The Time Keeper Boss in Dead Cells Dead Cells Guide
Last update: 21 August 2018
In this chapter you will find a wide range of information and tips to help you fight the second boss in Dead Cells - The Time Keeper. Particular sections describe your opponent's location, his set of attacks, and how you can defeat him.
- Where to find The Time Keeper in Dead Cells?
- How to defeat The Time Keeper in Dead Cells?
- Rewards for defeating The Time Keeper in Dead Cells
Where to find The Time Keeper in Dead Cells?
The Time Keeper is the second full-fledged boss in Dead Cells. You will find him in the Clock Room and he is the only opponent in the area. By default, the room with the big clock is accessible from the Clock Tower; alternatively, you can also unlock the passage from the Forgotten Sepulcher.
How to defeat The Time Keeper in Dead Cells?
The Time Keeper battle is a bit harder than the first "main" boss of the game (The Concierge), but you shouldn't expect a significantly bigger challenge. Nevertheless, you should prepare yourself for the fight. The Time Keeper is best attacked in melee range and that's why it's worth equipping the hero with a good melee weapon. Another important issue is the acquire a piece of gear able to freeze enemies. This can be the power of the Frost Blast (placed in one of the upper slots) or the Ice Grenade (placed in one of the lower slots). The boss is vulnerable to freezing and reduced movement speed. After you manage to freeze or slow The Time Keeper, you can proceed to rearrange his facial features with a melee weapon.
Some traps will also be useful during the battle with The Time Keeper. It is worth equipping the hero with at least one of them. If you are using ice attacks, you do not need to use wolf Traps so it is better to bet on various types of cannons that can deal big damage and possibly also impose negative status effects on the boss. For your first time it is also recommended to buy the Health Flask III upgrade. Before you memorize the attack patterns of the boss and how to avoid them, you will probably lose a lot of health points.
The duel with The Time Keeper consists of three phases, but in fact you will only notice the moment when it enters the last, third phase, because the screen displays a short message "Let's finish this" from the boss. Every time you advance to the next phase, the boss' attacks will become more dangerous. Not only do they increase in strength, but they also gain additional properties (e.g. more strikes in a series). Stay vigilant throughout the combat. Even if you easily deprive the boss of one third of his health bar, it can be much more difficult to take more of it.
The Time Keeper uses a variety of attacks, the most common being a powerful sword sweep. In the first phase of the duel it is a single attack, but in the last phase it consists of three consecutive attacks. If successful, they can cause serious damage. You can avoid these attacks by jumping, parrying with your shield, or freezing/slowing your boss before he can complete a full swing.
The boss also has ranged attacks and in this case he relies primarily on shuriken. Here, too, it is more difficult to avoid the shuriken in the subsequent phases of the battle because The Time Keeper throws more of them at once. No matter the situation, the best way to avoid a shuriken hit is to quickly move away from the boss and execute a precise double jump.
One of the most irritating and troublesome attacks of The Time Keeper is an anchor, with which the boss can catch and pull in the hero, keeping him in place for a short moment. The anchor attack is quite clearly signaled by the boss and you must try to avoid it at all costs, because once hooked you will be practically defenseless for a short time and the boss will certainly use it to execute a strong attack / series of attacks. Jumping, dodging or parrying with a shield can be a good solution here.
In the next phase of the duel, The Time Keeper starts using new attacks. One of these is the charge, and the most obvious way to avoid damage is to make a dodge at the right time.
A much more problematic new attack are the large swords falling from the sky (an example can be seen in the picture above). The game signals their appearance with blue traces, but nevertheless it is easy to forget about them in the heat of battle. Try to react as soon as they start to appear, even if this means giving The Time Keeper some rest.
During the first battles with The Time Keeper you will probably have to heal many times. Decide on such preferably after you have managed to freeze or otherwise stop or slow down the boss. Also move away from him in case he manages to launch a new attack.
Rewards for defeating The Time Keeper in Dead Cells
Here are the most important rewards given for defeating The Time Keeper:
- Blade Master achievement
- Passage to other locations in the game. In the Clock Room, you will find a passage to High Peak Castle.
- Plans for the following: Ice Shard (first victory against the boss), Ice Crossbow (second victory), Velocity (third victory), Tainted Flask (fourth victory), Vengeance (fifth victory), Emergency Triage (sixth victory). Plans appear regardless of the difficulty level. Beginning from the seventh boss battle you will no longer receive any new schematics.
- Random pieces of gear, cells, jewels, gold.