Dead Island 2 Sola DLC Guide
Author: FuzionByte.
Genres: Action Adventure, Horror.
Dead Island 2 directory.
Here is the Dead Island 2 Sola DLC guide which will help you through the best version of a hellish music festival I’ve come across as you acquire new weapons, take down fresh enemies and kill to the beat!
- Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, PC,
- Trophies: 6: Gold: 1, Silver: 2, Bronze: 3.
- Achievements: 6: 150 G.
- Release Date: 17th April 2024.
- Missable: 1: Potentially, Three’s a Crowd, I did take the Clotter down so I can’t 100% confirm this, however, the way the description reads and the fact you aren’t able to replay story missions in Dead Island 2, I’m going to urge caution here. Make sure that before you kick the zombies into the turbine in the main story that you are fully geared out with your best weapons and a full stockpile of ammunition for your best firearms. If anyone can confirm for me I would be grateful.
- Glitched: None, although at launch the DLC itself is very buggy so if you’re struggling to find anything, close the game and reboot it which will hopefully fix the issues, especially when it comes to the Dirge spawning in the safe zone.
- Online: None.
- Difficulty Rating: 7/10 solo, 3/10 co-op. I personally struggled with the DLC here and I have maxed out Legendary gear throughout. The main problem is the Dirge will hunt you and the DLC itself is incredibly buggy.
- Approx. time to 100%: 5-10 hours.
The Sola DLC is a very tough experience in Dead Island 2 especially if you are playing solo so ensure you have some hard hitting weaponry, preferably ones that primarily deal Caustic, Shock or Fire and leave the Bleed weapons as they don’t have much use given the main new enemy in the game, the Clotter is immune to Bleed.
You will need a variety of weaponry as the DLC will throw every element at you and there’s another new zombie, the Whipper who can muzzle you which is a new negative status effect that prevents or even pulls you out of Fury which can be restrictive when face faced with several Mutators and a good number of Apex zombies coming for you.
The Sola DLC takes place in a festival gone wrong where the party-goers have been turned by the beat which has also unleashed the Dirge, a scourge on the landscape which can appear pretty much anywhere and is immune to all damage until you finally fight it at the end of the DLC. Given the random spawning nature of the Dirge, some encounters and missions will be virtually impossible to complete, so if it does appear, try and fight through or sacrifice yourself to save ammo and degradation on your weapons then hope it doesn’t appear again.
Your first point of call in the Sola DLC will be to complete the story which will unlock the following achievements along the way:
- Three’s A Crowd. I am unsure if this is just story based or if you need to not die in the fight, check the Three’s a Crowd guide for more information.
- No Encores.
- Drop The Beat.
With those 3 unlocked you will also have received a Sawblade launcher and have access to the Eco Lounge where the Ram skill card can be found allowing you to unlock the following:
With those done it’s simply a case of cleaning up a Caustic-X spillage in Utopia which will unlock:
You will have 1 Side Quest as well as 2 Lost & Found quests to complete as well in the Sola DLC if you choose to which are:
60 G
Drop The Beat
Defeat The Dirge and silence the Beat
Story related.
This is the toughest mission in the game as you have a heavy number of zombies, Apex variants and of course, the Dirge who has been plaguing the majority of your Sola playthrough. Ensure your gear is fully upgraded, stacked up and you have a full compliment of MedKits as you are going to need them here.
Proceed through to the Eclipse Nightclub then work on taking out the zombies near the mood speakers which will allow you to access the Orgone Balls inside. Each Orgone Ball can be thrown at the Dirge as long as it is close to the large speaker, which will then usually cause you to be able to do damage to it. I say usually as this DLC is very buggy.
You will not only need powerful weaponry, skill and plenty of grit to deal with everything that comes for you, you will also need luck as well so bear in mind you may well die several times as when the game bugs out you get “reset”. Take the Dirge down as best as you can whilst systematically removing the mood speakers across 3 waves each time taking the Orgone Ball back to the dance floor, waiting for the Dirge to spawn then inflict as much damage as you can before it goes to ground.
Do not, whatever you do run through the tunnel as it is filled with exploding pustules that can shred your health bar in a blink. Keep pushing against the Dirge until you need to get an Orgone Ball on the fourth wave where, once you throw it at the Dirge and hit it one last time the fight will finally be done.
Follow the on screen prompts then speak with Grace back her house to conclude the Sola DLC story unlocking Drop The Beat in the process.
30 G
No Encores
Help calm Grace by suppressing the Beat
Story related.
Progress through the Sola DLC to the main stage where the entire game will go fairly psychedelic. The big problem here is you have a ton of Apex zombies to deal with and every so often the Dirge will spawn as well. If the Dirge does spawn, you might as well just sacrifice yourself as the fight is tough enough without dealing with an OP boss who can’t be damaged.
You will need to take down a series of Inferno Crushers, Screamers, Whippers, a Mutator who is incredibly OP and the usual smorgasbord of regular zombies in varying elemental forms designed to dictate the need for a plethora of weaponry on hand. Once you have taken everything down and have secured the main stage, make your way up to Grace to conclude the mission unlocking No Encores.
10 G
Three’s a Crowd
Survive your first Clotter encounter
You will encounter your first Clotter as part of the Sola DLC story after having sent the zombies through the wind turbine allowing you to enter the marquee, the Clotter will be formed from their remains.
The fight itself can be a rough one if you allow yourself to be caught in their blood blast which comes out of their chest. This move is fairly easy to dodge so try to be aware of your surroundings. The regular zombies, Runners, Walkers etc. Are purely there to help you build up your Fury which I recommend you use as soon as a Clotter is back on the field. When a Clotter disappears into the floor take a minute to remove any troublesome zombies.
Use everything you have to take down the Clotter as you won’t be able to replay the Sola story unless you make a fresh playthrough, complete the base game then re-enter the Sola DLC so being efficient here is key to not needing another 20 hours just to get back to where you are currently.
I assume, given the fact this is story related you will unlock Three’s a Crowd just by playing through the game, however, best not to take a chance on it and kill it when it appears. Survive your first encounter with the Clotter to unlock Three’s a Crowd.
10 G
The Direct Approach
Ram into 5 zombies in a single charge
Progress through the Sola DLC story through the Eco Lounge to the pool above the main stage where you will find the Ram skill card on a pedestal next to a corpse. Go to Skills> Abilities> select the 3rd card then choose the Ram card. Feel free to test out how the Ram works then line up 5 enemies, activate the Ram ability then, once you charge through at least 5 zombies you will unlock The Direct Approach.
30 G
Rip ‘n’ Tear
Slay 5 zombies with a supercharged Ripper, and bisect 5 more with a Sawblade Launcher
This is one you will need to leave until after you have completed the story in the Sola DLC so go off and get that done then head to Grace’s compound and purchase the Ripper from the vending machine if you haven’t done so already. Completing the main story will reward you with a Sawblade Launcher but we’ll get to that shortly. As for the Ripper, the more zombies you kill the more charge the Ripper will get where it will start spinning by itself and have sparks coming out near the hilt.
This will signify the Ripper is “supercharged” which will happen whether you’re using normal or charged attacks, however, charged attacks do charge the Ripper faster but it’s not essential if you’re in a crowd. Once the Ripper is spinning, slay 5 zombies which can be of any type, normal or Apex just as long as they’re not immune to bleed damage you’ll be able to carve through the mobs very quickly.
As for the Sawblade Launcher, you will receive 1 at the end of the DLC as a reward, you can buy the blueprint to fabricate more Sawblades from the vending machine at Grace’s then to bisect a zombie you need to literally cut them in half separating their waist from their torso. If you hold down the fire button with a full magazine you will need to wait several seconds where the Sawblade will charge up and start spinning, this is an easier way of bisecting a zombie.
Luck, however, does play a part here as well as even with a perfectly aimed shot you won’t always slice an enemy in half so it will be all but essential to craft sawblades several times. Shamblers are good targets for being cleaved in half as they are the weakest zombies in the game, Walkers and Runners can be horizontally separated as well but they’re rarer to bisect, they could do with a hit one or 2 times to weaken them then charge the Sawblade and hope for a cleave.
Either way and however many times it takes, once you have slain 5 zombies of any type with a supercharged ripper and have bisected another 5 zombies with the Sawblade launcher you will then unlock Rip ‘n’ Tear.
10 G
Festival Clean Up Simulator
Clean up the large Caustic-X spillage in Utopia
I recommend going for this one once you have completed the Sola DLC story otherwise the Dirge can appear at any point giving you more hassle than you need as Caustic-X is dangerous enough without dealing with that thing as well. Once you’re all set, go to the South East of the Utopia area as per the image below.
Grab the Cleaning in Progress note from the fence then open the door and take out the Hazmat Walkers. Ensure you are at full health and have at least 1 medkit on hand then go over to the top left area using the bins against the back wall to avoid most of the Caustic-X on the floor and clos the valve on the leaking Caustic-X container.
Then it’s a case of destroying the Caustic-X barrel which is on the other side of the fence where you collected the note which will stop any more Caustic-X coming into the area. Use the Jerry Cans in the local area to dilute the Caustic-X on the floor until you have removed it all where you will then unlock Festival Clean Up Simulator.
That’s the Dead Island 2 Sola DLC guide complete, I hope it helped you through the pack.
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