Best Character & Tier List

Discover the best characters in Dead Island 2 with our comprehensive tier list. Learn about each slayer's unique skills, stats, and playstyles to dominate the zombie apocalypse.

The power of each character in Dead Island 2 is limited to two different passive skills. While some characters are more versatile than others, here's how they rank in a tier list:

• S Tier: Jacob (Innate skills are always active, though not as potent as other characters' peaks).
• A Tier: Carla (Versatile tank), Amy (Strongest boss killer, but fragile), Dani (Strongest pack damage and healing).
• B Tier: Bruno (Niche backstab playstyle with high crit bonuses), Ryan (Solid health recovery and toughness, focused on knocking enemies down, better for co-op).

Here's a more detailed breakdown of each character:

Jacob

Jacob tops the tier list due to his practicality in all scenarios. His innate skills are:

• Feral: Gains a stack of minor damage boost when attacking in quick succession.
• Critical Gains: Critical Hits when stamina is low grant a moderate Critical Damage boost and regain stamina.

Jacob's simple yet effective damage perks work in all situations. The damage ramps up noticeably against higher-level enemies and bosses, especially with more critical hits and stamina regeneration. He also has high health and stamina, making him durable and allowing frequent use of special skills. Jacob is the best choice for a generalized, care-free playstyle.

Bruno

Bruno is the rogue archetype, focusing on huge burst critical strikes and stealth. His innate skills are:

• Backstab: Gains a moderate damage boost when attacking zombies from behind.
• Rapid Reprisal: Boosts Agility and heavy attack charges when avoiding or blocking an attack.

Bruno has very high critical strike damage and agility, with decent defensive stats, but the lowest health in the game. He shines when using bait to get backstabs but is slightly squishy and requires precise dodges. Learning to dodge behind enemies for backstabs can be tricky and dangerous in swarms. His skills are situational but potent when they apply. He pairs well with tank characters in co-op.

Carla

Carla is the best tank-style character, excelling when fighting multiple zombies. Her innate skills are:

• Mosh Pit: Gains a minor damage boost when close to multiple zombies.
• Dig Deep: Gains a moderate toughness boost when her health is critical.

Carla is effective against groups of zombies due to her damage boost when near multiple enemies and her strong defense-focused base stats, including high resilience, toughness, and peak health. Her main downsides are the lowest crit damage and low agility, making combat slower compared to other slayers. She is a safe pick for a classic bruiser playstyle, though her damage profile falls off against single tough enemies.

Dani

Dani is a decent character with strong tools for dealing with zombie packs. Her innate skills are:

• Thunderstruck: Heavy Attack triggers a forceful explosion on impact.
• Bloodlust: Regains health when slaying multiple zombies in quick succession.

Dani's heavy attacks cause explosions, launching enemies and dealing extra damage. This comes at the cost of stamina usage for charging heavy attacks. Her Bloodlust skill provides healing when quickly dispatching multiple zombies.