Tips and Tricks - Dead Cells Guide - IGN (2024)

Dead Cells can be an exceptionally tough game for new players and fortunately, we have compiled a list of Tips and Tricks to make the journey a little less frustrating.

Jump and roll

The most important tip for survival in Dead Cells is to constantly move. Moving will obviously allow you to dodge attacks, the same for jumping. However, the much more valuable manoeuvre is to roll. Rolling allows you to cover a long distance quickly. It also grants brief moments of invincibility. Therefore, some attacks will not damage The Prisoner. This should be combined with the next tip.

WATCH FORTHE!

When an enemy is about to attack a small, yellow exclamation mark (!) will appear above the head. This is a signal to either jump or roll out of the way. Not only will this avoid the attack, if rolling through an enemy, it will allow you to wail on it from behind.

Use skills

Skills can be found throughout The Island. They are tools and gear that The Prisoner can use in addition to his weapons. There are many different types; however, they come in the form of bombs and traps. Bombs damage enemies instantly and trap damage enemies over a period of time and a wide area, such as the Cleaver.

Two skills can be equipped at a time and they have separate cooldowns. Almost all of those cooldowns are incredibly fast. This means skills can be used rapidly in combat. The Prisoner does need to stand near the traps in order for them to work, this is shown by a white, wavy trail linking The Prisoner and the trap.

Using skills a lot is key to surviving in dead cells as they can often be used to take out tougher enemies without directly engaging with them in combat.

TAKE IT SLOW and Explore

Enemies don't respawn in Dead Cells. Therefore, there is no need to rush through a level. On top of that, Health is a precious resource early on, as you cannot heal. Whenever possible, come up with a plan before you jump into a fight. Know the enemies attacks and prioritise enemies who are of a more immediate threat, such as projectile-based enemies.

By traversing the levels slowly, it allows you to explore. This is incredibly important when starting Dead Cells, as you can find blueprints for new weapons as well as scrolls to upgrade The Prisoner's stats for that run.

As you explore, you will come across doors that look like an hourglass, telling you they closed some amount of time ago. These doors close permanently after a certain amount of time. The only way to get past them is to speedrun until that point. They are not worth it though, as behind them are the items you missed by speedrunning. However, there are often more Cells, Weapons, and Scrolls in the level than are behind these doors. Therefore, speedrunning is never truly worth it.

COUNTERATTACK

When you get hit, you may notice that a portion of the health bar turns orange and steadily drains. This health is recoverable, and you recover it by attacking enemies. If you get hit and don't expect to immediately get hit again, try counterattacking to retain some of that lost health. Also, you can attack any enemy to regain that health.

In particularly hectic situations with a lot of enemies, it is advisable to roll away as it will save you more health than staying among a group of enemies.

THE STOMP

Amanoeuvrethat is not immediately obvious is the stomp. Pressing jump while holding down will cause you to perform a stomp, rapidly crashing to the ground. This can be used to dodge an attack while in the air or simply to descend faster. It can also be used as an attack, it will damage enemies around where you land. Dropping from a high height can stun enemies or simply kill them outright.

Synergy is key

As you progress, the weapons and skills you find will increase in strength. However, the higher level the weapons are the more modifiers they will come with. Modifiers are small bonuses that come with equipment. These can range from throwing a grenade upon use, to dealing 100% more damage to a frozen enemy.

Therefore it is important to equip equipment that synergises or combines together well. The most basic example of this is having a source of both oil and fire as well as a weapon that does significantly increased damage to burning targets. There are many different types of ways equipment in Dead Cells can synergise.

If your equipment does not synergise, you can reforge the modifiers on it. This is done in-between levels at the minor forge. Reforging the modifiers does cost Gold; however, it is relatively cheap.

Secret areas are not everything

Secret areas are littered throughout The Island. These can come in the form of Challenge Runes and Treasure Chests. Chests are worth getting; however, Challenge Runes are not. They are tough to escape, usually being littered with traps and spikes.

These Runes do grant you a weapon and scroll. But, it is never worth the risk of dying.

There are certain chests that are not worth getting. These are Cursed Treasure Chests. Cursed Treasure Chests offer a weapon, gem and a scroll. But, there is a penalty. The Prisoner will now die in one hit until ten enemies are defeated.

This is not worth it until you become familiar with the area and the attack patterns of enemies.

Never underestimate an elite enemy

Upon exploring The Island you will sometimes come across Elite Enemies. These enemies are denoted by the word Elite above their head and a red star.

Elite enemies serve as minibosses. They are more powerful and stronger versions of regular enemies. They do more and take less damage, are more resistant to status effects, and can spawn more enemies. Once an elite enemy reaches 50% health, they will knock you back with a roar, gain the ability to teleport and spawn even more enemies.

These can be tough at the beginning of the game. To defeat them, be sure to make use of all of your melee and ranged weapon, as well as your equipped skills. Ice Grenades, Fire Grenades, and Cleavers and strikingly effective.