The Final Siege (City of Crushed Hopes) is the last siege encountered in the game before reaching Canada. It lasts for four hours (about 5 minutes of real-time), making it the longest siege in the game.
The siege takes place in a large city block, which consists of two horizontal streets with numerous single-room buildings in the top and middle of the map and alleyways in between. Various types of weapons and loot are scattered on the streets and inside the buildings.
Upon starting the siege, dozens of zombies will constantly spawn and attempt to swarm the party, easily killing them if they are not careful.
Preparation
- Stockpile a large amount of guns before the siege. Whether or not you have a gun on hand could be the factor between living and dying, since guns are incredibly useful if you get cornered by zombies, or need to clear out a crowded escape route. You should distribute them between party members so that you don't need to rely on a single one to make it through.
- Also, get as much ammunition as you can; you won't want to run out halfway through the battle. Since each party member can only carry 90 ammunition per gun, you should carry multiples of each type of gun in order to take advantage of all of your ammunition.
- Bring powerful, durable melee weapons. A meat cleaver or umbrella isn't going to suffice; you'll need weapons that can kill zombies in 1-2 hits to quickly get zombies out of your way. An Aluminum Bat or Sturdy Machete will usually do the trick, but stronger variants like the Medieval Axe or Zweihander are much more powerful. Gas-powered weapons like the Chainsaw or the Flamethrower can easily mow through a large number of zombies, but they are rare and need a large amount of Gasoline to work.
- Pipebombs or Grenades can take out numerous zombies at once, so a few of them could be handy to get you out of a tight spot.
- If you have trouble obtaining weapons while scavenging, the final Trader Camp will have large numbers of traders selling powerful gear. The camp usually has a Gas to Snacks Conversion if you don't have enough food.
Strategies
- Keep moving. Zombies will continuously spawn, both from the edges of the map and from belowground, and will quickly swarm (and kill!) the party if given the opportunity. Always keep on the move to keep the horde behind you.
- A good strategy is to try to circle around the edges of the map, as close to the edge as you can get. This type of movement will typically keep the horde in the center, since they'll move from one way to the other trying to catch you, leaving the opposite street open. Fences or rubble may make it impossible to get through the alleys near the edge; in this case, try moving around the outer edges of the streets, or taking the next-closest alley.
- Do not enter the buildings for more than a few seconds, or if the zombie horde is close! Each building only consists of a single, small room, and the small space makes it nearly impossible to hold off zombies from inside; in addition, large numbers of zombies will start to fall from the ceiling after you enter. Though the buildings may contain some much-needed explosives or ammunition, getting trapped in one is a death sentence.
- Alternatively, though, a good strategy is to circle around the upper street (drawing most of the zombies there) then run and hide in one of the lower houses. Most of the zombies won't be able to figure out how to reach the entrance, and you'll only have to deal with the small number of zombies that spawn in front of the house and the zombies that fall from the ceiling. As long as your group has enough strength and fitness to deal with the zombies that manage to find you without becoming exhausted, you can easily wait out the full four hours.
- Never backtrack unless it's absolutely necessary. Chances are, the horde will fill up the space where you came from mere seconds after you leave it, so backtracking will result in you getting trapped by the zombies. If you've gotten cornered and need to backtrack, try throwing explosives or using some heavy-duty guns to get through.
- If an alleyway or narrow escape route gets filled with zombies, try blasting your way through with guns or quickly ripping through the zombies with melee weapons.
- Don't try to finish off downed zombies, or go out of your way to kill one; zombies will spawn just as quickly as you kill them, and sticking around to kill one zombie could result in you getting swarmed by the rest. Hit zombies to knock them down if they're blocking your path, then keep moving.
- Conserve ammunition if you can; the length of the siege and sheer number of zombies can result in your ammo getting depleted very quickly. Switch out your guns if you start running low and look for ammo pickups on the street.
If you survive the Final Siege, you will be able to move on to Canada's Border.