Conserve your turret ammunition during later waves. Don’t waste it on easy-to-kill enemies; save it for the heavies.
Be sure to pick up a Gorgon or Boltok and some type of special grenade. This way, you can reload them when you buy an ammo refill.
If you’re low on ammo, your rifles, shotguns, and pistols all refill to their base ammo level between waves. Ammo crates from the bonus drops give ammo to your entire team.
Flame Grenadiers, Boomers, and getting hit from behind can all stun you and knock you out of the Silverback. Make sure you deal with Flame Grenadiers and Boomers before they can get close. Tickers are also a nuisance because they can be hard to hit with the Silverback’s weapons, though you can use the stomp to smash them.
Mark targets constantly. Just as in multiplayer, focusing your fire is the most effective way to work together.
If you have an objective to kill a certain number of a specific bonus enemy type, be sure to prioritize that target early. If you leave the special enemy type alive and kill all the other enemies in a wave, you may not get enough spawns of the special enemy you need for the objective!
New enemy rosters are normally selected every ten waves or so. However, if you fail one or more waves, you may see a completely new set of enemies due to an early roster shift.
If you have good reason to believe your team will fail a wave, rather than spending your cash on fortifications that may be lost and failing, save it. If you win, great; if not, you should have enough cash to build up stronger fortifications!
Faster Leveling
When you’re still working to level up your Horde mode unlocks, a handy trick is to purchase more control points than you need, strictly to build more fortifications. This isn’t a good idea if you’re making a serious attempt at Horde. But when you’re still trying to unlock upgrades, and your teammates don’t mind, go for it.
Fortifications
Remember: Upgraded fortifications that are destroyed can be repaired between waves. If you let a destroyed fortification stay down for the next wave, it is gone for good and must be totally rebuilt. Don’t let this happen to key fortifications! Here’s a good rule of thumb for build order: Turrets first, and then Decoys or Sentries depending on their position.
For Barriers, either build them last, or build a few in key positions early and protect them carefully. Trying to build and upgrade all walls early is a waste of money. Saving your cash for a round or two is also a viable tactic. At that point, you can quickly purchase and upgrade a fortification to maximum. This saves you wasted money on repairs between rounds before the fortification is maxed out. Consider using this technique in the early waves, when the combat is easier.
On some maps, the Silverback can almost singlehandedly hold down the fort if it is well supported. You can have one teammate save up for the Silverback, or even have all team members pour cash into one player to buy it early. Generally, this works well only if you know your teammates, but it is an effective strategy.
Weapons
Because so much of Horde combat on many maps happens at medium range or longer, you may want to carry a Hammerburst and a Lancer. Select the Lancer as your initial weapon, and then scavenge a Hammerburst from the plentiful Drones. This allows you to keep your Lancer ammo and the Chainsaw for shorter distances and still pick away at targets from long range.
Be sure to grab Mulchers and Boomshields between rounds. The Mulcher in particular can make the start of a new wave fairly easy. Drop off the Boomshields in narrow passages to provide some extra cover for your team—be sure to plant them after the wave starts, or they vanish.
The Sawed-Off Shotgun is an excellent makeshift power weapon. You can use it to take down or heavily damage the Boomer, Mauler, or Grinder quickly. Just be sure you can get into close range to use it safely.
Have one teammate pack a Torque Bow or Boomshot at all times to deal with problematic enemies. Save the shots until they are needed!
Heavy Weapons
The heavy weapons are all very important for dealing with boss waves. If such weapons are on a spawn cycle, be sure to pick them up on the eighth wave and hold onto them for the boss wave!
