Copy-paste of a post I made on Steam, but I've been hearing murmurs that weapons will be locked behind specialists, which makes me concerned that off-perking will just not be a thing at all in KF3. I don't think this is a particularly good idea because even though it's better to use your perk weapons than not, there are sometimes some really good reasons to off-perk across the first two Killing Floor games
KF1 - Sharpshooter
The Headshot damage bonus applies to every weapon in the game and while not the most optimal strategy, the Sharpshooter benefits the most from the random weapons that can be found off the ground than other perks. Assuming you find these guns in the early game, they can make for a handy sidearm to carry alongside your harder hitting weapons, assuming you can land consistent headshots
KF1 - Mk23
Although technically a Sharpshooter weapon, the Mk23 has found more use on the Berserker due to Sharpshooter already having the Dual 9mms and Deagles. Berserker on the other hand, crawlers are a difficult enemy to engage in melee and a few shots from the .45 melts them pretty damn easily, while also helping against husks in a pinch
KF2 - Medic Pistol
The Medical Syringe in Killing Floor 2 has received significant downgrades to the point where I usually just relegate the syringe to just pressing Q while instead using the T1 Medic weapon for healing teammates whenever i'm not playing Medic. The HMTECH-101 is arguably the best Tier 1 weapon not because of its overall killing power. Rather, it only deals just enough damage to decapitate clots on all difficulties, has an ammo pool of 15+240 rounds, and weighs one block. Most importantly, the underbarrel dart launcher only uses 50% of its batteries per shot, effectively making the Medic Pistol the new KF1 syringe, rather than the KF2 syringe.
KF2 - SWAT
Probably a less relevant point since this really only lasted for the first few years of Killing Floor 2 but early on in the game's lifecycle, most perks couldn't really carry their Tier 4 weapon, a weaker weapon, and a Medic Pistol at the same time. SWAT weapons at the time were a useful sidearm for players to carry since they enabled the heavy hitters and Firebug to carry their big zed killers, a medic pistol, and an automatic weapon that can one-hit decapitate clots. I wanna think the SMG weapon type could fulfill a similar role in KF3
KF2 - Piranha Pistol
Although the Piranha Pistol mainly exists to be a Wave 2 gun for the Berserker, the Piranha Pistol is capable of parrying attacks to a much better degree than just using the knife, and only weighs three blocks. Due to the random nature of zed aggro in KF2, you've probably had moments where scrakes, fleshpounds, and gorefiends constantly hound you and you can't shake them off, which is where the Piranha Pistol shines regarding its utility as an off-perk weapon.
Conclusion
I've probably missed some other examples of how off-perk weapons can be used, but the point I wanted to make is that while it's usually more optimal to use weapons belonging to your perk, using guns that don't belong to your perk is a valid tactic.
KF1 - Sharpshooter
The Headshot damage bonus applies to every weapon in the game and while not the most optimal strategy, the Sharpshooter benefits the most from the random weapons that can be found off the ground than other perks. Assuming you find these guns in the early game, they can make for a handy sidearm to carry alongside your harder hitting weapons, assuming you can land consistent headshots
KF1 - Mk23
Although technically a Sharpshooter weapon, the Mk23 has found more use on the Berserker due to Sharpshooter already having the Dual 9mms and Deagles. Berserker on the other hand, crawlers are a difficult enemy to engage in melee and a few shots from the .45 melts them pretty damn easily, while also helping against husks in a pinch
KF2 - Medic Pistol
The Medical Syringe in Killing Floor 2 has received significant downgrades to the point where I usually just relegate the syringe to just pressing Q while instead using the T1 Medic weapon for healing teammates whenever i'm not playing Medic. The HMTECH-101 is arguably the best Tier 1 weapon not because of its overall killing power. Rather, it only deals just enough damage to decapitate clots on all difficulties, has an ammo pool of 15+240 rounds, and weighs one block. Most importantly, the underbarrel dart launcher only uses 50% of its batteries per shot, effectively making the Medic Pistol the new KF1 syringe, rather than the KF2 syringe.
KF2 - SWAT
Probably a less relevant point since this really only lasted for the first few years of Killing Floor 2 but early on in the game's lifecycle, most perks couldn't really carry their Tier 4 weapon, a weaker weapon, and a Medic Pistol at the same time. SWAT weapons at the time were a useful sidearm for players to carry since they enabled the heavy hitters and Firebug to carry their big zed killers, a medic pistol, and an automatic weapon that can one-hit decapitate clots. I wanna think the SMG weapon type could fulfill a similar role in KF3
KF2 - Piranha Pistol
Although the Piranha Pistol mainly exists to be a Wave 2 gun for the Berserker, the Piranha Pistol is capable of parrying attacks to a much better degree than just using the knife, and only weighs three blocks. Due to the random nature of zed aggro in KF2, you've probably had moments where scrakes, fleshpounds, and gorefiends constantly hound you and you can't shake them off, which is where the Piranha Pistol shines regarding its utility as an off-perk weapon.
Conclusion
I've probably missed some other examples of how off-perk weapons can be used, but the point I wanted to make is that while it's usually more optimal to use weapons belonging to your perk, using guns that don't belong to your perk is a valid tactic.
