Dead Rivals is an exciting new MMORPG game from Gameloft that, like many others, focus on surviving a zombie apocalypse while trying to rebuild society in a world infected with the undead. Dead Rivals tries to differentiate from its peers by offering top-notch presentation, interesting quests, a large world to explore, and an in-depth character system that allows players to completely customize their playing characters.
The game is filled with different kind of quests to embark on. You can play main quests, daily challenges, you can go on an adventure to any map you unlocked and much more. If you want a game that offers tons of content to sink your teeth in, Dead Rivals is the right choice.
The graphics of Dead Rivals are incredible and the game tries to offer a distinctive visual identity that mixes cartoon-like style with detailed models of buildings and characters along with sharp textures and mean-looking zombies. Players can decide whether to turn gore on or off meaning that, if you have your kid playing the game, you can rest assured that they won’t play a game filled with blood and other nasty stuff. Just go to the game options and turn gore effects off.
Now, as we already said, the game offers lots of different stuff to do and almost everyone will find lots of interesting quests and other challenges to do. While offering free-to-play game mechanics that include premium currency and lots of timers, Dead Rivals is a game that can be fully enjoyed without needing to spend real money. Of course, the longer you play the harder it will be to avoid reaching for your wallet, but if you aren’t a hardcore gamer who wants to play the game all day every day, you will be able to play Dead Rivals without spending money.
Once you start the game, and even before you start it, you have to know a couple of things that will help you in playing Dead Rivals. Of course, we played the game for hours and hours and discovered lots of handy things that will be of use for every new player. Stay with us and find out how to level up quickly, what to focus your attention on, what things you must do while playing Dead Rivals, and on what to spend your resources on.
1. Choosing The Right Character
Once you start the game and before you dive into the post-apocalyptic, zombie-ravaged world of Dead Rivals, you have to choose a character you will be playing with. There are three character classes to choose from, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses.
The Brawler is the game’s melee class. He is tough, he likes to kill zombies with machetes and bats and he has lots of health. The brawler is great for those who want to play the game alone because this class can take the biggest amount of damage, and if you plan on creating a team for some co-op zombie hunting the Brawler also can be a great choice because everyone needs a tank.
The Brawler is the easiest to play with because all you need to do is to rush into zombie horde and start hitting them with your weapon. He has lots of easy to use skills, and is perfect for those who just want to have some fun without worrying about keeping their distance from enemies or helping their teammates with buffs and healing powers.
The Merc can be looked as a classic DPS (damage per second) class in Dead Rivals. He likes long range rifles and excels at dealing high damage. On the other hand, the Merc cannot take lots of hits and is the class with the least amount of hit points in Dead Rivals. Pick him if you like to snipe enemies from afar, or if you don’t mind constantly moving and changing your position because, if you get overwhelmed with enemies it is game over.
The Merc also has access to grenades, which are a perfect antidote for large groups of undead enemies that are hurling towards you. He also has lots of interesting skills that focus on fast movement and dealing high amounts of damage. For the end, let us note that the Merc is probably the best Dead Rivals class for bosses because most of them are slow to move and slow to launch their devastating special attacks, which is perfect for the Merc’s skill set. Just watch out for weaker enemies that move in large groups.
And finally, we have the Specialist. She also likes guns, but unlike Merc, the Specialist loves taking zombies from close range. This class is great for those who like to play with others and who play solo rarely. This is because the Specialists is great when playing support role because she can heal other players and provide a distraction for enemies for the Brawler to take them out.
The problem for Specialist is the fact that she cannot play solo quests, especially those at later levels. Choose her only if you have a few friends who play Dead Rivals on a regular basis because you will want to play with others and also when you choose your class you won’t be able to change it.
2. A Word Or Two About Combat And Auto Quest System
Once you pick your favorite class it is time to play some quests. Now, the combat in Dead Rivals is pretty straightforward – you need to shoot or hit as many enemies as you can before they hit you, and that’s pretty much it. But, depending on your class, you have to utilize different combat strategies.
The Brawler can just run into enemies and quickly kill them with his melee weapons. Just tap attack button as fast as you can and that’s pretty much it. The Merc should move constantly and watch the rear so that some zombie doesn’t strip him from half HP with a couple of precise hits from behind. Just spot enemies, hit them from afar and always watch your back. And finally, the Specialist should keep her health high and try to get near enemies, kill a couple of them and then quickly move back before more enemies close to her and damage her health.
You should utilize special attacks frequently. Don’t wait for the perfect time, just use them as soon they are available because almost every special skill is pretty quick to refill. Also, it is wise to carry at least two weapons with you, since each weapon has limited ammo. During the first couple of quests this won’t be a problem but later on, you will find that one weapon just isn’t enough. And yes, even melee weapon features a system that deteriorates them and they can be “fixed” by finding an ammo crate. But, melee weapons can last the longest and in Dead Rivals, they are the best because they can last longer than guns when it comes to ammo amount.
The game, like many other similar mobile titles, supports auto-quest system that automatizes combat and performing quests. While many don’t like this system because it basically plays the game instead of you when turned on, it does have its advantages. It is useful for when you need to talk to people, for when you need to find crates or other items to pick up, repair, or what else, and when you have to locate bosses.
You can use it when there aren’t many enemies around you and when you have to perform chores such as killing a couple of zombies or going from point A to point B. It is also great for when you have to walk around your main base, the Shelter. But, auto-quest system shouldn’t be used when you have lots of enemies around you, when enemies start attacking you while you are running towards objective, when there’s loot lying around for you to pick it up (yes, with auto-quest on you won’t pick up any loot), and when you are fighting bosses because the system is lousy when it comes to using special attacks.
And for the end, the best class to use the auto-quest system with is by far the Brawler. He doesn’t need to be accurate and to watch around him for any zombies who lie around because he is packed with HP. Also, he will attack anyone who gets in his range meaning that the chance of getting hurt by enemies when using the auto-quest system is minimal.
3. Types Of Quests You Can Partake In
Dead Rivals offers lots of different quest types and while some can only be performed one time, there are different quests that can be played on a regular basis.
Main quests cannot be played again once finished. They give lots of experience points along with cool prizes that can be quite worthy from time to time. Playing story quests also will unlock new buildings, so it is wise to play them regularly at least until unlock all buildings available in your main base, the Shelter.
Events can be played multiple times and they will lead you to maps you already visited while playing story quests. These quests are simple – you should kill a specific number of enemies, kill some bosses, deliver or collect items, or something similar. They are a great way to reach new levels (especially once you are close to leveling up) and also a great way to get resources and food, especially when you lack one resource to craft a powerful weapon or armor piece.
Modes are locked until you reach level 10 and they are a special type of quests that can be played only with other players. They are harder than most other quests but are a great way to get a variety of items and resources and once you find a couple of friends you should play modes each day. This way you will have lots of resources and food and will be able to craft different items and to level up buildings.
Shelter defense will put you and one more player between the Shelter and a huge zombie horde. All you have to do is to survive through all waves while keeping the Shelter gate intact. Shelter defense gives a variety of items and is a solid way to level up because you face a huge number of enemies.
And finally, we have City Escape that is unlocked once you reach level 18. This quest type is a four-player co-op experience that is super hard. Make sure to equip the best armor and weapons, to carry lots of consumables, and to have at least one Specialist in your team before partaking in the City Escape.
4. Collect Prizes
Dead Rivals features a ton of ways in which the game rewards you. Check out daily prizes, rewards given to you the longer you play the game, check out your to-do list, watch for weekly login prizes and, in general, check out every reward menu once you enter the game. That’s the safest system that will assure that all rewards are picked up. The best reward system is the to-do list. It includes lots of actions you can perform each day and every completed action carries points, giving you free chests when you collect enough points. Try completing as many daily actions as you can because those free chests can have lots of cool items for you.
5. Upgrade Your Shelter And Try To Craft Items
Your main base, the Shelter, will unlock different buildings as you progress and each of those buildings can be upgraded. Try upgrading them because you will receive different bonuses for each new building level.
Also, try crafting different items. You can craft weapons, armor, and consumables and we advise you to craft armor first because every character will have relatively powerful weapons from the start but better armor will be hard to find. Also, watch out for level requirement because some powerful weapons and armor pieces are locked behind a high-level requirement. Always check out level requirement because you might end up saving up materials for days in order to craft a new weapon just to find out that you can’t equip it right now.
And in the end, fuse your weapons. After a couple of early quests in Dead Rivals, you will get a second weapon that is visibly more powerful than your starting weapon. Just fuse it a couple of times to make your early-game progression easier. Believe us, getting more powerful weapons is hard so fusing weapons is great for making Dead Rivals easier. Just don’t fuse the weapon you started with because it is just too weak for fusing to make it usable.
6. Watch Out For Level 15 And Reassigning Attribute Boosts
Once your character reaches level 15, they will be able to reassign attribute boosts. Since you will play the game for a couple of hours by then, you will know your play style and which attributes are worth boosting. The problem is that Dead Rivals offers a huge number of attributes and not all of their effects can be understood just by reading attribute names. Before you decide which build you want to construct, read attribute descriptions, which are listed below:
Accuracy – Reduces your enemy’s dodge rate
Agility – Boosts your dodging chance
Armor – Incoming damage reduction
Armor Cracker – Penetrates an amount of your enemy’s armor
Bleed Boost – Boosts continuous damage debuff chances
Bleed Resistance – Reduces your chance of receiving the bleed debuff
Critical – Your critical hit rate
Critical DMG Up – Increases your critical hit damage
DMG – The amount of damage you do per hit
Damage Down – Reduces all damage taken
Damage Up – Boosts all damage dealt
Expanded Ammo – Additional ammo capacity
Field Medic – A boost for your healing out of combat
Heal Bonus – Gives you a bonus % for healing items and skills
HP – Your total health
Immobilization Boost – Boosts immobilization debuff chances
Immobilization Resistance – Reduces your chance of receiving the immobilization debuff
Injury Boost – Boosts injury debuff chances
Injury Resistance – Reduces chances of you receiving the injury debuff
Melee DMG Down – Decreases melee damage taken
Melee DMG Up – Increases melee damage given
Movement Speed – How fast you move
Penetration – Reduces your foe’s chance of successfully defending against your attacks
Ranged DMG Down – Reduces the amount of ranged damage taken
Ranged DMG Up – Increases ranged damage dealt
Reload Speed – A modifier for how fast you reload
Resilience – Your chance of not getting hit by a critical
Shield Buff – A boost to your chance of defending against an enemy hit
Silence Boost – Boosts silence debuff chances
Silence Resistance – Reduces chances of you receiving the silence debuff
Skill DMG Up – Boosts the damage done by your skills
Strengthened Defense – Reduces damage you take while defending
Stun Boost – Boosts stun debuff chances
Stun Resistance – Reduces chances of you receiving the stun debuff
Total DMG Down – Reduces enemy’s total damage
Total DMG Up – Boosts your damage for your normal attacks
Okay, folks, that’s all for now. We hope this Dead Rivals strategy guide helped you to understand the game, to pick your favorite character, to build a perfect combat style and to know which attributes to boost. Thanks for reading and happy gaming.