KF1 Perks: Level Legit or Boost? Community Advice for New Players

Killing Floor 1 has one of the slowest perk grinds in the genre. New players often ask whether they should level naturally or use a leveling map to get it over with. The KF community has discussed this many times; this page sums up the typical answers - from people who level legitimately, people who boost, and people who think perk levels matter far less than skill.

For the mechanics of fast grinding, see Fastest Perk Leveling Strategies and Best Leveling Maps. This page is about the decision itself.

The question

A player a few months into the game found it fun but extremely grindy and asked: level perks naturally, or download a map and do it quickly? After reading the replies, they settled on a middle path - level the most-played perks to 4 or 5, leave rarely used perks alone, and avoid giving the wrong impression when joining servers.

Note that many KF communities, including the main subreddit, have rules against promoting cheats, so advice tends to stay on the "it's your choice" side.

Argument 1: level legitimately up to a point

• KF1 is genuinely more tedious than KF2.
• Playing a perk at least partway up teaches you how that perk is meant to play.
• Jumping straight to level 6 is not a disaster, unless you then join high-level games with a beginner's skill set.

Argument 2: low levels teach almost nothing

Others argue the opposite: boost the low levels, then play normally.

• Levels 1 to 4 mostly add the same passive bonuses in bigger amounts. The only gameplay change before level 5 is that level 3 changes the Firebug's grenade.
• Levels 5 and 6 add perk weapons to your starting loadout (spawn bonuses).
• At level 0 the on-perk bonus is so small that weapon choice barely matters, which pushes newcomers into playing off-perk without noticing how much efficiency they lose.
• In KF2 leveling makes more sense because every five levels introduces a skill choice you need to learn. KF1 has nothing like that.

Most perks get their important traits at levels 1-2, so you can start playing seriously from there.

Argument 3: progress is about totals, not XP

KF1 perk requirements are cumulative totals (damage dealt with perk weapons, healing done, welding, headshots and so on), not experience points. To progress you must deal damage with your perk's weapons or do the perk's specific activity. That means simply getting better at the game also levels you faster.

Practical tips from that angle:

• At low levels you often have only the starting pistol and little ammo. Learn to land one-shot headshots on Clots, Gorefasts, Stalkers and Crawlers, and use the knife to finish.
• That approach carries you to about wave 4 of a 10-wave game.
• Once you have proper weapons, switch constantly: pistol for fodder, heavier guns for Sirens and higher-HP Specimens.
• Never stop moving.

Argument 4: skill matters more than the number

One veteran's view drew the most agreement:

• Players who focus on leveling often neglect learning the game. Max level alone does not make you ready for Suicidal or Hell on Earth.
• A level 0 player who only plays HoE will learn more than a level 0 player who only plays Hard.
• Learning comes from challenging yourself: try every weapon, play outside your comfort zone, read guides, and practice on test maps.
• That veteran needed nearly 300 hours to max all perks, back when KF1 was much busier, and still struggled on Hard and Suicidal afterwards. In their words, those hours were fun, but would have been better spent learning to play.

Playing low level on high difficulties

If you join harder games as a low-level player:

• Headshots are everything. Off-perk Sharpshooter weapons such as the Lever Action Rifle and pistols are cheap and strong enough to decapitate or kill most trash Specimens.
• Money is tighter. Low levels pay more at the trader, and higher difficulties pay less per kill, so do not rely on teammates for dosh. See Dosh Economy.
• Big threats are riskier. Scrakes and Fleshpounds can be handled at low level, but with less margin. See Scrake and Fleshpound Takedowns.
• Done well, low-level HoE is rewarding, and proving people wrong is part of the fun.

Why there is no level 7

Answers from the thread "Perk leveling - why not past level 6" on the killingfloor.ru forum (2013):

• Level 6 is the cap for every standard perk. If you keep leveling a level 6 perk, the progress bar simply fills up, but no level 7 appears. One member checked this with a leveling mutator set to a 1000x experience multiplier.
• Servers with their own perk databases (custom perks) can have 10, 20, 100 or more levels, whatever their creators decide. Those levels only apply on those servers, and even with level 6 perks on regular servers you almost always start from zero there.

Server etiquette

• Know your limits. Work up through the difficulties and do not expect to be carried. It is fine to be a bit green, but notice when you become a burden.
• Level 6 has a downside too: many populated servers run Normal, and Suicidal/HoE servers may mean playing with higher ping.
• Low levels are sometimes kicked on sight. The players least tolerant of risk, such as achievement hunters, are the most likely to do it. Many casual groups do not mind as long as you pull your weight.
• Being level 4 is not far from what most HoE groups consider acceptable; do not assume you will be kicked.

Bottom line

There is no single right answer. The most common advice:

1. Level the perks you actually play at least to 3-5 through normal play.
2. Spend your time learning maps, headshots and Specimen behavior rather than grinding numbers.
3. Whatever you choose, play at a difficulty you can handle, and have fun with it.

Perk-by-perk guides: Medic, Support, Sharpshooter, Commando, Berserker, Demolitions.