When it comes to killing zombies in masses in Left 4 Dead 2, one should be careful in choosing weapons and one should know the potential of the weapon being used in a particular situation. Not all weapons are suitable for all scenarios. Some might help you in certain situations, others might not, and vice versa.
Weapon selection is important in any FPS game, especially in the games like L4D2 where zombies never end. If you know about the potential of each weapon, you can use them wisely in different situations.
Left 4 Dead 2 Weapons
Left 4 Dead 2 has got some new weapons which were not present in the original Left 4 Dead.
Melee Weapons in Left 4 Dead 2 are of special importance as they can be useful for short-range combat with zombies. Let us have a look at all the weapons available in the game first and then we can decide which weapon will be helpful in different situations:
Sidearms
P220 Pistol
- Magazine Capacity: 15
- Capacity: Infinite
- Rate of Fire: 300 per min
- Damage per Shot: 36
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.75
- Penetration Power: 30
- Damage per Second: 165
- Damage per Magazine: 540
- Total Damage: Infinite
It is a default weapon carrying infinite ammo and is dual-wielded which increases the clip size. P220 Pistol is a weak weapon only used if no other weapon is left or you want to do a quick kill without wasting your ammo of other weapons.
Pistol Magnum
- Magazine Capacity: 8
- Capacity: Infinite
- Rate of Fire: 198
- Damage per Shot: 80
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.75
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 240
- Damage per Magazine: 640
- Total Damage: Infinite
The weapon is a more powerful version of the pistol carrying an infinite supply of ammo. The Pistol Magnum has to reloaded at short intervals and a bullet can usually take done a common infected for you easily.
Tier 1 Weapons
Tier 1 is the one which are weapons found by the players early on in the game. Players who are the rescued players from the rescue closed can only use these weapons and others.
Sub-Machine Gun
- Magazine Capacity: 50
- Capacity: 650
- Rate of Fire: 16 per second
- Damage per Shot: 20
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.84
- Penetration Power: 30
- Damage per Second: 320
- Damage per Magazine: 1000
- Total Damage: 10600
The gun deals with a low damage per shot but the fast firing rate compensates for it. Though it has an excellent short range the medium range attack also speaks for itself.
A low penetration power and magazine capacity can do a number on the player but apart from that, the gun is a good choice.
Silenced Sub-Machine Gun
- Magazine Capacity: 50
- Capacity: 650
- Rate of Fire: 16 per second
- Damage per Shot: 25
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.84
- Penetration Power: 30
- Damage per Second: 400
- Damage per Magazine: 1250
- Total Damage: 17500
The Silenced Sub-Machine Gun proves out to be better than its variant, Sub-Machine Gun, by dealing a higher damage per shot and total damage done. It is one of the weapons that are given to players at the start of the campaign.
Usually, it is the weapon which is more preferred than the normal Sub-Machine Gun due to its high damage per shot.
Pump Shotgun
- Magazine Capacity: 8
- Capacity: 56
- Rate of Fire: 72 per min
- Damage per Shot: 250
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.7
- Penetration Power: 30
- Damage per Second: 250
- Damage per Magazine: 2000
- Total Damage: 16000
Damage done per second per shot by Pump Shotgun is greatly magnified than the previous two guns. Pump Shotgun is a highly preferable gun by players in the primary weapons.
It deals high damage to players and can take done multiple enemies due to its spread of the pellets but the magazine capacity of the gun is short but the rate of fire is slow as well which helps you in managing the weapon ammo.
The target range of the gun is medium and is usually used to take down hordes of enemies.
Chrome Shotgun
- Magazine Capacity: 8
- Capacity: 56
- Rate of Fire: 72 per min
- Damage per Shot: 248
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.7
- Damage per Second: 248
- Damage per Magazine: 1984
- Total Damage: 15872
The gun has said to have a tight spread in all shotguns given benefit when dealing with large distance targets.
Even though there are fewer pellets in this variant than the Pump Shotgun, it has higher damage per pellet and high penetration making it a more chosen gun over the Pump Shotgun.
The tighter spread also makes it easier for the witch crowning with this gun.
H&K MP5
- Magazine Capacity: 50
- Capacity: 650
- Rate of Fire: 800 per min
- Damage per Shot: 24
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.84
- Penetration Power: 30
- Damage per Second: 312
- Damage per Magazine: 1200
- Total Damage: 16800
The gun holds a higher damage per shot and higher total damage than the Sub-Machine Gun. Although the gun is very weak having a slow rate of fire and a longer reload.
Tier 2 Weapons
Tactical Shotgun
- Magazine Capacity: 10
- Capacity: 90
- Rate of Fire: 216 per min
- Damage per Shot: 253
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.7
- Penetration Power: 30
- Damage per Second: 759
- Damage per Magazine: 2530
- Total Damage: 25300
The Tactical Shotgun is a powerful shotgun with low capacity and low accuracy. The damage is high enough but the target range is quite short. It has a tight spread and more pellets per shot than the Combat Shotgun.
The gun is automatic and the rate of fire is steady and high. The gun can take down multiple targets making it a more choosable gun for taking down hordes of Common Infected.
Combat Shotgun
- Magazine Capacity: 10
- Capacity: 90
- Rate of Fire: 216 per min
- Damage per Shot: 252
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.7
- Penetration Power: 30
- Damage per Second: 756
- Damage per Magazine: 2520
- Total Damage: 25200
The Shotgun has a tighter spread and fewer pellets, 10 shells and 90 stored, so fewer pellets per shot. The rate of fire is good and the damage is done per shot and the total damage is very high.
Therefore, even though the magazine capacity and shots are low, the high damage per shot compensates for the weakness.
Hunting Rifle (Mini-14)
- Magazine Capacity: 15
- Capacity: 150
- Rate of Fire: 240 per min
- Damage per Shot: 90
- Damage Drop Ratio: None
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 360
- Damage per Magazine: 1350
- Total Damage: 14850
The Semi-Automatic Rifle has very high accuracy, in fact, the highest in all the weapons. The gun does have a low magazine capacity and damage per shot and the rate of fire is low.
The gun is best at use in long and medium ranged targets. Not really a weapon you should go for if you have other options provided.
Steyr Scout
- Magazine Capacity: 15
- Capacity: 180
- Rate of Fire: 66 per min
- Damage per Shot: 90
- Damage Drop Ratio: None
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 90
- Damage per Magazine: 1350
- Total Damage: 17550
The magazine capacity of the gun is fair with a large target range. The damage done is better than the damage of SIG SG552 so it proves out to be better than that. Still, the gun is not really preferable.
M16A2 (Assault Rifle)
- Magazine Capacity: 50
- Capacity: 360
- Rate of Fire: 684 per min
- Damage per Shot: 33
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.97
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 363
- Damage per Magazine: 1650
- Total Damage: 13530
The gun has a high damage per shot with a quick rate of fire. The reload is fast with a high penetration power. The gun is a replacement of the SMG in Tier 1.
The damage inflicted is high and is used for mid-range targets. The accuracy and versatility of the gun is balanced. Like most weapons, it can be used for erasing those hordes of enemies.
AK-47
- Magazine Capacity: 40
- Capacity: 360
- Rate of Fire: 461 per min
- Damage per Shot: 58
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.97
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 406
- Damage per Magazine: 2320
- Total Damage: 23200
The Assault Rifle is the automatics rifle to which proves out to be a very flexible rifle in taking out those hordes of common infected. The magazine capacity is not high enough but the rate of fire is also slow making the weapon ammo manageable.
The accuracy is weak and the player should crouch down for best results.
HK 41 (Sniper Rifle)
- Magazine Capacity: 30
- Capacity: 180
- Rate of Fire: 240 per min
- Damage per Shot: 90
- Damage Drop Ratio: None
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 360
- Damage per Magazine: 2700
- Total Damage: 18900
The weapon is almost identical to the Hunting Rifle with having a high accuracy but low damage per bullet and low rate of fire. The range of the weapon is also medium and large.
Although the better ability of the gun is to hold higher ammo storage due to having a high magazine capacity.
SIG SG552
- Magazine Capacity: 50
- Capacity: 360
- Rate of Fire: 686 per min – no scope and 444 per min – scope
- Damage per Shot: 33
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.97
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 363 – no scope and 231 – scope
- Damage per Magazine: 1650
- Total Damage: 13530
The gun has a good magazine capacity with a high rate of fire. The penetration power of the gun is also high but the damage is done per shot and the total damage is not satisfying.
FN SCAR (Combat Rifle)
- Magazine Capacity: 60
- Capacity: 360
- Rate of Fire: 502 per min
- Damage per Shot: 44
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.97
- Penetration Power: 50
- Damage per Second: 352
- Damage per Magazine: 2640
- Total Damage: 18480
The gun has a magazine capacity of 60 making it is the best weapon to manage ammo. The fire rate though is quite slow but the accuracy of the gun is really high.
The rifle fires three-round bursts on pressing the trigger and the effect is continued with holding on to the trigger.
The total damage and penetration power of the gun is also high and the gun can be used for distant enemies as well as mid-range targets.
Tier 3
Grenade Launcher
- Magazine Capacity: 1
- Capacity: 30
- Rate of Fire: approx. 16 RPM
- Damage per Shot: 400-1000
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.97
- Penetration Power: None
- Damage per Second: 400-1000
- Damage per Magazine: 400-1000
- Total Damage: 12000-30000
The launcher fires out grenades which deal with high damage on exploding and taking down a good amount of group of enemies.
M60
- Magazine Capacity: 150
- Capacity: None
- Rate of Fire: 545 per min
- Damage per Shot: 50
- Damage Drop Ratio: 0.97
- Penetration Power: 50
- Magazine Capacity: 150
- Capacity: None
- Rate of Fire: 545 per min
- Damage per Second: 450
- Damage per Magazine: 7500
- Total Damage: 7500
The weapon carries 150 magazine capacity and can kill common and uncommon infected.
Melee Weapons
Fire Axe
- Speed: 0.91 seconds
Fire Axe is a blade used to take down the single enemies. Used when the enemy count near you is low and you can take down the enemy easily also saving your ammo.
Baseball Bat/Cricket Bat
- Speed: 0.85 seconds
You get both the bats depending on the place you are in. The bats are used to smash down your enemies. The damage and swing speed of the bats is average.
Crowbar
- Speed: 0.83 seconds
This melee weapon deals a good amount of damage.
Katana
- Speed: 0.75 seconds
The katana has an average swing and deals a good amount of damage. The cooldown time of this melee weapon is a little long.
Machete
- Speed: 0.675 seconds
The damage of this melee weapon is low but the cooldown time of the weapon is fast.
Frying Pan
- Speed: 0.8 seconds
The object is found in a number of locations and is used to smash the enemies.
Golf Club
- Speed: 0.75 seconds
The weapon is found very rarely.
Chainsaw
- Speed: 0.1 seconds
The weapon is a very powerful melee weapon which runs on gas. The sound of the weapon attracts common infected and you can then take them down as well.
This is all we have in our Left 4 Dead 2 Weapons Guide. If you have anything else to add, be sure to let us know!
