KF2 Perks A to Z: Bonuses, Skills and Builds for Every Class

Perks (classes) are the foundation of team play in Killing Floor 2. The authors of this Russian-language guide argue that a wrongly built perk is the first step to defeat, and not knowing your allies' perks is the second. So each perk is described with its strengths, weaknesses, bonuses and a sensible skill pick for every fifth level. For the same topic from another author see the HoE skills guide, and for a short overview see the classes overview.

Before you read

• The guide does not guarantee victory for six random players; it is a recommendation and cannot account for the human factor.
• Its goal is to give players on high difficulties (Suicidal and Hell on Earth) an alternative route to the boss.
• You can change perk once per break between waves, but skills within a perk any number of times.
• For exact damage numbers use the developers' official wiki.

Berserker

Berserker, the melee specialist.

A whirlwind that mows down enemies up close. Strengths: cheap, very durable, effective against most targets. Weaknesses: needs Medic support, skill dependent, vulnerable to Husks, Sirens and E.D.A.R., weak at range. Usually blocks a lane, less often helps against large Zeds.

Bonuses: +1% perk weapon damage per level (max 25%); 3% resistance to all damage every 5 levels (max 15%); shorter negative effects 0.8% per level (on the official wiki, not shown in the client); night vision and immunity to grabs from everything except E.D.A.R. and bosses from level 0.

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Dreadnought (+75% HP, up to 175) / Skirmisher (regen 2 HP/s, +20% speed, +25% sprint speed)	Depends on your Medic: good healing means Dreadnought; poor healing or solo means Skirmisher and hit-and-run
10	Vampire (4 HP per kill with the perk weapon, +20% attack speed) / Butcher (+25% damage, +20% attack speed)	Vampire is useless on the boss wave: switch to Butcher
15	Resistance (20% to all damage, another 20% to screams, poison and acid) / Parry (after a parry: 40% protection, +35% damage, +5% speed for 10 s, refreshed by each parry)	Parry is stronger but must be learned; if teammates kill the small Zeds before you, take Resistance
20	Smash (heavy attacks: +50% damage, +25% head damage, +200% stun) / Massacre (light attacks: +30% damage, +5% speed)	Massacre for the shovel and katana, Smash for everything else; neither works with the Vlad-1000; with the Eviscerator only Smash and only the head bonus
25	Berserker Rage (restores 25% HP and scares enemies) / Spartan (move and attack in real time)	Usually Spartan; at narrow chokepoints (the Prison tower, the Burning Paris bar) Rage is better

Standard builds:

• Holding a position: 5 Dreadnought, 10 Vampire or Butcher, 15 Parry, 20 Smash or Massacre, 25 Rage.
• Against large Zeds: 5 Skirmisher, 10 Butcher, 15 Parry, 20 Smash, 25 Spartan.
• Against the boss: 5 Skirmisher, 10 Butcher, 15 Resistance, 20 Smash, 25 Spartan.

Commando

Commando, the assault rifle specialist.

The team's eyes and the Zed Time extender. The easiest perk to learn; weak against Fleshpounds and Scrakes but mows down the rest. Strengths: Zed Time extension, accuracy, simplicity, highlighting cloaked enemies. Weaknesses: comfortable weapons are expensive, weak against large Zeds, ammo trouble in early and middle waves. Covers classes that hold a lane.

Bonuses: +1% damage per level (max 25%); highlights cloaked enemies and health bars at 10 m plus 2 m per level (up to 60 m), also visible to allies; a kill during Zed Time guarantees an extension, once from level 0 plus once per 5 levels (up to 6); +2% reload speed every 5 levels (max 10%); recoil -2% per level (max -50%); night vision.

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Tactical Reload / High Capacity Mags (+50%)	Bigger magazines for more damage and longer Zed Time; reload softens misses
10	Fallback (+85% knife and 9mm damage, +50% swap speed) / Impact Rounds (+150% stopping power)	Fallback: switch weapons in Zed Time to keep it going; with one weapon after wave 1, take Impact
15	Tenacious (HP and armor to 125, +25 armor at start) / Prepared (+20% ammo)	Take Tenacious for free armor, then switch to ammo
20	Hollow Point (+30% damage, -50% recoil) / Eat Lead (magazines x2)	Damage: a SCAR kills Sirens and Husks in 3 headshots instead of 4 and 5
25	Tactician (real-time reload, 2x swap) / Machine Gunner (+3% damage, 3x fire rate)	Clearly Machine Gunner

Standard build: 5 High Capacity Mags, 10 Fallback, 15 Prepared, 20 Hollow Point, 25 Machine Gunner.

Support

Support, the shotgun specialist.

An avalanche that is slow at first and unstoppable later. One of the easiest and most universal perks. Trouble comes from Crawlers (hard to hit), Husks and E.D.A.R. (rarely come within shotgun range). Strengths: high DPS, ammo resupply. Weaknesses: low mobility, little perk-weapon ammo, expensive weapons, hard to escape encirclement. Good both for holding a lane and for large Zeds.

Bonuses: welding +3% per level (up to 75%); +1% damage (25%); penetration +20% per level (up to 500%); +1% ammo per level (25%); carry weight +1 per level (up to 20); ammo resupply (once per wave an ally presses use to refill 20% ammo for all weapons); repair broken doors (two welder charges).

Level	Skills	Advice
5	High Capacity Magazines (+50%) / Tactical Reload	Most pick reload; with bigger magazines one AA-12 clip can kill a Scrake alone
10	Fortitude (150 HP) / Salvo (+35% damage)	Salvo: kill a Scrake before its 2-3 extra hits instead of surviving them
15	Armor Piercing Shot (+4 penetration) / Tight Choke (spread -50%)	Left for small Zeds, right for large
20	Resupply Pack (allies get 30% ammo and 20% armor; +20% your own ammo) / Concussion Rounds (+150% stopping power)	Resupply Pack saves the team money
25	Penetrator (+40 penetration in Zed Time) / Barrage (fires as in real time)	Barrage: thousands of damage in fractions of a second

Standard build: 5 Tactical Reload, 10 Salvo, 15 Armor Piercing or Tight Choke, 20 Resupply Pack, 25 Barrage.

Field Medic

Field Medic, the healing specialist.

The only perk that can heal and buff the team properly; with armor and the Resilience skill it can tank. Weaknesses: all weapons are weaker than other classes' equivalents, earns little money in a team, levels slower than any other perk (no difficulty XP bonus for healing).

Bonuses: dart recharge +8% per level (up to 200%); dart potency +2% per level (up to 50%); Bloat bile protection +2% per level (up to 50%); speed +0.4% per level (up to 10%); max armor +3 per level (up to 175); acid and poison obscure vision less.

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Symbiotic Health (HP to 125, healing allies restores 10% of your max HP) / Resilience (1% resistance per HP lost, up to 50%)	Resilience: at 50-60 HP with armor you take hits as well as a Berserker
10	Adrenaline Shot (+10% speed for 5 s, stacks to 30%) / Combatant Doctor (+50% magazine, +10% speed)	The authors disagreed; weak team: Combatant Doctor, solid team: Adrenaline Shot
15	Focus Injection (+5% ally damage for 5 s, stacks to 20%) / Acidic Rounds	Focus Injection: acid is useless against every target size
20	Coagulant Booster (+10% resistance for 5 s, stacks to 30%) / Battle Surgeon (+20% damage)	Coagulant Booster
25	Airborne Agent (gas cloud heals allies and poisons enemies) / Zedative (30% slow, 10x poison damage)	Airborne Agent

Builds: solo: 5 Resilience, 10 Combatant Doctor, 15 Focus Injection, 20 Battle Surgeon, 25 Airborne Agent. Team: 5 Resilience, 10 Adrenaline Shot, 15 Focus Injection, 20 Coagulant Booster, 25 Airborne Agent.

Demolitionist

Demolitionist, the explosives specialist.

The highest firepower in the game: wipes out groups with one shot and large Zeds in a couple of hits. The price is low survivability and ammo, and projectiles need time to arm, so close range is hard (the HX25 Grenade Pistol build avoids that but gives up the M79). Strengths: area damage, effective against everything, plenty of ammo. Weaknesses: needs cover, Sirens can destroy projectiles, can hurt yourself.

Bonuses: +1% damage (25%); explosion resistance 10% plus 2% per level (60%); +1 ammo per 5 levels (5); grenade resupply (once per wave); explosive traps on welded doors; reactive armor (once per wave cheat death by blowing up enemies around you).

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Bombardier (+25% damage) / Shock Trooper (faster reload, +25% stopping power)	Damage
10	High Impact Rounds (+25% explosive damage to a target after a direct hit) / Extra Rounds (+5 projectiles)	Left: damage for free
15	Sonic Resistant Rounds (Siren screams no longer destroy projectiles) / Fragmentation Rounds (+50% blast radius)	Both useful, player's choice
20	Armor Piercing Rounds (+50% on weak points) / Concussive Rounds (+50% stun)	Left adds chest damage on Fleshpounds
25	Destroyer of Worlds (mini nuke, +50% damage, 3 m radiation cloud, no self damage) / Mad Bomber (near real-time fire, +25% radius)	Left; right only when focusing large Zeds

Standard build: 5 Bombardier, 10 High Impact, 15 Sonic Resistant or Fragmentation, 20 Armor Piercing, 25 Destroyer of Worlds (or Mad Bomber if focusing large Zeds).

Firebug

Firebug, the flamethrower specialist.

Strengths: cheap weapons, effective against small and medium Zeds. Weaknesses: weak against large Zeds and the Abomination boss, and at low levels your own fire can hurt you. Like Berserker and Support, it can defend a lane alone.

Bonuses: +0.8% damage per level (20%); +1% reload speed (25%); resistance to enemy fire 30% plus 2% per level (80%); resistance to own fire 25% plus 3% per level (100%); +10% ammo every 5 levels (50%).

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Bring the Heat (+35% damage, not burn damage) / High Capacity Fuel Tank (magazines x2)	Damage
10	Barbecue (burn +150%, damage grows) / Ground Fire (x2 ground fire damage, slows)	Firearms: Barbecue; flamethrowers: Ground Fire
15	Napalm (burning enemies ignite others, burn +150%) / ZED Shrapnel (30% explode chance, 50 damage and stun)	Napalm
20	Heat Wave (knocks back enemies within 3 m) / Firestorm (+40% range of flamethrowers and microwave)	Heat Wave
25	Pyromaniac (near real-time fire, no ammo use) / Inferno (+50% burn damage, 30% slow)	Pyromaniac is in a class of its own

Standard build: 5 Bring the Heat, 10 Barbecue or Ground Fire, 15 Napalm, 20 Heat Wave, 25 Pyromaniac.

Gunslinger

Gunslinger, the dual-pistol specialist.

A cowboy from the Wild West. Very high damage and effective against most targets, but skill dependent, misses drain ammo fast and reloads are slow. Kills large Zeds and helps hold lanes.

Bonuses: +1% damage (25%); bullet protection 5% plus 1% per level (30%); speed +0.8% (20%); recoil -1% (26%); reload speed in Zed Time +3% per level (75%).

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Steady (no slowdown or sway when aiming) / Quick Draw (less hip-fire recoil, +5% speed, +50% swap)	Steady eases aiming; Quick Draw if you can hit heads from the hip
10	Rack 'em Up (+10% per headshot, up to 50%) / Bone Breaker (+20% damage, +30% on limbs)	Rack 'em Up
15	Line 'em Up (penetration does not reduce damage) / Speedloader	Speedloader: the .50 Desert Eagle and .500 Magnum kill two heads anyway
20	Skullcracker (30% slow on headshots) / Knock 'em Down (stun and knockdown)	Skullcracker; the right skill no longer works on large Zeds
25	Whirlwind of Lead (no ammo use) / Fan Fire (real-time fire and reload)	Either, roughly equal

Standard build: 5 Quick Draw, 10 Rack 'em Up, 15 Speedloader, 20 Skullcracker, 25 Whirlwind of Lead or Fan Fire.

Sharpshooter

Sharpshooter, the sniper rifle specialist.

One of the highest single-hit damages in the game; can kill almost anything in one hit. Weaknesses: cannot be equally good against all targets, very skill dependent, expensive weapons and little ammo in the large-Zed build. Bonuses: +1% head damage per level (25%); recoil -1% (25%); weapon swap +2% (50%).

The authors insist a Sharpshooter should always run the build for large Zeds (.500 Magnum and M99 AMR) rather than the fast M14 EBR and FN FAL build, since a Commando easily out-kills the fast one.

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Sniper (+25% damage while standing still) / Marksman (+25% fire rate, +10% run speed)	Left for large Zeds, right for small
10	Stability (+30% damage, +50% speed, +20% reload while crouched) / Ballistic Shock (x2 stun)	Stability
15	Rack 'em Up / Tactical Reload	Tactical Reload
20	Dead Eye (less recoil, +10% damage when aiming) / Always Prepared (+25% ammo, +1 grenade)	Always Prepared
25	Assassin (5% Zed Time chance on headshot, +35% damage) / Ranger (5% Zed Time chance, headshots stun)	Assassin

Standard build: 5 Sniper or Marksman, 10 Stability, 15 Tactical Reload, 20 Always Prepared, 25 Assassin.

SWAT

SWAT, the SMG specialist.

A lead downpour: high DPS and survivability (with the armor skills), but high ammo use and cost, poor automatic accuracy and a high skill demand. Helps hold a lane and kills large Zeds with stunning grenades.

Bonuses: +1% damage (25%); bullet resistance 5% plus 1% per level (30%); magazine size +4% per level (100%); weapon swap +1% (25%).

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Heavy Armor Training (damage goes to armor, no grabs, start with 50% armor) / Tactical Movement (no speed penalty when aiming or crouched)	Left
10	Close Combat Training (+85% knife and 9mm damage, start with dual 9mm) / Tactical Reload	Take the left one for wave 1, empty the 9mm pistols, sell one in the break and switch to the right
15	Suppression Rounds (x2 stopping power) / Ammo Vest (+30% ammo)	Your choice
20	Assault Armor (max armor 150, start 50%) / Cripple (slow up to 30%)	Both debatable
25	Battering Ram (+25% speed in Zed Time, shoves enemies, 450 damage) / Rapid Assault (near real-time fire, no ammo use, x2 stopping power)	After patch 1081 the choice is unclear; Rapid Assault is a free shooting spree

Standard build: 5 Heavy Armor Training, 10 Tactical Reload, 15 Ammo Vest, 20 Assault Armor, 25 Rapid Assault.

Survivalist

Survivalist, the all-rounder.

"Jack of all trades, master of none." Universal, with builds limited only by weight and money, but demanding: you must keep reading the situation and adapt to the team, and for any single job another perk does better.

Bonuses: +0.6% damage with all weapons per level (15%); resistance to all damage +1% per level (25%); heavy armor +1 per level (125 max, 25 at start; while you have armor no health damage goes through except Siren screams); reload speed in Zed Time +3% per level (75%).

Level	Skills	Advice
5	Tactical Reload (Commando, Gunslinger, SWAT weapons and cross-class) / Heavy Weapons Training (Demolitionist, Sharpshooter, Support)	Depends on your weapons; M16 M203 and FN FAL get both
10	Medic Training (+30% healing, +50% dart recharge) / Melee Expert (+50% melee damage, +20% attack speed, +25% speed with melee out)	Right is fine, especially when alone
15	Ammo Vest (+15% ammo, medic gas grenade) / Weapon Harness (+5 weight to 20, Molotov)	Left only if your weapons fit in 15 weight; change between waves
20	Spontaneous ZED-plosion (30% explosion chance, 50 damage and stun) / Make Things go Boom (+40% radius, 40% explosion resistance)	Against bosses (Patriarch, Hans, King Fleshpound) take the right one
25	Madman (all weapons fire 3x) / Lockdown (+200% control effects)	Situational

Builds: choose skills to match the weapons you use.

Afterword

This is the authors' (the Burning Assholes group) knowledge of perks in a short form that is easy for newcomers. They welcome constructive criticism backed by statistics.