All heroes in Dead Island 2: who to choose [best class]

A guide to all available classes in Dead Island 2 with detailed descriptions of the characteristics of each character.

Dead Island 2 has six different classes, represented by different characters. Each of these heroes has their own set of skills, abilities, and unique traits that can greatly influence how you play through the story campaign.

The choice of character must be taken seriously, as this will affect not only your style of play, but also the overall atmosphere of the adventure, because each of the protagonists comments on what is happening in their own way. In this guide, you'll find everything you need to know about the six playable heroes so you can pick the one that's best for you.

Important: When choosing a hero, pay attention not only to his attributes and skills, but also to his voice and character traits, otherwise there is a chance that you will get an annoying protagonist.

Description of characteristics in Dead Island 2

One of the main differences between the available characters in Dead Island 2 is their base stats (aka attributes). There are seven of them in total, and all heroes have them tailored for different play styles.

In fact, each Slayer has one strong point and one weak point, then the rest of the attributes are somewhere in the middle in order to make the hero balanced. Each characteristic is evaluated on a 5-point scale.

Therefore, before choosing a character, it is important to study the attributes of each of them, so that you end up with a protagonist that suits your specific play style. This can be done immediately after the cinematic prologue of Dead Island 2.

Resistance

The first stat on each character's attribute list is toughness. How much physical damage you receive from any attack depends on its indicators. It is worth noting that this only applies to physical attacks (like kicks or punches from zombies or other people). This attribute does not change damage from fire, electricity, poison, or other natural threats in any way.

Endurance

This attribute, which is quite common in games, is also found in Dead Island 2. The level of endurance determines how many special moves or attacks your character can perform before he has to regenerate. Typically, the stamina bar is used up after particularly devastating attacks. But some characters have skills that allow you to restore stamina right during the battle, so it is important to pay attention to this.

Health recovery

Quite an important characteristic, especially if you find it difficult to dodge the blows of opponents. This indicator is higher for those heroes who have relatively small reserves of maximum health, and lower for Fighters with large reserves of HP.

Critical Damage

Critical damage is the main stat that determines how physically strong your character is. It is not related to the probability of landing critical hits, but to how much damage each of these hits will deal. Many of the weapons in the game also affect the amount of damage you deal to your opponents, however if you're used to playing aggressively it's recommended to pick a character with the highest critical damage.

Agility

This is a rather curious characteristic that does not greatly affect the gameplay. It essentially determines your base movement speed. The lower the level of agility, the slower you will walk. But it's worth noting that this attribute only affects walking speed, not actual running speed. All characters run and dodge enemy attacks at the same speed, regardless of their agility scores. Thus, when choosing a character, you can easily ignore the indicators of agility.

Maximum health

Each character starts the game with a base health that increases as they level up. The amount of HP that is given out at each level depends on the "Maximum Health" attribute - the higher it is, the more HP you will receive. However, you shouldn't pick heroes based on this stat alone, as other attributes like resistance and durability play a much more important role in gameplay.

Resistance

Your resistance level determines your protection against elemental damage (fire, shock, corrosive damage, and other types of damage that cause negative status effects). Resistance, along with toughness and maximum health, determines your character's overall health, so this attribute cannot be ignored.

All classes and characters of Dead Island 2

In total, Dead Island 2 features six different characters, which can also be considered as six separate classes, since the style of play for each hero is different from all the others. At the very beginning of the story campaign, you have the opportunity to choose one character who cannot be changed until the end of the game.

Jacob

Jacob is a former London stockbroker who became a stuntman after losing his mother. With anti-hero charisma and rock star style, Jacob enjoys slaughtering the undead on the streets of Los Angeles, but, unfortunately, the dead are not the best audience for his witticisms and Shakespearean quotes.

• Jacob is considered to be one of the strongest Exterminators in Dead Island 2. He boasts impressive damage output, making him the perfect character for anyone who prefers an aggressive playstyle.

However, Jacob also has noticeable weaknesses, including weak resistance to elemental damage and a rather slow recovery of health.

• Since his resistance is only 1 out of 5, Jacob is extremely vulnerable to damage from fire, electricity and corrosive damage, so you will have to be very careful when encountering improved zombies, as well as when exploring locations where you can get negative status effects.
• Despite the fact that Jacob has a high maximum health, when using first-aid kits and other healing items, the character’s HP is restored quite slowly.

As for Jacob's innate abilities, his first skill called "The Beast" gives the hero a good bonus to damage during fast attacks.

• A total of five bonuses can be obtained, which in total will increase your overall damage by 30-40%, depending on the type of weapon you use.
• His second innate ability allows Jacob to increase critical damage at those moments when his stamina drops to almost zero.
• However, activating this skill is quite difficult, since Jacob has impressive stamina reserves.
• However, if you are using heavy weapons with powerful attacks, then the Critical Recoil skill can come in handy.

You can enhance Jacob's strengths and compensate for his weaknesses by equipping one-handed weapons with high damage and high attack speed - they are much more suited to his playstyle than any two-handed weapons.

• It is also recommended to use a weapon that deals elemental damage to compensate for Jacob's vulnerability to this type of damage.
• To maximize Jacob's combat potential, it is advised to use weapons with bonus stats such as increased critical strike chance or increased attack speed.

Ryan

Ryan is a stubborn and pessimistic Exterminator who regularly makes sarcastic comments. Before the outbreak of the zombie virus, he worked as a stripper, and now he is trying his best to get out of Los Angeles to fly to his younger brother, who lives in Fresno.

His unique innate skills "Retaliation" and "Rise and Fall" are ideal for players who are going to cut through hordes of zombies without too much trickery.

• The Retaliation skill increases Ryan's strength whenever he successfully blocks or dodges an attack, allowing him to easily dispatch hordes of the undead while minimizing damage taken.
• And if you want to save on healing items, you can regenerate health with Rise and Fall by simply knocking zombies down.
• These two skills synergize well with each other, as each successful block or dodge increases the power of Ryan's punches.
• And the higher the strength of the hero, the easier it will be for him to knock down opponents.

Although the game does not say that Ryan is a classic "tank", his skill set directly indicates that the developers had this particular class in mind.

• However, Ryan is not without flaws, including vulnerability to elemental damage and slow health regeneration.
• Therefore, you should use weapons that deal elemental damage (such as fire) to compensate for these disadvantages.
• In general, Ryan's skills allow him to effectively deal with crowds of opponents without feeling discomfort.
• You can combine his abilities with crush-type weapons to end up with a strong tank character build.

Dani

Dani was born in County Cork, Ireland and briefly worked as a salesperson before joining a roller derby team that brought her to the United States. Trapped in Los Angeles after a zombie outbreak, a girl tries to escape the infected city in order to reunite with her roller derby team.

• Dani has a strong-willed character and is quite friendly to others, but at the same time she is not shy about obscene language and is able to surprise with a rather peculiar humor.

Her innate skill "Bloodlust" epitomizes her brutal fighting style and willingness to survive against the odds.

• Dani is great for players who prefer an aggressive playstyle, as her Bloodlust skill allows her to regenerate health when quickly killing several zombies in a row.
• Despite this advantage, she has the lowest health regeneration of any playable character.
• To balance Dany's build, it's recommended to rely on her Bloodlust skill and carry a rich arsenal of melee weapons to effectively take down zombie hordes and regenerate health quickly.

In addition, her second innate skill called "Thunder Roll" allows her to deal damage to multiple enemies at the same time.

• By combining both of her abilities, you can get out of any mess with powerful AoE attacks, and when your health drops to a critical minimum, Bloodlust will help you out, which will allow you to heal without interruptions for first-aid kits.

If you want to maximize the effect of Dany's abilities, use a weapon that is of the Furious type - it will allow you to unleash fast attacks.

• As an alternative, a crippling weapon is also suitable, which can easily dismember most opponents.
• For any of Dani's builds, the O-Kami and Whiskey weapon, which can be obtained by completing the side quest "The Ballad of Ricky Rex", is perfect.

Karl

Carla worked as a motorcycle stunt driver before being trapped in Los Angeles amid the zombie apocalypse. She easily finds a common language with people and is used to getting her way thanks to her extroverted nature, unshakable self-confidence and impressive physical strength. Carla is a resilient heroine who is not afraid to stand up to the undead that have taken over the city.

• Karla is ideal for beginner players due to her resistance and stamina indicators, which allow her to fight on equal terms with crowds of the walking dead and emerge victorious from any fight.
• The heroine has the highest resistance attribute in the game, which allows her to take less elemental damage than all other characters.

Carla's unique skill called "Mosh Pit" also plays an important role, which gives her a small increase in damage when she is surrounded by a crowd of zombies.

• During the passage of the story campaign, you will constantly encounter groups of opponents.
• Thus, the effect of the Mosh Pit skill will last almost the entire game, constantly increasing Karla's damage.

In addition, her "Don't Give Up" skill grants the heroine a medium stamina bonus when her health reaches a critical level.

• A critical level is a health bar that is less than one-third full.
• If you're going through a story campaign for the first time, then it's best to do it as Karla, who will easily deal with hordes of enemies with the help of increased damage, and additional durability will come in handy in those moments when your health drops to a critical level.

Carla favors heavy weapons with high damage and slow attack speed, complementing her Mosh Pit skill.

• Heavy weapons allow her to deal serious damage to several zombies at once with a single blow, which makes it easier to fight crowds of enemies.
• In other words, it is best for her to pick up weapons of a crushing or tactical type.
• For this, the legendary Brutalizer machete is suitable, which can be obtained for completing the side quest "Body Art" towards the end of the game.

Carla can also use firearms to take down zombies effectively from long distances.

• Shotguns are excellent in close combat, while rifles are better for killing zombies at long range.
• It is recommended to use Fenrir's Howl or Body Count Assault Rifle.
• However, keep in mind that there is not a lot of ammo for firearms in the game, so it is recommended to save them for skirmishes with bosses and higher varieties of zombies.

Bruno

Bruno was previously a street crook in Los Angeles and organized heists for scammers and hackers. Trapped in a quarantine zone during a zombie outbreak, he quickly adapted to his new surroundings, using his deadly knife skills and murderous charisma to fight the undead.

• His two unique abilities, Backstab and Slash are great for players who prefer a tactical approach to killing zombies.
• Backstab greatly increases Bruno's damage when he attacks zombies from behind.
• The Slashing ability increases Bruno's agility and the speed at which he prepares powerful attacks after the hero manages to block or dodge an opponent's attack.
• These skills allow players to deal with zombies effectively and with minimal risk.

Bruno boasts the highest critical damage in the game, making him the perfect character for anyone looking to take down zombies quickly on the sly. However, his low max health makes it clear that Bruno's playstyle is geared towards stealth and evasiveness - you'll often need to dodge attacks, block them, and attack zombies from behind.

• Thus, Bruno is designed for players who value a strategic approach to combat and are not used to attacking opponents head-on.
• Although Bruno is not a tanky character like some other Slayers, he can deal solid damage with melee weapons due to his skill with knives.
• If you choose to play the story campaign as Bruno, you'll have to rely on his powerful attacks and constantly dodge enemy attacks to avoid critical hits.

As weapons, it is recommended to choose knives and other one-handed weapons with a high chance of a critical hit and a high attack speed.

• In addition, weapons that deal elemental damage can compensate for Bruno's weaknesses.
• Many weapons fit this criteria, including the Shark Tooth, which can be obtained by completing the side quest Dez and Mother of Satan.
• You will also need the Special Forces Knife, which can be purchased from a merchant in the Venice Beach location.

Amy

Amy is a Paralympian who is trapped in Los Angeles during a zombie virus outbreak. Her quick wit, calm nature, and love of thrill, which she seeks out in battles against zombies, make her quite a formidable foe. She sees each fight as a puzzle and acts accordingly, trying to find the right strategy.

• Playing as Amy, you can use two of her innate skills - Relief Pitcher and Divide and Conquer.
• The Relief Pitcher skill allows the heroine to regenerate stamina whenever she deals damage to opponents with weapon throws.
• The Divide and Conquer ability increases the damage of the heroine after she attacks lone zombies.
• These abilities, combined with her outstanding agility, make Amy the perfect choice for players who appreciate a fast-paced playstyle and a tactical approach to combat.
• However, among the main shortcomings of Amy are her innate skills, which can be safely called the worst among all six characters in Dead Island 2.
• In theory, both abilities look quite useful, but in practice, throwing weapons in the game is completely ineffective, so you are unlikely to use this move more often than required.

Also, her second innate skill only activates when you attack lone zombies. However, this rarely happens in Dead Island 2, as the game's story campaign is structured in such a way that you are constantly fighting groups of different opponents. It is for this reason that it is better for novice players to bypass Amy.

The best classes in Dead Island 2

So, having familiarized yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of each playable character, it's time to determine which one is better. Below is a ranking of Dead Island 2 heroes based on their innate skills, stats, and playstyles.

• Amy is at the very bottom of the rankings for the reason that her innate skills are mostly useless. Despite the fact that the heroine has the highest agility in the game, this characteristic itself does not greatly affect the gameplay.
• Bruno has the highest critical damage of all characters, but this hero has a rather specific playstyle. You need to constantly attack opponents and then dodge their attacks in order to make the most of Bruno's skills. That is why it takes the penultimate place in this ranking.
• Ryan is a fairly handy character with high health pools and spectacular innate skills that synergize well with his power. He is great for fights with crowds of enemies, however, in one-on-one battles, he does not perform as well as the characters who took places in the top three.
• Carla is great for beginners because of her innate skill, which allows her to increase durability in situations where her health drops to a critical point. In addition, her second ability allows her to deal increased damage most of the time.
• Jacob is arguably one of the best playable characters in Dead Island 2. He boasts the highest health pools and solid damage output, provided you can use his innate skills wisely, of course. However, in order to maximize the effect of his Beast skill, you will need to play quite aggressively, with little to no break in attacks.
• Dani has the second highest maximum health. Among her shortcomings, it is worth noting the low speed of recovery of HP, but this is more than compensated by her innate skill, which allows her to replenish health after quickly killing several enemies. And her second ability is great for fighting groups of opponents. As such, Dani is a versatile heroine and arguably the best playable character in Dead Island 2.