Universal Offensive Tactics

Tactics

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Intermediate to Advanced

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Welcome to Tamari's KF2 Survival Handbook - a consolidated resource for tips, tricks, and tactics for Killing Floor 2 that aims to help you become a better player and learn a bit more about the game while you're at it.


This guide is focused on: Universal Offensive Tactics

In the heat of battle, there are various tactics you can utilize to give yourself an edge against the Zeds. This guide aims to focus on those offensive strategies which are universally applicable, or in other words not dependent on any perk, perk skill setup, or weapon loadout. On higher difficulties, knowledge of these tactics can help you to control the ebb and flow of battle, forcing Zeds to engage you on your terms.

A vital component to utilizing a few of the following tactics is an understanding of Afflictions.

Afflictions are states in which a Zed's normal behavior is impacted for a short period in some way. Afflictions range from complete incapacitations and stuns to more subtle movement speed reductions. The best way to think of them are as an equivalent to debuffs.

You can learn everything you've ever wanted to know about Afflictions by checking out my Appendix Guide here:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1650828185

Afflictions are an integral part of Killing Floor 2, and understanding them in great detail is important to improving your gameplay.

Some of the vocabulary introduced in that Appendix will be referenced in this guide.

It is possible to interrupt most player actions, in order to shorten the length of specific sequences or cancel them entirely. This is common to many games and is known as a Sequence/Animation Cancel.

In KF2, cancelling animations or sequences can be done in the following ways:

• Using the Melee Bash (V)
  
• Switching to a new weapon
  
• Firing a weapon (with exceptions, more on that later)

One application of sequence/animation cancelling, and arguably the most useful, is Reload Cancelling.

Reload Cancelling allows you to shorten the time it takes to reload a weapon, allowing you to sustain fire with shorter breaks in between. Naturally, this increases your damage output, as it is possible to fire more bullets/projectiles in a shorter timeframe. This has plenty of advantages, such as facilitating quick and efficient takedowns against Large Zeds and dealing more damage to Bosses.

Reload Cancelling also allows you to have more ammunition readily available, which can help you keep your path or surroundings clear. On higher difficulties, sometimes keeping the surroundings clear is more important for the squad's survival than raw damage output against specific Zeds. Having more ammo loaded and available at any time will allow you to accomplish this easier.


+ Significantly shortens weapon down time, increasing overall damage output
+ Allows for faster and more efficient takedowns of Large Zeds and Bosses
+ Allows for more readily available ammo, making clearing easier
+ Allows for cancellation of accidental or mistimed reloads


When you begin reloading, an internal timer begins, after which the ammo counter will be updated. The animation's role in this process is solely to provide a visual element that makes it look more believable. As far as the game is concerned though, it simply detects the beginning of a reload, waits a specified amount of time, and then updates the ammo counter.

However.. often times there is a disparity between the duration of the internal "timer" the game's code uses and the duration of the reload animation. In other words, the internal timer and the reload animation often do not finish at the same time.

Most of the time (but NOT all), the reload animation takes longer to complete than the time it takes for the game to update the ammo counter. In these cases, the game still forces you to wait for the reload animation to finish before allowing you to fire again, even though the ammo has already been refilled.


Typically, the internal reload timer ends around the same time the magazine/cartridge is inserted into the weapon during the animation.

The duration of both the internal timer and the reload animation are slightly different depending on the given weapon and whether or not the reload is "dry" (from an empty magazine). Perk skills such as the Commando's Level 5 skill, Tactical Reload, alter this further, by shortening the timer(s) slightly.

As mentioned, there are 3 primary ways to cancel a reload:

• Using the Melee Bash (V)
  
• Switching to a new weapon
  
• Firing a weapon

The first way to perform a Reload Cancel is to use the Melee Bash once the ammunition counter at the lower right has updated. After bashing, you can begin firing again immediately.

After the ammo counter updates, you want to bash as soon as possible, so that you can begin firing again sooner. This is hard to get used to at first, since most weapons have different timings, but over time you will develop a feel for it.

Here's an example:
https://youtu.be/wa3_UoxgYJo
You can clearly see here how the Rail Gun's rate of fire nearly doubles with Reload Cancelling.


Switching weapons is another way of Reload Cancelling. Simply reload, wait for the ammo counter to update, and then swap to another weapon. You can then swap back and continue firing. Perk skills such as the Gunslinger's Level 5 skill, Quick Draw, help with this by making your switch speed faster.

When you use skills like Quick Draw to increase your weapon swap speed, the benefits apply to Perk weapons ONLY.

Here's how this looks in-game:
https://youtu.be/0zCtex8JDmU

Weapons that utilize single round/projectile reloads, such as the Sharpshooter's Winchester 1894 Rifle, can have their reload animations cancelled by firing the weapon again. This is actually a design choice by the developers to allow you to reload a single cartridge and then fire again.

Here's an example:
https://youtu.be/kx1qfbrTrYw
Reload Cancelling by firing your weapon does NOT work with magazine-fed or single fire weapons (like the M99 AMR).

Of these three methods, using the Melee Bash is the easiest (except for single round/projectile reloading weapons) since you do not have to switch weapons. Weapon swapping is not only more cumbersome, but slightly slower as well.

When your weapon is empty, it is possible to cancel the reload before the game updates the ammo counter, which will leave you with an empty gun. This can be dangerous!


Another nice feature of Reload Cancelling is that you can use it to cancel an accidental reload or a reload performed at an inappropriate time (like during ZED Time).

Often, you will encounter Zeds just after you begin a reload with a non-empty magazine. Since your weapon still has some ammo loaded, you can cancel out of the animation early, rather than waiting for the full reload to finish. This is especially useful with weapons that have a slow reload, such as the Stoner 63A LMG.

Here's how this looks in-game:
https://youtu.be/PPYrosdps6A
Note that this also works during ZED Time. If you are playing a Level 25 Perk, cancelling out of a mistimed reload can allow you to utilize your ZED Time skills!


Reload Cancelling is extremely helpful with Takedowns, specifically on Large Zeds. By being able to shoot faster, you can deal more damage to the Zed's weakpoint more quickly. This benefit is seen the most with slower weapons, such as the M99 AMR.

Here's an example of this:
https://youtu.be/rkhEFiZR-qc
Note that this is on Hell on Earth difficulty.


Now for the pitfalls. There are a few you should know about:

- Each weapon has different timings for when they are considered as "reloaded", which is hard to judge. Reload speed increasing perk skills make this even more difficult
- With an empty magazine, if you try to cancel out of the reload too early, you can accidentally prevent your reload all together, which can be deadly
- Not all weapons can utilize Reload Cancelling

Since each weapon has different reload timings, it can be hard to judge exactly when you need to bash/swap. As you practice more, you'll start to get a feel for this though.

Some weapons also have reload animations that end before the game's internal reload timer. One such example is the HMTech-501 Grenade Rifle's underbarrel grenade launcher. There is a slight delay after the reload animation finishes before the ammo counter is actually updated. As such, this reload cannot be cancelled.

The use of the Melee Bash (default V), while normally defensive in nature, has offensive applications as well. In Section 1.2: Universal Defensive Tactics, I explained how this mechanic could be used to protect yourself from taking damage or to allow yourself to navigate past Zeds in the form of Bash Cancelling.

Before you read this section, I recommend reading about Bash Cancelling in Section 1.2. You can find it here:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1632622273
Like with Bash Cancelling, the primary benefit of using the Melee Bash is that the attack causes a Zed to flinch momentarily and pauses AI. With smaller Zeds, it will Stumble them backward slightly as well.

If you are unsure what I mean by Stumble, refer to the "A Precursor on Afflictions" section above.

By utilizing this short pause in AI behavior, you can be more aggressive against Zeds, by stopping their attacks or by forcing them to move in predictable ways in order to line up shots or attack their weakpoint(s).

You can also use this pause to initiate combos and Takedowns, which are especially useful against Large Zeds. Against smaller Zeds, bashing can be used to brawl, and can easily dispatch the weaker enemies such as Clots, Cysts, and Crawlers. This allows you to save precious ammunition!

Ultimately, using the Melee Bash lets you control the flow of combat, by letting you keep Zeds under control and by giving you a chance to recover health, reload your weapon, line up shots, or retreat. On higher difficulties, you can use Melee Bashes to create space, allowing you to hold your ground.


+ Allows you to be more aggressive against Zeds
+ Helps with Zed Takedowns, specifically against Large Zeds
+ Allows you to create space, which can help you to hold your ground on higher difficulties
+ Very effective at killing weaker Zeds, allowing you to save ammo


Just as with Bash Cancelling, you should avoid trying to utilize this tactic against:

• Bosses
  
• Enraged Fleshpounds / Quarter Pounds

As I explained in Section 1.2, Bosses and Enraged Fleshpounds / Quarter Pounds have a reduced vulnerability to Afflictions. As such, Melee Bashes are much less effective against them. This means you cannot utilize this tactic against them. If you find yourself faced with an enraged FP / QP or a Boss, you should open fire on them instead of trying to bash them.


Now let's dive into some in-game examples:

https://youtu.be/iz-TIUEjRSg
In this clip, you can see how utilizing the bash causes the Zed to move somewhat predictably, giving me a window to attack. Since many Zeds move so erratically, it can be hard to line up critical shots against them. By bashing, I can force them to sit still for a short moment, giving me time to attack their weakpoint.

With small Zeds like the Siren, the bash has a stumble effect as well, which disables the Zed for slightly longer. During this time, do as much damage as you can to the Zed!

With other Zeds like Fleshpounds, Scrakes, and Bloats, the bash only stalls them for a short moment. Versus these Zeds, you will need to be slightly faster in taking them down, since they recover quicker.

Obviously, this kind of strategy favors perks that do a high amount of burst damage, such as Support, Gunslinger, and Demolitionist. But note that you don't have to actually kill the Zed during the attack window. In the end, the purpose of this tactic is to buy yourself some time, which you can use to reload or retreat while dealing damage.

https://youtu.be/w2ikNGr-7Vc
In this example, I use the Melee Bash to give myself a moment to reload. In a situation like this, a common strategy would be to simply retreat. However, instead of retreating, I use the Melee Bash to knock the enemy back, giving me just enough time to reload and return fire. This will obviously be made easier with perk skills that increase reload speed, such as the Commando's Level 5 skill, Tactical Reload.

This is important for holding your ground, and you can see here that even when you're out of ammo, it's worth it to smack enemies and stumble them back. On higher difficulties, giving up too much ground can open a hole in your defensive line, which can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

https://youtu.be/iEbG_K-Xvus
This last example shows how you can use the Melee Bash to kill weaker Zeds, saving precious ammunition. Once you get the hang of the rhythm, you can pull this off quite easily. Just make sure to aim for the head!

One-handed weapons are easier to do this with, since they swing faster with a shorter cooldown. Some examples are the 9mm Pistol, Welder, and Syringe.


Like with Bash Cancelling, there are a few disadvantages to this tactic:

- Requires you to be in close proximity to potentially dangerous targets
- Does not work on Bosses and some enraged Zeds
- Due to Affliction Cooldown, does not always work

As I explained earlier, one of the biggest pitfalls of using the Melee Bash in general is that it does not work against all Zeds, specifically Bosses and enraged Fleshpounds / Quarter Pounds. When faced with these enemies, you should always attempt to shoot at them, rather than bash them.

Furthermore, due to the prominence of Affliction Cooldown, bashing will not always cause Zeds to flinch or stumble. This primarily happens when you attempt to bash them repeatedly too quickly. In the end, this usually is not much of an issue, since Stumble and Melee Hit cooldowns for most Zeds are very short, but still, it is something to keep in mind.

If you don't know what I mean by Affliction Cooldown, see the "A Precursor on Afflictions" subsection above.

Goomba Stomping is a special method of applying Knockdown to a Zed, performed by landing on its head.
Crowdsurfing is Goomba Stomping multiple Zeds in succession.

Both of these tactics allow you to exercise control over Zeds, by giving you a window to attack and/or reposition or reload. They are not subject to Affliction Cooldown, and as such are easily repeatable (and abused I might add).

These tactics are outlined in full detail in my other guide: Universal Defensive Tactics (Section 1.2).

Read all about it here:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1632622273
Goomba Stomping is probably one of the more unknown mechanics to most players. You can perform a Goomba Stomp and/or a Crowdsurf on any Zed in the game, including Bosses, which makes it an extremely useful tool to have in your arsenal. Learn it, master it, use it!

Tamari's KF2 is a KF2 community of over 800 Members that I operate alongside Forrest Mark X that aims to bring a modded experience to KF2 that enhances the game through quality-of-life features and changes, new gamemodes, and a chill and close-knit environment. We're a multi-continental KF2 community supporting the NA and EU regions, and now also Southeast Asia / Australia as well!

Our objective is primarily to introduce people to the Controlled Difficulty mod, but we have something fun for players of basically all skill levels and preferences.
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These are not your typical modded servers. The mods in use aim to enhance the vanilla experience as opposed to drastically changing it. As such, you can expect to find features that remedy some of the more clunky aspects of vanilla KF2 gameplay as well as features that allow players to customize their experience(s). We also have lots of customized content that builds on the original game, such as 25 additional Prestige Levels (with unique badges), 187 custom Server Achievements, and custom gamemodes like Arms Race, True Endless, and ZED Wars.

Come hang out with us!
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I hope this guide has helped you to learn a few new things to give you that edge out on the Killing Floor. If you have any questions, leave a comment below! I will be updating this from time to time as more things are discovered.





Be sure check out the rest of the Handbook, where you can learn a bunch of other odds and ends about KF2 to help you improve your gameplay:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1633641281


Thanks for reading!
- Tamari