KF2 Scrake Team Kill: Berserker Pulverizer, No Parrying

This is a May 2015 Early Access plan for killing a Scrake as a team without any parries and without anyone taking damage. The author tested it on Normal, Hard and Suicidal, and recommends being at a sensible level for the difficulty (roughly level 7 or above on Suicidal, level 0 to 7 is fine on Normal and Hard). Numbers reflect the 2015 balance, so treat them as a template rather than exact values. See also Scrake and Fleshpound takedowns.

Team and loadout

Ideal team: 5 to 6 players.

• Berserker (1 to 2): one Pulverizer (or Eviscerator, not recommended), one crowd-control weapon (Crovel or Nailgun) and 5 EMP grenades. One Berserker is enough, but on a Long game the number of Scrakes per wave grows (starting at 4), so a second helps.
• Medic (1 to 2): any weapon, ideally the rifle for more alt-fire heals, plus 5 healing grenades. Always have one Medic, no more than two. Two Medics are recommended above Hard.
• Commando (1): SCAR or better. Mostly handles surrounding ZEDs and calls out threats.
• Support (1): Combat Shotgun or AA12 plus 5 nail grenades. The author calls Support the main damage dealer. The weakness is ammo per reload, meaning damage per magazine.

How the Scrake behaves

A healthy Scrake is slow and easy to dodge. The danger starts when it takes enough damage: it then chases one target relentlessly, usually the player who hurt it most, and cannot be outrun except by a healthy high-level Berserker or Medic on easy difficulties. Damage is the trigger, so the plan is built to kill it before or exactly as that trigger fires.

The fight

1. Berserker leads. Stay in front or to the side, dodging out of range. It does not matter if the Scrake targets you or an ally, and an ally is actually better if you are in light armor with the crowd-control weapon. Use the Pulverizer alt attack (right click by default) on the head or chest. It staggers briefly, then continues.
2. On Hard, about four to five Pulverizer hits bring it close to chasing, and the sixth or seventh pushes it over. While the fourth or fifth hit lands, teammates should immediately open fire from as close as safe.
3. Support pounds the head with shotgun blasts. Commando either controls the crowd or shoots between the eyes.
4. Medic trains the gun only on whoever is being attacked and chased, staying a few feet away and tracking them in the crosshair.
5. If everything lines up, the Scrake breaks apart quickly. Clean up the crowd first, then start on the next Scrake the same way.

Fleshpounds

There is no truly easy answer. In a team of six, two players can handle the Fleshpound while the other four deal with Scrakes first. A Fleshpound is not hard to dodge, but deal as little damage as possible so it does not enrage early. Both Medics should rotate through all players when more than one Scrake or a Fleshpound is out. The author recommends killing Scrakes first because they are far easier to put down.

Commando notes

• The Commando's job is crowd control. A good Commando should have the most kills, because the role is to kill small ZEDs so Support and Berserker can face the big threats.
• Use the Varmint rifle until you can afford the Bullpup, and keep restocking grenades and armor.
• Do not steal everyone else's kills. Defend teammates and make sure the direction you attack is clear.