[Guide] Beginner Player Guide

[slavek]

Beginners' Guide to Killing Floor


Hello and Welcome to the Killing Floor Community. Often when you first start playing a new game, it takes some time to get used to the controls and feel of the gameplay. This guide will help show you the basics of Killing Floor, how to play, how to be a "good" player and more.

Contents:

1. Being a "Good" Player
2. Ingame Etiquette
3. About Perks & Weapons
   
4. About Enemies
5. About Tactics
   

Section 1.

Being a "Good" Player

[ Being a Good player is more than skills. In a Co-op game, you rely on other players and as a result, respect and courtesy goes a long way. ]


While in other first person shooter games, being a "Good" player might be having the best kill to death ratio. This is not always the case in Killing Floor.

Killing Floor, by being a Co-op game, is a game where teamwork takes precedence over everything else. Those who have played games like Left 4 Dead in the past can relate to Killing Floor, being that they are both Co-op games that require teamwork to accomplish an objective and survive.

Section 2.

Etiquette

[ If you don't know what this word means, it basically relates to a list of proper manners and your tact when socializing with your fellow players. ]

Many places have a system of proper Etiquette. When you go to somebody's house, it is usually proper to take your shoes off if you don't know the said person well or if their house has nice floors. If you were at a job interview, you would wear nice cloths and use "Sir/Ma'am".

While the internet may not be as formal, it still has its form of Etiquette. Killing Floor, being a Co-op game, has gameplay that caters to the teamwork style of play. As such, you will be relying on your fellow players to survive. A little respect will go a long way, not only in a single game, but also in making friends, which in turn will make your Killing Floor experience much more enjoyable in the future.

As such, Killing Floor has its own set of "Rules of Etiquette"

List of common manners in Killing Floor.

1. Be Nice. Yes, there will always be nasty people out there, but it does not mean you have to be one too. The majority of the player base is friendly and accepting. Avoid the use of name calling and rude remarks. Instead of calling someone a "Noob", try to help them and offer advice to help them improve or don't say anything at all. Name calling does not do anything productive. [Do not mistake this for kissing ***, just be respectful to others.]
   
2. Giving/Asking for money. Being a game focused on teamwork, the game gives you the option to share your money and a voice option to ask for money. It is ok to ask for money if you need some or give others money. However, spamming the voice command "I Need Money!" is a good way to irritate other players and make yourself look like a fool. Use it when you need money but don't play it over and over.
3. "Kill Stealing & Killing Headless Specimens" This topic can be debatable. Some players argue whether killing headless monsters or not killing them is "Correct". In reality, there is no answer that is correct all the time. S**t is situational and it is up to you to decide depending on the situation. If there is a headless specimen that is going to attack other players or is blocking an escape route, it is probably in the teams best interest to finish them off. If your team mate shoots the head off a specimen in the middle of the open area, you should probably let it bleed out and not steal the kill. Use your judgment to decide whether or not you should kill a headless specimen.
4. Self Healing. Self healing can be good or bad. Healing your teammates give you money and is also more efficient. Healing your self will use up the entire charge of your medical syringe but using it on your teammate will only use half of it for the same effect. However, sometimes it is best if you heal yourself if you are very low on health and no one is supporting you.
5. Do not rage the Fleshpound. If there is a Fleshpound moving in on your team, don't shoot it with your Bullpup or any other low damage weapon. Raging it will only kill you or your team. Let your sharpshooter or any other perk adept at taking out heavy specimens take care of him. [ The Fleshpound is the big specimen with the yellow/red light on his chest. Only use low damage weapons on it as a last resort. ]
6. Throw your weapons & money before leaving. If you have to quit a online match, it is best to leave during the trader wave if possible and to drop all your money and weapons for the other players to use.
   
7. Don't waste too much time at the trader. Try to know what you want and need from the trader before you get there. Don't lag behind and waste too much time or you may get killed when the wave starts thus being a burden on your team. Get in and get out efficiently. Tip: You can double-click to purchase/sell your weapons. This saves you the trouble of moving your cursor to purchase and sell buttons.

Section 3.

Perks & Weapons

[ You need the right tools to do the job. ]

Killing Floor offers variety of Perks[Classes, Jobs]and weapons to choose from. Each Perk and weapon has its strengths and weaknesses.

Perks:

[ Each and every Perk has a respective set of weapons for their class. It is usually best that you use the correct weapon for your perk in order to enhance your efficiency. ]

• Medic: This perk excels at healing and survivability. Its heals restore more health to their target and their Medical Syringe/MP7/MP5/M7A3 also regenerate healing charge faster. Other features of this perk is as they level up, their body armor becomes cheaper and stronger and they are able to run faster. Also gains resistance to bloat vomit. The downside to this class is that it does not get damage bonuses as other Perks do.

• Support Specialist: This perk excels at welding, carrying capacity and is also a good close to mid range damage dealer. A Support Specialist's Welder welds/unwelds faster and recharges faster than other perks. It has the ability to carry more weight than other perks enabling it to carry spare weapons, more firepower or to scavenge and carry more pickups to sell at the trader. Its main weapons are shotguns.
  1. Respective Weapon: Shotguns
     1. Shotgun: Cheapest shotgun, has flashlight, interruptable reload, good all around gun.
     2. Combat Shotgun: A shotgun similar to the pump except it is semi automatic and costs more money. Also equipped with a flashlight.
     3. HSG: A fast pump action shotgun that loads via a magazine. Has settings for wide or tight pellet spread.
        
     4. Hunting Shotgun: 2 Rounds max in gun. Can unleash high damage in bursts. Best used on large specimens or large groups of small ones. Best to also have an AA12 or Shotgun to compliment this weapon.
        
     5. AA12: Most expensive shotgun, Semi automatic. Able to unleash many rounds with a high rate of fire.
     6. Hand Grenades: Support Specialist gains a boost in max grenades allowed to be carried.
        

• Sharpshooter: This perk excels at taking down large specimens and headshots. Sharpshooters gain bonus headshot damage as they level up. Using their enhanced headshot damage and one of their respective weapons, they are able to take down large specimens that other perks may have trouble with.
  • Respective Weapons:
    1. Lever Action Rifle: Cheap weapon, decent rate of fire, Higher damage than M14. Able to stun scrakes.
    2. Crossbow: slow-moderate rate of fire, magnifying scope, able to take out heavy specimens like the Fleshpound.
    3. M14 EBR: Semi Automatic, Laser aim attachment, expensive.
       
    4. M99: A large caliber bolt action anti material rifle. Holds one round in the magazine at a time. Very powerful but also heavy.
       
    5. 9mm: Basic weapon, always spawn with it. 15 round magazine. Can be dual wielded.
    6. MK43[Dual and single]: 45 Caliber pistol. Good balance between firepower, fire rate, accuracy and ammo. Less damage than 44 Magnum but larger ammo in magazines.
       
    7. 44 Magnum[Dual and single]: A revolver type pistol, can unload its magazine very fast. Less damage than a hand cannon.
       
    8. Hand Cannon[Dual and single]: High power, Moderate-fast fire rate.
       

• Commando: This Perk excels at taking out crowds of small specimens. At higher Perk levels, depending on the difficulty you are playing on, is also capable of taking out larger specimens(Fleshpound is an exception). Commandos are also able to see cloaked stalkers and the enemy's health in the form of a health bar above their heads.
  • Respective Weapons:
    1. Bullpup: Cheap, high magazine capacity, low damage, low recoil.
    2. AK47: Higher recoil but has higher damage to compensate.
       
    3. M4: Less damage than AK47 but higher rate of fire. Can be switched to semi auto for precision fire. A viable Sidegrade to the AK47.
    4. FNFal: Very similar to SCAR. Equipped with a Acog sight. Less recoil than SCAR, slightly more spread, weighs 1 more block than Scar and costs slightly more. A viable sidegrade to the Scar
       
    5. SCAR: High Damage, Lower mag capacity, expensive.

• Berserker: This Perk excels at melee combat. It can take out smaller specimens and can deal with larger specimens(Exception being the Fleshpound). All of its melee weapons gain a damage and rate of fire boost as it levels up. It also gains speed bonus,increased resistance to bloat vomit as it levels up and can not be grabbed by clots. Crawlers, Sirens and Husk Specimens are the Berserker's weakness due to their long ranged attacks.
  • Respective Weapons.
    1. Knife: Basic weapon, Always spawn with it. High rate of fire, Able to take out small specimens fairly quickly if aimed at the head.
    2. Machete: Higher damage than knife, Cheap, Slower rate of fire.
    3. Axe: Slow rate of fire, High damage. Cheap.
    4. Claymore:Similar to the axe. Primary fire does more damage than axe while alt fire does less. Swings slightly faster, costs more, and has longer reach.
       
    5. Katana: High rate of fire. Moderate damage.
    6. Chainsaw: Primary fire: constant fast damage. Secondary Fire: High damage swing.
       

• FireBug: This Perk excels at taking out groups of smaller specimens and weakening big ones. Their fire based weapon(s) can set specimens on fire, causing them to lose focus on the player as they burn, resulting in them to walk/run around in circles panicking. Starting at level 3, this perk acquires special grenades that release a fiery explosion that catches anything in its blast radius on fire. Firebug also gains a resistance to fire as it levels.
  
  • Respective Weapons
    1. Flamethrower: Constant damage when firing at enemies, lights enemies on fire resulting in more damage as they burn. Enemies lit on fire will panic, losing focus on the player.
    2. Mac10: A compact SMG. If Firebug is current perk, the bullets this gun fires will ignite enemies.
    3. Husk Gun: Similar to the weapon the Husk specimen uses. Slow rate of fire. Charging the weapon allows it to deal more damage. Charged projectiles are capable of stunning scrakes and gibbing lesser specimens.
       
    4. Flame Grenades: At level 3 the Firebug's grenades will be upgraded automatically to Flame Grenades. They explode releasing a firewall that catches enemies on fire. Does not damage welded doors.

• Demolition: This class excels at horde control and can take out large specimens. It can take take out groups of smaller specimens using its grenade launchers and can destroy larger ones with the use of its pipebombs. This Perk is weak against specimens if they get too close. When enemies get too close, the Demolitions player can risk causing damage to themselves or their grenade launcher grenades will not arm, causing the player to get swarmed.
  
• As it levels up, it gains bonus damage to explosive weapons and resistance to explosive damage. Even with explosive resistance, it is still quite easy to blow yourself up, use caution.
  • Respective Weapons:
    1. Hand Grenades: Demolitions gains a damage bonus to explosives.
    2. M79 Grenade Launcher: Single shot Vietnam War era grenade launcher. High speed arching projectile. Explosive blast and high damage. Slow reload.
       
    3. M32 Grenade Launcher: Semi Automatic Grenade Launcher. High rate of fire, Slow Reload.
    4. M4/M203: A M4 with a under-slung M203 grenade launcher. Grenade projectile similar to the M79 grenade.
       
    5. Pipe Bombs: Manually placed proximity explosive. Will explode when a group of small specimens walk over it or a large one does. High damage. Limited in number.
    6. LAW: A powerful rocket launcher. Very heavy. Demo perk gains an additional max ammo bonus for the LAW.
       

Section 4.

Specimens & Enemies

[ They come in all shapes and sizes but they all have one thing in common, they want to kill you. ]

Killing Floor has a variety of Enemies, each with their respected strengths and weaknesses. They are known as Specimens or ZEDs by most players, though "Zombies" and "Monsters" will also suit their nature and get the idea across to other players.

Specimens:

• The Clot:This specimen is the basic cannon fodder you will encounter. They are the weakest and the most common specimen in the game. Despite being low on health and damage, they can grab you and hold you while other specimens move in. This can be dangerous if you get overwhelmed or if a larger more dangerous specimen shows up. The Berserker Perk can not be grabbed by clots. More Info . . .
  

• The Bloat: The Bloat, while slow, has a large amount of health and a nasty acid vomit attack. If he gets close he will attempt to spew acid on the player, causing a damage over time effect that can be deadly on higher difficulty settings. It is recommended that you take his head off as it will cause the Bloat to bleed out and render it unable to vomit. If a bloat is destroyed by draining its entire health pool as opposed to taking off the head, it will explode, causing acid to splash out damaging anything near it. Medic and Berserker Perks gain resistance to Bloat acid as they level up. More info . . .
  

• The Crawler:The crawler, although not high on health, has the potential to be dangerous. They tend to spawn in places other specimens will not such as air ducts and holes in the ceiling. When they get close enough to a player, they will perform a lunge attack that is difficult to avoid once they are in mid air. Because of this leaping attack, Berserkers are weak to them as the crawlers will chip away at a Berserker's Health and Armor. [ If a crawler leaps at you, it is best not to turn your back and run away. The crawler will catch up to you with more leaps and keep damaging you. If you must back up, walk backwards while firing on the crawler or stand your ground. ] More Info . . .

• The Gorefast: This specimen should not be underestimated. When it gets within a certain distance of the player, it will go from a walking pace to a full sprint. When it gets close, it will attempt to hack the player with its bladed arm which also happens to deal a substantial amount of damage for a common specimen. Beware that this specimen also has a chance at hitting you even if you are running away. More Info . . .

• The Stalker: The Stalker, like the crawler, has a tendency to spawn in strange places like ceilings and air ducts. She has the ability to cloak herself until she is ready to attack, at which point she will uncloak and attempt to claw at the player. Commandos have the ability to see through the stalker's cloak. More Info . . .

• The Siren: Despite her small stature, the Siren is one of the more dangerous specimens. When she gets close enough to a player, she will let out a ear splitting scream that will penetrate but not damage armor. Do to her scream's armor piercing properties, area damage effect, and ability to use said scream while behind other specimens, she is particularly dangerous to medics and berserkers who rely on their armor or close proximity. This scream will also destroy hand grenades, pipe bombs, and rockets. More Info . . .

• The Husk: When he first appears from wave 2 onward, you will notice the annoyance and danger it poses. Able to shoot an explosive fireball from anywhere as long as it has a player in view, most players find it extremely irritating. Its fire ball can chip away at a players armor quickly. It is recommended to take a Husk out before it causes too much damage or disruption. Firebugs are resistant to husk fire but husks are also resistant to fire based weaponry. More Info . . .

• The Scrake: The Scrake can be a real threat if not handled with care. It has a large amount of health, can deal damage, and when low on health will go from walking to a full blown sprint. Best to have someone with a crossbow or other heavy weapon to take this one out. More Info . . .

• The Fleshpound: The largest and most dangerous specimen with the exception of the Patriarch. It has a large amount of health, high damage and can rage when frustrated or shot at. When the Fleshpound goes into a rage, it will charge at a targeted player until it hits them, causing a large amount of damage if it does not kill them first. It is advised that you do not shoot a fleshpound with low damage weapons except as a last resort for focus fire. Best to let a team mate with a perk such as sharpshooter, demolition, or support specialist take this specimen out. More Info . . .
  

• The Patriarch: This specimen is the final boss of a map. He requires teamwork to take down and can be very dangerous if proper tactics are not used. He can attack players with devastating "Area of Effect" melee attacks, a arm mounted minigun and a rocket launcher. When he is about to fire a rocket, he will say "One in the pipe". This is your warning to take cover. He can also charge players for a melee attack and can also cloak, much like a stalker to avoid fire. When he gets low on health, he will run away to use a healing syringe. He can use this syringe up to 3 times and everytime he runs away to heal, specimens will come to attack you. Each time he heals, a new specimen will attack, going from just clots, to clots and crawlers, up until stalkers are attacking too. More Info . . .
  

Section 5.

Tactics

Difficulties:


Killing Floor offers five difficulties to choose from. Each different level varies in difficulty to challenge players depending on their level range.

General Guideline for Difficulty Level:
Beginner: 0-1
Normal: 0/1-3
Hard:3-5
Suicidal:4-6
Hell on Earth:5-6

*It is not required to follow this chart, it may be best to play a difficulty that will challenge you based on your perk level and how well you can play.


1. Easy. This the the least difficult of the the current 5 difficulty settings. If you are a new player to the game, it is best to start on this difficulty just to get a hang of the basics. Specimens deal low damage, have less health, players receive more money, and the time to use the trader between waves is also extended. Ammo can pickups have a 65% spawn rate while weapon pickups have a 50% chance of a spawn.


2. Normal. This difficulty is the 2nd most difficult of the 5 settings Killing Floor offers. All specimens retain their default health and damage values with no bonus or reduction. Ammo spawns are set at 50% while weapon spawns are set at 30%. Trader time is set to 1 minute countdown, less than that of Easy mode. It may be best to graduate to Normal mode after a few games on Easy as challenging oneself is the best way to develop skills required to become a better player.


3. Hard. This the the 3rd most difficult setting that Killing Floor offers. Specimens have enhanced health and damage values. Ammo spawns are reduced to 35% while weapon spawns is set to 20%. Players also receive less money in this difficulty. Some form of teamwork is generally needed.

4. Suicidal. Teamwork becomes a essential skill since the penalties for dying when playing this setting are steep. Using a Level 5-6 Perk is advised not only for the weapon discounts it offers for respected weapons but also because you will spawn with a weapon to help you survive.

5.Hell on Earth: This is the newest and most difficulty level.[More info to come, need time to gather specific info]

[Olivier]

nice stuff.... sticky now?

[Double_Deagle]

A very good guide for beginners that clearly explains the basics; job well done.

Just a couple things, you left out the 9mm and the Handcannon(s) in the Sharpshooter perk description, and you should probably mention that crawlers are able to hit fleeing players, as being slowly killed by a chasing crawler is one of the most common ways that new players die.

Other than that, good job, this deserves the sticky it got.

[slavek]

Updated with your input. I'll finish this tomorrow when I have more time.

[Swanky]

Very nice job. Maybe add in something that says how suicidal it is to use a level 1 perk in a hard / suicidal game.
Oh, and the information regarding pipe ammo is not correct. You get 1 pipe when picked up the 3rd ammo package if you have at least 1 pipebomb in your inventory.

[slavek]

Ahh, I didn't know that, I'll fix that now.

[Evilsod]

A mod really needs to correct the spelling on the title ><

Looks good, you might want to add a section below each perk for common setups (and also put a note that the Chainsaw is severely gimped due to its headshot multiplier). Such as Firebug = Flamethrower + Machete/Katana/M79 Launcher. Sharpshooter = Crossbow + Dual Handcannons + 9mm, M14 EBR + Dual Handcannons/Lever Action Rifle/SCAR + 9mm. Medic = Crossbow + MP7M/Katana.

[slavek]

Yea, I can do that after work when I have time. (Wow, I just noticed the title, fail.)

[EricFong]

Originally Posted by Evilsod

A mod really needs to correct the spelling on the title ><

I do notice the title too.

[drakioned]

The LAW should be mentioned as a weapon somewhere.

[Nin]

Simply brillant. I cried a bit.

Anyways, yes. Very well done indeed. Yet, one problem is: Almost "no one" knows these forums exist. We don't get very many newbie here, no? Or is it just me?

Say, TWI should implement a link to the forums in the main menu of KF.

[Deadbolt]

good **** slavek, if new players read this it will really help them get a feel for the game.

[Evilsod]

Originally Posted by drakioned

The LAW should be mentioned as a weapon somewhere.

Why? Its a poor mans Grenade Launcher that ironically costs more than both GLs combined.

I'd also like to say you should mention damage multipliers for Bloats, Scrakes and Fleshpounds. You don't mention that the Bloat takes extra damage from fire (and you could do with rewording it really to make it clearer that if a Bloat 'Bleedsout' after you remove its head it does not explode, but reducing its health to zero in any way will cause a shower of acid), Scrakes do *not* take extra damage from explosives which i also thought was the case (though there health multiplier scales more than the FP so its not worth using explosives on them at all) and Fleshpounds take 200% damage from explosives (this is Pipebombs and Grenades and seems to include GL/LAW though the extra damage from a direct hit is reduced) all other damage is 50%

[FluffyNinja]

This is a very good guide that covers the basics pretty well. I think an explanation on difficulty levels would make it an even better guide.

[nutterbutter]

I don't want to be snarky, but if it is going to be a sticky, you may want to fix the subject.

[Swanky]

Section 5.
About Tactics

Difficulties:

Killing Floor offers four difficulties to choose from. If you join a server, it is likely that you play on one of the following:

1. Easy. Yes, there is a difficulty called easy. It was invented to show you the ropes, however, it is advised to switch to normal early on.
On easy, you will encounter less specimen, receive less damage, deal more damage due to ZEDs having less health and have more time between each wave, approximatly 1 minute and 30 seconds. Also, spawn rates of both weapons and ammo pickups are higher, 65% for an ammo pack and 50% for a weapon spawner; killing enemies and surviving a round carries a big money boost.

2. Normal. This difficulty is the regular difficulty played on many servers. The regular setting features more specimen than the easy mode, and ZEDs take and deal more damage. Spawn rates decrease to 50% ammo spawn and 30% weapon spawn. The group should generally stick together, although free roaming can be an option here, depending on perk and level. From now on, you will only have 1 minute left for trading between each wave.
This is considered the best difficulty setting for perks between levels 1 to 3 or 4.

3. Hard. It's getting harder now, as even more ZEDs spawn with more health. You get the idea. However, specimen dodge more, especially grenades. You should have a second weapon option in case you are running out of ammo.
Spawners decrease to 35% ammo spawning and 20% weapon spawning chance. You will gain less money by killing ZEDs. Teamwork is a necessity in order to survive.
It is advised that you use a level 4 perk, though it is not a requirement. Please keep in mind that some servers may kick you if you are not or not well known to that server.

4.Suicidal. The hardest regular difficulty setting requires teamwork, otherwise you will die. Specimen will swarm you in large numbers, mow down any welded obstacles and pack some punches. Due to the large numbers of specimen, both conserving ammo and carrying a second gun depending on your perk should be considered. Spawning items goes close to zero; gaining money from killing specimen as well. The majority of players considers not using a level 5 or 6 perk to be truely suicidal in this setting.

[Double_Deagle]

I think it's especially worth noting that specimens get faster on higher difficulties.

They are 15% faster on hard mode, and 30% faster on suicidal.

This gives you significantly less time to kill them before they reach you and makes it much harder to outrun them if you are forced to flee.

[Azukki]

Originally Posted by Evilsod

Why? Its a poor mans Grenade Launcher that ironically costs more than both GLs combined.

That makes absolutely no sense at all.
But yes, it should be mentioned, and yes, it should be mentioned that it's not a very good choice, since it's poorly incorporated into its perk/s.

The "easy" difficulty is called beginner.


Also, yeah, nice guide so far, well done.

[drakioned]

It's useful for an achievement.

[vealck]

Great. Only thing that bothers me, there's no 'easy' difficulty, it's 'beginner'.

It would be nice if You'd add that making one step back can save player from stalker's attack due to their little attack range.

Also, You could throw basics about running speed with knife, reloading whenever possible and maybe something about killing priority, especially sirens and husks.