KF2 Etiquette Guide Reloaded 2016: Team Play and Boss Waves

This is the "team-players survival guide" written in 2016 for new and experienced players. It was written for 10-wave games, but most advice scales to shorter modes. Some balance statements are dated (for example the author noted that Scrake auto-rage and Fleshpound permanent rage were confirmed to be removed in the next update), so use it for manners and teamwork principles. Related pages: community etiquette and perks, the author's custom say keybinds, and a Zed training guide mentioned in the original.

Be polite

• Do not join a mode above your level. Low levels in higher modes cannot deal enough damage, and their presence increases Zed health scaling. XP gains between modes differ little, except for large Zeds, and you earn more by staying alive in lower modes.
• Listen to your team and ask where they plan to camp. Name-calling and whining splits the team, and a split team dies.

Perk level guidelines

Mode	Level
Normal	0 to 10
Hard	10+
Suicidal	15+ (20 recommended)
Hell on Earth	20+ (25 recommended)

HoE should not include anyone under 20, since the level 20 perk skills matter a great deal. Level 25 is ideal, especially for Demolitionists and Firebugs, whose Zed time damage increases greatly. If you cannot take down a Fleshpound and a Scrake quickly without much damage, you are not ready for Suicidal or above (a Medic using only Medic weapons is the exception). Medics, Berserkers and Gunslingers have a better chance of outrunning both; this avoidance running with periodic damage is called kiting and is a necessary skill in higher modes.

Basic behavior

• Follow an experienced player if they hold a spot; do not split up. Stay together and pick a spot.
• Do not weld doors randomly or without consulting the team. A welded door can cut off an escape route and changes spawns and Zed routes. If you weld, do it for later waves (waves 9-10 in a ten-wave game, or 6-7 in a seven-wave game).
• If you pick up a weapon from a dead player, give it back rather than selling it.

The kick feature

If you must kick, do it in the first two or three waves and weigh how valuable the player is; someone at the top of the leaderboard probably already saved you. Never kick for:

• "Stop stealing my kills."
• "Stop getting in my way." If it is a Berserker, you are probably in the wrong place.
• "They got me killed." Usually the team did not call out a Fleshpound or Scrake.
• "They keep taking ammo crates." Crates are free for all, but do not take them if you do not need them.
• "They sold my weapon." Politely tell them to drop it instead of selling it.

Feed your Medic

Your Medic is important. In the first waves give your Medic your spare cash so they are loaded out quickly; you can do without your AA12, AK12, SCAR-H and Microwave Gun for a couple of waves. The exception is the Demolitionist, who earns little early and needs to save for the RPG to be useful by wave 6; good Demolitionists use C4, and you can guide Fleshpounds to a C4 patch. A Medic should be fully loaded or at least have the rifle by the end of wave 5.

Medic: Your job is not killing; heal and buff. Watch the backs of your Berserker and Demolitionist while they fight large Zeds, because trash can break their posture and kill them. Berserkers should take Siren resistance and the Medic should use Vaccinate; keep spamming darts. If you have a Firebug, keep them healthy while they fight Scrakes and Fleshpounds head on, and pair them with a Berserker. (The author notes that Medics no longer heal shields.)

Demolitionist: When the team lacks a Firebug or Commando, this player is often doing the damage control. The RPG reloads slowly, so keep Zeds away from them while they reload so they can fire at the Fleshpound. The Commando's Leadership perk (faster reloads) helps. With more than one Demolitionist, one should switch to Supplier for the extra grenade.

Later waves: if a player dies, give them your surplus cash to get them back to a full loadout quickly; otherwise they become dead weight that draws medic attention.

Chat callouts

Veterans have used these since the Killing Floor 1 mod days. Call out large Zeds and never attack them alone, unless you are the last survivor.

Chat	Meaning
sc	Scrake
fp	Fleshpound
fpr / fpl	Fleshpound from the right / left (rarely used)
scr / scl	Scrake from the right / left (rarely used)

The directional callouts are for organized teams that camp a spot with assigned positions. If you have a microphone, call out large Zeds and locations too.

Zeds to watch

• Husk: long-range fire cannon, hurts many players at once, kill it fast. From Suicidal up it also uses a flamethrower and suicide attack.
• Siren: do not let it get close; kill it at range. Up close it is difficult because it spawns with smaller Zeds.
• Scrake: in a ten-wave game from wave 5; has a distinctive sound cue. Do not leave Scrakes for last: unraged Scrakes rage near another raged Scrake and can set off idle Fleshpounds. Kill them as they spawn.
• Fleshpound: Demolitionists, Sharpshooters and Berserkers should go after Fleshpounds and Scrakes immediately while Medics heal them. Gunslingers with dual Magnums and Sharpshooters with the railgun do big damage to the head.

Gunslinger is a difficult perk; practice headshots in Normal, then Hard, before going higher.

Trader: near the end of each wave, leave something small alive and run to the trader, then kill it. This gives you maximum trading time and lets you sort out dead players, which matters especially in the boss wave.

The boss wave: Hans and Patriarch

Because the boss is a 50/50 pick, prepare for both.

• Berserker: bring your usual melee weapon (Zweihander or Pulverizer) plus a shotgun or rifle such as the SCAR-H or Medic rifle in case of the Patriarch.
• Demolitionist: avoid it above Hard; damage over reload time is low and bosses resist explosives. Check with your team.
• Gunslinger: against Hans, if someone is grabbed, use the 9mm for easy headshots then switch to Magnums and unload.
• Sharpshooter: with the railgun, headshot either boss; disable alt-fire auto-aim, which reduces railgun damage.

Hans Volter

• If you see white smoke, do not shoot Hans (reduced damage). Do not shoot him when he grabs a player either.
• Medics should time their darts for when Hans is about to release a player.
• Aim for the power core on his torso, his head or the backpack core. This is especially effective with Commandos.
• Damage him while he throws gas and grenades, then run from them, and attack again when the Berserker knocks him down.
• Ideal team: Firebugs (multiple Microwave Guns), Support (multiple AA12s), a Berserker who blocks, thrashes and knocks him down, and one or two Medics.
• Watch out for the thrashing attack; entire teams have been wiped by it. In the red health phase it is nearly constant for players who get too close. A December 2015 update made gas grenades also deal explosive damage and increased gas damage.

Patriarch

• He scales health like Hans; stay out of his minigun fire. He becomes more aggressive every health phase.
• He is a bullet sponge that runs away to heal, and smaller Zeds spawn in numbers during that phase.
• Hiding does not work; he uses mortars on campers.
• His cloak is also used for surprise attacks; listen for sound cues.
• C4 stuck on him works, and RPG shots to the head, as with Scrakes, are even better.
• Aim for the head. A team that all aims for the head wins quickly.
• Use doors and cover when he talks about "one in the pipe", then return for quick damage. On open maps watch where mortars will land.
• Avoid corners and walls where you get pinned; pillars block minigun fire.
• Medics and Berserkers can kite him around the map. "Run and gun" is a good strategy while staying a team.
• AA12, SCAR-H and Microwave Gun do strong damage. Jump when he is about to kick you to be thrown out of harm's way, then use the distance to heal.