The first Dead Island was a surprise hit despite some setbacks. It was janky upon launch with plenty of bugs that made it look like it came out of the oven too early. A lot of elements helped it stand out, such as the tropical paradise location, which was unique for a zombie game.
The RPG elements also stood out wherein characters could level up and buy skills from a skill tree. Players level up in Dead Island 2 as well, but the skill system has changed. The skill tree has been replaced with a card system. For Amy specifically, it's helpful to go through what cards work best for her.
8 Dodge
Dodge is a great skill to have in any action RPG. This skill card falls under the Ability category and players can either equip it or the Block skill - but never both at once. There are merits to Block, but Amy is naturally supposed to be a more agile character in the game. It makes sense for her to evade and counter enemies with the Dodge instead of blocking them like a giant armored knight. There are other skill cards in the deck that can improve Dodge in Dead Island 2 as well.
7 Drop Kick
Drop Kick is another Ability card and there are also two choices in this category. Drop Kick can be activated if players stand still, jump, and then hit the kick button. This will force Amy to use both legs to perform a literal drop kick that will knock enemies back. This is a good skill to have, especially when surrounded by the undead, which tends to happen a lot in zombie games. Flying Kick, on the other hand, can be activated while running and jumping at enemies.
6 War Cry
War Cry is a great Ability to have, especially for those that plan to get a co-op party together. Pressing L1+R1, on a PlayStation controller at least, will activate the skill, which will increase Toughness for the party. Toughness will boost defenses, but War Cry will also weaken zombies around the blast zone.
In this category, there are a lot of choices to equip such as Dash Strike or Ground Pound. War Cry is the best of them all for the aforementioned party situations.
5 Rallying Cry
Rallying Cry is part of a new category of skill cards in Dead Island 2 called Survivor. It will make War Cry better as it is a supporting skill in the game. Along with the Toughness perks, Rallying Cry will regain some health for the party as well as remove status effects. Those two skill cards combined will turn Amy into like a Paladin in a lot of RPGs. As she is fast and nimble as well, it’s almost like a new class of character, like a Ninja Paladin.
4 Bob And Weave
Bob and Weave is one of the aforementioned Survivor skill cards that can help boost the capabilities of Dodge. Evading zombies in the game, at the right time, will increase Amy’s agility and attack speed.
The better players are at doing this, the faster Amy will become in that battle instance. She’s not going to reach levels of speed like The Flash, but skilled players may get close to helping Amy achieve her goal of becoming a great Paralympic competitor since she is a disabled hero. All she has to do first is survive a never-ending wave of flesh-eating zombies.
3 Safe Space
There are two ways to heal in Dead Island 2. Players can eat snacks such as protein bars or drink energy drinks. They can also use medical kits to heal for more. Now, Safe Space is a must-have Survivor skill card to snag in the game, which will help in the healing process.
Players with this equipped will cause a forceful knockback to occur every time they inject themselves with medical supplies. This will make healing in a storm of zombies easier and thus prevent Amy from dying more.
2 The Limb Reaper
One of the best things about the game is the dynamic flesh system at play. The undead will take a lot of realistic damage more so than other zombie games, from chopping off limbs to melting skin. Removing arms will keep players safe from being grabbed and removing legs will slow zombies down. A good bladed weapon is necessary to do this, such as the various swords in Dead Island 2. For those that like using bladed weapons, then The Limb Reaper is a good skill card to have in the Slayer category. It will regain health whenever a limb is lobbed off.
1 Deadeye
Players can carry a plethora of weapons from projectiles like shotguns to melee tools like wrenches. Most of these weapons will break down over time if players don’t repair them. There are special weapons that can be equipped which run on cooldowns instead. They are called Curveballs and vary from Shurikens to Pipe Bombs. Deadeye is a Slayer skill card that will boost how fast these Curveball weapons will recharge. This is a must-have for dealing with crowds, which will happen a lot. Keeping weapons around that do area damage is a basic tip for any good zombie game.
Dead Island 2 releases on April 21, 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.