Any idea how to handle the new Scrake?

[Zerginfestor]

When playing in the new update, it seems Scrakes (especially raging ones) seem to...'stick' to the target? They seem to kind of spin on a record and still hit their target unless they're zerking out, It's kind of annoying you can't circle them anymore, as they were already the infamous 'team wiper'. Just wondering if people are witnessing this as well and wonder how to handle raging scrakes when one is targeting them.

 

[xrider84]

This sounds kind of harsh (and not intended at you zerginfestor) but get bettet communication with the team and get a little better lol.

Communication us the key here. This update forces you to have to deal with scrakes right away rather than avoiding them. Which is what I've done all along. In my opinion it makes it easier because a team is dealing with them quickly before getting outnumbered and tben having to run your your life.

In the matches I play I usually take it upon myself to be the coordinator and let everybody know; right from the start, that we have to deal with scrakes as soon as we see them. When a scrake comes out we voice chat to everyone where the scrake is and everyone immediately stacks on the scrake. I'll give a quick count to 2, tben say, "get him! "...and we usually have the scrake dead in about 3 seconds.
Of course this tactic really works best if everyone in the group is close to each other and not spread out trying to hog all the kills.

Fleshpounds are no problem too. I tell everyone in my team to save nades for fleshpounds. Fleshpound comes, we call it, , stack on him, , each person throws one nade, and unload on him. Usually sleeping with the fishes in under 5 seconds from the tone we stay shooting.

That's really all I can advise. There really is no need to duck and dodge a scrake with good communication and everyone stacking on them...especially with a skilled support and commando.
A good commando can cause massive amounts of damage to a scrake by placing all headshots, and a good support can deal tremendous damage at medium range.

 

[Zerginfestor]

-snip-

So basically...nothing? Pub servers are destined to 100% fail no matter what, because they obviously lack enough communication to do so? That seems pretty harsh. So your tactic is basically "Everyone crap out a wall of lead and hope for the best"? Okay then, gotcha.

 

[Patros]

It's hard when you don't have a berserker in the team. But it's possible.

Ways of dealing with the scrake:

• circle exploit (old)
• 1x EMP or medics sedate then quickly shoot the head off
• dodge to the side, boomstick to the head, repeat (old)
• send berserker and watch the dance of the scrake people
• stumble, knockdown, burn with M4, hard hit, firebug weapon, then go for the head
• sprint away backwards, jump, alt shoot sc with boomstick
• keep shoving the sc back using microwave alt fire

When you have a ****ty team and nobody is going for the scrake but the situation is calm, just rage the scrake and pull it into your team.. it should go down quickly (the scrake, of course )

About stumble:
Not sure, but I think panic by firebug weapons works for a short time on large zeds. And the demo grenade launcher or rocket launcher can stun, if I saw this correctly.

Edit:
Oh, and when it's the end of the wave and there are only raging scrakes left.. let the medic or berserker kite them around while people shoot them. Don't get too close or they will hunt you instead.

Edit2:
Added Microwave gun

 

[Zerginfestor]

Nice, so it's basically a must to have a Medic/Support on your side if you don't have a berserker to do a Football tackle against them. I was asking because the old tactics doesn't seem to work anymore, I don't know why, but for some reason, dashing around a mad-happy scrake just ends up with me getting saw'd now. Before the update, anyone could circle a scrake easily, but now I feel like Tripwire increased their turning speed a bit to nail non-medic/berserker players.

 

[jdrou]

but now I feel like Tripwire increased their turning speed a bit to nail non-medic/berserker players.

From the changelog:

• Larger Zeds have attended ballet and can now turn quicker

 

[Patros]

The scrakes are now as they should be.

But don't worry, once sharpshooter arrives it will become easier against scrakes.

PS: I extended the list by the boomstick backwards jump strategy. It's a good offperk weapon that can help you to keep your distance while damaging the scrake.

 

[sinatra_swings]

When playing in the new update, it seems Scrakes (especially raging ones) seem to...'stick' to the target? They seem to kind of spin on a record and still hit their target unless they're zerking out, It's kind of annoying you can't circle them anymore, as they were already the infamous 'team wiper'. Just wondering if people are witnessing this as well and wonder how to handle raging scrakes when one is targeting them.

You are asking for advice, and then criticizing the answers you are receiving. Don't be like that, it's irritating to read responses like yours. You didn't specify what perk (or perks) you are using to fight Scrakes with, and as you already know, different tactics are utilized by each perk depending on the weapon choice, level, and experience of the player. Please try to be more constructive, you are clearly an intelligent person.

Only three classes, in my opinion, can effectively deal with the post-update Scrake: Commando, Support, and Berserker. Because Scrakes will now automatically rage when five zeds remain, sending a Commando to carefully headshot the Scrake into submission with the AK-12 or the SCAR isn't a bad idea (especially if it spawns early in the round). Support had its ammo nerfed, and although that is a real pain in HOE when fighting multiple Scrakes in later rounds, fighting just one can be effectively done with the Boomstick, M4, or AA-12 (with its stumbling power and new 8-round magazine, M4 is a much more potent choice now). The Scrake has better turning capabilities now, so dancing around it is no longer an option. Instead, consider buying a Tier 3 or higher Berserker weapon to parry blows aimed your way (switching can be a hassle if you haven't hotkeyed your weapons). Aim for the head with your shotgun of choice and go to town, blocking any blows you can't run from with the Berserker melee weapon. The Zerker, for reasons already stated in this discussion, can beat the crap out of a Scrake with no problem (picking up the blocking skill helps immensely). Medic's weapons are not strong enough, Firebug's weapons do not deal damage fast enough, and Demo's weapons are not effective against the Scrake (resistant to explosives).

 

[Azukki]

The microwave gun is really nice for scrakes, especially at high firebug levels. The primary fire does good damage, and doubled if used in repeated short bursts instead of a continuous stream. With the splash damage perk, you can increase the primary fire damage further by not shooting him, but the ground near his feet instead. Heat wave can give you a good moment to keep dealing damage while he's stumbled, and if you time it so his microwavepanic reaction happens just after heatwave stumble, that'll give you loads of time to safely whittle him down.
If that hasn't kept him from getting close enough to start attacking, and he's targeting you, you've got the altfire, which can be timed to push him away to avoid his attacks, especially if you're backpedaling or uphill of him. It does considerably less damage per ammo, though.


And another option for the headshot magdump, instead of slowing him with sedative or emp, you can speed yourself up with ZED TIME - Rapid Fire. Or, if the server's half empty, it's pretty feasible to do without any special tricks, just SCAR, even flat ground, and good recoil management.


Interesting but not useful in practice, if a scrake has completely full health, an RPG7 headshot will knock him out even without onperk. If you decide to rely on this, it'll probably get you in trouble, since things are usually chaotic enough that he'll have taken damage from something.
With onperk, you can do the knockout regardless of his damage.
​

 

[Reallifeh8er]

Our KF2 community cried oh so much for this "exploit" (the only viable way to terminate the Scrake) to be fixed. Now here we are, witnessing what we got. No way to deal with them safely anymore.

Should have been fixed by the time the Sharpshooter got added, not any time before that.

 

[Zerginfestor]

You are asking for advice, and then criticizing the answers you are receiving. Don't be like that, it's irritating to read responses like yours. You didn't specify what perk (or perks) you are using to fight Scrakes with, and as you already know, different tactics are utilized by each perk depending on the weapon choice, level, and experience of the player. Please try to be more constructive, you are clearly an intelligent person.

I wasn't criticizing other people's post, I was reading theirs and coming from a sound conclusion that the scrakes have become somewhat of a hassle. I wasn't trying to fight them, I was simply breaking their post down, taking their info and responding, it would be rude of me to simply ignore my topic I made ^^, since the first suggestion was exactly what almost everyone is doing: feed the scrake a bucket of buckshot and give it the forecast of Bulletstorm, and the other suggestion is specific perks, which is fine, but also a bit upsetting as well.

Before the update, the 'exploit' was what allowed cool-headed teams to take note of the scrakes, don't rage it, and focus on the bigger threat: The trash.

Now, judging by how to handle the scrakes, and with the influx people using the 2 new perks, it's very difficult to use said suggestions when people are not thr very perks you want/need (Support, Medic, Zerker). From what I can see, it's now just a "See the scrake, throw nades at scrake and surrounding mob, aim at scrake, dakka dakka dakka dakka, rinse and repeat" which is fine, I still get through the game easily, I just find it odd that we can no longer use some interesting tactics against them and instead we just headbutt with the chainsawing buggers, which headbutting is risky but just kills the scrakes faster.

 

[ComradeHX]

Our KF2 community cried oh so much for this "exploit" (the only viable way to terminate the Scrake) to be fixed. Now here we are, witnessing what we got. No way to deal with them safely anymore.

Should have been fixed by the time the Sharpshooter got added, not any time before that.

Teamwork is the way to deal with them safely.

Now it works as intended instead of some scrub trying to cheese scrakes before(and probably die in the process because he didn't see clot until he got grabbed and chainsawed).

---
Now that exploit is fixed; Scrakes can have lower HP.

 

[Gallic_Taffer]

I've been testing in the field. As long as you're sprinting when the sc attacks, he will miss you. Granted, you're above 75% health. This is not a good camp strat, but as firebug and commando both I've been able to simply kite a raging sc to death since they no longer magnetize to you when executing an attack. Their unparriable dual spin attack leaves them wide open to a good amount of shots I've noticed.

 

[Escadin]

Our KF2 community cried oh so much for this "exploit" (the only viable way to terminate the Scrake) to be fixed. Now here we are, witnessing what we got. No way to deal with them safely anymore.

Should have been fixed by the time the Sharpshooter got added, not any time before that.

And here we are, witnessing a part of the community unable to adapt and beat a game without the aid of bug exploits.

 

[|WC|Capt.525]

Just get 2 Commandos with Scars. Aim at the head. Bam. Dead Scraken before they even get to charge properly.

 

[Sythen]

Me and a few mates discovered that using the ALT Fire on the microwave gun is a handy way of keeping the Scrake at bay (and its rather entertaining as well )

 

[CrashFu]

The sad thing is that there's really no specific tactic needed other than "concentrate fire". Obviously, Berserkers can make the fight A LOT easier, but Scrakes and Fleshpounds both go down quickly enough so long as you have multiple people attacking them without hesitation.

And the problem isn't a lack of communication. Scrakes rarely go unnoticed, with the blatant audio cues signaling their spawn and the neon red glow on their chainsaws...

The problem is that too many players are absolute cowards and the instant they see a Scrake, they turn tail and run away instead of helping to kill it.

 

[xrider84]

So basically...nothing? Pub servers are destined to 100% fail no matter what, because they obviously lack enough communication to do so? That seems pretty harsh. So your tactic is basically "Everyone crap out a wall of lead and hope for the best"? Okay then, gotcha.

Lol, clearly missed the whole point of my response.
I agree that a lot of public servers have crap communication. That's exactly why I specified that I just take the initiative and designate myself as the coordinator. Belive it or not, but a lot of players are unsure how to handle certain situations, so they don't speak up. It's worth noting that people are always waiting for a leader to follow. In KF2 and in real life. So when you actually speak up and start coordinating your team, believe me. ..they will almost always listen. And it isn't hard to quickly hold down the mic key and get everyone together and coordinate your scrake attack.

You don't need to do crazy *** moves to try and dodge their attacks. Just team up on them and it will be his end quickly. I have absolutely no trouble dealing with new scrake mechanics if I have at least one other person with me. I have to wonder if you're just spraying and praying, because when you actually use a little more effort to aim for the head (which isn't hard ) you can deal serious damage. Ask all of the good commandos out there how they can take out a scrake almost single handedly by head shoting his ***. Health is only half way down and then....pop! There goes the head.

It's really not hard buddy. Try listening to some of these comments instead of criticizing them, then utilize them in game.

 

[Ceeko]

Step 1: Have a Commando on your team who can aim

Step 2: Ensure he has the SCAR by the time Scrakes show up

Step 3: Alert him to any Scrakes you see

Step 4: Have him shoot the Scrake in the head repeatedly

Step 5: Watch his headless corpse hit the ground before he can even get within five meters of the group

Done! The commando doesn't even have to be all that high level, just on-par with the difficulty you're playing!

If your team doesn't have a commando who can aim, you'll instead need a berzerker, who needs to simply parry/block while the team unloads. Having supports who are wielding the AA-12 definitely helps.

In a desperate situation, such as being the last one alive, shoot him in the legs with a decently powerful weapon until he stumbles, then shoot him in the head. This tactic ended up allowing me to get my team to the final round when I was the last one alive. I ended up killing three Scrakes solo with the medic shotgun.

 

[TheTCREngineer]

How to deal with Scrakes:

Hold s while looking at him.
Hold shift and s if he's doing a lunging attack or is too close
Melee bash, reload, shoot.(Or just reload after shooting while running)