KF2 Zed Target Priorities for New Players: Who to Shoot First

New players often shoot whatever is closest. This guide ranks Zeds by how urgently they need to die, with the reason and a practical note for each. Use it together with the bestiary threat levels.

Low priority targets

Zed	Why it is low priority	Note
Cyst	Cannon fodder; weak attacks, more nuisance than threat	Can grab you and throw off your aim, which matters most during the boss fight
Alpha Clot	Harmless alone, dangerous only in numbers; a few shots kill it even with a pistol	Can grab like a Cyst, so watch for them at the boss
Slasher	Faster than Clots but little more damage; one headshot kills it	Can also grab, so do not let it pin you while others corner you
Stalker	Cloak surprises you, but its attack has a wind-up that is easy to dodge	Turns up in odd places and can block your movement
Bloat	Arguably the slowest Zed; almost harmless at range	Its vomit blinds you but also hurts other Zeds, which you can exploit
Husk	Low damage, easy to dodge if you keep your distance	Its attacks hurt other Zeds; shoot the fuel tank to make it explode and damage neighbours. When low on health it self-destructs, so kill it quickly if it charges

Medium priority targets

Zed	Why	Note
Crawler	The most annoying weak Zed: fast and able to chip away your health	Spawns almost anywhere, so listen for it
Gorefast	Quick and hits hard; one or two can shred armor and health	Keep distance and aim for the head
Gorefiend	Same speed and damage as the Gorefast with repeated strikes	Shields its head with its blades, so shoot the torso when that happens
Quarter Pound	Looks and sounds scary but is less durable than its cousins; focus fire drops it fast	Fast and usually arrives in groups of 3 to 5
Scrake	Slow and harmless while calm; it only speeds up once shot	When angered it becomes high priority because its repeated heavy hits kill quickly

High priority targets

• Siren. The only Zed besides bosses that can wipe a whole team alone. Her scream bypasses armor and drains health fast, so kill her as soon as she appears. Her scream also disables grenades and explosive projectiles, so time your throws accordingly.
• Fleshpound. Fast and hard-hitting, and it can pin you. Unlike the Scrake it gets angry even if you merely avoid it, so you cannot ignore it. It should always be the team's priority, except that Sirens must die first.

General advice

Remember that Cysts, Clots, Slashers and Alpha Clots can all grab you, so during boss waves keep an eye on the small Zeds as well. For per-Zed numbers see Zeds in numbers.