Dead Island 2: 5 Essential Tips You Need to Know Before You Play

Dead Island 2 has officially arrived on April 21, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The new release from Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver is a relatively straightforward experience with simple RPG elements and zombie horror gameplay, but there are a a few unique facets that you should know about before you enter into “Hell-A.” Here are five tips and tricks for Dead Island 2.

1. “Hell-A” Scales to Your Level in Dead Island 2

In Dead Island 2, the world of Hell-A (including its enemies and loot) scales to your character’s level. Although you might occasionally find a weapon that is above your current rating, unless you are under-leveled for the mission, enemies encountered will be the same level as you, as well as the weapons you find. This means that grinding to the next rank is pointless, as the world will level up with you. Just play the game, complete any story and side missions you can find, and you will not find yourself underpowered.

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2. Always be on the Lookout for Named Enemies and Minibosses

There are a massive number of respawning zombies in Dead Island 2 in its semi open world levels, so you may find yourself simply running past enemies at certain points. However, keep an eye out for specially named zombies, as well as the mutated Bursters, Butchers, Crushers, Mutators, Screamers, and Slobbers. Named enemies will drop keys to safes and chests, which provide valuable loot and weapons, and these special zombies can be difficult to find later. On the other hand, slaying the previously mentioned mutated zombies provides body parts, which are needed for the “Body Art” side quests and the zombie organs can be used in powerful weapon upgrades. You are safe to ignore run-of-the-mill runners, shamblers, walkers, but make sure to kill the stronger zombie variants and named versions whenever you can.

3. Don’t Get Too Attached to Your Weapons in the Early-Game

Unlike other survival horror games, Dead Island 2 has an overabundance of weapons for players to find. Even though you might really like that baseball bat you have looted and upgraded early on, ultimately you have to let weapons go to be replaced by higher-level ones (even if they are not as rare). It is wise to dismantle or sell surplus weapons, as you will find far better items as you increasingly explore Hell-A. However, many special weapons and legendaries that are obtained in specific missions cannot be sold or dismantled, so keep them in your storage (when they are under-leveled), where you can return to upgrade them to your current rank later in the game, when you have the necessary funds to do so.

4. Trophy and Achievement Hunters Should Make Backup Cloud Saves

Specifically for trophy and achievement hunters, I strongly suggest making backup cloud saves before the story mission “Boardwalking Dead,” as there is the potential for two glitched trophies/achievements related to finding a legendary weapon (“Ooh Shiny” and “Variety is the Spice of Death”). The first legendary weapons quest called “Fool’s Gold” can be discovered near the end of the aforementioned story game mission, so having a cloud save backup is very important in case the trophy or achievement is bugged for you, as you can reload, replay the mission, and attempt to get the glitched achievement again.

Related: Dead Island 2 Trophies and Achievements Listed

5. Nothing is Missable!

Aside from some minor achievement glitches, thankfully, there is nothing missable in Dead Island 2, so you can leave all of the side missions until after the story if you really wanted to (although that would be very unwise). Just take the game at your pace, explore as you see fit, but do not worry about being locked out of content if you have not finished every side quest by the time the credits roll.