People are saying that there's a steep learning curve and that newbies are having trouble getting started. I can see that, but I don't exactly have the time to write guides on stuff anymore. So I'm gonna do something a bit simpler: A list of my top 5 tips and suggestions for beginners! Any other veterans out there, feel free to toss your top 5 in here too.
Hopefully we can compile a pretty helpful list of stuff for a newbie to know.
#1: Learn the keybinds and make a few of your own!
The basic WASD stuff is pretty self-explainatory, but KF has a few more keys that everyone should take a look at because they're not in most other games!
\ Drops a weapon
B Drops $50 cash
Q Heals yourself
F Flashlight
SHIFT "Down the scope" aiming
You should also take some time and set a few voice command keybinds that you'll use often, including
Yes, No, Look Out! (Use for FP sightings and the like), Run! (It's use is obvious!), and Lets Hold Up Here! are all good ideas. And Medic!, Help!, and Get to the Trader are pretty essential. Having those easily available helps you not get your face eaten off while you fiddle around in the voicebind menu.
#2: Don't be a slave to the Levelling System, butPick Perks Intelligently!
Yeah, it's good to level up a perk, but don't ever feel that you HAVE to play one because you need to level it. Play the perk you like the most and it'll level in no time. It's much, much better to get good at one perk than be sub-par at a bunch.
On the flip side...
Don't always pick your highest levelled or favorite perk. You'll notice quite a few times that the team has too many of one type (A team with 4 Commandos) or seriously needs a certain type (No medics and people are dying because of it or all Firebugs/Commandos and people are dying to Scrakes). In these cases, it might be better to use a lower levelled perk (Your level 3 Medic instead of your Level 5 Commando, for example) and fill the hole than to use your highest level one.
At the same time, be aware of your level. At level 0-3, stick to the lower difficulties. If you join Suicidal or Hell on Earth games without a level 4 or higher perk, you're likely to die.Just ask any seasoned player; an absolute newbie joining a Suicidal or Hell on Earth game as a Level 0 Support or Demoman (Two of the most expensive perks until you level them up and get discounts!) begging for money "because I need to level!" gets really, really old.
#3: The Trader isn't a coffee shop! Get in, buy your stuff and get out FAST!
This is also a very important one because it can wipe whole teams of newbies. The Trader spots are often in very, very dangerous areas. Areas you don't wanna be when the zombies start popping up. Often they're near multiple spawning zones, areas where enemies can drop down right on top of you, or dead-end hallways you can't escape from! So get in, buy your stuff, and GET TO A SAFE AREA ASAP! Try not to leave teammates behind at the trader area, but if they won't leave... go without 'em.
The first time newbies usually see this hard fact of life is on Manor in the later waves: someone will be goofing around in the trader inside the house, run out of time, and find himself trapped inside as zombies pour in from all sides (Not to mention other newbies often weld the doors if you take too long, trapping you in!). On a lot of maps like Foundry and HospitalHorrors, even a whole team can be wiped out if they're near the trader areas when times run out.
While you're playing on Normal/Beginner and have extra Trader Time, learn where the trader spots are, learn what you're gonna need to buy/how to buy quickly, and learn the fastest ways AWAY from that trader spot. It can and WILL save your life.
#4: Learn to prioritize targets! Learn what's the most dangerous and what can be safely ignored for a few seconds!
Learn which enemies are the most dangerous and shoot them FIRST. The most obvious situation of this is "Clots n Crawlers"; people LOVE to shoot clots because they're dopey looking, they're nice and tall, and there's always a bunch of 'em. But the little crawlers that people like to ignore are FAR more dangerous in most cases.
This is BAR NONE, the biggest reason that newbies die. They seem to love blasting either the closest (Clots) or the most intimidating (Scrakes) enemies first, thus smaller and faster ones flank and surround you (Crawlers, Stalkers, and Gorefasts). IMO, Gorefasts hitting from behind are probably THE #1 killer of newbies when they make that jump from Normal to Hard or above.
If something isn't really fast but is close, move away from it while you shoot deadlier, even if farther away, enemies. Ignoring those Gorefasts 10 feet away to shoot some Clots 3 feet away can be a big mistake!
Things to watch out for (And shoot!) because they can dish out big damage and/or close on you fast!:
Gorefasts
Crawlers
Husks
Sirens
Things to avoid (AKA "to kite") because although they can be dangerous, they're avoidable and are mostly distractions:
Clots
Bloats
Scrakes
#5: Aim for the head!
This one is one of the "Practice makes perfect" ones, but aiming for the head with most weapons yields a huge amount of extra damage. And if it actually removes the enemy's head, they not only can't use any of their special abilities, but they'll bleed to death in a few seconds!
This is good for a variety of reasons! It saves ammo, drops enemies faster, leaves more shots in your gun, and if you're a Sharpshooter, is your primary method of killing.
Just on Hard alone, it can take 4-5 9mm pistol shots to kill a Clot, but one 9mm headshot will either kill them outright or leave them decapitated and bleeding to death.
Not to mention that without a head:
-Gorefasts can't charge
-Husks can't shoot
-Bloats can't puke
-Scrakes, Sirens, and Crawlers immediately die. Not staggering around, just DEAD.
If you're not great at it, though, there are quite a few weapons that headshots aren't hugely important on, so if you're not great at headshotting, try Shotguns, Grenade Launchers, and the Flamethrower.
On the flip side, if you're great at it, Sharpshooter is an excellent class, as it makes your headshots even more devastating!
I'm sure I left plenty out, but these are the basic things that I end up telling almost any newbie at least once a game. Like I said, feel free to add in your top 5 tips. We might just make a respectable guide!
Hopefully we can compile a pretty helpful list of stuff for a newbie to know.
#1: Learn the keybinds and make a few of your own!
The basic WASD stuff is pretty self-explainatory, but KF has a few more keys that everyone should take a look at because they're not in most other games!
\ Drops a weapon
B Drops $50 cash
Q Heals yourself
F Flashlight
SHIFT "Down the scope" aiming
You should also take some time and set a few voice command keybinds that you'll use often, including
Yes, No, Look Out! (Use for FP sightings and the like), Run! (It's use is obvious!), and Lets Hold Up Here! are all good ideas. And Medic!, Help!, and Get to the Trader are pretty essential. Having those easily available helps you not get your face eaten off while you fiddle around in the voicebind menu.
#2: Don't be a slave to the Levelling System, butPick Perks Intelligently!
Yeah, it's good to level up a perk, but don't ever feel that you HAVE to play one because you need to level it. Play the perk you like the most and it'll level in no time. It's much, much better to get good at one perk than be sub-par at a bunch.
On the flip side...
Don't always pick your highest levelled or favorite perk. You'll notice quite a few times that the team has too many of one type (A team with 4 Commandos) or seriously needs a certain type (No medics and people are dying because of it or all Firebugs/Commandos and people are dying to Scrakes). In these cases, it might be better to use a lower levelled perk (Your level 3 Medic instead of your Level 5 Commando, for example) and fill the hole than to use your highest level one.
At the same time, be aware of your level. At level 0-3, stick to the lower difficulties. If you join Suicidal or Hell on Earth games without a level 4 or higher perk, you're likely to die.Just ask any seasoned player; an absolute newbie joining a Suicidal or Hell on Earth game as a Level 0 Support or Demoman (Two of the most expensive perks until you level them up and get discounts!) begging for money "because I need to level!" gets really, really old.
#3: The Trader isn't a coffee shop! Get in, buy your stuff and get out FAST!
This is also a very important one because it can wipe whole teams of newbies. The Trader spots are often in very, very dangerous areas. Areas you don't wanna be when the zombies start popping up. Often they're near multiple spawning zones, areas where enemies can drop down right on top of you, or dead-end hallways you can't escape from! So get in, buy your stuff, and GET TO A SAFE AREA ASAP! Try not to leave teammates behind at the trader area, but if they won't leave... go without 'em.
The first time newbies usually see this hard fact of life is on Manor in the later waves: someone will be goofing around in the trader inside the house, run out of time, and find himself trapped inside as zombies pour in from all sides (Not to mention other newbies often weld the doors if you take too long, trapping you in!). On a lot of maps like Foundry and HospitalHorrors, even a whole team can be wiped out if they're near the trader areas when times run out.
While you're playing on Normal/Beginner and have extra Trader Time, learn where the trader spots are, learn what you're gonna need to buy/how to buy quickly, and learn the fastest ways AWAY from that trader spot. It can and WILL save your life.
#4: Learn to prioritize targets! Learn what's the most dangerous and what can be safely ignored for a few seconds!
Learn which enemies are the most dangerous and shoot them FIRST. The most obvious situation of this is "Clots n Crawlers"; people LOVE to shoot clots because they're dopey looking, they're nice and tall, and there's always a bunch of 'em. But the little crawlers that people like to ignore are FAR more dangerous in most cases.
This is BAR NONE, the biggest reason that newbies die. They seem to love blasting either the closest (Clots) or the most intimidating (Scrakes) enemies first, thus smaller and faster ones flank and surround you (Crawlers, Stalkers, and Gorefasts). IMO, Gorefasts hitting from behind are probably THE #1 killer of newbies when they make that jump from Normal to Hard or above.
If something isn't really fast but is close, move away from it while you shoot deadlier, even if farther away, enemies. Ignoring those Gorefasts 10 feet away to shoot some Clots 3 feet away can be a big mistake!
Things to watch out for (And shoot!) because they can dish out big damage and/or close on you fast!:
Gorefasts
Crawlers
Husks
Sirens
Things to avoid (AKA "to kite") because although they can be dangerous, they're avoidable and are mostly distractions:
Clots
Bloats
Scrakes
#5: Aim for the head!
This one is one of the "Practice makes perfect" ones, but aiming for the head with most weapons yields a huge amount of extra damage. And if it actually removes the enemy's head, they not only can't use any of their special abilities, but they'll bleed to death in a few seconds!
This is good for a variety of reasons! It saves ammo, drops enemies faster, leaves more shots in your gun, and if you're a Sharpshooter, is your primary method of killing.
Just on Hard alone, it can take 4-5 9mm pistol shots to kill a Clot, but one 9mm headshot will either kill them outright or leave them decapitated and bleeding to death.
Not to mention that without a head:
-Gorefasts can't charge
-Husks can't shoot
-Bloats can't puke
-Scrakes, Sirens, and Crawlers immediately die. Not staggering around, just DEAD.
If you're not great at it, though, there are quite a few weapons that headshots aren't hugely important on, so if you're not great at headshotting, try Shotguns, Grenade Launchers, and the Flamethrower.
On the flip side, if you're great at it, Sharpshooter is an excellent class, as it makes your headshots even more devastating!
I'm sure I left plenty out, but these are the basic things that I end up telling almost any newbie at least once a game. Like I said, feel free to add in your top 5 tips. We might just make a respectable guide!
