Dead Island: Riptide – Tips & Tricks For New Players

Dead Island Riptide is the second installment in the Dead Island series created by Techland and Deep Silver. It’s a survival horror RPG where four main characters are stranded at yet another island ravaged by Pathogen HK, Kuru. On this island, they’re introduced to another survivor who is also immune, and together they find a group and try to find their way off the island. 

There are many different types of zombies in Dead Island Riptide. Walkers, Thugs, Infected, Suiciders, Rams, Floaters, Screamers, and Butchers are the main types. Walkers are your typical zombies but should not be underestimated. Thugs are massive zombies able to hurl you across the room and cause lots of damage. Infected are like Walkers, but they’re faster in every way. Suiciders are quite literally walking bombs, and players only have a few seconds to get away after making contact before they explode. Rams are like a deadly combination of Infected and Thugs, but luckily they can’t hit you with their arms. Floaters are zombies that can hurl toxic bile at you that is highly flammable. Screamers can temporarily stun you and summon almost every zombie in the area. Finally, there are Butchers, they have blades for hands and can kill the player quickly if they’re not careful. Here are some tips and tricks to survive on Palanai.

Tips & Tricks for Dead Island Riptide

It is vital that players pick a main character that they work well with, not just one that looks cool. Logan is the throwing expert, Purna is the guns expert, Sam B is the blunt weapons expert, Xian Mei is the bladed weapons expert, and John Morgan is the hand-to-hand combat expert. Picking what character you work with is one of the key elements to beating Dead Island Riptide. If players have a hard time with stealth and attracting too many infected, then a more stealthy character is recommended like Logan. But if you need to take zombies down as quickly as possible, then Purna is the right one. If you find yourself without proper weaponry then John Morgan is the ideal character to play.

Certain weapon mods are also highly recommended, and others should be used with caution. Fire and electricity mods are great at killing zombies but players should exercise caution when using these mods since the electrified zombies and zombies that are on fire can hurt the player. Toxic mods are highly recommended, especially with bladed weapons such as machetes and hatchets. They don’t have the risk of hurting the player but they can still immobilize and damage zombies. One deadly combination of mods that can be used to take down zombies is a toxic weapon followed by a fire weapon. If the player can get the zombie immobilized with the toxic weapon, then set it on fire with the fire weapon, it will kill the zombie a lot faster than if it were just the one mod or the other.

Upgrading the survivor group the player is in is also an essential part of playing Dead Island Riptide. While they cannot accompany the player throughout the island, they’re extremely useful when hordes attack the home base. Always upgrade the shops first so that they can provide you with better weaponry. Next to upgrade is the survivors that provide you with rare mods. For example, after the player upgrades Harlow a certain amount of times she will give the player the Tesla mod as a reward. However, Harlow and Colonel Hardy are not available for the whole game so players should upgrade them quickly to get their rewards.

Understanding each zombie type and how to beat them is very important. With walkers and infected, any weapon is just fine to take them down but players should use guns when dealing with large groups. Thugs, it’s best to chop their arms off with a bladed weapon so they won’t be able to launch the players across the room without them. Don’t use fire weapons with Floaters since that can in turn set the player on fire. Instead, run up with an electric weapon from behind and don’t stop hitting until they’re down. With Screamers, players should put killing them as a top priority so that they don’t call in more zombies. Get them down as fast as possible by any means necessary. Players should use guns or throwing weapons to take down Suiciders and make sure they’re far enough away so the explosion won’t damage their character. With Rams, it’s difficult to do a high amount of damage fast enough before they hurt the player. Hit them in the back as much as possible and stay out of their ramming zone. Butchers can kill the player quickly so like with the Screamer, get them down as fast as possible by any means necessary.

Dead Island: Riptide can be a very difficult game without the proper tools and knowledge needed to beat the game. Don’t underestimate the zombies, upgrade the team, and be sure to be thorough. That body on the jungle floor might be a zombie just waiting to attack. Zombies will appear out of nowhere in this game so be sure to keep an eye out for any signs of incoming zombies. Don’t get cornered, that will only help them kill the character. Follow these tips and tricks and taking down zombies in Dead Island: Riptide will be a breeze.

Dead Island: Riptide is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

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