Recently Tripwire added new resistances for every enemy based on the weapon you shoot them with. Originally I had a rant here calling the last couple updates, at the time of writing, one of the worst updates they've ever dropped for Killing Floor 2 since launch. And they were. But the recent few patches show that they are indeed listening to feedback and don't have resistances set in stone, which is nice.

Unfortunately, the resistance system still isn't intuitive whatsoever and they have no other way for you to know them without trying to memorize them through playing endlessly or using their unhelpful graphs. I would suggest that Tripwire add icons in the hud for each weapon or a hit sound to indicate which zeds are resistant or weak to your weapon, but that's just me pretending I know anything about game design. Until then, I have a guide which originally used info from one of Tripwire's updates, but I wound up having to correct it by using the more accurate statistical information from this forum post.[forums.tripwireinteractive.com] So now you can use my guide to quickly check to see what you should expect given what weapon you're using.

There's still two things I want to note. The first is that this guide will be very subject to change as Tripwire adjusts resistances, but it'll always be up to date within a day or so. Favorite this guide if you want to always know how the resistances change as they get updated. The second is that the face in the icon is Jynx from Pokemon. But moving on, below is the effectiveness of each weapon type. The final section contains an even simpler list detailing which weapons are best (or worst) against which zed if there's a zed in question you're struggling with, along with pictures if you don't know all the zeds by name.

The resistances are alphabetized because Tripwire was too lazy to do it themselves in their own post. These are done according to weapon type, and what falls into those types are explained in the titles (or underneath if they're more complex). I'll refrain from outright spouting the plain numerical damage values because this is the general idea Tripwire is going for. Simply stating categorical weakness is less subject to change should Tripwire decide to minutely tweak some resistances.

Here's a legend to tell you what each "ranking" means. If you want exact values, please refer to this spreadsheet.[docs.google.com]

Values bordering on the rankings are always rounded down (I.E. if a zed takes only 75% of the damage dealt by the weapon, it is listed as "Bad").


Each class grenade varies by what type of damage they do. This is a table showing what type of damage each grenade does by class. Note that some grenades do multiple types of damage, while others do unique types of damage that do not have any resistances tied to them. Grenades that have unique damage types are underlined for clarity.

Grenades that do two types of damage splits half of their damage into both types rather than being two types at once.

Note: Hans takes 120% damage from the rocket launcher specifically (and takes normal damage from explosives in general), Scrakes take 400% damage from rocket launcher direct impacts (not the explosion itself).

Note: Fire causes zeds to panic. Ignoring Bloats and Stalkers, resistances are inverted from microwave weapons.

Note: 9mm pistol ignores resistances of Bloats (partially) and Husks; Remington (starting) revolver ignores resistances of Husks.

Note: Clot, Cyst, and Slashers all take normal damage from all class knives unlike other slashing weapons. All monsters take more damage from blunt weapons.

Note: Microwaves causes zeds to panic. Ignoring Bloats and Stalkers, resistances are inverted from fire weapons. Microwaves are strong against all zeds that have metal on them.

Note: Stunning and headshot power from "Piercing" weapons may allow them to ignore most "Bad" and "Terrible" zeds' resistances to them (especially for the crossbow).

Note: Poison has the highest potential to cause zeds to panic. Hans takes 10% damage from poison, and thus is nearly immune to all poison damage.

Note: Sirens takes bonus damage only from the double barrel shotgun.

If you're having trouble with a specific zed, here's an even more basic version of resistances so you can figure out which weapons to carry as a secondary or who to use for your team composition. I've also included pictures in case you don't know all the zeds by name yet.

Vulnerabilities are done on a comparative basis in relation to their resistances. For example, the Patriarch resists all damage including microwaves, but resists significantly less damage from microwaves in relation to other weapons. Thus, he is listed as vulnerable to the microwave gun. Keep in mind that if your weapon does enough damage, it can easily ignore a zed's resistance to it.

P.S. Tripwire: Please never make anything as bullet spongey as prepatch Stalkers ever again.

VULNERABLE TO:
Firebug weapons (takes normal damage)

RESISTANT TO:
All other weapons (slightly less to 9mm pistol)

WEAKPOINT:
Head

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
Knives

VULNERABLE TO:
All weapons besides below, extremely weak to Commando weapons, Medic assault rifle, and SMGs

RESISTANT TO:
Microwaves

WEAKPOINT:
Head

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
None

VULNERABLE TO:
All weapons besides below, extremely weak to Commando weapons, Medic assault rifle, and SMGs

RESISTANT TO:
Microwaves

WEAKPOINT:
Head

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
None

VULNERABLE TO:
Microwaves, extremely weak to explosives

RESISTANT TO:
All other weapons, somewhat less resistant to Support weapons, Bereserk nailgun, Firebug trenchgun, Medic shotgun, and handguns

WEAKPOINT:
Head, glowing chest

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
Metal arms

VULNERABLE TO:
Sharpshooter weapons (besides crossbow), Commando weapons, Medic assault rifle, extremely weak to Support weapons, Berserker nailgun, Firebug trenchgun, and Medic Shotgun

RESISTANT TO:
Melee and all Berserker weapons (except blunt weapons and nailgun), crossbow

WEAKPOINT:
Head

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
Arm blade

VULNERABLE TO:
Firebug weapons (especially microwaves but excluding trenchgun), explosives (especially RPG)

RESISTANT TO:
All other weapons, extremely resistant to Commando weapons and Medic assault rifle

WEAKPOINT:
Head, glowing chest core, especially weak in glowing backpack battery

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
None

VULNERABLE TO:
Microwaves (especially), handguns, Support weapons, Berserker nailgun, Firebug trenchgun, and Medic shotgun; tank backpack takes normal damage from all sources

RESISTANT TO:
All other weapons, slightly less resistant to explosives and Sharpshooter weapons

WEAKPOINT:
Head, tank backpack

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
All metal areas (except tank backpack)

VULNERABLE TO:
Microwaves (takes normal damage)

RESISTANT TO:
All damage (equally) besides vulnerability listed above

WEAKPOINT:
Head, right (glowing and organic) shoulder, chest tentacle (during grab attack)

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
All mechanical parts

VULNERABLE TO:
Microwaves, Sharpshooter weapons (except crossbow), handguns, Support weapons, Berserker nailgun, Firebug trenchgun, Medic shotgun, RPG direct hits

RESISTANT TO:
All other weapons except for assault rifles and SMGs, especially resistant to fire and explosives (except for RPG direct hits)

WEAKPOINT:
Head

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
Chainsaw

VULNERABLE TO:
Microwaves, Support weapons (especially double barrel), Berserker nailgun, Firebug trenchgun, Medic Shotgun

RESISTANT TO:
Fire, poison

WEAKPOINT:
Head

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
Metal brace

VULNERABLE TO:
Melee, extemely weak to Commando weapons and Medic assault rifle

RESISTANT TO:
Explosives

WEAKPOINT:
Head

DAMAGE RESISTANT AREAS:
None