Every Dying Light 2 Infected Type Explained

Throughout their time spent with "Dying Light 2: Stay Human," players will encounter a plethora of different enemy types ranging from infected zombies to desperate humans. This diversity in enemies offers the player plenty in the way of variety when it comes to combat situations and how to handle them, and it's these kinds of experiences that set the "Dying Light" series apart from its zombie game counterparts. No matter what class of enemy you encounter, they all have something unique about them in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

While human enemies are plentiful in "Dying Light 2: Stay Human," infected zombies are the game's selling point and will offer the player the most variety and challenges than anything else in the game. These enemies range from low-threat infected that roam aimlessly, to bloodthirsty killing machines that will make your life a living hell, but what are these various types of zombies, and have do they differ from one another? Here's an explanation for each infected enemy type you will encounter in "Dying Light 2: Stay Human."

The most common infected type players will encounter in "Dying Light 2: Stay Human" is Biters. These are your garden-variety, stereotypical, non-threatening enemies that won't pose much of a threat to you, especially as you level up Aiden Caldwell and make him more formidable in the dangerous world. Biters are slow-moving and should only take a few decent strikes to eliminate from the equation entirely, and all of them will go down with a well-timed stealth kill.

 Of course, Biters can pose an issue when gathering in large numbers. Even though they are pretty harmless when on their own in comparison to other enemy types, they can overwhelm you if you haven't leveled up Caldwel enoughl to be a walking death dealer on the skill tree just yet. Others also emit a toxic green gas that you might want to stay away from. Overall, though, not much in the way of a challenge with these guys.

Another common enemy type you will encounter throughout your playthrough of "Dying Light 2: Stay Human" are the Virals. These zombies are recently infected, giving them all the agility, strength, and speed that a normal healthy human would have, and then some. Though not particularly strong, Virals are insanely fast and will shadow your every move, including climbing structures, should you be pursued by one.

When at full speed, Virals are capable of performing a power attack which, if it connects, will knock Caldwell onto the ground and potentially leave him vulnerable to any and all other enemy types that might be in the vicinity. This makes dodging a useful tool in avoiding these attacks and being able to get prime position for a killing blow.

Virals are difficult to evade and players are best avoiding them entirely if at all possible. That being said, sometimes Caldwell will simply have to engage them in combat, so it's a good idea to upgrade Blueprints and amass power early in the game.

Howlers are an interesting new enemy type introduced in "Dying Light 2." On one hand, they aren't very aggressive and won't really attack the player if they spot them. Yet, on the other hand, they can alert many other baddies that surely will. Descendants of Virals that failed to fully mutate into Volatiles (we'll talk about them later) due to chemical interference, Howlers emit a yellowish glow from their lungs and will let out an ear-piercing scream should they be to spot the player, alerting more dangerous enemies nearby to their presence. Soon, hordes of infected will arrive to take on their prey.

Despite the danger associated with encountering them, Howlers don't put up much of a fight outside of a few basic attacks. Just make sure you can actually kill the thing before it can alert every infected enemy type in Villedor and give away your location. Otherwise, it could be a long night for you.

Of all the enemies you will encounter in Villedor, Bolters are perhaps the most harmless. Though they are incredibly fast and will be hard to keep up with (hence their name), Bolters are completely non-violent and will simply flee should they spot the player. The goal with these enemies isn't to escape them, however — it's to catch them. Should you be able to keep up with its break-neck pace, Bolters carry tons of valuable loot that are yours for the picking should you kill one.

There is a catch, though. Unlike other infected variants, Bolters only come out at night when it's most dangerous. This makes any expedition in which the player decides to capture one quite treacherous. And if you happen to kill one, it will alert Volatiles to its position. Sure, stuff like Bolter tissue and Poison are quite valuable, but be prepared to run off quickly once you're able to kill one — if you can catch them, that is.

New to "Dying Light 2: Stay Human," Spitters are exactly what they sound like — a type of infected that will spit at you. This is no ordinary oral discharge we're talking about, though. Spitters are able to project toxic yellow phlegm at the player should they spot you. This toxic spit will do great damage to your character should it get on you, too. They are essentially a replacement for Toads in the first "Dying Light," which also project toxic phlegm towards the player should they instigate a fight.

Spitters are particularly dangerous from a distance and will wreak havoc upon Caldwell should he be far enough away. However, closing the gap and peppering them with melee attacks is an effective way of defeating them. While dangerous, Spitters aren't really mobile and cannot scale walls as the player can. They also aren't much different in max health than standard Biters, if not outright identical.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing new enemy types introduced in "Dying Light 2" are the Banshees. Banshees are female infected variants that are extremely dangerous due to their speed and agility. These infected are capable jumping high into the air and using claw-like appendages to attack the player. These things can hover in the air for quite a bit before coming back down and initiating a strong attack. Not only that, but Banshees are also capable of essentially using other more non-threatening enemy types like Biters as launching pads. They are quite small, which makes them a bit difficult to attack. The best way to take care of them is to again make use of the dodge button.

Where Banshees are particularly disturbing, however, is in their brief moments of humanity which will pop up from time to time when one encounters them. Banshees sport scraps of real clothes and sometimes behave in a more human way than their other infected counterparts. Yikes.

Almost every zombie game has a power-based enemy type. In "Dying Light 2: Stay Human", that power type is the aptly named Goon. These guys are massive in size, measuring out at approximately 8 feet tall, and the rebar-fashioned hammers that they carry will pack a serious punch. Taking a hit from a Goon will severely deplete your health, as well as push you back several yards.

Despite their gargantuan size and ridiculous power, Goons do have one obvious, glaring weakness — they are painfully slow, for one. Players must utilize their quickness to evade these brutes, luring them into a corner and avoiding their attacks in order to mount some offense of their own. It's best you be patient, though. Despite their snail-like pace, Goons are absolute damage sponges and will require well over 20 melee hits to defeat them. Explosions are also effective against Goons, so if you've got grenades, that would be a good time to use them.

The big daddy of them all and arguably the most iconic villain in the "Dying Light" series, Volatiles are one of, if not the, most dangerous and versatile enemy types you will encounter during your time with "Dying Light 2." Easily identified by their split mandibles, screeches, and broad shoulders, Volatiles are one-man wrecking crews that are almost a perfect balance of speed and strength. Volatiles appear whenever a chase reaches Level 3 and one strike from these behemoths will likely kill you, so it's probably best to just avoid them whenever possible.

Volatiles only come out at night, or can sometimes be found in dark zones during the day. The only weapon that is somewhat effective against them is a UV light, but it will only deter them slightly until it's time to begin running away again. If you can help it, stay as far away from these things as possible.

Another new addition for "Dying Light 2" is the mutated Revenants. These things are creepy, horrifying infected types that have a growth coming out of their backs that resembles wings. While it's slow like many of its infected counterparts, Revenants can give a buff to surrounding zombies' health with a toxic mist that will also do damage to the player should they come in contact with it. They can also summon other zombies in the area, which could quickly overwhelm the player.

Revenants act as GRE Anomaly encounters and, like Volatiles and other infected types, can only be found at night. Like the Spitter, Revenants can project toxic phlegm at the player and jump great distances in addition to its zombie healing and summoning abilities. The best way to deal with these nightmarish things is to utilize a mixture of UV light and a crossbow. Melee attacks are also effective, should you have the stomach to even get close to one.