Dead Island 2: All Zombie Types [Explained]

In this guide, learn about different Zombie Types available in Dead Island 2. There are as many as 31 different types of zombies in this open-world masterpiece, and there is quite a different approach to killing each of them; thus, it can be a little tricky the first time they’re introduced. However, I advice you to stay calm as after reading this guide, killing any zombies encountered will be a piece of cake for you.

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Key Takeaways

• Dead Island 2 is an open-world game featuring as many as 31 Zombie Types, including bosses.
• The primary zombies are the Infected which are easy to deal with at any game stage.
• Then we have the variants, which are Infected but with different buffs. Deal with them using weapons and speed accordingly.
• Miscellaneous zombies throughout Dead Island 2 are helpful whenever the player’s in a pinch.
• Apex zombies are the miniature versions of the bosses you encounter throughout the game.
• Becki, the bride, Nikki Gutti, Butcho, the clown, and Dillon must be fought at close range and with powerful weapons.
• Alesis Hernandez, Specimen Noah, and Reubenator must be fought long-range, using your speed to avoid their attacks.
• Players must use the best perks, curveballs, and weapons equipped throughout the game to ensure victory.
• Moreover, use Fury mode in a pinch to make out alive during combat.

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Shamblers (Infected)

Shamblers are the first zombies encountered at the start of the game. They are fragile and pretty slow, with brittle bones that are easily broken. These are what I would consider the most common zombie that everyone is already used to.

Use blunt or heavy-hitting weapons like a shovel or hammer to end them quickly. However, they are the weakest of the bunch, so they hardly pose any threat.

Walkers (Infected)

These zombies are a bit stronger zombie type in Dead Island than Shamblers but pretty weak overall. Their slow speed makes it easy to kill them with any weapon you have. I should remind you that they are weak but a big hassle to deal with when in a group, so you should kill them separately.

Runners (Infected)

Runners are more annoying compared to shamblers and walkers because they can dodge your attacks. However, they are pretty fast and evade your attacks, so it’s better to sidestep when they attack and hit them in the legs to immobilize them. These zombies and their speed remind me of the undead from 28 Days Later.

Doing this makes them an easy target, and you can quickly kill them. To efficiently deal with them, it’s better if you have “Bait” selected as your curveball.

Zombies With Heightened Defences (Variants)

These zombies are similar to their regular versions but have increased defense. Some are immune to any elemental damage, while others need you to finish up their defensive gear before you can kill them.

Riot Gear Walkers

These zombies are still wearing their armor. To eliminate them, you have to break their defense. It’s better to stick to blades or swords to deal with these zombies rather than firearms or blunt weapons. During my playthrough, this strat helped me save a ton of ammo. You should save your explosives as they are immune.

Hazmat Walkers/Runners

These zombies are immune to acidic damage; even a massive amount of acid won’t harm them. It’s easier to deal with the walkers than the runners, but you would be alright if you hit the runners on the leg.

Firefighter Walkers/Runners

These zombies are immune to any environmental damage you can inflict on them. However, your weapons can still take them down [non-environmental hits].

Zombies With Heightened Offense (Variants)

These zombies have their attacks boosted with effects, so they are deadlier than their regular counterparts. I would consider these zombies a prime example of ‘what doesn’t kill you simply makes you stronger.’

Burning Walkers/Runners

As understood by their name, they are covered in flames, so it’s better to avoid getting hit as it will cause you to get burn damage. The fire on them can be put out if there’s water nearby, but if not, they’re still killable with your weapons.

Spiky Walkers/Runners

They are covered with sharp blades, so their attacks are pretty dangerous as they may cause you to bleed.

Insect Swarm Walkers

These zombie types in Dead Island 2 are pretty frustrating to deal with since attacking them from close range causes a swarm of locusts to leave their body and drain your HP slowly till they disappear. To avoid this, I recommend using your firearms to deal with them, as locusts can’t fly over long distances.

Explosive Zombies (Variants)

These zombies carry around explosives whenever hit or killed. You can use this to your advantage by using them to deal with other nearby zombies. However, what worked best for me was to maintain a solid distance from them.

Combustible Walkers

They carry around oil tanks that spread oil and engulf nearby things in flames. If used correctly, it can deal with several zombies simultaneously. This helped me burn down the horde of zombies from within themselves.

Grenadier Walkers

These zombies are ex-military as they have grenades attached to their bodies. I advice staying away and using long-range equipment to fight them, as the grenades go off after one or two hits.

Electrified Walkers/Runners

These are hard to deal with as they periodically send electric shocks that hurt you and nearby zombies. One way to use them is to ensure they’re around many zombies, lessening the amount you have to kill.

Caustic-X Walkers

These zombies carry a container from which acid sprays out and covers a specific amount of ground once killed.

Miscellaneous Zombies

These zombies are very rare and spawn in particular locations. As a result, they’re unique and, hence, don’t fit in any of the categories mentioned above.

Hydration Walkers

They’ve nothing special except that they carry water tanks on their backs. However, they can came in incredibly handy during my playthrough to cancel out the fire of burning zombies or amplify the shocks produced by electrified ones. So make sure to use them to your advantage whenever you can.

Eat Couriers

These zombies carry a bag of food. Keep an eye out for them when in a pinch, as once killed, they drop protein bars and energy drinks, which can be used to replenish your health.

Crushers (Apex)

These zombies are more powerful than the regular variants, so they’re called apex zombies. Crushers are hard-hitting but very slow zombies. It would be best to look out for their ground smash as they knock you off balance.

However, I found dealing with them pretty easy as you must evade their attacks and hit them to drain their HP. Its variant, the Inferno Crusher, has fire-based attacks. Using long-range weapons like pistols and rifles is one easy way to defeat them.

Slobbers (Apex)

These zombies are fat and slow, which I did mistake for a short-range of attacks. However, it came to me as a surprise that they sprayed out acidic flu from their stomach. One of their attacks is to spray acidic fluid around them, while the other is to use it as a projectile. 

Its variants include Firestorm Slobber, which uses the fire element, and Putrified Slobbers, which spits bile-like stuff as a projectile that explodes after a few seconds. Stick to long-range fights and constantly evade the gu he spits.

Bursters (Apex)

These zombies are very unfortunate because they run toward you and explode. However, it would be best to look for them when fighting a horde of zombies, as they can be used as an advantage to clear out other zombies and avoid unnecessarily getting low on HP. If they are incredibly close, you can kick them away from you as they have no additional attacks other than exploding.

Screamers (Apex)

Among the Zombie Types you’ll encounter in Dead Island 2, Screamers will be the most annoying. Their main attack is to let out a nasty scream that shoves you away from her and calls the nearby undead zombies to your location. This gives me Far Cry outpost mission feeling, where disabling the alarm is one of the first things you should focus on.

One of its variants, the Volttracksaic Screamer, uses electricity to zap you along with hears screech. The best way to avoid getting her calling zombies is to hit her as soon as she’s about to scream.

Butchers (Apex)

These zombies are sadistic creatures whose sole purpose is to rip you apart. My best strategy against them was to evade their jump attacks, which allowed me to follow up with an easy counter attack.

Unfortunately, one of their annoying traits is that they’ll run away after a certain amount of their HP has been drained to feed off a corpse and recover. To stop that, you have to attack them when they’re feasting. Its variant, the Vicious Butcher, inflicts bleed damage per hit.

Mutators (Apex)

These zombies will show up at the game’s late stages and will be better off being minibosses. You can stun them by avoiding their attack combo, consisting of a ground smash and lunge attack. However, it’ll be better if you stick to close range fight with them as they periodically shoot spikes from their chest if given time, causing considerable damage if not dodged.

Becki The Bride (Boss)

The first boss you’ll encounter in this game will be Becki the bride at the Halperin Hotel, and she’ll be a crusher type. However, I found it’s easy to deal with her if you stick to circling, attacking, and jumping periodically to evade her ground smash attacks.

However, these attacks drain her stamina; she’ll drop to one knee once her energy runs out. So during this timeframe, drain as much of her hp as possible. Fast-hitting weapons are preferred when circling her, and heavy weapons when she’s stunned.

Alesis Hernandez (Boss)

When Michael goes missing, and you go to look for him, you’ll encounter this boss who will be the first Slobber you’ll discover in the Dead Island 2 campaign. Like any other Slobber, Alesis’ main attacking pattern uses an acidic gut as a projectile and a protective covering around his standing area. I suggest players polish their skills here and get used to fighting more Slobbers in the future.

Use explosives and ranged weapons to deal with him. Periodically other zombies will show up, use the pyrotechnics, and finish them.

Nikki Gutte (Boss)

You’ll encounter this boss when you look for firearms with Sam and Ronni in Beverly Hills. She’ll be the first screamer you’ll discover in the campaign. She’ll use her scream to attract zombies and push you off-balance, so stop her before then.

There’ll be flame lamps in the vicinity, so make sure to use them to drain her hp and kill other zombies. Next, use curveballs and attack her to empty her stamina [her screams also drain her stamina], and once she runs out of stamina, hit her as hard and as much as possible.

Dillon (Boss)

You’ll encounter Dillon in Venice Beach. At first, he’ll seem like an ordinary crusher, but a wall on this side will collapse, causing an oil tank to fall and burst, setting his arms up on fire and turning him into an Inferno Crusher. Due to his slow speed, it’ll be easy for you to get behind and damage him. However, I also had to look out for his ground smashes, which this time had a burning effect.

Firearms are preferred in this boss fight as they’ll make your job much easier. However, other zombies will join the fight occasionally, so use nearby structures to your advantage, like the spilled oil and oil tanks.

Butcho The Clown (Boss)

You’ll encounter Bucho at Santa Monica while progressing through the main storyline. Like other butchers you’ll face later in the game, Bucho will be agile and have two blades instead of arms. He’s just like Runners but, unlike them, has more excellent stability. To deal with him, you’ll have to precisely aim for his limbs [especially legs] as they are his weak point and will allow you to drain his stamina.

Once down, you can use whichever weapon you like to drain his HP. One thing to look out for during your fight is his tendency to run away to feed from a dead zombie’s corpse to regain health whenever it’s low. You must shoot or throw a weapon at him while he’s feeding to stop him.

Specimen Noah (Boss)

On your first encounter, he’ll seem harmless, and you’ll probably even pity him, but when he gets rid of his bindings, his chest will rip open, and he’ll obtain a colossal claw arm. To fight him, it’s preferred if you stick to long-range combat as if you accidentally get too close, he’ll grab you [you can escape with the help of the button prompts shown on screen].

Detonate any explosive barrels nearby and chip away at his stamina. Once stunned, my plan involved using fury mode or hard-hitting weapons to inflict as much damage as possible [shotguns are ideal].

Reubenator (Boss)

This is the last boss of the Dead Island 2 campaign, and he’s a mutator too. Look out for the projectiles launched from his chest, and evade them. Firearms and explosive curveballs come in handy in this fight as they can chip away at his hp and stamina from a distance.

During your battle, other variants and apex zombies will join the frame. Hazmat zombies will join in occasionally, and killing them will drop medkits. Finally, kill the Reubanator to finish the campaign.

My Opinion

During my time with the main campaign of Dead Island 2, I ended up facing these 31 Zombie types and bosses. From my experience, I have given some advice on how to deal with them. You can find information on Zombie Types in Zompedia, but you’ll have to kill a certain amount.

So I recommend keeping your weapons up to date and be on the lookout for more potent weapons. In addition, some side missions give you unique weapons that are very strong, so make sure to get them whenever you feel like you’re stuck.

If you found this guide helpful, also read the following:

• Dead Island 2 Brock’s Safe Key.
• Dead Island 2 Death Of The Party.