Tactics Rate/Advise my refined Berserker strategy for 1016

[Breach]

Ok, I am really new to the game, however, I pick things up fast. I've done a lot of back reading for the game, and just when I started to get the hang of things, 1016 comes out and completely changes a lot of small nuances that add up to a really big change in playstyle for my berserk.

So without further ado, my currently playstyle of the berserk.

So being new I am only level 3, and have played really well in teams, often a kill leader, in difficulties of suicide-pre-patch. I haven't even tried HoE yet.

So, some of the important minute changes:

Chainsaw saw some improvement, I still am not impressed.

Katana saw some interesting changes. Namely, attack speed reduction, and auto-fire. I figure this was to help balance the dps of primary fire being higher than secondary.

Knife damage lowered - not that it meant much to me beyond wave 1, maybe 2, anyways.

LAR glitch removed.

Melee damage had its damage range reduced to produce more reliable output.

Melee double-damage from front -sporadically- was removed.


Zed changes -

FPs rage double duration (suicidal and HoE), and targets better (aggro switch when the hero tries to stand in the way) - I do realize that there is an art to be formed here. Stand in front for about a second (enough to shoot a couple times) and immediately start moving away. Aggro might switch to you, but you will have that head start. With double the rage - this is dangerous.


And the two biggest changes:

Scrakes can only be stunned once (suicidal + HoE) which I haven't gotten to mess with yet,

And the rage indicator of FPs are now based off of perk included damage, instead of base damage!!!!! - means easier raging of a FP.



So now, my explanation of how to tackle the ZED's, and my choice of weapon loadout.

I messed with the chainsaw, didn't like it too much, and am in favor of the katana.

I usually go LAR over crossbow for quick pot shots if needed for the sirens. However, I am debatable on this selection, more on that later.

Clot - Melee, random 9mm fire if I am trying to free a teammate held a distance from me, or random explosives from the M79.

Gorefast - same as clot really. Melee, the odd random 9mm, and even more odd explosion

Bloat - 9mm headshot, LAR, w/e. problem solved. Do not walk close to it, unless I want to risk damage on some level, even then, sometimes that doesn't matter.

Crawler - I quickly learned to shoot these down from a distance when I first started. 9mm does just for this. Quick firing for headshots when they get up close in groups. Or even meleeing them out of the air, or the bait them into jumping, looking down and attacking. I have gotten extremely proficient at this, and continue to do so the more I play, so the only time melee becomes painful is when I am trying to let the medic get some extra healing in. Other than that, an M79 for large groups in high pressure situations works wonders for opening an escape route.

Stalker - non-issue to the zerk. Melee 90% of the time, random M79 shots should they be close to a target, or 9mm fire should it stand in the way of a crawler.

Siren - A real bane. If I am not targeted and there is distance, I might be tempted to melee (or if they spawn on top of me). I really try to minimize damage taken from these things because I find myself in some poor situations almost directly afterwards. And sometimes the best option is to just charge through a scream and decap her if she opens a more viable escape route. Otherwise LAR does fine, M79 if I have nothing else or is next to a target. Or if I am in a real pressured situation (IE. no FP, but several Husks and Sirens, anything else goes) I have used the pistol to prevent taking damage.

Husk - Melee if it serves well for the moment, LAR if I need them to stop firing from a range at my teammates. I try and use the cover to lure them to me (same with the sirens really) if the opportunity presents itself. Mostly I take out the group they hide behind and proceed to wreck them afterwards. Other times they are the priority from their positioning against my team, so LAR becomes imperative for this.

Scrakes - I have really played Hard when revising my strategies currently, so this may be subject to change once I go above that in trying to test strategy. Alt-fire axe to head works well. But I have switched to back-pedal leading with katana primary fire after opening with an alt fire. This lets me lure away from groups and control where I want the battle to take place. This often leaves me the ability to take Scrakes out early on without having to worry for my teammates being ambushed at the worst possible moment. Sometimes, depending on their bodyguards they lose priority, in lieu of more favorable targets.

FPs - Hmm this took a little bit. I find the Fire Axe is now a no-no to these guys. Every alt fire to the head sets them off, and it spells a quick death for me. However, katana, primary or alt fire does the job superbly. Albeit it takes a while, I move fast enough to back-pedal and lead the fight where I want to, making it easy for a teammate to clear me a path away from other mobs. I can use the primary fire moderately and stay under the rage meter. Or alt fire and cool off a while. This also leaves me able to take out situational threats that may arise (I am constantly checking my six by turning the battle horizontal or reversed so that I can see what lies in wait, thus I can momentarily deal with anything non-ranged. With the increased resistance, I can take quite a few hits from the FPs non-raged provided I got the body armor for it, and so when multiple-FP scenarios lead for either

A) pot shotting one from a distance to rage them close so that I have more time to deal with a single one, B) letting a teammate occupy the other one so that I can deal with this one, then help them, C) let me beat it down a little and then we go crazy, he spams an AA12 and I alt strike, we usually put him down while he is trying to rage.

Patty - Xbow.. maybe, melee and kite with exceptional use of material blockage, pot shot with the LAR if I absolutely must, heal teammates.


So, if you noticed, there was a severe lack of Fire Axe use in there. I used to use it all the time for heavier types pre-patch: in fact I was fire axe, katana, LAR.

However, now I am finding it to be dead weight in most situations and I leave myself with the:

1)Katana + LAR + M79(open maps)/Dual HCs(closed maps) : Possible opportunity for pipebombs for pat with leftover weight.

2) Katana + Xbow on rare chance. I try and further my skills without having to rely on the Xbow. I seem to manage quite well, but I am not against using it should I wish for a change in playstyle.

The main difference is that no longer needing that fire axe, I have opened 5 weight to dispense with as I wish. Is the M79 / dualies a good choice with the techniques I described above?


What refinement can you offer to improve my strategy?

I haven't posted much of teamwork here, except for a few key points, however I tend to play with a person I know, who switches between medic (5), firebug and support (3), and other than that a few randoms or friends of his. Point being, we tend to formulate reliable dynamics between each other to absolve most threats.

Also keep in mind, I am only level 3 right now. So damage output, damage resistance, attack speed and movement speed are all subject for increase.

Thanks.

 

[Aze]

From what i know of the Zerker, your planning sounds very similar to mine

The only thing i want to say about the Fire Axe, is that it is the best (imo) Scrake killer for the team, since you can continuasly stun it with an altfire attack to the head. That "1-stun limitation" is actually not a limitation to STUN the Scrake only once. It means you can only INTERRUPT HIS ATTACK once.
This is mainly and issue with the Katana, but tbh, i haven't had much trouble using the Katana on them anyway, as long as i backpedal. This might be harder to do if there is enemies (or even friends lol) blocking your path backwards.

 

[Breach]

Ohhhh! Thank you very much for that tidbit on the Scrake stun.

I think timing the katana alt-fire while backpedaling and directing is the way to go.

You can handle intruders more easily than with the fire axe because of the quicker swing. And I think because the fire axe loses the non-rage effect on the FP that dropping it in place of an M79, or dualies may be a more efficient use of the weight.

My goal is to be able to encounter every scenario with an optimal solution, while solving the majority of them with little to no damage. So in lieu of that, the goal is that it is OK to sacrifice a little clearing time for the preservation of health in being able to encounter more scenarios effectively.


Solutions per weapon:
Fire Axe - clean out Scrakes quicker than the katana. [HP is preserved either way]

M79 -
1) Large clusters of crawlers just about anywhere.
2) Large clusters of small ZEDs in high pressure situations (stalling for health gain) provided you have a little distance.
3) A tiny fraction of ranged crowd control - [useful for beginning a damage assault on escape routes when they need to be cleared]
4) Ability to put a little damage on mobs beyond your LoS. [Around vehicles and such] which assists each of the previous points.
5) Freeing a teammate beyond melee range [see 2]
CON - kill yourself, slow reload

Dual HCs -
1) Large clusters of light-med mobs in your face.
2) Crowd control to buy you some time to escape.
3) Spray and pray for pot shotting enemies to a manageable position if you accidentally back-pedal lead yourself into an ambush
4) Do not have to worry about close corridors and killing yourself.
5) Decent alt-fire if LAR is empty for some reason.
CON - forced reload

Now while being quicker definitely serves an advantage I believe the quick kills of small ZED groups outweighs that of the power of the axe.

Also, ammo is not a problem for me, at all. The use of Dual HC's or the M79 are for high pressure situations where they absolutely excel at the intended purpose.

 

[Breach]

I decided to copy/paste my post from the FP rage thread here as it describes my solutions for taking on FP scenarios in a bit more detail.



Be aware that since the patch, perk-bonuses now attribute towards triggering rage of a FP.

Furthermore, there is also another trigger for rage, which is line of site duration. If the FP has not used an attack for an extended amount of time, then he will rage.



Some tactics you could employ:

1) Need katana + xbow:

Xbow first from as large a distance as you can manage. Yes he will rage. Yes he will come for you. If you can get one or two, preferably headshots in before he gets too close, then you are golden.

Ideally: 1 headshot to make him rage, 1 headshot during the rage.

The aim is to have him leave rage before he makes it to you. If you find that you have mistimed this completely, throw a grenade between the two of you. He will spaz out trying not to run into the grenade. While he is re-routing, you should be building distance.

Now the situation is either:
a) Risk more headshots if you can for-sure decap him without getting hurt.
b) Engage him with the katana (medic or berserker only).

The classes movement speed increase will enable you to successfully kite his normal melee attacks (preventing rage), and the alt-fire from the katana every 3 or so seconds will ensure a proper safety net for making him not rage.

More on this tactic summed up below



2) Use another weapon, such as an LAR that you can fire into his head and not rage him. Take pot shots (this will require some experimenting to master) quick enough to chip away his health, but not enough to make him rage.

The controlled damage flow will leave you 1) more able to defend against random specimens interrupting your flow of events, and 2) be easier to handle under stressful situations, because if you feel in too much danger, you can always turn tail and run before he gets with in a rage distance, and continue the process.

You also can lend yourself into a short-cut form of method 1), where you chip at him until comfortable, take 2 xbow shots (remember, it isn't a forced reload, fire- switch wep- switch back- fire). Throw the grenade to leave you some room for gap against the rage. And then katana.



Now the katana playstyle for this is very important. You will be backpedaling. You will be timing your attacks on him. BUT, the window will allow you some time while you wait for his damage tick to reset.

1) Lead the battle. Tunnel Vision is the enemy in this case. If you can afford the room, curve the path he takes to you, so you can effectively change the view of the battle, to keep yourself more aware of mobs heading your direction.

Take quick turns left or right to see about awaiting groups. Remember, don't leave your best friend without attacking you for too long (slip in his attack range, usually fire a shot and back off while he swings) so that he doesn't rage.

2) Deal with the other specimens. This would be completely useless (after a fashion) if you weren't able to deal with other crap teaming you at the same time. Leading the battle will let no surprises fool you. In the midst of attacking him, asses the next threat. That siren standing in your backpedal path: Slip in FP attack range, cause him to fire, and while back pedaling do a quick 180 pulling out the xbow, destroy her head, switch back to the katana and readdress the fp.

Any gorefast / clot / stalker that try and interrupt your spree are dealt with you leading the battle so that they end up in front of you attempting to nestle next to the fp. Simply angle your path, primary fire or 2 the mob and move back.

Bloats - 9mm fire the head. If you can do it effectively with the xbow, then you can do it effectively with the 9mm. WATCH YOUR Reload though. 9mm is forced wait reload, you will walk slower during this period. Bad if timed wrong.

Crawlers - either time it like the bloats with the 9, or if a group of 1's and 2's come handle it like most other. Two options, time the swing to kill it mid jump (takes more practice than the next option to master), or bait the jump, take a quick step back and look down, and primary. Resume attention to FP.

Situations with 2 FPs or more require more finesse. The goal I have had the most success with is make sure they aren't together.

2 of them spawned next to eachother?

Rule 1: Cardio. Put some distance between those two.

Kill off any groups you see to be a challenge to above kill styles.

Then rage one of them (IE method 1).

Just 1 mind you. He will then put distance from the two of you, this buys you some time to space out the death threats.

IF done right, you shouldn't have to heal during your fight, and shouldn't be in danger of dying. However, stuff gets hairy sometimes. If necessary pop the syringe and toss ONE grenade to cut off his path, and book it out of there.


Keep in mind. I don't attempt to hurt the FP's with the grenade, just buy me some valuable running distance. Do this enough to start the process over, with full health and more threats (like husks) eliminated.



Lastly, this was all for by yourself tactics. Once a teammate is introduced, the dynamics make this task easier (provided they are on the same wavelength as you).

Control his raging, and you win. Use it to your advantage in whatever scenario you are in. So with that if you are going to rage him, and you can line him up with a few ZEDs out in front, let them become casualties while it doesn't effect your style at all.


Sorry for the long read,

Hope it helps : )

 

[timur]

yeah, from the sound of it, you're a speed zerker, not a tank zerker, so the katana is probably your best bet. The saw is good, but its all about where to place yourself, and mass decapitation....and tends to get worn down by sirens and husks.

and also, is it just me, or do you have clots under 9mm?

The katana is extremely good at quickly darting in and slashing their heads off.

 

[scary ghost]

Melee weapons don't do random damage, period. They are fixed to always do max damage. They also didn't "sporadically" do double damage from the front. It always did double damage because the wrong comparison sign was used in the check for backstabbing.

Also, Axe alt fire doesn't auto rage the fleshpound, even from a level 6 zerker. It comes very close to breaking the rage threshold, enough so that a stray 9mm shot crosses the damage threshold. Anyways, axe alt fire is the fastest way to to kill an FP.

 

[Spicy]

9mm/ LAR for Crawlers. Sirens or Husks out of melee range. Assuming another teammate isn't taking care of business or I'm closest to the corner they come around. I could probably get away with only the 9mm for them but I'm more confident in my LAR hipfire. ^_^

I've been using the Fire Axe much, much more lately. Not disappointed yet. I grabbed the Katana today and it's just weird being able to hold mouse1 down. I've started using the chainsaw for the first couple of rounds. The new headshot multiplier is huge. :]

 

[Euclix]

9mm/ LAR for Crawlers. Sirens or Husks out of melee range. Assuming another teammate isn't taking care of business or I'm closest to the corner they come around. I could probably get away with only the 9mm for them but I'm more confident in my LAR hipfire. ^_^

I've been using the Fire Axe much, much more lately. Not disappointed yet. I grabbed the Katana today and it's just weird being able to hold mouse1 down. I've started using the chainsaw for the first couple of rounds. The new headshot multiplier is huge. :]

They set the headshot multiplier to 1... I guess they thought the chainsaw was overpowered before because it tore through the clots and gorefasts, but really thats about all it does well. The katana is still better after the first few waves.

As to OP, thanks for the info. I have actually been finding the fire axe more useful since the patch, the katana doesn't seem to stun enemies as easily, so I use the fire axe for going in on the bigger enemies such as husks, scrakes, and sirens.

If though, it is true that the fire axes swing will rage the FP no matter what on suicide or HOE, well I may have to rethink my strategy.

Fleshpounds are such a hassle with the berserker, I'm starting to think that once you hit wave 7 it's time to switch classes, you should have enough money to do whatever you want by then anyways (since the zerker is so cheap).

 

[Breach]

and also, is it just me, or do you have clots under 9mm?

Melee first, and then random bits of 9mm/M79 fire will catch them every now and then depending on if they get in the way or not.

Melee weapons don't do random damage, period. They are fixed to always do max damage.

I said they used to do random damage, as in a range of damage. As in the fire axe with no perk did 125-175 damage (http://kf-wiki.com/wiki/Fire_axe)

Now they are fixed to a specific damage.

They also didn't "sporadically" do double damage from the front. It always did double damage because the wrong comparison sign was used in the check for backstabbing.

Fair enough, thanks for the tidbit. I only stated what I noticed to be true. Either way, there was probably a better way to word your criticism.

Also, Axe alt fire doesn't auto rage the fleshpound, even from a level 6 zerker. It comes very close to breaking the rage threshold, enough so that a stray 9mm shot crosses the damage threshold. Anyways, axe alt fire is the fastest way to to kill an FP.

Are we playing the same game? Or am I just being extremely unobservant went tackling fps.

Because with the now consistent max damage, no random, not even including the headshot multiplier on a FP, the damage of a level 5/6 berserker with a fire axe is now primary250‒350 alt400‒550 (ignore the range, take the max) http://kf-wiki.com/wiki/Fire_axe

An alt-fire would set it off every time, unless the rage hit point counter increased in harder levels of play / with more players... Everytime I alt-fire an FP at level 3 (440 dmg from wiki) it auto-rages.

In the FP rage thread it mentions that 360 is the indicated trigger. So... Where is my mistake? Is there a melee resistance?


With that being said, a fire axe primary fire MAX 350 [non-headshot, I am not sure if headshot multipliers applies towards the rage trigger, but I do not see why it wouldn't...]

So melee headshot on a FP is 1.25 for the axe. 550 MAX * 1.25 = 687.5
If the FP's had a 50% physical damage reduction that would do it. So do they?

 

[xebo]

You need to practice on 6p, as it changes many things (Like what sets off FP rage).

General

• Always look around you - Try to develop eyes in the back of your head. Eventually you'll be able to know what's sneaking up on you without swinging your mouse all over the place
• Abandon Ship - If anything goes wrong, just run away. It might seem like a shortcut, but knowing when to run away is a KEY part of playing a berserker well. Claim allegiance to no area or location of a map
• Most HoE games I play as a berserker boil down to a caravan situation. A group of people are running away, trailing zeds behind them. As a part of this group, you'll want to either be killing the zeds that are following, or clearing an escape route/scouting ahead of your group
• Look where your team is not looking
• Once the game spawns a certain number of zeds (which varies server to server), it stops spawning them. The usual number is 32. Therefor, when a large group of zeds is following you, virtually every zed you kill means a zed will spawn in an unpredictable location. For instance, every husk you kill has a chance of spawning something less lethal, like a clot or gorefast; whereas every clot you kill has a chance of spawning something deadly, like a husk or siren. This is why you should try to kill off the trouble zeds (like sirens, husks, etc) and DO NOT kill the easy zeds, like clots, scrakes, etc.

Fleshpounds

• Short Range - axe alt fire headshot every 2 seconds, or 2 katana primary fire headshots every 2 seconds. Stay very close to the FP. Make him swing at you occasioanlly. You can do this with 2 FP's at once if nothing else is around you. Run them in circles so you don't set off the rage timer of the FP in the back (They'll get in each others way, making it very easy).
• Long Range - xbow headshot, run away, weld a door behind yourself. He'll dump his rage timer knocking it down. And ofc pipe bombs ftw.

Scrakes

• Weapon - Always use the fire axe alt fire to headshot and stun the scrake to death
• 2+ scrakes at once - Lead them into a doorway or bottleneck. Stun the one leading the group, and he'll hold up the others. Repeat as needed. You can also stun one scrake a few times. When the 2nd one approaches you, run away quickly. As the initial scrake wakes up and rages at you, run backwards and alt-fire headshot him again in the head. It's quite doable.

Armory

• Katana, axe, and LAR - Use on fairly open maps, where you aren't often forced to shoot through groups to hit husks/sirens
• xbow, katana, (DROPPED) axe - Use on maps where you have to shoot through groups to hit husks/sirens. Leave scrakes for last, circle around the map and pick up your axe at the end of the wave to deal with them.

 

[Kyuzo]

I am a level 4 berserker currently and wanted to post some of my own strategies and favorite weapon combos.

• Chainsaw + AK-47: This is one of my new favorites. I never used to like the chainsaw until the 1016 update because it did far too little headshot damage in comparison to the Katana. Now it is a killing machine and performs very well in close tight maps. I choose the AK-47 over the LAR because it reloads much faster, and can be used semi-auto or full auto for dealing with crawlers, sirens, and husks.
• Chainwsaw + SCAR + Machete: I will upgrade my AK-47 to a SCAR when I have enough money because it is much stronger now that the damage nerfs have been removed. I like using semi-auto mostly with this weapon as it serves as a very good medium/close range sniper weapon. Full auto I use for charging scrakes or fleshpounds. The machete can be subbed for pipes but I just consider it an upgraded knife and you can use it as a katana replacement for dealing with individual specimens while saving the Chainsaw for larger groups.
• Katana + SCAR + M79: Currently my favorite combo because it is well balanced for almost every combat situation and can really rack up kills. The M79 is perfect for fleshpounds, big groups of crawlers, or saving your buddy who just got surrounded by a large mob of hungry zombies. The SCAR has some recoil to be dealt with and is not recommended for picking off single specimens at long range, instead I will use the 9mm. Katana I like more than the chainsaw because I am able to take less damage due to the speed bonus, and the attack speed is almost the same as the chainsaw except when dealing with large clusters in close range. It also seems to be better than the chainsaw for taking down scrakes.
• Katana + Xbow: This used to be my favorite combo until the crossbow was nerfed. I could easily knock off a scrakes head with one bolt, and use my Katana on almost everything else except crawlers (9mm) and fleshpounds (xbow/nades). It is still quite a deadly combo, just not as powerful as it used to be.
• Katana + Hunting Shotgun: I like this combo on maps like Manor. The single double shot I try to always use on fleshpounds, husks, scrakes, or big mobs. The damage is not very impressive against FPs since the shotgun's headshot damage was nerfed, but this combo is still efficient.
• Katana + Chainsaw + MP7M: I don't use this combo much except for fun in earlier waves because the MP7M is not going to help against a raging FP. What this does is allow you to melee everything except FPs, and use the MP7M for dealing with crawlers or 2+ sirens.

For budget though, you can't go wrong with a Fire Axe and LAR. I just prefer machine guns because the reload time is wayyyyyy faster, but a good 5 headshots with the LAR can take down a FP. Regular shotgun and AA12 I find to be not very effective outside of Support Specialist. Mac-10/M14 I don't like either because of the insane recoil. The berserker is my favorite class, and the first one I want to get level 6. Anyway, this is just my opinion and strategy and it will likely change with updates or more experimentation.

 

[scary ghost]

Fp rage doesn't vary with the number of players. It is always 360 damage or roughly 10 seconds of frustration.

 

[dewzy1991]

I always use chainsaw/lar or bullpup, and finally got to rank 6 yesterday doing the christmas achievements. I never really liked the katana because I enjoy defending area's and tanking for the team.

 

[xebo]

I stand corrected. That's good to know.

 

[Evilsod]

I must say i've favoured the Katana earlier on but i definitely sway more towards the Fire Axe once Scrakes start showing up. Having the space to backpeddle Scrakes is a work of fiction in alot of situations and leads to unnecessary damage taken.

 

[scary ghost]

Are we playing the same game? Or am I just being extremely unobservant went tackling fps.

Because with the now consistent max damage, no random, not even including the headshot multiplier on a FP, the damage of a level 5/6 berserker with a fire axe is now primary250‒350 alt400‒550 (ignore the range, take the max) http://kf-wiki.com/wiki/Fire_axehttp://kf-wiki.com/wiki/Fire_axe

An alt-fire would set it off every time, unless the rage hit point counter increased in harder levels of play / with more players... Everytime I alt-fire an FP at level 3 (440 dmg from wiki) it auto-rages.

In the FP rage thread it mentions that 360 is the indicated trigger. So... Where is my mistake? Is there a melee resistance?


With that being said, a fire axe primary fire MAX 350 [non-headshot, I am not sure if headshot multipliers applies towards the rage trigger, but I do not see why it wouldn't...]

So melee headshot on a FP is 1.25 for the axe. 550 MAX * 1.25 = 687.5
If the FP's had a 50% physical damage reduction that would do it. So do they?

Fleshpounds have 50% resistance to melee attacks thus alt fire only does 343 damage. As I said in my previous post, it comes very close to breaking the 360 threshold, so close that a stray 9mm shot from say a teammate will do you in.

@Xebo
You should give axe+xbow a try. Knife for groups, axe for scrakes and pounds, xbow for all the ranged guys and crawlers.

@Kyuzo
Your tactics won't be near as effective on suicidal and H.o.E, even less so when you're on a full game. Scrakes shrug off unperked bolts, rage earlier, and you can't kill them fast enough with a katana before they get a hit in. Fleshpounds auto rage on xbow head shots, and you only deal 420 damage to them. Fortunately, all these problems can be solved with an axe to the head.

 

[HawkActual]

Fleshpounds have 50% resistance to melee attacks thus alt fire only does 343 damage. As I said in my previous post, it comes very close to breaking the 360 threshold, so close that a stray 9mm shot from say a teammate will do you in.

@Xebo
You should give axe+xbow a try. Knife for groups, axe for scrakes and pounds, xbow for all the ranged guys and crawlers.

@Kyuzo
Your tactics won't be near as effective on suicidal and H.o.E, even less so when you're on a full game. Scrakes shrug off unperked bolts, rage earlier, and you can't kill them fast enough with a katana before they get a hit in. Fleshpounds auto rage on xbow head shots, and you only deal 420 damage to them. Fortunately, all these problems can be solved with an axe to the head.

Totally agree that axe is pretty much one of the most consistent weapon to killing FPs and Scrakes.

Here's a video highlighting some strategies to kill the FPs and Scrakes. (A humble thank you and nod at scary_ghost, devante, gr33n2r3d, and fang for helping me resculpt my playing style.

Zerker + Xbow lets you pick a scrake if you're kiting from a group.
YouTube - Thank you Devante, Scary_Ghost, Gr33n2R3D, FangHD ,and Tripwire Interactive!!!

 

[xebo]

@Hawk - Hi Hawk. Nice seeing you on the forum . I remember playing with you quite a few times over the past few days. Also, axe is ideal for handling FPs, but katana is totally doable. I sometimes prefer using katana against FPs, since I can easily deal with adds. The slow/awkward swing of the axe makes surprise zeds more of an inconvenience. Also, you can rage/kite a scrake in a group using axe as well. You don't really need an xbow, but Gr33n definitely still prefers using them.

@Ghost - I'm wary of using knife for groups. I know it's doable from a defensive standpoint, but I'm hesitant to lose the firepower a katana allows. In deciding between katana and knife/axe loadouts, I can only think of one situation where I absolutely needed to stun a scrake immediately (bedlam hallways), whereas I can remember a situation almost every game where I needed to hack my way through a group quickly (using katana). I'm therefor still leaning toward simply dropping an axe on the ground for utility purposes, and carrying a katana.

 

[HawkActual]

@Hawk - Hi Hawk. Nice seeing you on the forum . I remember playing with you quite a few times over the past few days. Also, axe is ideal for handling FPs, but katana is totally doable. I sometimes prefer using katana against FPs, since I can easily deal with adds. The slow/awkward swing of the axe makes surprise zeds more of an inconvenience. Also, you can rage/kite a scrake in a group using axe as well. You don't really need an xbow, but Gr33n definitely still prefers using them.

Haha rock on xebo. Love playing w/ you and Gr33n2R3d man. XD Totally agree with you regarding Katana vs. FP. I tried it and much to my surprise it worked really well when dealing with the trash that tries to obstruct your kite technique.

Good deal brother. Maybe we can get some more gaming in

H.O.E. Ftw and kudos to TWI for putting the teamwork back into coop! ^_^

 

[Kyuzo]

I can kill scrakes with a katana much easier, on any difficulty setting, than with the fire-axe, except HoE. I do not play HoE yet and will not until at least level 5. Have not tested this with FP, but I'm quite sure the Katana has better DPS and the alt fire of the axe would only be better when versing individual specimens, which is unlikely on most maps.

The tactics I posted are meant to deal with as much of a variety of specimens as possible, so I'm not sure how you think the Fire-Axe can "solve the problems of my tactics" by replacing an M-79 against FPs or AK-47 against a group of 8 crawlers. Good luck axing those crawlers!