KF3 Nightfall Compendium

Comprehensive compendium covering all perk's skills and weapons to prepare you for Hell on Earth

Tips and Tricks to Killing the Floor

Armor: What it does and when to upgrade it

As long as you have even 1 armor you get damage reduction corresponding to your armor level. Base Armor gives 0% damage reduction, Green gives 5%, Blue gives 20%, and Purple gives 30%. It's never worth the dosh to upgrade to Green unless you can also afford Blue, not even for the free armor you get when upgrading.

How do Mod Passives work when stacked (e.g. Deadly Resupply)?

Passive proc chances are multiplicative, not additive. Which means that 3x Deadly Resupply doesn't add up to 99% proc chance (33%+33%+33%). Instead, the combined probability is calculated as 1−(1−0.33)^3, which gives a 70% chance to proc at least once. 2x Deadly Resupply would be 1−(1−0.33)^2 = 55% chance.

Move Speed and why it matters

As you increase difficulty up to Hell on Earth, you'll notice zeds move much faster. Normal running won't cut it, eventually you're going to need to learn some move tech. The easiest method is simply swapping to a knife, then there are other techniques like Diag-Dashing and SlideJumping. Thankfully every perk has a move speed skill, don't underestimate them.

Zed Spawners: What they are and how to abuse them

Zeds always spawn near you. Shocking, right? More specifically, in multiplayer, they will always spawn near all players. If you're grouped up, it will force zeds to spawn from limited spawn points and then attack from more predictable routes. By funneling zeds down hallways, around corners, or through doors you can make each wave easier and faster for bunker strategies.

Try not to be off on your own. If you feel the need to be off protecting another doorway or flank... you are probably the reason zeds are spawning there. And definitely don't be that player who farms all of the kills while the rest of the party is grouped up waiting for the Zeds to come around the corner.

Damage Types

Is Explosive Force really the only way?

Ballistic damage is the most common, but could easily be considered the weakest. Force damage doesn't seem to stand out much with only one strength, but it has no weaknesses either. The fact that it's often found on Explosive Weapons certainly helps, but other damage types can also be effective.

Bosses, Scrakes, and Fleshpounds

Scrakes and Fleshpounds will be your biggest obstacles during waves, so bringing something to deal with them ASAP is going to be your highest priority, especially on HoE where they start showing up early! By the boss you should have enough dosh for two weapons to cover any potential weaknesses.

Scrake -

Weakness: Ballistic, Cut, Biological
Strength: Force, Electrical

Fleshpound -

Weakness: Force, Electrical
Strength: Ballistic, Cut, Biological

Queen Crawler (Boss) -

Weakness: Fire, Biological
Strength: Force, Acidic

Chimera (Boss) -

Weakness: Force, Cold
Strength: Fire, Electrical

Impaler (Boss) -

Weakness: Electrical, Acidic
Strength: Cold, Biological

Afflictions

Damage over Time: Bleed (Cut), Burn (Heat), Corrosion (Acidic), Toxic (Biological)
Hard CC/Interrupts: Confuse, Freeze, Knockdown, Panic, Shock, Stumble, Stun
Enfeeble is unique as the only debuffing effect without a DoT or interrupt, although this allows you to debuff without worrying about overwriting other CC effects.

Hit Zones and why they matter

The weakpoints of Scrakes and Fleshpounds are often either Armor or Zedtech. Exposed fleshy bits are vulnerable to Ballistic/Biological/Cut but that might not mean all weakpoints are flesh.

Mod Passives

High Value Passives

• Allied Zed Time (multiplayer)
  
• Armor Repair (especially useful for melee coatings)
  
• Armored Allies (kill reliant, multiplayer+)
  
• Boss Bash Team-Up (multiplayer bosses++)
  
• Boss Basher (bosses only)
  
• Deadly Resupply (kill reliant, not good for weapons that use multiple ammo per shot)
  
• Kill Shield (kill reliant)
  
• Killshot Cure (kill reliant, multiplayer+)
  
• Melee Master (melee only)
  
• Stumblesome (all-purpose)

Passives like Armored Allies, Boss Basher Team-Up, and Killshot Cure may not directly affect your character, but they're the most valuable passives available for multiplayer when used effectively.

Ranged Weapon Passives

For most slots there is a pool of 15 possible passives to roll from, and each passive can roll in up to 3 slots at most. Some passives line up just right and can be stacked without overlap for 3+3 like Deadly Resupply / Kill Shield.

Ninja Weapon Passives

Ninja Weapons are a bit different, just like their parts and mods. Most mod slots only have 8 possible passives, aside from Sights with 12. Some passives can only roll once, like Armor Repair on Coatings, but a few passives can still roll 3x, such as Melee Master and Kill Shield.

Commando

Armed with assault-style weapons, this well-rounded warrior adapts to any combat situation with lethal effectiveness.
Gadget: Hellion (Acidic)
An autonomous drone that targets enemies with acidic projectiles.
Throwable: HE Grenade (Force)
A conventional military grade grenade with a short timer.

Suggested Skills:

Passives: Fire Sale, Preferred Customer, Booster Shot, Time and Again, A Real Rager
Throwable: Think Fast, +1 Cap, Corrosion Explosion, +1 Cap, Scavenger
Gadget: Market Panic, Extended Coverage, Slow Dance, Quick Return, Smog Warning

Alternatives: Cluster Bombs (16), Get Loaded (20)

Weapon Loadouts -

Tier 1 - X295 Wraith

Ammo: Overpressure Rounds
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Magazine (optional)
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver
I'd recommend starting with Overpressure Rounds and the Heavy Frame Receiver first to increase your damage. Add on the Suppressor, Reflex Sight, and Foregrip as your starting budget increases.

Tier 2 - Stormguard

Ammo: Overpressure Rounds
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver

Tier 3 - SCAR EIR

Ammo: Overpressure Rounds
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Laser Sight
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Lightweight Mag (optional)
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver
Don't be fooled by the Drum Mag, it's not worth the dosh.

Tier 4 - Knightsbridge

Ammo: Reactive Alloy Rounds
Barrel: Mag-Channel Accelerator
Underbarrel: Frag Launcher
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Powered Box Mag
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver

Sidearm - Bloodhound P330

Ammo: Explosive Rounds
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Laser Sight (Pistol)
Sight: Reflex Sight (Pistol)
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Multi-Round Burst Fire Mode (optional)
AP and Electric rounds work fine too

Firebug

Equipped with a wide range of incendiary devices, this pyro expert secures strategic points with a wall of fire that few dare cross.
Gadget: Wildfire (Heat)
A back-worn thermal energy device that releases an explosive ring of fire.
Throwable: Molotov Cocktail (Heat)
A breakable incendiary weapon that ignites an area and all enemies within it.

Suggested Skills:

Passives: Firewall, Focus Fire, Fuel to Burn, Red Zone, Extinguisher
Throwable: Cocktail Party, +1 Cap, Extended Edition, +1 Cap, Asphyxiate
Gadget: Heat Therapy, Speedy Exit, In the Public Eye, Hot Streak, Flammable Material

Weapon Loadouts -

Tier 1 - IR-50 Brimstone

Ammo: White Phosphorous Flaers
Barrel: Magnesium Accelerator
Underbarrel: Empty
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver
Ammo, Barrel, and Receiver should be your first prriorities.

Tier 2 - Dragon's Breath

Ammo: White Phosphorous Shells
Barrel: Compensator
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Affliction Amplifier

Tier 3 - Incinerator M7

Ammo: Tar Fuel
Barrel: Wide-Angle Nozzle
Underbarrel: Incendiary Launcher
Magazine: Extended Fuel Tank
Internal: Slowed Tick Receiver

Tier 4 - Vulcan TA

Ammo: Supercharged Plasma
Barrel: Plasma Focuser
Magazine: Pressurized Tank
Internal: Pneumatic Plasma Cooler
This plasma cannon is easily one of the best T4 weapons thanks to the combination of Heat and Force damage along with an explosive impact capable of hitting multiple weakpoints or blowing up entire hordes of zeds. Ultra Octane Fuel Tank provides a bit more damage at the cost of ammo efficiency, but Pressurized Tank will provide a sizable amount of increased damage per magazine.

Sidearm - Pyre .357

Ammo: Electric Ammo
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Laser Sight(Pistol)
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Suppressed Cyclinder
Internal: Heavy-Action Hammer
This underrated sidearm packs a punch with higher damage than Sharpshooter's Disciple, only without the explosive rounds. You can swap for the Upgraded Speed loader if you want more reload speed and don't mind the recoil.

Engineer

Harnessing a blend of innovation and technical know-how, this inventive operator controls crowds at close range with a devastating arsenal.
Gadget: Sonic Storm (Sound Wave)
An augmented power suit with two turrets that obliterate enemies with sonic projectiles.
Throwable: Bouncing Betty (Ballistic)
A trigger-pressured mine that detonates to create a lethal circle of shrapnel.

Suggested Skills:

Passives: Tool up, Major Damage, Bleed for Speed, Full Blast, Rally Beacon
Throwable: Chaos Theory, +1 Cap, Dismember, +1 Cap, Heated Exchange
Gadget: Fortify, High Frequency, Juggernaut, Reforge, Reverb Pedal

Taking Scatter Plot (20) instead of Full Blast will greatly increase the damage you deal with the ConTek CSG, Bonebreaker, and Dragon's Breath, but as there currently aren't any T3 or T4 weapons that use pellets, I recommend speccing for Explosives instead. Gadget skills take advantage Reverb Pedal's AoE damage along with High Frequency for huge AOE damage. Tool Up and Reforge provide amazing synergy with Ammo Bags, letting you exceed the normal wave limit by dropping multiple bags each wave.

Weapon Loadouts -

Tier 1 - ConTek CSG

Ammo: Explosive Slugs
Barrel: Shotgun Suppressor
Underbarrel: Laser Sight
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Lightweight Mag
Internal: Empty
Easily the best T1 weapon of any perk, so much so that it's the only T1 weapon I ever bother buying since you can't start with it. Sporting great base damage and point-and-click playstyle thanks to Explosive Slugs, this shotty will put a hole through just about anything short of Scrakes and Fleshpounds.

Tier 2 - Bonebreaker

Ammo: Explosive Slugs
Barrel: Shotgun Suppressor
Underbarrel: Laser Sight
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Drum Mag
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver
Bonebreaker feels fine with explosive slugs, but you need Scatter Plot instead of Full Blast to really be able to see it shine. Unfortunately there aren't any T3/4 weapons that use pellets (yet) so I don't recommend Scatter Plot.

Tier 3 - G33

Ammo: Incendiary Grenades
Barrel: Extended Barrel
Sight: Red Dot Sight (optional)
Magazine: Eight Round Cylinder
Internal: Affliction Amplifier
Acid Grenades, Freeze Grenades, Confusion, and even Enfeebling Smoke grenades are fun and viable, but it becomes more of a support weapon depending on the ammo type.

Tier 4 - Ifrit

Ammo: Fast Focus Array
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Canister
Internal: Plasma Compressor
Ifrit has great stats and a solid ammo pool. The primary fire plasma cutter beam couldn't be easier to use, just point at heads. The secondary fire is an electric shotgun pulse that's buffed by the Plasma Compressor to help take down Fleshpounds. Solid boss weapon against Impaler and Queen Crawler.

Sidearm - Krait

Ammo: Electric Ammo
Barrel: Compensator
Underbarrel: Laser Sight (Pistol)
Sight: Reflex Sight (Pistol)
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver

Sharpshooter

With a steady hand and unerring aim, this persistent sniper aids their allies with well-placed shots from afar.
Gadget: Death's Hand (Ballistic/Force)
A forearm-mounted launcher that fires a homing arrow that seeks and eliminates enemies.
Throwable: Cryo-Grenade (Cold)
A supercooled liquid helium grenade that freezes enemies in their tracks.

Suggested Skills:

Passives: Hunter, Easy Prey, Hardshell, Flight Response, Big Game Hunter
Throwable: Freezerburn, +1 Cap, Blizzard, +1 Cap, Polar Vortex
Gadget: Bloodsucker, Sting Operation, Killer Bee, Target Run, Frosted Tips

Weapon Loadouts -

Tier 1 - Fieldmaster HR-10

Ammo: Explosive Rounds
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Air-tight Receiver
While you can afford to start with the Artemis, the HR-10 remains the better choice thanks to explosive rounds and higher base damage, letting you point-and-click your way through early waves.

Tier 2 - Artemis Marksman

Ammo: Cold Ammo
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Empty
Neither receiver option is worth the dosh. While you can get Explosive Rounds on the Artemis, I've found Cold Ammo to be easy to play with by freezing to line up easy headshots. Be sure to swap from automatic mode to semi-auto for faster fire rate.

Tier 3 - ESR 36

Ammo: Armor Piercing Rounds
Barrel: Compensator
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Hyper Velocity Receiver

Tier 4 - Samaritan

Ammo: Reactive Alloy Rounds
Barrel: Heat Disperser
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Tungsten Receiver
Hard-hitting railgun that trades Cold damage for Force damage with Reactive Alloy Rounds, but still applies Freeze thanks to the Heat Disperser.

Sidearm - Disciple

Ammo: Explosive Rounds
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Laser Sight (Pistol)
Sight: Reflex Sight (Pistol)
Magazine: Suppressed Cylinder
Internal: Tungsten Receiver
A hand cannon with Explosive Rounds that also has a secondary Cold shotgun underbarrel that can Freeze your enemies

Ninja

Trained in unconventional ancient tactics, this blade-wielding assassin thins enemy hordes with speed and precision
Gadget: Hebi-Ken (Electrical/Force)
A grappling hook that allows Nakata to pull himself towards enemies to deal devastating damage.
Throwable: Caltrop Canister (Electrical)
A throwable container that bursts outward with multiple electrifying caltrops.

Suggested Skills:

Passives: Kenko, Roaring Tiger, Demon Stance, Chi kai ri, Unyielding
Throwable: Swift Current, +1 Cap, Thunderclap, +1 Cap, Inazuma
Gadget: Shinobi Shozoku, Dead Calm, Red Shadow, Lightning Incarnate, Leopard Fist

Weapon Loadouts -

Tier 1 - Kiba

Coating: Stunning Coating
Grip: Reinforced Grip
Blade: Electrified Blade
Guard: Ornate Guard
Pommel: Balanced Pommel
The Electrified Blade is what really makes Kiba hold its own long after most other starter weapons get replaced thanks to Fleshpounds vulnerability to Electrical damage.

Tier 2 - Kunai

Coating: Enfeebling Venom
Grip: Textured Grip
Blade: Sai Blade
Pommel Ring: Weighted Pommel Ring
Ammo Pouch: Magnetic Ammo Pouch
Kunai are insanely strong as a melee weapon, and for some reason the stats appear to be highest for throwing when using the melee grip and blade. Bash is your bread and butter until zed time when you can melee attack at light speed.

Tier 3 - Yumi

Sight: Laser Sight (optional)
Arrow: Exploding Arrows
Frame: Flexible Frame
Quiver: Large Quiver
String: Reinforced String
Exploding Arrows are expensive to restock, so it's better and cheaper to invest in Ammo Bags. Burrowing Arrows are also decent and most importantly they're retrievable.

Tier 4 - Dual Katanas

Coating: Stunning Coating
Grip: Padded Grip
Blade: Tempered Blade
Guard: Heavy Guard
Pommel: Balanced Pommel
This setup focuses on Block Power and Block Stamina, enabling you to do some truly nutty things, like facetanking bosses, even blocking Queen's P2 instakill charge. Don't underestimate how much damage your charged attacks will do, especially with your secondary mode.

Sidearm - Shuriken

Coating: Stunning Coating
Blade: Triple Blades
Ammo Pouch: Magnetic Ammo Pouch
The fact that these have a base cost of 1200 and only have 3 mod slots is absolutely criminal. Sure, they give you as bit of move speed compared to other sidearms, but at what cost? 1200.

Medic

Always on the cutting edge of battlefield medicine, this support specialist bolsters the team's resilience with an assemblage of experimental healing technology.
Gadget: Sanctum (Biological)
A barrier projector that heals all allies and damages all enemies within its radius
Throwable: Biotic Grenade (Biological)
A gas grenade whose biotic cloud fortifies friends and debilitates foes.

Suggested Skills:

Combat Medic

Passives: Doctor's Bag, Pill Mill, Symbiosis, Social Distancing, Chemical Reaction
Throwable: Cull the Weak, +1 Cap, Anesthetist, +1 Cap, Lingering Cloud
Gadget: Power Surge, Burn Unit, Field Hospital, Storm Shelter, Double Dose

Support Medic

Passives: Doctor's Bag, Pill Mill, Painkiller, Social Distancing, Damage Plan
Throwable: Gas Expansion, +1 Cap, Anesthetist, +1 Cap, Lingering Cloud
Gadget: Power Surge, Outreach Center, Field Hospital, Energy Cycle, Resuscitator

Weapon Loadouts -

Tier 1 - VS-11

Ammo: Armor Piercing Rounds
Barrel: Suppressor
Underbarrel: Confusion Dart Attachment (optional)
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver

Tier 2 - Biomorphic Projector

Ammo: Efficient Battery Chemistry
Barrel: Confusion Additive Injector
Underbarrel: Healing Grenade Launcher (optional)
Magazine: Extended Battery
Internal: Slowed Tick Receiver
No matter how much I want this thing to work, the beam seems to have a mind of its own sometimes.

Tier 3 - K&W MP6

Ammo: Armor Piercing Rounds
Barrel: Suppressed Barrel
Underbarrel: Healing Grenade Launcher
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Extended Mag
Internal: Heavy Frame Receiver

Tier 4 - LF-85

Damage Focused

Ammo: Efficient Battery Formulation
Barrel: Cold Fusion Converter
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Primary Battery Booster
Internal: Undervolted Receiver
Your healing darts will only heal 4hp, and with only 15 darts dumping your entire mag will only heal 60hp, the same as 3 Rapid-Release Darts from your Stim Pistol. This is is just enough for clutch Social Distance revives, but don't expect too much else.

Healing Focused

Ammo: Biomorphic Boosted Battery
Barrel: Cold Fusion Converter
Underbarrel: Enhanced Foregrip
Sight: Reflex Sight
Magazine: Secondary Battery Booster
Internal: Undervolted Receiver
Healing darts do the same base 3 healing, but with the Biomorphic Boosted Battery and Undervolted Receiver (+35%) they are increased to 12 + 2.7/s for 3s, or ~20 healing per dart

Sidearm - KH-380

Ammo: Rapid-Release Darts
Barrel: Suppressor (optional)
Underbarrel: Empty
Sight: Reflex Sight (Pistol) (optional)
Magazine: Lightweight Mag (optional)
Internal: Dart Recharger Kit
The Stim Pistol is one of the best and most versatile sidearms available, allowing any class to heal with nothing but a Dart Recharger and either of the Healing Dart mods. Base Darts heal for 3 HP.
Instant Heal Darts: +14 healing = 17 total Healing per Dart
Rapid-Release Darts: +6 hp/s for 3s = 21 total Healing per Dart
While Rapid-Release Darts do heal for more overall, three Instant Heal Darts are just barely enough to pull off a rez (102hp) with the Social Distance skill.

Work in Progress! What's coming next?

Thanks for reading my guide if you've made it this far.
I was waiting to write this up until after the patch, but.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Next up will probably be adding sections for Codex stuff and some more detailed gameplay tips.

[Revalopod]

And what does Affliction Amplifier do? For example on Dragon's Breath. Does it increase DoT damage or duration? Or make it easier to set enemies on fire? Or something else?

[Revalopod]

Very helpful thanks. What about adding suggested mod passive for each part in weapon builds?

[Cocolasticos]

Next up, it would be nice to have ideas of "budget" modded weapons to help us grind the tier 4 more easily

[Cocolasticos]

I've been following your advice on Ninja and it's been a blast. Thx for sharing this guide