How Not to Suck at KF2 Multiplayer: Teamplay Rules

You have learned your perk and now want to play with other people. This guide collects the habits that make you a teammate people trust. Most rules can be bent once you have the experience to know when, but following them is rarely wrong. For related reading see multiplayer etiquette: what not to do.

General guidelines

• Skip perk "training" maps. They level the perk but do not teach you to play it. Real multiplayer games on suitable difficulty are the training; the author suggests leveling a perk by hand at least twice that way.
• Match your level to the difficulty. Not Suicidal under level 15, not Hell on Earth under level 20.
• Stick together. Wandering off removes the group's protection, removes what you contribute and tempts medics to chase you. A habitual loner deserves a vote-kick.
• Get the Medic pistol. It costs 200 dosh, takes one weight slot, and can fire three heals from a full charge. Use the scope to lock onto a player.
• Share dosh. Medics struggle to heal early on, and Support has the most expensive ammo late. Berserkers need little money.
• Conserve ammo. Use short, controlled bursts and single-fire modes. Flame weapons keep burning briefly after you release the trigger, so short puffs give nearly free ammo.
• Do not weld doors, do not leapfrog ahead of the front player, and do not keep changing position. Pick a spot and hold it; if there are several Berserkers, each picks a side and stays.
• Do not beg for dosh every round, and do not camp indoors where escape routes are limited.
• Do not dogpile the boss. Boss wipes usually come from secondary spawns at set health points (EDARs with the Matriarch are brutal). Keep one or two players on the boss with a medic, kill the trash, then rejoin.
• Keep situational awareness and call out threats: a Fleshpound on your flank, a strategy change, a request for help, time to run. Always know where your medic is.
• Keep the exit path clear, clean up bile puddles in camp, and remember that zeds cannot spawn where a player is looking, though they can spawn behind you.
• Play every perk at least for a while, so you know what the others need.

Knife, movement and reloads

• Blocking with the knife reduces damage by 20 percent, often the difference against a Fleshpound. Slashing with the knife clears trash faster than bashing with a gun.
• Keep moving. Standing still lets Crawlers and Gorefiends land full combos.
• Jump often: a player hit in the air is pushed farther, which helps against Fleshpounds and Scrakes (jump, knife-block).
• Reload cancel on some weapons: hold fire during a reload and melee bash as soon as the ammo counter resets to fire a shot immediately.

How incaps work

• Non-stacking: pushback, stumble, knockdown (only 5 zeds can be down at once), stun and freeze. Do not block a teammate's incap by using another on the same zed.
• Stackable: hit interruption, confusion (poison, burn and EMP), snare and bleed.
• Incaps have cooldowns and are 75 percent less effective on a raged Fleshpound and on Volter in his final stage.
• Rough priority: knockdown, stun, stumble, freeze, snare, melee hit, gun hit, EMP, burn, poison, microwave.
• Confusion makes headshots very hard and stops confused zeds from attacking, which denies a Berserker parry. Use it only when it does not hurt a teammate.

Grenades

• Demolitionist: very long fuse but detonates on contact with a zed and stuns.
• Berserker EMP: confusion. SWAT flashbang: stun, harmless to you. Sharpshooter freeze: 2 to 3 can freeze bosses, handy on a running Patriarch.
• Firebug molotov: burn and damage over time. Medic: heals players, poisons zeds, works through closed doors.
• Commando has a short fuse; Support a longer one; Gunslinger nail bombs shine in enclosed spaces.

Skills worth taking by default

Stumble or knockdown skills are usually a better default than the alternative: Commando Impact Rounds, Demolitionist Shock Trooper, Firebug Heatwave, Gunslinger Knock 'Em Down, Support Concussion Rounds, SWAT Suppression Rounds. Sharpshooter does better with stability unless you rely on crossbow stuns.

Protecting and not blocking others

• Protect perks with weak crowd control, such as Demolitionist and Sharpshooter.
• Keep visual spam low: aim flame, freeze and microwave weapons at the legs and ground.
• Give Sharpshooters a clear line of sight and do not use confusion on distant targets.
• Leave trash for the Commando during zed time so it can be extended, and leave one or two weak zeds near a Berserker so the parry buff can trigger.

Dropped weapons

• If you pick up a dead player's weapon, tell them you will drop it at the trader.
• At the start of each trader round, check your inventory for weapons you picked up by accident.
• Do not take duplicate weapons bought before the boss wave: they are ammo stock for that player.
• Never sell other people's weapons. It can get you kicked or blacklisted.

Kill priority in a group

1. Husk
2. Siren
3. Fleshpound (enraged or too close)
4. Scrake (enraged or too close)
5. EDAR
6. Bloat
7. Fleshpound and Scrake (far away, not enraged)
8. Gorefast and Gorefiend
9. The rest

Notes per zed:

• Husk: bashing interrupts its flamethrower, and shooting its backpack makes it explode. A badly damaged husk tries to self-destruct on the nearest player.
• Siren: kill at range. Bashing interrupts the scream, which destroys grenades and unexploded C4.
• Fleshpound: it enrages on a timer or after enough damage and calms after hitting any player. Do not re-rage it while it is hitting someone; give the victim time to get clear.
• Scrake: enrages at lower damage on higher difficulties. Do not rage it before the team is ready. You can bash it at any time.
• Bloat: headshots or fire, and avoid bursting the body needlessly. EDAR: shoot the red spot on its chest. Rioter: shoot the legs unless you can penetrate the head armor.

Perk roles

• Berserker: meat shield. Position zeds so their backs face the team, and pick one side. After the nerfs, Dreadnought plus Warcry is strong.
• Commando: refresh zed time and clear trash. Do not join if another Commando is already present.
• Demolitionist: Fleshpound, Siren, Husk, Bloat in that order; use Sonic Resistant rounds and do not block headshot perks with fireworks.
• Firebug: damage or crowd control; take Heatwave for pushback and Ground Fire for flame carpets.
• Gunslinger: takes down large and medium zeds, uses mobility for angles.
• Medic: buff the team (speed up to 30 percent, damage up to 20 percent, resistance up to 30 percent, lasting 5 seconds after the last application) and throw grenades often. The Healthrower keeps buffs up cheaply.
• Sharpshooter: large zeds and zed time headshots; use freeze grenades and the knife for escapes.
• Support: medium and large zeds with penetrating shots; stay away from the trader pod so others can reach your free ammo and armor.
• Survivalist: versatile but not a specialist; new weapons make cross-perk combos strong.
• SWAT: medium zeds and crowd control; a flashbang can let you solo a Scrake at high ammo cost.