9 Tips For Dead Island: Riptide

Dead Island: Riptide is out today! Yes, my review wasn’t exactly glowing but I’m sure some of you will have bought the game anyway. Maybe you found a good discount code. Here are some tips to make the most out of your early time with it.

1. Put the boot in. A swift kick to the face will stagger all but the hardiest zombies. This is particularly effective on with the Infected.
2. Do the team quests. You’ll find these in the Team menu. Click on New Quest Available for each character and you’ll find a gathering quest to collect some crap item you’ve probably been selling to merchants. These are important because in every few chapters you’ll have a siege-type mission where all the characters have to fend of waves of zombie attacks. Team quests upgrade your NPC buddies’ weapons as well as unlocking better items in the shops.
3. Use your health packs. Dying doesn’t take much time so it’s easy to get blasé about it but those costs mount up. Run away and use a $500 health pack or stay and lose $2000 when you die?
4. Buy a purple. Seriously, as soon as you see purple weapon for your class then scrimp and save and buy it. Then scrimp and save to upgrade it. Purples are expensive to repair but thanks to the greater damage and durability, you’ll save loads in the long run. Even if the purple isn’t quite what you’re looking for, it will be a reliable back-up weapon for when your fun-but-inferior one breaks.

5. Unleash your Fury. It took me ages to realise this but the fury meter is the red bar encircling your character portrait. No matter who you are, it will transform you into an unstoppable zombie-killing machine. Very effective against bosses and large mobs. In your skills tree there will be some unlocks that boost Fury duration. Mkae sure you grab those early on.
6. Climb on high things. Not chest-high things. Standing just a couple of steps above will put you at a massive disadvantage because walkers will just shred your legs but higher up and you can throw grenades, pick them off from afar or leap down on top of one for an instant kill.
7. Use the environment. Zombies are really bad at falling off things. They also don’t hear the tell-take buzz of electric wires, nor feel the heat of flames. Give them a push to help things along.
8. Abuse the Suiciders. These bulbous, pulsating monsters take a couple of seconds to explode. Lure them into a pack of walkers, get up close and then sprint away as fast as possible. One suicidier will take out the entire pack.
9. Collect Canned Food and Painkillers. Early in the game you’ll meet Chimamanda at Paradise Camp. She’ll ask you to collect canned food. Houston at Halai Village wants painkillers. Both of these are marked on the map when nearby and will net you thousands of easy XP.

Got any of your own pro tips for fellow gamers?