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What would a zombie game be without a little undead skull-crushing? No fun, that is what! Well, the good news is that Dead Island 2 does not lack zombie-slaying action. But what may surprise you is just how flexible the mechanics for killing zombies truly are.
There is a lot of variety to interact with here, and you have a number of ways to approach these undead hordes more efficiently. It can all be a touch overwhelming, and there is ample opportunity to miss some of the finer details. But worry not, we have some choice tips for how to battle these shambling horrors. We’ll have you setting up cataclysmic explosions by drop-kicking zombies in no time!
10 Weapon Selection
You will naturally find weapons that you enjoy using during your time as a zombie killer. However, while you may favor a certain weapon type, we encourage you to be mindful of how different weapons match better with certain zombie types. Sure, you may like those hard-hitting, slow-swinging, heavy weapons. But as excellent as those are for dispatching your Shambler zombies, for the Runners, who will dodge charged attacks (when they aren’t locked into an attack animation of their own), a quicker weapon is much better for stopping them in their tracks.
The Slobbers? They, on the other hand, are easily disrupted by heavy attacks. So, your big, honkin’ heavy two-hander is perfect for Slobbers. The Crushers? They tend to shrug those heavy attacks off, so the faster the weapon the better. Knives are especially excellent at dealing with Crushers. You will probably want one weapon of each type. Having a versatile arsenal will make life easier.
It is doubly important to balance your roster when you start getting different elemental mods for your weapons. You don’t want to make all of your weapons inflict fire damage, and then run into a gang of firemen zombies who are completely immune to fire-based damage.
9 Exploding Zombies Are Your Friends
During your time stalking the streets of Hell-A, you will encounter a wide variety of zombies. However, one of the more interesting, and you may think potentially dangerous, zombies are the exploding types. And we say “types”, as there are multiple permutations.
You have Shockers, who erupt into a giant field of electricity. You have Grenadiers, who are, unsurprisingly, covered head-to-toe in grenades (which will explode soon after you strike them). Then there are the Bursters, who rush toward you and explode once they make contact with you.
So then, why are these horrors your friends? Well, because you have a drop kick, and it launches all of these zombies! This is especially potent with the Bursters who will be pushed far enough away from you to not cause damage, but will instantly explode their buddies without them having time to flee. But it isn’t just the Drop Kick, with the shockers and the Grenadiers, you have plenty of warning before they blow, so you can set them off as a horde approaches, and get distance just in time to blow the whole group into bits.
Even after a Grenadier zombie has been killed, you can still hit their vest and set them off.
8 Throw Your Weapons!
You may hesitate to toss your favorite sword away. However, you can always pick it back up off the ground, or take it out of the Zombie you stuck it in. So, don’t worry about losing your favorite weapon. Throwing weapons is easily one of the best ways for dealing with the speedy Runners in the early game.
Keep in mind that if you throw anything more valuable than a common weapon, even if you leave it behind, it will appear in your Weapon Storage Locker.
The Runners will dodge your melee strikes. They lunge at you, they are quick, and they can be dangerous in groups. But, if you throw a hammer straight between their eyes, you’ll daze them, which will give you an opportunity to quickly finish them off. Runners do not dodge thrown weapons. This is also a great way to set off Grenadier zombies from a safe distance. Once you get further into the game, and you acquire firearms, this ability will be less important. But in the early game, it is an incredibly helpful tool.
Throwing other things can be extremely effective as well. A thrown battery will shock zombies. So, if you see one lying around, bring it with you and use it as a projectile attack.
7 First Aid Kits Are For More Than Healing HP
You may think that First Aid Kits are just for recovering a large amount of HP, but they actually serve an even more important service than that. If you use a first aid kit, you will immediately cure any status effect you are suffering from. So, if you are on fire, and on the edge of death, a first aid kit is exactly what you need.
Don’t be too precious with these. You will find plenty of them all around every map. If you see an ambulance, there will be one or two of them nearby. Zombies will also drop them on occasion. They will also regenerate when you leave the map and return again. Those first aid kits are there to be used, not to be hoarded (and you can only hold five at a time anyway).
6 Utilizing The Environmental Hazards
From luring zombies into live wires, to kicking them into electrified signs, to setting barrels alight and burning whole groups of zombies. There are a ton of ways to take advantage of your environment.
As an example, you can take advantage of jerrycans. You can extend hazards with them. Create a trail of water, leading to a live wire, and then smash a window, setting off an alarm, and you will have zombies running straight into a deathtrap. However, you need to be cautious yourself, those red barrels are primed and ready to explode with a nudge. Be careful, a careless swing could see you getting blown away alongside those zombies.
5 Red Skulls Mean Serious Business
If you see a Walkler with a red skill above their head, you can play the encounter smart and overcome them, but even then, you need to be careful, these zombies are often only one or two hits away from killing you. This isn’t an MMO, you can absolutely overcome enemies a higher level than you, but it is unquestionably risky.
It is also worth noting that you aren’t really rewarded for taking out zombies above your level. They give you the same amount of experience as a weaker zombie would. So, if you stumble into a group of them, you are probably better off leaving them be and coming back later when you are a little stronger. Once again, play it smart, and you can win. But there is rarely a reason to take the risk.
4 Drop Kick Away Your Problems
Early in the game, you will unlock the Drop Kick ability. This is an incredibly potent tool. Not only is it fantastic for knocking zombies down, but zombies will ricochet between each other, meaning that you can fire a zombie in a group of them, sending them all flying. This makes it an invaluable tool for tight spaces like hallways. Use it in conjunction with doorways to manage a horde brilliantly.
One of the things that makes this attack so strong is the ability to use it without having to build any momentum first. In fact, you can even jump away from a zombie, and stick the drop kick out there to help cover your retreat.
It is worth noting that the Drop Kick does not count as a Counter Attack, so Runners won’t dodge it (making this an amazing way to deal with those spritely bastards). The drop kick is also an amazing way to send Bursters flying, turning them into a weapon at your disposal. That being said, the Drop Kick is ineffective against Crushers, Screamers, and Slobbers.
3 Critical Weapon Attacks
When possible (unless you are fighting a Runner), you want to fully charge your melee strikes. If the reticle turns red, that means you are lined up for a Critical Attack. Each weapon has two unique Critical Attacks that comes loaded with a special animation. These will only trigger if you aim for the correct part of the body. Either the head or the torso.
There is some variance for where you need to aim. The hand-axe, as an example, should be aimed at the love handles.
You can find these critical attacks, and their effects, through experimentation. And worry not, you are never fully committed to these attacks. If you are fully charged, but about to be swarmed, you can use your defensive move (either the dodge or the block) to cancel the charge at any time. Even if you are mid-swing you can cancel the animation (before it hits) into your defensive manuever!
One more thing, though. Critical Attacks don't work on special zombies like the Crusher or Screamer. You will just get a heavy attack instead. And, as we alluded to earlier, Runner will dodge them unless they are committed to an attack, or unaware of your presence.
2 Kick ‘em when they’re down
Zombies are at their least threatening when they are face-first on the ground. They take more damage from melee strikes, and if their health is at a certain point, they can be instantly killed with a stomp attack.
So, then a priority should be getting them on the ground. You can down zombies in a number of ways. You can aim for their legs. This of course requires that you fight them with a weapon that has decent range, like a spear or a two-handed bludgeon. Another way is to, once again, fall back on your excellent drop kick. This can put whole groups on their backside.
1 Grinding Zombies Is Not Usually Time Efficient
When killing zombies, you should really be viewing the experience you get as a nice little bonus. And hey, you are going to kill a lot of zombies, so those experience points will start to stack up. But here’s the thing. A story mission takes all of thirty minutes to complete, and they reward you with something close to 100 zombies worth of experience (and you’ll kill zombies in the process of completing them).
You may think that the harder zombies are a better grinding opportunity but you would be mistaken. As we have already mentioned in this article, zombies above your level provide no extra bonus. Special zombies, on the other hand, are worth more experience, but they take way longer to kill than a standard zombie. So, even if they are worth three times as much experience as a shambling zombie, they are probably a less efficient source of experience than just killing Shamblers.
There are exceptions, of course. Once the Screamer starts to show up, you can use them to generate dense crowds of zombies. So, if you do want to grind, at least make sure to wait until the Screamers start showing up.
Another case where you may want to fight groups is if you are aggressively pursuing those zombie challenges. If that is the case, grind away, Slayer.