Killing Floor 2 Guide: How to Play a Berserker, Commando, Medic, and Support

Now that Killing Floor 2 is in Early Access, there are four playable classes and three playable maps that you can get started on.

In KF2 you have choices when it comes to choose your class perks. This guide won’t delve too deep into which perk configurations I think you should choose – rather, this will cover some general tips, tricks, and things to know when playing each class. 

Perk images are for reference only, not as an indication of what perk choices to make. Frankly, I don’t agree with a number of them.

Note: Keep in mind that Tripwire has stated they will do a rollback on perk levels after Early Access, and probably once or twice during. Try not to burn yourself out!

How to play Berserker

The Berserker’s job just got a little more interesting. Where before you had the dancing slash-forward-step-back of the katana/fire axe or brute-force-charge-forward of the chainsaw, now the Berserker’s purview has expanded to include a (functionally useful) long-distance Nail Gun and the biggest most nonsensically wonderful sledgehammer you ever imagined. (There’s also that other sawblade-slinging gun a la Buzzsaw Bow that Zerkers don’t talk about.)

Some good things to know and learn as a Berserker:

PARRY, PARRY, PARRY!

• Some of your biggest strengths in this class is due to your ability to go toe-to-toe against Scrakes and Fleshpounds alike. 
• When you stumble them, you are in the best position possible to do it again. And again. 
• Timing is key. Unlike your primary/secondary attacks, there is only one way to do a parry. Learn it! Even the boss can be parried, which will stumble him. (Note: With enemies like Scrakes, be aware there is a “cooldown” time before you can stumble them again.)
• You take less damage. Some is unavoidable, but much less than simply standing there tanking blows.

Donate Generously to Teammates

• You will make a lot of money. If you’re doing your job right, you will really only need two weapons – the Nail Gun and the Pulverizer being the popular choices du jour – which are generally inexpensive and do not use a lot of ammo.
• Other classes (Support and Medic) can carry a number of different and expensive guns and they are both more concerned with being conservative with their ammo/have other priorities (e.g. healing you).

Save the Day!

• As you level up your perk, you can choose a perk reward that makes Clots unable to grab you. I don’t try to push any particular perk upgrades, but this was a huge saving grace in the first KF and this continues to hold true here.
• Where other classes can get grabbed and get swarmed by mobs, you are perfectly suited to rush in and kill them all. You don’t have to worry about getting stuck in the same situation, plus you have much higher resistance to damage anyway. 
• Also keep in mind that your EMP grenade will de-rage Scrakes and Fleshpounds along with dazing the trash mobs.

How to play Commando

With the (current) absence of a Sharpshooter class, Commando takes over some of those responsibilities by being one of the best classes for racking up headshots and doing high damage from a distance. You have the ability to see health bars which means you are much less likely to be caught off-guard by approaching enemies, and you can (eventually) share the ability to see cloaked Stalkers with the team.

Some things to keep in mind as a Commando:

SWITCH TO SINGLE FIRE

• There are plenty of games where spraying at head-level gets amply rewarded. Killing Floor 2 is not one of those games. As a Commando, a single shot will generally be enough to take off any Zed’s head barring Husks, Sirens, Scrakes, and Fleshpounds. Take advantage of that – especially when ammo isn’t cheap. 
• Always remember to reload. Always try to have a full clip when facing any big enemy or fresh mob. This is important for everyone, but especially for you.

Watch Your Back

• Know your exits. In all the available KF2 maps, there are very places that are actually dead ends (unless your team has a few d*bags that have gotten weld-happy) so there is almost always room to run. It’s important to have a good sense of when it’s time to abandon a camp spot and move on.
  
• The above is particularly important because: you can get grabbed, you have only base armor, you don’t have a lot of health, and you don’t have high movement speed bonuses. Getting caught in a tight situation is harder on you than on other classes.

How to Play Medic

The medic class has certainly evolved since its first appearance in Killing Floor when all they got was a medic syringe. KF2 medics can now choose from a variety of weapon types, all of which feature handy lock-on medic darts that you can fire from the hip at a very forgiving distance and which beep when you pan over anyone in need of a heal.

Some things you should keep in mind as a Medic are: 

HEAL EVERYONE

• This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people just turn a blind eye to everyone else’s health bar even between waves. Heal everyone even if you aren’t a medic. You get money and experience, even if you are off-perk.
• Unless your team is really bad, you will have enough time to rack up more than enough kills yourself to afford more guns and ammo. Even more so than in KF, it’s important to stay alive as a team. 

Don’t Forget Your Grenades

• It’s unfortunate that as a medic it is not nearly as easy to keep yourself alive as it is to keep others. Your medic syringe is generally your only tool of keeping yourself topped up, but don`t forget about your grenades if you`re in a pinch.
• Medic grenades do double duty since they both heal you and your party, and deal damage to enemies at the same time. 

Know Your Weapons

• You out of all the classes have the most options when it comes to gun types – and as such, it’s important to know which work best in a given situation.
  
• Pistol works best with a few Zeds in slow-moving groups when you have time to use ironsights (early waves). 
• SMG is ideal for handling regular mobs during the middle waves since it is effective while using ironsights and hip-firing. 
• Shotgun is best for high damage to single targets (Husks, Sirens, and up). 
• Assault Rifle is a good replacement for the SMG in later waves because of higher damage and extra heals (note that it has high recoil also).
• Each medic gun has their own heal recharge. You can carry multiple medic guns and switch between them if you need more heals in a tricky situation.
• Pistol: uses up 50 heal per dart (2 shots)
• SMG : uses up 50 heal per dart (2 shots)
  
• Shotgun: uses up 40 heal per dart (2 shots)
  
• Assault Rifle: uses up 25 heal per dart (4 shots)

(Note: This does not mean that the assault rifle darts do less healing per dart, just that it can shoot more darts with its full heal capacity.)

Remember that all medic guns have the highest chance of stumbling enemies than any other weapon type.

How to play Support

Support is an odd one in the KF games – insofar as you get to support the team with a number of giant shotguns that clears mobs and Scrakes like it’s nothing. With one of the biggest carry capacities and eventually the ability to give other players ammo and automatically regenerate health, you have the firepower to get yourself out of some pretty close fights.

Some things to keep in mind as a Support are:

CONSERVE YOUR AMMO!

• Much like the Commando, you go through a lot of ammo. Since you work primarily with shotguns, you don’t have the ability to switch to single fire like Commandos can, but you can conserve what you have.
• Since you have extra penetration with shotgun rounds, wait and position yourself so that you can take out multiple Zeds with one shot. 
• Your ultimate prize is generally going to be the AA-12… and that is an expensive gun that eats ammo like no tomorrow. Save it for Scrakes and Fleshpounds, and if you are really stuck in a mob.

Take Care of Your Teammates, No Matter What

• You may not appreciate every member of your team (particularly if you’re playing with the pubbies), but it is in everyone’s favor that you put down extra ammo per wave to help keep costs low for everyone on the team. 
• With your extra carry capacity, you’re the most qualified class to pick up any weapon spawns on the map to sell for extra cash – once you’ve got yourself taken care of, it’s important to pass on the wealth. 

For other helpful articles and guides for playing Killing Floor 2:

• Boss Guide – How to Kill Hans Volter
• How to Kill Zeds, Scrakes, and Fleshpounds
• Early Access FAQ and Common Issue Fixes
• Online Matchmaking and How to Find, Join, and Make a Server
• How to Play on Hell on Earth Difficulty
• How to Level Class Perks
• Do’s and Don’ts in KF2