Dead Cells is a brutally tough game to beat, renowned for its difficulty and tricky boss fights. You'll need every trick possible to make it through a run and defeat The Hand of the King. Dead Cells offers a variety of ways for you to try and buff yourself through each run, with hundreds of weapons, mutations, and runes to unlock and use during every run.
Mutations are passive bonuses that have a variety of different effects, from increasing damage dealt, to reducing skill cooldown or HP gains. Here are some of the best mutations in Dead Cells.
Updated February 19, 2022 by Jerrad Wyche: Despite initially being released in 2017, Dead Cells developer Motion Twin has made it a focus to constantly add updates to the game via new DLC expansions and other neat additions to the overall experience. The last major update was released in January 2022 and was titled The Queen and the Sea. This DLC added two new bosses, six new melee weapons, 15 outfits, two new areas, and much more to an already impressive and critically-acclaimed package.
13 Scheme
Effect: After using a skill your next melee attack does an additional 200 base damage
If you happen to have a build that's focused on low cooldown skills, then pairing it with a mutation like Scheme is as synergistic as a pairing could be. Normal enemies are those who really suffer a disadvantage from Scheme as you'll shred through them with absolute ease. The beauty of Scheme is that it will always help as it isn't reliant on anything other than itself and lowering cooldowns, regardless of what the skills are, will always be useful.
12 Combo
Effect: For 8 seconds you obtain 15 percent base damage after killing an enemy
Combo is a mutation that's only as good as the weapon it's working in tandem with. Since it offers a flat bonus that doesn't scale, this means that the stronger the weapon's damage that you're wielding is, the more useful Combo becomes as a mutation. Dead Cells can be a complicated game to wrap your head around and as far as mutations go Combo is pretty straightforward when it comes to understanding and implementing mutations.
11 Instinct Of The Master Of Arms
Effect: Each successful critical hit reduces the cooldown of your skills by a base of 0.08, up to 1 max.
If a mutation exists that encompasses the most versatility when it comes to cooldown reduction, why wouldn't you use it? That's where Instinct of the Master Arms comes in, a mutation that shines in both normal arenas and bigger boss battle interactions. Players who love experimenting with builds will love that this mutation is beneficial to any build and offers you as the player the ability to try new things. You trade top-tier cooldown reduction for its versatility, which feels like a fair trade all things considered.
10 Necromancy
Effect: Recover HP after killing an enemy, maxes out at 50 percent.
Necromancy is a great mutation for both beginners and experienced players, giving you some HP in return for every enemy you kill. Health fountains become incredibly infrequent later on in Dead Cells, so having the ability to recover HP on the fly is essential.
Unlike some mutations which can be more useful in specific builds, Necromancy is highly functional regardless of the playstyle you're using. It's great if you're not good at dodging too.
9 Heart Of Ice
Effect: Attacking a stunned, frozen or rooted enemy at close range reduces skill cooldown. Work with both melee and ranged weapons.
Heart of Ice is a great mutation to use in conjunction with a weapon or skill that applies status effects to enemies. It allows you to essentially spam skills with little concern about cooldowns which can be a deadly combination in hectic environments.
The fact it also works with both melee and ranged weapons makes it an easy mutation to incorporate into your build as well. Just make sure to keep skills that do apply the necessary status effects to maximize its potential.
8 Frenzy
Effect: Melee attacks give back HP dependent on attack damage whilst you have a speed buff.
Frenzy is similar to Necromancy and is a great mutation to pick up regardless of what your build is. It gives you health back upon dealing damage proportional to damage dealt, making it a great mutation that scales up throughout your run.
Like most health buffs, its main strength comes via the fact that it allows you to keep hold of health flasks which become more important later on. Just remember to keep a speed buff at all times with this mutation and you can't go wrong.
7 Extended Healing
Effect: Health Flask heals 85 percent, spread over 15 seconds and base damage is increased by 25 percent.
Extended Healing is a more beginner-aimed mutation, providing a buff to the healing given by your health flasks of an additional 25 percent of health. It also lets you deal more damage in the healing window, making it particularly effective in boss fights and hectic encounters with multiple enemies.
Paired with a survival build, Extended Healing is even more effective, dealing an additional one percent of damage for every survival stat.
6 Support
Effect: Buff to damage when close to a deployed skill.
You should only use Support if you're using a build with turrets but combined with a turret it is one of the best mutations in the game. The buff is only 11 percent but as you only need to be close to a turret to receive that buff you can control the situation to ensure this is always the case.
Support is a mutation that only works with "Traps & Turrets" category skills.
It's fantastic in boss fights, in particular, letting you deal increased damage whilst also meaning the boss gets peppered with damage from your turret. It works well with all weapon types too and builds, you just need that trusty turret.
5 Ygar Orus Li Ox
Effect: Saves you from death once.
Affectionately known as YOLO (You Only Live Once) by Dead Cells' fans, Ygar Orus Li Ox is a clutch mutation to use, especially for newer players. It gives you a second chance at life if you die, restoring 25 percent of your health bar and allows you to continue your run.
Dead Cells resets progress after you die due to its nature as a rogue-lite game, so having the chance to save a run should not be underestimated even for stronger players. It also resets Malaise, putting you back to zero after you're reborn.
4 Crow's Foot
Effect: Rolling leaves caltrops behind you that inflict enemy damage and slow enemies.
If you love rolling around in Dead Cells, you can't do much better than Crow's Foot. Each time you roll you'll drop caltrops behind you that deal enemy damage and slow them down.
It's an easy to use and incredibly effective mutation, and as a result, it should be a part of your build regardless of play style. It gives you time to gather yourself before relaunching an attack on a group of enemies or stopping a boss in their tracks for a few seconds.
3 Tranquillity
Effect: Damage buff when enemies aren't nearby.
Tranquillity is a fairly situational mutation, working only when no enemies are near to you, but if combined with a long-range weapon build it is fantastic. The huge 25 percent buff is stronger than nearly every buff you'll find in Dead Cells.
Of course, it's useless if you prefer to use melee weapons, but it might be worth getting used to using long-range weapons purely because of this mutation. It's easy to ensure you match the conditions needed to benefit from it as well.
2 Disengagement
Effect: When HP falls below 20 percent you gain a protective shield for five seconds, recharges every 120 seconds.
Disengagement is no doubt one of Dead Cells strongest mutations, acting as a universally fantastic acquisition regardless of build or playstyle. It gives you a window of invulnerability when your health gets low, allowing you to run away from danger and heal before returning to the fight.
It can only be unlocked after you complete Dead Cells once, but it is a powerful mutation so this makes perfect sense. After you unlock Disengagement, you should continue to use it in every run.
1 Gastronomy
Effect: Food effect doubled, recycling food lets you deal more damage.
Gastronomy is an all-around great mutation, it makes food consumption twice as effective, and gives you a damage boost after you recycle food. It's another mutation that works across the board, regardless of your build or weapon choices.
It's important to note that it drops from Conjunctivitus and can be unlocked for 50 cells.
Minor foods go from healing 15 percent HP to 30 percent, and Major foods heal all 100 percent of your HP when Gastronomy is equipped.
This also indirectly allows you to keep your precious health flasks intact, and even if you don't need to eat food you still get an awesome damage buff instead.