The Walker is the first class of zombie that is encountered in Dead Island and Dead Island: Riptide. They are less of a threat than their faster counterparts, the Infected.
Overview
Being the first zombie type encountered in Dead Island, walkers are very common in the game. They resemble and behave like a stereotypical zombie would, suggesting that Walkers have fully undergone the zombification process, as opposed to the Infected who are likely still living humans undergoing the beginnings of the zombification process.
Walkers are the slow, shambling undead, roaming the island of Banoi looking for "fresh meat" to satisfy their hunger. Walkers are most dangerous in groups where their speed is less of a disadvantage. Like many other zombies in pop culture, their heads are their most vulnerable spot, and damaging the head substantially can kill any Walker almost instantly.
Co-op Difficulty Scaling
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Health
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Appearance
The Walkers are those who have undergone the full zombification process. They sport various stages of decay, depending on when and how they died and how long they have been dead for. Pale bones often show through the decay and some have bloodshot eyes. Sometimes they carry and wield weapons, possibly from jobs they were working when they were still among the living or when they were trying to fend off the zombies before they became undead themselves, this is probably due to rigor mortis freezing the hand grasping the weapon.
Behavior
A Walker grappling Xian Mei
Walkers are tricky enemies to deal with. They will remain motionless, giving the appearance of being truly dead until the player gets up close to them or kicks/damages them (throwing weapons is not a viable strategy since the player can't lock-on to the target, and even if the weapon did hit the zombie, it has no effect as the zombie is considered dead until disturbed). If the player gets close enough to a fake-dead corpse, they will get up and attack the player. Walkers faking death while sitting tend to jump up at the player very quickly, making them more of a threat; but when found laying on the ground, they're generally slow at getting up making the best time to attack when they are feeding on corpses or getting up from the ground. Always examine corpses to guarantee that they are dead. Any body with something to be looted from is dead and not a waiting Walker.
Walkers will follow the player for a while but can be outrun fairly easily. At first walkers will shamble towards the player but if given enough of a run up they will start jogging. If a Walker sees the player, it will follow them if the player doesn't outrun it. If the player attacks the walker, the walker will gradually increase speed while walking towards the player. Walkers can go in and out of buildings and buses and can traverse stairs and walk through panes of glass, but cannot open doors or climb ladders. Walkers can use melee weapons and even at times throw them.
Strategy
- When faced with a group of Walkers, lure them into a source of water, such as a swimming pool or beach. Knock them down and continue to stomp them as they try to stand up. The water acts as a weapon by drowning them. You will continue to receive XP as the water finishes them off for you, and you can loot them afterwards. This is also helpful for conserving ammo or weapon durability. When faced with a group of Walkers, not near a water source, it is best to either run and set up a better attack point, or (if using weapons with enough force) attack them thus knocking them down for a stomp.
- Walkers can use melee weapons and even at times throw them, so be careful when near Walkers with weapons.
- Walkers are vulnerable to fire based attacks, such as exploding containers (e.g. Propane tanks) or any type of grenade like weapon (e.g. Molotov Cocktails).
- Another easy way to kill Walkers is to simply run them over with a vehicle. Keep in mind, however, that they can still attack you through the windows if you are driving too slowly or stop.
- Generally, it is considered a waste to use guns to kill Walkers. Being the second weakest enemy (apart from Infected) in the game, many players consider it better to conserve ammo for stronger enemies.
- An easy way to kill most Walkers is to break or cut off both of their arms, and then kick them over, which instantly kills them because they cannot get up. (Note: certain variations of Walkers may be able to stand back up without arms, so this strategy is not always effective).
- Kicking their legs is an effective strategy to knock them down, giving the player a chance to run away or go for the easy kill.
- A Walker's speed can vary slightly, anywhere from a slow shuffle to a steady jog.
- Performing a jump-kick will always knock down Walkers, allowing for an easy head stomp. However this uses a lot of stamina.
- Using bone-breaking weapons (such as blunt weapons and the fists) on a downed Walker's arms can lead to repetitive "Break"-age XP points.
- Before attacking they will sometimes quickly stagger towards the Hero, as if over balanced. These attacks are sometimes stronger than average attacks, but they can be easily dodged, or detered with a kick.
Variations
Variations can mix depending on Chapter/Level/Zone. For example, in Moresby, there are lots of wide-shouldered zombies with armored or masked body parts.
- On fire — Usually move faster. Fire does a lot of damage to walkers, usually leaving them burnt to a crisp. They are usually losing a lot of meat and are almost unrecognizable after being put on fire.
- Wide Shouldered — Have more health than regular Walkers.
- Tall — Can attack you when you're higher or out of reach.
- Long Arms — Attack range is extended.
- Armored/Masked — Have more Health/Resistance to certain hit areas based on armored/covered body parts.
- Feigners — Play dead, waiting for an unsuspecting person to wander by.
- Toxic fume — Can poison the player if he/she gets too close. Highly flammable, any fire mod will kill in one hit.
- Armed — Attack or throw their weapon, dealing small/moderate damage. Cutting off their arm will make them drop their weapon, or knocking them down will make them drop it too.
- Frenzied — Have higher health than most walkers. They are found in Dead Island Riptide during the zombie horde attack on the roof of Jacqueline's Cinema
Notable Walkers
- Earl
- John
- Mugambe's Wife
- Nick
- Roger Nelson (a.k.a. "Roger's Body")
Glitches
- Sometimes, when a Walker follows you, they will freeze and start using the animation associated with you being in a higher area than them.
- occasionally a walker will appear to be armed with a machete but, when killed drops a wooden plank.
- sometimes if you cut a walker limb off as it is attacking you, the attack may still hit even though the limb is no longer there.
Trivia
- Walkers were originally going to be called Vessels.
- Walkers share the same nickname (among others) as the zombies from The Walking Dead .
- Technically, Infected were the first to be encountered in the Hotel during the intro.
- Unlike the Infected, Walkers don't have their skin torn off their hands, despite clawing survivors.
- Walkers can sometimes be extremely frustrating at times. Such as killing you with thrown knives just before completing a mission objective or before you can retrieve a weapon you've thrown.
Gallery
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