KF2 Survivalist Guide: Skills, Loadouts and Freezethrower (2018)

This page paraphrases a 2018 Survivalist guide. The guide is somewhat dated (readers noted the Melee Expert skill later became much better than described and the Killerwatt is not covered), but its structure and loadout ideas are still a useful overview of how the all-rounder perk was understood at the time.

Passive bonuses

• Extra weapon damage, up to 15% (0.6% per level)
• Global damage resistance, up to 25% (1% per level), against all damage
• Heavy body armor, up to 25% (1% per level); at max level you take no health damage while armor is equipped
• Zed Time reload speed, up to 75% (3% per level), so you reload as if you were not in Zed Time, which runs at 25% speed

Skills by level

Level	Choice A	Choice B	Author's advice
5	Tactical Reload: faster reload for Commando, Gunslinger and SWAT weapons	Heavy Weapons Training: faster reload for Demolitionist, Sharpshooter and Support weapons	Depends on weapons you carry
10	Medic Training: +25% healing potency, -25% cooldown on syringe and darts	Melee Expert: +15% melee speed, +10% melee damage, +25% movement speed while a melee weapon is equipped	Medic Training; resistance alone is not enough for a melee rush
15	Ammo Vest: +15% ammo and swaps your grenade for a healing grenade	Weapon Harness: +5 carry capacity and swaps your grenade for a Molotov	Ammo Vest for Commando or Gunslinger weapons, Harness for heavier kits
20	Spontaneous Zed-plosion: ZEDs have a 20% chance to explode on death (small blast)	Make Things Go Boom: +25% explosion area	Match to your weapons: Boom is useless without explosives, Zed-plosion is redundant with them
25	Madman: weapons shoot 3x faster in Zed Time	Lockdown: incapacitation power +200% in Zed Time	Madman

Weapon: the Freezethrower

The Survivalist's only dedicated weapon is the Freezethrower. It is a variant of the flamethrower with less damage that freezes ZEDs solid, big ones included, which makes it effective when a lot of ZEDs arrive at once. Taking Heavy Weapons Training gives it an elite reload. All other weapons are not Survivalist-specific but benefit from its bonuses.

The Freezethrower, the Survivalist's own tier 3 weapon.

Sample loadouts

The Trash Cleaner. Skills: Tactical Reload, Medic Training, Ammo Vest, Spontaneous Zed-plosion, Madman. Weapons: AK-12 or HMTech-401, SCAR-H, and the HMTech-101 (multiplayer only, or if no HMTech-401). Use the AK-12 or HMTech-401 on Clots, Stalkers, Crawlers and Gorefasts, the SCAR-H on medium ZEDs, and the HMTech weapon to heal a teammate in danger.

The Heavy Weapons Guy. Skills: Heavy Weapons Training, Medic Training, Weapon Harness, Make Things Go Boom, Madman. Weapons: RPG-7, DBS or HMTech-301, and the HMTech-101 (multiplayer, if no HMTech-301). Wreck big ZEDs with the RPG-7 and follow up with the shotgun.

The Hybrid. Tactical Reload, Medic Training, Weapon Harness, Make Things Go Boom, Madman. Weapons: RPG-7, Rail Gun or M99 AMR, an AK-12, SCAR-H or HMTech-401, and a DBS. Be sure to carry the DBS on the boss wave. Its two-barrel blast can knock you back, giving a little extra height to jump out of the Patriarch's melee range.

The "Survivalist" (suggested by BB-chan). Heavy Weapons Training, Melee Expert, Weapon Harness, Spontaneous Zed-plosion, Lockdown. Weapons: Rail Gun, DBS, Crossbow. It focuses on big ZEDs: the Rail Gun is effective against Fleshpounds (three shots on Hell on Earth with six players), the Crossbow can lock down Scrakes by stunning, especially in Zed Time, and the knife handles small ZEDs. Melee's speed boost helps you escape sticky situations.

The Anti-Material Guy. Heavy Weapons Training, Medic Training, Weapon Harness, Spontaneous Zed-plosion, Madman or Lockdown depending on weapon choice. Weapons: M99 AMR plus any weapon that benefits from the reload bonus and can handle trash and medium ZEDs (M14 EBR, DBS, SG 500).

The Trash Cleaner 2.0 (suggested by Emperor of Rice). Heavy Weapons Training, Medic Training, Weapon Harness, Spontaneous Zed-plosion, Madman. Weapons: Freezethrower, M4 Combat Shotgun, Kriss. Use the Freezethrower in a pinch or when a big ZED arrives and the team is short on cryo grenades. A commenter also notes you do not need to upgrade these weapons.

Playing it, and why it was underrated

As Survivalist you can fill different roles, so play as your current loadout says. The author argues the perk is underrated because it does everything but only at a mediocre level. Other perks do the same jobs better, and with six player slots a team can cover every role. The lack of weapon-specific bonuses is the main problem. In solo the Survivalist is in a better spot, but even then a Gunslinger outclasses it on big ZEDs thanks to damage bonuses, speed and the ability to kill small ZEDs. The author's tongue-in-cheek summary is not to play Survivalist unless you want a harder game.

Comments

• A reader says it would be a decent guide if it were not outdated: Melee Expert is much better than written, and another asked about the missing Killerwatt.
• One player's survival build: Rail Gun, Double Barrel and Crossbow, with Heavy Weapons Reload, Melee, extra carry weight, the 20% explosion chance and the incapacitation Zed Time skill. The Rail Gun destroys Fleshpounds at medium to long range with fast reload cancelling (three shots on 6-player Hell on Earth), the Crossbow chain-locks Scrakes, and the knife is used for Clots and for escaping.
• A common complaint is that the perk is underpowered and lacks ammo efficiency, relying on ammo boxes.

See also: Survivalist guide: skills, weapons, builds and Survivalist guide for team players.