Many roguelike fans will appreciate the smooth gameplay of Dead Cells, especially after its recent boost in popularity and sales. However, it's the run-by-run character customizations that truly make this game stand out among its competitors. The best builds combine a plethora of weapons, upgrades, and available power-ups. Most importantly, unlockable mutations can spice up any run to new heights.
As the limit of mutations increases during the progression of a run, so too do the possibilities of run-makers or run-enders appearing. This begs the question: Which mutation will make a run succeed, and which will make the run meet a tragic demise?
12 Acceptance
While it may seem appealing at first for the purpose of curse runs, the mechanics of curses make it painfully obvious the lack of reward this mutation offers. Picking up this mutation makes curses more tolerable to finish by killing enemies. Yet, it has one significant disadvantage.
Picking up this mutation means that any food the player picks up during their adventure will create another curse. If infinite curses is what they desire, then this is great. However, for the vast majority of players, this will be a major hindrance.
11 Alienation
Truly skilled players may seek out this type of mutation as a form of healing, but the length of subsequent curses make this mutation a truly mixed blessing. Curses make any hit an instant death, meaning that the player who picks up Alienation will have a consistently harder time reaping the benefits of these standard pickups.
Even so, the major benefit of Alienation is its short-term healing and ability to salvage runs, making it sometimes worth picking up.
10 Emergency Triage
Increasing the use speed of health potions is slightly useful, but under the effects of Emergency Triage, all potions will restore less health. While this may make the difference in some runs, in others it can be actively harmful to long-term success.
For the run-saving properties, however, it is possible to take Emergency Triage and succeed with it if any players want a high-risk play style without the skill to back it up.
9 Dead Inside
In general, trade-off mutations are less than ideal. Increasing HP by 50% temporarily, but also removing the same amount of health gain from healing items, means that Dead Inside falls short of a reasonable pick-up for any player.
There are niche uses for the increased maximum health, so this mutation is, in theory, viable; however, it’s almost always better to pass on this mixed blessing.
8 Ammo
Extra ammo for ranged weapons may seem kind of lackluster to the untrained eye. Yet, it does have its uses in builds that heavily use these projectile-based moves. Bows that have low ammo, or require a long time between refills, will benefit heavily from this increase in capacity.
Even so, not all ranged weapons benefit from this mutation, making it a rare pickup even for predominantly ranged builds. It’s almost always better to get something else.
7 Masochist
Mutations in general, while not being a huge buff for most players, can save a run if they are effective in a particular situation. Masochist definitely fits that bill, minimizing trap damage at the cost of speed.
Anyone who has lost a run to a trap knows the power of minimizing the damage of these annoyances. Although not a huge boon, it’s definitely worth getting. While acquiring this mutation can be a pain, for completionists, it’s already necessary and makes the pool of mutations available slightly better.
6 Ygdar Orus Li Ox
This consistent mutation gives the player an extra life, returning them with 25% of their maximum health. Despite its consistent use, it still has the disadvantage of sealing off other potentially run-defining mutations when acquired.
Most mutations have a niche use, but this mutation becomes effective because of its general uses. Many mutations are sometimes useful, but this one is always useful. A second chance will make most runs just slightly better as well, so new players can feel safe picking up this unique item.
5 Velocity
Velocity effectively makes all combos easier to maintain. It brings the combo duration for running up to 30 seconds rather than 10, making for a bold and effective mutation for any skilled player. This mutation takes advantage of the combo mechanic and allows experienced players just a bit more breathing room.
New players will find this combo extender a nice addition to their Dead Cells experience as well. It allows them to make otherwise impossible plays on a regular basis, especially with fast weapons like the sword.
4 Recovery
Getting hit in Dead Cells can be an issue for anyone, even experts. Thus, it goes without saying that removing some of the lasting impacts of these mistakes can be an excellent addition to any run. Recovery increases the time to recover health after making such a mistake, and is all-around very useful.
Improving survivability is a great asset for any Dead Cells aficionado, so Recovery easily bests other similar mutations by virtue of helping players stay alive longer.
3 No Mercy
Many of the mutations in Dead Cells rely on the player’s ability to do reliable damage on their own. Yet, No Mercy improves not only survivability by reducing combat times, and also increases DPS by executing enemies.
It may seem simple to kill enemies under a certain amount of health, but this can apply to all sorts of mundane situations and abilities. This makes No Mercy a remarkably useful and effective source of power in any run.
2 Instinct of the Master of Arms
Skills and abilities are a vital and effective part of any skilled player’s Dead Cells arsenal. Instinct of the Master of Arms improves these tools by reducing cooldowns for each critical hit, making every combo faster and easier in general.
Critical hits are an essential build component for any run, making this mutation not only useful but consistently powerful. The fast-paced style of play that this mutation promotes makes it a key learning tool as well for new players, allowing them to pull off flashy plays without stopping for a breath.
1 Disengagement
Disengagement steps up the pace a bit on mutations, giving players a 5-second force field upon reaching low health every 120 seconds. This wouldn't be too incredible if it weren't for the repeated use of this mutation on every run at any time.
Many mutations are better in intense situations, but they are all niche. Disengagement is consistently incredible for anyone hoping to play just a bit more defensively than usual. No one should pass up the opportunity for a game-saver mutation, and Disengagement makes a name for itself as a game-saver more than most players would care to admit.