Laser Sight

Laser Sight
Weapon type	Weapon upgrade

"Laser sights here!"

―The Survivors

The Laser Sight appears in Left 4 Dead 2 as a tool used to enhance the accuracy of primary weapons. The laser can be attached to any primary weapon, but not to secondary weapons.

The Laser Sight cannot be transferred to other weapons if the Survivor grabs a new gun. An example is having a Laser Sight-equipped to a Combat Rifle and picking up another Combat Rifle; the new Combat Rifle will not have a Laser Sight.

Tactics

• A Laser Sight improves all weapons considerably (except the shotguns), but your best bet is to attach one to an AK-47 or Silenced Submachine Gun; guns which are powerful but inaccurate without any upgrades.
• Other players can see your Laser Sight even when you are behind them, making it easier for them to avoid stepping into your line of fire.
• Laser Sights are incredibly rare. Hold on to the gun as long as you can when you have one and avoid swapping your weapon. If not all of the team have Laser Sights and a Survivor with one dies, it is a good idea to salvage the weapon to take full advantage of the sight.
• Regrettably, you cannot attach a Laser Sight to sidearms. Only main weapons can benefit from Laser Sights. Fortunately, this also means that you can swap your secondary weapon without losing your Laser Sight.
• Using the Laser Sight on any shotgun is nearly useless. It won't make your gun any more accurate than if you are standing still. However, it can at least benefit other teammates, as they can see where you are aiming.
  • Similarly, Grenade Launchers and Hunting Rifles do not have increased stationary accuracy when the Laser Sight is equipped. However, accuracy with these weapons while moving is improved.
• Laser Sights are incredibly useful in Realism Mode, making it much easier for Survivors to find each other without silhouettes.
• Laser Sight boxes never run out, so if you find a better weapon shortly after attaching one, you can go back to upgrade your new weapon.
• The powerful M60 benefits greatly from the addition of a Laser Sight, both while moving and while standing still. However, finding them both in the same campaign is unlikely at best.
• The Survivor Bots are capable of finding Laser Sights themselves, but are not too likely to actually announce it. In fact, they usually just take the Laser Sight and then return to the player(s) without a word. If you suddenly notice the Survivor Bots are equipped with them, it might be a wise choice to examine the area for the sights.

Behind the Scenes

Left 4 Dead's Laser Sight in Action.

Laser Sights were originally an upgrade in Left 4 Dead, but was unused in the final version. However, mods on the PC version allow the Survivors to use these, which lets players use the Laser Sight in Left 4 Dead.

Accessibility

The Laser Sight is a very rare find. Players can often play most campaigns without spotting a Laser Sight at all. The only areas that will always have the Laser Sight is Whitaker's Gun Shop in Dead Center and under Memorial Bridge in the 3rd chapter of Cold Stream. Swamp Fever also has a high chance of spawning Laser sights if playing from start to finish. In the first level of Dark Carnival, a Laser Sight may spawn on the motel roof near the billboard where a Hunting Rifle is found. However, Survivor Bots are unable to make their way to it without assistance because being closer to a player is a higher priority.

Another example where Laser Sights are often found is in the second level of Dark Carnival near the area where Gnome Chompski is found on one of the game stalls or in the bathrooms. They can be found in all campaigns. Since the Laser Sight cannot be transferred from weapon to weapon, the ideal solution is to equip it to a weapon the player intends to keep.

Usually, if the AI Director decides to spawn one, Laser Sights will generally only appear once per campaign. However, it is possible that two will spawn. Sometimes, those two will be in separate chapters of the campaign, and other times they may appear together in the same chapter of a campaign, such as Whitaker's Gun Shop and in a tent after the crescendo.

Notes

• The Laser Sight dispenser uses a re-skinned model of a deployed ammo box.
• If using a Sniper Rifle or Hunting Rifle, your Laser Sight will disappear if you zoom in, but will reappear after you disengage the scope.
• The Laser Sight is the only upgrade that you can use more than once, whereas if you use the Explosive or Incendiary Ammo, you can only use it once.
• When enabling Third Person Mode through the console there is no visible Laser Sight from the player's weapon, even though the sights can be seen on teammates' weapons. It also won't be visible if a player drops their weapon (there will only be a red dot on a wall, and only if it's close enough).
• Oddly, there is no visible point where the laser could be coming from; it instead comes out of the flashlight on the weapon.
  • You can still use your flashlight while using a Laser Sight, however.
• The Laser Sight is a very rare upgrade compared to Incendiary Ammo and Explosive Ammo.
• The Left 4 Dead Survivors at the finale of The Passing will always have Laser Sights on their weapons, except when they are using Pistols on various Mutations.
• By noclipping onto the balcony where the original Survivors are on The Passing, a Laser Sight will automatically be added to the carried primary weapon.
• If in a Versus match and you spectate a player with the Laser Sight attached in first person, the laser will move erratically when the player moves. This is due to the fact that the source of the laser is the model for the weapon, which moves when a Survivor moves.
• In the survival maps for No Mercy and The Sacrifice, it is possible for a Laser Sight to randomly spawn in place of an ammo pack. Because of this, the level can be tried a few times to get different spawned items.
• A Laser Sight upgrade can always be found in two places: Whitaker's gun shop on the Street chapter of the Dead Center campaign, as well as under Memorial Bridge in the 3rd chapter of Cold Stream.
• When looking closely on the side of the sights' box, "9mm" can be read.