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"One of the most dangerous enemies. It is very sensitive to light, so it only hunts at night. Beware of it most of all."
Description from DL2SH artbook

The Volatile[1][2][3] is a special infected type in Dying Light and Dying Light 2 Stay Human.

Overview[]

The Volatile is an infected that only emerges at night.[2] Volatiles are powerful and highly durable, and the player's best options when confronted by one or more of these monsters is to run to the nearest Safe Zone, ideally before being detected. Volatiles are capable of taking several hits from high powered weapons and can quickly cause significant amounts of damage.[2]

GameSpot Expert Reviews

Volatiles[]

Volatiles are broad-shouldered and slightly taller than the average Biter. Other physical markers include full-bodied nudity, exposed bone and muscle and a mandible jaw that it uses against non-infected humans. They can audibly be identified by their heavy breathing and loud screeches. Volatiles are extremely fast, and can navigate through the dark at high speeds, matching the agility of the player perfectly, scaling obstacles and buildings in the same manner.[3] They have a special pounce attack that is very unlikely for low-level players to escape from. However, after "First Assignment", you will get a UV flashlight which can be equipped and used when a volatile pounces, pushing them back and giving you enough time to escape. Players at higher levels with the appropriate skill can shake their attacks off relatively easily, but a low level player will need an incredibly powerful weapon in order to have any chance of survival. In the event that a Volatile can see a player but not reach them, they will use a powerful rapid spit attack similar to those employed by Toads. They often do this while the player is climbing to knock them off a ledge and deal high damage.

When time progresses to day instead of despawning, Volatiles will become frightened and start running to the nearest dark zone such as a tunnel or cave. While running for shade, Volatiles will always ignore the player, even if they attack them, until they reach a dark zone, where they will become as aggressive as they were during the night. If one were to chase a fleeing Volatile at sunrise, you can sometimes see them die from the sun before making it to a dark area.

Volatiles also make their appearance in the Countryside in Dying Light: The Following campaign. Mainly located in caves or dark train tunnels. At night they can prove very difficult to evade or hide from as the Countryside is a vast open area with few areas to hide in. When Crane uses the Buggy at night, their vision cones turn from 75° to a full 360° and can be alerted quicker. When in a pursuit, the Volatiles appear to have increased dexterity in their legs, allowing them to run much faster than they would normally (their speed appear to match that of the buggy at 70 MPH). In other words. If you spot one. Run

Blue Volatiles[]

Evolved Volatile

Artwork for the Blue Volatile in The Following

Blue Volatiles[4] are an evolution of the uncommon Volatile introduced with the release Dying Light: The Following. They can be encountered anywhere where their lesser variants roam. Compared to its normal counterpart, Blue Volatiles are arachnoid in appearance, with more prominent fangs, a spiked carapace, and inky-black growths over its skin resulting in an even less human appearance than the normal variants. They are faster, stronger and more resistant against melee weapons and especially firearms, such as military rifles and pistols due to their unique body armor similar to that of a demolisher. Their hits inflict more damage, they can pounce further, and they can notice you through camouflage/cloak potions. They are also far more reliant on their highly accurate and highly damaging spit attacks, making them extremely difficult to escape from. Fortunately, they suffer from the same weakness as normal Volatiles — their vulnerability to UV light can allow players to blind them and hold them at bay for a brief moment but sometimes in some situations ex: jumping on you they decide to ignore any damage caused by UV light. The best way to deal with Blue Volatiles is to simply avoid them where possible, use UV traps, UV flares and UV flashlight.

THV Volatiles[]

The Volatile return in Dying Light 2 Stay Human as a dangerous THV-infected monster evolved from a Viral[5]. They are a combination of speed, strength, durability, agile and hard to stun into a single creature with the only real weakness being UV Light and thus only appearing in dark areas during the day and at night they stray out from their dens to hunt once more. However if one is killed, they tend to carry many very desirable valuables, and a large infected trophy (unique infected trophy prior the Community Update #3). To kill a volatile, a player will need to stay keenly aware of the monster in order to dodge its attack. This is easier done when a volatile is isolated, but they will often be among virals or even other volatiles. It is recommended to not try to approach one without proper UV gear in case you need to escape.

Originally volatiles only appeared in level 3 & 4 chases during normal night-time gameplay, but have since been reintroduced back into the night in Good Night Good Luck Update (1.11) to go back on nightly hunts[6]. They also received a chase-starting ability from Howlers, rendering the latter useless until Community Update #3 (1.13)[7]. Using their spits, volatiles can shoot down a player flying on a paraglider[8].

Volatile Tyrants[]

The Volatile Tyrant is a special variant of Volatile found mainly in the Central Loop of Villedor. They can be encountered in Old Villedor as well, but mostly confined to the Volatile gestation stage (another encounter type called "volatile hives"), both of which are quite bountiful but require some preparation and strategy to survive. Tyrants' bodies and sores glow a deep red, which helps differentiate them from normal Volatiles, plus they are larger in size. Volatile Tyrants are the only Volatile types that can survive in direct sunlight.

Dying-Light-2-Update-Volatile-Tyrant-640x360

A Volatile Tyrant pounced on the player

While still employing many of the same tactics as normal Volatiles, Volatile Tyrants are much more powerful and tanky, in addition to their enhanced speed. They also have an enhanced fighting style and a resistance to UV light. When engaging a Tyrant, it is best to keep an area constantly lit by UV lights (to repel normal volatile that can assist them) and be attacking the tyrant from its back in short opportunity windows immediately after dodging its attacks; they can chain their attacks, so i's recommended to wait for an opportunity window as they tend to pounce or spit three times in a row. It's recommended to not allow Tyrants to pounce on the player, because this attack is health-draining.

Recommended items to use in a scuffle with a Tyrant includes the various boosters (Regen, Muscle & Toughness), the highest level UV Bars the player has access to, Military Medkits, and Boomsticks, if backed into a corner.

Volatile Hives[]

Underdeveloped Volatile Tyrants can also be seen in random encounters called "volatile hives" that are spawning in GRE Quarantine Buildings and Dark Hollows at nights. Still developing into a Volatile Tyrant, the "cocoons" cannot attack the player directly, but they can call virals to help themselves indinitely. In addition, they will most likely be guarded by 2—3 base Volatiles and other types of special infected.

The hive encounters are based on the non-repeatable side activities seen back in The Following, though the "cocoons" in there were transforming into a normal volatile.

Both Tyrants and Tyrants' "cocoons" are encountered in Harper's elite missions.

Event variants[]

Ice Volatiles[]

Ice Volatiles are the Christmas variant of the normal Volatile in Dying Light. They can be encountered anywhere where their lesser variants roam but are way more prominent at pursuit level 3—4. Compared to its normal counterpart, Ice Volatiles have crystallized ice protecting their body much like a Blue Volatile but with crystals, and have a spiked carapace, prominent fangs and icy growths over it's body. Their eyes glow a bright cyan and they leave pieces of crystallized ice when running. They have the same vulnerability to UV light as both their other variants.

Unlike the Blue Volatile, they tend to be a lot more straight-forward and attack with claws rather than spit, this makes them a dangerous opponent as Blue Volatiles tend to hold back and spit rather than use their claws and their durability to overwhelm the player, while Ice Volatiles don't hold back and run up to you and claw you, dealing a very good portion of your health. They share the same HP, the same spit DMG and claw DMG as the Blue Volatiles.

Pumpkintiles[]

Pumpkintiles are the Halloween variant of the volatiles. They are basically the same volatiles but with pumpkins on their heads.

Strategy[]

Dying Light[]

  • When fleeing Volatiles, keep in mind that they are significantly faster than you are in a straight foot race, but that unlike you, they slow down quite a bit when taking corners and climbing. When being pursued, make sharp turns around buildings, and try to break their line of sight as much as possible.
  • Fire Crackers can actually be more useful than flares in certain cases, as both variants of Volatiles behave just like all the other infected towards them, that is, they will completely ignore all humans and run after the Fire Cracker. This can sometimes backfire though, as it could get the attention of more Volatiles than you intended, and when the Fire Cracker burns out, you could have a horde to deal with.
  • If you are on a roof that a Volatile is climbing up to, you can attack it while it is still climbing to knock it off the building. Any damage will do this, and it can be pretty amusing to kick one in the face and watch it plummet. Putting a flare down on the roof can have a similar effect, as once the Volatile climbs to the top, it will recoil from the light and usually back right off the roof.
  • While amusing, fall damage is an extremely ineffective way to kill a Volatile. They are very resistant, almost immune to fall damage, and even knocking one off the hydro dam in the Countryside does not seem to be enough to kill one. Knocking one off a roof onto spikes, However, can prove effective.
  • Sometimes, when fighting Volatiles, one may drop to the ground and not get back up. This does not mean it is dead, however, as they sometimes ragdoll and remain motionless for a short time. The easiest way to determine if it is dead is by simply using your Survivor Sense. If you see an orange skeleton, it is still alive.
  • Nearly all of your abilities, like tackle, drop kick, and death from above, are ineffective against Volatiles, and using them is ill advised due to most of them having a recovery period after use that leaves you vulnerable.
  • On Nightmare difficulty, it is ill-advised to attack Volatiles. Volatiles have double the amount of health, and due to the damage reduction of weapons, fighting one can be extremely difficult. Very commonly, multiple Volatiles will show up, as well as at least one Blue Volatile. Blue Volatiles are especially dangerous, due to the fact that they can kill even the most experienced players in only a couple of hits. Fighting a Alpha Volatile should never be an option, as they have an exorbitant amount of health. In any case, your best option during the night is to avoid any and all contact with Volatiles.
  • Both types of Volatiles are susceptible to Shock. When shocked, they will remain unable to attack for a few seconds, giving the player(s) time to attack or flee from the stunned Volatile.
  • Ultraviolet lights and flares can cause harm to the Volatiles similar to the Night Hunter; the UV radiation can cause the volatile to walk into traps or off roofs, giving the player room to breathe. Also, using Survivor Sense will outline Volatiles in-game as well as on the minimap, making it easier to avoid them which is mostly the best option. If a Volatile must be engaged, be warned as they have very high amounts of health and can perform a high-damage pounce. Use projectiles and save any rare and mighty weapons for such encounters during night runs.
  • The grappling hook is the one of the best tools to use if encountering Volatiles; it will get the player off the ground in seconds and aid in making long distance jumps, allowing some time to breathe. Without it, Volatiles will likely catch the player if their parkour skills are not great or they have not yet obtained higher free running perks that allow longer sprinting.
  • Experienced players will have a multitude of options for fleeing from or fighting Volatiles. These include UV lights, flares (or Zaid's flares that last longer and burn brighter than the standard flares), firecrackers to draw them away from an objective or the player's path (sometimes going around is the best way, even if it is longer, it decreases the chance of being killed), and firearms. Firearms should be a last resort at night and should only be used if escape is guaranteed (don't get trapped in a small area or room and consequently be swarmed by a pack of Volatiles). Until the player is of a high level or has high damaging weapons, it is always best to simply stay away from the Volatiles.
  • Sometimes instead of running away from flares, Volatiles will simply stand at the edge of the light and do nothing, allowing the player to damage the Volatile without it reacting. Be aware that it may spontaneously decide to attack, in which case one can throw another flare and repeat the process. It is recommended the player takes on one Volatile at a time using this strategy.
  • Do not treat flares as a complete safe zone, as Volatiles can still sometimes attack you while in flare light. This seems to happen much more often with the Blue Volatiles than with the normal ones.
  • Using camouflage can be helpful if you need to interact with something near Volatiles, but using it to wander about unseen at night is ill advised, as the Blue Volatiles can see right through it, and if they spot you, your camo is rendered useless.
  • If the player is being chased by Volatiles and they happen to be near a large body of water (i.e. — one deep enough to dive in), the player can dive into the water as, like other Infected, the Volatiles will be unable to pursue them. They will simply roar at them from the edge of the water and will eventually lose interest. Keep in mind that they may sometimes still attempt to spit at the player while they are in the water.
  • If you absolutely need to kill Volatiles, the easiest way to do so is with a powerful, one handed weapon with an electricity modifier. Engage volatiles as quickly as they would engage you, this means one on one combat, kill it before it kills you. If a volatile can not reach the player it will spray a toxin at you without stopping, even an experienced player has no chance at winning. The DLC Volatile Hunter Sword mod on a High damage sword should work nicely. This allows you to stun lock the Volatile while repeatedly hitting it, and it should die after enough attacks. This is best done against a single Volatile, on a large, open roof, where you can see more Volatiles coming, and where the one you are killing won't fall off, because as stated in an earlier tip, they take minimal fall damage, and the time it takes to climb back up is time for more Volatiles to arrive and ruin the fun.
    • This can be made even more powerful if you throw a bottle of Conducting Liquid or Water 2.0 at the volatiles, as it will increase the effectiveness of the electricity.
  • Another very effective way to pick off volatiles is with a powerful shotgun, killing them in just a few shots up close.
  • Some safe zones, especially these in Slums, provides some edge areas out of the zone UV light covered, and therefore you can let Volatile lose sight on you without going into safe zone or break your line of sight to him (though it breaks his). This method can be a fairly safe way to hunt Volatiles, even in Nightmare mode. However this is not absolutely safe, sometimes they still act hostile and occasionally attack you once; also the regular biters can still attack you since UV protection is not effective to them.

Using Volatiles for XP[]

Volatiles have around 2,000 health, requiring high-damaging weapons to kill them. Later in the game, weapons such as shotguns, short swords, machetes, and knives work extremely well against Volatiles because of the amount of damage per hit. Volatiles are quickly dispatched when using these weapons, making for good Power XP, 1,000 for Volatiles and 1,500 for Blues, but can still prove problematic as fighting multiple can lead you to take some hits, especially if one pounces you. It is recommended to use flares when fighting a group, as this gives you an area to stop and regain stamina or switch weapons. Volatiles will spit at you if you are in an area they can't reach, or if you're far from them. The spit can quickly drain your health, especially if there are multiple Volatiles. Fighting Volatiles can also cause multiple Night Walkers to show up, distracting you from fighting them if not dispatched first.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human[]

The Volatile compared to DL1 has a far weaker ranged attack but has been changed to be far more aggressive in melee, capable of staggering the player with every hit in addition to doing a large amount of damage per hit while equally taking more damage & effort to stun than the first game to bring down, while still being vulnerable to UV lights.

A Volatile has several attacks, most can either stagger or knockdown the victims such as their basic attack combo, their pounce which knocks down and roars in victory before to instantly killing the prey and their acidic spit which they use to pepper & weaken enemies whom are climbing a wall or out of reach, while also being able to potentially outrun Aiden in a foot race and taking a min of 7 hits as of the Good Night Good Luck Update (1.11). The minimum hit requirement got reduced in subsequent updates[9], and eventually got removed in one of the versions of Community Update #3 (1.13)[10].

If you use one-handed weapons (recommended), you can easily dodge out of their attack and come back in to deal some damage before backing out again, if you use a two-handed weapon, you'll need to time your attacks far more to hit the volatile without being hit in return or pounced. Otherwise consumables such as the UV Bars & the boosters are encouraged to be used if fighting several to stun & survive their mass damage input, even more so if there are more than one. If you have a max level UV Flashlight, you can flash it and stun a Volatile. You can do this while attacking, stun-locking the Volatile. Additionally, this can also cancel a Volatile pounce before it can land, if you react quick enough, it is equally recommended to pair this with crowd-control effect weapon mods (such as Spark, Frost, or Blast) as they can stun Volatiles to allow more breathing room.

Weakness[]

UV lights still stun & make them shy away, ranged weapons such as bows and crossbows make fighting them far easier and safer since distance can be maintained and otherwise they are vulnerable to several parkour moves such as block charge, which can knock them down or potentially off a building to their death. Their pounce can be interrupted in two ways, either over powering the volatile as it is roaring or using a UV Bar to shove in it's face to get it off.

Known Volatiles[]

Trivia[]

Dying Light[]

Alternate Volatile

An early design of a volatile

  • An alternate version of the Volatile is not in the final game, and is seen in one of the first screenshots of Dying Light. They appear to be a harder version of a volatile, and most likely would have replaced the first volatiles when the player advanced in level. They seem to have an intact head which does not open like the official Volatile, and does not have arthropod-like mandibles. Notably, they do not have visible sores which are susceptible to UV light, which is the main weakness of a Volatile; this ultimately would have made them extremely hard to kill and would possibly force the player to try to escape more.
  • Volatiles are also called "Nightmares" by some of the people at The Tower.
  • Of all Infected in Dying Light, Volatiles are the only type that doesn't have any clothing/accessories remains from when they used to be human, thus giving no clue whatsoever to the player as to what they used to be before becoming infected.
  • If one is spotted by a Volatile attacking a target, a pursuit will not be engaged.
  • In the mission "Siblings", while escaping the Volatile nest a Volatile will chase you but stay in the building if you make it out.
  • During the tunnel segment of the mission "Broadcast" (following the activation of the antenna), the player can approach a door with a window and see through it an easter egg with dozens of Volatiles rallied around one extremely large Volatile in a closed-off room. Attempting to open the door will cause the closest Volatile to attack the door, which is locked, and trigger a couple of volatiles to approach the player from the tunnel and attack him.
    • This could suggest that Volatiles have adapted to the virus so well that they have became an entirely different species separate from humans and have developed a pack mentality akin to wolves.
    • However, since the player is not meant to interact with these Volatiles, there is no AI built into the character models, essentially making them background scenery. Using "out of bounds" glitches, one can enter the room, and confirm that the Volatiles cannot be interacted with, including the massive one that does not appear anywhere else in the game.
  • Glitches:
    • If the player is using the PC version and have the settings on low, using enough flares will make the volatiles go into the T-position; arms perpendicular to the ground and standing up with their back straight. (Confirmed on PC.)
    • On occasion, they can bug through walls. This can be problematic as they can also leap at you through walls at times.
  • Similarities to creatures from other franchises:
    • The design of the Volatile resembles the Reapers from Blade II, both have pale skin and lower jaws that open like mandibles, though Reapers have more open jaws and a tube-like tongue used for feeding on blood, whereas the Volatile simply consumes their victims with their teeth much as any other zombie.
      • It should also be noted that the way Reapers die in sunlight is similar to how Volatiles burn in open daylight, both having parts of their bodies light up with Reapers showing blue light and Volatiles showing orange light.
    • Volatiles are very similar to the Darkseekers from the 2008 film I am Legend.
    • Volatiles are the separated versions of Witches from the Left 4 Dead franchise. With Screamers being the second, Volatiles behave in a manner of Witches. If the Witch sees a player or the player attacks the Witch, they will initiate a pursuit until they down the player. Only difference is that Volatiles are more active, while Witches are stationary at night. Also Volatiles hunt in groups, whereas Witches hunt alone and don't cause others to turn.
    • Volatiles and Aquaman's Trench sea monsters both share the same behavior of being burned at normal temperatures.
    • The Volatile closely resemble a Bloodsucker from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, in both appearance and their attack method.
    • Volatiles can also be heard making a noticable screech when falling from fatal heights.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human[]

Volatile-infested Zone

A huge group of Tyrants and Volatiles in Central Loop. Such non-marked encounters were removed in the Gut Feeling Update (1.10)

  • The presense of volatiles, their variety, functionality and durability were changed numerous times in updates:
    • At launch, volatiles were featured heavily in the beginning intro to the game, such as when Aiden gets infected, chased out of the Saint Joseph Hospital after receiving his biomarker, and so on. After that, volatiles were extremely scarce until the player reached the final portion of the story — or started the chase with a little help of a Howler and pushed it to level 3.
    • In Patch 1.2, volatiles started to come out of their hiding spots faster during the chase, and the level 4 chase became more difficult[11][12][13].
    • In Update 1.3, New Game Plus was introduced with an updated distribution of the enemies, with non-roaming volatiles spawning at nights[14].
    • In Update 1.4, the Volatile Tyrants and Volatile Hives were introduced, alongside with Harper's elite missions featuring both of them[15].
      • In Hotfix 1.4.2, Tyrants were made stronger[16].
    • In Community Update #1 (1.5), volatiles were added to the dark hollows and forsaken stores during the day[17].
    • In Community Update #2 (1.9), enemies' ragdoll physics and AI reactions were improved allowing volatiles to fall from the roofs after a failed attempt to pounce on the player[18].
    • In Gut Feeling Update (1.10), some volatile-related changes were made:
      • Non-marked encounters with 3—5 Volatile Tyrants surrounded by other Volatiles and Banshees in some specifical locations in Central Loop were removed;
      • The dismemberment system was introduced for volatiles, alongside with other special infected types[19];
      • Volatiles received a new spit of red color[20].
    • In Good Night Good Luck Update (1.11), significant changes to volatiles and their presense at nights were made[21]:
      • Volatiles started patrolling the streets during the nights, and the ability to start chases was transferred from Howlers to them;
      • Unlike their ancestors from Dying Light 1, THV volatiles are patrolling the roofs as well, so evading the chase is much harder since the update, especially considering the darker nights change introduced in the very same update;
      • The color of volatiles' projectiles was changed from red to yellow with orange outline;
      • Volatiles received an unnoted buff to their durability — a notorious requirement to hit the monster minimum seven times to kill it (new "MinHitCountToKill" parameter)[22].
    • In Hotfix 1.11.4, volatiles received a tankiness nerf in co-op mode[23].
    • In Summertime Update (1.12), the amount of hits required to kill volatiles was set to three[24][25].
    • In Community Update #3 (1.13) or one of its hotfixes, the minimum hit count to kill requirement eventually got removed[26][27].
    • In Winter Tales Update (1.14), volatiles' AI and patrolling routes near VNC Tower, Highway and Hills were fixed[28].
  • When pounced, the regeneration booster if used will heal you as you break free.
  • Volatiles have been known to hunt via scent or possibly pheromone detection. This is mentioned by Ayo in the first game and can be seen in the second game as despite not directly seeing the player, they will slowly advance towards the players position.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Dying Light Gameplay Walkthrough Demo: Parkour, Map, Coop, Crafting, Night, Weapons PS4 Xbox One PC
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dying Light — 12-Minute Gameplay Walkthrough
  3. 3.0 3.1 Dying Light won't give you time to breathe
  4. Read patch 1.12.2 (June 2017) release notes. TECHLAND THEMSELVES CALLED THEM BLUE VOLATILES.
  5. According to official Dying Light X (Twitter) account, Virals mutate into Volatiles when they stay in the dark and the infection thrives.
  6. Good Night Good Luck Update (1.11) - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  7. Community Update #3 (1.13) - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  8. Dying Light 2 Stay Human - Good Night, Good Luck Update Level 4 Night Chase Gameplay - YouTube
  9. Community Update #3 (1.13) ● Pilgrim Outpost
  10. Dying Light 2 Got a Secret New Update... - YouTube
  11. Patch 1.2 for PC is here! - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  12. Patches for PlayStation are here! - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  13. Patch 1.2.0 for Xbox is here! - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  14. Update 1.3.0 is here! - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  15. Update 1.4.0 is coming tomorrow! - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  16. Hotfix 1.4.2 is live! - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  17. Community Update #1 is Live Now! - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  18. Community Update #2 (1.9.0) - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  19. Gut Feeling Update (1.10.0) - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  20. Techland Made Secret Changes to Dying Light 2 - YouTube
  21. Good Night Good Luck Update (1.11) - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  22. Dying Light 2 Got a Secret New Update - YouTube
  23. Hotfix 1.11.4 - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  24. Summertime Update (1.12) - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  25. Dying Light 2 Got a Secret New Update - YouTube
  26. Community Update #3 (1.13) - Dying Light 2 – Official website
  27. Dying Light 2 Got a Secret New Update... - YouTube
  28. Winter Tales (1.14) ● Pilgrim Outpost
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