Dead Cells - Swordwhips, Bloodswords and Boners

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Dead Cells - Swordwhips, Bloodswords and Boners

Tender Bender: Sep 17, 2004

I haven't played this since near launch, possibly before even the Giant dlc, but the Castlevania stuff caught my attention and looking into it it seems like there's been a ton of cool stuff added to the game. Am I okay to just jump right in on a new save or is there a quick primer I need to read? Not sure if this is the kind of game that's gotten layers of opaque knowledge built onto it over the years like "you gotta kill this boss once before going into this zone on your next run to make the special door appear" or if it's mostly new user friendly.

# ? Mar 25, 2023 19:37

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 09:17

Happy Noodle Boy: Jul 3, 2002

It�s mostly the same. The only thing I�d say if you�re starting over is to work on getting all the movement runes first then you can jump immediately into castlevania.

# ? Mar 25, 2023 19:38

Tender Bender: Sep 17, 2004

Happy Noodle Boy posted:

It’s mostly the same. The only thing I’d say if you’re starting over is to work on getting all the movement runes first then you can jump immediately into castlevania.

Cool, thank you. I'm not even looking to rush into the Castlevania stuff, gonna buy all the dlc and let the game take me.

# ? Mar 25, 2023 19:47

Turin Turambar: Jun 5, 2011

Tender Bender posted:

I haven't played this since near launch, possibly before even the Giant dlc, but the Castlevania stuff caught my attention and looking into it it seems like there's been a ton of cool stuff added to the game. Am I okay to just jump right in on a new save or is there a quick primer I need to read? Not sure if this is the kind of game that's gotten layers of opaque knowledge built onto it over the years like "you gotta kill this boss once before going into this zone on your next run to make the special door appear" or if it's mostly new user friendly.

The game has grown wider and wider, but not really deeper. At the end of the day, it's an action game where you select a difficulty, play 9 stages, 3-4 bosses, beat a final boss and reach a game over screen. The most important knowledge to gain is what attacks are better to be parried and which better to be avoided, which enemies can be rushed stunned and which require a bit more finesse.

In other words, you will be fine.

# ? Mar 25, 2023 19:53

Owl Inspector: Sep 14, 2011

Managed to reach the collector again with Panchaku and win for I guess the last ending. Really glad that's finally done, it always bothered me that I never pulled it off when I tried years ago, although I've been using the Damned aspect for my own sanity so I guess I haven't quite done it fully legit yet. Since I got all 3 blueprints from the astrolab, I don't think there's anything left to get from the 5BC extension except flawlessing the collector which I am definitely never going to be able to do (especially without an aspect to actually get credit for it), so I'm probably just going to stick to 4BC from now on. I definitely prefer the current iteration of malaise to the old mechanic that amounted to "play the game as slowly as you can force yourself" but the spawn rate is just brutal to a degree that feels overtuned, throwing another enemy at you every few seconds at only 2 malaise, so it's only a matter of time before you get a combination that unavoidably dicks you over like a sewer worm appearing and dropping bombs on death at a terrible time or similar. Add to that several cases of complete bullshit I've seen on BC5 like an enemy getting parried, then suddenly snapping out of their parry stun into the next hit of their combo with no telegraph or exclamation point warning, and I don't really need the extra pressure.

Also managed to flawless conjunctivius on that 5 BC run, though I didn't get credit for it due to having Damned active. But I'll always have credit for it in my heart

# ? Mar 25, 2023 23:47

Syrnn: Aug 16, 2004

Lottery of Babylon posted:

Each + after the numeral is equivalent to having a +2 to the numeral, so II++, IV+, and VI are all the same power level. It affects both the weapon's DPS and its number of affixes; for low numbers, I think it alternates each level between +25% damage and +1 affix.

Thanks for this info, I'm mostly getting the hang of things but I'm only on 2BC at the moment moment. I'm god awful at the parrying and dodging I'm still pretty bad, so the only boss I've managed to flawless is the time keeper which I understand is the easiest.

I guess to follow up on my question then is does it hurt to keep around lower level gear if it synergized with the rest of your kit e.g. having a III-S weapon that causes poison on hit or something and taking/forging a bunch of gear along the way to have +80% to poisoned targets, is that going to be holding me back a lot versus picking up later weapons at VII+ base that I can forge to S quality even if I lost the poison synergy? Whether I do appreciable damage to bosses sometimes feels like a toss up and I'm not good enough at my dodge game to not rely on outpacing them with damage at this point.

Thanks again for any replies, game is good regardless and Castlevania content is scratching the old itch for Harmony of Despair.

# ? Mar 26, 2023 00:00

Leylite: Nov 5, 2011

Owl Inspector posted:

Add to that several cases of complete bullshit I've seen on BC5 like an enemy getting parried, then suddenly snapping out of their parry stun into the next hit of their combo with no telegraph or exclamation point warning, and I don't really need the extra pressure.

If it makes you feel any better, that happens on all difficulties, not just on BC5. It's just that on BC4/5 enemies have more health, so the tankier enemies like Slashers (and on higher difficulties, Oven Knights / Failed Experiments) are more likely to survive a parry + followup attacks long enough to do the second hit of their melee combo.

I've put in a couple of suggestions in the past to help better indicate the difference between a short stun that causes this effect, or a "long stun"/freeze (cudgel, ice shield, etc.) that lasts long enough to fully cancel the melee combo, for example some kind of a "pie chart" above the enemy's head to indicate the progression through their melee combo. They haven't gotten into the game yet... maybe someday.

# ? Mar 26, 2023 00:04

Waffle!: Aug 6, 2004; I Feel Pretty!

Welp, add me to the list of people taken out by a random boner. At least I didn't have any blueprints on me.

# ? Mar 26, 2023 20:09

Navaash: Aug 15, 2001; FEED ME

Owl Inspector posted:

I don't think there's anything left to get from the 5BC extension except flawlessing the collector which I am definitely never going to be able to do (especially without an aspect to actually get credit for it),

Oh, you can. Some people might object to the method though as it is cheesy so I'm going to spoiler it as a courtesy.

Custom mode. Put your preferred weapon and Symmetrical Lance in the weapon pool then fill the remaining 18 to taste (careful about putting in Survival shields though as it may mess things up later). Personally I recommend Ice Armor to take a stray hit later, especially because Foresight got nerfed to uselessness on bosses.

After you defeat Hand, respec to your two preferred mutations and Wish (if you don't have this, do Boss Rush on 0BC). Find the guaranteed weapons shop in Astrolab (be very careful not to pick up other weapons before this), select Survival weapons, and buy the first Lance you see. (If you have too many Survival shields in the pool, you risk running out of shop refreshes before findget ing one.) If the Lance rolls a super-juicy-but-risky affix like quad damage, leave it on the ground and pick it up once you have the exit open.

At Observatory, move to right before the cutscene triggers and quit to the main menu. Copy your file to an empty slot (this is the cheesy part) and continue - the game will reload in like 2 seconds on the same stage. Note that Lance's first legendary affix means you can continue assaulting the Collector even while he's drinking. Ice Armor can eat one hit early and one late.

If you get hit, quit (or practice to learn the dodge/parry timings first, but quit before you die or the game will have to load stages twice, which is a pain), recopy your save over your spoiled save, and try again until you get it.

# ? Mar 27, 2023 06:05

goferchan: Feb 8, 2004; It's 2006. I am taking 276 yeti furs from the goodies hoard.

I'm probably not going to do that, but hats off, because that's extremely clever. Very high level mechanics cheesing.

# ? Mar 27, 2023 07:30

Star: Jul 15, 2005; Guerilla war struggle is a new entertainment.; Fallen Rib

I was just about to complain that I�ve sunk more than 25 hours on this game, faced the hand five times and still haven�t won but through the magic of complaining on the internet I somehow pulled through and got my first win. I�ve been playing without any dlcs but I think I�ll buy at least one or two now. Are there any suggested order in which to buy them?

# ? Mar 30, 2023 16:43

No Wave: Sep 18, 2005; HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!

Star posted:

I was just about to complain that I’ve sunk more than 25 hours on this game, faced the hand five times and still haven’t won but through the magic of complaining on the internet I somehow pulled through and got my first win. I’ve been playing without any dlcs but I think I’ll buy at least one or two now. Are there any suggested order in which to buy them?

Your playtime suggests that you aren't picking up every scroll in every biome. I highly encourage you to start doing that as you proceed through more content.

# ? Mar 30, 2023 16:46

Captainicus: Feb 22, 2013

Star posted:

I was just about to complain that I�ve sunk more than 25 hours on this game, faced the hand five times and still haven�t won but through the magic of complaining on the internet I somehow pulled through and got my first win. I�ve been playing without any dlcs but I think I�ll buy at least one or two now. Are there any suggested order in which to buy them?

The release order coincides with when they come up in a run

Bad seed has early areas and alternate first boss
Fatal falls has middle areas and alternate second boss
Queen and the Sea has a final area and alternate final boss
Castlevania dlc is odd and has both an early area and boss and final area and boss

Of all of them, Queen and the Sea has the most fun items and enemies and goodies in it for me, but I also find the finale for it much, much, harder than anything except Dracula

# ? Mar 30, 2023 16:52

Star: Jul 15, 2005; Guerilla war struggle is a new entertainment.; Fallen Rib

No Wave posted:

Your playtime suggests that you aren't picking up every scroll in every biome. I highly encourage you to start doing that as you proceed through more content.

I never leave a biome before I�ve been everywhere so I should have missed any scrolls, unless there is something I�m unaware of. My last run, where I finally beat the hand, was probably the first time I had real synergy between weapons, skills and mutations so I think it�s probable that I�m simply bad at identifying possible builds.

# ? Mar 30, 2023 17:20

No Wave: Sep 18, 2005; HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!

Star posted:

I never leave a biome before I’ve been everywhere so I should have missed any scrolls, unless there is something I’m unaware of. My last run, where I finally beat the hand, was probably the first time I had real synergy between weapons, skills and mutations so I think it’s probable that I’m simply bad at identifying possible builds.

Are you dumping as many stats as possible into one color (the color that scales your damage)?

# ? Mar 30, 2023 17:22

Captainicus: Feb 22, 2013

Oh, here's something that tripped up someone else I know who tried this game though it seemed intuitive for me

A dual-color item doesn't scale with both colours, it scales with whichever is highest, so splitting your stats will not give you more damage

# ? Mar 30, 2023 17:24

Flipswitch: Mar 30, 2010

The bow from Euterpe? From the queen dlc is extremely fun.

# ? Mar 31, 2023 06:32

Star: Jul 15, 2005; Guerilla war struggle is a new entertainment.; Fallen Rib

No Wave posted:

Are you dumping as many stats as possible into one color (the color that scales your damage)?

Yeah, I often go with color that�s my best weapon when I find the first scroll. I�ve been following this guide https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EsaVX39MZBXgIm_69z43eHcqg9hA2znyRxEB8k6FaXk/edit that I found on Reddit to understand the basics.

# ? Mar 31, 2023 15:53

Relyssa: Jul 29, 2012

Star posted:

Yeah, I often go with color that�s my best weapon when I find the first scroll. I�ve been following this guide https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EsaVX39MZBXgIm_69z43eHcqg9hA2znyRxEB8k6FaXk/edit that I found on Reddit to understand the basics.

This is a hell of a guide, thank you for linking it.

# ? Mar 31, 2023 17:30

big cummers ONLY: Jul 17, 2005; I made a series of bad investments. Tarantula farm. The bottom fell out of the market.

Yeah I'm a returning player who never even beat 2BC, several years ago. That guide is exactly what I needed! This game is great. I have it on switch and it's the perfect thing to play while my partner builds Sims houses and we watch YouTube.

# ? Apr 3, 2023 02:50

Waffle!: Aug 6, 2004; I Feel Pretty!

I am super impressed with the Bible. I was able to beat Death over the head with it and killed him for the first time. The blueprint he drops seems ok? I haven't tried it out yet.

# ? Apr 3, 2023 06:32

SlimGoodbody: Oct 20, 2003

A really excited youth pastor posted:

I am super impressed with the Bible.

# ? Apr 3, 2023 07:40

Happy Noodle Boy: Jul 3, 2002

Blasphemous is real good too

# ? Apr 3, 2023 14:29

Wolfsheim: Dec 23, 2003; "Ah," Ratz had said, at last, "the artiste."

SlimGoodbody posted:

Forget Castlevania, when are we getting the ultimate DLC homage:

# ? Apr 4, 2023 00:02

Hogama: Sep 3, 2011

Sounds like an upcoming update is doing a lot of reworking for the whole game based on its alpha, touching mutations and weapons people don't use very much, like making the Combo mutation not useless for bosses as it scales for each melee hit now (rather than kills only), or making some legendary versions of weapons only use the last attack of their combo, or becoming 1-handed version that can be used with a shield.

# ? Apr 8, 2023 06:00

SlimGoodbody: Oct 20, 2003

That's awesome, I always wondered what the logic was of having all these mutations available only to have maybe a grand total of 4 of them have any potential utility in a boss arena.

# ? Apr 8, 2023 06:18

big cummers ONLY: Jul 17, 2005; I made a series of bad investments. Tarantula farm. The bottom fell out of the market.

Does this go on sale on Steam with regularity? I've been playing on switch but want it on my PC too. Base game + all DLC for $40 is a good deal for a great game, but I've already paid that and need to keep my entertainment under budget!

# ? Apr 9, 2023 23:15

Slotducks: Oct 16, 2008; Nobody puts Phil in a corner.

big cummers ONLY posted:

Does this go on sale on Steam with regularity?

yep
https://steamdb.info/app/588650/

# ? Apr 10, 2023 13:38

Wolfsheim: Dec 23, 2003; "Ah," Ratz had said, at last, "the artiste."

PS4 version just patched and I think they nerfed enemy damage? Playing on 1BC and catching a stray hit in the first level only took off like 1/10 of my health instead of 1/3 :confused:

# ? Apr 12, 2023 22:24

Hogama: Sep 3, 2011

Clean Cut is live.

Patch Notes posted:

The full patch notes for the Dead Cells �Clean Cut� update are as follows:

Important features
New Survival Weapon: Sewing Scissors.
Instakills all enemies it hits, as long as at least one of them dies to the weapon�s standard damage.

New Brutality Weapon: Giant Comb.
Throws your enemies upwards, and deals critical damage to airborne mobs!

New NPC: Tailor�s Daughter.
Find her in the Tailor�s Room, and talk to her to freely change the look of your head.

New Speedrun Mode option.
Activate it to track and display the completion time of each biome. Also tracks your previous bests and compares them!

New Boss Rush DIY Mode, that lets you choose whichever bosses you want to face in a run.
The 3 Bosses from Return to Castlevania are now accessible in Boss Rush.
Lots of rework on the Training Room! We added a bunch of options to streamline the experimentation process, such as:
New UIs to spawn a specific weapon with a set Level, Quality and Legendary-ness.
New UI to choose a certain number of scrolls
New UI to choose the overall scaling level of the Training Room, based on the values of a selected biome.
Added the mini-bosses to the mob spawners
Added a bunch of different traps to the mob rooms.
Added the Return to Castlevania Bosses.
Bosses aren�t scaled down to level 1 anymore! (no more 20 minutes fights)
Changed the UI to select mobs to a grid-based one.
Added a Training Dummy for DPS calculation.

Balancing
Slow effects now stack up to 5 times. Each stack has a greater slowing effect, then the affected enemy is frozen at the fifth stack.

Bunch of Mutation Reworks:
Combo: Enable a damage increase with every melee hit in a 2.5 sec window (of course the window refreshes after every hit). It scales exponentially, go crazy with it!
Tainted Flask: Can recharge even if your flask is not totally empty. It also adds 1 more elite into every biome when equipped.
Networking: Marks enemies with ranged attacks now, there doesn�t need to be an actual projectile stuck in the mob�s body anymore.
Berserker: Can now stack, and renders you immune to stuns.
What Doesn�t Kill You: Now grants recovery instead of healing.
Necromancy: Also now grants recovery instead of healing. It scales with the max health of the mobs you kill, which means you can get more recovery by killing a stronger enemy. The cap has been removed, but it�s less effective as you get closer to max health.
Frostbite: Now stacks with slow effects and acts as a full stack on frozen targets.
Dead Inside: Doubles your life but prevents ALL healing sources except healing with recovery.
Disengagement: No more cooldown!.. but can only trigger once per biome. (I know, I know...)

Return to Castlevania balancing:
Whip Sword � Whip Form now passes through shields.
Whip Sword�s transformation attack hitbox tended to bug, it should now be consistent with its visual FX, which means it won�t only hit one single target anymore.
The ghosts gathered by Death�s Scythe now have a slightly smaller explosion radius.
Bible is now considered to be a heavy weapon.
Alucard�s Shield has better parry windows, and the whole combo will now crit after a parry.
Rebound Stone now deals slightly more damage, and has a smaller but longer window before being able to �catch it� (i.e., trigger the crit). Its cooldown now starts upon its destruction.
Holy Water has a bigger vertical hitbox, and the flame now deals damage.
Medusa Head deals more damage and bumps further.
Added a long cooldown when the Cat is killed by the Queen.
Throwing Axe can no longer roll the Fire Bullet affix.
Medusa�s flurry attacks should now have a small pause after the end of the attack.
Haunted Armor (the one with an axe) should now activate at a slightly longer range.
Elite Mermans should now fire 2 big fireballs instead of a big one and a normal one.
Dracula (Humanoid)�s fire pillars are now slightly easier to avoid (in terms of intervals) but are not rollable anymore.
Dracula (Demon), Buer, Werewolves and Medusa are now considered to be Beasts (crits with the Crowbar).
Reverted the change on What Doesn�t Kill You. It now grants healing instead of recovery again.
Dead Inside now allows for healing with recovery.

Level design
The Mimic can now appear randomly in shops outside of the Bank. Mwahahahah
Switched the Dracula Castle (Hard) Cursed Chest chance to 10%.

Graphics & UI
Added a new Petrification affect icon.
Reorganized the partners part of the credits.

Bug fixes
Fixed Agitated Pickpocket being able to hit through Global Shields.
Fixed a crash when an Automaton falls off a platform while using its Dash Attack.
Fixed a crash when saving a reloading while a Petrified enemy is on screen.
Fixed a softlock when falling off the map during Dracula � Final Form, while all platforms were destroyed.
Fixed a crash when using the Emergency Door during the Queen boss fight.
Fixed the Shop Mimic�s hitboxes being too big compared to the visual.
Fixed Cursed Sword not disabling other inventory items when switched slots.
Fixed a crash in Shipwreck, when a platform is destroyed at the same time as Mushroom Boi is spawned.
Fixed being able to duplicate Turrets using the Emergency Door.
Fixed Diverse Deck � Foresight tagging the blocked attacks as if they were blocked by a shield.
Fixed Serenade destroying deployables when activated.
Fixed Gold Plating not protecting against Dracula � Final Form�s grab.
Fixed Bobby Head�s disappearing in the Tailor�s Room.
Fixed Bible�s projectile disappearing after a cutscene.
Fixed Heal Flask glow effect also affecting the player�s glow effect.
Fixed weapons� crit indicator sometimes not displaying.
Fixed Morning Star�s chain detaching itself from the base.
Fixed Pets� behavior being broken in Dracula�s opening cutscene.
Fixed a crash when loading a save near the Bank elevator.
Fixed �Hold to Jump� option instantly using the double jump.