As an avid Dead Island fan who has sunk countless hours into slicing and dicing zombies, choosing your ideal undead-slaying avatar with their own unique battle capabilities vastly impacts your gameplay experience. Out of the 6 larger-than-life Slayers available in Dead Island 2, deciding on which specialized brand of infected destruction suits your style best can be tough for newcomers and veterans alike.
That‘s why I‘ve put together this comprehensive guide analyzing all the characters in detail so you can zero in on your perfect zombie-demolishing match!
Rating Criteria – Attributes, Abilities & Playstyles
To give the most accurate verdicts in this Dead Island 2 Slayers tier list, I‘m weighing three core criteria:
Base Attributes
Each character has ratings from 1-5 stars across 7 fundamental attributes:
- Health
- Stamina
- Toughness
- Health Regen
- Critical Damage
- Agility
- Peak Health
These form key strengths and weaknesses influencing combat viability.
Innate Abilities
The signature skills intrinsic to each Slayer also heavily impact their combat potential. We‘ll review both in detail.
Playstyle Synergy
Finally, while isolated strengths matter, ideal character choices depend greatly on your preferred zombies-laying style. Some Slayers naturally excel with certain weapons, tactics and builds over others. We‘ll break that down too!
Now let‘s dig into profiling each member of Dead Island 2‘s gruesome twosome!
Jacob – Jack of All Trades Juggernaut
Specialization: All-Rounder
Key Strengths: Sustained Damage, Versatile Survivalbility
Best Playstyles: Aggressive, Adaptable
Kicking off our #1 rated juggernaut, Jacob earns top marks by offering tremendously well-rounded core combat capabilities mixed with impactful damage increasing abilities.
He dominates essential survival attributes with 5 star Peak Health giving him enormour raw HP reserves. Jacob also sports a stellar 4 star Stamina rating for unleashing frequent attacks and abilities.
While not excelling in any one defense, his 3 star Toughness provides decent resilience against attacks alongside average 3 star Health Regen to recover HP at a steady rate. This combined durability allows facing most threats head-on.
For dishing out punishment, Jacob delivers very respectable 3 star Critical Damage to regularly boost his per-hit pain factor. His 3 star Agility also grants reasonably mobility to regularly sidestep danger while fighting intensely at close quarters.
In summary, fantastic Peak Health & Stamina combine with average defensive and offensive ratings to make Jacob extremely versatile in adaptable aggressive builds.
This Slayer can equip most weapons effectively from rapid baseball bats to tactical shotguns while still brawling at melee ranges. The peace of mind his well-rounded capabilities provide make Jacob great for newer players too.
Feral – Relentless Rampages
But what truly elevates Jacob is his unique Feral ability granting escalating damage buffs during sustained attacks on enemies. Each successive strike increases his damage exponentially allowing for positively beastly DPS death chains.
Combined with abundant Health and Stamina, Jacob can unleash frightening barrages that overwhelm opponents rapidly by maximizing his damage ramping aggression.
Critical Damage – Low Health Power Spikes
In tandem, his Critical Damage passive ability gifts major damage spikes triggered when Jacob‘s Stamina drops significantly. These two skills combined allow Jacob to inflict devastating harm – whether at peak or low resources.
Ideal Build Synergies
When equipping Jacob, faster swinging lighter weapons like "The Commuter" Baton using rapid combos benefit his raw damage stacking Feral the most. Boosting Crit Damage also scales strongly on Jacob.
For defense, the "Bulletproof Vest" Body Armor provides a nice chunk of passive Physical Resistance to offset his mediocre Toughness rating when facing melee centric hordes.
Overall with fantastic survivability, great damage abilities and solidly well-rounded attributes on all fronts, Jacob rightfully claims the #1 spot on our Dead Island 2 tier list!
Dani – AoE Horde Extermination Authority
Specialization: Crowd Control, AoE Abilities
Key Strengths: High Stamina, Signature AoE Attacks
Best Playstyles: Spin-To-Win Melee, Destructive Heavy Weapons
Our #2 power pick Dani matches Jacob‘s S Rank by doubling down on raw Health and Stamina while swapping generalist firepower for specialized horde-clearing AoE mayhem attacks.
Like Jacob, Dani sports a stellar 4 star Peak Health foundation for plenty of raw HP and very impressive 5 star Stamina – the absolute max rating. This allows Dani to channel abilities with abandon.
Defensively Dani drops to 3 star Toughness but gains 2 star Resilience – unusual but helpful against elemental attacks from some mutated zombies. Her sustain stats stay moderate like Jacob with 3 star Health Regen.
On offense Dani‘s 3 star Critical Damage lands evenly with Jacob but her abilities differentiate things greatly…
Thunderstruck – Wide Carnage Channeling Heavy Attacks
Dani‘s supreme Stamina & signature Thunderstruck skill synergize flawlessly for room sweeping destruction. By maximizing Impact on heavy two-handed weapons, Dani can unleash a series devastating area blows to annihilate hordes.
Each ramping ground pound strike or whirling power attack decimates groups while driving back surrounding zombies. Chaining wide sweeping Weapon Techniques links Thunderstruck for seamless sprees viral slaughter!
Bloodlust – Sustained AoE Healing
Complimenting her own AoE chaos, Bloodlust provides Dani massively helpful healing bursts during extended horde massacres. By sustaining her HP alongside Stamina with each reaped group, Dani plays a pivotal Exterminator role.
Ideal Build Synergies
When equipping Dani, heavy two-handers like Sledgehammers capable of wide arcing power attacks work incredibly well with her Thunderstruck strength – further boosted by stacking Impact damage bonuses on gear.
And since Dani fights at ground zero of mosh pits, stacking Physical & Elemental Resistance via Heavy Duty Vests pays dividends so she can sustain longer mass depopulating islands!
With top tier Stamina fueling room clearing mayhem skills, Dani is my personal pick for handling horde hypermode hijinks – claiming her richly deserved S Rank spot!
Carla – Apocalypse Jennifer Lawrence
Specialization: Extreme Tanking
Key Strengths: Massive Damage Resistance & Crowd Control Power
Best Playstyles: Up Close & Personal Melee Brawling
If consistently wading solo into the thickest, most hard-hitting hordes GCR style is your preferred playstyle, then Carla is your twin. This steel-jawed tank specializes in soaking up insane punishment that would flatten anyone else while keeping enemies stagger locked at spitting distance!
She pays a hefty offensive price by rating poorly across Agility, Critical Damage the board. But Carla‘s raw staying power is peerless.
Unbreakable – Extreme Toughness & Resilience
Right off the bat, Carla boasts the maximum 5 star Toughness rating in Dead Island 2 – a towering tank spec benchmark. And she doubles down on durability with another fantastic 5 star showing in Resilience – yielding physical and elemental damage reduction in spades.
Further bolstering her ability to operate alone on the frontlines, Carla sports very solid 3 star Peak Health & Health Regen as well. While she won‘t dish out the deepest damage, Carla is purpose built to outlast everything short of a nuclear detonation!
Signature Skills – Disable & Destroy
Carla‘s intrinsic skills provide both additional crowd control and even more resilience to drive home her as the Apocalypptic Tank Queen:
Dig Deep fortifies Carla‘s already mammoth 5 star Toughness even further on demand to enable ignoring normally fatal blows when needed most.
And Mosh Pit unlocks significant Impact & Damage resistance debuffs on nearby enemies when wading into groups. This amplifies her disruption and staying power dramatically.
Overwhelming CQC Domination
While limping on Agility and Critical Damage, Carla‘s sheer dominating presence at melee range cannot be ignored. She excels most unleashing Stun Lock weaponry like the "Exterminator" Sledgehammer using Whirlwind blows to paralyze groups while weathering extrem danger.
Stacking Impact bonuses, Damage Resistance, and Healing make Carla an unstoppable lynchpin in teams. Or for solo players who want the ultimate "hold my beer" bruising experience – rivaling punching out a Panzer!
Ryan – The Unrelenting Rhino
Specialization: Extreme Melee Tank
Key Strengths: Peerless Toughness, 1v1 Brawling
Best Playstyles: Counter Attacking, Stunning Melee
If Carla nudges ahead overall for AoE disruption, Ryan still stakes his claim on our A Rank by specializing further into pure frontal assault challenges with slightly less spread but even heavier instant durability.
He loses marginal elemental protection compared to Carla but reveals unmatched innate physical damage resistance and opportunities for bonus harm via blocking. Ryan truly captures the tank fantasy!
Immovable Object
Like Carla, Ryan sports the absolute maximum 5 star Toughness rating in Dead Island 2 – capable of shrugging off insane blows. He doubles down against physical damage via very impressive 4 star Resilience.
While he cedes slight Peak Health and regen versus Carla, Ryan really separates himself on manfighting muscle.
Retaliation – Reactive Damage Spikes
Ryan‘s intrinsic Retaliation passive hands him bonus Flat Damage for a short duration after blocking or evading attacks. This incentivizes mastering parry and dodge timings for reactive damage spikes.
Combined with his extreme innate tankiness, baiting big swings to unleash counters helps overcome Ryan‘s poor Agility & Critical Damage.
Seesaw – Sustained Health Return
And his secondary Seesaw skill generates bonus HP for every enemy Ryan knocks down in battle. Alongside solid Health stats, this enables quite decent mid combat regen during extended crushing mosh pits.
Specialized CQC Powerhouse
Make no mistake, Ryan lacks versatility with bottom barrel Agility and middling damage bonuses outside counters. But no other Slayer can replicate his unmatched talent for squarely facing extreme punishment then still demolishing challengers.
Ryan thrives most alongside high Impact weaponry to create openings for his Retaliation counters like the "Nailed It" Hammer or fast stunning tools like TONFA to capitalize on Seesaw‘s sustain.
While more one dimensional than Carla or the S Rank choices, Ryan still undoubtedly deserves his A Rank status as the signature juggernaut brawler of Dead Island 2!
Bruno – Stealthy Squishy Slayer
Specialization: Isolated Picks, Backstabs
Key Strengths: Extreme Critical Damage, Solid Mobility
Best Playstyles: Flanking, Distractions
Our first B Rank Slayer Bruno sports a polarized glass cannon toolkit rewarding stealth setups to quickly nuke isolated enemies without facing severe risk. He offers precision damage but pays dearly facing groups directly.
A nimble 4 star Agility gives Bruno excellent mobility for re-positioning allowing him to dictate isolated scenarios. And a towering 5 star Critical Damage rating makes his surgical strikes absolutely withering.
But those strengths are balanced by terrible 1 star Peak Health rendering Bruno extremely vulnerable when caught plus low general durability. He must stay elusive and protected to maximize strengths.
Backstab – Maximum Single Target Pain
Bruno buffs his tremendous Critical Damage further via Backstab. This adds huge Flat Damage bonuses when striking unaware enemies from behind. That combined with strong knives or light gloves makes Bruno‘s initial picks feel like nuclear blasts!
Rapid Reprisal – Blocking & Dodging Refunds
To help Bruno stay safely in the shadows his secondary Rapid Reprisal skill refunds a portion of both Health & Stamina after evading attacks for several seconds allowing more escapes and re-positioning freedom.
Team Synergy Over Solo Rambo
Make no mistake Bruno cannot compare to S Rank general effectiveness due to his crippling Achilles‘ Heel fragility. But he truly shines coordinating with teammates generating distractions and isolations best exploited by his specialized ambush toolkit.
Of course with flawless environmental execution Bruno outputs among the highest damage possible in Dead Island 2. But mistakes leave no margin so use with care!
Amy – Hyper Aggressive Kiting Specialist
Specialization: Rapid Skirmishing
Key Strengths: Extreme Mobility, Burst Damage
Best Playstyles: Hit & Run, Distractions
Our second B Rank Slayer Amy likewise brings specialized glass offensive cannon upside at a brutal budget of nearly zero innate staying power. She augments raw speed and fluid positional freedom for her flavor of guerrilla attack bursts.
Amy matches Bruno‘s 4 star Agility with max tier movement enabling her aggressively closing gaps or escaping reprisal. She also sports very solid 4 star Critical Damage for dishing heavy harm.
But again those impressive strengths force real sacrifices namely rock bottom 1 star Health ratings bringing only slightly better durability than Bruno with average defensive stats otherwise. Not tanking hits limits Amy‘s approaches.
Divide And Conquer – Isolated Target Exploiting
Unlike Bruno‘s backstabbing focus however, Amy pursues frontal assault violence as her offense of choice. To enable this she features Divided And Conquer granting Flat Damage bonuses when engaging enemies individually.
This incentivizes actively splitting zombies from packs using Amy‘s high speed to enable her substantial isolated threat damage.
Relief Pitcher – Ranged Combat Refunding
And Amy‘s secondary Relief Pitcher skill helps further enable her offensively oriented kiting by refunding significant Stamina whenever she strikes enemies at distance with thrown weapons.
Keeping Amy supplied with diverse throwing arms while using her mobility to isolate targets plays directly into maximizing her impressive damage talents.
Hit and Run Only
Still Amy‘s lack of Toughness for trading blows means she almost exclusively relies on a patient hit-and-run style even focusing isolated zombies. Without escape options, multiple converging enemies quickly overwhelm her limited staying power.
But in the hands of agile players who judiciously choose ideal moments to unleash her full measure of targeted damage, Amy absolutely devastates individual zombies with the best moment to moment pain delivery in Dead Island 2 thanks to mobility and considerable Crit Damage.
Best Slayer Pairings By Preferred Gameplay
While I‘ve focused most analysis so far on strengths of individual Slayers in a vacuum, smart players know truly mastering Dead Island 2 requires making the most of teammate synergies. Let‘s examine ideal pairings for various playstyles:
Aggressive Up Close Mayhem Duos
If your idea of fun is constantly brawling in the thick of the fray, Jacob and Dani make the ultimate aggressive pairing. Both sport the HP and regen to absorb reasonable damage while dishing heavy close quarters harm supplemented by their respective damage boosting abilities Feral and Thunderstruck.
Jacob focuses on spreading his ramping chaos broadly while Dani concentrates AoE explosions. And both can revive each other reliably when things get truly heavy!
Methodical Zone Control Teams
Prefer calmly controlling areas and prosecuting the zombie horde strategically? Then combining Carla‘s formidable frontloaded disruption with Bruno‘s surgical elimination capacity can prove utterly lethal.
With her extreme durability and Mosh Pit Carla locks down central chokepoints almost indefinitely. Meanwhile Bruno flankfully isolates and neuters dangerous elites softened by Carla‘s defenses before vanishing once again.
Together they present a potent manipulated challenge for the deadliest enemies while controlling overall engagement pace and terrain perfectly!
Hit and Run Guerrilla Warfare
Lastly both glass cannon B Rank Slayers Amy and Bruno can coordinate beautifully to truly terrorize zombies through perfectly timed sneak attacks capitalizing on mobility and damage.
Amy actively separates individual targets from hordes allowing Bruno brief but extremely destructive windows to unleash full Critical Damage wrath.
Before zombies can react, Amy and Bruno retreat and reposition continually keeping the enemy off balance through their blitzing onslaughts. Choose engagements wisely and these two absolutely devastate!
In summary while all Slayers can complete Dead Island 2‘s journey, carefully choosing complementary skills, attributes and abilities for your gameplay style will optimize enjoyment tenfold! I hope this guide helps you reap maximum satisfaction.
Let me know if you have any other questions crushing zombie skulls in this fantastic sequel!
