Not all weapons are created equal. They vary by type, of course - a claymore will naturally be slower, more impactful and more damaging than a dagger - but they also differ due to the level of the weapon, the weapon’s rarity, and any upgrades that have been applied to said weapon. Just like with character attributes, weapon stats are displayed on-screen the first time you pick up some poor, improvised hunk of junk to serve as a weapon, but what these stats actually do - when it’s not obvious - is buried in tutorial menus. On this page we’ll shed some light on the various weapon stats in Dead Island 2 by discussing weapon stats and what they do.

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You can check a weapon’s advanced stats via the inventory screen.

What Do Weapon Stats Mean in Dead Island 2?¶

There are eight weapon stats in Dead Island 2: Power, Damage, Base Damage Type, Force, Speed, Max Durability, Critical Multiplier and Limb Damage. Most of these are somewhat self-explanatory, and cumulatively they tend to make weapons perform how you expect.

What Does Power Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Power is the overall level of a weapon, including mods and perks.

A weapon’s Power is the still-popular trend of assigning color-coded weapons an arbitrary score to reflect its relative goodness. On paper, a weapon with 200 Power will be better than one with 150 Power, and the higher a weapon’s stats, the higher its Power. Higher-level, rarer and upgraded weapons will likely have a higher Power rating than their more common, lower-level, unadorned counterparts. Keep in mind that Power doesn’t reflect personal preference or situational utility - if you’re fighting a Shocking enemy, your axe modified to deal electric damage isn’t going to do much of anything, regardless of how high its Power rating is.

What Does Damage Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Damage is the amount of damage done per hit.

Pretty straight-forward stuff, the higher a weapon’s damage, the more it’ll lower a zombie’s health each time you hit with said weapon. This doesn’t account for critical hits, attack speed or elemental damage, all of which may drastically skew your damage-per-second regardless of what the Damage stat says, but it’s still a good baseline. Generally, this is one of the few stats - if not the only stat - that increases when you level up a weapon.

What Does Base Damage Type Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Base Damage Type is what it does without any added mods. Blunt and Sharp damage both increase the likelihood of Maiming zombies.

One of the basic traits of a weapon, Base Damage Type determines what sort of damage this weapon deals - either Sharp or Blunt. Different enemies may be resistant to one or the other, so it’s not a bad idea to maintain some variety on your weapon wheel. In addition, each weapon also has a profile, like the following:

• Bulldozer: Drains Stability. Heavy Attacks are Critical Hits. Thrown weapons cause Forceful explosions.
• Frenzy: Rapid attacks trigger Critical Hits, and a minor Attack Speed boost. Effect stacks.
• Headhunter: Target Heads for Critical Hits. Heavy Attacks boost Agility and don’t slow while charging.
• Maiming: Maiming regains Stamina. Target Limbs for Critical Hits.

Knowing what your weapon’s Base Damage Type and profile are will help you make the most out of them in combat. A Maiming weapon can be used to great effect cutting the legs out of enemies, while a Headhunter, as the name implies, rewards you for targeting the head.

What Does Force Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Force shows how much Stability you’ll drain with each hit.

The amount of oomph imparted to the zombie via your weapon. When you hit zombies, you’ll see their life bar deplete as well as their “Stability” bar. Depleting their Stability may knock them down, send them to one knee, or otherwise render them vulnerable and highly susceptible to damage for a time. Sometimes it’s best to wear your enemy down before going in for the kill - especially when dealing with apex zombies.

What Does Speed Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Speed shows how fast the weapon swings and hits.

One of the more obtuse weapon attributes in the game, Speed is a measure of how fast the weapon attacks… relative to that item type. Most weapons have a base Speed of 1.0, but two weapons with a 1.0 Speed may have significantly different attack speeds - claymore and a katana, for example. This makes the informational utility of the stat somewhat dubious, although various upgrades may make specific weapons faster than their type normally is.

What Does Max Durability Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Max Durability is how much the weapon can be used before it breaks.

You whack zombies with a weapon, and that weapon degrades. Keep it up long enough, and the weapon will break. Most proper weapons have around 40~ Durability, but the improvised weapons you start with will have 10~ or so. Generally if you’re willing to switch between several weapons, you’ll be able to clear your way to the next Workbench, where you can repair non-improvised weapons for a fee. Once you realize that discretion is the better part of valor, your weapons will last you even longer.

What Does Critical Multiplier Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Critical Multiplier is the amount by which damage is multiplied when landing critical hits.

Hitting certain zombies in certain places with certain weapons at certain times can inflict critical hits, which deal bonus damage. Not only does your choice of character influence your critical damage, but your weapon does, too. This stat basically is a multiplier for your critical damage - a weapon with a Critical Hit Multiplier of 1.4 will deal x1.4 Critical Hit Damage (140%). Be sure to look at the weapon’s profile to learn what triggers critical hits - Maiming weapons proc critical hits when you strike enemy limbs, Headhunter weapons when you headshot enemies, etc. Enemies themselves may be more or less vulnerable to critical damage depending on the circumstances - some enemies aren’t particularly receptive to critical damage until their Stability is depleted, enemies with helmets won’t take headshot damage (hence critical damage from some weapons) until their helmet is removed, and so on.

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Weapons with high Limb Damage and the Maiming property can cut the legs out from under zombies with astonishing ease.

What Does Limb Damage Mean In Dead Island 2?¶

Limb Damage represents how much damage the weapon will typically do to zombie limbs. The higher the number, the better it is at Maiming zombies.

Like Critical Multiplier, Limb Damage is the modifier applied when you strike enemy limbs. Some weapons are just exceptionally good at lopping off limbs, and this reflects that predilection. A katana might have a Limb Damage multiplier of 1.4, meaning it’ll deal x1.4 damage when striking limbs (140%). If that weapon also has the Maiming profile and a Critical Multiplier boost, this extra damage will stack. With some weapons, it’s best to look down and swing away at enemy legs - you’ll be surprised how quickly hordes of zombies end up hobbled when you do this properly.