GasBandit
Staff member
Killing Floor 2 is a cooperative (or competitive) first person survival horror shooter, similar to Left 4 Dead but with some important differences.
Differences for those who care:
6 player co-op, 12 player VS
Less plot/meaningful dialog, no real story arc
Player classes (called "Perks")
Greater weapon variety
"Merchant" method of gaining weapons instead of finding them along the way
Emphasis on survival/eradication instead of reaching a "safe point."
In-game currency to purchase cosmetic items
Server browser
Less plot/meaningful dialog, no real story arc
Player classes (called "Perks")
Greater weapon variety
"Merchant" method of gaining weapons instead of finding them along the way
Emphasis on survival/eradication instead of reaching a "safe point."
In-game currency to purchase cosmetic items
Server browser
STORY
The premise of the game is that a de-facto "Zombie Apocalypse" scenario has overtaken europe, but technically the zombies aren't zombies, they are vat-grown genetically altered quasi-human abominations that, for purposes of brevity, are referred to as "Zeds."
A brilliant geneticist named Dr. Kevin Clamely, founder and CEO of Horzine Biotech, was commissioned by the UK government to genetically engineer the "perfect soldier." Long story short, Kevin went insane and used the genetic material of his family, friends, self, and just some unlucky bastards he yanked off the street to create a cloned army of horrific biological killing machines that swarmed out of the lab, destroyed London, ravaged the UK and then moved on to Continental Europe.
Pictured: Kevin Clamely
(Kinda looks like TinWhistler, don't he)
PLAYERS
Players take on the role of members of a squad (of up to 6) being sent into hot zones to eradicate the Zed threat there. There's a dozen or so different "characters" you can choose to play as, but this is entirely cosmetic and has no real effect on gameplay.
However, the game does use a class system, or as it prefers to call classes, "perks." Any character can use any "perk" they want, and you can even switch to another perk between waves during play. Each "perk" is leveled up by doing damage with weapons assigned to the perk in question, or performing other actions that are emphasized by that perk (IE, the Field Medic perk can gain XP by healing teammates, the Support perk can gain XP by welding doors shut, etc).
The perks are:
Berserker - emphasizes melee/short range bladed weapon combat. High survivability. Short range. Grenades confuse enemies into wandering.
Commando - medium range all-around autorifleman that can passively reveal invisible enemies, but lacks a big punch against larger enemies. Grenades are high damage but small radius.
Support - short/medium range shotgun user good at welding and can provide ammo to allies. High damage, but long reload times and ammo is expensive. Grenades are standard effect.
Field Medic - Heals allies the best, duh. Varied weapon choices, but lacking in damage. Grenades DOT enemies and regen allies/self.
Demolitionist - Great AE damage, but many weapons have minimum range (point blank hits won't explode). Long reloads/limited ammo.
Firebug - Good at AE damage over time, best for large groups of weak enemies. Low individual damage, short range, and ammo-thirsty though. Grenades are molotovs.
Gunslinger - Pistol medium range specialist with stun grenades. High damage/rate of fire, but low accuracy and long reload times.
Sharpshooter - Sniper/long range type with freeze grenades. High damage, low rate of fire/long reload time. Best vs boss zeds, but can be overwhelmed by large numbers of weak zeds.
SWAT - medium-short range SMG type with better armor and flashbang grenades. High rate of fire, good crowd control, might struggle with boss zeds.
Survivalist - Jack of all trades, master of none - lets you mix and match weapons and perk advantages. Usually used by endgame players looking to build their own class.
XP for any perk can be gained no matter what perk you are currently using... a Medic using a shotgun or welding doors shut will also gain Support perk XP. Gaining levels in a perk makes that perk's advantages more pronounced (usually higher damage in that perk's weapons, etc), and every 5 levels a special trait can be chosen, such as berserkers gaining permanent health regen, or supports/demos gaining the ability to give bonus ammo/grenades to allies.
More info on Perks here.
Human players will begin the game with a basic weapon suited to their current perk, a 9mm pistol, a knife, a medical hypo, and an electric welder. Zeds will attack the humans in waves, and a wave continues until either all the humans or zeds are killed. Humans will gain money, or "Dosh" in the parlance of the game, for killing Zeds (or assisting in damaging a Zed if someone else kills it). Between waves, Dosh can be used to purchase weapons, ammo, and armor at a Trader Pod.
Approximately 60 seconds will be allowed between waves for players to find the pod and make their purchases.
A game can be 4, 7, or 10 waves depending on your settings. When all waves are complete, you fight a boss. Defeating the boss pays off big in XP, as well as personal gratification.
Weapons
Primary (long/large) weapons are accessed by hitting the 1 key (multiple times to cycle through them if you have more than one), secondary weapons and pistols are on key 2, melee weapons are on key 3.
In addition to weaponry, every character has a medical hypo, equipped with key 4. This can be used to heal yourself or your allies for 10 hp a shot, but the shot is on a reuse timer cooldown, and healing yourself makes the cooldown double. Thus, it is much more effective for players to heal each other rather than themselves. The shot also must be done from point blank range - even closer than melee range. Only the medic perk weapons and grenades can heal from range. You can heal yourself quickly however simply by tapping Q, thus not having to switch to the syringe and back if you're in a rush.
And finally, every player also has a welder. The welder is equipped by holding down E when facing a door, and then Mouse button 1 can be used to weld a door shut (even a wood or glass door, oddly enough), and MB2 will "un-weld" the door to open it again. Welded doors cannot be opened by humans or Zeds until the door is destroyed or the door is completely "unwelded." This can be useful in blocking/delaying zeds from getting to your party. However, in an emergency (like fighting a boss), a welded door is a double edged sword - it can prevent you from fleeing out of harm's way in a desperate situation. Welding gains you Support XP, and players using the Support perk weld/unweld doors faster and more effectively.
If you're REALLY in a pinch, you can also hit V to do a "quick melee bash" with the butt of your currently equipped weapon. This is mostly good for if you get grabbed by a clot when your magazine is empty.
You have a flashlight you can turn on and off with "F," with a limited battery life that recharges while the flashlight is off.
Complete list of weapons, organized by perk, here.
ENEMIES
Zeds come in various sizes and strengths. In almost all circumstances, you'd best aim for the head for the best result. A zed can sometimes keep fighting for a few seconds after it loses its head, so do step back a bit from them, but once the head is gone, it will die momentarily with no further shooting needed.
Weak/small zeds:
Cyst/Clot/Slasher - these guys are the weak cannon fodder that try to overwhelm you with numbers. They look like skinny naked guys. Usually one headshot will pop the dome, and then you can move on to the next. But be careful one doesn't sneak up on you, they can grab you and hold you immobile, letting other zeds close in and do real damage to you. Pop him in the head to end it, or if your gun is empty (which happens curiously often in this situation), tap "V" to bash him in the face and get free.
Crawlers - these are little black spidery looking guys that scuttle along the floor or leap through the air. They're even weaker than the Clot types, but their speed and erratic movements can make them harder to hit. They also have a nasty habit of sneaking out of air vents in the walls and ceilings behind you to take you unawares.
Stalkers - These nasty ladies are almost completely invisible except when attacking. They can get up close and personal without you knowing until suddenly they're ripping your face off. But if you have a commando in your group, you can see them coming. Either way, they don't take much damage to dispatch - but they tend to swarm and can take advantage of you if you're focused on something else.
Gorefasts - These skinless guys are noticeably tougher than all the ones above and do more damage. They have blades protruding from their arms, and will run up to you to stick them through your neck. Shotguns are particularly effective against them. Look out for the dark gray ones, though, they're even tougher, faster, and deal even more damage.
Medium/strong Zeds:
Bloats - These big guys are basically the boomers from L4D - they vomit toxic sludge that will blind you and deal damage over time. Additionally, they can hack at you with their meat cleavers. When killed, they can break open and spill toxic sludge all over, which then hurts those who walk on it. These guys are also bullet sponges - they can soak up a fair amount of damage, and take multiple headshots to decapitate. It's still best to go for the head - dying from loss of cranium prevents them from exploding on death.
Husks - Husks prefer to stay back from a distance and launch flaming blasts at you from afar. They are resistant to fire damage themselves, but if you can hit the gas tanks on their backs, they will explode, killing themselves and dealing huge damage to any zeds around them. While not the most difficult enemy to deal with, if you're occupied dealing with other things, they can burn you down before you realize it.
Sirens - don't let the name fool you, these gals aren't enticing to see OR hear. Sirens are slow moving and short range, but their sonic attack deals worrisome damage and also instantly defuses/destroys any grenades in the area. They also take a lot of punishment to kill, given their steel-reinforced frame. Sirens are definitely a high-priority target in any situation. HEADSHOTS.
Large/DANGEROUS Zeds -
Scrakes - Big meaty guy with a chainsaw. Usually slow, they can break into a sprint when enraged and hack you to a pulp in fairly short order. In my experience, Scrakes are usually to blame for most player deaths.
Fleshpounds - Bigger, meaner, tougher, and noisier than a Scrake. When a Fleshpound shows up, EVERYBODY needs to focus fire on it immediately. Imagine if the Incredible Hulk had blenders for fists, and you've got a fleshpound. They can soak tons of damage, deal it out fiercely, and quickly become enraged to chase you down and squish you. Vaya con dios.
Boss Zeds - When you finish all the waves, you will randomly get one of the following boss fights-
KING FLESHPOUND
The King Fleshpound is much like the regular kind, only bigger, more damaging, and has a laser in his chest for long range attacks. Also, when he gets low on health, a shield will raise around him that you'll have to destroy before you can continue damaging him. Other fleshpounds will come to his defense over the course of the fight. All that being said, he's probably the easier of the three choices to beat.
HANS VOLTER
Hans is literally a Nazi, and arguably a Nazi Zombie. Horzine's tech has given him a new body to use in pursuit of his immoral "research" on living beings. Volter likes to throw grenades in large numbers and can also dual wield StG-44 machine guns. In case his syringe-fingers weren't a big enough clue, it's best to keep your distance from him, preferably shooting at him from around corners and running away. When he gets low on health, a shield will envelop him and he will try to close to melee range to grab a human player to heal himself by draining them. Either heal who he is draining and wait for it to stop, or shoot his shield until it drops (which will interrupt the feeding). Hans can be dealt with pretty reliably as long as you're smart and know what to do, though bad luck causing you to be caught out in the open/in a corner when the guns and grenades come your way can put you out of action instantly.
THE PATRIARCH
"I'm back, and I've got some new tricks." - The Patriarch
Kevin, what have you done? Dr. Clamely not only grew mutant clones of his family and turned them into hellish nightmare soldiers, he also re-engineered himself into a horrific giant fusion of meat and machine. He's 10 feet tall, with claws, tentacles, a chaingun, a rocket launcher, and a personal cloaking device. If you want to stand a chance against the Patriarch, you need to find cover, fast. He can kill you in seconds. Your best bet is to attack him when he's going after a teammate, or hide/run when he's going after you and shoot back from cover when he's reloading/moving. When his health gets low, he will go invisible and run away to heal 3 times. By far the hardest boss in most cases.
CONCLUSION
That's pretty much all you need to know to play. Grab 5 of your closest friends and have some co-op fun, or split into teams and play VS - humans vs zeds. Also, watch for daily and weekly challenges that will reward you with in-game cosmetic loot for performing certain tasks or beating specialized missions.
I'm setting up a dedicated Halforums KF2 server, and will post information on how to use it as soon as I've finished configuring it.
Edit: Server is configured. If you want to use it, info is here. If you want a certain custom map added, let me know in this thread.
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