KF2 Berserker Guide: Skills, Melee Weapons, Loadouts and Cancels

The Berserker is the melee specialist: nobody lasts as long or deals as much damage up close, and it is very cheap to play. It is the undisputed king of solo games; in teams it plugs a side lane in a precision setup, or acts as a tank that pins Zed aggro in a chaotic setup. This guide is the Berserker entry in a series of class guides by the same author as the Field Medic guide and Demolitionist guide. See also the Berserker perk page.

Perk bonuses

• Passive 25% damage with perk weapons (the 9mm is excluded).
• Passive 15% damage reduction. It is small, which is why level 15 is crucial.
• Night vision, a modest bonus.
• Clots cannot grab you, which makes the Berserker excellent solo. E.D.A.R. Trappers can still grab you.

Skill selection

The two main playstyles are the skirmisher zerk and the zerkwall zerk; a gunzerker is a meme and not viable on higher difficulties.

Tier	Choice	Verdict
5	Dreadnought (+100% HP, 200 total) / Skirmisher (+20% speed, +25% sprinting, 2 HP per second regeneration)	Skirmisher for normal games (the 2 HP per second is worth 5 to 7 HP for other classes because of your resistance); Dreadnought only with a trusted medic or zerkwalling
10	Vampire (4 HP per kill, +20% attack speed) / Butcher (+20% damage, +20% swing speed)	Butcher for experienced players; Vampire for beginners and for zerkwalling
15	Resistance (+25% DR, +20% more against screams and bile; at level 25 40%, 60% against sirens and bloats) / Parry (a parry gives 40% DR for 10 s, about 55% total, +35% damage to all zerk weapons and +5% swing speed; timer refreshes)	Parry, even for new zerks; Resistance for zerkwalling and bosses where you rarely parry (Matriarch, Abomination)
20	Smash (+50% heavy damage, +20% headshot damage, +200% stumble on all attacks, multiplicative) / Massacre (+30% light damage, +5% speed)	Smash always
25	Berserker Rage (instant 50% HP and roots Zeds in Zed Time, up to 88 HP with Dreadnought) / Spartan (move, attack and reload in real time)	Spartan 99% of the time; Rage for zerkwalling or the Boom weekly

Melee weapons

Weapon	Notes
Lawnmower Blade (knife)	Useless except for gunzerker builds to get a parry
Crovel	One of the best tier 1 weapons; T2 decaps bloats and husks in one hit; T5 decaps a Scrake in 3 heavies; upgrade to T2 on wave 2 (net cost 175 dosh)
VLAD-1000 Nailgun	7 pellets of 35, 245 per shot; weight 5 (T5 8); meta; 3-4 shots on Scrake or Fleshpound at T5; cannot parry; ammo limited
Katana	Weaker than in KF1: the same heavy stats as the Crovel but without stumble; a sidegrade, decent trash clearer
Fire Axe	A proper Crovel upgrade; 2 heavies stun a Scrake; slowest forward heavy; T5 3 heavies on a Scrake
Road Redeemer (DLC)	Basically a katana with slow heavies; skip
Hemoclobber	80/130 damage; explosion of 200 (radius 5 m) heals teammates (and you) for 30 HP; reach 2.3 m; best secondary and sustain tool; rated 7/5
Pulverizer	Great against Quarter Pound spam, poor against Fleshpounds; heavy 145; explosion 238
Zweihander (DLC)	Meta for skirmishers: heavy 195, reach 1.9 m, T5 decaps Scrakes cleanly; pair with a Nailgun
Frost Fang (DLC)	Freezes large Zeds in 2 hits; enables a decent gunzerker build; massacre can suit it better than Smash
Static Strikers	The only pugilist weapon; heavy hits apply EMP; trivializes Scrakes; best without DLC
Bone Crusher	Blocks most projectiles; heavy stumble even on a raged Fleshpound; parry and block 70%; the zerkwall weapon
HRG Teslauncher	Fire panic hampers headshots and large Zeds resist the damage; very situational
Eviscerator	Kills Scrakes at range (3 discs) and Fleshpounds in 5; slow; useful against the Matriarch
Battleaxe	250 heavy, instant gibs; decaps a Scrake in 2 heavies; slowest switch speed; weight 10
Ion Thruster (DLC)	Author's favorite: reach 2.4 m, special for 400 damage AoE at 100% charge, best trash cleaner and decent on large Zeds
EMP grenade	Disables special attacks and calms raged Zeds while it lasts; 1 grenade per normal Zed, 2 per Fleshpound

Crovel survival tool.

VLAD-1000 Nailgun.

Hemoclobber.

Zweihander (DLC).

Static Strikers.

Bone Crusher.

Battleaxe.

Ion Thruster (DLC).

Loadouts

• T3 Zweihander + T5 Nailgun: meta skirmisher or King Fleshpound loadout.
• T5 Zweihander + Hemoclobber: Patriarch or Hans.
• Ion Thruster + T4 Nailgun: solo or fun.
• Ion Thruster + Hemoclobber: no medic or a weak medic.
• Static Strikers + T5 Nailgun: crowd control.
• Bone Crusher + Hemoclobber: meta zerkwall.
• Eviscerator + Hemoclobber: Matriarch.
• Bone Crusher + Teslauncher: Matriarch or Abomination.
• Frost Fang + T5 Vlad: gunzerker.

Advanced techniques

• Heavy cancel: when a heavy connects, press bash or light attack and immediately heavy again to skip recovery (the melee equivalent of a reload cancel). Done wrong you inspect your weapon and are exposed. Practice.
• Stab cancel: after a stab connects press light attack, then stab again; useful for E.D.A.R. cores.
• Parry cancel: hold light or heavy, then tap parry repeatedly; useful to match the damage ticks of a Fleshpound's grinders or a Scrake's gutbuster.
• Drag stabs: drag the stab across the screen during its contact frames to make it an area attack, noticeable on slow weapons like the Zweihander and Battleaxe.

Tips and tricks

• Donate money once your loadout is done: the Berserker earns the most dosh in the game, even more than a Firebug on late waves.
• Pick a lane partner such as a Medic, Support, Demolitionist or Survivalist; do not lane with precision perks or a Firebug, who blocks shots and steals your parries.
• Leave a lone non-threatening Zed like a Cyst alive so you can parry on demand in solo; in multiplayer practice parrying at the end of every encounter.
• On high difficulty avoid Husks unless necessary; throw an EMP first.
• When in doubt, bash, to give breathing room against Bloats and Sirens.
• Watch your health bar: a few Fleshpound hits can still end you.