KF2 Multiplayer Etiquette: Common Teammate Problems and Fixes

A Russian-language Steam guide written as tongue-in-cheek bad advice: it lists the awkward situations you meet in Killing Floor 2 multiplayer and what to do about them. The author stresses that it is not a rulebook, only experience from many matches, and that the cause is either inexperience (forgivable) or selfishness (not). Having at least basic English helps, because even Russian servers are half English-speaking. This page is a paraphrased translation. Related reading: fast perk leveling strategies.

Cover of the guide.

Terms

• Dosh: in-game currency. HoE: Hell on Earth, the hardest difficulty.
• Cross-perk weapon: a weapon that suits two or three perks. Off-perk weapon: a weapon of any perk other than yours.
• Zed Time extension: prolonging slow motion with kills, usually the Commando's job.
• Ruining the game: deliberately leading the team to defeat.
• FP, Mini-FP, King FP: Fleshpound, Quarter Pound, King Fleshpound. Sc: Scrake. Patty: Patriarch.

Inexperience or selfishness

Experience comes in different ways, from videos, guides or play, and false information is easy to pick up, so be patient with newcomers. A selfish player is one who never responds and keeps repeating the same mistakes. The first is fixed by talking; the second may need a kick vote.

Situations with a solution

Situation 1: a low-level player joins Suicidal or Hell on Earth

The most common problem, and the key is telling inexperience from selfishness. Talk to the player and ask whether they have a higher-level perk. If they have none, discuss it with the team; if the team is coping, fine. If they have a higher level but refuse to switch, judge how useful they are and kick if they are a liability. If they switch, you simply met a sensible newcomer. If they ignore you, that is closer to selfishness and deserves a kick. Prestige says nothing about skill, so always talk. The in-game difficulty menu suggests perk levels: Normal 0-10, Hard 5-15 (0-15 if skilled), Suicidal 15-20 (10-20 if skilled), Hell on Earth 20-25 (15-20 as a rare exception). A player who joins at the end of a trader phase or before the boss at a too-low level can be kicked without discussion.

Situation 1: a low-level player joins Suicidal or Hell on Earth

Situation 1: a low-level player joins Suicidal or Hell on Earth

Situation 2: a player buys off-perk weapons

You will meet Berserkers with an RPG-7 sooner or later. Do not kick instantly; explain that off-perk weapons are inefficient. If the player refuses and is useless, kick them. If they switch, the problem solved itself. If they refuse but do well, there is no reason to kick. Sometimes players have no choice but to pick up a dead teammate's weapons, for example when everyone else is dead.

Situation 2: a player buys off-perk weapons

Situation 3: a player sold your weapon

The most unpleasant case. A player may carry your weapon to the trader for you while you are dead, so first make sure it was really yours: on death a player drops the weapon in hand, so a Sharpshooter who dropped a pistol may have lost something else. Watch what dropped and what was sold. If the player denies it, say what you saw. If they apologize, that is an adequate reaction (some perks are expensive to rebuy, so ask for compensation). If they ignore you, call a kick vote and sell what they leave behind.

Situation 3: a player sold your weapon

Situation 4: being welded in

The key question is whether it was accidental or deliberate. Deliberate means trolling or selfishness (one example involved a player who wanted all the frags); ask why and kick if they are unrepentant. Accidental means the welder missed your perk icon or forgot that you were holding a lane. Do not try to unweld a door while it is being welded; there is no time, so plan your route out.

Situation 4: being welded in

Situation 4: being welded in

Situation 5: an unneeded duplicate perk

Some perks are useless or harmful in pairs. Two Commandos fight over Zed Time extension (unless neither knows how to do it), a second Medic is rarely needed (except for long Endless runs with heavy damage), and two Demolitionists ruin the gameplay of shooter perks. Ask the duplicate to switch; if they refuse, ask the team and kick if the team agrees. The author's class table is a subjective guide to which pairs work.

Situation 5: an unneeded duplicate perk

Situation 5: an unneeded duplicate perk

Situation 6: cheats and bugs

A rare case. The screenshots show a Sharpshooter killing the boss in 4 shots, a Berserker abusing a fast electro-fists bug, a SWAT with god mode taking dozens of Volter hits, and a Support killing the boss in 4 shots. Ask the cheater to stop; if they refuse, call a kick vote. If you can record video, keep recording and send the evidence to Tripwire support. If the cheater only enabled cheats after everybody died, the team will rarely kick them. The author thinks cheats make no sense in a PvE game.

Situation 6: cheats and bugs

Situation 7: a player stands far from the team

Playing a separate lane draws some ZEDs away, but it is risky. Talk to the loner; if they refuse to join, discuss it with the team and possibly kick. If one or two refuse while the rest are together, ask to regroup. If more than two stay apart, they probably use a different holdout, so move toward them. The author argues that someone who wants to stand alone should play singleplayer, where pause works.

Situation 7: a player stands far from the team

Situation 8: kicked for no reason

After a kick you cannot rejoin until the map changes. Make sure it was truly without reason: you did not join on the boss wave and your level was not too low. Remedies: report to the server admin with screenshots; wait for the game to end and bring friends to kick the culprits; note the nicknames and call a kick vote when they join your game. Frequent reasons are a low perk level, interfering with friends who want to play together, bad join timing or past grudges.

Situation 8: kicked for no reason

Situation 9: a Medic deliberately does not heal you

Rare. Options: tell the team and call a vote (usually fails if the Medic heals the others); ignore it and switch to a tougher perk such as Berserker, a second Medic, Survivalist (faster syringe regeneration) or SWAT (150 armor); invite a Medic friend, which also makes a kick easier; or report to the admin.

Situation 9: a Medic deliberately does not heal you

Situation 10: a player angered a Scrake or Fleshpound

If it was an accident (a stray bullet from a fast-firing perk can pass through trash), do not blame the teammate even if you died. If a teammate keeps angering big ZEDs and cannot finish them, they cannot handle large ZEDs and may be worth kicking. Note that big ZEDs also get angry by themselves, for instance when a Husk shoots a Scrake in the back, and the higher the difficulty the less damage is needed.

Situation 10: a player angered a Scrake or Fleshpound

Situation 11: a player finishes headless large ZEDs

Some perks (Commando, SWAT) leave a Scrake or Fleshpound wandering headless for 2-3 seconds. Spread out so you are not next to the finisher, or ask them to stop; kick is unlikely to work. Large ZED kills are not the key metric: your damage counts fully even if somebody else finishes the ZED, and accidental finishes (for example Demolitionist shrapnel) are easy.

Situation 11: a player finishes headless large ZEDs

Situation 12: useless weapons on the boss

Another case of reinventing the wheel, especially with Berserkers. A pointless purchase on the boss wave can lose the whole game. Talk to the player and recommend something effective; they may leave after the wave or stay for the next map, where you can ask again.

Situation 12: useless weapons on the boss

Situation 12: useless weapons on the boss

Situations without a solution

No-solution 1: the admin or server changed the map mid-game

Example: wave 9 on Catacombs, Hell on Earth, 6 players, and the admin switched to Nuked without asking, and the server was then full. Usually nothing can be done except to change servers or complain. Servers can also crash or restart; remember which server ran stably.

No-solution 1: the admin or server changed the map mid-game

No-solution 1: the admin or server changed the map mid-game

No-solution 2: a player grabs ammo boxes

Let ammo boxes go to perks that need them most (heavy weapons such as Doomstick, M99, Railgun or RPG) but do not hoard them against Commandos and SWATs. In Endless mode boxes are far more common. Ask the hoarder to share; kicking is pointless.

No-solution 2: a player grabs ammo boxes

No-solution 3: a player interferes with the Commando's Zed Time

Many players do not realize the Commando's role and spray every ZED during Zed Time, which stops it from being extended. Never shoot trash until the Commando has done his work. Kicking is impractical; move to another side.

No-solution 3: a player interferes with the Commando's Zed Time

No-solution 4: a player left the server

Reasons include bugsplats, an impossible play environment, network load, a PC crash, an auto-kick mutator, or ordinary life (a 35-50 minute match is long). If the player did not announce a return, sell their weapons and share the Dosh with the team.

No-solution 4: a player left the server

No-solution 4: a player left the server

No-solution 5: a player interferes with your shooting

Area-damage perks (Demolitionist, Firebug, Survivalist, Commando with the M16) can block a Sharpshooter's headshots with explosions and flames, and burning large ZEDs wander and run. Do not aim at a large ZED if a teammate who handles it in 1-2 shots is present; help with other targets instead.

No-solution 5: a player interferes with your shooting

FAQ

• Which difficulty is it about? All of them, but mostly Suicidal and Hell on Earth, where a day-one purchaser with a level 0-15 perk is likelier to appear.
• How do I protect myself from selfish players? Play with one or two friends who also play KF2, and kicking never becomes a problem.
• Why are some nicknames blurred? Players with visible names are friendly or unrelated to the situation; some names are hidden to avoid offending anyone.