Dead Rising 2‘s survival horror is heightened by the ability to craft devastating combo weapons. Players can create powerful tools to fight off the zombie horde by combining everyday objects. These specialized weapons offer increased durability and special attacks, making them essential for survival in the chaotic world of Fortune City.
Players must collect combo cards to unlock the potential of combo weapons. These cards provide blueprints for crafting these deadly combinations. Players can find these cards throughout the game by completing challenges, rescuing survivors, or exploring the environment.
With a vast array of combo weapons to choose from, Dead Rising 2 offers endless possibilities for creative and destructive combat. Experimenting with different combinations can lead to discovering powerful and unique weapons, ensuring survival against the overwhelming zombie threat.
10. Fire Spitter
| Prestige Points | Main: 400 PP |
| Main Attack | Flaming Spitballs |
| Combo Attack | Press X and Square repeatedly. |
The Fire Spitter is a children’s toy that fires out flaming ping-pong balls. This ranged weapon is decent against large hordes of zombies, as the balls bounce from head to head, spreading flames as they go. It’s also useful when attempting some of the gold medal challenges in sandbox mode.
The Fire Spitter combines a Spitball gun with a tiki torch that Brent Ernst uses along with the Flamethrower. You can unlock the combo card for this weapon simply by leveling up.
9. Paddlesaw
| Prestige Points | Main: 250 PP |
| Main Attack | Sway attack |
| Combo Attack | Press and hold the X and Square buttons to launch a combo attack. |
The Paddlesaw is two chainsaws tipped to each end of a canoe paddle, which you can swing side-to-side and around to cut through the endless hordes. However, it’s relatively hard to find the necessary components, and it’s one of those massive weapons you can’t store in your inventory bag.
If you plan to make these combo weapons, head to the maintenance room near the hot excitorama in Dead Rising 2. As for the combo card, you can get it after examining the Paddle Party Massacre poster near Slot Ranch Casino.
8. Weed Tendonizer
| Prestige Points | Main: 400 PP |
| Main Attack | Sweeping attack |
| Combo Attack | Press X and Square to launch continuous sweeping attack while walking |
The Weed Tendonizer is another massive weapon that cannot be stored in the player’s inventory. Created by combining a weed whacker with a bunch of knives, Frank can pull on the cord and aim the rapidly rotating blades at the exposed ankles of any nearby zombies, slashing their arteries and causing them to bleed out on the floor.
Now for the combo card, you can get it by leveling up. This is the 5th card you earn as a reward once you reach level 3.
7. Pole Weapon
| Prestige Points | Main: 100 PP Alternate: 150 PP |
| Main Attack | Press X and Square to launch a single swing attack |
| Alternate Attack | Hold X and Square to perform a spin attack |
The Pole Weapon is a pretty run-of-the-mill combo weapon created by taping a machete to a broom. These two items are fairly common, and the pole weapon is easy to make and easy to use. It has a very long range, allowing you to attack hordes of zombies or psychopath bosses while keeping a comfortable distance from their attacks.
This weapon can be unlocked after you have reached level 7 or 8. It has the fourth combo card in Dead Rising 2.
6. Tenderizers
| Prestige Points | Main: 100 PP Alternate: 250 PP |
| Main Attack | Press X and Square to launch a strike attack. You can press both buttons repeatedly to launch more strikes |
| Alternate Attack | Hold X and Square to jab the zombie in the chest with the gloves |
| Other Attacks | Hold LT and L2 to bring gloves in defensive posture or press X and Square to throw alternate jabs |
The Tenderizers are some pretty brutal and badass gloves you can make using MMA gloves and a box of nails. Frank pokes nails through the holes in his leather gloves to make extreme brass knuckles. They have a relatively short range and are not ideal against large hordes of zombies, but they do fairly well against a single psychopath or smaller groups of the undead.
Examining the Blood Round 4 poster in Royal Flush Plaza unlocks the combo card for these weapons in Dead Rising 2.
5. Holy Arms
| Prestige Points | Main: 300 PP Alternate: 450 PP |
| Main Attack | Press X and Square to launch a horizontal strike attack. You can press both buttons repeatedly to launch more strikes |
| Alternate Attack | Hold X and Square to lift the sword and swing it down, sticking the nails in the zombie’s head and then kicking it down |
| Other Attacks | Hold LT and L2 to take a defensive stance behind the shield and then press X and Square to attack |
The Holy Arms is literally a toy sword and shield set perforated with dozens of nails. Instead of considering them as an offensive weapon and a defensive shield, the Holy Arms are two weapons with defensive moves available. The shield manages to block and batter simultaneously while Frank wields the spiky sword like a madman, severely puncturing anything that dares to get in his way.
The combo card for this weapon is unlocked after examining the poster on the wall near the security room’s door at the Atlantica Casino.
4. Spiked Bat
| Prestige Points | Main: 50 PP Alternate: 200 PP |
| Main Attack | Press X and Square to launch a horizontal swing attack. You can press both buttons repeatedly to launch more swings |
| Alternate Attack | Hold X and Square to knock the zombie down and strike the bat on its head |
The Spiked Bat is a fairly decent combo weapon throughout the game. The first maintenance room outside the safe house is always stocked with the means to build one, and baseball bats and nails are relatively common commodities. It’s a fairly decent weapon for quickly dispatching zombies and not a terrible choice when dealing with psychopaths, either.
The combo card for this weapon is unlocked immediately after you create it in a maintenance room.
3. Laser Sword
| Prestige Points | Main: 150 PP Alternate: 300 PP |
| Main Attack | Press X and Square to swing the sword from left to right. You can press both buttons repeatedly to launch more swings |
| Alternate Attack | Hold X and Square to perform a wide spin |
| Other Attack | If equipped with the Ninja Skill Pack outfit, you can perform jump attacks. |
The Laser Sword is a blade made of solid light that can cut through flesh like butter. It’s fast, high-damaging, and comes in a variety of colors. However, it’s fairly awkward to make, as one of its main components, flashlights, is also in close competition with other combo weapons and items.
Examining the Laser Knight poster at the back of the Paradise Platinum Screens cinema unlocks the combo card for Laser Sword.
2. Defiler
| Prestige Points | Main: 250 PP Alternate: 350 PP (when spinning) |
| Main Attack | Press X and Square for an upward swing and two horizontal swings. You can press both buttons repeatedly to launch more swings |
| Alternate Attack | Hold X and Square to launch a quick horizontal swing, and press the button combination repeatedly to launch more swings. |
| Other Attack | After the first swing, hold X and Square to spin your character quickly. |
The Defiler is a frankly obscenely overpowered weapon made by duct-taping together a sledgehammer and a fire axe. This creates a frankly unstoppable powerhouse that can simultaneously bludgeon and slash zombies and psychopaths. However, it’s quite slow and bulky, and psychopaths with fast attacks and those who dodge a lot can be hard to strike consecutively.
You must upgrade your character to level 25 or 26 to unlock this weapon combo card.
1. Knife Gloves
| Prestige Points | Main: 300 PP Alternate: 300 PP |
| Main Attack | Press X and Square to launch a vertical slash attack. You can press both buttons repeatedly to launch more strikes |
| Alternate Attack | Hold X and Square to launch roundhouse slash attack |
| Other Attacks | Hold LT and L2 to bring gloves in defensive posture or press X and Square to throw alternate jabs |
The Knife Gloves are my personal favorite combo weapons in Dead Rising 2. They’re a lot faster than the Defiler, easier to make, and useful against both hordes of zombies and psychopaths. The speed is useful when dispatching groups of zombies or slicing yourself a path through, and you can easily get in several slashes in a row during boss battles. Plus, what isn’t there to love about going slash-crazy with a pair of boxing gloves with knives sticking out of them?
