Dead CellsDead Cells Boss Guide: Every Fight Except Concierge
A timestamped boss-fight walkthrough for Dead Cells, covering Mama Tick, Conjunctivius, The Time Keeper, The Giant, The Scarecrow, The Hand of the King, and The Collector. Learn the attack tells, dodge and parry responses, phase changes, and two example builds for the hardest fights.
Before you start
- Reach the relevant boss routes and arenas before following each section
- Own the DLC required for Mama Tick, The Giant, or The Scarecrow
- Activate 5 Boss Stem Cells to reach The Collector in the Observatory
- A shield is helpful for several fights, but every response can be adapted to a shieldless build
Builds that make this easier
DLC Bosses
Mama Tick: Read the Scythe Warnings
Attack Mama Tick's exposed eye while watching for the exclamation mark that announces a rising scythe. The warning can be difficult to see on the left side because the interface gets in the way, so the right side is safer when you need a clear read.
Mama Tick: Survive the Underground Scythe Phase
When Mama Tick dives under the water, move to the right corner and roll into the wall as soon as the warning appears below you. There are 25 scythes in this sequence. A shield can parry them, but two may rise consecutively, leaving no reliable shieldless response if the timings overlap.
Mama Tick: Dodge the Returning Melee Patterns
Mama Tick always opens her return with a melee attack. When the claws glow yellow, dodge or parry. For a horizontal claw sequence, dodge, jump, then roll again if she attacks three times. Move to the opposite side for the vertical cross-screen strike, and stay close enough to avoid the explosive goo.
Conjunctivius: End the Fight Before Bullet Hell
Stay aggressive so Conjunctivius does not reach the prolonged bullet-hell sequence. Her opening attack is always a dash, so dodge or parry it instead of letting it catch you. Find gaps between the projectiles, and save rolls for moments when they are unavoidable.
Conjunctivius: Cross the Tentacle Phases
When the tentacles appear, move to one side of the arena so the lunging tentacle approaches from the opposite side. Walk across the room and roll once as it reaches you, then repeat while clearing the remaining tentacles. The lunging attacks can also be parried.
Mid-Run Bosses
The Time Keeper: Punish the Melee Strikes
The Time Keeper opens with two consecutive melee strikes, increasing to three below half health. Attack immediately after the sequence ends. A shield makes the fight more forgiving, while turrets can keep dealing damage as you focus on the boss's tells.
The Time Keeper: Read Dashes, Shurikens, and Chains
The yellow glow signals a dash. Dodge or parry it, then jump and roll when she chains shurikens together. The chain attack has both a sound and a visual tell. If you are hooked, wait for the delayed exclamation mark before parrying or dodge it with a stun or freeze response.
The Time Keeper: Maintain Pressure in Phase Two
Swords begin falling in the second phase, but the rest of the attack patterns stay the same. Keep your pressure up, react to the yellow dash cue, and do not let the added arena hazard make you abandon the punish windows after her melee attacks.
The Giant: Avoid Fists, Shock Waves, and Lasers
Treat The Giant's attacks as slow but heavy. Dodge or parry the fist lunge, move beside a fist before jumping over its shock wave, and stand in the arena center when the eye beams fire so you can dodge through the projectiles. Damage the fist until the eye appears, then attack the exposed eye.
The Giant: Survive the Second Phase
At half health, The Giant gains a double-fist slam followed by falling crystals. Stay on one side of the arena, jump the shock waves, and avoid spending rolls freely because the crystals can disrupt your escape. Take safe attacks while the crystals fall, then return to the same fist-and-eye rhythm.
The Scarecrow: Parry the Opening Assault
The Scarecrow begins with a rapid series of melee strikes. Parry from the exclamation mark and deploy turrets immediately if you have them. When he rises and dives with the spear, use the opening to attack while watching for the mushroom spawned at each landing.
The Scarecrow: Remove Mushrooms and Dodge the Watering Can
Destroy the three large mushrooms quickly by jumping on them or hitting them once so they cannot be thrown at you. Roll through the watering-can stream like a set of spikes. It cannot be parried.
The Scarecrow: Read Sickle Patterns and Speed Changes
Stay near the middle when airborne sickles travel outward, attack briefly, then dodge as they return. When the Scarecrow is grounded, dodge both passes. The attacks speed up around half health and again near one quarter, so prepare for shorter reaction windows even though there is no new warning.
The Hand of the King
Play Around the Hand's Safe Attack Windows
The Hand of the King is safest to attack immediately after he finishes an attack. A moment before his next attack begins, stop attacking and play defensively. His opening upward slash is easy to dodge behind, creating a free damage window.
Dodge the Hand's Five Standard Attacks
Parry the lunge in the lunge-and-slam sequence, then jump the ground slam. For the triple slash, dodge, jump, then dodge again. Use an ice platform to escape the bomb toss, roll through the spike-pit charge instead of parrying it, and treat the banners as a safe chance to keep dealing damage.
Survive the Hand's Enemy Summon Phase
When the Hand rises and summons enemies, heal if you need to. Prioritize Disgusting Worms so their bombs do not interfere with the fight. Once the Hand returns, wait for your skills to recharge before finishing the last enemy. There is no time limit during this phase.
Handle the Full-Arena Slam and Double Dash
When the Hand walks to the center, wait until he reaches the apex of his jump before using the ice platform to avoid the full-arena slam. In the final phase he dashes twice, giving you time for two consecutive rolls. Jump the second dash if the second roll would be too late.
Optional: Hand of the King Broadsword ExampleOptional
The first example uses an ice-shard Broadsword build. Attack behind the Hand at the start, use the platform for the triple slash and ground slam, then heal during the enemy phase instead of saving the flask for a perfect run.
Optional: Hand of the King Survival ExampleOptional
The Survival example demonstrates why slower attacks need more patience. Watch the Hand before committing, parry the later two hits of the triple slash with careful timing, and leave a banner alive if necessary while continuing to damage the boss.
The Collector
Understand the Collector's Flask Phases
The Collector drinks from his flask three times as his health falls, then drops it on the fourth attempt. The fight is long, so keep the same discipline used against the Hand of the King and shorten every phase with consistent damage.
Dodge the Syringe Jabs and Tornado
The opening syringe combo contains three to five jabs. Without a shield, dodge one, jump the next, and alternate until it ends. The tornado crosses the room three times, so dodge through it slightly early or climb near a wall. A shield can parry it from just outside its hitbox and end the attack immediately.
Avoid the Ground Slam and Falling Bombs
The ground slam is heavily telegraphed and deals enormous damage. Do not attack while the bombs are falling, but remember that they only hurt when they reach the ground. Jump through them while they are still airborne.
Clear the Enemy Room Between Heals
When the Collector teleports you to an enemy room, clear the enemies and use the opening to land extra damage. The first three heals move the fight through its arenas, so use each transition to reset your positioning rather than rushing into the next phase.
Handle Meteors, Light Beams, and Extending Beams
Meteors can be dodged or parried with generous timing. The descending light beams cannot be parried, so wait for the exclamation mark or audio cue before dodging. For the extending beams, dodge into the beam and prepare for the next one, or parry while accepting the knockback.
Drink the Panacea to Finish the Fight
After the third heal, the Collector uses every attack without a rest period. When he finally drinks the Panacea for the fourth time, hit the flask out of his hand and drink it yourself. You may need to dodge one or two final attacks, but the fight is effectively over.
