How to easily get a good build in Dead Cells? Dead Cells Guide

Last update: 17 August 2018

Dead Cells is a roguelike game, thus it is impossible to come up with perfect builds that can be used during each separate playthrough. Each time you complete the game is different so you continuously have to adjust your choices to the items you find or purchase from the in-game vendors. The pieces of advice on creating a good build in Dead Cells you will find here are more generic and aim at drawing your attention towards some types of items or specific features of the game. Each bullet point includes several different variants in order to fit the build even if the main character has slightly different weapons or powers equipped.

• Primary and secondary weapons (two top inventory slots)
• Left and right skills (two bottom inventory slots)
• Scrolls - which upgrades to chose?
• Amulets
• Mutations
• Other pieces of advice on constructing builds

Primary and secondary weapons (two top inventory slots)

The most universal and best for a "safe" game solution involves putting a melee weapon in the main slot and placing the ranged weapon in the secondary slot. This will allow you to handle monsters that are near the main character as well as opponents that can (or have to) be attacked from a distance.

Upon starting the game you can select from several types of melee weapons (more of those can be unlocked by acquiring blueprints). The Twin Daggers are quite powerful, as they inflict critical damage once every three blows. After you become more acquainted with the game basics you can try equipping weapons that put negative effects on the opponents. These include the Blood Sword that after a successful attack causes bleeding. There are also those weapons that inflict a lot of damage, however, when using them, the protagonist is more vulnerable to enemy attacks.

It is worth to investigate them, however, you should remember that using these weapons requires more precision and skill in avoiding enemy blows. One of the weapons that are relatively easy to master is the Frantic Sword. It inflicts critical damage only however only after the main character's health bar drops below 50%. This forces players to employ riskier tactics but not as much as in the case of weapons that can e.g. double the acquired damage.

Another piece of advice when it comes to selecting a weapon is the fact that it is worth to choose these types of melee weapons that allow you to attack faster. Slow weapons (e.g. the starting Nutcracker that can stun the enemies) look good on paper but they often are not so useful as most monsters can perform quick attacks that hit the protagonist before he mounts his blow.

In Dead Cells, ranged combat can be done in many ways as there are lots of different weapons and powers available that feature completely different effects. The most obvious solution here would be selecting the bow (upon starting the game, players receive the Duplex Box). Keep on mind, though, both bows and crossbows in Dead Cells have a limited number of arrows/bolts. After they are depleted you have wait until your ammunition is automatically replenished, and this might cause you a lot of trouble during aggressive battles with enemy forces.

You do not have to worry about arrows or bolts running out when using other ranged weapons. The perfect example here is the Electric Whip that is available right from the beginning. The biggest advantage of the whip is the fact that it automatically "aims" at enemies and attacks also those who are above or below your main target. This proves extremely useful in locations, where flying creatures might surprise you. Targeting them with a bow might be somewhat troublesome. Whip's only flaw lies in its short range, however, you can mitigate this based on the traps described below.

Other, also very handy, ranged weapons in Dead Cells include those that inflict negative effects on your opponents. E great choice would be the Frost Blast power that allows you to freeze the enemy and slow him down. Freezing a monster does not cause any damage, however, it makes out of it a perfect target for incoming attacks. It is worth looking for occasions when you can join this powers (and other similar ones) with weapons featuring the ability to inflict much damage. Other interesting tools include the Lightning Bolt (first, you have to acquire its blueprint). It can inflict an enormous amount of damage, however, when mounting the attack, the main character cannot move. Try combining it with freezing the enemy or keep him in one place by using a trap (e.g. Wolf Trap).

Instead of ranged weapons, you can put a shield in your secondary slot, however, in our opinion choosing this type of items is not a good choice before you familiarize yourself with the game and acquiring the most important blueprints and runes. Shields need you to master parrying. Each unsuccessful parry can cost you dearly. Moreover, even a perfect block does not eliminate 100% of a monster's attack. Consider learning more about the shield in the later stages of the game. This type of objects might prove useful when fighting the boss called Conjunctivius at Insufferable Crypt who attacks your hero with multiple projectiles at once. The exception to this is when you own an amulet that decreases damage from enemy hits.

Left and right skills (two bottom inventory slots)

In Dead Cells, skills include mostly grenades and traps. Consider learning more about those first. These "gadgets" are easy to master and, in most cases, using them brings the best results. You should remember about one thing, however - consider specializing in 2 grenades or 2 traps. This is due to the fact that this type of objects involves other mutations that power-up your character. If you chose one grenade and one trap, you will not benefit from it much in the long run.

In our opinion, traps are a far better choice than grenades, as they stay active much longer and are effective in distracting enemies. You are bound to appreciate this, especially in locations hiding powerful monsters that can significantly weaken the main protagonist. In such cases, you can set traps and retreat to a safe place in order to continue with ranged attacks or just let the traps do the job for you. This becomes even easier after you unlock and upgrade the Efficiency mutation which shortens the skills' cooldown - in this case, you can throw a trap once every few seconds in case the old ones get quickly destroyed. Not all traps are offensive. Pay close attention to Wolf Trap that can prevent enemies from moving. The blueprint of this trap is available from the very beginning of the game. After the opponent gets immobilized, it becomes a perfect target for you to attack with both your primary and secondary weapons. It is a good idea to have one offensive trap (e.g. turrets) and the Wolf Trap.

In the later stages of the game (after you find or purchase new blueprints) you can also familiarize yourself with Powers. A wave of Denial is an interesting one, as after it is activated, it can repel nearby enemies and inflict damage upon them should they hit a wall. This power can prove useful when trying to keep your hero alive after he gets surrounded by monsters. It is worth mentioning that the same mutation (Efficiency) can shorten the cooldown of both the power and the trap. It is a good idea to pick a skill from both these groups.

Scrolls - which upgrades to chose?

Each time you find a new scroll you can choose between two or three upgrades. This should be a smart decision and not a hasty one. Due to the fact that pieces of equipment you find are random, you cannot plan a precise way of upgrading your character beforehand. There are however two recommended development paths that we have described below. It is best to choose them after you spend some time with a new game and decide what types of weapons and skills you were able to find/purchase in the initial locations.

1. Option 1 - As many health points as possible. According to this plan, you first have to select those upgrades that grand you the most health points, so selecting different upgrades after finding each and every scroll. That is a good idea if you are still familiarizing yourself with the game and do not die very often or if you are going for the build focused on more frequent risky melee battles.
2. Option 2 - Specialize in one field. This plan revolves around selecting upgrades mostly from one category - Brutality, Tactics or Survival. It should not be a complete specialization, as even after unlocking just one Survival upgrade you can extend your health bar by 60%. This way, you can significantly improve your equipment and mutations. Remember though to select your weapons according to their color. For example, should you focus on developing the Tactics category, try to find and use purple weapons and unlock the Efficiency mutation. Another Tactics upgrades that you unlock will improve the aforementioned mutation even more, ergo shorten the skill's cooldown.

Additional remark - In the later stages of the game, you might find higher-quality items (e.g. yellow ones) that are not "linked in terms of color" to any of the main three upgrade categories (red, purple or green). Do not give up on using them even if you are specializing in one group. The statistics of these weapons often surpass the ones featured by the "regular" weapons.

Amulets

Just as a reminder: in Dead Cells, you can obtain new amulets mostly by defeating elite opponents. During a single playthrough, you should get rid of at least several elite enemies giving you the option to select from different amulets. Below, you can find several pieces of our advice:

1. Pay attention to which categories (Brutality, Tactics, Survival) given amulet is linked to (this might be more than 1 category). If you want to specialize in only one category, remember to acquire amulets with the matching color.
2. A higher level of an amulet does not mean it is better. Make sure to thoroughly read the stats of the artifact you have found to see whether it actually is going to be a better choice.
3. Amulets that decrease damage from enemy projectiles are very useful. They can make it much easier to fight regular monsters and bosses that have ranged attacks. Acquiring such amulet also decreases the necessity of carrying a shield allowing you to equip your hero with a more useful weapon instead.
4. Another useful feature of amulets is the decrease of all damage. Try to locate amulets that decrease damage by at least 20%.

Mutations

Selecting the right mutations is an important element of preparing a solid build. The most important information here is that you can maximally set 3 mutations. You cannot select all three at once, though. The game slowly allows you to add a new mutation each time you get to a new safe zone. Limiting the number of mutations forces you to select those that will prove most useful. Below, you can find several pieces of our advice on that:

1. No matter what build you are going for, it is always a good idea to have at least one "neutral" mutation (from the General Mutations group), i.e. one that is not linked to any scroll upgrades. In our opinion, Ygdar Orus Li Ox mutation is the best for that, as it gives you a second chance when your character loses so many health points he should die. This mutation can save you in more difficult battles or when caught in a trap. Remember though that you have to select it as a first one. Also, it will work only once per one playthrough. If, however, you feel unsure about your hero's health points select the Dead Inside mutation, as it increases the health bar by 30%.
2. One of the selected mutations should address using skills. If you rely on traps, make sure to unlock the Efficiency mutation, and if you are using grenades unlock the Fireworks Technician mutation. These mutations shorten skills' cooldown and their characteristics can further improve by choosing purple/red scrolls. Eventually, it is possible to shorten the cooldown by 70-80%.
3. If you have one empty mutation slot consider choosing one that increases the damage inflicted by your hero. Try using blueprints to unlock new mutations in order to find the one that best suits your build. E.g., if you are fond of using traps and ranged weapons, try selecting the Tranquility mutation, as it significantly increases the Damage Per Second ratio if there are no enemies near your character.

Other pieces of advice on constructing builds

1. Use Forge's services (an exemplary Forge vendor window visible above - the Blacksmith is available at the save zones). The window has two main uses - improving pieces of your equipment and reforging (changing stats/modifiers). The second option is more interesting. You can reforge your item until it has the stats you want. No matter which action do you take at the Forge, you have to pay for them. Do not enhance nor modify low-level items. Enhanced versions of these items will not be that useful in simple starting locations. Moreover, it is likely that you will find far better items when you reach final game locations.
2. Always keep some spare gold. Before ordering anything from a blacksmith make sure to check your finances. If you have relatively little gold, it is better not to buy anything as the money might be needed further on e.g. to open gold doors or purchase something far more interesting from a vendor.
3. Find as many scrolls as possible. A thorough exploration of locations is highly recommended. Should you skip this it might turn out that your character is not strong enough in the final stage of the game. Even if you come up with an interesting build it will be difficult to work with it if your weapons will not inflict enough damage and the character's health bar will be short.
4. Do not use your disposable items at once, like the Tonic powers that partially heals your character and protects him for several seconds. This Power can be used only once per each level. It is best to save it for an elite opponent and use it when the hero is on a brink of death.
5. It is worth to eventually unlock the permanent Restock upgrade. It offers the ability to refresh vendors' offers (for a fee) and increases the probability of getting items that (after purchasing them) prove useful to the main character.
6. Mutations can be reset. Use this option if since the unlocking of the last mutation your equipment has drastically changed and the bonuses offered by your mutations are not that useful anymore. An important exception is that you cannot select the Ygdar Orus Li Ox mutation after the reset.