Dead Island 2: How Crafting Works

Crafting in Dead Island 2 will allow you to make bigger and better weapons to take on the zombie horde shambling across Hell-A. Regular weapons won’t be enough. Here’s what you need to know about Workbenches, crafting materials, rarities, mods, perks, and more. 

How Crafting Works in Dead Island 2

Crafting in Dead Island 2 is done via Workbenches. The first time you’re told about this mechanic and able to access a Workbench is during the “Call the Cavalry” mission early in the campaign. From there, you’ll see Workbenches scattered throughout various areas, denoted by a hammer and wrench icon.

Here are the key Workbench functions and what they do:

• Scrap: Dismantles a weapon for parts.
• Repair: Restores the durability of the weapon.
• Level: Brings the weapon up to your current level, likely increasing the damage it deals. Though, this is expensive. 
• Upgrade: This is, essentially, the crafting mechanic in Dead Island 2, which lets you craft “new” weapons, as we’ll cover below. 

Screenshot by GameSkinny

Workbench Wonders: Crafting with Mods, Perks, and Rarities

The weapons you pick up in Dead Island 2 can be classified into the following rarities:

• Common
• Uncommon
• Rare
• Superior (Unique)
• Legendary

The higher the rarity tier, the better the mods/perks and the more slots there are. Let’s dive into each below. 

Mods: These change the damage type or status effect of a weapon. Options include physical, bleed, fire, shock, and caustic/acid.

Perks: These add new traits or boosting effects, such as increased damage, a chance to replenish health, higher durability, an agility proc, and others. Some may also include buffs to elemental damage, which synergize well with the type of mod that you’ve selected.

Slotting in these mods and perks requires cash and materials, such as scrap, fabric, adhesives, chemicals, alloys, and more. Most materials can be found as regular loot across Hell-A. 

However, higher-end mods and perks may require zombie parts, which have a chance of dropping whenever you maim zombies (i.e., chop off their limbs). Many of these functions can be obtained via progression, exploration, or challenges. You can learn more in our weapon mod blueprints guide and weapon perk blueprints guide.

Screenshot by GameSkinny

Last but not least, you may also purchase items and ammo blueprints from vendors. These can be used via the Fabricate tab in your workshop. These will allow you to craft medkits, various ammo types, and more.

In any case, that’s how crafting works in Dead Island 2. By amassing materials, finding the right tools, and accessing Workbenches, you’ll be able to turn any regular weapon into a zombie annihilator. For more about the game, you can visit our DI2 guides hub.

Featured image via Deep Silver.