Events & Seasons

KF2 Arachnophobia Weekly: How One Duo Beat It

This page retells a duo's attempts at the Killing Floor 2 Weekly called Arachnophobia, where the reward is a backpack styled after crawler legs. The Weekly runs on Killer difficulty, which is far harder than the normal games the pair were used to. The story is informal, but it contains the practical lessons.

First attempts

The two had only played normal difficulty before. In the early runs they reached wave 5 at best while they worked out tactics, tried different weapons and learned the map.

Waiting between attempts Waiting for the next attempt.

Where it went wrong

After several hours without a win, the spiders were no longer the problem. The real obstacle was the boss that appears after the final seventh wave. Typical failures:

  • The boss was left with about half its health, then the team collapsed for a silly reason.
  • One player died, and the other had to run around the map without armor, bunny-hop, hunt for ammo and shoot the boss alone.
  • Someone pressed auto-buy and wasted the money the team needed for proper weapons.

Frustrating run One of the failed runs.

Boss fight Fighting the final boss.

The breaking point was the Matriarch, who wiped both players after hours of effort.

Matriarch wipe The Matriarch ends another attempt.

What worked

During a break, the author looked for a video of someone playing this mode. It showed a player choosing a map with low gravity, where you can jump very high, clearing Zeds Mario-style and killing the final boss with plain pistols.

The duo copied this approach:

  1. They jumped through all seven waves.
  2. They bought strong weapons that fit their style.
  3. They beat the final boss.

Finishing the challenge gave the reward of 500,000 and the backpack. The friend also assembled a winter-themed outfit for the occasion.

Finished challenge outfit The reward and the winter outfit.

Takeaways

  • Do not rely on the normal-difficulty skills. Killer is a different game, so test tactics and loadouts first.
  • Coordinate purchases and do not use auto-buy during a team run.
  • A map with low gravity and jumping can trivialize both the waves and the boss.
  • The boss, not the spiders, decides the Weekly. Prepare a plan for the Matriarch.

For general advice see the Killing Floor 2 survival tips.

FAQ

What difficulty is the Arachnophobia Weekly?
The challenge is played on Killer difficulty and runs for seven waves followed by a boss.
What made the Weekly so hard for the authors?
Not the spiders, which they learned to handle, but the boss after wave 7, especially the Matriarch, plus teammates wasting money with auto-buy.
What finally worked?
Playing a map with low gravity so you can jump high, killing Zeds in a Mario style and finishing the boss with pistols, then buying strong weapons for the last stretch.