KF2 Crawler Guide: Stats, Elite Crawler Gas, Tactics

Part four of a German-language ZED index series (translated here, based on the official Tripwire wiki): the Crawler.

The Crawler, a spider-DNA Clot variant.

Overview

Created by splicing spider DNA into Clots, Crawlers are low-to-the-ground ZEDs that like to crawl out of drains, vents and other unremarkable openings. They can leap some distance to close the gap. The Crawler is a common specimen, a lesser enemy and cannon fodder: a small black humanoid that moves on all fours like an insect.

Base stats

	Normal	Hard	Suicidal	Hell on Earth
Dosh per kill	7	7	7	7
XP per kill	8	10	10	10
Body HP	41	55	55	55
Head HP	15	20	20	20

Attacks and XP notes

• Melee base damage: 7; reach: 180.
• Door damage multiplier: 1 / 5; player damage multiplier: 0.5 / 1.
• XP rules: off-perk kills pay the weapon's perk; mixed kills split XP evenly; assists give full XP.

Speed

Crawlers walk when calm and sprint when angry, and never stop once enraged. Speed is rolled in a 10 percent band and multiplied by a difficulty factor (0.87 on Normal, 1.05 on Hell on Earth).

	Normal	Hard	Suicidal	Hell on Earth
Walk	313-383	360-440	468-572	504-616
Sprint	392-479	450-550	585-715	630-770
Sprint on sight	0%	0%	85%	100%
Sprint when hurt	0%	1%	100%	100%

A healthy, lightly loaded player walks at 383 and sprints at 460 units per second.

Resistances and hit zones

Crawler damage zones.

• Damage types: piercing x1, slashing x1, blunt x0.9, poison x1, fire x0.9, microwave x0.2, explosive x1.
• Weapon classes: submachine guns x1.5, assault rifles x1.5, shotguns x1, pistols x1, rifles x1.
• Hit zones: head x1.1 (the only weak spot), body x1.

Behavior

The Crawler is a glass cannon that relies on ambush and uses only melee. After spawning it runs or sprints at the nearest player.

• They often appear from odd places such as drains, high ceilings and vents, attacking from new angles and slipping past defensive lines. Sometimes they arrive in groups of four to eight.
• They can dodge shots: when fired on, a Crawler hops left or right, or leaps at the player if in range. On Suicidal and Hell on Earth they always dodge under fire.
• On Suicidal and Hell on Earth they gain new rage attack animations and a big speed boost, making them easily among the fastest ZEDs; only the boss is faster. They rear up on their hind legs to claw, or throw themselves at the player with a spinning mid-air attack. Both deal heavy damage.

Elite Crawler

A Crawler can spawn as an Elite (Albino) Crawler, recognizable by white instead of black skin. It has the same health but may release a toxic gas cloud when it dies.

• The cloud obscures vision, like Bloat bile, and deals damage over time to anyone standing in it. Other ZEDs take it too, but only a little; evasive ZEDs such as Slashers and other Crawlers are affected as well.
• An Elite Crawler does not burst if shot in the head (nonlethal), though that is very hard because they are fast and the head is small.
• Spawn chance: Normal 0, Hard 0.01, Suicidal 0.15, Hell on Earth 0.2.
• Clouds do not stack. Explosion damage 4, duration 10 seconds, tick every 1 second, radius 600, no cloud shrinking.

Killing tactics

• Crawlers are very fragile, and any weapon kills them. They are small, so you can jump on them to stun them briefly.
• In early waves a knife saves ammo, but their small size makes headshots harder and they deal more damage, so knifing them is riskier.
• Kill them on sight. Letting a pack get close is unwise since they hit much harder than other lesser ZEDs, especially on harder difficulties.
• SWAT and Commando are the best perks for big Crawler groups. At short range Firebug shines: set the ground on fire and Crawlers are neutralized quickly.

Related: Cyst, Slasher, Stalker, Crawler specimen file.