KF2 Berserker Guide: Movement, Weapons, Parrying and Skills
This is a paraphrase of a satirical but accurate guide to the Berserker, written in October 2016, which describes itself as a joke while still teaching real mechanics. The Berserker is the melee class that excels at slaughtering large crowds. For the current perk reference see Berserker and the in-depth Berserker guide.
Chapter 1: movement
A melee class must master movement. You can sprint in all directions, which will save your life at some point. The guide also notes ZEDs are clones, so killing them is self defense.
Movement and control reference from the guide.
Chapter 2: class weapons
The trader list with the author's annotations: Katana decent-er, Zweihander godly, Pulverizer niche but OK, Crovel decent.
- Knife. Not in the shop list; it changes with the class you are playing. Using another class's knife is ill-advised. A scalpel on a level-25 Berserker even earns Medic XP.
- Lawn-mower blade. Excellent early weapon against Clots, Cysts and Slashers; its bash with V is accurate and can headshot. The shovel is the alternative.
- Katana. The first upgrade as you progress. The author considers it a minor stepping stone, like a malformed extra step on a staircase.
- Pulverizer. Primarily blunt damage. Holding S plus left click sends ZEDs flying, which makes it hard for teammates to headshot them, and it is not very effective at truly killing anything without a W plus left click headshot. Headshots are difficult with it. Being part hammer and part shotgun, it has a special secondary effect.
- Zweihander. Requires owning Chivalry to use, but it is widely owned. In the author's view it has everything a Berserker needs and is the best weapon for top DPS, with heavy right-click attacks that cleave foes apart. A Zweihander Berserker from wave 2 is a money-making machine.
- Eviscerator. The author tried every skill combination and still could not see why people choose it over the Zweihander, and hopes for a good top-tier melee weapon someday.
Chapter 3: ZEDs, parrying and you
Everything wants a piece of the melee class.
- Clots, Cysts and Slashers cannot grab you.
- Gorefasts can block your strikes, which makes them the most annoying.
- Sirens are loud and quickly hurt low-level Berserkers.
- Bloats poison you fast.
- Scrakes are the prized trophy for Berserkers.
The Berserker can raise his weapon with alternate fire (Mouse 3 by default) to block. Pressing alternate fire during the attack animation of a melee ZED turns it into a parry that negates damage.
A successful parry shows green effects; the ZED stops attacking, while any blood on screen means you still took some damage.
Parrying is the most important skill for a Berserker but not strictly required. Against small ZEDs in large groups it often ends badly, since another ZED hits you while the first is stunned; you are better off chopping them up. For big ZEDs, parrying is something that needs to be learned. It is lenient: start the blocking animation and finish it when the weapon is roughly in front of you. Find the tempo: right-click, parry, right-click. All Scrakes will fall. For the hideous creatures on wave 6 and higher on Hard-Long, the Pulverizer's secondary attack speaks for itself.
Chapter 4: choosing perk skills
Choose what fits your style, but consider these.
Level 25 Berserker skill choices.
| Tier | Options | Pick and reason |
|---|---|---|
| Survival | Dreadnaught (+75 percent health) or Skirmisher (20 percent faster, regenerate 1 health per second with perk melee) | Skirmisher: removes the need for others' healing; medics will both thank and hate you |
| Combat | Vampire (heal 4 per perk kill, attack 20 percent faster) or Butcher (attack 20 percent faster, 25 percent more damage) | Butcher: you can slaughter everything instead of only small ZEDs |
| Close Combat | Resistance (20 percent resistance, plus 20 percent to poison and sonic) or Parry (parrying reduces damage 40 percent, adds 5 percent melee speed and 35 percent melee damage for 10 seconds) | Resistance: the flat reduction saves lives and makes health regen near godly (Parry is very good too) |
| Power | Smash (hard attacks 50 percent more damage, 25 percent more on head hits, 200 percent more stumble) or Massacre (light attacks 30 percent more damage and 5 percent faster) | Smash with the Zweihander, since you mostly use heavy attacks; stumble helps against Scrakes |
| Advanced Training | Berserker Rage or Spartan | Either works; the author prefers Spartan |
TL;DR
The Berserker is good.
FAQ
- Which skills does the guide pick for the Berserker?
- Skirmisher, Butcher, Resistance (Parry is a close alternative), Smash with the Zweihander, and Spartan at the top tier.
- What is the best Berserker weapon according to the guide?
- The Zweihander, for top DPS with heavy right-click attacks; the Katana is a stopgap and the Pulverizer is strong but awkward for headshots.
- How does parrying work?
- Use alternate fire (block) as a ZED's melee attack lands; the timing is lenient. Parry big ZEDs such as Scrakes, then counterattack: right-click, parry, right-click.
