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Dead Island 2 Character Tier List: The Best Slayers, Ranked

Dead Island 2's slayers are what make the game great, but who are the best ones?

Dead Island 2 was a sequel years in the making following the inventive and fun original. As a result, it has more personality and style, especially with its six main slayers, which all feature various strengths and weaknesses. But when trying to find the perfect main character, who are the best slayers to choose?

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C-Tier

Amy

Amy character card from Dead Island 2
Image by Gameskinny

Amy is one of the fastest-moving, if not the fastest, characters in the game, thanks to her agility. However, even though her critical damage is high, she’s far from a brick wall and is susceptible to massive damage in return. Even still, what puts her at the bottom of the list is that her skill to regain stamina, Relief Pitcher, involves throwing objects at zombies, which is hard to do in a big fight. Plus, her second skill, Divide and Conquer, only moderately boosts damage when killing isolated zombies.

Bruno

Bruno character card from Dead Island 2
Image by Gameskinny

Bruno is the perfect character to play in anything but Dead Island 2. His skill, Rapid Reprisal, allows him to gain a damage boost with well-timed dodges. But the Backstab skill means most critical attacks involve attacking from behind, a helpful but limited ability. While his lack of range attacks needed to regain health is nice, and his speed is impressive, he’s not much different from Amy and perhaps more suited as a Watch Dogs character than Dead Island.

B-Tier

Jacob

Jacob character card from Dead Island 2
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Jacob is an ideal character if you’re playing Dead Island 2 for character growth. While his stats are ideal, the fact that elemental damage could kill him faster than the other slayers makes him a risky choice as special zombies show up. However, the fact that his damage boosts after successive kills, with the Feral skill, and critical hits boost damage and health, thanks to his Critical Gains skill, is a great trade-off for a character with the highest health stats in the game.

Dani

Dani character card from Dead Island 2
Image by Gameskinny

If you’re a passive fighter, looking to only fight hard when necessary, Dani may not be your best choice. While she’s a powerful option, her limited health recovery means the best way to regain health is to fight, per her Bloodlust skill. Her Thunderstruck skill means that heavy attacks can even emit a powerful explosion that staggers enemies. But, with a skill that allows her to regain health with consecutive kills, she’s a great choice if you’re a scrappy player; just make sure to watch her health bar in a battle.

A-Tier

Ryan

Ryan character card from Dead Island 2
Image by Gameskinny

For all intents and purposes, Ryan is a brick wall of a character. He can take immense amounts of damage and can deal it out just as effectively. However, blocking is rewarded as a skill, Retaliation, that can offer Ryan more Force and drain zombie stamina. But if he knocks down a zombie he can also regain health thanks to the Seesaw skill. Ryan may not be the number-one choice, but save for his lack of speed, he’s got skills that make him the safest choice in the game.

Carla

Carla character card from Dead Island 2
Image by Gameskinny

Far and above the other characters, Carla is the best slayer in Dead Island 2. Carla is one of the most balanced players in the game, and even her lowes stats, Critical Damage, have a skill that compensates for it. With the Most Pit skill, Carla gets a minor damage boost while fighting a group of enemies (which is even more fun when using Dead Island 2’s many weapons.) But with such great resistance, it’s she’s one of the few that can stand being in a group for a while. Meanwhile, her Dig Deep skill boosts her toughness the lower her health gets. In the end, not only is Carla a fun personality, but her checks and balances make her a well-rounded character to play.

Want some more tips and tricks? Check out GameSkinny’s Dead Island 2 hub.


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Author
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Nicholas Brooks
Nick is a Freelance Writer at Gameskinny and brings with him over a decade of writing and editing experience from sites like CBR and Gameskinny. He also runs a small podcast called Popsubclub, where he interviews individuals in the entertainment industry as well as talks with peers. Nick's love of video games is only a small part of his passions as he's also an avid fan of movies, comics, music and theme parks. Make sure to follow his Instagram (@Comicsubclub) for more.