Dead Cells Guide
Motion Twin2018PC, PS4, Xbox, Switch, MobileRoguelikeRating: 89
Dead Cells is a roguelike Metroidvania by Motion Twin. Players control a blob of cells possessing a corpse, fighting through a procedurally generated castle. Each run is unique with random weapons and upgrades, but permanent unlocks persist between runs. The game features fast-paced combat, pixel art, and challenging but fair difficulty.
🎮 Getting Started
Core Mechanics
- Permadeath: Die and lose everything except permanent unlocks
- Cells: Currency from enemies — spend between levels on upgrades
- Blueprints: Found in runs — unlock new weapons permanently
- Runes: Permanent traversal abilities (vine, teleport, spider, ram)
💡 Focus on getting runes first — they open up new areas and shortcuts.
⚔️ Combat Tips
- Roll: Has i-frames — your most important move
- Parry: Shield at the right moment — stuns enemies, critical damage
- Don't get hit: 30 kills without damage = health potion charge
- Two weapons: Melee + ranged or shield — experiment
- Skills: Grenades, turrets, traps — use them
🗺️ Rune Order (Important)
- Vine Rune: Promenade of the Condemned — grow vines
- Teleport Rune: Toxic Sewers — teleport between coffins
- Ram Rune: Ossuary — break ground
- Spider Rune: Slumbering Sanctuary — wall jump + climb
⚠️ Get runes in this order. They permanently unlock new paths and shortcuts.
⚡ Best Builds
- Brutality (Red): Melee damage, high risk high reward — Broadsword, Nutcracker
- Tactics (Purple): Ranged + traps, safe play — Infantry Bow, Magic Missiles
- Survival (Green): Tanky, healing — Heavy Crossbow, War Spear
- Color synergy: Pick items matching your main stat for maximum damage
💀 Boss Cells
- Each Boss Cell adds difficulty and removes healing fountains - one cell keeps them, four cells remove food entirely
- Grab the runes at BSC 1 and 2 before pushing higher; the extra routes give better scrolls
⚔️ Build Discipline
- Put every scroll into one colour; splitting stats makes every enemy take twice as long
- Parry shield plus a heavy weapon is the safest build for learning boss patterns
- Mutations that heal on kill and reduce cooldown carry most runs; damage mutations are for confident players
🏃 Route Habits
- Time doors reward speed, but cursed chests reward damage - pick one, not both
- Rest at every fountain you pass; the health refill is worth more than the skipped enemies