KF2 Commando on Hell on Earth: Trash, EMP Headkill, Zed Time

Written by a Korean player as a Commando handbook for Hell on Earth (translated here, with its jokes trimmed). The idea: on HoE the Commando has four jobs, and everything else is secondary. Numbers come from the build of the time and a six-player Hell on Earth game. Related reading: Commando guide with Zed time loadouts and semi-auto Zed time build.

1. The Commando's role

Trash clearing

Trash is priority one. The Commando carries about 550 rounds across the AK-12 and SCAR-H, and that ammo is there to be used. Even when a large Zed appears, clean up the trash first, then throw grenades at the Fleshpound or act as bait. Trash clearing outranks everything else.

EMP headkill

A Scrake on HoE is dangerous, but a Berserker's EMP grenade blocks its rage for 5 seconds. Using that window with your team to pop the Scrake's head is the second job. You can do it alone:

• 24 SCAR-H headshots or 36 AK-12 headshots destroy a Scrake's head.

Postpone trash clearing for an EMP headkill, then return to trash right after.

Grenades on Fleshpounds

The guide's three-word summary of Commando versus Fleshpound: do not. A max-level Commando needs about 230 SCAR-H rounds for a six-player HoE Fleshpound, and attempting it is called the surest way to get a Darwin award. Instead:

1. Hand the Fleshpound to the Berserker.
2. Throw two or three grenades and C4 at it.
3. Kill the trash coming from the front.

Two grenades and one C4 remove about 25% of its health. Rule: bombs for the Fleshpound, guns for the trash.

Extending Zed time

Every perk's level 25 skill is very strong, but a 3-second Zed time is too short to use it. Zed time begins a 3-second timer; when it hits zero, Zed time ends. The Commando can reset that timer to 3 seconds up to six times by killing a Zed just before it ends. It resets, it does not stack, so careless kills can end a 20-second Zed time in 4. With six extensions Zed time lasts at most 21 seconds, enough to kill a mid boss, "maybe".

2. Skills and gear

Skills

• Backup: every trash Zed dies to one 9mm headshot. Combined with the dual pistol ammo trick below, you can pass early waves with the AR-15 and pistol, then buy the AK-12 or SCAR-H.
• Impact: body and leg hits stagger Zeds, which slows them and makes headshots easier. A 9mm only wobbles Clots, but the SCAR-H can push a Scrake back.
• Single shot: the AR-15 kills a Crawler with one body shot. In the early game it is the only fast Crawler answer.
• Professional: start reloading right after extending Zed time and kill trash as soon as the reload ends to extend with no ammo worry. Or swap weapons after an extension, kill trash, reload and repeat to reload every weapon during Zed time.

Weapons and equipment

• 9mm Pistol: with Backup, headshots kill all trash. Buying dual pistols always gives 120 rounds, even when pistol ammo is zero. So use up the single 9mm ammo, buy dual pistols and sell them for 35 dosh and you effectively get 120 rounds. A small trick for the poor early game.
• AR-15: single shots kill a Crawler with a body shot.
• AK-12 and SCAR-H: can solo an EMP Scrake's head (36 and 24 rounds).
• Grenades: 5 grenades thrown at a Fleshpound remove about 25% of its health.
• C4: about three times a grenade's damage.
• Katana: self defense; if you can parry you can tank a mid boss a little, but trash will flood in.

3. Trash priorities

1. Clots are the most numerous, but Crawlers and Stalkers are the real threat. They are fast and take 30 to 50 HP off in an instant when they reach you, so kill them first whether you hold a lane alone or a Berserker tanks. Sirens hurt less than expected unless right next to you, so kill Sirens last in a mixed crowd; going for a Siren while six Crawlers approach is a mess.
2. Exception: when a Scrake is approaching your team, kill the Siren first. A Siren scream while everyone waits for the EMP will cancel the EMP.
3. When the Berserker is fighting a Fleshpound, Bloats are top priority. Bloat vomit blinds the Berserker and ruins tanking, especially on dark maps like Biotics Lab and Volter Manor.

4. Situational play

With a mid boss around, the Commando: kills the trash arriving with it, headshots an EMP-stunned Scrake, hits Fleshpounds with explosives and baits the mid boss. Lone Scrakes and Fleshpounds are easy; the real trouble is a formation, such as a Siren behind a Scrake (EMP wasted) or a Fleshpound and Scrake together.

• One Scrake: a Scrake alone is easily handled by EMP then headshots. If the Berserker does not throw EMP, either he is out of EMP (help him after trash) or he does not know how (help, then teach him). If you meet a Scrake alone, use the bash (V key) to push it back and kite; the bash has an 8-second cooldown.
• One Fleshpound: clear trash, then when the Berserker engages throw 2-3 grenades and C4, then block trash. If the Berserker is absent or dead, try parrying with a Hammer (dropped by a dead Berserker) or Katana, or circle-strafing around the Fleshpound. Both are risky.
• One Scrake and one Fleshpound: from wave 8 Scrakes appear more and the pair is common; at wave 9 a Fleshpound always spawns with a Scrake. If the Scrake is in front, EMP it fast then handle the Fleshpound. If the Fleshpound is in front, EMP headkill is impossible and the Berserker gets ground up; kill the Fleshpound as fast as possible with Demolitionist grenades and C4, then trash. You can also bait the Scrake: a Zed switches target when the new target is about 20% closer than the old one, so step toward the Scrake, then kite it the other way while clearing trash. Bash once if needed, or just type "run" and run.
• One Scrake and two or more Fleshpounds: at wave 10 on HoE two Fleshpounds always spawn together with a Scrake; with bad luck three Scrakes and two Fleshpounds. Treat it like the one-and-one case: kill trash and hope Zed time triggers, then extend it as long as you can.

5. Techniques

• Scope offset: the red dot of the AK-12 and SCAR-H sight does not sit at the exact screen center because of breathing sway; it is often slightly above the center. Bullets land slightly below the dot: aiming at the head hits the neck, at the neck hits the body. Siren heads are small, so aim with the bottom of the red dot for long headshots and Sirens.
• Seasoning: on six-player HoE a Scrake does not rage from up to 6 SCAR-H or 9 AK-12 hits. Before the EMP lands, put 6 to 9 rounds in its head and reload, which makes the EMP headkill safer. But if a teammate already shot it, it may rage. Do not shoot at the exact moment the EMP hits, because the Scrake shakes its head and staggers.
• Fishing a Scrake: its attacks are either a standing pattern at chainsaw range or a charge at distance. You can sprint backward to avoid the standing pattern, step in, let it attack, sprint back, and repeat. Failure costs 50-150 damage and one standing pattern slashes while charging, so it is risky; better suited to a Berserker who can parry.
• Circling a Fleshpound: run quickly around it and it stays dazed, unable to turn with you. Not possible against Scrakes, not usable below 80 HP, and a single trash Zed in your path is deadly. It is best for holding a Fleshpound with permanent rage at the end of a wave. Use sprint rather than walking.
• Trivia: the Patriarch loses a quarter of his maximum health after taking a certain amount of head damage, once only (version 1021). If your health is 100 or above and you keep sprinting, a Scrake cannot hit you.

The author thanks q3.railgun, whose videos supplied most of the footage.