As you progress through the main story and level up, you’ll gain access to more Skill Cards. Equipping Skill Cards gives you access to new abilities and/or modify core gameplay functions, and depending on your Skill Card loadout your playstyle can vary significantly. On this page we’ll list the ten best Skill Cards in Dead Island 2… at least if you want to make a maim/fury build.

Top 10 Best Skill Cards - Maim Fury Build¶

If you deal enough damage to an enemy’s limbs, those appendages may end up destroyed, either mangled by blunt weapons or severed by sharp weapons. Either way, a destroyed limb is considered “MAIMED”, a gameplay keyword that can proc a variety of buffs, depending on the weapons and [Skill Cards] you have equipped. If you have a [Maiming Profile weapon] equipped, you’ll recover Stamina whenever you maim an enemy and the Skill Cards The Limb Reaper, Hack and Dash and Surgical Precision can cause you to regain Health, boost your Attack Speed, and fill your [Fury] gauge when you maim enemies.

All good stuff, to be sure - there’s almost a combo there. What really ties this all together, however, are the weapons you use. Some weapons have the [Maiming profile], which, as mentioned earlier, will cause you to regain Stamina when you maim an enemy, but also all limb strikes with Maiming weapons will count as critical hits. A fine boon in itself, critical damage increases the odds you’ll maim an enemy when you attack their limbs… but if you use Maiming profile weapons that have certain weapon stats, like Critical Multiplier (the amount of critical hit damage you deal) and Limb Damage (the amount of limb damage you deal), your damage output with these weapons can significantly increase… especially if you upgrade weapons to further boost these stats.

For example, a katana with the “Honed” and “Slaughter” upgrades will have a 1.9x Critical Multiplier and a 1.6x Limb Damage multiplier, and since all limb strikes are critical hits, the damage can add up quickly. This, in combination with the aforementioned Skill Cards can make for a very powerful combo, indeed. With these thoughts in mind, here are our top 10 favorite Skill Cards:

Block¶

Press / to defend against incoming attacks. Well-timed blocks regain your STAMINA and STUN zombies, leaving them open to a devastating COUNTER attack.

One of the game’s two defensive skills, Block allows you to negate incoming damage from enemies. If you block an attack just before it lands, the enemy will be stunned and left vulnerable to Counter Attacks. With the addition of other Skill Cards, like Safety First and Invigorating you’ll recover Health every time you perform a well-timed block and counter attack, respectively. It’s a good way to keep your health up, early-game, and it’s far easier to perform well-timed blocks than well-timed dodges, making the Block Skill Card useful offensively as well as defensively. That said, blocking has some limitations - many apex variants will power through it, as will most AoEs, ranged attacks and elemental damage. Block is useful in conjunction with the two aforementioned Skill Cards, which will allow you to block-and-counter lesser zombies all will to recover health.

Deadeye¶

Quickfire! Hit a zombie with a CURVEBALL item to trigger a RECHARGE boost that can stack multiple times.

Curveballs are incredibly useful special weapons, traps and lures (mostly weapons), like meat bait, shurikens, molotov cocktails and pipe bombs. They work on a cooldown timer, so you don’t need to fuss over replenishing your stock, but they might not be ready as often as you need them. This Skill Card helps mitigate this issue by giving your Curveballs a cooldown boost - just equip two Curveballs you like and alternate between them.

Dodge¶

Press / with a direction to evade incoming attacks. Well-timed dodges regain your STAMINA and STUN zombies, leaving them open to a devastating COUNTER attack.

The second of the game’s two Defense Skills, Dodge doesn’t negate damage, instead it causes you to dash in a chosen direction. There are no invulnerability frames attached to this ability, but it covers enough ground that you may well find yourself out of harm’s way, and if you dodge just before an attack lands, the enemy will be left stunned and susceptible to Counter Attacks. Just like Block, Dodge synergizes with the Skill Cards Safety First and Invigorating, turning Dodge into an offensive maneuver as well as defensive one. The timing window for a well-timed dodge is tighter than with blocking, but dodging helps you avoid enemy attacks more reliably than blocking, assuming your timing is up to snuff. Both are good Skill Cards, just for different situations - Dodge is arguably a better general-use defensive skill, but you can’t go wrong either way.

Glass Cannon¶

Maiming profile weapons deal critical hits any time you strike an enemy’s limbs, hence you should always be targeting limbs. This Skill Card boosts critical hit damage at the expense of Toughness (you sustain more physical damage) - a worthwhile tradeoff.

Hack and Dash¶

(Dani and Jacob only} Their loss is your gain! MAIM a zombie for a boost to your ATTACK SPEED.

Zombie limbs are notoriously easy to pop off - even easier with Maiming profile weapons, as all limb shots will be critical hits. Knock off a limb and you’ll attack faster, and in conjunction with the Ravenous and The Limb Reaper skill cards, you’ll also gain [Fury] and Health. It’s a virtuous loop, and Hack and Dash is a tertiary - but still welcome - member.

Ravenous¶

Unleash endless rage! In FURY MODE, slay zombies to replenish your FURY and stay enraged longer.

While you’re in Fury Mode, you’ll gain Fury for killing enemies. You’ll kill enemies very, very quickly in Fury Mode, and the Fury gain from this Skill Card (especially in tandem with Surgical Focus) is significant, potentially allowing you to stay in Fury Mode indefinitely as long as you keep killing. This Skill Card gives one of your most potent abilities a great deal of longevity - a fine boon, indeed.

Serial Killer¶

(Dani and Jacob only) Indulge in a vicious cycle of death! Slay a zombie for a minor boost to DAMAGE.

Zombies die fairly quickly with a high-powered critical/maim build, so why not take advantage of that by adding more damage? Unfortunately only Dani and Jacob gain access to this Skill Card.

Short Fuse¶

This skill card allows you to enter Fury Mode when your Fury gauge is only half full… and with Skill Cards like Surgical Focus, that’s only several maimed zombies away at the worst of times. It’s a huge boon that allows you to spam Fury Mode even more shamelessly than before!

Surgical Focus¶

AUTOPHAGE skill. MAIM zombies to build FURY. But don’t lose focus – taking damage will drain FURY.

You’re already probably keen to maim enemies for the extra damage, health and attack speed you’ll get, but this skill card will also give you [Fury] when you remove an enemy’s limb. Fill out your Fury gauge and you’ll be able to enter Fury Mode, turning you into a veritable juggernaut for a time. It’s a hefty boost to your offensive output, and another weapon in your arsenal. Best of all, you get this boost for doing something you already want to do. There’s only one rub - you’ll lose Fury if you take damage, but the Fury gain from maiming an enemy is far, far higher than the Fury loss from taking damage.

The Limb Reaper¶

Got a limb thing, huh? MAIM a zombie to regain HEALTH.

Perhaps the best Skill Card in the game, especially for a Maiming build. You target limbs with Maiming profile weapons to score easy critical hits, and if you destroy an enemy’s limb (something that usually takes only a hit or two against lesser zombies) you’ll hobble your foe and, with this Skill Card, you’ll recover a significant amount of Health. As long as you keep maiming, you’ll stay alive, and in conjunction with other Skill Cards, like Hack and Dash and Surgical Focus, maiming enemies will also boost your Attack Speed and Fury. This Skill Card is the cherry on top of the already potent maim build.