Stage 3: Mall

Setting: Well, this looks familiar! If you are thinking that it looks similar to the mall in Dawn of the Dead (which is the Monroeville Mall immediately outside of Pittsburgh), you'd be right. This particular stage focuses a lot of going up and down escalators as well as dense, dark environments. It can be difficult, especially compared to the last two stages, as it focuses much more on swarming and close quarters. You'll be weaving through shops on your way to the safehouse, which is - you guessed it - in another shop!

Crescendo Event: Just like the previous stage, this event will not stop until you fulfill the requirements. In this case, you must turn off the alarm system for the mall, as you had to bust through a storefront window in order to move forward. This consists of sprinting as fast as you can through swarms of Infected as you run upstairs. Bile bombs are extremely effective here, as they will distract the swarms long enough for you to make it to safety. Move as a group, with two people guarding the front and two people guarding the back, and do not stop until you turn off the alarm. The alarm room also makes a great choke point if you are getting overwhelmed.

General Tips

• There are a lot of wandering infected in this stage, and they are attracted to gunfire and lights. In short, prepare to be swarmed quite a lot.
  
• As everywhere in the mall is barricaded, there is very little natural light, so you must rely on your flashlight to see well.
  
• Pipe bombs are excellent for clearing out the larger areas of enemies without wasting ammunition. This is highly advised, as bile bombs are best saved for the Crescendo Event and Molotovs work better for a horde anyway.
  
• There are no more CEDA agents, but you will still find bile bombs around the place.

Stage 4: Atrium

Setting: The Atrium is the finale event, which means that Dead Center only has four stages. You leave your safe room, run across some scaffolding, and take an elevator down to the ground level of the atrium, where your escape awaits. It's not a helicopter, or a belligerent APC driver, but rather an unused stock car. You must gas it up and drive out of there as fast as you can. This makes the Dead Center finale one of the most unique finales, as well as a taste of the scavenge mode. The only other finale that really compares is the finale for the Parish.

Finale: Hoo boy. You must gather 13 gas tanks and dump their contents into the gas tank of Jimmy Gibbs' stock car. This involves grabbing one gas tank immediately outside of the elevator and 12 others scattered in six locations around the atrium. They are marked with white silhouettes, so it is highly advised that you scope out your route as you go down the elevator. You will want to throw the gas tanks down to the first floor until all of them are there, and then dump them into the car while your teammates protect you. Do not fill the car during a tank event, or you will die. If you take too long, you will get overwhelmed, as Dead Center uses the same finale progression as Left 4 Dead (Horde, Tank, Horde, Tank, Everything) but on a timer rather than on how fast you kill enemies. It's all about being fast and staying as a group, as splitting up means death.

General Tips

• The bile bomb is useless against the Tank in terms of gameplay, as it only slows him marginally and deals little damage. It does give an achievement though.
  
• There is a stash of supplies on the bottom level. It consists of some pills, four first-aid kits, an ammo pile, and some random advanced weapons. If you find yourself in need of resupply, don't forget that it is there.
  
• The gas cans can and will go up in flames, so try not to bunch them together too much. If they are destroyed, they respawn after a short interval at a random location. They can be destroyed by gunfire, explosions, or acidic spit.
  
• This finale is the easiest to do the run away tactic on the Tank. Simply set him on fire and flee up and down the levels. He'll be so confused that you'll get through almost unscathed