Dead Island 2: Attributes Explained | How to Pick a Character

Like its predecessor, Dead Island 2 brings a certain level of RPG customization to its zombie-killing mayhem that requires players to do a little bit of thinking about their builds before tearing up the streets of “Hell-A.” When the game first starts, players need to choose from one of six survivors to play as who each have individual exclusive skills and attributes that determine their playstyles.

While this is all well and good, it’s a little tough to know who exactly to pick and which attributes are important since players won’t even have an introduction to the game’s central mechanics at this point.

Here’s everything you need to know about how attributes work in Dead Island 2 and what each one does so that you can choose your character confidently.

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Toughness Explained

The first attribute on the list is “Toughness.” A character’s toughness tells you how much damage they’ll take from incoming attacks. The higher the toughness level, the less amount of damage that the player will take and vice versa. The character with the highest toughness value is Ryan and the character with the lowest toughness value is Amy.

Stamina Explained

Stamina works pretty simply in Dead Island 2. A character’s stamina determines how many attacks and special moves they can perform before needing to wait for stamina to recover. It’s a pretty straightforward stat that works roughly the same as it does in countless other video games. The character with the highest stamina value is Dani and the characters with the lowest stamina values are Amy, Ryan, Carla, and Bruno.

Health Recovery Explained

In Dead Island 2, you regain health by eating food and using medkits. The health recovery stat tells you how much health a character will regain when using healing items: the higher the stat, the more health regained and vice versa. The characters with the highest health recovery values are Ryan, Carla, Bruno, and Amy and the character with the lowest health recovery value is Dani.

Critical Damage Explained

The critical damage value alters how much damage is dolled out when landing critical hits. It’s a pretty straightforward stat that a lot of other games use. The higher the critical damage stat, the higher amounts of damage will be dealt when landing critical hits and vice versa. The character with the highest critical damage value is Bruno and the character with the lowest critical damage value is Carla.

Agility Explained

The agility stat alters how fast a character’s base movement speed is. It’s a solid thing to keep in mind since running away from zombies is a key part of Dead Island 2, but if you spec properly, you might not need to outrun them since you’ll be cutting through them. The character with the highest agility value is Amy and the character with the lowest agility value is Ryan.

Peak Health Explained

A character’s peak health value is their total maximum health. As you play, you’ll be able to do things to increase your ability to take damage, but characters with the highest peak health stats are going to have the maximum amount of health available. The character with the highest peak health value is Jacob and the character with the lowest peak health value is Bruno.

Resilience Explained

While it might seem similar to the toughness stat on the surface, resilience is a stat that determines how susceptible a character is to status effects and other environmental hazards like fire and shock. The character with the highest resilience value is Carla while the character with the lowest resilience value is Jacob.