Reload Cancelling in Killing Floor 2 (Quick Melee Trick)

Reload cancelling means interrupting a reload animation once the ammo has already been added, so you can fire sooner than if you let the animation play out. Some weapons, such as the Gunslinger's dual pistols, can have their reload cut almost in half this way. This article is a rewrite of a beginner-oriented community guide to the technique. Related movement and animation tricks are in advanced movement techniques.

The steps

The sequence is identical for every weapon:

1. Reload the gun.
2. Wait for the ammo counter to update.
3. Interrupt the reload animation with quick melee.
4. Interrupt the melee attack by shooting.

Because you will use quick melee often, bind it to an easily reachable key, such as an extra mouse button.

Timing tips

The ammo update always happens at the same point of each weapon's reload animation, so learn that moment. For example, on the Kriss Vector the counter updates when the magazine is inserted. Once you know how long the necessary part of the reload is, you can watch the enemies instead of the ammo counter.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work with all weapons?

Yes and no. Shotguns such as the SG500, the Incendiary Shotgun and the M4 Combat Shotgun load individual shells into a tube. Instead of one animation that fills the magazine, they have many small ones that each add one shell. You can technically cancel on the last shell, but the time saved is small compared with the full reload. To speed these up, avoid firing the last shell in the magazine: that skips the animation part where the bolt is operated manually and goes straight to filling the tube.

Does it work with all perks?

Yes.

Does it make Tactical Reload obsolete?

Somewhat. Some perks lack a Tactical Reload skill but still benefit from reload cancelling. Others, like Commando, have more attractive skills such as High Capacity Magazines. Two notable cases:

• Support: High-Capacity Magazines compete with Tactical Reloading. The author feels Tactical Reloading mainly helps tube-fed shotguns, so if you prefer magazine-fed shotguns, take the bigger magazines.
• Demolitionist: more damage competes with faster reloading and more stumble power. More damage mostly helps against Fleshpounds and might reduce the rockets needed per kill depending on player count. Faster reloads mainly shorten the unskippable part of the animation, so pick them if you struggle with slow firing.

Is this a bug?

The author does not know. They recall a period in the closed beta when cancelling did not work because quick melee could not be used before the reload finished, and believe it returned around the Christmas update (a guess). It is unclear whether Tripwire is unaware of it, leaves it as a discoverable technique or plans to remove it.

Why a guide on something everyone knows?

It is aimed at beginners and intermediate players who do not have hundreds of hours in the game.