KF2 Slasher Guide: Stats, Dodging, Tactics by Difficulty

Part three of a German-language ZED index series (translated here, based on the official Tripwire wiki). Today's specimen is the Slasher: a fast, agile Clot variant that lives up to its name.

The Slasher, an agile lesser ZED.

Overview

The Slasher closes distance quickly and tears its prey apart with its claws. Unlike most ZEDs it jumps and rolls while approaching, which makes it hard to hit. A single Slasher is extremely weak; its strength is numbers. Compared with other Clot variants it is more agile, aggressive and unpredictable. It is a common specimen classed as cannon fodder.

Base stats

	Normal	Hard	Suicidal	Hell on Earth
Dosh per kill	7	7	7	7
XP per kill	8	11	11	11
Body HP	75	100	100	100
Head HP	15	20	20	20

Attacks and XP notes

• Grab chance: 0.38.
• Melee base damage: 6; reach: 172.
• Door damage multiplier: 1 / 4; player damage multiplier: 0.2 / 0.4 / 0.5 / 1.
• XP rules: an off-perk kill pays the weapon's own perk; a mixed on-perk and off-perk kill splits the XP evenly; assists give full XP.

Speed

Slashers walk when calm and sprint when enraged, and once enraged they never stop. 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	235-287	270-330	297-363	324-396
Sprint	391-478	450-550	495-605	540-660
Sprint on sight	0%	0%	50%	70%
Sprint when hurt	0%	100%	100%	100%

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

Resistances and hit zones

Slasher damage zones.

• Damage types: piercing x1, slashing x0.85, blunt x0.9, poison x1, fire x1, microwave x0.25, explosive x1, knife slash x1.
• Weapon classes: submachine guns x1.5, assault rifles x1, shotguns x1, pistols x1.01, rifles x1.
• Hit zones: head x1.1 (the only weak spot), body x1.

Behavior

The Slasher is fairly predictable and uses only melee. After spawning it runs or sprints to the nearest player to scratch or grab and bite, which immobilizes the victim. Slashers are more aggressive than other Clots and are more likely to spawn already enraged.

• They can dodge bullets by jumping left or right or rolling toward the shooter, and do it more often on higher difficulties. On Suicidal and Hell on Earth they always dodge when fired upon.
• On Suicidal and Hell on Earth enraged Slashers gain extra attack animations: they leap and forward-roll to close the gap, then flail with both arms for multiple hits.
• Because they cross distance quickly and deal a lot of damage in a short time, they become high-priority threats on harder settings.

Killing tactics

• Any weapon works on a lone Slasher. In early waves use the knife to save ammo.
• On Suicidal and Hell on Earth respect them, especially in packs of six or more in late waves: an unprepared player can be encircled and taken near death very fast.
• SWAT is the best perk for clearing big Slasher groups thanks to the submachine gun bonus.
• Beware of grabs. Their speed and aggression make a grab more likely than with other Clots, and if the last survivor is held, bigger ZEDs can reach and kill them.

Related pages: Cyst, Crawler, Stalker, and the Slasher specimen file.