Dying Light 2: Best build Dying Light 2 Guide, Walkthrough

This page of the Dying Light 2 game guide contains hints on how to build the best build - for fighting with different types of white weapons and ranged weapons.

Last update: 30 March 2022

On this page of the Dying Light 2 guide you'll find tips on how to optimally build your character. We've described all the main elements making up the best possible build - weapons, armor, skills and consumables. We've also included some recommendation on the equipment worth using.

• Basic information
• Armor pieces
• Weapons
• Useful skills
• Consumables and throwable items

Basic information

Dying Light 2 doesn't feature only a single correct build, although focusing on the build fitting your playstyle can make the game easier and more enjoyable. You can also mix builds freely to make a character capable of both melee and ranged combat. You shouldn't necessarily focus on only one path, as you may encounter enemies with ranged attacks or those who should be taken out in direct combat.

Your gradually constructed build can be modified, mainly by changing your armor and weapons. The game doesn't let you reset your skills but ultimately you'll unlock them all anyway, so if you make a mistake you'll only need to wait a bit longer to unlock the desired skill.

Armor pieces

The outfits found in Dying Light 2 can represent 4 different classes. Said classes are the Brawler, Ranger, Tank and Medic. You can see which class the item belongs to in its description and it influences its stat increases:

1. Brawler items mostly offer bonuses to one-handed weapon attacks, but they can also grant you resistance to enemy attacks, more combat XP, lower stamina consumption or higher stamina regen.
2. Ranger items mostly offer bonuses to ranged attacks, but they can also grant you more parkour XP, lower stamina consumption when using ranged weapons or higher stamina regen.
3. Defender items mostly offer bonuses to two-handed weapon attacks, but they can also grant you resistance to enemy attacks and environmental danger, more combat XP or higher immunity.
4. Medic items mostly offer bonuses to parkour attacks and healing - by that we mean higher and faster HP regen. They can also grant you more parkour XP or higher resistance to damage.

Primary bonuses (the ones listed in bold) are always exclusive to the item class. Other bonuses may appear in items belonging to other classes as well.

You should also know that identical bonuses stack together. For example, putting on two different outfit fragments granting 5% and 7% more damage to one-handed weapon attacks respectively, the bonuses will stack granting you a 12% damage increase.

Summing everything up:

If you want to fight with a one-handed weapon equip Brawler items, two-handed weapons work well with Tank items, ranged attacks are improved by Ranger items, while Medic items increase your overall healing capabilities. Equipping several items of the same class/with identical bonuses stacks them, increasing the overall bonus.

Here's our recommendation of the best overall build:

We recommend you focus on obtaining Brawler and Ranger items. Brawler makes you better at fighting with one-handed weapons, which, in our opinion, are much more useful than the slow and clunky two-handed weapons, especially when fighting agile enemies. Ranger, in turn, increases the bow's effectiveness which becomes incredibly powerful later on, able to kill most enemies with a single shot or a few shots at most. Depending on your preferences you can mix up different clothing items or prepare for specific situations - for example equip only Ranger items before major battles during which you'll be using a bow or a crossbow.

Weapons

The game's main weapons, the ones equippable in active inventory slots, can be divided into three categories. These are one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons and ranged weapons (which include the crossbow and various types of bows).

Your choice of weapon should depend on your current armor as described above, due to the stat bonuses it grants you:

1. If you're wearing Brawler outfits try to use one-handed weapons.
2. If you're wearing Tank outfits try to use two-handed weapons.
3. If you're wearing Ranger outfits try to use bows and crossbows.

When choosing your current weaponry pay attention to:

1. Weapon quality and rank - the higher it is, the better the weapon's stats will be.
2. Additional weapon stats - Unlike outfits these can vary and aren't tied to any class. You should look for weapons granting higher damage (after meeting various conditions) and increasing your stamina regen.
3. Durability - This is an important stat, as weapons with low durability don't last for long. Remember to extend your weapon's durability by following the techniques described on the Reparing weapons page.
4. Modification slots - these don't have to be prioritized, but if you're using a weapon that can be modded you should do so as often as you can, partially repairing it and granting it new features, such as burning or poisoning enemies on hit.

Summing everything up:

Try to match your weapons to your outfits: one-handed for Brawler outfits, two-handed for Tank outfits, ranged for Ranger outfits. When choosing your weapon pay attention to its quality, stats and durability to make sure it'll fit your playstyle and serve you for a long time.

Here's our recommendation of the best overall build:

Earlier on this page we recommended you to wear Brawler and Ranger outfits while choosing weapons matching them. First of all you should always have a bow or a crossbow at hand - they never break but you must always carry ammo for them (as described on the First bow page).

In addition to ranged weapons you should also have three different one-handed weapons equipped. You should also have at least one more melee weapon in your inventory to immediately equip it after one of your current weapons breaks. Having weapons of different types which could serve well in different situations is also a good idea - for example, you can equip a sharp weapon and a blunt weapon, or ones that inflict status effects on enemies (poison, burn, shock, etc.).

Useful skills

First off, remember that eventually you'll be able to unlock all the available skills. The "best skills" are simply the ones you should unlock as soon as possible. Unfortunately skills may also require a specific amount of health or stamina so you must also collect inhibitors and increase these parameters as often as you can.

Some of the skills useful in the early game are:

1. Perfect Dodge; Combat - Buy this skill as soon as possible as it lets you stagger enemies by dodging their attacks at the right moment.
2. Headstomp; Combat - This skill lets you easily execute zombies and human foes after knocking them down. This makes combat take less time and saves you some weapon durability.
3. Perfect Parry; Combat - Parrying takes some practice but is very rewarding after mastering it. This skill lets you slow down time after parrying an attack.
4. Power Attack; Combat - Unlock this skill especially if you like using two-handed weapons, as it lets you hit even harder. It can also be used with one-handed weapons as well.
5. Dropkick; Combat - This ability is great for knocking enemies back. It deals a lot of damage, can push enemies of rooftops and high ledges, push them into spikes and other traps.
6. Active Landing; Parkour - Unlocking this skill lets you avoid taking damage after jumping from heights. You can also obtain another skill from the same branch, Safe Landing, to make this ability even more effective.
7. Firm Grip; Parkour - This ability as well as the ones coming after it make the basics of parkour and climbing easier.
8. Far Jump; Parkour - This skill requires manual activation, although it's still very tempting. It comes in handy during various escape and chase sequences.

Some of the skills useful in the late game are:

1. Stab; Combat - This skill lets you quietly eliminate enemies while sneaking around. Remember that you need at least one throwing knife to use it.
2. Smash; Combat - This skill lets you ambush enemies on lower elevations. Jumping down onto them will kill them outright or seriously damage them.
3. Precise Aiming; Combat - This skill is important when using ranged weaponry. It lets you zoom in while aiming and thus shoot more precisely. You also need it to unlock other ranged combat skills.
4. Power Shot; Combat - This skill is crucial if you want to max out your ranged weapon damage. It's especially useful when fighting bosses and stronger enemies of an equal or higher rank.
5. Dart; Parkour - This skill lets Aiden move faster, though it has to be manually activated. Unlocking other skills from this branch increases Dart's overall effectiveness.
6. Stealth Movement; Parkour - This ability is useful during stealth, making it easier for you to sneak up on enemies.
7. Enemy Jump; Parkour - This skill becomes even more useful after unlocking the paraglider as you'll be able to activate it after bouncing off an enemy.
8. Bash; Parkour - This is a powerful charge which can repel even strong opponents. You can use it to travel around the map and during combat.
9. Tic Tac; Parkour - This is the first of several wall-running skills which come in handy during more complicated climbing segments.

Here's our recommendation of the best overall build:

In case of skills, you should not only choose the ones matching your weapons and outfits but also the ones which unlock new parkour moves.

In regards to Combat skills you should unlock Perfect Dodge and Perfect Parry ASAP, as they make melee combat much easier. Precise Aiming and Power Shot are very useful when using bows / crossbows. If you plan on ambushing enemies you should also unlock the Stab skill.

In regards to Parkour skills you should prioritize Active Landing and Safe Landing. Skills branching out from Firm Grip and Far Jump make parkour much easier. Later on, Dart and Bash (a charge which knocks away all kinds of enemies) are also very useful.

Consumables and throwable items

The described outfits, weapons and skills should be complemented with good consumables. Here are some items we recommend you to always have on hand:

1. Some medicine or military medkits - healing immediately after taking serious damage is very important and lets you not put yourself at risk. In the early game you should primarily use medicine. Later you'll start finding more and more medkits of increasing quality.
2. Some items for restoring immunity - these can be UV mushrooms or immunity boosters. They're especially useful in the early game as Aiden's maximum immunity will be lower and thus you'll have to replenish it more often. You won't always be able to return to a safe zone to do so. This stops being as problematic later on in the game, as upgrading your immunity will let you spend more time in the dark, up to 10 minutes or more.
3. At least one throwing knife - knives can be either thrown or used to silently eliminate enemies after unlocking the Stab skill.
4. Some Molotovs - they're incredibly useful when fighting groups of enemies. They come in handy both against zombies and humans, such as Renegades.