On Maneuvers

Circling a foe while demolishing them with ordnance is both entertaining and imperative. Be mobile and agile.

With vehicular infrastructure at a complete standstill—freeways are blocked, bridges are collapsing under the weight of abandoned vehicles, and streets are littered with obstacles—moving on foot is the only way to get across a stage. This means walking and running.

Walking and Running: Walking is slower (you’re more easily caught by an ambush from behind) but stealthier (you usually avoid more foes, see enemies quicker, and shoot them more accurately).

Running is faster (you can outrun foes chasing you and reach Safe Rooms quickly) but less stealthy (meaning Survivors in a rush usually fire on Witches or alarmed cars with greater frequency).

Crouching and Shuffling: Mastered the fine art of walking? Then make sure you know how to crouch.

This allows even more stealthy maneuvers through an area, which usually results in fewer enemies seeing you (unless you’re in Versus mode, where humans playing Special Infected make this technique useless).

Crouching is good for avoiding Witches and also helps when aiming at foes with ranged (and scoped) weapons.

Looking: Yes, looking is simple enough, but make sure you’re gazing everywhere you can.

Checking to the left and right as you go allows you to see possible ambushes to the sides.

Looking above is particularly helpful, as there are many places the Special Infected can stand (such as rooftops and balconies) that you can’t reach. If you look up you can spot a potential target before they move in for the kill.

Jumping: A movement used frequently, and is incredibly useful. Jump to access areas above you, such as the hood or trunk of a car you want to stand on, so you have an elevated view for targeting foes.

Strafing: Side movement is the next technique to master. Moving left and right while keeping your target reticle focused on the same enemy, or strafing, allows you to move and fire.

You’ll drop many more foes this way. It is imperative that you master this strafing technique because as you can step out from corners, from behind your friends’ heads, or avoid thrown objects while still tackling a troublesome foe or group of enemies.

Circle-Strafing: The ultimate form of strafing (which involves moving left and right but aiming at a target constantly) is to maneuver up to 360 degrees around that target—a process known as circle-strafing.

Practice this by picking an object or teammate and maneuvering around them. Then do the same, but constantly change targets. Perfect this so that you’re mobile (and harder to strike at) and aggressive, culling foes while on the move.