Dead Island 2 uses a deep skill card system that allows you to further customize your Slayer character beyond their initial starting build. You'll unlock new skill cards early and often throughout the 15-hour story mode, but they won't all come in handy. Some are much better than others, including an early binary decision that, though it can be reversed, features a clear better and worse option. Here are the best skills to unlock in Dead Island 2.

Dead Island 2's best skills

The skill tree is broken into four categories: Abilities, Survivor, Slayer, and Numen. This guide will contain light spoilers as some late-game skills give away plot points, so just know that in advance. If that doesn't bother you, then continue onward. Even if you are spoiler-wary, you can still read about the best skills in the first two categories, Abilities and Survivor.

Abilities

Dodge

This one is very important, as you can only equip dodge or block. You can change them at will, but everyone on our team agreed: Dodge is superior.