Okay, so technically Scrakes and Fleshpounds are Zeds, but no one actually thinks of them that way.
There are a few new faces in the swarm of undead Horzine experiments - and a few familiar ones that require new tactics to kill. This guide will go through them all - from the down-and-dirty basics of mowing down basic mobs, to tackling the biggest, beefiest gamewreckers of all. Enemies are listed from easiest to hardest.
If you're an expert and just needs tips on handling Scrakes and Fleshpounds, skip right to the last few slides! (12-14)
(This guide is for killing regular Zeds that you can find in non-boss waves. If you're looking for tips on defeating the boss, see How to Kill Hans Volter.)
NOTE: This guide was written for and during Early Access. Many of these strategies are intended for use in Normal and Hard mode, although much of it can translate easily to Hell on Earth as well.
Things to Know Re: All Zed Types
- The easiest way to kill any Zed is to shoot their head off.
- As you go up in difficulty, they may not drop instantly when you pop their heads off.
- Headless Zeds can still do damage.
- Don't waste ammo on headless Zeds, they'll bleed health until they drop.
EXCEPTION: Charging Scrakes/Fleshpounds, or if you haven't yet shot them yet. Everyone who hits a Zed will get full XP for the kill, even if you only hit them once.
Remember that difficulty scales depending on the difficulty setting (Normal, Hard, Suicidal, Hell on Earth) and also depending on how many players you have in your game. How much health a Zed has is affected by this difficulty scaling.
Cyst
As stupid as they get. Cannon-fodder. If this one kills you, you have every right to feel fairly embarrassed. Still, he is using up your ammo!
Danger Level: Low
Cannon-fodder has a new name, and it's no longer the Clot. These unhappy slowpokes are the easiest way to rack up your kill score - they're slow, they move in straight lines, and take pretty much one bullet (even from an SMG) to pop their heads off in most difficulties. Simple and straight-forward.
Clot
Smart, aggressive and learning some dangerous new moves. Watch out - he's harder to hit than you expect!
Danger Level: Low
Right from the start, you'll realize that the Clot has learned a few new moves, even in Normal difficulty. Like the Cyst, they will have sudden movements (e.g. drop suddenly to the ground) to spoil what should have been a clean headshot.
These guys move faster than you'd think and will grab you and hold you if you're stationary - Clots are dangerous in mobs on higher difficulty once you throw a few Crawlers and Gorefasts into the mix.
Slasher
His brain may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but his claws are. You really want to make sure he stays out of reach.
Danger Level: Low
The Slasher is a new face in the Zed clan, but in many ways I feel it takes the place of the Gorefast in the original KF ranking of dangerous Zeds with the moves of the original Stalker. While the Gorefast has jumped up two danger ratings, the Slasher moves a little too slowly to be too dangerous. It can be annoying to get a good bead on though for a headshot because of its bobbing hop-skip and it moves much faster as the difficulty goes up.
Crawler
These things have always been creepy and annoying. Dying to an ankle-biter is not good, so keep watching all up and down as well!
Danger Level: Fair
The Crawler is virtually identical to its first appearance in KF, they still crawl. Often, one or two will dump right in the middle of an unsuspecting party because they'll drop out randomly from the ceiling or crawl up from open sewer holes where other Zeds won't appear from. If you are not paying attention, they'll take you by surprise.
These are easy kills from a distance and only take a bullet or two but can be annoying to get the timing for if you want to melee them.
Stalker
Sneak sneak
Danger Level: Fair
This invisa-b*tch has gone down half a head of hair and up a cup size since we last saw her - and she's also gotten a little more limber. Rather than slashing with claws, the Stalker does a number of acrobatic moves that has her spinning and bobbing after her intended victim which means headshots are easiest when she's walking/running after a victim, not mid-attack.
She also cloaks and uncloaks much more quickly than before. While you can see a wavy outline of her behind you if you pay attention, it can get a little difficult when mixed with the snow physics in maps like Outpost.
Bloat
Big, ugly with poisonous bile - and a hatchet or two. His sheer mass also makes him something of a bullet-sponge. Dangerous.
Danger Level: High
While this charming fellow is largely unchanged from KF, it takes a lot more ammo to blow his head off. With KF 2's new blood and gore engine, as you shoot him you leave large dark blotches of gore on his face that make it difficult to see whether or not he's actually lost his head.
Headshots are a must though with this one because hitting him anywhere else will eat up a lot of ammo that you don't really want to waste.
Gorefast
A non-trivial threat. He will come at you fast with that big blade of his if you give him the chance. So don't.
Danger Level: High
This one will surprise you. In Normal, he doesn't appear that much different from his appearance in KF but he does pack a much bigger whallop now. In Hard and upwards, he also gets fast and very rarely appears in groups less than three at a time. These can be deadly in a mob if you get Clot-grabbed because it doesn't take much time for them to catch up to you.
The Gorefast is easiest to headshot while he's dashing towards you because he generally runs in a straight line.
Siren
Sonic damage from range makes this one a potential problem. Apart from the damage, her attack can also disorientate you. Stay clear!
Danger Level: Severe
The Siren is a troublesome one because she'll knock your aim askew with her sonic shout, and she can also destroy any grenades you throw down before they have a chance to go off - a bad mix since there's usually more than one in the easiest-to-grenade mobs.
The Siren takes several shots to take her head off from single-fire weapons but one good blast from a big shotgun or nail gun will usually take her head off and stop the screaming.
Husk
Ranged attacks with flame weapons seriously hurt, so be ready to dodge. And his close-range attack can be really deadly, too.
Danger Level: Severe
The Husk is flashy, but he is not hard to kill (a good blast with the shotgun or nailgun multi-shot should pop his head in Normal and Hard) and his ranged attack is easy to dodge. It is a relatively slow-moving fireball that you can sidestep or jump over.
Just don't let this walking fireball get near, his close-up suicide bomb hurts. A lot. Don't rush him to shotgun blast him if you see him crouching down with a fire globe around him.
Scrake
You'll know when this one is inbound by the sound. Seriously dangerous once he closes in, so don't let him corner you.
Danger Level: Critical
The Scrake is kind of terrifying. Where before it was possible to Fire Axe stun him or make an easy headshot with the crossbow in KF, Early Access players don't have nearly the same kind of firepower.
In the higher difficulties, a Scrake can take you down from 100% health to dead in 1-2 hits if you're not wearing armor. These are some tips to keep in mind:
- A Berserker can play parry-hit-parry with one reasonably well if they're armed with the Pulverizer. This takes very good timing and I recommend body armor when you try it. The Pulverizer heavy attack staggers the Scrake. Back up, wait to parry, then stagger again because it has a cooldown.
- It is much easier and safer to simply run around him in circles. Sprint to right (the Scrake's non-chainsaw arm) and stay tight to his back so that he is constantly trying to turn towards you. Keep shooting/Pulverizing and make sure your area is clear of other trash Zeds. (see next slide for example video)
This video (not mine) is a good example of how you can solo those last remaining Scrakes.
If you are still in a group, some other things to keep in mind against both Scrakes and Fleshpounds are:
- Using the medic guns on their legs have a higher chance of stumbling than any other weapons in the game.
- AA12 to their faces in the hands of a support are very effective. Hunting shotgun is also a good option although it takes a little patience. See this video for example.
- Don't waste your grenades on a Scrake, they have a 50% damage resistance against grenades as per KF. The only exception would be the Medic Grenade but that would be more to help you than to harm it.
Fleshpound
Very big and very angry, his charge is both fearsome and extremely dangerous. He has quite the kick on him too.
Danger Level: Critical
Unlike KF, this big guy is a lot harder to hear so there is a chance that he may sneak up on you. It is also not an uncommon sight to see two Fleshpounds raging-rushing you from out of nowhere for no reason. I've heard it said that they rage after 10 seconds, then go back to yellow after another 10 seconds but I haven't had the chance to time it myself.
Just like in KF though, grenades are especially effective against this big guy. A grenade stack is the simplest way to kill them (make sure you get rid of any Sirens first).
The amount of damage done to them appears to be: Commando > Support > Medic > Berserker.
Keep in mind though that:
- A Medic grenade down will help keep a Berserker within melee range alive and deal damage to the Fleshpound at the same time.
- A Berserker grenade with EMP his rage immediately, bringing him back to passive yellow.
If you are the last man on the team and/or soloing against a Fleshpound:
- Parry! The timing can be a tough to learn, but (even if you're not a Berserker) you can parry the attacks with your knife and cause him to stumble. This is not suggested when he is enraged.
- Shooting while it's not enraged will prolong the fight but is a relatively safe way to take him down on your own.
Other general tips to keep in mind:
- If you're fighting in a group, it's okay to stay put in one particular area as you keep track of all the exits/spawn areas.
- If you're fighting solo, it is usually safest to keep mobile, running ahead to shoot the trash mobs behind you. Always have a good sense of what is in front of you and what is behind you. The worst thing is getting stuck in a narrow corridor with a Bloat fencing you in against a mob.
- Don't aggro Scrakes or Fleshpounds until everyone is ready to engage them.
- Don't run away from a charging Scrake (dodge to the right or left instead).
- Heal each other regardless of whether or not you're a medic.
Best of luck!
For other helpful articles and guides for playing Killing Floor 2:
Published: Apr 28, 2015 10:27 pm