[Top 15] The best dead cell mutations and why they are good (2023)

Dead Cells is all about experimenting with different builds. With each run you play, you can try out different weapons, abilities, and mutations. Mutations are passive abilities that you can choose after clearing the first three biomes. Since you can only have three mutations active, you have to be very careful in choosing the best mutation for that specific run. Let's take a look at the best mutations to defeat The Hand of the King and win the next boss cell.

15. Outline

Something is brewing...

Schema is a very situational mutation; Generally, you pick it in situations where you have low cooldown abilities. You want to trigger the mutation condition as often as possible to make it worth your while. The mutation deals flat damage, which is better in older biomes. But in the right build and hands, this mutation can shine.

Which scheme excels at:

• The fast-paced brutality plays out with an emphasis on dealing a large amount of damage in a short amount of time.
• Grappling Hook and Phaser are the best skills to have with this mutation. You can spam these spells to keep enemies at bay and constantly activate Scheme.
• The Infantry Grenade is also great for this mutation due to its cooldown.

Use Scheme when performing brutality skills on low cooldown.

Full details of the scheme:

• The next melee attack after using an ability deals +[200 base] damage.
• Scale: brutality (red).
• Scheme Blueprint drops from Sweepers. It has a 10% chance to drop and costs 50 cells to unlock.

14. angry

A wild race.

Sometimes your enemies attacks are faster than your weapon and you take a lot of unnecessary damage. Berserk is a method to deal with that. You no longer have to be afraid of heavy nukes from enemies after catching berserkers; this complements Survival's slow and steady build nicely.

Where Berserker stands out:

• Pairs well with the Recovery Mutation or a Colorless Spite Sword.
• Kill him in survival builds with slow melee weapons like broadsword, nutcracker, scythe claw or tombstone.
• It can also work with the Brutality build, but the damage reduction won't be as high.
• Damage reduction can be as high as 60% per hit if you have more than 14 Survival Scrolls equipped.

Use the Berserker when running slow survivability builds and taking a lot of damage between your attacks.

Berserker full details:

• Grants the player a defense buff that reduces all damage taken by [10 base]% for 5 seconds after killing an enemy with a melee attack.
• The effect refreshes with each enemy killed.
• Scale: Survival (green).
• Berserker Blueprint drops from Failed Experiments on boss cell difficulty 4+. It has a 0.4% drop chance and costs 100 cells to unlock.

13. Farewell Gift

Surprise!

This mutation excels at removing biomes. There's always room for a parting gift when running a ranged tactics build. Killing a single enemy triggers a snowball effect of spawn bombs, dealing damage left and right. The only downside to this mutation is that it is not effective against bosses.

What parting gift stands out with:

• It works best in combination with the Lightning Whip ranged weapon.
• Deflecting the Parting Gift Bombs with the Flashing Fans melee weapon triggers its critical damage status.
• It works with almost any ranged build.

Use the parting gift when you need to kill masses of monsters quickly.

Full details of the parting gift:

• Enemies killed by non-melee attacks drop a bomb to the ground. The bomb detonates after 0.7 seconds, dealing [75 base] damage to nearby enemies.
• Scope: Tactical (purple).
• You can find the parting gift blueprint in a secret area in the graveyard biome. Unlocking costs 50 cells.

12. Stunt Pack

role and action

Acrobatipack is one of three mutations that make the weapons in your backpack viable. This mutation scales with ranged weapons and tactical builds; Each time you attack after rolling, fire a projectile from a weapon in your inventory. A ranged attack every 3 seconds doesn't seem like much, but it also applies all of the weapon's effects.

What sets Acrobatipack apart:

• This mutation works with all ranged builds, but builds that deal damage over time, such as poison, bleed, or fire, will have this mutation broken.
• The best ranged weapons that work with this mutation are Alchemic Carbine, Firebrands, Boomerang, The Boy's Axe, Hokuto's Bow, or Ice Shards.
• The thrown projectile does not consume the ammo of the weapon in the backpack. Therefore, weapons with severely limited ammunition, such as B. Boy's Ax can be fired from the backpack multiple times without having to retrieve it.
• The Ripper mutation can still take projectiles from enemies for additional damage.

Use the Acrobatipack when you want to apply effects from a ranged weapon that is in your inventory.

Full details of Acrobatipack:

• Attacking with a ranged weapon after drawing a ranged weapon in your inventory fires a projectile from that weapon that deals [25% base] physical damage.
• This mutation has a 3 second cooldown.
• Scope: Tactical (purple).
• Acrobatipack Blueprint drops from Sweepers. It has a 10% chance to drop and costs 120 cells to unlock.

11. Combi

It won't stop until no one is left alive.

No damage on your Brutality build? There is a combo for that. This is the mutation to go for if you're still not sure what type of build you want. It is always a viable and full mutation. The only downside to this mutation is that it is not as effective in boss fights.

Which combination excels at:

• It works on ranged and melee kills.
• Combo not only increases the damage of your weapons, but also your abilities.
• The percentage scaling bonus damage is noticeable early on and does not decrease in later biomes.

Use Combo when you are running a Brutality build and want to increase your damage even more.

Full Combination Details:

• + [15% Base] Damage over 8 seconds after killing an enemy.
• Each kill refreshes the damage buff.
• Scale: brutality (red).
• The combination of mutations is available from the beginning of the game.

10. Ygdar Orus Li Boi

You only live once.

Ygdar Orus Li Ox, also known as YOLO, is one of the most controversial mutations in the game. The community is split down the middle on this issue; Half absolutely love this mutation, the other half despise it, saying it's a waste of a mutation slot.

What distinguishes Ygdar Orus Li Ox:

• YOLO is the best mutation for beginners because it gives you an "extra" life.
• On the hardest 5-boss difficulty, when activated, it removes all stacked nuisance and disables that debuff for the rest of the run.
• This prevents you from receiving an injection.

Use Ygdar Orus Li Ox when you want more health.

Ygdar Orus Li Ox full details:

• When dealt lethal damage that does not prevent sudden death, it freezes nearby enemies, restores 25% of the player's maximum health, removes all stacked discomfort, and is disabled for the rest of the dash.
• Scale: Colorless, no scale.
• The Ygdar Orus Li Ox mutation is available from the start of the game.

9. Support

It is always useful.

Support is more of a situational mutation, chosen in situations where one of your abilities is Tower or Trap. Your damage is increased while fighting near a cast ability. This works best in small areas, boss fights, or with slow or locked abilities and weapons.

What support stands out:

• Trabalhe com as siguientes habilidades: Double Crossb-o-matic, Sinew Slicer, Heavy Turret, Barnacle, Flamethrower Turret, Wolf Trap, Crusher, Explosive Decoy, Tesla Coil y Scavenged Bombard.
• There are some twin tower builds that are really powerful with this mutation on top.
• One of the few mutations that works better in boss fights than in biomes.

Use Support when performing a Deployable Turret or Trap ability on your building.

Support full details:

• + [10% base] Damage when near a cast ability.
• This mutation only works with abilities that fall under the category of traps and turrets.
• Scope: Tactical (purple).
• Mutation support is available from the start of the game.

8. No Mercy

EXECUTED!

No Mercy is an interesting mutation; It basically reduces the HP of monsters by 15% and bosses by 7.5%. This completely changes the dynamics of the game; Some weaker weapons can really finish off enemies. It's also very satisfying to see the big red text "BOSS EXECUTED!" after killing the boss.

Not that No Mercy realizes:

• In earlier biomes, lowering weapon damage helps kill monsters.
• It works great with damage over time effects like poison, bleed, or fire.
• No Mercy reduces the boss's health by 7.5%; They are easier to kill and you can kill them before they use their strongest attacks.

Use No Mercy when you want to make enemies more vulnerable and easier to kill.

Not Mercy all the details:

• If an enemy drops to 15% or less of their maximum health (or 7.5% for bosses), they will instantly die.
• Scale: Colorless, no scale.
• In Mercy Blueprint drops from Slashers. It has a 1.7% drop chance and costs 100 cells to unlock.

7. Gastronomy

The true gourmet experience.

This is the best healing mutation in the game. Some players use it in every run, even in non-survival builds. Nearly doubles the healing power of food found in biomes, plus you gain bonus damage for 5 minutes when selling food.

What distinguishes gastronomy:

• Small foods heal 25% and large foods heal 80%.
• You can run this mutation on uncolored versions.
• The damage buff stacks from recycling various foods. They wear out individually.
• You can recycle food before leaving a biome so that the damage bonus is active in the next one.

Use Gastronomy when you need additional curation of food.

All the details about the gastronomy:

• The effect of food is increased by +65%. When you recycle food, you deal +[10% base] damage over 300 seconds.
• Scale: Survival (green).
• Gastronomy Blueprint drops after killing the boss Conjunctivius for the fourth time. Unlocking costs 50 cells.

6. Kill the beat

It's not about mindlessly pushing buttons.

Kill Rhythm is a must-have mutation for people who like two-handed weapons. There are some great combos with different weapons with this mutation. To name just one strategy, double-binding builds using this mutation can be crazy. However, learning how to perform combos correctly takes some practice.

What sets Kill Rhythm apart:

• It works best with two-handed weapons like the heavy crossbow, repeating crossbow, ice crossbow, explosive crossbow, scytheclaw, or two-limbed builds.
• This mutation increases the reload speed of weapons with charged attacks like Flint or Toothpick.
• Increases the attack speed of slow weapons.
• Scale with survivability, but can also be used on undyed builds.

Use Kill Rhythm when you switch between the two weapons after each hit.

Full details on Kill Rhythm:

• Alternate weapons increase attack speed by [15 base]% for 2 seconds.
• Scale: Survival (green).
• Kill the Oven Knights' Rhythm Blueprint Drops in the 2+ difficulty boss cell. It has a 0.4% drop chance and costs 150 cells to unlock.

5. Open wounds

And the blood began to drip...

This mutation works even if you don't use bleed status damage on your build. It is a safe bet in almost all situations when playing Brutality. However, the full potential of Open Wounds is achieved when you combine it with other abilities and weapons that use the bleed state, which can result in some interesting burst damage.

What open wounds are noticeable:

• Weapons that already bleed naturally (such as Blood Sword or Bloodthirsty Shield) can still add an additional bleed stack with this mutation. It then applies two bleed stacks in a single hit.
• The best weapon to pair with this mutation is the Sadist's Stiletto, as it triggers its critical status instantly.
• Scale with most brutality builds using fast attack melee weapons.

Use Gap Wounds when using a bleed structure or fast melee brutality weapon.

Full details of open wounds:

• Each melee attack causes a series of bleed effects ([18 base] DPS over 1.5 seconds).
• Scale: brutality (red).
• Open Wounds Blueprint drops from Lacerators. It has a 0.4% drop chance and costs 50 cells to unlock.

4. Pointy tips

Arrows specially designed to inflict as much pain as possible.

Barbed Spikes is all about chip damage, which increases with each projectile that hits the enemy. This is a simple strategy; The more arrows you fire, the more damage you will deal over time. Just make sure your abilities don't have the affix "Arrows stuck on bouncing enemies."

Which picks excel at:

• The best ranged weapons for this mutation are the Multi Nock Bow, Repeater Crossbow, or Rapid Bow.
• Works with any tactical build that uses ranged weapons that fire projectiles.
• You can combine spikes with mutation ammo, doubling the ammo of ranged weapons.

Use spiked spikes if you have a ranged weapon that fires a large number of projectiles in a short amount of time.

Barbed Tips Full Details:

• Deals [base 40] damage per second for each arrow hit by enemies.
• Scope: Tactical (purple).
• Project Barbed Ends drops from Toxic Miasmas. It has a 10% chance to drop and costs 80 cells to unlock.

3. Pack of Armadillos

roll and shine

Similar to the Acrobatipack, the Armadillopack is one of three mutations that make weapons in your backpack viable. This mutation uses shields that are stored in the backpack; While rolling, he can parry enemy attacks. Armadillopack is the best mutation in the game for players who don't want a shield in their weapon slot but want to take advantage of the parry mechanic.

How Armadillopack stands out:

• Armadillopack can provide protection while also allowing for shieldless combos.
• This is an extremely effective mutation for builds that don't like shields or two-handed weapon builds. Use it on slow weapon builds.
• It also reflects bombs and flying projectiles.
• This mutation works on all buildings, including faded ones.

Use Armadillopack when you don't have room for a shield in your weapon slots.

All the details of Armadillopack:

• Spin blocks melee attacks and deflects projectiles with the shield in inventory, dealing [base 50]% shield damage.
• Scale: Survival (green).
• Armadillopack Blueprint drops from Toxic Thornies. It has a 1.7% drop chance and costs 100 cells to unlock.

2. Emergency triage

These victims require immediate life-saving treatment.

How can it be good to have 35% healing instead of 60%? Many new players completely ignore this mutation, thinking the healing reduction isn't worth it. And then the boss kills them because they don't have enough time to heal between attacks. With Emergency Triage, you heal almost instantly instead of slowly over time.

What sets emergency triage apart:

• This is the best mutation for boss fights.
• In addition to providing near-instant healing, Emergency Triage provides full damage protection for 1.5 seconds after using the vial.
• Works on any build regardless of strategy or color.

Use the emergency rank when you face the two final bosses.

Complete emergency triage details:

• Health potions only restore 35% HP, but their casting speed is increased by 275% and they fully protect you for 1.5 seconds.
• Scale: Colorless, no scale.
• The Emergency Triage Plan drops after you kill the boss, The Time Keeper, for the seventh time. Unlocking costs 100 cells.

1. withdrawal

Another chance.

Updated Ygdar Orus Li's Ox. Similar to YOLO, it avoids situations where the player would die, but does not permanently take up space in mutation slots and is reusable. This mutation is always a good option and will save your runs countless times.

Where the retreat stands out:

• It is extremely useful in low HP glass cannons.
• You can combine it with Emergency Triage before the boss fights to make healing easier and prevent you from instantly dying when the boss reaches full combo.
• If you want, you can choose any career; works on any build, regardless of strategy or color.

Use the disconnect when you want extra protection that could save your entire run.

Full Exclusion Details:

• When your HP drops below 15%, a force field protects you for 5 seconds. It can only be used every 120 seconds.
• Scale: Colorless, no scale.
• You can find the separation plane in a secret area in the prisoner quarters biome. Unlocking costs 200 cells.

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