Dead Island 2 guide - What is the autophage system?

During the course of Dead Island 2, players will begin to angrily channel their inner zombie with the autophage system. As a survivor that is immune to the plague that’s overrunning Los Angeles, a character will show up that will help them understand what’s happening to them better. Depending on how you want to approach the game, you can go deeper into the powers of the undead while still remaining human.

This unique addition to Dead Island 2 offers exciting new gameplay possibilities, including bonuses and perks that come with embracing the autophage. However, each player will have to weigh the risks and rewards and decide whether to delve deeper into the powers of the undead. Here's everything you need to know about the autophage system.

---

How does the autophagy system work in Dead Island 2

About halfway through Dead Island 2, you will start unlocking what are known as autophage skills. These skills allow you to go a bit more feral and use three tiers of different effects. Each tier is a bit more dangerous than the last - but to be fair, there are benefits to taking part in this system.

Each time you equip an autophage skill in your skill deck of this survival horror title, it will increase your tier in the system by one point (going up to three). It can be very tempting to use these as well since most of the skills under this umbrella are powerful.

For example, there’s Pummel. With this equipped, melee attacking zombies in quick succession grants a major boost to Force that stacks multiple times. The first hit has less Force, but it builds quickly in Dead Island 2. There’s also Anger Mismanagement, which lets you stay in Fury Mode after it wears off, but it drains your health.

How deep do you want to go into the world of the autophage? (Image via Deep Silver)

Tier 1

• Slay zombies for a boost to Attack Speed
• Minor Fury Mode duration increase
• In Fury Mode, slay zombies to replenish minor Fury
• Reduced Peak Health

Tier 2

• Attack zombies after a kill to regain Stamina
• Moderate Fury Mode duration increase
• In Fury Mode, slay zombies to replenish moderate Fury
• Reduced Stamina regeneration

Tier 3

• Slay zombies for a boost to Health and Damage
• Major Fury Mode duration increase
• In Fury Mode, slay zombies to replenish major Fury
• No Health regeneration
• Reduced Health recovery from Med Kits, Energy Drinks, and Protein Bars

If you’re aggressive enough, you can live in Tier 3, without having to worry about healing. After all, you heal from killing zombies in the survival title. You can still heal from healing items, but it’s not going to be the boost you think it is. It’s the most dangerous way to play Dead Island 2, but Tier 3 autophage is certainly the most exciting.

I stuck to Tier 1 or 2, personally as I demolished zombies. Since I have the skill that makes zombies explode in Fury Mode, it was pretty easy to stay in it long enough to fight virtually any foe in the game, and it made fighting the final boss easy as well.

It’s up to you how deep you want to go, but you can use it to slaughter zombies much faster if you’re up to the challenge. You can read our Dead Island 2 review here.