Dead Island Tips - Part 4 Advanced tips

Up to gaining access to the Lifeguard Tower the game covers pretty much all the knowledge needed to complete it, however it does leave a few things either unexplained, with fuzzy definitions; or doesn't mention them until later despite being useful right now.

General tips

If in doubt back-off. Some enemies will lose interest with distance.

Take care of the fastest enemies first. Although a Thug in a group of Walkers may cause the most damage their attacks are often easy to predict or avoid compared to the out of step attacks by the more numerous and nimbler enemies.

On those on which it has an effect Kick Kick and Kick some more. Once down kicking will keep any enemy down and uses no stamina and degrades no weapon. It is quite possible to kick to death a group of 6 Walkers and take no damage in return. [Update - with the latest patch Kicking now uses Stamina; as such it's no longer a spammable attack]

Groups of enemies are obviously susceptible to grenades and Suicider blasts. Less obviously different types are also vulnerable to attacks by other types. For example a Thug or Ram can knock over others and not just the player. Human enemies will also attack non-humans.

Use the environment. Most enemies can't climb, but can still be hit by the player. Check near groups for propane tanks or flammable barrels that can be shot. Lead enemies through infected water or fires, knock them down into water to cause drowning damage; have Rams charge into electrified areas. Dodge behind cans or trees to get a breather and replenish stamina.

Important tips

Don't forget about Fury - use it as often as possible.

Although firearm ammunition becomes more plentiful later in the game firing a weapon will attract the attention of any enemy in the area to the player's location. So only do it when necessary or already surrounded.

Don't use seriously degraded weapons. If no workbench is available switch them out regularly and save the heavy hitters for the tougher enemies.

Heal whenever the opportunity arises.


Combat
All melee weapons wielded have a realistic reach. It is thus possible to hit an enemy at a greater distance with a baseball bat than it is with a short kitchen knife. Distance and timing therefore make a difference.

Blunt weapons can break limbs (and heads). Sharp weapons can amputate them.

Repeated melee attacks build a combo - normally a swing from left to right, a return swing, then an upward swing. Performing such a combo seems to increase damage or critical hit chance with each successful hit.

It is possible to jump sideways to dodge attacks.

It is possible to jump towards an enemy and attack at the same time this includes kicking. Doing so puts more force behind the attack.

It is not possible to kick while ducked, however standing up from such a position will launch a kick that seems lower than normal.

Whilst kicking uses no stamina the special Stomp skill does. [Update - with the latest patch Kicking now also uses Stamina]

No you can't hurt the quest givers no matter how tempting it is after the umpteenth repeated looped dialogue when you pass them.

Exploration

The guide line always shows the shortest navigable path. A shorter path can often be found by jumping over walls etc.


Fences and walls can be stood on and walked along.

Collectables will reappear, crates will refill, locks will re-lock and doors will re-close and jam.

Sadly enemies will also reappear; occasionally right next to where you are standing. [Update - with the latest patch I've not had this happen again]

It is possible to jump off ladders, but it's not recommended as...

A high fall will hurt or kill.

Just because it doesn't appear you can reach the top of something doesn't mean it's not possible.

Some areas will constantly spawn enemies until you leave.

Weapons

Weapons are colour-coded White, Green, Blue, Violet, Orange with orange being the rarest. Despite this a higher-level requirement Violet can outperform an Orange.

An in-game tip is to upgrade weapons before applying any modifications for better performance.

Once a modification is applied it cannot be removed or over-ridden.

Inventory

The player starts with 12 main inventory slots which can be increased to 21 through skill purchases.

Weapons always take up one inventory slot.

Meat bombs always take up one inventory slot.

Alcohol and medi-kits take up one slot but can stack within that slot 10 times; i.e. 12 medi-kits take up two slots one of 10 and one of 2.

Grenades, Deo bombs, and Molotovs take up one slot, but stack up to... more than 10.

Stacking can become a problem, with the inventory showing one stack of 8 and another of 2. Equipping an errant stack and de-equipping it will often fix the problem. Storing items with the character Jin can display this problem as she seems to automatically take the largest amount she can, i.e. having two stacks of 10 and one stack of 3 and trying to store the 3 stack with Jin will lead to the player having one stack of 10 and one stack of 3.

New Game and New Game Plus

A new game can be started at any time by selecting Play and New Game this will save in a new slot.

To switch between games select Play and then the game desired.

Continuing a game that has been finished will place the player at the start of chapter 1 skipping the hotel section. The player will retain their level, skills and weapons as well as collectables and blueprints. Once found Jin will still hold any weapons stored with her

Next up monster types and tactics.