Randomized Items
Each round has a unique random item layout. Random takes all the item spawns on a map and replaces them with something else at random. Where normally you would get a guaranteed infinite hunting rifle on the billboard in Dark Carnival 1, in Random there could be anything at that spot, from a shotgun to an explosive barrel to a bucket or even nothing at all.
Items spawn with a sensible distribution where every type of item has its own odds of appearing. This creates a balanced item layout on any map most of the time. Rounds that are more difficult – because of a special event or double tanks, etc. – will have a bit higher item density, and vice versa.
In addition to the randomly spawned items in the start saferoom, survivors will be handed a random start setup. This means getting a tier-1 weapon or a melee weapon and possibily some pills or adrenaline. Survivors don't start with first aid kits, but there might be a small number randomly placed in the level.
Hittables – the ones that tanks can punch – are randomly changed into other hittable objects. On top of that, there are random alarmed cars. Cars are painted in fully random colors.
All the random items and hittables are different for each round played, but they are the same for each team.
Randomized Spawns
Special infected classes are chosen entirely at random. There is no limit to what an attack could consist of. You can get four chargers if you're lucky, two boomers and two spitters, or any other combination whatever.
You can get very powerful setups, randomly. However, there is "sack protection" in Random, which affects which spawns are given and prevents stacking up strong infected. It is not possible to get four chargers or a smoker quadcap without a lot of luck! The odds are also generally tweaked to make too powerful attacks less likely.
Death-order does not affect the next attack's spawns in the same way as in vanilla, but it does influence the odds to some extent: the later a special infected dies, the lower the odds are that its class will be picked on the very next upcoming spawns.
Random Special Events
Every round there is a very good chance that there will be a special event. This means that
the gameplay of the round will be altered in some interesting way.
There are 40 different special events.
Some events affect the availability of items or weapons, such as the Marksmen event that makes only CSS snipers available, or the Item Redundancy event that makes a randomly picked item very common. Other events change the scoring for the round, giving penalties for Shoves (M2) or health item use, or giving bonuses for skeeting hunters or killing witches.
There are also more game-changing events, which may make survivors die instantly on getting incapped and give them defibs, remove all ammo but give survivors a deployable ammo pile instead, or introduce an encumbrance system – survivors are slower if they carry a lot of stuff – or make one survivor very vulnerable, forcing the other three to protect the baby.
Since special events may greatly affect the game's difficulty for the survivors, really hard or easy events are balanced by changing special infected spawn timers and size of the common infected horde, etc. Not all events have the same chance to feature; weirder events are less likely to be picked for a round.
Random Giftboxes
On any map Random Gifts may spawn. Survivors can unwrap them to make a random gift effect happen, which can be either good or bad for survivors.
Random Gifts can contain a bunch of useful items (most likely); they can give you laser sights, ammo or some health. If the one opening the gift is unlucky, though, they can also explode, catch on fire or unleash fireworks, boom the survivor or spawn a mob of common infected!
You never know what a gift might do... but the odds are in favor of a positive effect for survivors.
Gnome Scoring
Sometimes you may come across a gnome or a pack of cola bottles. If the survivors bring it to the end saferoom or escape the finale with it, they get bonus points for each they bring. The further the gnome needs to be carried, the more points it will be worth – gnomes that spawn right next to the end saferoom will not be worth much.
There is no limit to how many bonus points can be scored this way, other than the fact that gnomes and cola are pretty rare.
Random alternative map paths
A bunch of maps have a chance of having altered paths, creating a harder version of the route survivors have to take. About one third of the time, for instance, The Mall in Dead Center will require the survivors to take the long way to the event area, where they open alarmed doors on the lowest floor instead of going through the toy shop.
Nearly 20 maps of the official campaigns have such alternative paths. If a harder path is activated, it is announced when the round starts. Don't worry, there are no bizarre mazes of ugly fences that you'll be totally lost in and all of the changes look nice.
Variants
Don't like some of the things Random brings? Too hard? Too easy? Too many freaky things? Try one of the variants that are available as alternatives:
| Random Easy | for when you prefer survivors to have it a little easier. |
| Random Hard | for when you prefer something closer to a competitive config's difficulty. |
| Random Basic | for when you just want to play with randomized items, but no weird events, random gifts, and all that jazz. |
| Randumb | for when you need the most random randomness the server can handle. |
And Many More Features
But Random has more to offer:
- Each map's score is (mildly) random and there is random variation on the damage survival bonus.
- There is a balance management system that helps keep maps playable and the scoring sensible in all the random insanity.
- All basic randomness (items, hittables, special events, et cetera) are equal between teams (except when you play Randumb).
- Health items and defibrillators are balanced to prevent them from being overpowered. Defibs bring back survivors in black and white mode. Medkits are much less effective.
- Tier-2 rifles and shotguns have limited ammo. You can't have anything but a single pistol as a secondary to them.
- There may randomly be two tanks on a map, or multiple witches. Tanks are handed to players entirely at random. They pass, but there's also a chance the first tank player gets to keep it...
- Tank selection is random. Tank players may randomly get to keep their tanks for a second pass. Those annoying double passes are fixed.
- The amount of incaps before survivors die is random and there is a small chance of survivors not having outlines.
- A boomer combo reward system that makes multiple boomer-attacks tactical and useful.
- Random uncommon infected of every type on any map, fallen survivors, and a very small chance of running into Jimmie Gibbs anywhere.
- You can drop any item you're holding at will (with !drop).
- Pipebombs have a small chance of failing to explode – and a high chance when boomer combo's land.
- Some doors may randomly be locked on a map. They have to be destroyed if survivors are to pass through them.
- Random team shuffling, if both teams agree.
- 2v2 and 3v3 modes available.
Promod-related Features
Random has some general Promod-related changes compared to vanilla Left 4 Dead 2:
- Ready-up before round start. Pause available.
- Jockeys have more control over survivors, so they're harder to resist. They also recharge their attacks more quickly.
- Witches do more damage to incapped survivors (Promod: 70, Random: 50). They are also more quickly angered.
- Ghost infected cannot kill themselves.
- Infected team is blind to items the survivors have not yet seen, so they cannot scout for items before their survivor round.
- Shoves / m2s are limited and need to recharge sooner. You cannot kill an infected just by shoving them.
- Map distance points are customized to more closely reflect the round's difficulty.
- Interpolation (cl_interp) values of over 100ms are blocked.
- Special infected don't do friendly fire damage to eachother.
Some differences between Random and Promod, other than mentioned above:
- Tanks may spawn (75% chance), but are not guaranteed every map. Witches are not guaranteed. Both are guaranteed in Random Hard, however.
- Jockeys do pounce damage (capped at 25).
- If teams are not full, infected bots may spawn.
- Hordes or random size spawn at random intervals.
- Spawn timers vary between 16 and 19 seconds.
- Molotovs are nerfed: it takes 3 minutes and 45 seconds to fully burn a tank.
