How 2 Killing Floor: Understanding Basic Game Mechanics

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VØLTÅG£
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How 2 Killing Floor: Understanding Basic Game Mechanics

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With the massive influx of ASH players and friends who play the game now, I figured it would be beneficial if a post was made that centralized how to play the game and teach you the mechanics of the game. I'll post several of these topics, each covering different aspects of the game.

First off, before we get in depth on how to be a Killing Floor BAMF, you need to know how the game difficulties work, what changes from difficulty-to-difficulty, and where you should be in correlation to your perk level.

Start at the beginning. As the old saying goes, you have to crawl before you can walk; same concept. Don't start as a level 0 and go right to HoE (Hell on Earth). Level 0 to level 1 should be Beginner Level. This difficulty is recommended for first-time players as they need to know their way around the map before getting into the real game-play. Specimens in this difficulty are extremely fragile at 50% of their base health. The specimen count in each wave is very low, specimens do 30% base damage and yield higher bounties when killed. Specimens move at 95% speed and only your armour takes all damage from most specimen attacks , other than Siren screams, Husk fireballs, and anything from the Patriarch. Players spawn with £300. There is also Trader time extension of 50%, giving you 30 seconds more for getting ready for another wave. No tactics are really needed to win this difficulty regardless of whether with a squad or playing a solo game. Even the Patriarch, compared to other difficulties, should be relatively easy to defeat. Once you feel comfortable with your aim, have a general idea of the maps, and how to fight the Zeds, you know the game basics and you get to slap on your Killing Floor graduation cap and bump it up a notch.

Level 1 to Level 3 should be on Normal. Normal is significantly more different than beginner; more enemies, enemies spawn with base health, and hit at base damage; so no more handicap 4 u booboo. Players spawn with £250. Bounty from every specimen is reduced by half in comparison with the beginner level. The Patriarch is now a solid challenge to those beginning and looking for a challenge. Normal mode does require team work and shouldn't be underestimated by a player just starting out. So now you have more experience, you can breeze through Normal mode ezpz. Ditch the milk and step on up to some meat, son!

Level 2 (if you're pretty damn good at the game) - level 4 go to Hard, which is MUCH harder than Normal. This mode is for players who have leveled up their perks a bit and feel like normal is no longer a challenge. The amount of specimens per wave is stepped up and their health is increased by 35% from normal along with damage by 25%. The specimens also have a 15% increase in speed, and do not despawn after time. Players start with £250. Killing the Patriarch on hard requires foresight and teamwork, especially for a relatively unleveled team, strategy is important and there won't be any soloing seen on a full server.

You absolutely must be a level 5 or 6 to play Suicidal or Hell on Earth or you will be kicked because you can not play those levels yet. You could be James Bond packing a 9mm and doing work, but if you're facing an army with miniguns, you can say buh-bye to 007. In the same way, even if you may be a bomb-ass level 4 player, the perks that come with level 5 and 6 are far too essential to just do without. Each member needs to be a strong player for these difficulties, and if your team has to end up covering your back as well as there's for rounds on end, it's going to be a bad time. Also Zed mechanics for enemies such as Scrakes and Fleshpounds change when from Hard to higher difficulties. Basically, once you slap on some big girl panties and move on up to Suicidal and HoE, the game actually CHANGES how Zed's behave to make it that much more difficult.

**Suicidal: The amount of specimens in each wave is greatly increased compared to the other difficulties, and their damage and health increased by 55%.

Players spawn with £200 at the start of the game and bounty from specimens are extremely low; those who get most of the kills should donate to those who are in need of money and equipment. The Patriarch decimates an unwary team with ease and any player acting alone can be easily overrun. Tactics are a requirement and without teamwork a squad will fail relatively quickly. Additional modifications were made to make the game harder:

* Removing the ability to break free of a Clot's hold by jumping
* Increasing Fleshpound crossbow headshot resistance from 50% to 65%
* Increasing Scrake crossbow headshot resistance to 50%
* Removing combat armour from the set of items with which a Level 6 Berserker can spawn

** Hell on Earth (HoE): In relation to Normal difficulty, specimens have 75% more health, inflict 75% more damage, and move 30% faster; players spawn with £100 and have 35% less income. Additional modifications were made to make the game harder:

* Removing the ability to break free of a Clot's hold by jumping
* Increasing Fleshpound crossbow headshot resistance from 50% to 65%
* Increasing Scrake crossbow headshot resistance to 50%
* Doubling Fleshpound rage duration
* Reducing 9mm headshot bonus for Sharpshooters from 140% to 40%
* Removing combat armour from the set of items with which a Level 6 Berserker can spawn


Now that you've got the concept of how difficulty levels work in KF, here are some rules/guidelines to consider while you play:

Rule #1: Don't waste money and always buy armour before buying a gun.
This doesn’t matter so much on Beginner or Normal, but on Hard, Suicidal and Hell on Earth, it is a must. On hard you may be able to get away with not having armour on waves 1 and 2, but anything after that and you need armour. You need some kind of protection when the cloaked Stalkers and long range Husks come out, and not having armour can almost certainly be the end of you. People will buy guns first because they want kills, but there’s no point racking up kills if you die halfway through the round. Money is not easy to come by. If you get 1000 dosh don't buy the biggest weapon you can, no ammo, and no armor, then die 5 sec into a round with your self heal gun out. We just threw away money we could have used for ourselves , we have to kill your share of the Zeds, and we will hear you calling for more money the next round.

Rule #2: If someone shoots off a ZED’s head, do not keep shooting it.
This is pretty simple. If someone has removed the head from a zombie, especially as a Sharpshooter, then don’t keep shooting it to get the kill, it will die in a few seconds and you shooting it, it won’t give them the kill which is rude and essentially kill stealing. Don't be a douche. It's a team game; not COD.

Rule #3: Rule 3: Do not shoot a ZED a Berserker is running towards.
You need to be up close to kill ZED’s as a Berserker (obviously), and it can very extremely infuriating every time you run up to kill a ZED for someone else to kill it just as you reach it. Everyone needs and wants kills in this game, not just you, so if a Berserker is running for a ZED, let him kill it and pick one of the 200 other ZED’s to kill. Sharing is caring.

Rule #4: Do not shoot a Scrake if a Berserker is hitting it.
Berserker’s can stun Scrakes and kill them without letting them rage, if you shoot it, it will rage and it will attack them, which is pretty much a dick move. If a Berserker is taking care of a Scrake, try and protect them and kill the stuff attacking them.

Rule #5: If you are a medic, do not rush in to get kills.
If you pick the Field Medic class, then it’s your job to heal the other people you’re playing with, but many medics seem to run ahead in an attempt to get as many kills as they can. If you want to do this, pick another class, if you are a Medic, then stay back and heal your teammates whenever you can to keep them alive, only occasionally providing support if they start to get overwhelmed. However, if you are a pretty good shooter, and pay very close attention to both your surroundings and your team's vitality/surroundings, then your chain is a little longer. Just don't be Dr. Rambo and go half way across the map leaving your teammates high and dry.

Rules #6: This isn't CoD, don't be a kill jockey and learn to play as a functional team member. Don’t go looking for kills. Does this sound repetitive? It’s among the most important things that you, as a veteran FPS player, need to get through your head. Kill counts don’t matter. They don’t matter. THEY DON’T MATTER. What matters is whether you can hold your position effectively, thereby keeping your teammates (who aren’t watching you) from being eaten. Players who come in from other FPS games can never seem to stand still. Every time somebody fires a shot, the FPS vet drops his post and comes running; spending ammo needlessly by shooting at enemies that are most likely already targeted and being actively fired upon, and leaving a big hole in your team's defensive strategies. If you are at your post, and there are no zombies in front of you, and you hear gunfire, ignore it. It’s the sound of your teammates doing their jobs, and it should be music to your ears because you have a minute to breathe. Instead of running over to see what’s happening, take stock of your surroundings. Reload. Check your alternate guns and reload them, too, if you need to. How’s your health? This is a great time to heal. And always keep an ear open and an eye on the chat bar, because if they need your help, they’ll call you and you’d better come running.

Rules #7: Don't crouch, ya fool.
Crouching doesn’t improve your aim, it just makes you move more slowly, and that lost mobility is so important that it can lose games all on its own. It also makes your shots, when they go wide, fly off into empty air instead of into the larger crowd of zeds at which you should be aiming, so don’t crouch, especially if you’re a berserker. That said, there are a few exceptions to this rule.
* Crouching makes it so that your teammates can shoot over you; if you’re on the frontlines and there’s a teammate standing behind you, by crouching you can make it so both of you has a clear shot and neither of you is in each other’s way. This makes it easier for both of you to focus on what’s important: not moving around to get a clear shot, but standing still and mowing down zombies.
* If you’re a sharpshooter and you’re standing on something, it can be a good idea to crouch. This lessens the downward angle of crossbow bolts and M99 rounds fired at incoming zombies, making it easier to chain long strings of kills together with one shot.
* Crawlers. Crawlers are a nightmare because they are quick, deal a lot of damage, and, most importantly, they're half the size of anything else out there. Generally, the Support in your group should take care of this, but when there isn't one handy, many players find it advantageous to, rather than adjust their aim, quickly crouch, shoot the crawlers, and stand up again. There's nothing wrong with this, so long as you always press the crouch button to stand up as soon as you're done. This is important. ALWAYS STAND UP WHEN YOU'RE DONE. Long-time FPS players will need to practice this technique a lot before taking it into demanding play.

Rule #8: Stick by your team.
Because the player has a huge advantage in mobility over the zombies, and because there’s a limit to how many can actually be physically on the map at any given time, it’s possible to go solo against extremely long odds. Could you survive? Sure, but here are some things to think about:

This game is actually out to get you. It has a system in place that can spawn zombies anywhere the player can’t physically see (and many places you can; nobody said it wasn’t buggy.) If you’re with a team, the immediate vicinity is generally pretty well covered, so you can be sure no zombies are going to pop up five feet behind you when you aren’t looking. Not so when you’re alone. If you screw up, no one will be able to save you.

You are penalized when you die. Early on, it’s not that much of a penalty, but if you just bought a brand new AA12 and you die while trying it out on a group halfway across the map from your team, that’s a boat load of change; even with the cost reduction that comes with the support perk... plus the cost of any other non-basic guns you have, plus the sizeable bonus that you would normally get for being alive at the end of the wave, plus the actual monetary death penalty. It’ll be awhile before you can earn it back. If you’re lucky, your team will help to soften that loss, but your audacity will not make them like you, nor is it their responsibility to compensate you for your stupidity.

Rules #9: Read your perk's description.
Understand what weapons are best for your class and what your limitations are. Don't select level 1 Firebug then buy a Scar, Firebug buys a flamethrower and a Mac 10, Sharp Shooter buys a lever action rifle and a hand cannon, etc. These things are spelled out for you. You not only waste money and hurt the team, but you make the game less fun for yourself and by not picking the right weapon you stop your own progress in a class. You will NEVER be a level six Firebug if you don't use the MAc 10 and/or flamethower. You will NEVER be a level 6 Medic if you don't heal people.

Rule #10: Know where your perk would best function in conjunction with your team's set-up .
Each class functions best at a different location, relative to the door or hallway that serves as your zone. In general, Supports and Berserkers, and Commandos are best on the front lines, Firebugs, Medics, and Commandos are best in the middle, and Sharpshooters and Demos are better in the back, standing on top of a handy car or something. Here's an illustration of a basic set-up:

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