Dead Island 2 Zombicidal Maniac Guide
50 G
Zombicidal Maniac
Complete the first tier of every Combat Challenge.
Author: Griffin.
Genres: Action Adventure, Horror.
Dead Island 2 directory.
Here is the Dead Island 2 Zombicidal Maniac guide where I’ll help you complete the first tier of every Combat Challenge.
The Weapon Challenges can be accessed once you have arrived at Emma and Michael’s house and can be found by going: Payer Menu> Challenges> Combat Challenges and have a broad spectrum of requirements you need to meet in order to be able to complete them all.
Mixing up your playstyle as you work through the game will help a lot here and as long as you have a good read of the guide below you will have a very good idea of what you need to do.
The 26 Combat Challenges you need to complete are as follows:
Serial Killer
Complete 4 combat challenges.
Reward: $100, Peak Health +.
You will need to complete any 4 of the challenges listed below to their final level with the easiest challenges being, Broken Bodies, Ferocious Firestarter, Finish Them and Headshot Afficionado.
You won’t need to worry about this one before the end of the game, especially if you vary your playstyle as you go.
Blood Will Have Blood
Slay 50 zombies with Bleed Damage.
Reward: $100.
Bleed damage is usually applied on weapons such as Katana, Wakizashi, Bowie knifes etc which are found throughout the game.
To see if a weapon is capable of inflicting bleed damage go: Player Menu> Inventory then search for any weapon that has Bleed Damage or alternatively, you can craft Bleed Damage weapons at a Workbench providing you have found the upgrades required which are easy enough as long as you keep an eye out throughout the game.
Not all zombies can be afflicted by Bleed Damage, for example, Shamblers are low on blood so Bleed does next to know damage where as Runners are always moving fast, therefore their hearts pump faster meaning they lose blood and their health a lot quicker than most.
Either way, whichever way you go about it, take out 50 zombies using bleed damage weapons to complete the required tier for the challenge.
Broken Bodies
Maim 50 zombie limbs.
Reward: $1,000.
Maiming zombie limbs is a fairly simple process in Dead Island 2. Equip any melee weapon with sharp weapons being more effective and aim for the arms and legs of zombies.
Shamblers, Walkers and Runners have the best chance of being maimed and you will more than likely get this one completed before you get to Monarch Studios just by playing the game normally.
Cooling Off
Make 25 zombies Soggy.
Reward: $100.
Making zombies soggy has a number of advantages especially if you’re using shock damage and can be done by turning on valves to release water out of pipes or the more common method of throwing a Jerry Can at a zombie or pouring water from a Jerry can on to enemies below you.
It might seem like a weird status to have in a game like Dead Island 2 but if you have a rogue electrical cable that gets surrounded by water it can be one of the best environmental crowd control elements in the game.
Dangerous DNA
Slay 25 zombies while at the max Autophage tier in the Skill Deck.
Reward: $100.
As you progress through the main story, level up and explore you will acquire skill cards which can be accessed by going: Player Menu> Skills. There are 4 categories of Skill cards which are:
- Abilities.
- Survivor.
- Slayer.
- Numen.
Every so often you will receive a skill card which has an Autophage skill attached to it:
You need to equip certain cards with an Autophage skill attached to them which will then max out your Autophage Gauge in the bottom right of the skill screen then go off and kill 25 zombies whilst you’re at maximum Autophage.
You won’t necessarily need to kill the zombies with the skills themselves, just being at max Autophage then taking down the 25 zombies will be enough to get this done.
Dinnertime's Over
Interrupt 5 Butchers while they try to feed.
Reward: $100.
Butchers will become available once you take down Butcho the Clown in the Pier during the main story and they are a lot tougher than in the first 2 games to defeat.
As you work a Butchers health down it will, every so often, run off to find a corpse regenerating some health in the process making the fight a lot more convoluted than it should be.
You need to interrupt a Butcher 5 times whilst it is feeding on a corpse by using melee attacks to the head, Curveballs, Firearms, Dropkicks or explosions to complete the first tier of this challenge.
Dissolving Problems
Slay 50 zombies with Caustic Damage.
Reward: $100.
Caustic damage comes in a few different forms such as the swimming pool near the start of the game then you also have caustic Jerry cans. Caustic pipes and you can apply Caustic damage to your weaponry later in the game.
Caustic-X is incredibly effective at dealing with low level enemies as it was made by the Military to liquify infected, something you’ll notice when you’re down in Brentwood Sewers.
Whichever method you choose, take out 50 zombies with Caustic to fulfil the requirements.
Electrifying Personality
Slay 50 zombies with Shock Damage.
Reward: $100.
Shock damage can be caused by cables, Weapons, shock zombies and is greatly amplified if a zombie is soggy or standing in water.
There are hundreds of electrical hazards as you progress through the game. Personally, I had this done before I got to Brentwood Sewers without even trying.
You craft a Lightning Machete as part of the story early on so keep it repaired and slash through low level zombies where you’ll have this done soon enough.
Ferocious Firestarter
Slay 50 zombies with Fire Damage.
Reward: $100.
Fire damage is another very common occurrence in Dead Island 2.
You have a lot of opportunity to kick enemies into fire then in Brentwood Sewers you can find the Molotov Cocktail Curveball which can cover a wide area dealing heavy fire damage to low level zombies.
Finish Them
Slay 25 zombies using finishing moves.
Reward: $100.
A nice, simple challenge to complete and one you will easily get throughout natural gameplay as Finishing Moves can be Headshots, Stomps, using sharp weapons to sever heads or Curveballs which one shot zombies such as the Grenade.
Furious Fighter
Slay 50 zombies using Fury.
Reward: $100.
Fury becomes available in the Sewers and is activated by pressing both thumb sticks once Fury is ready and causes you to become a pure beast ripping apart everything that stands in your way for a few seconds.
Wait until you’re surrounded or have a good mob of enemies in front of you then activate Fury where you will be able to carve through the majority of them.
As long as you utilise Fury as you progress through the game you will easily take out 50 zombies along the way.
Hazards Pay
Slay 10 zombies using environmental hazards.
Reward: $100.
An environmental hazard can be an electrical cable, a swimming pool full of Caustic-X, an explosive barrel or oxygen tanks that can be hit to ignite them just to name a few examples.
You will easily meet the requirements for this one as you play through the main game.
Headshot Afficionado
Slay 25 zombies with killing blows to the head.
Reward: $100.
Another Challenge you will meet the requirements for as you progress through the game just through natural gameplay just by whacking zombies in the head.
Hey, Catch!
Slay 5 zombies with explosive zombies.
Reward: $100.
Explosive zombies can be found in the form of Hydration Walkers, Incendiary Walkers and Grenadier Walkers.
A good place to get this done is when you’re in Nikki Gutte’s house (the first Screamer in the story). Use the Rifle to snipe the Grenadier Walkers when they’re standing close to some other zombies where their explosions will take out groups at a time.
Another Challenge you will easily get through natural gameplay.
Impressive Aim
Throw a melee weapon and hit a zombie 35+ meters away.
Reward: $100.
You can throw any equippable melee weapon as long as it isn’t attached to you so things like Axes, Pipes, Swords and Baseball Bats can be thrown where as weapons like Claws can’t be thrown as they’re strapped to your arms.
Light weapons will have the best chance of going the distance and there’s plenty to choose from with Chefs Knives, Nightsticks, Cleavers and Burnt Sticks being pretty good choices.
Don’t be surprised and try not to be angered if this one takes you many attempts as there is no way of placing custom markers which would make knowing how far 35 metres is and if you’re too far away you won’t be able to throw a weapon far enough for it to actually hit a zombie you’re aiming for.
For me, I got this done in Venice Beach. Come out of the Blue Crab, jump over the gate to the right then take a right clearing out all of the zombies that are in your way or aggro.
You will then come to a boardwalk area where there will be several benches, most of which will have a zombie, either a Shambler or a Walker sitting on them meaning they won’t be moving making them much easier targets.
Equip a light weapon then aim at the zombie, keep the right stick steady and go straight up in the air allowing you to compensate for the curve of the throw as it arcs down towards the target.
Like I said, this one can take multiple attempts so don’t be disheartened if it takes you a lot of attempts before you’re successful.
If you do exhaust all of the zombies on the benches you can either leave the local area or if you’ve been doing it for that long the game won’t load any more zombies for you just leave the area and come back and continue trying until you’re successful.
Completing this Combat Challenge will earn Donk!.
Live Long And Prosper
Slay 25 zombies without dying.
Reward: $100.
One of the simplest Challenges in the game. Stay away from the tougher areas and wade through low level zombies.
If you haven’t managed this by the time you’re done in the Hotel keep levelling up and getting stronger where you can go back to the earlier areas and take out 25 zombies in a row a lot easier.
Mostly Armless
Maim 5 Crusher arms.
Reward: $100.
A tough Challenge that requires weapons such as Sledgehammers, Katanas etc.
The hardest part of this is getting close enough to a Crusher to hit them in the arm without them sending you flying back.
Wear a Crusher down where it will then fall to its knees for a few seconds and be under the Vulnerable status allowing you to hack and smash away at one of its arms.
Maim 5 Crusher arms to complete the challenge.
Ninja
Dismember 3 zombies with a single Shuriken throw.
Reward: $500.
The Shuriken is the first Curveball you will collect in the game and is a very effective one as it fires 3 projectiles forward in a fairly wide cone shape.
The easiest zombies to dismember are Shamblers followed by Walkers and aiming at their legs will help or go for Headshots if you’re skilled enough.
Your aim here is to remove at least one limb from 3 zombies with one throw so it can be 3 arms, a leg and 2 arms, 3 heads or any combination of the aforementioned body parts to complete the challenge.
No Time To Grow
Slay 1 Mutator before it mutates.
Reward: $100.
Mutators will become available throughout the game once you have defeated Noah, the first Mutator in the main story.in Dr Reeds Lab and they are a challenge to take down given their size and power.
A Mutator out in the main game will look like a normal zombie except for a red glow pulsing through their upper body and will try to transform as soon as they spot you so attacking them from behind is advisable as you probably won’t have enough time to take them down if you go head on.
You can also use Curveballs and Firearms just ensure you kill it before it turns in to a Mutator or you will have to look for another Mutator.
You can find Mutator hot-spots on your map and it’s more luck than skill if you can get behind one or not so if you aren’t successful, leave the area then come back and try again until you’re successful.
Completing this Combat Challenge will earn Not Even My Final Form.
Perfection
Pull off 25 perfect defense moves.
Reward: $100.
In order to perform a perfect defensive move you need to dodge just before a zombie hits you which is a lot easy when facing Shamblers and Walkers as they are slow enough to dodge.
I don’t recommend trying this against any other zombie type(s) as their movements are sporadic and frenzied for the most part making it a lot more difficult to get the timing right.
You can, if it’s easier, kill every zombie leaving one alive then dodge at the last second 25 times or perform 25 perfect dodges as you progress the game, the choice is yours and it is a fundamental skill to learn, especially in solo play where you won’t be able to be revived should you die.
Completing this Combat Challenge will earn I Got a Zombie Army and You Can’t Harm Me.
Pushovers
Knock down 25 Zombies.
Reward: $100.
Another very simple Challenge you will get through natural gameplay which is made simpler by using the Dropkick or just by hitting zombies.
Shut Up
Interrupt 5 Screamers while they are screaming.
Reward: $100.
Screamers will become available when you are finding Guns for Sam B and can summon a lot of zombies to your position in the local area.
They are interrupted with explosive Curveballs or with a good old fashioned smack in the back of the head with a weapon or a few bullets in their mouth if ranged combat is more your thing.
A Screamer will become slightly disorientated when its been interrupted allowing you to wade in with some damage..
Speed Freak
Pull off 10 multikills.
Reward: $100.
A multikill is where you take out 3 or more zombies in a single attack which can be a pipe bomb, a Molotov or a single swing of a powerful weapon and will easily be achieved through normal gameplay giving the amount of times you will be mobbed in the game.
Splash Zone
Slay 5 Slobbers with melee attacks.
Reward: $100.
Slobbers spawn during and after the pint you find Michael in the trailer during the main story and can be tricky to take down with Melee attacks given their heavy damage output.
Wear them down with ranged / elemental attacks then deliver the killing blow with a powerful melee weapon to have an easer time meeting the requirements for this challenge.
Trick Kick
Knock down 3 zombies with a single Jump Kick.
Reward: $500.
Whilst clearing the zombies in the courtyard of Emma’s house at the start of the game you will learn the Dropkick ability which won’t need to be equipped, it’s just there to work.
Jump in the air when you have at least 3 zombies in front of you which will happen constantly throughout the game and hit at least 3 of them with one kick to complete the Combat Challenge.
Zombie Space Program
Launch 25 zombies.
Reward: $100.
Launching a zombie is performed by taking a zombie off of its feet with weapons, using dropkicks doesn’t appear to count towards the challenge.
Using heavy hitting weapons like Sledgehammers, Baseballs Bats, Steel Bars etc. will make launching zombies a lot easier and it will more than likely be another challenge you will complete through natural gameplay.
Just aim for the chest with your weapon swings to have an easier time taking a zombie off of its feet and this will be a lot simpler against zombies such as Shamblers, Walkers and Runners.
Once you have completed Tier 1 of all 26 Combat Challenges you will then earn Zombicidal Maniac.
That’s the Dead Island 2 Zombicidal Maniac guide complete, I hope it helps you complete the first tier of every Combat Challenge.
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