KF2 Storyline and How to Counter Every ZED: Newbie Guide

This newcomer guide combines a quick recap of the Killing Floor story with practical tips for dealing with each specimen. The author admits that few people play for the story, but offers it so new players know what is going on. For deeper lore see lore and story explained and Horzine Corporation lore; for a full ZED list see Killing Floor 2 ZED types.

The story so far

On the last day of August, a crowd of several thousand protesters gathered outside the London offices of the biotech corporation Horzine. Riot police moved in, but the real problem was inside: a containment breach at Horzine let its cloned specimens out. Husks blew up cars, Scrakes cut people in half, and the police and army were unprepared. The cloning machine kept running until someone shut it down. London became the first "Killing Floor", and Paris followed months later as the second.

Kevin Clamely, the Patriarch

The Patriarch, the original Kevin Clamely and his clones.

Kevin Clamely founded and ran Horzine Biotech. The government hired him to create the perfect soldier, one that feels no pain or fear and does not question orders, with London as a staging ground. He regarded his clones as his "family". One Patriarch clone killed the original Clamely and then tried to clone more ZEDs and dominate the world.

Rachel Clamely

Rachel Clamely, who sides with the players.

Kevin's daughter is on the side of the survivors. Eighteen days after the Horzine incident in West London she was to meet her father in a train station while he rigged it with explosives. She hid in a secret room in the underground and later guided the players through the lab, where the Patriarch was revealed to be a mass-produced clone. The players boarded the train to Paris; Rachel stayed behind. That ended Killing Floor 1 and set up Killing Floor 2. In the Yuletide Horror update she appears as the boss Matriarch, her mutated form, apparently driven insane.

The Trader

The Trader is a mysterious woman of unknown name who appears in fortified locations selling weapons, ammo and gear for the money earned by killing specimens. She announces the shop's status by audio message. In the first game she was iconic; the developers commented that she did not survive the blast when the lab was destroyed.

The family

Kevin introduced his "family" to the world:

• Siren: a clone of Clamely's wife, who wanted to be a singer but lacked talent. Their eyes were gouged out and they wear straitjackets.
• Stalker: made by Project Stalker in Horzine Research Bunker 6 in the Wyre forest, with a likeness of Rachel. Failed experiments phased in and out of camouflage.
• Husk: from a cybernetic enhancement experiment; fireball launcher on a back brace, with the arm replaced by a nerve-controlled cannon. Husks led the carnage in the breakout.
• Bloat: one of the few not made by cloning. Horzine tested drugs sold as weight-loss supplements on obese recruits; the drugs made their fluids a toxic acid, so they vomit it and burst when badly damaged.
• Crawler: a human-arachnid fusion experiment.
• Scrake: designed as the perfect field medic who could endure pain, but became obsessed with pain.
• Clot: the first clones from the DNA of Clamely's deceased son, with aberrant, self-mutilating behavior.
• Gorefast: a toned-down Scrake-style project for strong, fast soldiers that ended up insane and enraged.
• Fleshpound: super-soldiers built with muscle stimulants and adrenaline, with a device that injects depressants; when the staff tried to destroy them, the drugs triggered the devices and they broke free. Their "mace" restraints still hold their fists, which makes them better at pounding flesh.

How to kill each ZED (the author's advice)

• Clots, Alpha Clot, Cyst, Slasher: behave much alike. In wave 1 a knife (press V for a bash) aimed at the head is enough, saving dosh. Ignore a Clot and it may grab you in a swarm.
• Rioter: the only one of the group to watch; decent damage, buffs allies and is tougher.
• Stalker: can block shots and ambush you. Watch for white shimmers, listen for whispers, or bring a Commando. Same HP as a Clot; a headshot kills.
• Gorefast: blocks headshots when damaged on the head; use a shotgun or heavy firepower. His swing combo can be interrupted by a bash. If left alone he enrages.
• Gorefiend: far deadlier, with high health, damage and speed. Use a shotgun, keep your distance and bash him away if he gets close.
• Siren: her scream can disable a low-level Demolitionist's projectiles and punish Berserkers. Her bite takes a third of your health. A Sharp Shooter drops her in a shot; kill her before she gets close.
• Bloat: useless at range, devastating up close; biggest health bar of the small ZEDs, but slow and big so easy to decapitate. When he dies he leaves acid. Firebug does well; a pistol to the head works, and a Demolitionist would just waste ammo.
• Crawler: annoying and fast. The white variant releases poison smoke when shot in the body; shoot its head. Firebug is the best counter.

The Husk's fuel pack on its back is the weak point.

• Husk: a high-level threat with heavy upfront damage, ranged fireballs and a suicide attack; stay clear of the latter. Stand in its view and it winds up, exposing the fuel pack for about 1.5 to 2 seconds. Shoot the pack.
• Scrake: among the strongest ZEDs. Once enraged it does not stop; it resists explosives and has huge health. Bullets and blunt damage are best, and the head is the only weak spot. Counters by perk: Sharp Shooter (freeze, then Railgun/M14/M99 headshots), Demolitionist (RPG up close to the head, 1-3 shots; needs experience), Support (sawn-off or Doomstick up close, about 4-6 bullets), Gunslinger (dual S&W 500 headshots with Rack 'em Up), SWAT (concussion grenade then Kriss or P90 to the head) and Berserker (the saw-launching weapon, two hits). Do not enrage it until the team is ready.
• Quarter Pound: a small Fleshpound. One Railgun shot can kill it, one or two RPG shots, and a Commando can too if aiming at the face. Do not underestimate it.

The Fleshpound.

Fleshpound

The author finds it less threatening than the Scrake: it has the most health and damage and covers its chest when raging, but appears around wave 7, by which time you should have tier 4 weapons. M99 or Railgun kill it in 2-3 headshots. A Berserker can parry its readable attacks, which is harder against a Scrake that rages instantly and has many attack variants.

• Support: jump and use the sawn-off alt-fire to knock it back and hit the head; repeat. About 6-8 shots.
• Demolitionist: keep firing the RPG; 1-3 shots.
• Berserker: parry and use the sledgehammer alt-fire; 3-4 hits.
• Sharp Shooter: freeze it, then Railgun or M99 headshots; about 2 on Hell on Earth, depending on teammates not enraging it.

Matriarch

The Matriarch pilots a mech suit with two destructible parts: the face guard (more damage to that area once gone) and the cannon on her left arm. Destroying the cannon gives her a grapple attack, more speed and claws on the right arm. During the fight only E.D.A.R. variants attack the players.