Dead Island: Riptide Definitive Edition: Complete Guide

A player's guide to surviving Palanai: character choice, melee and weapon modding, skill trees, hub defense, boats, special infected, collectibles and co-op. It's written for the 2016 Definitive Edition on Steam.

Researched September 2026. Current as of the October 2016 Definitive Edition patch (the last update, which restored missing blueprints and fixed co-op stability). The game is complete and not being patched. Check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Pick a character by weapon type. Each survivor specializes in a weapon family (see the table below). Playing to that specialty makes the whole game easier.
Kick constantly. Kicks cost little stamina, knock zombies down and set up finishing blows. There's even an achievement for 100 kick kills.
Stamina is your real health bar. Every swing costs stamina. If you're out of stamina in a crowd, you're dead. Swing in bursts and step back.
Aim for limbs and heads. Breaking arms stops attacks, breaking legs drops zombies, and decapitations and head smashes are instant kills.
Mod your weapons at workbenches. Blueprints plus parts turn an ordinary machete into an electric or fire weapon. Workbenches also repair and upgrade.
Throw weapons. Thrown melee weapons do big damage (100 thrown-weapon kills is an achievement). Walk over and pick the weapon back up.
Use boats to travel. Palanai floods, so boats get you around the map, and the speed boost can run zombies over.
Prepare for hub defense. Story missions periodically have you defend a hub with survivors. Place barricades and mines before the wave hits.
Play co-op if you can. The whole story supports 4-player online co-op, and marking enemies for partners is built in.

Characters

Riptide brings back the four immune survivors from Dead Island and adds a fifth. Choose by playstyle:

Character	Specialty	Plays like
Logan Carter	Throwing weapons	Hit-and-run; throw, retrieve, repeat
Purna	Firearms	Stronger later, when guns and ammo are common
Sam B	Blunt weapons	Crowd control and knockdowns; very forgiving
Xian Mei	Sharp weapons	Fast slashing and dismemberment
John Morgan	Hand-to-hand combat	The new character; fist and unarmed style

For a first run, Sam B (blunt) or Xian Mei (sharp) are the easiest. Melee weapons for both are everywhere from the first hour.

Combat Fundamentals

Melee

Stamina management: swing two or three times, then back off or kick. Don't chain swings until the bar is empty.
Knockdown into finisher: kick or knock a zombie down, then stomp or strike its head.
Charge attacks: holding an attack for a heavy swing is strong. "Juggernaut" asks for 100 charge-attack kills, which shows how central it is.
Crowd control: back into a doorway or corridor so zombies come at you one or two at a time.

Ranged

Guns get more common as the story goes on. Keep ammo for human enemies and dangerous special infected. Don't spend it on walkers.

Throwables and explosives

Mines and explosive throwables are excellent in hub defense. "The Hurt Mine Locker" asks for 10 kills with one mine, so place them where the horde funnels in.

Weapons, Blueprints and Workbenches

Rarity matters. Higher-rarity weapons roll better stats and are worth upgrading.
Workbenches let you repair, upgrade and mod. Repair before long missions, since a weapon breaking mid-fight is dangerous.
Blueprints unlock mods. You find them as quest rewards and in the world. The October 2016 patch restored some that were missing from the Definitive Edition at launch (named in the patch notes as BBQ, Exploding Meat and Ripper).
Money comes from looting. Spend it on repairs and upgrades for your main weapon rather than on lots of mediocre weapons.

Rule of thumb: keep one fully modded primary in your specialty, one backup, and something throwable. Sell or drop the rest.

Skills and Leveling

You earn XP from kills and quests, and the level cap is 70 (there are achievements for reaching 50 and 70). Each character has skill trees for their special Fury attack, general combat and survival utility.

Priorities for a first run:

Stamina and survivability, so you can keep swinging and take more hits.
Your specialty weapon's damage and durability.
Fury upgrades, which you'll lean on in hub defense and boss fights.
Utility perks (looting, crafting, money) once the core is in place.

Hub Defense

At points in the story, zombie waves attack your survivor hub. Survivors fight with you, and you have time to prepare:

Install barricades at the entry points before the wave. "Siege Hammer" asks for 5 in total.
Place mines where barricades will funnel zombies.
Rescue survivors who get grabbed. "At Your Service" tracks 20 rescues.
Stay near the weakest entry point. It's where the line usually breaks.

Special Infected

The "King among Kings" achievement lists the special enemies you'll meet:

Special	How to deal with it
Thug	Heavy hitter; break its arms or keep it at range
Suicider	Explodes when close; kill it from range or throw something
Floater	Keep your distance and use thrown weapons or guns
Infected	Fast runners; kick and finish
Butcher	Fast, aggressive melee; kick to create space, then dismember
Screamer	Its scream disrupts you; kill it first when you see it
Wrestler	A heavy Riptide special; fight it with a strong modded weapon and keep moving
Grenadier	Attacks at range; close the distance or shoot it

Dead zones hold the toughest named monstrosities. "Hunter-Seeker" asks you to kill all of them, so leave these until your weapons are modded.

Story and Areas

The four immune survivors escape Banoi only to be taken into custody on a military ship. The ship is overrun, wrecks in a storm, and they wash up on Palanai, another island in the Banoi archipelago where the infection has already spread. Colonel Sam Hardy and Frank Serpo represent the military side, and Harlow, a WHO researcher, turns out to be after the Kuru virus data to weaponize it.

The story achievements unlock automatically as you progress and double as a checklist of the main beats: The Storm, Heart of Darkness, Breaching the Tunnels, The Cinema, Henderson Town, Meeting Serpo, Military Base, Combat on the roof, The Docks, You've tricked me once, Serving Science, First Do No Harm and finally Defeat Harlow. (Steam doesn't give descriptions for these, so the list is the names only, not a guaranteed order.)

Optional content: the Twins (their own achievement), dead zones with the toughest monstrosities ("Hunter-Seeker" for killing them all), and every side quest ("Achiever" for finishing all quests in the game).

Collectibles

Collectible	Achievement
All collectibles	The Hoarder (50% gives The Collector)
Guide book pages	Professional Tourist
The volunteer's voice recordings	News junkie
Secret files	Mystery solved

The 2016 patch "optimized placement of collectible items," so use a Definitive Edition collectible guide, not an old 2013 one, if something seems to be missing.

Co-op

4-player online co-op covers the entire story. "Dream Team" asks you to finish all main quests cooperatively.
Mark enemies for partners ("It's an Order" needs 100 marked kills).
Split weapon types. A group with a blunt, a sharp and a ranged player covers every threat.
Quest progress: the host's story state is what advances. Play your own world too if you want full completion credit.

Achievement Roadmap

There are 35 achievements. Story beats come naturally and the counters are cumulative, so there's little to stress about. A sensible order:

First playthrough (co-op if possible): all story achievements, "Dream Team" (every main quest cooperatively, with any number of partners), "Siege Hammer" and "At Your Service" during hub defenses, and most of "The Collector" (50% of collectibles).
Counters you'll finish along the way: "BrainLess" (50 head kills), "Bully" (100 kick kills), "Hurler" (100 thrown-weapon kills), "Juggernaut" (100 charge-attack kills), "Jetboat" (100 boat-boost kills), "It's an Order" (100 marked kills for partners). Play Logan if you want "Hurler" to come quickly.
Specific setups: "The Hurt Mine Locker" (10 kills with one mine) is easiest at a hub defense choke point; "Better than the arm" needs 25 chainsaw kills; "King among Kings" needs a kill on each of the eight specials, so note which you're missing.
Cleanup: finish all side quests ("Achiever"), all collectibles ("The Hoarder", plus the guide book, voice recording and secret file sets), the dead zones and the Twins, then keep playing until level 70.

Definitive Edition Notes

What's included: the store page says the Definitive Edition includes all previously released DLC, remastered with improved graphics, models and lighting.
Separate game: it's its own Steam app (383180), not an update to the 2013 release, and it has its own achievement list.
The October 5, 2016 patch is the one that matters: it restored the BBQ, Exploding Meat and Ripper blueprints, fixed collectible and loot placement, removed the metallic blood effect, fixed a ferry mission crash and improved co-op stability.
Bundles: the Dead Island Series Bundle (December 2025) groups both Definitive Editions with Dead Island 2 and its DLC.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Swinging until you're empty. With no stamina left in a crowd, you're dead.
Ignoring your specialty. A Logan player who never throws, or a Xian Mei player using hammers, is fighting uphill.
Letting weapons break. Repair at every workbench before big missions.
Hoarding everything. Carry a few good weapons and sell the rest for upgrade money.
Wasting ammo on walkers. Keep it for humans and specials.
Skipping hub prep. Barricades and mines win defenses.
Taking dead zones too early. Come back when you're stronger.

Advanced Tips

Throw loop: as Logan, open fights by throwing your best weapon at the most dangerous zombie, kick the rest, then retrieve.
Boat boost: the speed boost kills zombies (100 kills is "Jetboat"). It's also the fastest way around the flooded map.
Chainsaw: available in the game ("Better than the arm" asks for 25 chainsaw kills). Use it for crowds.
Mod elements: match your mod type to the job. Some mods set crowds on fire or shock them, which makes groups much easier.
Rescue grabbed survivors during defenses right away. It keeps the hub alive and counts toward achievements.
Save Fury for bosses and wave peaks rather than spending it on stragglers.

FAQ

Which Dead Island should I play first? Riptide follows directly on from Dead Island's ending, so play Dead Island first if you want the story in order. The Dead Island Series Bundle on Steam includes both Definitive Editions and Dead Island 2.

Who is the best character? For beginners, Sam B (blunt) or Xian Mei (sharp). John Morgan is the new hand-to-hand fighter and more of an acquired taste.

What's the level cap? 70, with achievements at levels 50 and 70.

Does the Definitive Edition include DLC? Yes. The store page says it includes all previously released DLC, remastered.

Can I play the whole story in co-op? Yes. There's 4-player online co-op throughout.

Why are some blueprints missing? They were missing at the Definitive Edition's launch. The October 5, 2016 patch added the BBQ, Exploding Meat and Ripper blueprints back. Make sure your game is updated.