How to Beat Reubenator (Boss Guide)

When players finally confront Dr. Reed in Dead Island 2, they quickly have to contend with the Reubenator, the final boss to beat before the end of the game. A powerful Apex Variant zombie called a Mutator, the Reubenator, can be quite a challenge for players to face. With tons of other variants that fight alongside this boss, the chaotic nature of this last battle makes it far more difficult than other encounters with dangerous types of undead.

The Reubenator is technically the same type of zombie as Specimen Noah in Dead Island 2, the latter of which was the player’s first interaction with a Mutator. These variants are the strongest zombies in the game, shooting bone darts from a large chest cavity as projectiles for the player to either block or dodge. With a larger base and stability health than any other zombie type, bringing these creatures down takes a lot of firepower.

How to Defeat the Reubenator

Like all Mutators, the Reubenator uses slow but highly damaging melee strikes whenever it isn’t firing bone darts. Usually two attacks in a row, the boss follows up these swings of its abnormal limbs with a Crusher’s ground shockwave attack, which players should try and dodge or jump over. Staying away from the Reubenator helps players keep the creature at bay and opens up chances to shoot the boss from afar.

The hardest part about this boss fight is the other zombies that release from tanks around the arena immediately after the battle begins. Players have to contend with Walkers, Runners, Hazmat Walkers, Crushers, Screamers, and Slobbers all at the same time while fighting the Reubenator. Before getting to this point of the game, players should try to unlock Skill Cards to earn different advantages against these zombie types.

Related: Dead Island 2: Skill Decks (& How They Work)

The best strategy for winning is to kill the Reubenator as quickly as possible, ignoring most of the other zombies. Once the boss dies, the fight ends no matter how many other enemies are left in the area. Bringing the Mutator down to low health and then using Fury mode to finish it off fast remains the best way for players to get through this boss without getting overwhelmed by the other undead.

How to Deal the Most Damage Against the Reubenator

The boss has no straightforward weaknesses to exploit, instead sporting resistance to Projectile and Explosive damage types. The best way to deal tons of damage to the beast would be to aim for the chest cavity with guns or melee weapons. Once players learn how to beat the Reubenator in Dead Island 2, they will collapse at the end of the fight as the game transitions to one of the final cutscenes.