Veterans of Dead Island know that a simple axe, sword, bat, or pistol isn’t enough to handle the zombie apocalypse. You need some DIY electric monstrosity with a few extra blades, and that means you need weapon mods. The same can be said for Dead Island 2, and you’ll need to know how to find all the weapon mod blueprints to use them.
You’re Gonna Need Some Special Sauce: All Weapon Mods in Dead Island 2
Weapon mods, as a rule, are easier to find in DI2 than weapon perks. You should get most of them over the typical course of the game, typically whenever you find a new workbench or trader.
You can install mods on any weapon that’s of Uncommon quality or higher. You can only install mods on weapons that are of the same quality level or lower; only Superior-quality weapons can handle Superior-quality mods.
Screenshot by GameSkinny
Any applied mod increases a weapon’s base Power rating by the following amount:
- Uncommon: +14
- Rare: +27
- Superior: +41
While you can find crafting material virtually everywhere in DI2, in practice your modification efforts are limited by your supplies of Scrap, Adhesive, and Alloy.
How to Get Scrap
Scrap is a universal currency for weapon mods, so it’s easy to use up, but you’re also guaranteed to get a couple for scrapping any weapon, even gray “improvised” ones.
In the event you happen across a weapon that’s already got a mod on it, which can happen as early as the Halperin Hotel, scrapping it will also get you a few of the relevant parts.
How to Get Adhesive
Adhesive is reasonably common, but is in high demand for crafting. It’s not unusual by midgame to have plenty of Scrap and Alloy, but not enough Adhesive to keep your mods up to date. Be sure to buy out any trader’s stock of Adhesive whenever you can.
How to Get Alloy
Finally, Alloy is a reasonably uncommon find out in the world, but is usually offered for sale by every trader and is a common drop from Apex Infected such as Crushers and Screamers.
Everything else you need for mods is much easier to come by, particularly Fabric and Fasteners. This sets up a balancing act in the early game where you’ll definitely want to mod your go-to melee weapons, but you might be limited in your supply of crafting materials. If possible, scrap any modded weapon that you plan to retire.
Screenshot by GameSkinny
By the mid-game, around Ocean Avenue, you should have a few rare-quality weapons. It’s worth keeping these kitted out with a mod and a full set of perks, and you should have the resources built up by then to do it.
As far as a rough “tier list”:
- Caustic does the highest damage over time with its Melting effect.
- Shock can inflict Electrified, which stuns one target and does AoE damage to everything nearby.
- Impactor raises Force, which is useful on two-handed weapons, and no zombie is outright immune to it.
- Mutilator is good for fast weapons like claws/knives.
- Puncturator inflicts Bleed, which does low damage compared to other mods.
- Burn isn’t bad, but a lot of common zombies are immune to it.
Screenshot by GameSkinny
However, don’t rely on a single type of weapon mod. This is because mods overhaul a weapon to inflict a specific damage type. For example, a machete with Cremator now exclusively deals fire damage.
As DI2 will show you, the zombie population in Hell-A has had time to get weird. By the time you reach Beverly Hills, you’ll routinely encounter zombies that are completely immune to specific types of damage.
Screenshot by GameSkinny
That makes it worth diversifying your arsenal, so you’ve got a go-to weapon for any situation or opponent. By the midgame, you should have a whole golf bag of gear over your shoulder so you can take on each new challenge as it comes up.
Where to Find All the Weapon Mod Blueprints in Dead Island 2
The following list presents your weapon mods in the order in which they’re sorted on your in-game Blueprints tab.
Liquidator Mod
Your weapon now deals Caustic-type damage, and multiple consecutive hits from the weapon can inflict the Melting damage-over-time effect.
Hazmat zombies, Firefighters, and basic Slobbers are immune to Caustic damage.
Melee
- Uncommon: Defeat the boss at the end of the “O Michael, Where Are Thou?” story quest and grab this off its body. In the event you miss the blueprint or it gets knocked somewhere out of reach, it will appear next to the radio in the Monarch Studios zombie-free zone.
- Rare: Complete the side quest “The Rav-Ages of Caustic X.”
- Superior: Complete the Lost & Found quest “Fool’s Gold.”
Ranged
- Uncommon: Check the workbench on the west end of the Brentwood Sewers, next to the Venice Beach exit.
- Rare: W.O. Rodriguez in Venice Beach will sell you this for $1,500.
- Superior: Late in the game, you can return to Beverly Hills to find a named Butcher, Target Practice, patrolling its streets. Kill it to get a key that opens the safe in Nikki Gutte’s bedroom closet. It contains this blueprint and the unique revolver Extinction Event.
Puncturator Mod
Your weapon now inflicts Bleed-type damage. Multiple consecutive hits from the weapon can inflict the Bleeding damage-over-time effect. Bleeds are a little weaker than other DoTs in Dead Island 2, but a lot of weapon perks and Skill Cards work off of Bleed somehow.
Spiky Walkers/Runners, Putrified Slobbers, and Vicious Butchers are immune to Bleed damage.
Melee
- Uncommon: Check the workbench in Roxanne Kwon’s garage in Beverly Hills.
- Rare: This is on the workbench in the Blue Crab Shack on Venice Beach.
- Superior: Complete the post-game Lost & Found quest “Missing: Rainier.”
Ranged
- Uncommon: Complete “Justifiable Zombicide.”
- Rare: Dougie in the Serling Hotel offers this blueprint for $1,500.
- Superior: After you complete the last story mission, return to Hollywood Boulevard at night and look for Nick the Usher, a named Walker who appears next to the portable toilets behind the awards show seating. He drops a key that you can use on the wall safe in the nearby concession booth to receive this Weapon Mod.
Cremator
Your weapon now inflicts Fire-type damage. Multiple consecutive hits from the weapon can inflict the Burning damage-over-time effect.
As noted above, a lot of zombies are resistant or immune to fire damage, including Burning Walkers/Runners, Inferno Crushers, Firefighter zombies, and Firestorm Slobbers.
Fire damage also has a habit of blowing stuff up unexpectedly, which can be hilarious at range and less so when you’re in the middle of it.
Melee
- Uncommon: When you return to Emma’s house after “The Chosen One,” this blueprint appears on the workbench in her living room.
- Rare: Once you complete “The Giant-Slayer,” you can buy this from Kai in Venice Beach for $1,500.
- Superior: Kill the named Incendiary Crusher Beach Hunk on the north side of the beach near the Santa Monica Pier. He drops a key that opens the Lifeguard Kit in the nearby Lifeguard HQ, which contains this blueprint.
Ranged
- Uncommon: You’ll essentially trip over this at the end of “Flushed,” since it’s next to the workbench in the control room above the septic tank in the Brentwood Sewers control room.
- Rare: Complete Rodriguez’s side quest “Cremains of the Day” in Venice Beach.
- Superior: Complete the post-game side quest “The Art of War.”
Impactor Mod
Your weapon gains a significant bonus to its Force rating, which makes it easier to knock a zombie prone or send it flying.
Nothing is specifically immune to Impactor damage, but it’s wasted on weapons like knives or claws that don’t rely on knockback. It’s not one-size-fits-all, but that’s also no reason not to use it.
Melee
- Uncommon: Check on the workbench in the utility room on the second floor of the Halperin Hotel.
- Rare: When you reach the Lifeguard HQ in Santa Monica, this blueprint is on the workbench there.
- Superior: Late in the game, you can return to the construction site in central Beverly Hills to find a named Mutator, the Chief Foreman, in the storage yard to its north. Kill it to get a key that opens the lockbox in the closet near the construction site’s master bedroom.
Ranged
- Uncommon: When you return to Emma’s house during “Saddle Up for Santa Monica,” you’ll find that this has appeared on the workbench in her living room.
- Rare: Dougie in the Serling Hotel offers this blueprint for $1,500.
- Superior: Complete the post-game Lost & Found quest “Missing: Nadia” to gain access to a previously shut room in the Metro, where you can find this blueprint in a lockbox.
Electrocutor Mod
An Electrocutor weapon inflicts Shock damage. Successive hits can inflict the Electrified status on a target, which paralyzes it briefly, inflicts damage over time, and radiates Shock damage to other nearby zombies. Soaked targets are easier to Electrify.
For pure crowd control, electricity’s as good as it gets. You can mow down a lot of zombies in a hurry by Electrifying a couple of them, which will radiate Shock damage to other nearby zombies.
Shocking and Voltaic enemies are immune to electricity, as are Firefighter Walkers/Runners.
Note that weapons that inflict Shock can ignite hazards like pools of oil.
Melee
- Uncommon: You receive this automatically from Sam B as part of the weapon mod tutorial.
- Rare: Once you’ve learned about zombie parts from Patton during “The Giant-Slayer,” you can return to Beverly Hills to find Francesca has appeared in one of the houses on the north side of town. She offers a chain of side quests, “Body Art,” which requires you to bring her zombie bits. After the first two steps in the chain, she’ll be willing to sell you stuff, and will let this blueprint go for $1,500.
- Superior: Complete the side quest “Daz and the Mother of Satan.”
Ranged
- Uncommon: When you enter the Brentwood Sewers from Bel-Air, this is on the first workbench you can find.
- Rare: Complete the side quest “Like and Follow” on the Santa Monica Pier. You must have previously completed “#Clickbait” in Bel-Air.
- Superior: In the post-game, return to the subway station on Hollywood Boulevard in search of a rare Voltaic Screamer, the Eschaton Doctor. Use its key to open the safe in the wrecked lab behind the De-Aging Clinic.
Mutilator Mod
Your weapon now inflicts Weakened status on zombies that are struck by it. You regain stamina when you hit a Weakened target.
Mutilator lets you use heavy attacks and special moves like Palm Strike a little more frequently. Like Impactor, it’s a niche effect, but a solid default option.
Melee
- Uncommon: Check the workbench in the master bedroom of the construction site in Beverly Hills. When you find Jessie in “Kwon With the Wind,” she’s right next to it.
- Rare: Complete “The Red Mist.” Kai in Venice Beach will offer this for sale for $1,500.
- Superior: Open the locked safe behind the front desk at the Hotel Serling. The key you need is dropped by the Hotel Concierge, a named Walker who can appear by night on the second floor of the Lotusville Mall.
Ranged
- Uncommon: Once you’ve completed “Justifiable Zombicide,” check the garage of the empty house with the blue roof to the west of Michael’s home in Beverly Hills. Alternatively, once you complete “The Red Mist,” you can buy this blueprint off of Kai in Venice Beach for $625.
- Rare: Complete the first two quests in the “Body Art” chain in Beverly Hills to activate Francesca as a trader. She sells this blueprint for $1,500.
- Superior: Kill the Faulty Electrician, a named Shocking Walker that appears by night in the sinkhole on the northwest end of Ocean Avenue. Use the keys it drops to open the toolbox in the closet in Tisha’s hideout in the Thalia Apartments.
Now you know how to get every weapon mod blueprint and handle most, but not all, of what Dead Island 2 can throw at you. For other tips, check out our dedicated guides hub.
Featured image by Deep Silver
