KF2 High-Difficulty (CD) Server Guide for Beginners - Japanese Community

This page is a translation and paraphrase of a long Japanese guide for people who want to join Killing Floor 2 servers harder than the official Hell on Earth. It explains Controlled Difficulty (CD) basics, how to join politely, how to practise alone and how to play the four main perks. Section numbers follow the original. It pairs well with our Controlled Difficulty pages, the CD pro-play guide and the Combined Edition notes.

The author's advice in one line: CD servers are hard but fun, and if you can handle Hell on Earth with a precision perk and know the beginner rules, come and play. An English version of the guide exists on Steam.

1. What counts as a high-difficulty server

Servers that use mods to be harder than Hell on Earth, commonly the CD mod. Berserker, Demolitionist, Firebug and Survivalist are often disabled on them, so this guide ignores those perks, and Support and SWAT are also left out.

Controlled Difficulty is a mod that adjusts game difficulty. It can make things easier but is generally used to be harder than vanilla HoE. Common versions:

• Eternal Edition v4.1: the standard, no quirks. Needs a scoreboard mod such as Yet Another Scoreboard.
• Chokepoints Edition: some skill changes and original elements.
• Combined Edition: many convenient features, only precision perks allowed, and test mode for all perks. Recommended for practising shooting perks.

2. Glossary (selected)

• HoE: Hell on Earth. SS Sharpshooter. GS Gunslinger. SC Scrake. FP Fleshpound. QP Quarter Pound.
• Big Zeds: SC, FP, QP. Medium: Husk, Bloat, E.D.A.R., Siren. Elite: Rioter, Elite Crawler, Gorefiend. Small: Cyst, Alpha Clot, Slasher, Stalker, Crawler, Gorefast.
• DE: Desert Eagle. LAR: lever-action rifle, the Winchester.
• Precision perks: Commando, Support, Gunslinger, Sharpshooter, SWAT.
• 6PHP: Zed health set to the six-player value.
• Rage: SC or FP charging. Hitting someone ends an FP's rage.
• Buff: the Field Medic's heal-based stat boost.
• Camping spot, run, no-run (kiteless): a good defensive position, the collapse of that position, and holding it from start to finish.
• Wipe: the whole team down.

3. When to join

If you are comfortable on HoE with Commando, Sharpshooter, Gunslinger or Medic, you can join. If you do not know how to take down big Zeds, read the Japanese wiki's single-magazine take-down techniques, search YouTube for "killing floor 2 takedowns", and practise on SomeTestMap_v3: press F3, type STMOptions, set Faked Players to 5 and set Zed health to the six-player value. Ask in chat; players usually answer.

4. Joining CD servers

4.1 Preparation: fix KFEngine.ini

Without this the game may crash. Close KF2, open C:\Users\<name>\Documents\My Games\KillingFloor2\KFGame\Config\KFEngine.ini, and change:

MaxObjectsNotConsideredByGC=179220
SizeOfPermanentObjectPool=179220

to:

MaxObjectsNotConsideredByGC=33476
SizeOfPermanentObjectPool=0

4.2 Finding a server

Mod servers usually have a marker before the name; look for "CD" in the name and read the server description, since rules differ.

4.3 Basic chat commands

In trader time, type commands in chat, such as !ot to open the trader.

Command	Meaning
!cdinfo	Show current CD settings
!ot	Open trader
!cdr	Ready; the countdown moves when all are ready
!cdur	Unready
!cdpt	Pause trader countdown
!cdupt	Unpause trader

Combined Edition adds:

Command	Meaning
!rpwinfo	Restricted perks, levels, skills and weapons
!cdm	Menu, including pick-up settings for your own and others' weapons
!cdsca	Spawn Cycle analysis (CycleName, wave and WSF in any order)
!cdfs	Fill spare ammo on the guns you left on the ground
!cdfs fal	Fill all dropped FALs (Commando only)
!mv	Open map vote

The author binds five of these to keys: !ot to F8, !cdfs to F7, !cdfs fal to O, !cdr to PageUp and !cdur to PageDown. Open the console and use the format Setbind F8 "say !ot".

Chat output after !cdinfo and !cdahpf 6, listing spawn and health settings.

4.4 Difficulty settings

Where the host lets players set difficulty, an experienced player does it by chat command.

Command	Option	Meaning
!cdfm	FakesMode	Whether fake players are added to real players
!cdbhpf	BossHPFakes	Boss health, by fake player count
!cdahpf	AllHPFake	Non-boss health, by fake player count
!cdsc	SpawnCycle	Preset spawn pattern (default unmodded)
!cdmm	MaxMonsters	Maximum Zeds on the map (default 1P 12, 2P 24, 3P+ 32)
!cdwsf	WaveSizeFakes	Total Zeds in the wave
!cdcs	CohortSize	Maximum Zeds per spawn (default 4)
!cdsm	SpawnMod	Spawn speed (default 1, HoE 0.75, fastest 0)
!cdsp	SpawnPoll	Spawn interval (default 1, minimum 0.1 seconds)

!cdfm ignore_humans is usually set, which means only the fake value counts. The big difficulty levers are AllHPFake, SpawnCycle, MaxMonsters and WaveSizeFakes; CohortSize, SpawnMod and SpawnPoll fine-tune. Normally leave AllHPFake at 6 and SpawnMod at 0.

SpawnCycle by skill level (harder to the left):

• Advanced (23-27 percent big Zeds in the final wave): asp_v3, ts_mig_v3, dtf_pm_plus_fx, asp_v2, doom_v2_plus_rmk, ts_mig_v2.
• Intermediate (15-20 percent): nt_v2, ebr_hh_v1, osffi_v1, dtf_pm, ts_mig_v1, bl_v2, doom_v1, asl_v3.
• Beginner (7-14 percent): asl_v1, bl_light, nam_pro_v5_plus, nam_pro_v5, nam_pro_v3.
• Basic (5-8 percent): unmodded, albino_heavy, basic_heavy.

For newcomers, nam_pro_v5 is suggested, though big Zeds appear from wave 1.

MaxMonsters by players: 6 players 48-52, 5 players 40, 4 players 32, 3 players 22-24, 2 players 18-20, 1 player 12-20. WaveSizeFakes: about double the player count (12 for six players). CohortSize: 7 is common, with 4, 12 or 16 for tuning. SpawnPoll: 1 or 0.7.

5. Solo practice with CD

Use Combined Edition and the custom map KF-Corridor, since on official maps you can run around and eventually clear anything.

KF-Corridor, the author's practice map.

Start: subscribe to Combined Edition and KF-Corridor, restart KF2, open the console (F3 or the @ key) and run:

Open KF-Corridor?Game=CombinedCD2.CD_Survival?Difficulty=3?GameLength=0

Target: clear the "Beginner" level below. Set !cdahpf 6 first for Sharpshooter or Gunslinger practice, and !cdahpf 1 for Commando.

• SS or GS Basic: ?MaxMonsters=10?CohortSize=4?WaveSizeFakes=2?SpawnMod=0?SpawnPoll=1?SpawnCycle=unmodded.
• SS or GS Beginner: MaxMonsters=8, SpawnCycle=nam_pro_v3. Intermediate: MaxMonsters=10, same cycle.
• Commando Basic: MaxMonsters=16, SpawnCycle=albino_heavy. Beginner: 20. Intermediate: 24.

Handy key binds (in KFInput.ini under [KFGame.KFPlayerInput]; back it up first): weapon-switch keys that jump straight to your first, second or third main weapon (using GBA_SwitchWeapon2 | GBA_SwitchWeapon1 ... chains), spawn SC and FP for offline practice (spawnai sc 0808, spawnai fp 0808 after EnableCheats), and a reset key: killzeds | allammo | HealMe 200 | ClearCorpses | ClearSplatters. Making crouch a toggle and putting weapon-drop on a safe key also help.

7. How to play in multiplayer

7.1 Beginner: must-know rules

• Commando extends Zed Time. Each kill in Zed Time extends it by 3 seconds, up to 6 extensions. The first extension can be done by any perk, so the Commando effectively has 5. Many players do not know this. If you kill the target the Commando is aiming at, you spoil it. Until you are used to it, shoot only big Zeds and Bloats during Zed Time. Interfering with a Commando is the main reason players get kicked.
• No second Commando. With two Commandos the cap is still 6 extensions in total, and times do not stack.
• Do not sell others' weapons. Spare guns on the ground are ammo for the team; selling them causes wipes.
• Do not enrage SC and FP needlessly. Play 1 vs 1. Throwing damaging grenades into a cluster enrages many at once.
• After an enraged FP hits a teammate, wait about a second before shooting; the SS may be timing a freeze.
• Know each perk's position at each camping spot (the Japanese CD wiki's map guide is excellent).
• Do not block teammates' lines of fire. Do not strafe in front of players; stay still when shooting.
• Ammo skills: perks with ammo or magazine skills should switch to them in trader time, fill the guns, drop them, then switch back.

7.2 Intermediate

• Reload speed has three types: constant, faster when emptied, faster when not emptied. Generally reload after emptying.
• Reload motion cancel: (1) start the reload, and once the magazine count rises, cancel with bash and fire; (2) hold fire during the reload, then press bash briefly for the fastest cancel.
• Bash cancels enemy actions and one-shots some Zeds on the head: Cyst, Alpha Clot, Slasher, Crawler, Elite Crawler. It is also a great defensive tool.
• Cornered by an enraged FP: if you have armor and health, bash or parry and take a hit on purpose to end the rage, rather than backing into teammates.
• Stomping a Zed knocks it down, except an enraged FP and the Matriarch before phase 2.
• Watch teammates' Dosh in the early waves. Do not leave a Commando without money.
• When sharing a position with a Commando, do not over-kill; leave extension targets, and prefer targets the Commando handles poorly (Husks).
• Zed Time triggers by conditions and has a cooldown; probability grows over time.
• SC and FP hitboxes differ: the SC has a long face with hitboxes below the chin, the FP a round one.
• Radio chat: "Help request" for help; "Follow me" and "Go to trader" mashed signals a run.
• Commando fills the SS's FAL to a 50 round magazine by loading it first (on Combined Edition, set Commando level 15 and 20 skills right, then !cdfs fal).

7.3 Advanced

• Drop a weapon and instantly switch, or drop all and shoot the spare on the ground.
• Some weapons auto-switch on pickup (M14, FAL), with exceptions.
• Give the Commando the extension kill: remember how many shots a Bloat body or an SC needs.
• Step between a dying teammate and an enraged FP if you can take the hit.
• Status effect priority: knockdown, stun, flinch, freeze, snare, melee reaction, gun reaction, EMP, burn, poison, microwave. That is why freeze grenades fail on flinching Zeds.
• FP juke: pass beside a charging enraged FP and circle it so it cannot target you.
• Corner kiting: wait in view near a corner and duck behind when the attack starts so the Zed snags on the wall.

8. Shots needed for big Zeds (selected)

Skills are written RLLLL: R right, L left from level 5. "(+1)" is one weapon upgrade; "w/ Buff" means the Medic's 4-stack Focus Injection, which gives +20 percent damage. These are Hell on Earth six-player counts from the author.

Commando (RLLLR)	Magazine	SC	FP	SC w/ Buff	FP w/ Buff
Bullpup	45	29	64	24	52
Tommy	75	32	69	26	56
401	60	27	58	22	48
FAL	30	14	20	11	16
SCAR	30	17	37	14	31

Sharpshooter (RLLLR)	Magazine	SC	FP	SC w/ Buff	FP w/ Buff
Winchester	12	9	13	8	11
SPX	10	5	7	4	6
SPX (+2)	10	4	5	3	4
M14	20	9	13	8	11
FAL	20	11	15	9	13

Gunslinger (RLRLR)	Magazine	SC	FP	SC w/ Buff	FP w/ Buff
1858	12	21	24	18	20
SPX	10	5	8	5	7
DE	14	12	13	10	11
AF	32	20	24	18	19
.500 Magnum	10	7	8	6	7
Glock	66	29	33	24	28

The numbers are shots needed on SC and FP; in the original some Sharpshooter values are one lower when aiming down sights. The author's takeaway: the best-value upgrade is probably the DE, since one level cuts the shots needed by 2 for both SC and FP.

9. Perks

The popular set: SS (does everything), GS (kills big Zeds), Commando (a craftsman's job) and Field Medic (essential support).

Ideal team: 2 SS + 2 GS + 1 Commando + 1 Medic. SS headshots trigger Zed Time, the Commando extends it, GS wipes out big Zeds with Fan Fire, and the Medic heals and buffs.

Positioning: when splitting into two groups, the Commando goes to the busiest place with an SS and GS, and the other group has an SS and GS. When splitting into three, the Commando and SS take the busiest spot, SS and GS take the next, and a GS goes solo to the quietest. The Commando and SS pair well because it frees the GS to go solo, the SS can stun an SC to hold it as an extension target, and the SS's freeze grenade with the Commando's grenade clears groups. The GS solo lane works because Fan Fire in Zed Time can reverse a push.

Commando

Main roles: extend Zed Time reliably and kill small and medium Zeds. Aim at the nearest enemy and kill Husks when possible. Help on big Zeds only when one is nearest and teammates have started shooting. His grenade does up to 300 damage; use it during the Zed Time cooldown of 7 seconds, or against dense crowds and QP packs, not on SC and FP groups. Check your magazine when Zed Time starts so you do not find it empty. The level 25 right skill, Machine Gunner, adds 3 percent damage in Zed Time. Do not shoot Rioters' legs if an SS or GS can one-shot them.

Sharpshooter

Main roles: handle medium and big Zeds and headshot for Zed Time. Standard skills: RLLLR; the right level 5 skill gives 25 percent faster firing, which boosts the 5 percent Zed Time chance from level 25 headshots. Common weapons: in Japan M14 and FAL; abroad M14 (+1) and SPX (+2). Use the freeze grenade aggressively. To kill an SC at point-blank: bash to stop its attack, then crouch and fire the FAL full auto at its head. Tap-fire the FAL to manage recoil.

Gunslinger

Roles: big Zed killer. Standard skills RLRLR, or LLRLR. Common loadouts: dual .500 Magnum (or dual AF), dual DE, SPX; or dual .500, dual DE, single AF (or single Glock) and a 101. Buy a second pistol by dropping the first one, then buying another and picking the first up, which gives double ammo. Gunslinger swaps pistols with a spare by dropping only one of the two. The AF fires two shots at once and stacks Rack 'em Up quickly, but has strong sideways recoil. The author suggests starting to shoot at big Zeds even when only a few rounds remain instead of reloading first. In Zed Time lower your aim while holding fire for close Zeds, and shoot in 2-3 round bursts at range. The grenade does 100 damage plus ten 35-damage fragments and stuns if thrown at feet.

Elite Zeds, such as the Gorefiend, are a common threat on CD servers.

Field Medic

Healing comes first: Heal is at least as important as Buff, and both are far above killing. Standard skills LLLLL. Weapons: with a 201 and a 101 you can do the minimum; the Hemogoblin has the best darts for cheap (1100) but avoid shooting big Zeds with it, since the bleed can make heads harder to hit. The 501 is strong but needs map and spawn knowledge. Buff even at full health when teammates fight big Zeds. Standing slightly behind players lets your Zed Time healing gas reach them. Crouch in Zed Time so you do not block others' view. The healing grenade releases gas for 8 seconds in a 3.5 m radius, 50 poison damage per second to Zeds and 5 HP per second to players. In a melee be ready to abandon someone rather than lose everyone.

Check your magazine as soon as Zed Time starts.

10. Sources

The author thanks the KF2 English wiki, the Japanese KF2 wiki, the Japanese KF2 CD wiki, blackout's CD manual on GitHub, Nam's blog and several Steam guides.