Dead Island 2 guide - All slayers, their attributes, and innate skills

In Dead Island 2, there are six characters, called slayers, that players can control. After you’ve picked one, you cannot change your mind for the duration of that playthrough. While you can have separate characters to play solo or in co-op, you cannot swap survivors during the main story of a specific save file. That means you really have to consider what each of these protagonists do for you over the course of the game.

Each protagonist has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Some may have better health recovery than others, or perhaps they deal greater critical strike damage. Additionally, each protagonist has a set of Innate Skills that they will keep throughout the game, regardless of what you put in their skill deck. This article will provide an overview of each protagonist's strengths and Innate Skills, so players can prepare accordingly.

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What does each slayer do in Dead Island 2?

Dani

Dani in Dead Island 2 (Image via Deep Silver)

Dani hails from Ireland, and her goal in Dead Island 2 is to find her roller derby team so that she can get to a match. Hailing from County Cork in Ireland, she’s a tough, no-nonsense girl with a smart mouth and high HP. She also has the highest stamina out of the six slayers. This is the character I used in my review.

Dani’s Attributes:

• Toughness: ***
• Stamina: *****
• Health Recovery: *
• Critical Damage: ***
• Agility: ***
• Peak Health: ****
• Resilience: **

Innate Skills:

• Thunderstruck: Dani’s Heavy Attacks trigger a Forceful explosion on impact.
• Bloodlust: Dani regains health when slaying multiple zombies in quick succession.

With incredible stamina and health, this character is a solid tank. However, her health recovery is the worst in the game, so instead of face-tanking, she needs to use heavy attacks to knock foes down or abilities that increase her attack speed, allowing her to slice through foes quickly.

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Ryan

Ryan in Dead Island 2 (Image via Deep Silver)

Ryan is an American slayer and a male stripper who became trapped in Hell-A during the events of Dead Island 2. He’s sarcastic but has a good heart. His goal is to find his little brother, who got left behind in Fresno.

Ryan’s Attributes:

• Toughness: *****
• Stamina: ***
• Health Recovery: ***
• Critical Damage: **
• Agility: *
• Peak Health: ***
• Resilience: ****

Innate Skills:

• Retaliation: Ryan gets a moderate Force boost when using Block or Dodge to avoid an attack.
• Seesaw: Ryan regains Health each time he knocks down a zombie.

With the highest toughness of the slayers in Dead Island 2, he has incredibly low agility and deals mediocre critical damage. That said, he’s resilient and is rewarded for knocking down zombies, as well as when blocking or dodging.

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Amy

Amy in Dead Island 2 (Image via Deep Silver)

Amy is a Paralympian who now channels her incredible speed into slaying zombies with ruthless efficiency. A middle-aged woman, she has a prosthetic leg that has the American flag patterned on it.

Amy’s Attributes:

• Toughness: *
• Stamina: ***
• Health Recovery: ***
• Critical Damage: ****
• Agility: *****
• Peak Health: **
• Resilience: ***

Innate Skills:

• Relief Pitcher: Amy regains Stamina when hitting a zombie with a weapon throw.
• Divide and Conquer: Amy gets a minor Damage boost when she attacks isolated zombies.

Since Amy has the lowest toughness stat in the team, she needs to be darting around, stealth-killing as many zombies as she can. The Divide and Conquer innate gives her a damage boost when attacking isolated zombies. This means she wants to use that agility and speed to pick off foes that are alone in Dead Island 2.

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Jacob

Jacob in Dead Island 2 (Image via Deep Silver)

Jacob is one of the only other characters I’ve seen in the game during some multiplayer in Dead Island 2. Born in London, he left behind a job in the stock market to be a stuntman after his mother passed. Not a lot is known about this man other than the fact that he’s got a radical aesthetic and a penchant for slaughtering zombies.

Jacob’s Attributes:

• Toughness: ***
• Stamina: ****
• Health Recovery: **
• Critical Damage: ***
• Agility: ***
• Peak Health: *****
• Resilience: *

Innate Skills:

• Feral: Jacob gets a stackable minor damage boost when attacking in quick succession.
• Critical Gains: Jacob’s Critical Hits when stamina is low get a moderate Critical Damage boost and regain Stamina.

With the highest health and lowest resilience, he can take a few hits, but he’s not going to hold up very well. However, he gains a stackable damage boost when attacking repeatedly. He also gets greater critical damage when his stamina is low/ This also recharges his stamina, so he can resume doling out the violence in Dead Island 2.

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Bruno

Bruno in Dead Island 2 (Image via Deep Silver)

Bruno is an American and is known to be a hustler. He’s always got a plan and knows how to get out of any negative situation. He’s fond of pulling heists on scammers and was born and raised in LA. This Dead Island 2 slayer is no slouch, capable of dealing incredible damage in short order.

Bruno’s Attributes:

• Toughness: **
• Stamina: ***
• Health Recovery: ***
• Critical Damage: *****
• Agility: ****
• Peak Health: *
• Resilience: ***

Innate Skills:

• Backstab: Bruno gets a moderate Damage boost when attacking zombies from behind.
• Rapid Reprisal: Boost Bruno’s Agility and Heavy Attack Charges when he avoids attacks with a Block or Dodge.

The “glass cannon” of the slayers, Bruno has the highest critical damage in the game, while also having the lowest peak health. He’s got the power to smash through enemies easily, but he cannot take a hit. You'll want to master dodging with him, if you intend on using him often.

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Carla

Carla in Dead Island 2 (Image via Deep Silver)

The last slayer in Dead Island 2 is the American stuntwoman Carla, who specialized in motorcycle stunts in the greater Los Angeles area. She’s trapped in the area now, but she’s not out of options. She’s resilient and can certainly take a hit better than the other slayers.

Carla’s Attributes:

• Toughness: ****
• Stamina: ***
• Health Recovery: ***
• Critical Damage: *
• Agility: **
• Peak Health: ***
• Resilience: *****

Innate Skills:

• Mosh Pit: Carla gets a minor Damage boost when close to multiple zombies.
• Dig Deep: Carla gets a moderate Toughness boost while her health is critical.

Carla may have the lowest critical damage in the game, but she has the highest resilience. She’s rewarded for being surrounded by multiple zombies and also gets a toughness boost while at low health. She’s the real tank of the team, but she doesn’t hit as hard as her comrades.

All of these Dead Island 2 slayers have something that makes them special, so it’s easy to pick a party member to make a deadly, zombie-killing party. There’s no wrong choice, but some of them may have a harder time soloing than others.