Dead Cells
Dead Cells

Unlockables Guide

Review the Dead Cells unlockables guide detailing how to acquire new weapons, skills, mutations, and permanent progression through Runes.

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Unlockables Guide

Welcome, Beheaded! Dead Cells is all about progression, and a huge part of that is unlocking new weapons, skills, mutations, and even entire biomes. This guide will walk you through the essential unlockables, where to find them, and how to make the most of your discoveries.

Permanent Progression: Runes

Runes are arguably the most critical unlocks in Dead Cells, as they grant permanent abilities that open up new paths and secrets throughout your runs. Without them, you're severely limited in exploration.

Vine Rune

  • Effect: Allows you to grow climbable vines from specific green-glowing patches on the ground.
  • Location: Acquired in the Promenade of the Condemned.
  • Strategy: From the Prisoner's Quarters, take the exit to the Promenade. Explore this biome thoroughly. You'll eventually encounter an elite enemy (often a Shieldbearer or a Zombie) guarding a specific chamber. Defeat this elite to claim the Vine Rune. This is usually one of the first runes players acquire, making it a priority.

Teleportation Rune

  • Effect: Enables you to instantly teleport between sarcophagi marked with a glowing blue symbol.
  • Location: Found in the Toxic Sewers.
  • Strategy: After obtaining the Vine Rune, you can access the Toxic Sewers from the Prisoner's Quarters (by using the Vine Rune on a specific platform) or the Promenade of the Condemned. Navigate the hazardous environment, dealing with the various toxic pools and enemies. Similar to the Vine Rune, an elite enemy will be guarding a chamber containing the Teleportation Rune. Defeat it to unlock this crucial traversal ability.

Ram Rune

  • Effect: Allows you to smash through weak floor sections marked with a ram symbol.
  • Location: Located in the Ossuary.
  • Strategy: To reach the Ossuary, you'll need the Teleportation Rune. From the Promenade of the Condemned, look for a teleportation sarcophagus that leads to the Ossuary. Alternatively, you can access it from the Toxic Sewers. The Ossuary is a more challenging biome with aggressive enemies. Keep an eye out for the elite enemy guarding the Ram Rune in a dedicated chamber. This rune is essential for finding many hidden areas and secret paths.

Homunculus Rune

  • Effect: Detaches your head, allowing it to explore small passages, retrieve items, and even attack enemies.
  • Location: This rune is unlocked by defeating the final boss of the game for the first time.
  • Strategy: This is a late-game unlock. Focus on completing a full run, defeating the Hand of the King. Upon your first successful completion, you will automatically receive the Homunculus Rune, opening up new strategies for item collection and puzzle-solving in subsequent runs.

Weapon and Skill Blueprints

Most weapons, skills, and mutations in Dead Cells are unlocked by finding their blueprints. Once found, you must survive the current biome and deposit the blueprint at the Collector between biomes. Then, you spend cells to permanently unlock the item for future runs.

Blueprint Acquisition

  • Enemy Drops: Many blueprints drop from specific enemies. For example, the Broadsword blueprint often drops from Zombies in the early biomes like the Prisoner's Quarters. The Ice Bow blueprint can be found from the Archer enemies in the Promenade of the Condemned.
  • Elite Enemies: Elite versions of enemies have a higher chance to drop rare blueprints.
  • Secret Areas: Some blueprints are hidden in secret rooms or behind timed doors. The Explosive Crossbow, for instance, can be found in a timed door in the Prisoner's Quarters (requiring you to reach it within 2 minutes).
  • Bosses: Bosses always drop a blueprint upon defeat. The Concierge, the boss of the Black Bridge, will drop a blueprint like the Giantkiller or a new mutation.
  • Challenger's Rifts: These are small, challenging combat encounters found in some biomes, often rewarding a blueprint upon completion.

Prioritizing Unlocks at the Collector

When you have cells, prioritize unlocking items that synergize with your preferred playstyle. Early game, consider these:

  • Health Flask Upgrades: These are crucial for survival and should be prioritized whenever available.
  • Starting Weapon Upgrades: Unlocking higher-tier starting weapons can give you a better early game advantage.
  • Mutations: Mutations like Ygdar Orus Li Ox (an extra life) or Vengeance (damage boost after taking damage) can dramatically improve your runs.
  • Versatile Weapons/Skills: Weapons like the Twin Daggers (fast, critical hits) or skills like the Powerful Grenade (reliable area damage) are excellent early unlocks.

Outfit Unlocks

Outfits are purely cosmetic but offer a fun way to customize your look. Many are tied to specific achievements or defeating bosses on higher difficulties.

  • Default Outfit: Your starting look.
  • Boss Outfits: Defeating bosses on certain Boss Cell difficulties will unlock their themed outfits. For example, defeating the Concierge on 1 Boss Cell difficulty might unlock his outfit.
  • Biome Outfits: Some biomes have unique outfits that can be found as rare drops from enemies or in secret areas.
  • Challenge Outfits: Completing specific challenges, like the daily run, can also reward outfits.

Boss Stem Cells (Difficulty Modifiers)

Boss Stem Cells are not traditional "unlockables" in the sense of items, but they are crucial for unlocking the full game experience, including new biomes, enemies, and higher-tier gear. Each Stem Cell represents a new difficulty level.

  1. 0 Boss Cells: The default difficulty.
  2. 1 Boss Cell: Obtained by defeating the Hand of the King for the first time. This unlocks new enemy types and increases their health/damage.
  3. 2 Boss Cells: Obtained by defeating the Hand of the King with 1 Boss Cell active. This further increases difficulty and introduces more elite enemies.
  4. 3 Boss Cells: Obtained by defeating the Hand of the King with 2 Boss Cells active. Expect even tougher enemies and new biome routes.
  5. 4 Boss Cells: Obtained by defeating the Hand of the King with 3 Boss Cells active. This introduces malaise, a mechanic that constantly damages you unless you kill enemies.
  6. 5 Boss Cells: Obtained by defeating the Hand of the King with 4 Boss Cells active. This is the ultimate challenge, leading to the true final boss and ending.

Each Boss Cell you unlock will appear in a tube next to the starting area in the Prisoner's Quarters. You can activate or deactivate them before starting a run.