development.
The Mk. 18 Mod 0 appears in several concept arts and in-game campaign posters. It also appeared in several concept arts/posters for the previous game, specifically in Francis' hands. This may or may not be the same model later used in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as its "M4A4".
The "Pump Shotgun"'s HUD icon still shows its HUD icon from the first game, which resembled a High Standard Model K-1200 Riot Deluxe Model, even though its actual model has been changed and now resembles a different shotgun.
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