KF2 Beginner Positioning Guide: Solo, Multiplayer and Each Perk

This guide, a translation of a Japanese guide written by a beginner for beginners, explains where to stand and what to do in Killing Floor 2. It covers solo play, multiplayer habits and a short description of each perk's role. The author refers to separate guides for perk and weapon details and for enemy HP structure.

Solo play

Enemies come from every direction, so solo and multiplayer play very differently. Enemies have lower health and appear in smaller numbers than in multiplayer, which hides each perk's weaknesses. Therefore the author describes solo tactics for all perks together.

• Holding one position and intercepting enemies mostly does not work, because you get attacked from the sides and back. Instead, fight while fleeing: run and kill enemies ahead, stop and turn to kill a few chasers once you have pulled away, then run again before being surrounded. The same method helps if you are the last survivor in multiplayer, but remember enemy health and numbers there are at multiplayer scale.
• The number of enemies on the field at once is limited, so do not hunt enemies you can outrun. Kill enemies on your route and fast ones behind you first, especially Crawlers, Slashers and Stalkers. Many enemies start running when hit, so finish anything you damage.
• Do not shoot a Scrake carelessly. Reducing its health makes it rage and sprint at you. If you leave it alone it only walks, so outrun it and kill others first.
• A Fleshpound rages on its own, so pull it away from the crowd, for instance by enraging it deliberately, and kill it early.
• Area defense is hard because you cannot stay put. Run through the area, kill enemies as you pass and leave again; you will still collect some of the bonus. Survival comes first.

Multiplayer basics

• Enemy numbers scale with player count and the health of large Zeds and bosses rises by percentage. It is not a simple multiple (three players are not three times as hard), but without solo's assistance it feels close, so quick, accurate headshots matter. Hitting the head 100% of the time is not realistic, and robots do not die from head damage (their weak point is the chest core), so shoot the body when needed. Treat headshots as a goal. Flamethrower headshots are practically impossible, and explosives (with a few exceptions) do not need headshots because explosion damage always goes to the body. Exceptions include the Half Dynamite for stunning (head hit needed) and the RPG-7's direct-hit bonus against Scrakes.
• The basic tactic is camping. Stay within covering range of each other and have everyone watch a different approach route rather than looking the same way. Ideally perks that handle small Zeds each guard an entrance, with the Medic and large-Zed specialists supporting from behind.
• Do not leave your lane just because no enemy comes to you; they often appear the moment you look away. Turn around and fire a few shots, or help briefly while a partner covers your lane.
• Bunching up does not mean standing back to back. Keep some free space in the middle of your group to retreat into when pushed, ideally where the Medic stands.
• Many deaths are wall traps: pinned between a wall and enemies. Do not press your back against a wall; leave space behind you.
• Learn your own perk's strengths and weaknesses and your teammates', and you will know where to stand and whom to kill.
• There is no friendly fire damage, but an ally's bullet hits you as well as enemies and is consumed (it uses one point of penetration). Crouch when in front of teammates and never block a shooting teammate's line of fire.
• Support's ammo bag and Demolitionist's grenade bag require teammates to approach and take supplies. Take them every wave: they save money. Support's skills can increase ammo and add armor. Take it before you buy ammo.
• Quick chat can be ignored (thanks, taunt) except for Help requests. A Help request often means a large Zed reached someone who is not good at handling it; if a large-Zed specialist calls for help, many large Zeds probably arrived. Help if your perk suits it, and if it does not, wait until the target is frozen or stunned so you do not enrage it by accident. The author, when playing Medic, spams Help for every large Zed on his side.
• Enemies usually spawn out of everyone's sight and not near teammates. Some come from above buildings, and certain small Zeds crawl out of manholes, ducts or shutters at any distance. Some maps have spots where large Zeds never spawn, which helps in picking a camp.

Berserker

• A mobile close-combat specialist who stands in front. Tough, but takes hits and needs correct guard and parry.
• Melee hits several enemies per swing, and you can steer the attack direction with movement keys plus light and heavy attacks. Forward overhead swings and bashes make headshots easy. Range is short and per-target damage is low, and you cannot attack while guarding.
• Best against medium Zeds and smaller. Against large Zeds and bosses, use guard, parry (does not push back if the enemy weapon glows red), stagger and knockdown to hold on, with Medic support.
• Be careful about teammates' bullets: if one hits you, you lose penetration points; wandering around makes you shield enemies from your allies. Crouch and hold your ground.
• Melee costs no ammo, and with healing skills you may not need armor early. Spend money on your weapons, but pass dosh to teammates where you can. Upgrades add only slightly more damage and weight, and for the Hemoclobber a bit faster healing charge, so buying better weapons for teammates helps more.
• Area defense is a weakness. Carry a shooting weapon too.

Commando

• Mostly assault rifles, specialist for medium and smaller enemies at mid and long range, usually standing mid-line.
• Perk ability: reveals nearby Stalkers (range grows with level), visible to all, and also turns invisible Patriarchs and Matriarchs visible.
• Killing an enemy in Zed Time resets Zed Time to 3 seconds, effectively extending slow motion, which also extends level 25 skills.
• Also sees enemy health as red bars and has night vision (hold the flashlight key; the battery is shared with the flashlight).
• Weak against large Zeds. A Scrake may be possible; a Fleshpound is nearly hopeless, and a half-hearted attack only enrages it. Ignore large Zeds and clear the small ones so teammates can focus.
• Weak against guarding enemies (guard triggers on being hit); wait for the guard to drop, then hit the head.

Support

• Shotguns with high penetration, good in corridors at close to mid range. No extreme weakness or strength; a quiet helper with fast door welding, repairs of broken doors, extra carry weight (+1 every 5 levels, up to +5) and an ammo bag.
• Strongest early against Gorefasts and Gorefiends (blades on one or both arms), which are weak to shotguns. Higher difficulties bring more Gorefiends, which block and hurt (they can instantly kill on high difficulty). Body shots work if the head is guarded.
• Ammo bag: teammates approach you and take it once per wave. When you shop, stand just outside the trader's access range, because overlapping ranges always give the trader priority; that leaves a spot behind you where only Support access works. Level 20 skill increases ammo and adds armor. Support cannot take from its own bag, so teammates should leave ammo boxes for Support and thank them with a little dosh.
• Positioning: front line is ideal, but survivability skills are weak, so you may die standing in front all game. Stay mid-line and rush in for headshots when needed.
• Cover whatever your neighbors are weak against: take large Zeds beside a Commando or SWAT, and clear small Zeds beside a Gunslinger or Sharpshooter. Being able to do everything means having to.
• Early on you usually have weight to spare, so pick up a dead teammate's dropped weapon, say you picked it up in chat and give it back at the trader.

Field Medic

• Heals and buffs, with healing darts on most perk weapons. Left-side skills at levels 10, 15 and 20 add temporary buffs to the healed player.
• The weakest fighter of all perks and almost helpless against large Zeds. Stay in the middle of the team and heal; kill small and medium Zeds between heals.
• Heals are far stronger than other perks, so think "I will heal you, so stay alive and fight". Medic is not for aggressive players.
• Darts need the target near the crosshair, so stand mid to rear, with half the team in view and the other half a quick turn away. Move closer when using the healing flamethrower, then return. Pushing ahead of teammates is out of the question.
• You cannot fire darts while reloading the main weapon. If a teammate is in danger, swap to a backup to cancel the reload and shoot the dart, then reload again later. Throwing a medic grenade before reloading helps.
• Buffs can be applied to uninjured players, such as an attack buff on a large-Zed specialist or a defense buff on a tank before a push.
• Healing is gradual: the white gauge fills over time and repeated darts do not speed it up, so heal hurt teammates early.
• Do not worry about money and XP: healing earns both, and syringe use by any perk also gives Medic XP, so leveling is fast.
• As a teammate, stay where the Medic has a clear line of fire. If the Medic has to travel far to heal you, the rest of the team goes unhealed and the Medic can be caught by enemies.

Demolitionist

• Explosives specialist with area damage, effective against Fleshpounds, which are weak to explosives. Weak against Bloats, Sirens and Scrakes, though the RPG-7 deals with Scrakes and the level 15 skill with Sirens. Grenade bag supplies allies, and welding doors can make them explosive.
• Explosion damage always goes to the body, so ignore headshots. Exceptions are the Half Dynamite for stunning and the RPG-7, with 4x direct hit damage on Scrakes. Some enemies have parts that reduce damage; avoid those. Direct hit is not an explosion, so head hits damage the head.
• Sirens' screams erase explosives, but the level 15 skill stops that and turns the matchup around. You can also land shots outside the scream range or during its cooldown.
• Weak points: little and expensive ammo, small magazines, money hogging because of wide range, shaking and smoke blocking teammates (especially in Zed Time), and self-damage.
• No defensive skills. There is a once-per-wave reactive armor that explodes at 5 HP and leaves you with 5. Without Gunslingers or Sharpshooters in the team, you take the large-Zed role, and the Fleshpound is your unique job.
• The grenade bag works like the Support's: teammates approach once per wave, and you shop at the edge of the trader's range, but you cannot increase the amount with skills.

Firebug

• Pyromaniac who burns enemies directly and lays ground fire. Low burst damage, but great against crowds, and with the right weapon some capability against large Zeds.
• Flame weapons are strong against small enemies, while large ones resist fire. Microwave weapons (there are only two) deal with large Zeds, but small Zeds take 75% less microwave damage. Medium Zeds vary but take both reasonably.
• Flame weapons make headshots difficult. Aim at feet so missed flames hit the ground and create ground fire for followers. That makes the perk good for people who struggle with headshots. Incendiary rounds can headshot normally.
• Offensive only, with fire resistance as the only defense and nearly no support, so watch HP and armor.
• Do not run around burning everything: the bright flames dazzle (especially on dark maps) and burning Zeds panic and flail, which disturbs teammates' headshots. Seal off one entrance such as a corridor. When fighting alongside others, match their pace with a ranged weapon, aim at nearby enemies and keep enemies away from teammates. Bosses almost never panic, so burn them freely.
• With 5-6 players, large Zed health outgrows the microwave weapons' damage, so leave them to large-Zed specialists or team up.

Gunslinger

• Dual-pistol skirmisher at close to mid range. Semi-auto with high damage and fire rate, but small magazines, little reserve ammo, spread and recoil at high speed, and almost no sights. It rewards aim, decisions and distance control, and in expert hands is a monster.
• Most pistols can be dual-wielded for faster fire and a bigger magazine at the cost of reload time, double weight and double price, with no more reserve. Use singles on trash and duals on large Zeds.
• Pistols are light, so you carry more weapons and swap quickly: switch weapons as each runs dry to sustain damage. Throwing weapons away is possible but almost nobody does it.
• With dual weapons, the alt-fire button toggles aiming through the right pistol's sight.
• In multiplayer, front to mid line, mainly large Zeds. Crouch to reduce recoil. If the team has few large-Zed perks, roam between lines but do not cross teammates' fire.
• Weaknesses: small magazines and reserve, high skill demands and finger fatigue. A perfected Gunslinger is arguably the strongest.
• Advanced technique, reload cancel firing: start the reload, wait until the magazine counter changes, cancel with a bash (the reload is already done), then fire to cancel the bash. Bashing too early fails the reload. It works on other perks too, but best for Gunslinger, and not for guns that reload one round at a time.

Sharpshooter

• Sniper rifles for headshots, with high damage and accuracy. Can handle some crowds depending on weapon and skills, but the real job is large Zeds; leave trash to teammates.
• On every skill tier the left side boosts damage and the right side gives handling or support. Builds vary between fast kills, more shots for small Zeds and stun-based support.
• Rear position, next to the Medic, shooting medium and large enemies across all lines. Most weapons have high penetration but lose damage for each ally hit, so adjust your lines of fire.
• Freeze grenades almost always freeze, except raging pounds, guarding enemies and bosses. The grenade does nearly zero damage, so follow up.
• Weaknesses: needs headshots, lower rate of fire with most weapons, low mobility when crouching. If a teammate enrages a large Zed, freeze the Scrake or wait for the Pound to calm down after someone hits it, then take the shot.

SWAT

• SMGs, anti-small and medium. More front-line than Commando, with ammo and fire rate for trash, armor skills, decent mobility and flashbangs to help hunt large Zeds. Like a Commando with less attack and more speed and defense.
• In small teams a flashbang can instantly kill even large Zeds.
• Front line, handle small and medium Zeds, and aim for the head when possible: constant body shots let enemies push in and cost ammo, and most SWAT weapons have no penetration, so low shots stop on corpses.
• Flashbang: deals enough damage to kill small Zeds near the center, no self-damage, and stuns anything except raging, guarding or boss enemies in one hit. Great for escaping, starting large-Zed hunts and for Gunslinger teammates who cannot stun easily.
• Weaknesses: full-auto spread at range, ammo costs, small magazines before higher levels and trouble with guarding enemies (like Commando).

Survivalist

• All weapons count as perk weapons. Defensive bonuses such as damage resistance, but slightly lower attack bonuses and skill power. The advantage is combining any weapons.
• Positioning and role vary with your loadout, camp spot and teammates; change position when you switch weapons without crossing teammates' lines.
• Sticking to one perk's weapons and style is usually stronger on that perk (with exceptions). Survivalist shines through combinations.
• A few weapons pair so well with specific Survivalist skills that they can outperform the real perk, so a specialized build around them can be fun.
• The author invites readers to share new combinations in the comments of his loadout guide.

See also KF2 Japanese perk and weapon mechanics primer and KF2 zed guide with HP and resistances.