Dead Island 2 combat is mainly focused on melee weapons, but players can build up a nice arsenal of firearms as well. Eventually, Dead Island 2 players will reach a point where they have more guns than they know what to do with, but they have to progress to a certain point in the main story before they can get their first gun.
In order to get a gun in Dead Island 2, players need to progress in the main story until they get the quest called "Justifiable Zombicide." In this quest, players work with returning Dead Island 1 protagonist Sam B to collect some guns at a house in Beverly Hills. Upon arriving at the house, players will need to clear out all the zombies in the area.
Upon getting inside the house, players can then talk to Sam B to get rewarded with their very first gun, a Sporting Rifle. Players are then taught the basics of how to use the gun, but the controls should be instantly familiar to anyone that's played a first-person shooter game before. The rest of the quest involves killing more zombies, but this time using the Sporting Rifle instead of melee weapons or Slayer skills.
Where to Get a Gun in Dead Island 2
After Dead Island 2 players get the Sporting Rifle, they can then find guns lying around elsewhere in the game. Sometimes guns are rewarded by completing quests in Dead Island 2, but other times they are found as loot. Guns don't suffer from the same durability problem that melee weapons have, but they do require ammo, so players should keep that in mind. Guns in the game aren't particularly powerful either, so it's rarely a good idea to leave the safe house without plenty of melee weapons handy as well.
Dead Island 2's crafting system lets players craft ammo eventually, and it can sometimes be purchased from merchants as well or looted from the game world. Players can also equip mods on their guns to give them special abilities. For example, the Sporting Rifle can be equipped with a mod that lets it shoot fire bullets, which can greatly increase its capabilities, to say the least.
Dead Island 2 guns are not a replacement for melee weapons, but they are good when one needs to keep their distance from whatever zombie they're fighting. Some of the special zombies in Dead Island 2 can be dangerous when going toe-to-toe with them in melee combat, so it doesn't hurt to have a gun or two in one's inventory at all times, even if melee weapons are ultimately more effective.
Dead Island 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.