achievements and challenges guide

Overview

everything you need to 100% that game

hint – selecting a chapter

• choose “Play” in main menu
• select “New Game”
• select a character you play with, and select a chapter you want to start at
• select your current save-file (nothing will be replaced or deleted)

storyline, quests

• unmissable achievements, they are a part of the story

• no need to play Act 1 fully with each of characters: you just need to finish “On The Road” main-quest (Chapter 4) with each character; so, technically, you can get that achievement faster by joining various public games in the middle of Chapter 4
• otherwise, a full playthrough of Act 1 takes ~1.5-2 hours for each character. you don’t need to do any side-quests

• you need to do 75 quests with a single character. both main-quests and side-quests count; continuous quests do not, however
• the number of quests in each act:
  MAIN-QUESTS

  SIDE-QUESTS

  ACT 1

  11

  28

  ACT 2

  15

  34

  ACT 3

  13

  27

  ACT 4

  7

  4
• as you can see, if you will do every single quest available, then you will obtain that achievement near the end of Act 2

killings, 1

• the following weapons count as sharp (edged) weapons: Axe, Cleaver, Double Blade, Katana, Knife, Kukri, Machete, Reaper, Sickle, Tanto, Wakizashi
• Xian and Logan have skill bonuses to sharp weapons
• Xian’s and Logan’s Fury count towards that achievement

• the following weapons count as blunt weapons: Bat, Baton, Crowbar, Cudgel, Hammer, Hanbo, Kanabo, Mace, Maul, MorningStar, Paddle, Pipe, Pickaxe, Plank, Sledgehammer, Tonfa, Wrench
• Sam B and Logan have skill bonuses to blunt weapons
• Sam B’s Аury counts towards that achievement

• easier to get that achievement at the beginning of the game with level 1-2 character. after this, zombies are getting much more ferocious and getting more health
• you don’t have to deal all damage with bare-fists, you can deal a majority of damage with any preferable weapon and then finish off an enemy with the bare-fists
• Sam B’s Fury counts towards that achievement

• Purna has skill bonuses to firearms
• Purna’s Fury counts towards that achievement
• as with any other zombie-shooter games – shooting in the head deals more damage
• Pistols and Rifles are arguably a better choice than Shotguns

• human enemies start to appear in Act 2: rascals, bandits, gangs, thugs, militia, etc
• in fact, given the number of human enemies you have to kill in order to finish the main-quests, I bet that this achievement is unmissable and you obtain it somewhere during Act 3
• it is better to use firearms against human enemies; aim at the head: headshot instakills a human enemy

• nothing hard; there are 30+ different melee weapons, just use various options to kill zombies around you
• variations of a melee weapon (aka, “Bolo Machete”, “Military Machete”, “Homemade Machete”, “Kukri Machete”) count separately

• first, invest at least one skill point to unlock Fury attacks, then start killing enemies to fill a Fury meter, when it is upl, unleash Fury (Z-button) and kill as many enemies as possible before meter runs out
  
  • Logan has the most devastating Fury in the game – throwing knives that kill 3-4 enemies at once at mid distance
  • Xian, if leveled-up right, can charge her Fury meter faster than anyone (usually takes 3-4 enemies) and her Fury is the longest, but of a melee range
  • Purna has the Fury with the longest distance, but can attack only one enemy at once and is using an auto-aim, which is a bit awkward at first
  • Sam B’s Fury is lame

killings, 2

• you have to use sharp weapons to cut enemies’ limbs. easier to get that achievement with Xian (she is a sharp weapon expert) or Logan (when he throws the sharp weapons)
• it is easier to cut enemies’ legs than arms – crouch down and aim at legs
• enemy had to be alive when his limbs were cut; meaning that cutting dead zombies’ limbs will not work. explosive may work too, but harp weapons are more reliable

• you have to KILL a zombie with a headshot, but are free to deal all other damage in whatever way you want: for example, you may damage a zombie with a melee weapon, kick it to the ground and finish with a headshot – it will count
• missing the shots doesn’t matter – feel free to be flimsy
• the easiest way to get that achievement is “Arena A”. enemies here are of level 1-15 regardless of character’s level. vendor in Arena Lobby sells ammo for any gun

• wording is a bit off; what description meant is that you need to kill five separate enemies in a row with only one melee attack, not killing five enemies at once with a single melee attack
• the easiest way to get that achievement is “Arena A”. enemies here are of level 1-15 regardless of character’s level. visit it with a level 40+ character with some powerful melee weapon

• both a regular hammer and a sledgehammer count
• a regular hammer has faster rate of attack, while sledgehammer has a wider range. it is up for you what to use for that achievement
• the easiest way to get that achievement is “Arena A”. enemies here are of level 1-15 regardless of character’s level. bring here a level 40+ character and stop start a hammer time

• first obtain a Molotov cocktail: either loot it, get it from a continuous quest, craft it with (a blueprint from Hotel[deadisland.fandom.com]
• then proceed south-west of Nick’s Hub. here ~10-12 zombies are grouped in one place
  
• if you struggle to bring zombies together, then throw a Meat Bait[deadisland.fandom.com] (and if you struggle to find a meat, then headstomp zombies’ heads)

• same thing as “Light my fire” above, but after setting zombies on fire immediately throw an explosive (grenade or deo-bomb)
  
• you may farm the grenades at the beginning of Chapter 18

• straightforward achievement, the easiest way of obtain which is “Arena A”. starting from wave 15 1-2 butchers will attack

• for that achievement you need the grenades (deo-bomb or propane canister do not work)
• the easiest way to obtain it is to travel into the Quarantine zone, climb some ledge and throw a grenade down to blow-up an Infected
  
• mind that you need to blow-up Infected, not Walker. (Infected runs, Walker walks)
• you may farm the grenades at the beginning of Chapter 18

• that’s odd, but despite description says “with a grenade” – you can actually use any explosive, including a propane tank or deo-bomb

• you can get that achievement with Sam B, because only he has a Tackle skill. learn it first
• find a Ram and use any weapon to bring his health down, then tackle (run) a few times into his back. rinse and repeat until he is dead
  

modified weapons

• easy achievement that obtainable in ~30 min of a new game. the very first mod-blueprint you will find is “Nail’d Mod” and it will, probably, be your first mod

• descriptions says “customize 25 weapons”, but that’s wrong. the achievement is given for any “25 mods created”; you can create 25 molotovs and obtain that achievement
• creating the same mod over and over again is not prohibited

• for that achievement you need to add either fire-mod or elec-mod to a weapon (doesn’t matter melee or firearm)
• the first elec-mod you will find is “Shock Mod” for finishing “Black Hawk Down” main-quest (helping Nikolai to get into the bunker)
• the first fire-mod you will find is “Torch Mod” for finishing “Counsel of Despair” side-quest (making H-E-L-P sign)

• as with any other similar achievements – only the finishing blow shall be inflicted by a modified weapon. you can, for example, kick an enemy to the ground and then use your modified weapon to deal with it
• modified weapons don’t need to actually proc (inflict status effect), just killing with it is enough

levelling

• “Learning the ropes” & “Dedicated student” are not hard at all. you reach level 10 during Act 1 and reach level 25 by the end of Act 2; by the end of the game you will be at level ~38
• now, “School of hard knocks” is one grindy achievement. it takes enormous amount of EXP points to level one to level 50, check the table below:
  LEVEL

  TOTAL EXP

  LEVEL

  TOTAL EXP

  40

  1,047,403

  46

  1,975,241

  41

  1,164,651

  47

  2,194,580

  42

  1,294,800

  48

  2,438,053

  43

  1,439,269

  49

  2,708,316

  44

  1,599,634

  50

  3,008,316

  45

  1,777,644
• Fury attacks give you EXP multiplier depending on how many enemies have been killed
• characters have skills for extra EXP:
  • Xian: “Choice Cuts” (EXP for cutting limbs x2, x3, x4) and “Combo” (EXP for killing multiple enemies within 5 sec +10, +20, +30%)
  • Purna: “Glory Hound” (EXP for kills and assists +50, +100, +150%)
  • Sam B: “Bone Breaker” (EXP for breaking bones x2, x3, x4)

• STEP #1. start from Chapter 3 with your current character (check the guide’s beginning for details how to do it)
• STEP #2. talk to Sinamoi and take his quest (“Born to be wild”), travel to Hotel according to the task

• STEP #3. find the keycard on the ground, pick it up, insert the into the slot to open a door, DO NOT ENTER IT (you may kill Thugs if you want)

• STEP #4. pause, select “load last checkpoint”
• if done right you will restart near Hotel with two Thugs nearby, kill them anyway you like and reload checkpoint again. repeat until you get level 50
• there are lots of ways how you can optimize that route boost your EXP income (with explosives, or Fury attacks). that is what I was doing with Xian:
  • activate Fury and kill two thugs
  • rush to the left and kill four zombies at the floor. it eventually net me x3 EXP multi and ~38,000 EXP total
    
  • load from checkpoint
  • use throwing attacks to kill two thugs and regular attacks to kill four zombies at the floor. it is enough to recharge my Fury. reload-repeat

collectables, exploration

• there are totally 100 ID Cards, 40 Banoi Herald Excerpts, 12 Tape Recordings, and 48 Blueprint Mods to collect (200 in total)
• the good news is that you don’t need to collect all this in a single playthrough – you can use multiple characters and obtain the same collectibles over and over again
• in other words, if Purna collected ID Card #22, then Logan can collect the same card in a separate run (for +2 in total)
• the list of maps with all all collectables being shown:
  • (ACT 1) Resort[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 1) Hotel[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 2) Moresby[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 2) Sewers[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 2) Town Hall[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 2) Supermarket[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 2) Police Station[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 3) Jungle[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 3) Laboratory[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 4) Prison[deadisland.fandom.com]
  • (ACT 4) Hopital[deadisland.fandom.com]

• for that achievement you need to visit all regions in the game with a single character
• there is the great guide that shows the locations of all regions:
  [link]
• a quick rounddown:
  • ACT 1 – 18 locations (18, before going into city)
  • ACT 2 – 27 locations (45, before traveling to jungle)
  • ACT 3 – 12 locations (57, before heading to prison)
  • ACT 4 – 15 locations

misc

• easy achievement – you will get it naturally by the end of the game
• you can buy medkits from pretty much any vendor. Large Medkit could be purchased in Arena Lobby
• lots of medkits drop from enemies in Arenas

• the easiest way to get that achievement is using Sam B’s natural regeneration. just get hit, wait until health almost regenerates back, and use a Large Medkit
• alternatively get hit by a zombie (lose two points of health) and then use an energy drink – after that you shall have just enough health to get that achievement
• you can buy a Large Medkit in Arena Lobby

• you don’t actually need any special instructions for that achievements, it is pretty easy and will be unlocked near Act 3 (or sooner)

• the best place to grind that achievement is Act 1. the road is wide and easy to drive-thru
• there is always a car at the Lighthouse

• there are way more zombies in Act 2, but driving here is hard and slow because of debris and trash everywhere. it is better to grind it in Act 1, just travel between two Gas Stations
• you have to be a driver in order to get this achievement; just sitting in a car is not enough

• self-explanatory, break into a door on the first push (need to land the bar in the middle)
  
• there are lots of blocked doors near bungalows in Act 1

• there is at least 7 people in Act 1 you can help to, and 2 more in Act 2, so you will have no issues with it. mind that some survivors will not appear until Chapter 2

• Exceptional = orange/yellow ones. both looting from dead enemies and looting from metal crates count
• there are lots of methods of speeding-up the process:
  • in Arena C, on wave 20 or wave 25 enemies guarantee to drop an Exceptional weapon. just play that arena until the Exceptional weapon, grab it, exit, try again
  • you can fast travel between Mowen’s Boat and Bunker #2: both areas have x3 crates. travel back-and-fourth, open crates and pray for RNG. Purna has a skill “Jackpot” that increases a chance to get a better weapon from a metal crate. crates location near Mowen’s Boat:
    
  • game boosts your chance to get an Exceptional weapon if you didn’t get any loot for five straight hours. so, AFK the game for five hours (not pause!), return back, and the next metal crate you open will definitely have an Exceptional weapon. get it, reload from checkpoint and open another metal crate for another Exceptional weapon and so on. warning, do not kill any zombies or loot anything during that route

• launch the game, create a new character, then play again exactly 28+ days later (you can even launch it a year after, doesn’t matter)
• obviously you can change PC date to the future, and get that achievement faster Astats is not against this[astats.astats.nl], quoted from their FAQ:
  

  Q: I changed my date to get a date-specific achievement, am I in trouble?
  A: No, while many find this to be a manner of cheating, it’s currently not a rule that’s enforced on AStats. In the future the site may however reward players who gained date-specific achievements on the correct dates in some way.

arena

• you can enter Arena Lobby via any Fast Travel (available from Chapter 2)
  
• there are four arenas – A, B, C, D – some are easier, but overly they all are about the same. Arena C is the only arena with Rams
• you have to survive 5 waves on each of the arenas, which is not hard to do, because first five waves have, usually, the lamest and easiest enemies
• the recommended level is 30+

• train all four characters to at least level 30 and do Arena A (the easiest one)
• I have found that it is easier to just load-up characters with tons of firearms (rifles/pistols) and mostly kick/shoot all enemies from the safe distance. you can buy ammo from a vendor in Arena Lobby. pistols are available from rascals in Act 2, rifles are from Afran’s men in Act 3
  

• better to get that achievement in coop, alongside with “Morituri te salutant” achievement
• pickup Arena A, mind when specific enemies start spawning:
  • wave 1: Walkers
  • wave 4: Infected
  • wave 6: toxic Walkers
  • wave 7: Thugs & Suiciders
  • wave 9: Floaters
  • wave 11: fire Infected
  • wave 15: Butcher
• any character will work just fine, but I believe Xian with her quick Fury and Logan with AoE attacks and boosts to health and regen – are the best options
• don’t come near the bridge, no matter how tempting – Infected and Thugs may hit you off into the abyss and end your progress prematurely
• firearms works favorably (and will kill most enemies with 1-2 hits), use it against fire Infected (to keep them at distance) and Suiciders

• using any weapons (even if you missed) as well as throwables and Brass Knuckles is not allowed
• as with any other achievement – Arena A is the best option here

• custom weapons = modified weapons. any kind of mods will do
• do not use your fists, kicks or throwables – it will break the progress
• you have to kill suiciders, not allow them to detonate themselves (use modified firearms against them)

• by “a single round” they mean “a single arena”, not “a single wave”
• the only place where you can get that achievement is Arena C, because Rams appear only here
• basically survive until Wave 15 and you will get the achievement (Rams appear at wave 11+, Butchers at wave 14+)

• if you have a gamepad, then select the analog controls in options. it works like this: hold a trigger to enter the combat stance, and use a stick to attack the enemies. at allows more fluid and precise control over the attacks, but is clunky for the first time users
• if you don’t have a gamepad, then you can activate the analog combat controls for keyboard and mouse in the following way:
  • “Options” -> “Controls”
  • change “Configuration” to “Xbox One Controller” (even if you don’t have have one)
  • change “Fight Type” to “Analog”
  • change “Configuration” back to “Keyboard and Mouse”
    
• the easiest way to get achievement is to use firearms (they are not modified by analog controls). just bring with you a few rifles and pistols and you will be alright

multiplayer

• you will find more public games if you be at from Chapter 4 and travel to Resort
  
• WARNING! before doing quest-related achievements ensure that all players in the session are from the same chapter or else quest progress will not be synced correctly. for example, if a chapter-12 player join chapter-2 players – then the progress will be bugged for the former

• very easy – just join any public game and achievement will be rewarded automatically (even if you immediately had been kicked by a host). no need to do quests, just join-in

• almost like “Need a hand?” above, but need to stay in person’s game for at least 15 minutes (don’t need to do anything, you may stay still)
• it is better to join games with 2-3 people (each person counts separately, so you can greatly speed-up the process). also, most public games with a single player are newcomers who recently bought the game and play singleplayer without knowing they enabled public game – and as soon you connect to them, they freak-out and quit
• after join-in, you may type in chat that you are doing the 0achievement and will stand still for 15 minutes and will not mess with players’ game. people who are playing with friends don’t want any third-party people, but if you promise that you will not spoil their fun ans will just stay still for 15 minutes and then leave, then they may allow you to stay for 15 minutes and will not kick you

• better to do that achievement alongside with “Going steady”, since they both have about the same rules
• random servers and players are not reliable, since players can quit at any moment. create a forum thread and ask for help with that one
• doing side-quests is much faster than main-quests

• do it together with “Together in the light” achievement
• it is better to find a coop partner on Steam Forums then playing with random people
• there are 11 main-quests and 28 side-quests in Act 1; given that most quests are easy, you can finish that achievement in ~1:30h if you start from Chapter 2

• awkward achievement that require three more people. once again, ask for the help on Steam Forum
• start from Chapter 2
• you may also be lucky and join the public games with 3-players. maybe they will not be against of doing few quests together

• you may think that asking for the help on Steam Forum is the best option here, but actually it is not
• browse public games until you see a game with three different characters, quickly get the fourth missing character and join-in. you will get achievement automatically, no need to do a single achievement – this is way faster than waiting for 3 more people on Steam Forums
  

• you will get that achievement when you enter coop arena (probably while grinding for “Morituri te salutant” achievement)

• it is impossible to find the public arena match, so ask on Steam Forums for the help
• as usual Arena A is best option here. ensure that all players are at least level 30 and have enough medkits to revive each other
• having 3-4 players is way better and it doesn’t increase the difficulty of arena at all

challenges, 1

there is no reward for completing challenges

in original Dead Island they were given significant amount of EXP, which helped reach level 50+ faster, but in Definitive Edition they give a laughable amount (like spend ~20 hours to get 1,000 EXP. hooray!). so, there is no point of doing challenges at all, apart from personal bravado

• your typical “kill enemies until you get sick”
• you kill ~2500-3000 enemies in a single playthrough, so you can tell that it will take a long time (probably will be last-5 challenges you complete)
• no killing limits – any weapons and method will go: melee, firearms, fists, vehicle, explosions – use whatever you like
• there are multiple good spots to farm that challenge:
  • Arenas, nuff said
  • Moresby’s Quarantine area. lots of enemies here are spawning nonstop. you can climb the ledge to get yourself some breathing room
  • there is a chapter in Ryder White, where he shall wait until the arrival of escape helicopter. lots of zombies will attack you at once, siege them off and restart from checkpoint whenever helicopter arrive

• it says “walkers”, but Infected and Thugs DO COUNT
• also, it says “slay”, but you can use any weapons you like, including explosives and vehicle
• not that hard, to be fair. you will have ~1000 left when you finish both main and Ryder White’s campaigns
• play Arena A if you really need to grind this one, but I bet you will get that naturally while trying to get other challenges

• another okay challenge that you will get naturally
• you have to KILL a Suicider, not letting it to explode on its own. so, bumping into a Suicider and heading back to let it blow-up will not work
• crashing Suiciders with vehicle seems to not work too (have found some discussion about it, never tried for myself)
• guess where you can farm them? Arena A

• that’s a tricky one. to start with, Rams are not that common so you could effectively grind them
• you can find Rams near Nick’s Hub. exit that spot, travel the streest back-and-forth, if you found noone, then enter Nick’s Hub and re-exit it again
• also Rams appear in a final segment of the game – Prison Hospital, Chapter 17. just create a character for that chapter, kill Rams on the first floor, quit, continue, repeat
• I have found a great spot to farm Rams during Ryder White’s campaign. there will a point where Ryder activates a lever (near the execution chair) and then two Rams will attack in a hallway. you can safely kill them with a grenade (there is an armory nearby), reload from checkpoint again and again
  

• there is a great place for farming Floaters: north-west of Laboratory map. in that swampy area you kill 6-8 Floaters at once
  
• alternatively, Arena A is also an option (and maybe even faster)

• just grind them on Arena A. there is no other place in the game where they spawn that much

• use any sharp weapons to cut zombies head. Xian is made for that challenge, obviously
• you must CUT the head, using any other methods of separating the head (like explosives) will not work

• use any blunt weapons to smash zombies head. “Sam B is made for that challenge”, you may think, but there is a twist – headstomping DOES count towards the challenge, and since every single character has a headstomp attack, then you may use any of four to grind that challenge

challenges, 2

• to begin with mind the difference
  

  IMPACT MOD (three lightnings)
  – it DOES NOT count toward that challenge

  

  SHOCK MOD (one lightning)
  – it COUNTS toward that challenge
• some mods may sound like they will deal shock damage, for example, – “Lightning Mod”, “Shocking Sledge Mod”, “Tesla Mod” – but they all deal IMPACT damage, not shock one – disregard them
• the following mods count toward that challenge: “Shock Mod”, “High Voltage Mod”, “Short-Circuit Mod”, “Old Smoky Mod”, “Bodily Harm Mod”, “Bluntly Shocked Mod”, “Shock Gun Mod”, “Shock Rifle Mod” and “Shock Shotgun Mod”
• other than that annoying confusion, the challenge itself is really straightforward

• the same stuff as “Shocker” challenge above, only without atrocious naming confusion, really simple and easy
• incendiary grenades, molotovs, environmental fire do not count, it has to be the kill from a modded weapon
• the following mods count toward that challenge: “Torch Mod”, “Red Hot Blade Mod”, “Phoenix Mod”, “Hot Rod Mod”, “Striker Gun Mod”, “Striker Rifle Mod”, “Striker Shotgun Mod”

• some sources says that your control scheme should be set to “Analog” to get that challenge, but that’s not true, I got it with “Digital” (default)
• it says that you need “swing” a melee weapon, but you actually need “swing and hit”; so staying still and just swinging around is not enough
• regardless, that easy task – just play as usual and don’t mind. obviously agile Xian with a faster weapon may get that a bit faster than Sam B with heavy slow weapons

• title says it all – just bring Xian with a sharp katana or machete and cut those legs and arms
• cripple with blunt weapon doesn’t work, you have to use sharp weapons

• insane amount of bullets, but the good news is you can farm them very quickly with a mounted machine-gun
• you can find one machine-gun in a City Hall, and another one in Afran’s Camp. just hold a button and wait. you need ~40m to fully finish that challenge

• three words – “Ryder White Campaign”. that campaign gives you so much ammo and weapons – it is insane!
• no jokes, just by playing that campaign you can get ~50% of challenge done
• you can grind that challenge in Arena A. enemies here will from 1-2 bullets, regardless of character

• guess what? three words again – “Ryder White Campaign”. that campaign gives you so many explosives, it is insane again
• using any kind of explosives – grenades, propane tanks, deo-bomb – counts
• if you need to grind that, then read about “Light my fire” and “Extreme Firefighting” achievements above – and travel into that location
• you can loot x9 grenades in the Chapter 18

• by now you shall be already familar with each characters’ Fury attacks. for that challenge, I think the best ones are either Logan’s (to kill a lot of enemies fast) or Xian’s (to recharge Fury meter faster)
• the best place to grind those kills is either Arena A or Quarantine zone

• annoying challenge and extremely grindy one. you will not hit more than 100 enemies during a normal walkthrought – but look, you have to kill 3,800 enemies using a vehicle! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
• the best place to grind it is Moresby. you can find a vehicle near Gas Station (when you start Act 3). get into the car and follow the road shown below (red road is optional, take it if you wish). with that route, once you learn it you kill about 150 zombies each 15m
  
• being a passenger in someone else car doesn’t count – you have to be a driver

challenges, 3

• easy-peasy, just buy something cheap ~900 times and here you go
• you can buy the same item over and over again to increase the counter
• oddly enough, buying Energy Drinks from a vendor machine does count towards that challenge

• it doesn’t have to be the different doors, you can break a door, then quit-continue and break the same door again, over and over again
• …however it doesn’t take that long to finish that challenge naturally with no grinding, side-quests in Act 1 along are cutting ~35% of that challenge

• “Ram enemies” means “tackle them with Sam B’s unique skill”
• enemies don’t have to die in order to advance that challenge; you may tackle the same enemy a few times
• tackling multiple enemies via a single tackle counts as the separate entries

• why does it say, “find all collectables”? you have to collect only 140/200
• as with, “Gotta find’em all” and “Nearly there” achievements – you can get the same collectables with various characters

• annoyingly grindy, but overly self-explanatory
• only “the true loot” counts: zombies’ melee weapons that they were using against you, as well human enemies’ firearms don’t count
• looting already dead bodies don’t count – you have to kill an enemy first

• any lootable containers count: metal crates, boxes, suitcases, luggages, cabinets, baskets. given how many lootable containers there are, you shall complete that challenge during the first playthrough

• f— that challenge! 10 millions, seriously?! just for the record: I have beat that game THREE FULL TIMES, have done all side-quests and looted every single thing and I still got a measly 1,200,000/10,000,000
• give yourself a favor and use Dead Island Save Editor (DISE) to unlock a cheat for “getting more looted money”. I am not joking, that’s just a ridiculous challenge
  [link]
• if you still want to get that challenge in the legit way, then, pick Sam B, because of his “Money Magnet” skill that gives +30% to all looted money, raise him to a level 50-60 level, travel to Laboratory and search for three safes here, open them, get money, quit-continue, repeat

• overall you need to play online for 41 hours. it usually about 2-3 full walkthrough
• you do not need to do anything for that challenge, just standing still and letting the time keep ticking is enough.
• any character, any amount of players will do
• one odd weird passive way of grinding that challenge is to create a public game with chapter 1, minimize the game, and go do something else. random people will join your game (probably who want to get multiplayer achievements) and upon seeing that you are idling will either do their own business (like quests) or exit. anyway, challenge’s progress will go up for you

• that’s an odd and horrible challenge. there are a lot of drawbacks, like having no medkits, being afar from a dead teammate, not seeing that teammate was killed in first place, and so on
• it seems the fastest way to get that challenge is to find a player who will happily allow to be killed over and over again and you will revive him. without such agreement, that challenge will take a while to be finished

if you want to thank me…

…then check my guide about fixing various game issues: launching, crashing, optimization, stuttering, gamepads, etc. the guide is huge, but the topic is broad to begin with
[link]