If you want to slice your way through zombies with ease in Dead Island 2, you'll need to make solid use of the game's new skill cards. Dambuster Studios have said that building a deck to suit your own play style is the "the key to success" in Dead Island 2, which is due to release on April 21st.

During a recent preview event for select members of the media, Dambuster Studios broke down Dead Island 2's new skill cards and stressed the importance of tweaking the deck to your liking. "Building a skill deck that complements your playstyle is key to success," Dambsuter said during the preview event.

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So, what exactly are skill cards? Well, they're essentially Dead Island 2's very own skill tree, a system most commonly found within the RPG genre. However, Dambuster has attempted to mix things up with the highly anticipated sequel, as player's can swap out their skill cards throughout the course of the game. Thus, allowing players to build a deck that works specifically for them.

Each of the game's six slayers comes with two skill cards already equipped, and these can't be changed. But there's no need to worry, as there's plenty of other skill cards to be unlocked throughout the course of the game.

dead island 2 skill cards

Skill cards are broken up into four different sections:

  • Abilities
  • Survivor
  • Slayer
  • Numen

Many of the skill cards are focused around gameplay, unlocking new moves for players to use whilst they're fighting off the undead. For example, the 'ground pound' skill card allows players to "drive a forceful blow into the ground that drains the stability of nearby enemies." Whilst the 'dash strike' card gives the player the ability to dash forwards and strike zombies.

It's not all about new moves though, as some skill cards go hand-in-hand with others. The 'vivisuction' skill card, for example, requires the 'dash strike' card to also be equipped. When the two are equipped, the vivisuction card regains the player's health whenever they use dash strike.

Throughout the course of Dead Island 2, you're going to stumble across a wide variety of zombies, each requiring a different method to be taken down. You'll want to constantly be checking your skill cards to make sure you're getting the most out of the game's combat and playing exactly how YOU want to play.

Dead Island 2 hits PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on April 21st.

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