As an avid Dead Island 2 enthusiast who has been grinding away at the game since launch, I‘ve made it my quest to discover every last weapon blueprint, collectible, and hidden secret I can in its zombie-ravaged open world. This includes tracking down some incredibly elusive keys needed to access optional locked loot caches scattered across different areas.
One set of locked goodies that eluded me for days was Eddie‘s toolbox secured with the so-called "Landscaper‘s Key" hidden somewhere in Bel Air. The mere mention of these items in a brief level description was the only clue I had to go on. But my video game treasure hunter instincts refused to let it go.
After an extensive search combing Bel Air high and low, consulting with other knowledgeable members of the Dead Island community, and plenty of grunt work battling through hoards of zombies, I finally unlocked the secrets of Eddie‘s toolbox for myself.
And let me tell you, the treasure inside did NOT disappoint! Below I‘ll provide everything I‘ve uncovered on how to get your hands on this powerful hidden loot. There‘s a fierce zombie boss fight standing in your way, but the rewards are well worth overcoming it if you crave specialty Dead Island weaponry.
Landscaper‘s Key Item Guide
Before we get into tactics, let‘s quickly break down the key items needed for this quest:
Green Thumb Eddie: The zombie boss who drops the Landscaper‘s Key when defeated. Finding and killing this unique undead menace is the lynchpin required to access the rest of the hidden goodies, so he‘s our #1 target.
The Landscaper‘s Key: This special key is the only way to pop open Eddie‘s locked toolbox. As mentioned, Green Thumb Zombie Eddie drops this key upon death.
Eddie‘s Toolbox: After acquiring the Landscaper Key, you can open this unassuming toolbox tucked away in northwest Bel Air. Inside lies the REAL treasure we‘re hunting for…
The Vampiric Machine Pistol: This rare and extremely deadly firearm with life-leeching capabilities is the crown jewel discovery hidden away inside Eddie‘s toolbox.
With those key items and concepts explained, let‘s get into my personal saga of hunting down these crucial gear pieces step-by-step…
Join the Zombie Hunt!
The first step of unlocking Eddie‘s toolbox requires tracking down and defeating the deadly Green Thumb Eddie – a unique variant butcher zombie who holds thetoolbox key.
This oversized monstrosity won‘t spawn until you make significant progress in Dead Island 2‘s main story campaign. Specifically, you must first complete the major story mission "Boardwalking Dead" where you battle the zombie boss Bucho The Clown.
I discovered through reading Dead Island fan wikis and directly from chatting to other players on Discord that the Green Thumb Eddie boss specifically spawns in Bel Air after completing this mission milestone.
With this newly gained intel, I focused my efforts on scouring Bel Air once unlocking the corresponding quick travel point. I had gleaned that Eddie could potentially spawn in multiple locations, but that the area surrounding Colt Swanson‘s mansion was a likely hideout.
After systemically combing Colt‘s property, I struck gold! I discovered Green Thumb lurking near the mansion‘s rear pool area. He instantly attacked upon detecting my presence. The beast was just as ugly and menacing as fellow zombie slayers had described online – easily standing at least 8 feet tall and bristling with muscles.
Utilize Dead Eye Aim Against Green Thumb
Now came the real test – actually taking Green Thumb Eddie down. I quickly equipped my best mid-range firearms, keeping a surplus of ammo on standby. As an avid marksman in FPS games, I was confident I could wittle his health down faster than he could close the gap to land hits.
As expected, the hulking zombie brute immediately barrelled towards me. I calmly strafed sideways while activating my Precision skill – briefly slowing down time so I could activate Dead Eye aiming.
I relentlessly pelted Eddie with a barrage of scorching incendiary shotgun blasts as he lumbered towards me. My shots tore smoldering chunks from his putrid flesh, filling the air with an awful stench.
Enraged from taking damage, the towering zombie lunged and took a massive swing at me. But I adeptly dodged backwards just out of range, then kited him while continuing my shotgun punishment.
Exploit Green Thumb‘s Weaknesses
I soon realized that Green Thumb had a noticeable delay when it came to recovering from his huge attack swings and charge attacks before he could resume moving. I exploited these brief vulnerability windows to gain some distance and unload more shells into his body.
Given Green Thumb‘s slow movement speed, these hit and run tactics proved extremely effective. Whenever he did manage to back me up against a wall or obstacle, I used the kick attack to boop him backwards which bought me a few precious seconds to reposition.
When Eddie had lost roughly two thirds of his health, he suddenly let loose a berserk frenzy flurry attack that caught me off guard. I quickly activated a med kit to recover the lost HP after his savage onslaught. Fortunately I had plenty of healing items stockpiled.
Learning from this encounter, I made sure to save a molotov cocktail to throw the next time he frenzied. I whipped the explosive bottle right as Green Thumb charged, causing him to stagger briefly as flames covered his body. I dashed sideways then spun up my mini chainsaw weapon, carving away at him with wild abandon during this window of damage vulnerability.
Soon I had witled Green Thumb‘s health down to a sliver. But he still packed deadly power in his attacks. After landing another barrage of point blank shotgun blasts, I finally felled the beast for good with an execution move. It was an epic zombie battle I won‘t soon forget!
Claim the Landscaper‘s Key & Unlock Eddie‘s Toolbox
Having successfully taken down my colossal opponent, I was able to loot the Landscaper‘s Key item from Green Thumb Eddie‘s fresh corpse. The intricate key‘s icon popped up in my inventory – finally I could access the mysterious toolbox!
I opened up my map and placed a convenient custom waypoint marker on Eddie‘s Toolbox to more easily track it down. It turned out the toolbox was located in the back of a white work truck tucked against the outer wall of Emma Jaunt‘s mansion just down the street.
Sprinting over to the target location, I hopped into the truck tray and enthusiastically used the newly acquired Landscaper‘s Key on Eddie‘s Toolbox. The lock mechanism clinked and popped open satisfyingly. Inside I discovered the coveted grand prize for all this trouble… the Vampiric Machine Pistol!
Field Test the Vampiric Machine Pistol
This sleek and stylish SMG style gun didn‘t look like anything special from the outside. But when I checked its stats and special properties, it become clear this was an incredibly powerful weapon. Each bullet fired had lifesteal capabilities – stealing health from enemies and regenning your own reserves.
To test out its undead killing power, I fast traveled to a zombie hotspot and went on a destruction spree. After landing just a few well placed shots, a notification popped up showing a healing boost icon, evidence of the life draining buff in action.
The pistol absolutely shredded through flesh, often killing basic zombies in just 2-4 bullets. Against tougher enemies like infected heavies and demolishers, its high rate of fire allowed me to wittle them down surprisingly fast.
Within seconds I could feel my hit points refilling as the vampiric effect did its work – even allowing me to face tank enemy mobs and recover lost HP during heated skirmishes. The pistol was even packing explosive incendiary thermite coated ammo! No zombie stood a chance. This was a WORTHY prize for defeating that Green Thumb monster.
In addition to the lifestealing pistol, I also scored some other worthwhile bonus loot in Eddie‘s toolbox including rare weapon crafting materials and another high quality shotgun weapon to add to my collection. With these new zombie disintegrating firearms in hand, I was more pumped than ever to continue my undead purging adventures across California.
Final Thoughts on This Epic Hidden Weapon
Defeating Green Thumb Eddie and unlocking the secrets of the Landscaper Key quest was easily one of the highlights of my entire Dead Island 2 playthrough so far. I had an absolute blast tracking down clues on how to find these hidden items and analyzing strategies to overcome challenges blocking the way to earning this incredible off-the-radar loot.
The thrill of analyzing paths to uncover secret powerful weaponry is a big part of what makes immersive open world games like Dead Island so addictively fun to grind away at for hours. And this particular secret SMG pistol reward ended up becoming my favorite and most used gun for the remainder of the game due to its health stealing capabilities and stylish aesthetics.
I can‘t recommend trying to unlock this hidden gem enough to fellow zombie hunting completionists willing to put in the work. It will push your combat tactics to the limit requiring flawless dodging and ranged weapon skills to defeat Green Thumb Eddie. But pulling it off successfully will grant you an incredibly powerful vampiric weapon that keeps on giving!
Let me know in the comments if this comprehensive guide helps lead you to victory in acquiring the super rare Landscaper‘s Key and Vampiric Machine Pistol for yourself. And stay tuned for even more Dead Island secrets as I push the boundaries exploring every last corner of what this shockingly addictive zombie survivor paradise has to offer. Happy hunting!
