Every Slayer In Dead Island 2, Ranked

Dead Island 2 launched with six Slayers, and each one of them is designed differently. Not only are the character models different, but the Slayers all have fully voiced lines, unique dialogues, and different personalities. Some are tough and serious while others take the zombie apocalypse lightly.

No matter what Slayer you go with, you always have access to the same weapons, skill cards, guns, and abilities. Some innate abilities are locked to the characters and that’s where you need to make a decision. Want to go fast and take down solo zombies? The game has a Slayer for that. Or if you want to be the tank and take on damage? Yep, there’s a Slayer for that too.

Updated March 25, 2025 by Christopher Padilla: The Neigborhood Watch update, which features the titular watch and proud VCLA Bobcats in their own co-op horde mode. While they lack the immunity and zombie-induced superpowers, they make up for it with their pluck and teamwork. Though not technically Slayers, they still deserve a spot for the heroism the do on the streets. (And being playable characters.)

9

Dez

Leader And Chemist

It’s a shame to put her down at the bottom of the list, since she’s a genuinely cool character and de-facto leader of the group. Unfortunately, her high charisma does diddly to the mindless undead.

Her kit is underpowered, especially her Bond move which fires proximity-armed electric grenades. They don’t one-shot regular infected and even a full clip might not finish off the beefier specials. Sure, the utility of laying traps is kinda cool, but ultimately just isn’t useful enough.

Her signature skills also leave much to be desired. While the sticky bomb is a nice free grenade, her sprays aren’t effective enough to warrant using them. While she can be great in a team setting as a support, all these problems become glaring when you play her solo.

8

Bozzy

Southern-Fried Hunter

In terms of cool factor, Bozzy’s kit is the best. It consists of a high-power crossbow, a throwing knife, and– less cool– firecrackers. He’s a headhunter at heart, with his throwing knives having a short cooldown and big damage.

His Bond is fantastic for clearing out waves if it’s getting too hot and heavy, not only one-shotting most common enemies but actually gaining uptime on every kill. Personality-wise, Boz is pretty likeable, if a bit goofy. Let’s just say that whether you like puns or not will affect your feelings towards him.

7

Rav

Stalwart Medic

The strong and silent type, Rav is the living embodiment of the phrase ‘walk softly, and carry a big stick’. He’s the most powerful member of the Neighborhood Watch, being easy to play solo and shining the brightest in co-op play.

He can lay down heals or heal-buffs as a heavy support, but his roars make him the star of the show, stunning common and special infected alike. His Bond is also ridiculously powerful, comparable to the Slayers themselves. When he busts out his bonesaw, he hacks enemies to pieces, amputating multiple special infected to a pile of limbs with ease.

6

Dani

The Comic Explosion

Dani is by far the best Slayer in Dead Island 2. Not only her Innate Skills are explosive, but so is her personality. If you like witty and sometimes sarcastic characters, Dani is sure to win your hearts. She is simply one of the best characters in the game. Her responses to everything happening around her are hilarious, and it’s always fun to play as her.

The innate skills include Thunderstroke, which makes each heavy attack an explosion, and Bloodlust, which lets her regain health by killing multiple zombies. Fair warning though, her heavy attacks will ignite nearby oil or even make containers explode. So take care where you use heavy attacks. The only downside is the health recovery, which is the worst of all slayers.

5

Ryan

The Damage Sponge

If you are new to the series and want a well-balanced Slayer that won’t go down easily, then Ryan is the one for you. Keeping Ryan alive is easy in the game thanks to his five points in toughness. He also gets a force boost after dodging or blocking attacks and can push down enemies with ease. Ryan has ample health, and good resilience to withstand elemental damage as well.

The only negative is his agility, so he won’t be moving around fast. With strong tanking abilities, he doesn’t need to run away anyway. Ryan is a well-balanced character that is easy to play and can be deadly with the right perks.

4

Jacob

Healthy Competition

Jacob is the face of Dead Island 2 and is featured on the cover of the game. He is the best if you are just starting your journey and want to have all the necessary survival tools. Jacob has the highest peak health in the game, so you don’t have to worry about going down in one or two hits from zombies.

To offset this advantage, he has the lowest resilience, so try to avoid any elemental attacks. On the other hand, his innate skill, Feral, gives him a damage bonus when attacking rapidly. Plus, Critical Gains gives him a critical damage boost and stamina regeneration when he lands critical attacks. Keep on hitting the critical points, and you’ll do consistently high damage.

3

Amy

Running From Problems

Amy has the highest agility, so if you want to be nimble on your feet, she’s the one for you. She can swap weapons rapidly and is focused on ranged combat. Weapon throws give her stamina back, and she gets a minor damage increase when attacking isolated zombies.

She is a little weak when facing multiple zombies, but that’s not a problem as she can run away fast. Repositioning and attacking is her mode of aggression and it works. If you love throwing weapons at your enemies, you’ll love her playstyle. The weapon throws aren’t like they used to be, but it’s still a lot of fun. It’s one of the differences returning Dead Island players will notice.

2

Carla

Crowd Favorite

Carla is all about working the crowd. She has the highest resilience in the game so she can withstand a ton of elemental damage. As most high-level zombies have some sort of element attached to them, she is especially great when fighting these creatures in the endgame. Carla also gets a damage boost when she is fighting multiple zombies, so remaining close to them is her bread and butter.

Her second innate skill gives her a toughness boost when her health is critical. Therefore, you can stay inside the hoard for longer and deal massive damage. She also has a funny personality, so you’ll enjoy her responses and dialogues. Combine her with some of the best perks in the game and you’ll be destroying even special zombies left and right.

1

Bruno

The Silent Type

Bruno has the highest critical damage among his partners. This makes him perfect for critical builds and taking down zombies faster. His first skill, Backstab, gives him a moderate damage boost when attacking zombies at the back. While playing solo, it can be hard to hit zombies from behind unless you try doing stealth. However, his skill comes in handy when the zombies are focused on your co-op teammates.

Avoiding zombie attacks with dodge or block gives him an agility boost and charges heavy attacks faster. He isn’t bad but his innate skills are suited for co-op adventures. He can be lethal if you love ranged weapons and critical weak spots, constantly hitting headshots can lead to massive damage numbers with rifles, pistols, and even nailguns.