Left 4 Dead stats show strong anti-Smoker bias

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 26th 2008 at 12:00PM }

Valve has collected and released the Achievement statistics for its cooperative, zombie extermination-fest, Left 4 Dead. The most frequently unlocked award amongst Steam users is "Drag and Drop," with 72.6% of players having earned it after splattering a spluttering Smoker zombie before it managed to inflict damage on a fellow survivor. That's sticking to the spirit of the game!

Unsurprisingly, nobody's managed to kill 53,595 Infected (yet!) and only 0.2% of players have survived every single campaign on Expert difficulty. That's the one where the AI Director puts a paperweight on the "Spawn Tank" button.

Tags: Co-op, FPS, Left-4-Dead, Stats, Steam, Valve, Zombies

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

gb @ Nov 26th 2008 12:23PM

This game is being ruined by the horrible lobby system and people hosting games locally with inadequate net connections. I sometimes need to join 10+ matches to find one that is not a lag fest.

Lord Negatron @ Nov 26th 2008 12:42PM

On Steam or XBL?

That is the question.

gb @ Nov 26th 2008 2:11PM

Steam. It is clear they developed a pc game with 360 features. Bad Valve, bad.

Zak Canard @ Nov 26th 2008 5:03PM

Can't say I've had much problem with the lobby system, but that might be because I'm signed up to a few Steam community groups that host a number of L4D servers.

Einhanderkiller @ Nov 27th 2008 1:44AM

I had connection issues in the demo, but it's been totally smooth for me in the retail version.

Lord Negatron @ Nov 26th 2008 12:23PM

Smoker and Hunter are game over material. Tied up, and pounced on... That leaves 2 people left to get vomited on, in order to really get the heart going...

"queue noises and music of an oncoming horde*

xGeneral DEATHx (Mr ESC Welcome Back Party Ultimate Mega Action Force) @ Nov 26th 2008 4:31PM

"Tied up, and pounced on..."

This can be a good thing.

Oh, context.

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 26th 2008 12:28PM

LOL, does anyone even PLAY this game anymore??

Squirtforce @ Nov 26th 2008 12:33PM

Jesus, is your whole gimmick now adding a comment about whether people actually play the game in the article anymore?! Didn't you just say this about Street Fighter also? PLEASE TELL US WHAT WE SHOULD BE PLAYING.

Smurfy @ Nov 26th 2008 12:34PM

What?! It came out a week ago.

Lord Negatron @ Nov 26th 2008 12:35PM

I play in doses, those of you that just couldn't get enough and did all measly campaigns in 1 night. /golfclap

Right now about 4 people i know play this, so thats 10 total on XBL.

:P

Blazur @ Nov 26th 2008 12:52PM

Yes...daily, with whatever free time I have. You can hate on the game all you want, but to me it's remarkable.

Obie @ Nov 26th 2008 1:05PM

Last night 80% of my friend list was playing this game, I personally cannot stop....SO much fun!

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 26th 2008 1:09PM

It's obviously an absurd comment, it's not meant to be taken seriously. Let's lighten up a bit!

Purple Haze @ Nov 26th 2008 8:55PM

Your sense of humour is broken.

danny. @ Nov 26th 2008 12:28PM

I'm suprised All 4 Dead is so high. That's my proudest achievement bounced a cop car around an alley and instantly incapped all four survivors... it was great

Dan Bugglin @ Nov 26th 2008 12:33PM

Lamb 2 Slaughter is 0 which doesn't surprise me since the achievement is broken. :P

I actually have it but it doesn't show up on the Steam website, only in-game. I have that problem with a few Portal achievements as well.

RiccochetJ @ Nov 26th 2008 12:36PM

I got the Man vs Tank achievement yesterday. Big guy got stuck behind a van so I unloaded 30 shotgun shells into his face.

Some may think that it's cheap the way I got it, but I figure it was just the director making amends for the 5 times the tank punched me off the roof of the hospital when I'M 3 FEET AWAY FROM THE %^&$%& HELICOPTER.

*eye twitch*

The Dark Wayne @ Nov 26th 2008 12:48PM

i've been roped away from INSIDE the helichopper by smokers on no less than 3 occasions. One time I survived only to have everyone else killed by a tank

danny. @ Nov 26th 2008 12:53PM

that's how I got my Drag and Drop. Get down next to the helipad to grab guys as the door closes, or just keep an eye out for smokers camping there (me).

chenry @ Jan 7th 2009 2:26PM

I got Man vs. Tank after I was rescued; I set a tank on fire and as the boat was leaving shore BOOP, achievement.

Blazur @ Nov 26th 2008 12:48PM

A testament at how ridiculously ineffective the smoker is. The fact that you can melee his tongue, shoot the smoker for a brief second when ensnared, melee the victim, or shoot THROUGH an ensnared victim to pick off a smoker supports my claim he is by far the weakest infected boss, and highly situational to use.

Haggard @ Nov 26th 2008 1:02PM

This is true.

On the other hand, when he works, he really works. Hunters are very easy to shove off. In many ways all the infected bosses are situational.

Blazur @ Nov 26th 2008 1:06PM

Smoker is great if you can find spots that allow travel, but become inaccessible from below once players drop down from it. If you snag the last person before the entire team drops down and you're able to ensnare a victim, then it's GG unless they're smart enough to toss up a grenade.

Kevin @ Nov 26th 2008 12:49PM

The problem with the Smoker is that so many people jump out in front of a gun and attempt to pull someone.

Smoker = Spy

naxe @ Nov 26th 2008 12:54PM

NOT an XBOX FAN AT ALL.

But i was wondering how good a present will this be for my brother in law?

Is it on top 3 right now?

He likes fable, Orange box, COD4, command and con. 3. GTA4. JRPG's He's all over the place with his taste in games.

Richard Mitchell @ Nov 26th 2008 1:00PM

If your brother-in-law plays online regularly and has some friends online to play with, then yes, L4D is great. It's even decent with 2 players via splitscreen, but single-player isn't nearly as good.

naxe @ Nov 26th 2008 1:10PM

Ok thanks man..

Now i have to look for a deal on this for black friday.

Hope i find something.

Scooter @ Nov 26th 2008 1:04PM

My brother got the Witch head shot one. We played the boat one and he jumped out of a building and looked down. The witch was right below him so he opened up on it with his Auto shotgun.

Genisus @ Nov 26th 2008 1:18PM

I got the witch one too. You just walk up to it with the auto shotty and pull the trigger right on her head. Did it this morning too. The witch gives you about 3-5 seconds before she jumps up so there's plenty of time to shoot her.
Also had a tank get stuck in a tree and so I started shooting it saying "yea I'm gonna get Man vs Tank!!!" and then everyone else saw me and starting shooting too! AHHHH!
But we digress.

enderjsv @ Nov 26th 2008 1:34PM

The LAMB 2 SLAUGHTER statistic can't be right. it says 0%, but I have that one. Or maybe just not enough people have it for it to register at .1%. That would make me feel special.

Latin Trident @ Nov 26th 2008 2:09PM

is the paper weight on the "Spawn Tank" button the xbox 360 HD DVD attachment? that would be kinda sad...

Doug @ Nov 26th 2008 2:18PM

"That's the one where the AI Director puts a paperweight on the "Spawn Tank" button." lol.
I laughed out loud Ludwig XD.

LuckyEMS @ Nov 26th 2008 2:22PM

i have the lamb 2 slaughter achievement on 360

buts its obviously PC since the Outbreak achievement doesnt exist on the 360

Haggard @ Nov 26th 2008 2:35PM

Yeah, Valve collect the stats for the PC version through Steam. I'm not sure they have any control over the 360 version's stats since Live is not their service.

Brodo @ Nov 26th 2008 6:04PM

Me and my friends were trying to play this game on expert and its freaking insane... We were all playing LAN so we could co-operate and play with no lag and we still couldnt do it. We were on the last level of No Mercy after countless hours (literally) of playing and we couldnt do it :(