10. Ice Ice Baby (Survival)

Freeze! If you’re struggling to make it past the early game ice builds can be incredibly effective! There are several items that can freeze enemies, like Frost Blast, Ice Bow, and Ice Shield, but when you use one of those items with the Frostbite mutation, that effect will also deal damage over time. For most mobs this basically works as a one hit kill,, but eventually you will come across stronger enemies, and that’s why I also recommend using the Nutcracker. It deals critical hits to frozen targets, making it a great choice for finishing off tougher opponents. This build carries the early game, and gives you enough power to hold your own in the mid-game

Use this build if

• You’re struggling with the early game and need a way to cheese the first few biomes
• You have the Frost Blast as one of your starting weapons
• You find any two of the items below or have an item with the “+175% Damage to Frozen Targets” modifier

Build Details

•     Weapons: Frost Blast, Nutcracker, Ice Shield (In Backpack)
•     Skills: Ice Armor, Ice Grenade
•     Mutations: Armadillopack, Frostbite, Heart of Ice
•     Stat Color: Survival

9. The Toxic Blade (Brutality)

The Sadist’s Stiletto is a weapon that deals critical hits to enemies who are either bleeding or poisoned, and since either effect works you have to pick one to base your build around. Well, why not both? Open Wounds is a Mutation that makes your melee attacks inflict bleed, and the Diverse Deck’s second card, Catalyst, causes your melee attacks to poison enemies. Using both of these at the same might seem like overkill, and it is, but when you’re shredding through enemies with just a couple hits that’s a good problem to have

Use this build if

• You like watching enemies die to status effects from a distance
• You don’t mind having a short range if you can hit strong and fast
• You find both a Sadist’s Stiletto and a consistent way to deal poison or bleed

Build Details

•     Weapons: Sadist’s Stiletto, Bloodthirsty Shield
•     Skills: Diverse Deck, Barnacle
•     Mutations: Open Wounds, Combo, No Mercy
•     Stat Color: Brutality

8. Blue Fire Burns Brighter (Brutality)

Burning oil is one of the strongest effects in Dead Cells, working as a more powerful version of fire that deals more damage, lasts longer, and keeps burning when enemies are in water! Of course, you’ll need an item that inflicts oil and another that inflicts fire, and this build gives you both. The Firebrands light enemies on fire, and the Oiled Sword covers them in oil, deals crits to burning targets. For your skills, the Flamethrower Turret and Oil Grenade is another great pair that works in the same way, inflicting both oil and fire for massive burst damage!

Use this build if

• You want a more consistent way to apply one of the strongest status effects in the game
• You have a weapon that deals extra damage to both burning targets and targets covered in burning oil
• You’re planning on taking a trip through the Ossuary, since the burning oil is particularly effective in that biome

Build Details

•     Weapons: Oiled Sword, Firebrands
•     Skills: Flamethrower Turret, Oil Grenade
•     Mutations: Killer Instinct, Instinct of the Master of Arms
•     Stat Color: Brutality

7. Double Boomerang (Tactics)

Two Boomerangs are a lot better than one! Normally the Boomerang only gives you one projectile to work with, but with the Ammo mutation you can have two of them. No more waiting for it to come back, just throw another and you’re good to go! What’s great about this build is that the only necessary component is the Boomerang itself, so you have a lot of freedom to mix and match

Use this build if

• You’re playing in Custom Mode and can set up this build perfectly
• By some miracle you find a Legendary Boomerang in the wild
• You want to make your support weapon your primary

Build Details

• Weapons: Boomerang
• Skills: It’s up to you!
• Mutations: Ammo
• Stat Color: Tactics

6. “Yes, That Should Work” (Survival)    

Dead Cells has a few items that are borrowed from other games, and two of them, the Baseball Bat from Hotline Miami and the Throwable Object from Katana Zero, fit together perfectly. The Baseball Bat deals critical hits to stunned targets, and the Throwable Objects can instantly stun any enemy. These items make for a quick and powerful two hit combo, but with the Kill Rhythm mutation things really start to pick up! Kill Rhythm makes you attack faster when switching between weapons, and in this build you’ll really start to feel a groove. Stun, attack, repeat, it’s almost musical, and it’ll clear out a room so quickly you’ll feel like you’re playing at 200 BPM!

Use This Build if

• You’re trying to get the time bonuses and want to deal with enemies as quickly as possible
• It scratches your brain the right way when the Bat strikes frantically
• You want to make it as far as possible through sheer brute force

Build Details

•     Weapons: Baseball Bat, Throwable Object, Parry Shield (In Backpack)
•     Skills: Wolf Trap, Stun Grenade
•     Mutations: Armadillopack, Kill Rhythm, Instinct of the Master of Arms
•     Stat Color: Survival

5. “Parry this!” (Brutality)

Parrying is an essential skill in Dead Cells, and this build goes all in on the shield, elevating it to something supremely powerful! The Rapier deals critical hits after a successful parry, the Front Line Shield boosts melee damage after parrying, and the Counterattack mutation makes your next attack after a parry deal extra damage. With all of them together, you’ll deal a shocking amount of damage after a parry! By shocking, I mean you’ll be dealing thousands of points of damage with just one attack. Alone, it makes such a strong combo that you don’t really need anything else to complete the build, your skills and the rest of the mutations are up in the air so feel free to experiment with this one

Use This Build If

• You’re trying to experiment with some new skills or mutations, but need a strong build to work them around
• You can confidently and consistently parry attacks
• You need a way to deal massive damage to a single target

Build Details

•     Weapons: Rapier, Front Line Shield
•     Mutations: Counterattack
•     Skills: It’s up to you!
•     Stat Color: Brutality

4. Hollow-Point Machine Gun (Tactics)

The Crossbows are all great weapons, but many players sleep on them just because they take up two slots. However, if you give them a chance, you’ll find that it’s well worth the trade off, and the Repeater Crossbow in particular is one of my personal favorites. It rapidly fires shots, and has an alt fire that launches an array of arrows, rooting any targets that they land on, and like most other builds on this list, its true power is only realized with the help of Mutations. Barbed Tips makes each arrow stuck inside an enemy deal damage over time, and with the sheer amount of arrows at your disposal it’ll melt through bosses! When it comes to taking on tougher opponents, this build makes quick work of enemies that would otherwise give you hell

Use this build if

• You’re struggling against a boss and want an easy way to deal with it
• You like ranged weapons that fire lots of shots quickly
• You’re good at keeping your distance from enemies

Build Details

•     Weapons: Repeater Crossbow
•     Skills: Great Owl of War, Wave of Denial
•     Mutations: Barbed Tips, Tranquility, Crow’s Foot
•     Stat Color: Tactics

3. The Shield Hero (Survival)

Shields are great, but are generally considered support and not the main feature of your build. With this build however, you go all in on your shield, and you’ll be surprised with how effective it can be! The Spiked Shield is the obvious choice, dealing obscene amounts of damage to the point where you can one shot enemies with a parry, but that’s not where this ends. With the mutations What Doesn’t Kill Me, Spite, and Blind Faith, you can also heal yourself, deal more damage, and reduce cooldowns with every parry! Who said shields are for defense only?

Use this build if

• You hear people talking about how good shields are and you want a way to prove it
• You’re a parry god with perfect timing
• You aren’t exactly a parry god, and want to improve your timing

Build Details

•     Weapons: Spiked Shield
•     Skills: It’s up to you!
•     Mutations: Counterattack, Blind Faith, Spite
•     Stat Color: Survival

2. Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru (Brutality)

The Assassin’s Dagger is a melee weapon that deals critical hits when you hit an enemy from the back, Phaser is a skill that teleports you behind an enemy, and Scheme is a Mutation that makes your next attack after using a skill deal extra damage. It doesn’t take a Tool fan to know how these pieces fit, they’re practically begging you to use them together! It’s an absurdly strong combo, stacking extra damage on top of extra damage on top of a critical hit to absolutely violate every single enemy

Use this build if

• You want to feel like a ninja, teleporting around enemies and stabbing them in the back
• You’re running a Brutality build and come across an Assassin’s Dagger or Phaser
• You’re taking a route that avoids enemies who defend their back, like Thornies in the Ossuary or Ground Shakers in the Cavern

Build Details

•     Weapons: Assassin’s Dagger
•     Skills: Phaser
•     Mutations: Scheme, Initiative, Killer Instinct
•     Stat Color: Brutality

1. The Fury of the Stars (Tactics)

In all of Dead Cells, there’s no better example of how Mutations can make or break a build than with Starfury. It’s a sword that deals weak melee damage, but causes two comets to fall down and hit enemies after every attack. On its own, it’s an underwhelming weapon, but with Networking and Point Blank, it’s one of the most powerful items in the game! Networking links together enemies hit by ranged attacks, making them share damage, and Point Blank gives extra damage to close range projectiles. Now instead of hoping one of your comets hit the right enemy, you’ll be wiping out entire rooms with just a couple swings!

Use this build if

• You want to play a build with solid AoE, but can also hold its own against bosses
• You find a Starfury with a modifier that fires an arrow, since the extra projectile will also be buffed by point blank
• You often wonder what it would be like to attack everything on screen at once

Build Details

•     Weapons: Starfury, Knockback Shield
•     Skills: Lacerating Aura, Wings of the Crow
•     Mutations: Networking, Point Blank, Melee
•     Stat Color: Tactics

You may also be interested in

• Dead Cells Rune Guide: Everything You Need to Know
• Top 15 Dead Cells Best Mutations and Why They're Good
• Top 10 Dead Cells Best Melee Weapons