PSA: Run! Left 4 Dead's Tank now bats 1000

by Xav de Matos on Mar 15th 2009 7:30PM

Before this glorious weekend began, Valve listed a few fixes the latest update of Left 4 Dead addressed. Apart from your standard server and back end issue fixes -- listed after the break -- Valve saw fit to update the Tank. Clearly the unholy creature was taken down a notch because of his behemoth desire for absolute destruction, right? Actually, the Tank was given the ability to hit all survivors with one melee strike. In essence, he's more ruthless than ever before.

Of course the repercussions of such an evil act will mostly be felt in the game's Versus Mode but we can't help but wonder which side Valve is on. Is it their aim to ruin survivor morale for the actual (and inevitable) zombie apocalypse? Perhaps Left 4 Dead was designed by zombies, for zombies, to test the human spirit and to see how resilient we really are. We don't know your little game Valve but we're watching you. Oh, and stop asking us to web cam you pictures of our skulls -- it's weird. Wait a minute...

Fixed sv_search_key appearing in server browser
Fixed issue where changing the sv_search_key did not update the master correctly
Fixed master server issue with Linux fork mode that affected availability of Valve dedicated servers
Tank melee attack can now hit multiple Survivors in one swing
Missed from the previous list changes: Fixed acheivements to match stats. Past achievements not previously awarded will be shown in the game UI

Source

Tags: left-4-dead, pc, steam, update, valve

Reader Comments (49)

I love the tank, one of the funniest things actually happened to me once while my capture card was running...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ8MXUNJKF4

Now that was awesome.

Funniest and greatest L4D video of all time. Thank you!

I didn't know you had a channel.

I have had a channel for years, but the Youtube DRM Nazi's deleted a lot of my vids. Including a 15 minute machinima film. Now I just upload gameplay clips and such.

5'd, and fav'd. Good one, Obie.

omfg that was way too funny. oh god. now i wish valve wouldn't be so damn stubborn and release L4D on ps3!

Oh yeah I forgot to vote,BRB 1'd for fad whoring.

Keke just kidding is just that BPMomega reminded me of my YTMND days.5'd as well.

Something like that happened to me the other day, except it was at the end and a previous tank had shoved that same luggage thing in front of the door. As we were all getting into the plane, another tank came around and smacked that luggage holder up into the plane and incapped us all.

5 STARS.

But you need PC version for the epic win.

Filler post? anyone who plays Left 4 Dead would see the updates when Steam boots.

Oh, I'm sorry Lee. Not everyone plays Left 4 Dead everyday. You know, some us have jobs and college to worry about. Thanks for the info Xav. By the way, is Xav short for something? I've never seen your name before.

I'm one of the few who hasn't picked up Left 4 Dead. I have the Orange Box, and enjoy reading about Valve's updates, even if they are for Left 4 Dead.

I got L4D as a gift and it is awesome as long as you have a good connection and friends or family to play with.So if you fill both or one of the requierements you should totally buy it for PC.

But is just me or Blood Harvest plays a little too much like Dead Toll.

You don't even have to play lol. just load up Steam and gaze your eyes to the right where it says Updates - Left 4 Dead.

And you mean Death Toll. But I disagree, Death Toll is a more industrial area for the most part. Blood Harvest is just trains and farms.
No difference to how both No Mercy and Dead Air are both set in residential areas.

I see it as a look into the future and see what us unloved 360 users will get in about 3 months time.

Not that it matters me much at the moment, bloody RRoD. =(

@ssuk, you can thank Microsoft for your tough love. Every patch that gets posted on the 360 has to go through some certification process (which I'm pretty sure the developers/publishers have to pay for). It's easier for every developer, including Valve, to just make one big update instead of little ones here and there.

Also read that game patches can only be ~8mb, so if you have >8mb of patch work to do, you better spring for some mandatory free DLC.

As long as they can be allowed to huddle in a corner and spam melee until the Tank arrives, I still say survivors have the advantage.

This update should counter that tactic. If a Tank comes and the survivors are all huddling in a corner, then each swing from the Tank should hit all four survivors, knocking them down, only to get back up and get hit by another swing.

And I like the tank update. In VS he has been nerfed significantly. It is all good, I am happy Valve keeps tweaking as they go along.
The question is will we have to wait 2 months for this update on the 360?

I'm hoping Microsoft loosens up their Xbox Live rules a bit. PS3 users are able to share user generated content. Why can't Xbox360 users? I'm glad Valve is attempting to side with the players.

they must have updated the graphics or something too, because neither the tank nor the shotgun look like that in gameplay

Hmm.

Thats how they look on my screen. I don't understand the issue. Perhaps the detail isn't so high running the game on a 486.

no it's not even the detail, it;s just, the shotgun isn't shaped like that, and I can run it on max settings and then some

Everything is on max here on my GTX 2-something card and my tank has nowhere near the same detail as that. maybe its just a promo shot? or maybe the game moves too fast to realise lol.

Old screenshot is old.

um... im pretty sure its the xbox version?

the tank is completely broken. He's way too overpowered now.

No, not even close. There are many cheap ways to fight the tank, such as totem poling as mentioned below, or hiding in vents. Now people have to fight the tank the way it was meant to fight them.

The tank AOE was to counteract the "Toteming" strategy, where survivors would pile on one another in a corner and all auto-shotty the tank. Even after the damage reduction, the autoshotty did unbelievable damage to the tank. Since he could only knock back one survivor, he would be taking POINT BLANK damage from 3/4 survivors most of the time. He would die before he could punch twice.

In open areas, survivors would be screwed, but there are no shortages of small rooms in L4D.

This update makes survivors do what they are supposed to do: RUN AND SHOOT.

Also note that the Tank attack range hasn't changed, so don't expect a 90 degree attack arc to swipe everyone off a roof.

What? Open areas are the best way to take a tank down...

Best example I can think of is the finale of Blood Harvest. You get the hell out of that house into the open area as soon as you hear a tank coming.

"We don't know you're little game Valve"
>>you're

>reaction image.jpg

>Inserts Hello.jpg

*ahem Gentlemen.

(Pro Tip:Search Hello.JPG in google images with safesearch off,wash eyes with acid)

>RAAAAAAAAAAGE.png

Fixed.

Don't f*&king shoot the f$%king witch

*BANG*

Oops...

What now...? OH SHI-

RUNNNNNNNN

Don't worry, I can get it in the head. I swea...

Accidentaly the whole alarm,is this bad?

I always pull the witch, can't help it.

that explains that then.. when I cornered 2 survivors & could only hit one.. it doesn't explain why a lot of the time the tank is far too slow to even catch anyone to even hit them when your playing as one, yet it always gets someone when it's AI controlled..

I'm wondering if anyone else get's headaches after a while playing this game..
I played 4 or 5 games with mates, on Live, felt fine, yet I can barely manage 2 games in single player without feeling like crap..

Hopefully this'll come to the 360 with the DLC update...*crosses fingers*

Always excited for L4D comments cause you never know when they will drop the release date of the upcoming title update (or DLC, however it may be released). Can't wait.

Was playing a game yesterday where the Tank hit me so hard I flew out of the map and couldn't get back in. Had to start over, very frustrating.

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PSA: Run! Left 4 Dead's Tank now bats 1000

Reader Comments (49)

Posted: Mar 15th 2009 7:35PM Obienator said

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