#1 STAY TOGETHER!
- You've seen the movies and you've probably heard this hundreds of times, but no one seems to bother trying it. Staying in a group is very important. Don't go solo and start camping, thinking you have it made until a Fleshpound corners you. Combine your firepower with your team's; that is the way to survive a mission. Dividing the group or going solo will weaken your team as each splinter group is effortlessly overrun.
#2 "Run or shoot? RUN OR SHOOT?" "BOTH!"
- The majority of infected can move terrifyingly fast when they catch sight of you. Always backpedal if they begin to converge towards you. The sooner the better; your equipment makes you incredibly slow compared to them, and you want to make as much distance as possible.
#3 "I like the big ones, don't you?" "Uh, no actually, I don't."
- Since the idea is to keep in one big group, your weaponry should be extremely varied. If someone's got a GL, you probably should look for another weapon. Despite how appealing it is, 6 people with GLs doesn't work. Sure, you'll frag up lesser mutants, but once the Gorefasts start rolling in, you're in trouble. There should be MGs, Shotties, and GLs present in your group at each wave. Don't forget to save your money; if you think you can manage with one HC rather than two, then do it. Believe me, it's rewarding once you get that AA-12 or SCAR for the last wave/Patriarch.
#4 Target Priority (E.G, DON'T SHOOT THE FLIPPING FLESHPOUND)
- Target priority is essential in a horde survival game. You're natural instict is to shoot the big ones, right? Well get over it. Eventually, you'll learn which are the most powerful/dangerous, in the meantime, always shoot whatever's closest (Spider mutants and Clots, typically( and whatever's fastest (Gorefasts). Once you've taken out the sheet of lesser mutants and the speeding Gorefasts, you'll be left with a splinter of Scrakes and the like. They'll be much easier to take out as they lumber towards you, as you won't have to worry about a block of Clots absorbing the shots or a Gorefast sprinting at you.
#5 Combine fire against the big ones
- Scrakes are fairly underestimated. They move as fast as a Gorefast once they start taking damage, and have only a little less killing power than the dreaded Fleshpound. If you see a Scrake or an FP, notify your team and run for the hills (Make sure to stick together with your teammates though). Your team should combine fire against a single Scrake/FP at a time, bringing them down one at a time quickly. It really works; I've done it many times.