Killing Floor 3 Perks Explained: Which Class Makes Sense for You?

CNET

5 days ago

Killing Floor 3 completely revamps the series' perk system, bringing the game's classes more in line with hero shooters such as Overwatch or Marvel Rivals.
This streamlined perk system differentiates every character, with each getting a unique arsenal of weapons as well as a signature gadget and grenade. But you start to feel the real differences as you level up and unlock nodes throughout the specialized perk skill trees.
Killing Floor 2 veterans are used to having 10 perks to choose from, but Killing Floor 3 condenses the selection to six unique classes. Some classes (like the Commando and the Firebug) are familiar, while others (like the Ninja) are new additions to the sequel.
While you can buy weapons from other perks mid-match, choosing a class to invest your time into is a big decision, since it takes a lot of time to level them up and earn skill points for their perk trees -- which you'll need to do if you want to take on the game's harder difficulty missions. Here's everything you need to know about each perk in Killing Floor 3.
Pick up a rifle and get blasting with Killing Floor 3's Commando class.
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The Commando is a classic first-person shooter hero
Mr. Foster, the poster boy of the Killing Floor series, returns as this sequel's Commando perk (at least until the characters and classes are decoupled in a future season 1 update). This sarcastic gas-mask clad specialist is the easiest character to pick up and play, primarily focusing on putting the most lead downrange as humanly possible. He's like Overwatch 2's Soldier 76 or Marvel Rivals' Punisher in that regard.
This class starts out with a basic assault rifle and a semi-automatic pistol, and the additional purchasable weapons aren't complicated. There are two more intermediate rifles that you can buy. These will let you do more damage by firing even more bullets, with the class's arsenal culminating in a small light machine gun with a high fire rate and large drum magazine.
The most interesting part of the Commando perk's kit is the class gadget. Commando players can activate a drone that fires explosive squibs at enemies in front of the player, dousing them in acid and creating damaging pools on the ground beneath their feet. While most class gadgets feel reactive, this is a proactive tool that allows you to continue pumping out damage and denying the zombies extra space on the map, as well as focus-firing tougher foes.
As you level up the Commando perk, you can unlock skills that let you buy weapons more quickly, recharge your acid drone faster, increase the amount of bullet time you gain by landing headshots on zombies and more.
If you want to turn your brain off and gun down some zombies, you can't go wrong with the Commando perk. It's a simple and easy to understand class, and its ballistic weapons are effective against almost every enemy in the game.
The Dragon's Breath shotgun gives the Firebug a ballistic weapon for when flames are less effective.
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The Firebug is a flame-spraying debuff machine
This is my favorite Killing Floor 3 perk. If you want to control space throughout a map, inflict debuffs on zombies and inflict death through a thousand burns, the Firebug is the perk for you.
This class starts out with one of the most unique weapons in the game, a flare-firing submachine gun that lights enemies on fire. You'll also have a revolver sidearm to defend yourself against any enemies that don't burn down in time. Purchasable weapons include a Dragon's Breath incendiary shotgun, a flamethrower and a powerful superheated plasma launcher, letting you light your enemies ablaze at any distance.
If you've lit up a massive horde but they still manage to close the distance and attack you, the Firebug's class gadget is a great panic button. Activating this ability creates a ring of flames around the player, vaporizing smaller zombies in the immediate vicinity and doing a chunk of damage to larger enemies. You also get a handful of invincibility frames while locked into this gadget's animation, which can help you survive particularly deadly boss attacks.
Zombies that catch fire begin to panic, which stunlocks them for precious seconds -- the Firebug buys time for the rest of the team to set up their most devastating attacks. Your flames will also wreath zombies and coat every surface they touch, ensuring your foes will suffer from consistent damage-over-time as they attempt to advance on your position. The Firebug prevents most enemies from reaching melee range, and those who do are quickly dispatched with the class's ballistic weapons.
As you level up the Firebug perk, you can unlock skills that spread debuffs among more enemies, spew more flames across the ground, heal you for standing in fire and more.
If you just want to watch the world burn (or you want to slow down the approaching zombie horde) then Killing Floor 3's Firebug perk will help you hold the line.
The Engineer gets one of the only fully automatic secondaries in the game, which compliments his semi-automatic shotgun primary weapon.
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The Engineer is a room-clearing close quarters specialist
If you want to punch through fodder but still keep a big gun in your back pocket for the largest threats, the Engineer might be the right perk for you. This jack of all trades is kitted out for close quarters combat, but also comes equipped with tools that let you activate ziplines and turrets throughout each map to help out the team.
This class starts out with a shotgun that lets you clear multiple small enemies in a single shot, but you also get a compact secondary machine pistol for the hectic moments when you don't have the time or space to reload. If you earn enough money during a run, you can trade up your semi-automatic shotgun for a fully automatic variant or invest in a grenade launcher or plasma cutter for an explosive end to longer-ranged engagements.
If you're able to line up a sightline on a massive horde, the Engineer's class gadget will thin it out immediately. You can activate a pair of massive shoulder-mounted soundwave turrets that are powerful enough to tear smaller zombies asunder, while staggering larger enemies such as Scrakes and Fleshpounds.
This class is built for managing the zombie population to make waves more manageable for your team. The Engineer gets additional bullet penetration with all of his weapons, which means each shot will pierce multiple zombies and shred them extremely quickly.
As you level up the Engineer perk, you can unlock skills that further increase your bullet penetration, allow you to use the soundwave turrets for longer, boost your defense against melee zombies and more.
If your idea of a good time is booting up Doom and blasting chunks out of demons with a super shotgun or you enjoy setting traps to support your team, the Engineer is a solid perk for any team composition in Killing Floor 3.
If you enjoy taking on Killing Floor 3's hordes from a safer distance, the Sharpshooter is the most powerful ranged class in the game.
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The Sharpshooter is a high-risk, high-reward sniper
If you'd prefer to stay a safe distance away from the fight and pick off large enemies with a couple well-placed shots, the Sharpshooter perk is right up your alley. This class has very little defense against melee attackers, but dominates zombies that fight at longer range.
You'll start each match with a powerful semi-automatic marksman rifle and a high-caliber revolver sidearm (with a neat single-round shotgun alternate fire), but you can quickly upgrade to a rifle with a three-round burst if you want to grab a gun that puts lead down range a little bit faster. Other purchasable weapons include a long-barrel sniper rifle and a magnet-powered railgun, which have lower ammo capacities but do some of the highest per-shot damage in the game.
If you make a mistake and a group of zombies sneak up on you, the Sharpshooter's class gadget functions as a killer get of jail free card. If you've ever seen Guardians of the Galaxy, the Sharpshooter's wrist-mounted arrow launcher will seem very familiar to you. This heatseeking tool zips through close to a dozen zombies before embedding in the final foe for an explosive finish.
The Sharpshooter's grenade roots zombies in place by freezing them in prisons of dagger-tipped icicles, which is another great way to keep spacing out the most dangerous undead threats.
As you level up the Sharpshooter perk, you can unlock skills that reward pinpoint accuracy with increased damage, additional targeting capabilities for the heatseeking arrow, a better freeze grenade and more.
If you're a top-tier aimer and who loves prioritizing the most dangerous foes on the battlefield, the high risk, high reward play style of the Sharpshooter perk is perfect for you.
While the Ninja class is by far the coolest addition to Killing Floor 3, it's also the hardest perk to master.
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The Ninja is a stylish melee combo specialist
If the Engineer doesn't fight up close and personal enough for your tastes, there's another perk that lets you plunge even deeper into the heat of battle. If you're a fan of melee-focused horde shooters like developer Fatshark's Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, you'll feel right at home when you choose the Ninja in Killing Floor 3.
This class starts out with a kiba blade that lets you slice through enemies and block errant melee attacks, as well as throwing shurikens for encounters at midrange. Other purchasable primaries include throwing kunai, a compound bow and dual katanas -- this arsenal gives you options when it comes to dealing with armored, bladed enemies that might otherwise best you in melee combat.
When it's time to dice up the baddies, though, no other perk moves as swiftly through battle as the Ninja. This class's gadget is a wrist-mounted grappling hook that'll yank you toward the zombie you're aiming at, doing staggering amounts of damage to any enemies between your starting point and the target.
While other perks can only use their gadgets once before triggering a long recharge period, the Ninja is able to hold onto three uses of the grappling hook at a time, allowing the most efficient players to cleave through hordes of fodder enemies in seconds and then zoom away if necessary.
As you level up the Ninja perk, you can unlock skills that upgrade the potency of your bleed status afflictions, allow you to pick up your throwing weapons from further away, impart stat bonuses upon executing perfect parries and more.
If you love blocking attacks and hacking away at enemies, feeling like Mortal Kombat's Scorpion when he yanks enemies in to finish them off or moving around the map faster than your allies, the Ninja is the perfect Killing Floor 3 perk for you.
The Medic's weapons combine ballistic firepower with secondary healing dart functions to bring massive value to a co-op team.
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The Medic is a healer and the backbone of a co-op team
In Killing Floor 3, healing items are hard to come by. You no longer have access to the recharging syringe that existed in previous games -- now you have a maximum of three heals per round, and each one costs cold, hard cash. That's why the Medic is the most important support perk you can bring to your lobby.
This class starts out with a submachine gun and a pistol, which are among the weakest starting weapons. Crucially, the Medic's weapons have a built-in syringe dart underbarrel attachment that'll let you fire healing shots at your teammates from afar. That's where you'll truly prove your worth in the heat of battle. The perk's other weapons include a more powerful submachine gun with the same underbarrel alternate fire, as well as a healing beam (similar to the one wielded by Team Fortress 2's Medic) and a longer-ranged beam weapon.
While the Medic might not have the strongest guns, this class isn't completely defenseless when the horde bears down on you. The class gadget activates a healing aura that keeps you and your team healthy if you stay within the designated area. Meanwhile, any zombies that encroach on your territory will take damage over time while the effect is active. The class's biotic grenade spews toxic anti-zombie gas.
Medics will have to invest their cash inflow into buying more healing darts, but your team will fall apart without consistent sources of healing at higher difficulties. You'll still have an intense, high-stakes Killing Floor experience, but you'll be aiming at your teammates more often than the zombies.
As you level up the Medic perk, you can unlock skills that let you revive downed allies quicker, buff your allies' weapon damage while they stand within your gadget's area of effect, spread toxic damage among the horde and more.
If you want to be a good team player and have the best chance of going the distance on harder difficulty survival runs, you'll definitely want to invest in Killing Floor 3's Medic perk.