Dead Island 2 is a game that has a deceptively large amount of content. When players hear that the game is broken into 'zones' and that it's a bit more linear than the typical open-world title, it's understandable to think that Dead Island 2 might be lacking in how much there is to do.
But, the further players progress through the story, the more mechanics are unlocked and the more side quests become available, including one called 'The Rav-ages Of Caustic-X'.
When The Side Quest Becomes Available & Where 'Rav-ages of Caustic-X' Takes Place
Like a lot of other optional objectives in Dead Island 2, this Side Quest isn't available until players pass a certain point in the main story.
Luckily, that's pretty early on, as they'll be able to start this one right after finishing the Michael Anders and the Holy Grail Story Quest in Monarch Studios. After getting the next Story Quest from Sam B and heading out the door behind the building the giant animatronic spider is above, players will hear another radio going off.
Answering this will lead to them speaking with Hanna, a student from VCLA who asks the player's Slayer to go and help out a friend of theirs, Rav, who is stuck in the Halperin Hotel.
Talking To Rav & Finding The Shipment Receipt
Disclaimer: It's highly recommended to do Sam B's Story Quest 'Justifiable Zombicide' first before this one, as the next Story objective after it has players returning to Emma's Mansion while doing Rav-ages of Caustic-X first will force players to trek through Monarch Studios all over again.
Once players decide to go and help out Rav, they'll need to take the same route to get to the Halperin Hotel they took the first time for the Room Service For Major Booker Story Quest, unless they've reached the point of the story where Fast Travel is unlocked.
After arriving back at the same ballroom players fought their first Crusher, Becki the Bride, they'll encounter and speak with Rav who is sitting up on the second-floor balcony of the ballroom. Rav explains that he came to do some research on the experiments the army was doing with Caustic-X here after getting a tip from his Paramedic friend, but was trapped by Zombies after arriving.
Players will then head to the ambulance Rav mentions, which is straight back out in the Hotel's parking lot, straight out the entrance of the Halperin. Simply follow the blue diamond marker that leads to the ambulance, and players will encounter both the Ambulance Driver (now a Slobber) and a Crusher. Defeat both of them and players should see the Caustic-X Shipment Receipt sitting on one of the trash bins in the Caustic-X goop. Clear out the goop using Water or simply tank the damage to grab the Shipment Receipt, then head back to Rav.
Drop The Beat & Head To The Pool
After arriving back in the ballroom, the quest objective should automatically progress to Drop the beat to kick off the distraction Rav needs! Interact with the DJ Table at the opposite end of the ballroom to start the next phase of the Side Quest.
Players will then need to fend off incoming waves of Zombies (without leaving the ballroom) while Rav looks at the work area the scientists were using to figure everything out. After killing about 20+ zombies, Rav will report in that their plan was all worth it, as they found the data on Caustic-X.
But, Rav then mentions that their results for how quickly Caustic-X works on the zombies don't make sense, and he'll need to see it in action to understand everything. So, players will need to head out to the pool area of the Halperin Hotel and kill zombies with Caustic-X while Rav takes notes on the results.
After reaching the pool, the next objective of 'experiment poolside with fun new caustic ways to kill zombies' should pop up. All this means is that players need to use the Caustic element to kill zombies in this area, whether that's by kicking them into the pool (the fastest method), blowing up Caustic-X barrels when they're nearby, or kiting zombies to walk through puddles of Caustic-X Goop. After doing this with 14 different zombies, the Side Quest is just about done, all that's left is to return to the ballroom and claim the rewards from Rav.
Rav-avages of Caustic-X Rewards
After returning to the ballroom, Rav will have only nice things to say about the player's character. He'll then mention he's figured it all out and should now be able to caustic-ify a weapon instead of using acid on it before giving the player a Rare Melee Liquidator Mod and the Caustic-X Bomb. To elaborate on these rewards a bit more:
- Rare Melee Liquidator Mod: Converts melee weapon to Caustic Damage and also gives it a moderate damage boost.
- Caustic-X Bomb: A new Curveball that works sort of like a pipe bomb filled with Caustic-X instead of explosives. It explodes shortly after being thrown, leaving a Caustic puddle behind and dealing a good amount of Caustic damage to anything in the area of effect (as well as applying the Melting ailment).
Overall, these are some pretty fantastic rewards, as Caustic Damage is absurdly strong in Dead Island 2, and being able to place environmental hazards is always fun, though it can be a bit of a detriment to allies in multiplayer.
Dead Island 2 is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.