Left 4 Dead 2 – Every Weapon, Ranked

Left 4 Dead 2 has a lot of weapons. There are 20-or-so firearms, a few throwable items, and a bunch of melee weapons. The sheer variety of killing tools allows you to tackle the undead swarm in fun and interesting ways – but sometimes, you just want to have the best boomstick in your hands.

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If you want to know what weapon is best suited for murdering everything – heck, maybe you just want to know what weapon is good in a specific situation – the answer is here. There are a bunch of weapons to choose from, but only one can be the best.

Updated January 11, 2025 By Christopher Padilla: Old as it may be, Left 4 Dead 2 still has a following. Likely because no game since has matched its mix of tense firefights, frantic escapes, and teamwork. Despite being in 2009, the game deserves a modern article. So in addition to some formatting changes, we’ve also added some extra info tables so you know how to use these fine firearms.

19

Pistols – Default/Dual Wield

This one might seem obvious, but the starting pistols are not great in Left 4 Dead 2. They are your starting firearm, they don’t do much damage, they have a limited clip size, and they can be replaced with just about everything. Even running two of these things isn’t worth it.

The one advantage the Pistols have over everything else is that they have unlimited ammo. This means they are incredibly reliable. If you are in a bind, then you can always fall back on these things – but you’d be better off dropping them.

18

Bolt Action Sniper Rifles – AWP/Scout

To the inexperienced, these might seem undertuned. Their bolt action mechanism means that there’s a lot of downtime between shots, which make it terrible for taking out the endless hordes of normal infected. However, that’s not what they’re for. While you wouldn’t want to full-stack your team with these, they’re decent enough in the hands of one specialist.

Each shot is high-powered, which means that you want to use this to target special infected.

One or two good shots is often enough for the less hardy SI like Hunters and Smokers, and you can chunk down the beefier ones for an easier kill. In a pinch, you can use the bolt-action to take out common infected since it overpenetrates, but it might be more efficient to use your sidearm/backup.

17

Molotov Cocktail

Due to the fact you can only carry one at a time, no throwable item can be considered among the best weapons in the game. After all, when you throw one, you won’t have any more until you randomly find another. So, they can’t be relied upon to get you through most of the campaign.

Despite its disposable nature, the Molotov is still a solid weapon to have. It can engulf a large area with flames, meaning you can force hordes to run through fire to reach you. Plus, it’s effective against special infected, too.

16

Uzi/Silenced SMG

The Uzi is your bog-standard SMG. The Silence SMG is a bog-standard SMG with a few gubbins added for good measure. This extra dash of snazz doesn’t stop it from falling into the same category of – meh.

These aren’t bad weapons – far from it. These are just basic. Too basic to keep a hold of for very long. You will drop these the moment you find just about any other primary weapon. They will get you through the early game, but that’s about it.

15

Pipe Bomb

The Pipe Bomb is the ultimate weapon for wiping out hordes. When you throw it, the bomb unleashes noise that attracts nearby infected to it before exploding and killing them all.

While it’s useful at all times, it particularly comes in handy when your team is surrounded. Once it begins to beep, the zombies will stop attacking and focus on your bomb. One issue is that it doesn’t attract the special infected. Thus, it won’t help you against the most dangerous foes.

14

Bile Bomb

At first, the Bile Bomb seems the worst throwable item in the game, as it doesn’t do direct damage to enemies. However, when you start experimenting with it, you realize how versatile the weapon is.

The most obvious usage is for a distraction, as standard infected automatically go to the bile that drops. And when they’re all huddled up, you can gun them all down or throw a gas canister in there and shoot it. Alternatively, you can throw the bile at a special infected to get the regular enemies to attack them. This is particularly a good idea when facing Tanks, as they’ll also slow the beast down.

13

Chainsaw

The Chainsaw is an interesting weapon. It is the only melee weapon in the game that has “ammo”. This thing takes up a secondary slot, and it can do work in a pinch. If a crescendo triggers, then having one of these in your pocket can mince zombies for days.

Or it would if it didn’t burn through fuel so fast. You pull this out, you shred, and then you drop it. Once the Chainsaw is empty, you automatically replace it with a pistol. The Chainsaw is good – just not good enough when compared to other secondaries.

12

Melee Weapons – All Of Them

Melee weapons in Left 4 Dead 2 are excellent choices when it comes to killing the undead. They have unlimited ammo, they deal great damage, and they are universally better than the starting pistol. Until you find something with a bit more punch, they are an excellent addition to your loadout.

These weapons have one glaring flaw, and that is their range. Being melee weapons they are worthless when enemies are at a range. This makes them inefficient against most Special Infected, and taking a melee weapon to clap a Tank will quickly end in regret.

11

Magnum

The Magnum is the premier secondary weapon. This Magnum is a suped-up pistol with enough power to essentially act as a mini-primary. The Magnum is ridiculously good at what it does, and it should be your go-to weapon in that slot.

Nothing compares to it. It has excellent range, great damage, and you can even cancel the reload animation to increase its rate of fire. Heck, it can take out some Special Infected in a single shot. There is nothing to dislike here.

10

Pump Action Shotgun/Chrome Shotgun

When it comes to your early-campaign workhorse, there is nothing better than the classic Pump Action Shotgun and its more modern counterpart, the Chrome Shotgun. These are more-or-less the same weapon, and they do what they do very well – deal great damage in chunky bursts of buckshot.

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These are your go-to weapons when you start the game, and they both make the Uzi look a bit piddly. Sure, you need to get a bit closer to use them, but the damage trade-off is more than worth it. These are wonderful weapons that can carry you decently far before you need to replace them.

9

MP5

The MP5 is a fairly new weapon in the grand scheme of things, but it comfortably steals the spot of best SMG in the game. It has excellent all-around stats, and it can easily carry you through the early and mid-game. If you can upgrade one to have a laser sight, then you are in business.

The only downside to the MP5 is that it’s pretty hard to find. Weapon drops in Left 4 Dead 2 are random, and for whatever reason, the MP5 seems to get the short end of the stick on the RNG table. It’s also outclassed by larger rifles, making it an excellent weapon in a sea of better weapons.

8

M16

The M16 is the classic assault rifle found in the original Left 4 Dead. In Left 4 Dead 2, it is still an absolute monster, dwarfing most guns in the game. The M16 has a massive clip, great rate of fire, excellent accuracy, and damage to die for.

This is your entry-level assault rifle, and it does work. You can go through the finale with this beast and not feel underpowered. There are better weapons, but the M16 is the first weapon that can still hold its own. It’s the first entry into the upper echelons of firearms.

7

M60 LMG

The M60 is stupidly good. Its damage is monstrous, its rate of fire is out of this world, and it can shred everything from standard enemies to Tanks in seconds. If you want things to die, you go for the M60.

Unfortunately, the M60 has a few downsides. Firstly, like the Chainsaw, it has limited ammo. Once it’s empty, the gun is discarded. Unlike the chainsaw, it is not automatically replaced. If you burn through your mag in a bad stop, you can find yourself in quite the bind. Finally, its accuracy leaves a lot to be desired – although this can be fixed with a cheeky laser sight.

6

Grenade Launcher

The Grenade Launcher is the strongest weapon in the entire game. Firing a grenade is the equivalent of firing about 4 sniper rounds to the head, but it has one huge downside that makes it difficult to call an “auto-include”.

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The Grenade Launcher can deal a massive amount of friendly fire, and it can absolutely kill you or your teammates if you fire it at the wrong time. This is especially devastating on harder difficulties. However, if you can master the Grenade Launcher, then it becomes unstoppably good at clearing hordes and killing bosses.

5

SPAS-12/Automatic Shotgun

Similar to the Pump and the Chrome, the SPAS and Auto are basically the same guns. Sure, there are some minor differences in terms of stats, but they operate in the same space and are close enough in potency that it doesn’t really matter which you pick.

These Shotguns are your go-to boomsticks. They’re the best in the game, and they will carry you to victory one buckshot at a time. Fast, damaging, and amazing. Everything you’d want in a shotgun.

4

SCAR

The SCAR is an excellent assault rifle that specializes in highly accurate bursts of fire. So much so, that it only fires in bursts. This makes the SCAR completely unique, and no other weapon fills in its niche.

The SCAR is painfully accurate, has great damage, and outclasses its direct competitor, the M16, in just about every way. If you want something with a bit more fire rate, then this might not be for you, however.

3

SG522

If the SCAR didn’t cut it, then this thing will. The SG522 is an assault rifle that combines too many things into one hilarious package. Imagine an SMG, assault rifle, sniper rifle hybrid, and you get the picture.

The SG522 has the damage of a rifle, a potent scope, and the fire rate of an SMG. It even has a clip with enough rounds to allow for sustained fire. The SG522 can operate in any and every capacity imaginable. If you find one, there is very little reason to ever put it down. It’s not the best weapon, but it’s darn close.

2

Hunting Rifle/Military Sniper Rifle

A direct upgrade from their bolt-action kin. These two rifles semi-automatic Snipers with near-identical stats. They fire fast, they have ludicrous damage, and you can zoom in to cap distance Specials.

There is nothing to dislike about these two guns. When hip fired, they can even act like pinpoint accurate shotguns, because their bullet pierces through zombies. These are top-tier and can be your best firearms if you’re into snipers.

1

AK47

The AK47 – what’s not to like about this gun? It has everything. It has a meaty magazine, it has a great fire rate, it has wonderful accuracy, and it has the highest damage of any assault rifle in the game. This is monstrously good, and it even puts the M60 to shame.

If you slap on a laser sight, the AK47 becomes even better, and at that point, there is no reason to ever touch another weapon again. This is the workhorse, and it can carry you through every encounter in the game if you know what you are doing.

Systems

Released

November 17, 2009

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language