For those of you who have already been playing Dead Island 2, I don’t need to tell you how vital a good build truly is. Dead Island 2 is many things, but an easy ride it is not. Because the game moved away from a traditional skill tree system in favour of a deckbuilding system, it can feel tricky to develop the right build.
Now don’t get us wrong, there is no right way to play the game and no one right way to build the characters. Players should play the way that feels right to them. But if you find yourself in the game and overwhelmed, just looking for a base build to get you started, we’ve got you covered.
So without further delay, here are our favourite Dead Island 2 builds for every character that should offer you a great starting point to jump off from.
Amy’s Build
Abilities you should take:
- Dodge
- Drop Kick
- Dash Strike
- Surgical Focus
- Overhead Smash
Survivor Skills you should take:
- Bob and Weave
- Lightning Strike
- Shin Shrapnel
- Vivisuction
Slayer Skills you should take:
- Breakdancer
- Second Wind
- No Mercy
- Hunting Season
Numen Skills you should take:
- Corpse Blossom
- Born Survivor
Amy is the character in the game with the highest Agility and Critical damage. This build is designed to take full advantage of those perks. The idea is that players would use skills like Dodge and Dash Strike to move in and out of battle constantly.
To further complement this forever-on-the-move playstyle, skills like Bob and Weave, Lightning Strike, and Second Wind reward you for staying on the move.
Brun’s Build
Abilities you should take:
- Dodge
- Drop Kick
- Dash Strike
- Blood Rush
- Overhead Smash
Survivor Skills you should take:
- Bob and Weave
- Lightning Strike
- Vivisuction
- Ravenous
Slayer Skills you should take:
- Second Wind
- Air Assault
- No Mercy
- Pyro
Numen Skills you should take:
- Corpse Blossom
- Seismic Stomp
Bruno is a character that flourishes with the right playstyle. He does best when bouncing between enemies. The core part of his build comes down to his Smash attacks. Bruno benefits from attacking from behind and quickly builds Heavy Attack charges, so using Smash to knock enemies down makes sense.
Overall this build flourishes with large groups of zombies, and once you have Bruno’s playstyle down, there’s a lot of fun to be had here.
Carla’s Build
Abilities you should take:
- Block
- Drop Kick
- War Cry
- Blood Rush
- Scream
Survivor Skills you should take:
- Rallying Cry
- Warhead
- Wrecking Ball
- Ravenous
Slayer Skills you should take:
- Voltaic Scream
- Volatile
- Janus Rage
- No Mercy
Numen Skills you should take:
- Seismic Stomp
- Glass Cannon
Carla is a naturally tough character. She is an obvious choice for players who want to throw caution to the wind and take on zombies head-on. The crux of this build comes down to the combination of War Cry, Rallying Cry, and Voltaic Scream, all of which work together to make Carla stronger and her enemies weaker.
Using Drop Kick and Wrecking Ball create powerful AoE attacks and, all in all plays well with Carla’s natural talents.
Ryan’s Build
Abilities you should take:
- Block
- Drop Kick
- Ground Pound
- Blood Rush
- Overhead Smash
Survivor Skills you should take:
- Short Fuse
- Steadfast
- Wrecking Ball
- Quake
Slayer Skills you should take:
- Carnage
- Unrelenting
- Far From Done
- Pummel
Numen Skills you should take:
- Seismic Stop
- Anger Mismanagement
Ryan is a natural tank in the game, and if you mix that with a highly defensive build, as we have here, you’re left with one of the most formidable characters in the game.
Much of the build plays off of the Block ability, which increases Ryan’s overkill power level, rendering him almost unkillable. Other skills like Overhead Smash, Quake, and Ground Pound exist to keep zombies on the group where they belong while you use Ryan to wail on them from above.
Dani’s Build
Abilities you should take:
- Dodge
- Drop Kick
- Dash Strike
- Blood Rush
- Scream
Survivor Skills you should take:
- Ravenous
- Group Therapy
- Vivisuction
- Hack and Dash
Slayer Skills you should take:
- Breakdancer
- The Limb Reaper
- Heavy Hitter
- Corpse Bomb
Numen Skills you should take:
- Glass Cannon
- Born Survivor
If you like Glass Cannon-type builds, this is the one for you. The idea of this build is that you’ll significantly boost your attack speed and stamina using Group Therapy and Hack and Dash.
This build works so well on Dani’s because the character already has health regeneration restrictions, so upping her attack speed and helping her health generation with skills like Limb Reaper help push that Glass Canon build we’re going with.
Jacob’s Build
Abilities you should take:
- Dodge
- Drop Kick
- Dash Strike
- Surgical Focus
- Scream
Survivor Skills you should take:
- Lightning Strike
- Ravenous
- Group Therapy
- Hack and Dash
Slayer Skills you should take:
- Corpse Bomb
- Janus Rage
- No Mercy
- Carnage
Numen Skills you should take:
- Corpse Blossom
- Anger Mismanagement
Lightning Stike is a must to make this build pop off on Jacob because it allows players to build up lightning damage across large groups of zombies at once. Then Corpse Bomb and No Mercy will have it and essentially turn the zombies into suicide bombers.
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There you have it, our recommended Builds to help you get started in Dead Island 2. If you haven’t picked up the game yet, you can read our full review here, and if you’re looking for more essential Tips and Tricks to make your time in Hell-A the best it could be, then be sure to check out our Tips and Tricks piece here.
