Skill books are items we skipped in the original release of Dead Rising — but as we’re discovering in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, they’re incredibly useful. The right combination of skill books can be game-changing, and you can turn previously okay weapons into your permanent fixtures. You can pummel zombies with your fists or turn followers into fighting machines. There are plenty of strange books in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, and here’s where to find our favorites.
To make this list easier to digest, we’re also bundling the books in useful combos. Certain books stack their effects and once you have enough inventory space to hold everything you need, you’ll find these books are totally invaluable — even if they take up a full slot. They’re worth it.
Getting The Most PP | Best Skill Books
While there are Skill Books that increase PP from taking photos and rescuing civilians, I prefer using the pair of Horror Novel skill books to earn as much PP as possible. This pair of books gives you a full +50% PP reward for slaying the undead if you’re carrying both at the same time.
- Horror Novel 1: Get +25% PP from defeating zombies.
- Found in The Sinister Read in Entrance Plaza 2F.
- Horror Novel 2: Get +25% PP from defeating zombies.
- Found in Bachman’s Bookporium in Paradise Plaza 1F.
Small Chainsaw Durability | Best Skill Books
The Small Chainsaws are the best weapons in Dead Rising, and if you want to keep them for an extremely long time, you’ll want to get this trio of books. Each book increases the durability of the Small Chainsaws by x3. Holding two books increases the durability by x9. Holding all three lets you use the Small Chainsaws for practically the entire game.
- Criminal Biography: Hold onto edged weapons three times as long as usual.
- Found in the Sir Book-a-lot in Wonderland Plaza 2F.
- Engineering: Hold onto tools and construction related items three times as long as usual.
- Found in Bachman’s Bookporium bookstore in Paradise Plaza 1F.
- Entertainment: Hold onto entertainment items three times as long as usual.
- Found in Bachman’s Bookporium bookstore in Paradise Plaza 1F.
The Small Chainsaws are an edged weapon (sharp), a tool (chainsaw) and an entertainment weapon because a Clown juggles them. You might not realize how much these effects stack, and it is impressive how much longer a weapon lasts with even two of these books in your possession. Make sure to get the Criminal Biography and Engineering books first — they’re useful for many, many other weapons you’ll want to collect.
More Healing | Best Skill Books
The following books increase how much you’ll heal when eating a food item. Collect Orange Juice from the infinite container in the coffee shop in Paradise Plaza 2F — if you get the Survival Skill Book, each drink will heal 8 blocks of health.
- Health 2: Food item’s healing ability boosted by 50%.
- Found in The Sinister Read in Entrance Plaza 2F.
- Survival: Food item’s healing ability boosted by 100%.
- Found in the locked room to the north of Crislip’s Home Saloon. You’ll need to defeat the Psycho boss Cliff that appears here later in the game to collect the key that unlocks this door.
Other Unique Books
The next two books are oddities you’ll earn by defeating bosses. Defeating the Cult Leader boss will get you the Brainwashing Tips book, which makes survivors much more confident and willing to fight. Equip this book and a group of survivors with guns and you’ll easily cut through armies of undead. The Wrestling book is also very useful to grab before going into the end-game and fighting the final boss.
- Brainwashing Tips: Makes survivors much more likely to fight and be aggressive when leading them.
- Found in the Colby’s Movieland theater after defeating the Cult Leader Psycho. You’ll need to encounter the cult in Paradise Plaza, then the boss will later appear on Day 3.
- Wrestling: Greatly increases the damage of unarmed attacks. Very, very useful for the final boss at the end of the game.
- Acquired from the locked room after defeating the Psycho boss Cliff. Find it in the room with the hostages.
And those are the skill books we like the most. The Durability skill books have the most utility by far, but you might fall in love with more — give them a try and enjoy keeping the same weapons for a very, very long time.
