Dead Island 2: All Zombie Types and Their Abilities

Dead Island 2 features a large cast of zombies that range from the basic slow-moving types to some truly terrifying mutations.

Knowing each type of zombie and what they can do will be vital to surviving encounters with them.

In this guide, we’re going to cover all of the zombie types in the game. Don’t let them catch you off guard!

Shamblers

These poor suckers have been infected for a long while, so their body has mostly rotted off.

They walk slowly and can’t deal much damage, so they barely pose much of a threat. Don’t underestimate them in large numbers, but they shouldn’t give you much trouble overall.

Walkers

A step up from the shamblers, they haven’t been dead for too long. As such, they retain the ability to walk at a decent pace and hit harder.

They also come in a large number of varieties, such as firefighters and riot gear walkers. For example, some of them will be more resilient while others will have oxygen tanks on their backs.

Some of them have become crawlers due to their legs being damaged. Luckily, you can easily dispatch them as they can only slowly crawl on the ground.

Runners

These recently infected zombies retain their athletic abilities, and they will use that to sprint toward you at full speed!

They’re fast and deadly, so you should make sure to be careful when fighting them. They like to pounce when they get close, which can be taken advantage of with a timely dodge.

Crusher

The first of the special infected, also known as Apex Infected, is the crusher.

These bulky zombies are big and strong but also very slow. However, they can damage a wide area with their powerful ground pound ability.

Your best bet when facing one is to focus on attacking their arms. They’re its main weapon, and you definitely don’t want to get punched by these massive hands!

Slobber

A fat Apex Infected that primarily attacks you from a distance.

Slobbers have the special ability to spit poison at you, so you should keep an eye out for them. Fighting back using guns is a good idea.

They can also leave pools of poisonous puke on the floor which you should make sure to avoid. Thankfully, these pools are easily spotted due to their bright green color.

Screamer

The Screamer is a small and frail special infected, but one that you should not take lightly. It will let out a powerful scream once it spots you, as you might expect from its name.

However, this scream won’t just damage you and stun you! It will also alert every other zombie in the vicinity which will bring them all down upon you.

We highly recommend taking caution if you spot one of these out in the open. Ideally, try killing them from a distance before they spot you.

Burster

Bloated infected that explode when they take damage or get close to you.

You absolutely want to keep your distance from these ones, as the damage dealt by their explosion is absolutely absurd. They might even kill you in one hit if you’re not careful!

Thankfully, their explosion also damages other nearby zombies.

Try shooting them when they’re close to large groups of zombies! The explosion will kill all of them, making things way easier for you.

Butcher

The most dangerous and annoying of all the Apex Infected, these zombies will require your full attention to fight.

They’re as fast as runners and can deal as much damage as crushers with their sharp arms. These make them the most threatening of all zombies in the entire game.

Not just that, but they can pounce on you extremely quickly. If they pin you down, they will take the opportunity to tear you to pieces with their arms.

To make things even worse, they can heal by consuming corpses! Deal enough damage and they will use their speed to flee and heal themselves.

Of course, you can use that to your advantage. Chase them and follow them to their feasting ground and you will get a chance to deal damage while they attempt to recover.

ALSO READ: Wartales: How to Find and Destroy Bandits’ Lair