KF2 Commando Guide: Role, Skills, Weapons and Loadouts

A first guide by a community player explaining the second perk in Killing Floor 2: the Commando. It covers what the perk is for, its bonuses and skills, the weapon ladder, and three loadouts for solo and multiplayer. Balance details may have shifted in later patches.

The Commando's job

Killing Floor 2 is not only about killing every ZED you see, except when you play solo. In multiplayer each perk has a job. The Commando's job is to clear trash: low damage per bullet, but fast assault rifles that deal excellently with small ZEDs. Trash means Clots (Cysts, Slashers, Alpha Clots), Gorefasts, Crawlers and Stalkers. Stalkers are a particular target because the Commando reveals cloaked ZEDs.

Perk bonuses

• Perk weapon damage: +1% per level, max 25%.
• Cloaked enemy reveal and health bar detection: starts at 10 m, +2 m per level, max 60 m.
• ZED Time extension: +1 second per 5 levels, max 6 seconds.
• Reload speed: +2% per 5 levels, max 10%.
• Night vision: hold the flashlight button to toggle it.
• Cloaked ZED call-out: lets the team see cloaked ZEDs (including the Patriarch).

Perk skills

Level	Choice A	Choice B
5	Tactical Reload: faster reload	High Capacity Mags: +50% magazine capacity
10	Fallback: +110% damage with knife and 9mm pistol and 50% faster swap	Impact Rounds
15	Tenacious: +25% health and armor (125 HP and armor), armor does not get more expensive	Prepared
20	Hollow Point Rounds: +25% damage with perk weapons and 50% less recoil	Eat Lead: +100% magazine capacity
25	ZED TIME - Tactician: full-speed reload and twice as fast weapon switching	ZED TIME - Machine Gunner: +3% damage and shoot three times as fast

Weapons

9mm pistol

The 9mm pistol.

Every perk has one. It works very well with the Fallback skill in the first waves.

KF-BAR

The Commando's starter knife.

Very weak even with Fallback. Not recommended; use the 9mm or the AR-15 instead.

HE grenade

The Commando HE grenade.

Incredibly effective against Fleshpounds and one of the best grenades in the game. See grenades compared.

AR-15 Varmint Rifle

The tier 1 rifle.

Tier 1 gun, ideal for anything weaker than a Siren. Low damage, mediocre sight and burst mode; it does not kill a Crawler in one shot.

SA80 L85A2 (Bullpup)

The Bullpup.

A direct upgrade over the AR-15: automatic fire mode, a good sight, the same damage with a higher fire rate and a single-fire mode.

Kalashnikov AK-12

The AK-12.

Another upgrade: more damage for the same magazine size and a good burst mode. Its downside is low stability.

SCAR-H Assault Rifle

The SCAR-H.

The first tier 4 gun and a standout: the highest damage of all Commando guns, a good sight, single and auto fire, a surprisingly swift reload and good ammo efficiency. Its only downside is the default 20 round magazine.

Stoner 63A LMG

The Stoner 63A.

Before the buff it was not worth it; afterwards it is quite good. The damage bonus helps with trash cleaning and is good enough to replace the SCAR-H, especially in multiplayer.

Multi-perk weapons

Weapons from other perks that still benefit from Commando bonuses.

The M16 M203.

M16 M203 is a Demolitionist weapon, but it benefits from Commando bonuses and, after the December buff, works well on any difficulty. The bullets handle trash, and the grenade part gets the same buffs as the HE grenade, making it effective against Fleshpounds.

The HMTech-401.

HMTech-401 assault rifle is pretty good, comparable to the AK-12 with the added ability to heal teammates.

Recommended loadouts

Multiplayer build

• Weapons: SCAR-H and HMTech-401.
• Skills: High Capacity Mags, Fallback, Tenacious, Hollow Point Rounds, Machine Gunner.
• Use the HMTech-401 for trash and healing, the SCAR-H for Sirens, Husks and Bloats. When a big ZED arrives, shoot it once with the SCAR-H to get the assist and make sure the trash around it is dead; leave the big ZEDs to your team. You can swap the HMTech for the AK-12 or Stoner and it also works well solo.

Solo build

• Weapons: Stoner 63A LMG and AK-12.
• Skills: Tactical Reload, Fallback, Prepared, Hollow Point Rounds, Tactician.
• Stoner for trash, AK-12 for Sirens, Husks and Bloats. Solo, use the AK-12 for Scrakes and the HE grenades with the AK-12 for Fleshpounds. Tactical Reload and Prepared are necessary for the Stoner. The author preferred the AK-12's larger magazine over the SCAR-H, though the SCAR-H also works well after its buff.

Stoner-less solo build

• Weapons: M16 M203, SCAR-H, optionally the HMTech-101 pistol.
• Good trash clearing with both the M16 and SCAR. Use the M16 for trash, the SCAR-H for medium ZEDs and to quickly decapitate a Scrake, and HE grenades plus the M203 for Fleshpounds. Take the HMTech-101 in multiplayer so you can heal teammates, which can decide a match.

See also Commando loadouts and shot counts and off-perk Commando arsenal stats.