KF2 Survivalist Level 25 Build: Loadout by Game Stage

This is a translated and condensed version of a Russian community guide for the Survivalist, the all-rounder perk of Killing Floor 2. The author, who has around 300 hours, admits it is a fun build rather than the optimal choice for a team: it is comfortable in solo play, and in multiplayer it lets you fill in for a weak Demolitionist, Commando or missing Medic part-time. Its big drawback is that perks with class bonuses will do more for the group, so on serious Hell on Earth matches do not run Survivalist in an incomplete team. See also overview of perks and best perks.

The skill picks and weapons change by stage of the match, and also with difficulty and your distance to the enemy.

Early game (waves 1-2 on a medium match, 1-3 on long)

Start with the 9mm pistol and the medical grenade. The grenade can heal teammates, and thrown at the feet of a crowd that surrounds you it works as a decent Molotov substitute.

Medical grenade.

9mm pistol.

Pick a primary according to taste (the author likes a shotgun, a pistol or the MP7). Put the first skill into the tree that matches the weapon: Tactical Reload for Commando, Medic, Gunslinger or SWAT starting guns, Heavy Weapons Training for Support, Demolitionist and Sharpshooter guns. The other skills go as shown.

Early-game skills.

Shoot mostly at heads, stack cash and, if you chose a heavy weapon, pick up ammo boxes. The only real risk is the occasional mini-Fleshpound on wave 2 of medium games: keep about one third of your main weapon ammo after wave 1 if you stay apart from teammates.

Mid game (waves 3-5 on medium, 4-8 on long and endless)

Sell the primary and buy the M16 M203 (listed under Commando and Demolitionist) with the saved dosh. Use auto-buy, rework the skills as shown and skip the trader.

M16 M203.

Mid-game skills: Big Bang replaces the spontaneous explosion.

Your job is to shred whatever appears, using the underbarrel launcher occasionally on crowds and special zeds like Fleshpounds, Scrakes or a Berserker with a pack of small zeds, and to toss medical grenades at teammates. Fire the launcher at point-blank range into the head, because the grenade's splash has heavy resistances there.

If your teammates are beginners or you play alongside a Medic, you will afford a second weapon by wave 5 (medium) or 6 (long and endless): the double-barrel shotgun called "Громыхалка" in the Russian client.

The double-barrel shotgun.

If you plan to keep it to the end, level it. Use it mainly on Fleshpounds (jump back while shooting to open distance for the reload) and on crowds at point-blank range.

Late game (final wave and boss)

You have two options. Either keep the M16 M203 plus shotgun and the old skills, or sell them, rearrange skills as below and buy the AA-12 and RPG-7, levelling the shotgun.

Late-game skills with Weapon Strap (Molotov).

AA-12.

RPG-7.

The swap trades huge close-range area damage for more precise mid-to-long range fire. Nothing replaces the double-barrel at point blank, so do not let crowds reach you. You need good map knowledge, solid aim and a clear sense of when to fire the RPG or throw a Molotov.

Molotov cocktail.

Throw the Molotov only into crowds without Fleshpounds or Scrakes: setting them on fire enrages them and angers your team as well. On the boss, pour everything you have into it, reload on time and drop Molotovs on the small zeds it summons.

Why this level 25 skill

The author does not explain every pick, since each skill's description is clear. The one worth noting is the level 25 skill, Zed Time - Frenzy: with all weapons firing three times faster in Zed Time and instant reloads, it is pure damage and turns the Survivalist into a zed-slicing machine.

The guide ends with a long profane copypasta mocking how veteran players react to Survivalists; it adds nothing to the build and is omitted here.