Any idea how to handle the new Scrake?

[Patros]

Yeah, scrake has become slower hasn't it?

 

[Zourin]

As a sort of last-ditch option, the Commando can stock-strike it and cause a stumble as well, although it's probably best only used when trying to bail a teammate out of a bad corner. The Impact skill may or may not come into play, but that alone makes it a piss-poor choice

It doesn't change the fact the only way to solve a scrake problem is by having the team shoot the scrake, not just one guy. At least until the Sharpshooter returns with his holy headshots.

 

[Bluntman420]

It depends what difficulty you are playing on. Normal/Hard you can take them fairly easily with either Support w/ AA, Command w/ Scar, Zerk w/ sword or pulverizer, firebug w/ microwave gun, demo(if you have a team) w/ rpg and/or a nuke. Once you get to Suicidal it narrows down to Support w/ AA, Zerk w/ sword/pulverizer, firebug w/ microwave gun. A medic to heal you also helps tremendously but not always necessary if you can manage to not get hit more than once or twice. Commando is a last resort on Suicidal, as it is difficult and you MUST get all headshots basically. Hell on Earth it is Zerk w/ sword and firebug w/ microwave gun. Support can help but really should not be a primary option at this level to take scrakes (I think that is unfortunate). Demos help on Sui/HoE but mainly with the zed time nukes therefore should not be a primary option either. Commandos really should just shoot trash while others take a scrake. Obviously on HoE a medic is essential. The main thing with scrakes (well actually everything) is to get headshots. If you shoot him in the shoulders or back or gut it takes much more ammo to do. Consecutive headshots can really take them out quickly and efficiently.

 

[Nenga]

As a sort of last-ditch option, the Commando can stock-strike it and cause a stumble as well, although it's probably best only used when trying to bail a teammate out of a bad corner. The Impact skill may or may not come into play, but that alone makes it a piss-poor choice.

All zeds stumble with a bash, it's so they don't push you into a corner and beat on you until you die with no way out. As long as they're not doing one of their unblockable attacks (when their weapons turns red). You shouldn't abuse this though and should save it for when you need it to get yourself out of a situation, it can be the difference between a dead teammate and a slightly alive teammate.

Zeds also have a cooldown after they get stumbled. I'm not sure exactly how long but I usually try to wait about 5 seconds before I try to stumble them again. As a berserker it is possible to keep the scrake running around, turn around every 5 seconds, hit and stumble it, and avoid damage. While you can't outrun the scrake, you run fast enough if you're higher leveled to avoid a hit when it stops to attack you. I wouldn't recommend it if you have better options (Team firing squad, firebug with microwave gun) but if those plans fail you can pull a clutch move like that.

A scrake can be stumbled with the power attack of a zweihander but a fleshpound will laugh the power attack off and needs the pulverizer power attack or a melee bash.

 

[Durpy]

Zeds also have a cooldown after they get stumbled. I'm not sure exactly how long but I usually try to wait about 5 seconds before I try to stumble them again. As a berserker it is possible to keep the scrake running around, turn around every 5 seconds, hit and stumble it, and avoid damage. While you can't outrun the scrake, you run fast enough if you're higher leveled to avoid a hit when it stops to attack you. I wouldn't recommend it if you have better options (Team firing squad, firebug with microwave gun) but if those plans fail you can pull a clutch move like that.

Scrakes have a 8 second cooldown on stumbles. The moment you strike for a stumble, the timer begins, and you count 8 seconds, you're free to stumble again. Since the scrake runs as fast as you do (sprinting and have more than 50 hp) you can forever kite a scrake as long as you run in straight lines or directions, as in cut corners or turns as best as possible. Also you can solo 2 fp's as a zerker with the zwei, they typically bunch up on you anyways so its easier...the answer? FIND OUT NEXT WEEK!

Spoiler!

Use the Zwei stab on his chest, and keep spamming it, it will constantly make the fp stumble more than often, but he will throw a few hits here and there after every stumble you make, so be ready to parry and attack right back for extra damage if you have your perk setup that way. Also the zwei stab hits twice: Once on the insert and one when pulling out, so when you have 2 fp's on you, you stab in on one then flick your mouse on the other, and boom, double stab. [Also medics make soloing them waayyyy easier] and before you know it, both of those fp's will be dead in no time.

 

[rodrigoxm49]

It's taking too long to put a SC on the ground. I don't like this approach since now we have a real killer FP (just like KF1) and there's almost no way to kill a SC without taking damage.

Maybe i'm being nostalgic here, but I missed the KF1 simplicity. Scrakes need to kiss the ground more faster. For now it's just unbalanced. If we have 2 SC and 2 FP it's almost impossible to deal with.

For now I thing the best strategy is the Microwave Gun with Splash Damage turned on. So we need a FB on the team, just like a Zerk and a FM. Oh, we need a demo to help on Fleshpounds too...

I think it's too much.

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)

Yeah, there's only a SC on the scene. No Sirens, Bloats, Gorefasts and FP around.

Works pretty fine on Training Maps, not a real world.

 

[Escadin]

If we have 2 SC and 2 FP it's almost impossible to deal with.

Not really. There are really nasty spawns. Siren + 2 FP + 2-3 Scrakes is a spawn we chose a code word for, because lately we've had tons of waves which carried this specific zed combo up to 3 times.

We made it to Hans every time with 3 randoms nonetheless (without referring to zerker walls or nuke tbh).


The bottomline doesn't differ that much from KF1:
If your aim is precise and quick then Scrakes die before they cause any harm to the team, break your position or distract you from the wave.

It's just a lot more dynamic in practice than it used to be.

 

[ScrakeMorgendorffer]

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.

They're not really any more of a hassle than they used to be. The two new perks include Firebug [a class that's capable of taking a Scrake down with a microwave gun fairly comfortably, even more so if someone buffers them] and Demolition, which is capable of headshotting a scrake at short range with an RPG in two shots [below suicidal difficulty].

If you're attempting to win a game on suicidal or HoE difficulty, and you're going in without a medic or a zerker, you're substantially more likely to lose. That's more a sound conclusion than you're opting for.

Just to reiterate,

the other suggestion is specific perks, which is fine, but also a bit upsetting as well.

So what you're saying is, you'd like the scrake to be fair game for whichever perk you want to run as, which is clearly not one of the perks that are best suited for the job.

...there's almost no way to kill a SC without taking damage.

The Scrake is regarded as one of the two most fearsome creatures in the main part of the game. Do you honestly think they should be killed "without taking damage"?

Even so, you can [with a half decent medic] keep on top of the damage inflicted if you have a class that can deal with the Scrake without too much drama.

I've tested level 20 Berserker on a simulated 6-man HoE, and you can avoid taking damage from a Scrake in-game. They cannot catch a Zerk unless the player willingly moves into their melee arc: therefore, any difficulty level below that shouldn't have any greater issue with outrunning a Scrake.

Medics can outrun Scrakes also. All other classes can melee bash and use their class weapons and perks to stumble the enemy. You don't even need to use a Zweihander as a Zerk. Here's an example:

https://vid.me/1bdEhttps://vid.me/1bdE

I'm a below-average Zerk and it took me about an hour of testing to figure out a decent way of downing a Scrake on 6-man HoE. I'm not even close to kidding when I say I'm well below what a solid Berserker class is in-game. Despite this, I can knock out a Scrake without taking any damage.

It isn't KF1 anymore. You may have to melee bash. You may also have to parry. I know it's scary, but try it sometime.

 

[fragd]

Killing the scrakes is pretty simple: Teamwork. Every person on their team does their specific job.

The medics heal the person taking the brunt of the damage (hopefully that person is a zerker).

The zerker blocks the scrakes attacks, deals damage.
The Firebug sits behind the zerker, deals damage with microwave gun
Demo/Support can assist as needed with trash or focus on the scrake if area is clear
Commando can really focus on trash and shoot the scrake in the head if he/she has no purpose.

If you are soloing it gets a bit more difficult, and tactics against the scrake depend on the class. Once you play the game for long enough, you see enough scenarios to know how to deal with the scrakes with relative ease.

Keep Calm and Own Scrakes.

 

[Gambolputty]

SCAR magdump to the brainbox usually does it for me. Gotta have distance though. High level medics can also outrun it.