All Apex Zombie types in Dead Island 2

Dead Island 2 features hordes of regular zombies, but the real danger comes from the special undead types, known as Apex Zombies. These first appear in the game in the form of boss encounters. After the initial boss battles, these more powerful zombies will begin appearing throughout Hell-A. The Apex variants have sub-types as well, which are even more dangerous than the normal versions. After the initial encounter, the variants cans show up anywhere else in the game.

Occasionally, you will see swarms of these Apex Zombies on the various maps in Dead Island 2. Thankfully, you can see where they are in the world, so you can avoid them if you aren’t prepared for hordes of challenging zombies.

Note: Video footage does contain spoilers of boss battles, including the final boss.

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All Apex Zombie types in Dead Island 2 and known variants

Crushers

The first boss of the game, Crushers, are introduced relatively early as an Apex Zombie in Dead Island 2. They have powerful physical strikes, and can do an AOE ground pound to knock everyone over.

Inferno Crusher

The alternate form, Inferno Crusher, can even ignite players. You can thankfully, temporarily wash the flames away, but it doesn’t last.

Bursters

Bursters are incredibly easy to kill from a distance, but they can also explode on their own. Shoot them until they erupt, hopefully, at a nice safe distance. This Dead Island 2 Apex Zombie’s explosion does harm other zombies, so it can be a great first target in a swarm. They’re also weak to projectiles, so take that into account as well.

Slobbers

The Apex Zombie I’ve seen the most variants of are the Slobbers. Also encountered early, these Dead Island 2 foes are grotesquely obese and puke up bile onto unsuspecting victims. They can spit in a wave in front of them, or shoot at a distance.

Putrefired Slobbers

Putrefied Slobbers spit up Bile Blobs that stick to surfaces and explode. They’re also immune to Bleed Damage, which is unfortunate.

Firestorm Slobbers

Firestorm Slobbers are like the others, but all of their damage is fire! Not a fun time at all, even if you got the game for free. It’s even worse when oil drums are round.

Screamers

My second least-favorite Apex Zombie in Dead Island 2, Screamers send out shockwaves that slow down players if they’re caught in it. They force you backward, and on top of that, they also rile up the nearby zombies, who all come in to fight.

You can interrupt the scream with a projectile, so keep that in mind.

Voltaic Screamers

Voltaic Screamers do the same thing, only now the scream is electric. Be careful near water!

Butchers

Butchers are easily the most frustrating Apex Zombies to deal with. Their ability to block incoming damage with their sword arms, and the fact that if they get away, they can heal by cannibalizing corpses, is infuriating.

Vicious Butchers

Vicious Butchers focus less on healing and more on dealing plenty of bleed damage. They’re very dangerous in Dead Island 2 - consider Fury mode to deal with them.

Mutators

Mutators are also revealed one of the bosses in the zombie survival game, like many of the previous variants. In particular, the final boss of the game is a Mutator. They look like normal zombies, but loud noises trigger their mutation. They have several zombie powers, such as the Crusher’s stomp and Slobbers projectiles. These can be the most dangerous if you aren’t careful.

As you kill more of the specific zombie types, the in-game Zombipedia will give you hints on how to deal with these foes. It will detail resistances, weaknesses, and immunities, so take the time to look into this while playing Dead Island 2. You can read our review here.