Dead Cells Level Zone Guide: Branching Paths and Difficulty of Areas

A guide to Dead Cells level branching system, what paths are available and unlockable, and the difficulty and items in each Zone / Level. This will also let you know what to expect from each different area in terms of difficulty and enemies.

Zone level refers to the difficulty ranking of the area and also roughly lets you know what level of drops (weapon and item / ability) you will likely get while there. Higher difficulty means tougher enemies but better item drops.

Dead Cells is a 2D roguelike action game which plays as a cross between Dark Souls and Spelunky. You start each run in what appears to be a prison cell, then progress through procedurally generated castle-esque fantasy areas. Below are the possible paths and exits for levels in Dead Cells:

Update note: as Dead Cells is in Early Access, the below information on level connections is sometimes changing. A recent update appears to have sometimes changed the connections between zones so keep that in mind. This will be updated as necessary, when possible.

Dead Cells Level Difficulty and Paths / Exits for Each Zone:

• V = Vine Rune Required
• T= Teleportation Rune Required

The colors above refer to the difficulty of each path (exit.) Green = Easiest, Orange = Moderate, Red = Hardest.

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How to Unlock the Vine and Teleportation Runes in Dead Cells

The runes are permanently unlocked by defeating a specific Elite mini boss. The area before these minibosses is marked with a big red flag/banner in the background, then they will be summoned by walking close to the big stones/statues in that area. The Vine Rune is unlocked by defeating a specific Archer miniboss in The Promenade of the Condemned. The Teleportation Rune is  unlocked by defeating the Elite Slasher in the Old Sewers.

These aren’t really hidden unlocks. You will probably find them naturally if you at least mostly fully explore each area before using an exit. Once you kill these special elites it seems the special miniboss area won’t appear in future runs. You will still see elites, but it seems they won’t be marked by the red flag or need to be summoned.

More Dead Cells Level Strategy, Walkthrough, Weapon and Item Info and More to Come!

The article will be updated as the game is updated through Early Access and as I learn more about the game! I’ll be writing some more articles on tips, weapon rankings, item and weapon synergy and more in the future so check back! Comments, corrections, and additional info are welcome below.