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Star Prestige Review

All Attributes in Dead Island 2 and What They Mean

Author

Jessica Hardy

Updated on March 13, 2026

Dead Island 2 is a zombie-slaying action RPG with loot rarity, leveling up, and various attributes to manage. In the sequel to the cult classic, the focus on different status effects and melee weapons has increased significantly. Learning what each stat does and how the attributes work can make the difference between victory and a quick defeat. This guide will explain all attributes in Dead Island 2 and what they mean for the characters.

All Attributes in Dead Island 2

Each of the six playable characters in Dead Island 2 features an array of starting abilities and attributes. Each one favors different playstyles; knowing which stats are necessary will help you build your character correctly. Certain weapons, temporary buffs, and debuffs can change these attributes in real-time, which can lead to disaster if you aren’t well prepared. These are attributes and what they do for you in Dead Island 2.

dead island 2 skills and attributes
Image Source: The Nerd Stash
  1. Agility: This stat determines your base movement speed and agility.
  2. Critical Damage: Determines your total damage when performing a critical hit with a melee or ranged weapon.
  3. Health Recovery: Determines how quickly your health recovers, including when you are critically hurt and normal health regeneration.
  4. Peak Health: This stat dictates your maximum health.
  5. Resilience: This stat determines your protection against harmful status effects. This stat determines how fast your character recovers from each harmful ailment.
  6. Stamina: This stat determines how many heavy attacks and special moves you can perform before you become tired.
  7. Toughness: Determines how much physical damage you take from zombie attacks and bites. Does not protect against elemental damage.

These attributes aren’t to be confused with status effects. Even though many status effects will lower or increase each of these attributes in various ways, they are only temporary. Each time your character levels, these base attributes will automatically increase. Each hero’s base stats will determine how much or how little each attribute will gain per level. For instance, Carla gains more Resilience per level than Bruno. Somebody like Jacob will gain much more critical damage than Ryan. So be mindful of these when you’re looking at which character you choose to play.

These stats differ between each of the six characters, and buffs and specific abilities can raise or lower them as well. Create a build with these attributes in mind. You give yourself a fighting chance at surviving Dead Island 2’s tough boss fights.