Equipping, Swapping, Dropping and Throwing Weapons in Dead Island 2

Learn how to equip, swap, drop, and throw weapons effectively in Dead Island 2. Master the weapon wheel and make every shot count against the undead hordes of Hell-A!

Alright, let's talk about getting the most out of your arsenal in Dead Island 2. You'll be picking up a ton of weapons, and knowing how to manage them is key to survival. You can carry a total of 16 weapons, but only 8 can be assigned to your handy weapon wheel. If your wheel isn't full, any new weapon you grab will automatically slot in. Anything beyond those 8 goes into your general inventory, kept in reserve.

How the Weapon Wheel Works

Swapping weapons on the fly is super important, especially when you're in the thick of it. To bring up your weapon wheel, just hold down the / button. This conveniently slows down time, giving you a moment to breathe and choose your next tool of destruction. The weapons are laid out in a radial menu, so just use the to highlight the one you want and release the / button. Easy peasy.

Need to swap a weapon on your wheel with something from your inventory? No problem. Bring up the weapon wheel like normal, select the weapon you want to replace, and then press the / buttons to cycle through your inventory. The new weapon gets added to your wheel, and the old one goes back into your inventory.

Dropping Weapons

Weapons in Dead Island 2 have durability, and early on, you'll be going through improvised weapons like crazy. These common (white) weapons are pretty fragile and don't offer much once their durability is shot. You'll find yourself dropping them often. Later, when you start finding better weapons of different rarities, you'll probably want to scrap, sell, or repair them instead of just tossing them. To drop a weapon, simply select it from the weapon wheel and press the button.

Throwing Weapons

Sometimes, getting up close and personal just isn't the best plan. Maybe an enemy is too dangerous for melee, or you just want to take out a pesky zombie from a distance. While Curveballs are usually your go-to for this, sometimes they're on cooldown. Luckily, every weapon in the game can be thrown! It might not always be the most accurate, but it's a great option. To throw a weapon, hold the / button to enter aim mode. Once you've got your target in your sights, press / to hurl your weapon. You can pick up thrown weapons, and if you have to bail, they'll even be sent to your Storage Locker.