Custom Mode

Custom Mode is an unlockable mode in Dead Cells, that allows you to adjust your runs as you see fit. This game mode is available by absorbing the Customization Rune, obtained from killing a unique Elite Zombie at the start of Ramparts, but some configurations are available only by beating the game at harder difficulties.

This mode allows you to limit your current item and mutation pool, enabling and disabling meta modifiers (such as amount of flask charges), adding starter items with varying qualities, adjusting the timer settings, et cetera. Some options prevent you from obtaining achievements. You can only use items that have been unlocked through The Collector in Custom Mode. However, items unlocked or obtained in Custom Mode still carry over to Normal Mode.

Custom Mode has a set of controls (shown for keyboard use) that will help navigating through the mode:
 * Q and E: Quick swap between main categories
 * Space: Confirm
 * Esc: Back

Default Presets
There are 9 different presets to choose, and 10 available preset slots for your favorite configurations. Currently, the preset slots cannot be renamed.

Speed Run
''Permanent timer, all items unlocked... How fast can you go?''

This preset allows you to play with all unlocked items enabled and permanent timer, which means that the timer will always be ticking aside while loading through biomes.

Preset details:
 * All unlocked items are enabled
 * No starting equipment
 * Meta Modifiers
 * Maximum number of potions: The highest one unlocked
 * Gold Reserves level: The highest one unlocked
 * Recycling Level: The highest one unlocked
 * Forge Level: The highest one unlocked
 * General Upgrade: Everything but Hunter's Grenade is enabled
 * Miscellaneous Modifiers
 * Permanent Timer

I love Brutality
Only Brutality based weapons and skills are unlocked

This preset allows you to unlock all Brutality items available. Items with dual attributes that have Brutality are also unlocked. Aside from that, there are no additional configurations.

Preset details:
 * All unlocked Brutality items are enabled
 * No starting equipment
 * Miscellaneous Modifiers
 * Default Timer

Tactics for the win
Only Tactics based weapons and skills are unlocked

This preset allows you to unlock all Tactics items available. Items with dual attributes that have Tactics are also unlocked. Aside from that, there are no additional configurations.

Preset details:
 * All unlocked Tactics items are enabled
 * No starting equipment
 * Miscellaneous Modifiers
 * Default Timer

Survival is my jam
Only Survival based weapons and skills are unlocked

This preset allows you to unlock all Survival items available. Items with dual attributes that have Survival are also unlocked. Aside from that, there are no additional configurations.

Preset details:
 * All unlocked Survival items are enabled
 * No starting equipment
 * Miscellaneous Modifiers
 * Default Timer

Closer to the danger
Only melee weapons and skills are unlocked

This preset allows you to unlock all melee and shield items available. Legendary weapons are disabled in this preset.

Preset details:
 * All unlocked melee and shield items are enabled
 * Starting equipment
 * Weapon Slot 1: Rusty Sword
 * Weapon Slot 2: Wooden Shield
 * Miscellaneous Modifiers
 * Default Timer
 * Legendary weapons disabled

Careful hunter
''Only long range weapons are unlocked. Now with unlimited ammo!''

This preset allows you to unlock all ranged items available. Legendary weapons are disabled in this preset, and unlimited ammo is enabled.

Preset details:
 * All unlocked ranged items are enabled
 * Starting equipment
 * Weapon Slot 1: Rusty Sword
 * Weapon Slot 2: Wooden Shield
 * Miscellaneous Modifiers
 * Default Timer
 * Unlimited ammo enabled (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * Legendary weapons disabled

The plague
''Everything is designed to kill you as quick as possible: no health potions, Malaise multiplied, exploding monsters and doors. No problem.''

This preset, as the flavor text blatantly explains, is made to make your normal Dead Cells run harder.

Preset details:
 * All unlocked items are available
 * No starting equipment
 * Meta Modifiers
 * Maximum number of potions: 0
 * Miscellaneous Modifiers
 * Default Timer
 * Malaise Modifiers (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * Number of Malaise points inflicted by a monster attack: 5
 * Percentage chance that food is infected: 0%
 * Gameplay Modifiers (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * THE CHERRY ON THE CAKE: Enemies drop a bomb when they die.
 * TRAPPED DOORS: Doors explode.

One hit, one kill (yours)
One hit and you're dead.

This preset is designed to kill you in just one hit, with the help of Cursed Sword and the lack of items.

Preset details:
 * Items and mutations unlocked
 * Cursed Sword
 * Phaser
 * Grappling Hook
 * Killer Instinct
 * Melee
 * Combo
 * Open Wounds
 * Parting Gift
 * Velocity
 * Starter equipment
 * Cursed Sword
 * Phaser
 * Grappling Hook
 * Meta modifiers
 * Maximum number of potions: 0
 * Gold Reserves level: 0
 * Recycling level: 0
 * Miscellaneous modifiers
 * Item quality: Disabled
 * Legendary weapons: Disabled
 * Paid items: Disabled
 * Free items: Disabled

Some men just want to watch the world burn...
Only fire based objects are unlocked.

This preset focuses on fire-related items. All mutations are disabled with this preset. Otherwise, there are no additional configurations.

Preset details:
 * Items unlocked
 * Pyrotechnics
 * Torch
 * Firebrands
 * Fire blast
 * Flamethrower Turret
 * Wolf Trap
 * Corrupted Power
 * Phaser
 * Vampirism
 * Grappling Hook

Equipment
This category is used to limit your item and mutation pool. Enabling less than 20 items will disable achievements. Mutations won't affect this requirement.

Available controls:
 * Q and E: Swap between item categories
 * X: Enable/Disable all items from a category
 * Space: Enable/Disable an item
 * Esc: Back

Starting equipment
This option allows you to add items with varying quality right at the start of every run. Items added to Starting equipment loadout is automatically equipped to The Beheaded, so weapons generated from Random Starter weapon upgrades are still working as intended.

Additional controls:
 * Y: Change the quality of the starting weapon
 * X: Clear the starting equipment loadout
 * Space: Choose

Advanced Options
This category allows you to enable or disable various modifiers, either functional or fun. Unchecking options with specific status (e.g. number of potions) means that the game will use the current status of that option in your save.

Meta Modifiers
There are 4 modifiers and a General Upgrade box available.


 * Maximum number of potions, from 0 to 4
 * Gold Reserves level, from none to 5
 * Recycling level, from none to 2
 * Forge level, only none and Advanced
 * General Upgrade
 * Random Melee Weapon
 * Random Starter Bow
 * Random Starter Shield
 * Restock
 * Merchandise Categories
 * Specialist's Showroom (Disabling this will remove the room from Prisoner's Quarters, changing the level generation.)
 * Explorer's Rune
 * Recycling Tubes

Miscellaneous Modifiers
There are 16 modifiers here, 3 of them disable achievements when enabled. Some modifiers are available after beating the game on harder difficulties.


 * Fixed seed
 * Allows you to input specific seeds to limit the level generation.
 * Disables lore rooms when used, so it can potentially change level generation on a seed.
 * Unlocked when the player has obtained 4 Runes: Vine, Teleportation, Ram and Spider.
 * Timer configuration
 * Allows you to change how the in-game timer works.
 * Default timer: The timer stops when entering special rooms and pausing the game.
 * Semi-permanent timer: The timer stops only when entering special rooms.
 * Permanent timer: The timer won't stop aside from loading screen sequences.
 * Number of active Boss Cells
 * From 0 to 4.
 * Enabling this will remove the Boss Cell Tube from the spawn room.
 * Curse level of Cursed Chests (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * From 0 to 99.
 * Starting amount of gold (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * From 0 to 50,000.
 * Increase the maximum number of mutations (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * From 4 to 11.
 * All weapons and skills are colorless (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * Authorize the use of 2 weapons or items of the same type (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * Use the old shop categories
 * Shops will allow you to choose weapons based on the type of object rather than their colors
 * Unlocked when the Merchandise Category upgrade has been unlocked.
 * Percentages of objects with specific qualities
 * Available qualities:
 * + quality
 * ++ quality
 * S quality
 * The percentage for each quality cannot go higher than their gauge's progress in Legendary Forge.
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Normal" difficulty.
 * Disable Legendary weapons
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Normal" difficulty.
 * Disable Minor Forge
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Normal" difficulty.
 * Health fountain never break (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * The health fountain will always be available in the areas of difficulty "Hard" and higher.
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Normal" difficulty.
 * Curses leave you with 1HP instead of killing you (DISABLES ACHIVEMENTS)
 * Curses will no longer one shot you.
 * NOTE: This does not seem to function properly in the initial Malaise Update release. The first hit while cursed sets the player to 1HP; but any further hit-while-cursed taken after the first one will still one-shot the player.
 * Unlimited ammo (DISABLES ACHIEVEMENTS)
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Hard" difficulty.
 * Disable paid items
 * This includes shops and items behind golden door
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Hard" difficulty.
 * Disable free items
 * This includes items found on the ground, in chests, lore room or altars
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Hard" difficulty.
 * Disable Modifiers
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Very Hard" difficulty.
 * Disable the one-hit protection mechanic
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Very Hard" difficulty.
 * Disable Mutations
 * Unlocked when beating the game at "Very Hard" difficulty.

Malaise Modifiers
There are 4 Malaise-related modifiers here. All of them disable achievements when enabled. This set of modifiers is available upon beating the game at "Expert" difficulty.


 * Enable Malaise
 * This applies to: normal, hard, very hard and expert difficulties.
 * Diasable malaise
 * This applies to: nightmare and hell difficulties
 * Potions no longer heal infections
 * Percentage that food is infected
 * From 0 to 100

Gameplay Modifiers
There are 11 modifiers available here. All of them disable achievements when enabled.


 * FOLLOW THE LIGHT: The level is plunged in darkness.
 * This modifier turns every biome dark, with lights everywhere. This modifier basically spreads Forgotten Sepulcher to the rest of the island.
 * THE CHERRY ON THE CAKE: Enemies drop a bomb when they die.
 * TRAPPED DOORS: Doors explode
 * This modifier makes doors drop a bomb upon destroying it by any means.
 * Bombs dropped from doors have much larger radius than normal bombs.
 * BLOODLUST: Keep killing enemies or die.
 * You'll lose health gradually when not killing enemies. You'll be healed and the constant health loss will stop for a bit after killing an enemy.
 * VENOMOUS: Every wound also poisons you.
 * Self-explanatory, all enemy attacks will apply poison damage.
 * HITCHCOCK: Birds, birds everywhere!
 * This modifier heavily boosts flying creatures' spawn rate (Bats, Kamikazes, and Buzzcutters) across all non-boss biomes.
 * FOG: Warning, deadly invisible monsters may be hidden by dense fog, travel at your own risk.
 * This modifier spreads fog across all non-boss biomes, even when there are no Maskers around.
 * SHARP SHOOTERS: Take cover!
 * This modifier boosts spawn rates of ranged mobs (e.g. Archers and Inquisitors) across all non-boss biomes.
 * SPIKERS: Time for some mushroom hunting...
 * This modifier spreads the Impaler enemy across all non-boss biomes.
 * JUMP: You can jump multiple times in the air.
 * You can have 4 additional jumps with this modifier.
 * ADAPTATION: This item will be replaced by another one (same type) of your main color between each level.
 * The quality of the new weapons will be retained from the previous weapons.

Trivia

 * Some Gameplay Modifiers originated from Streamer Mode. Some of them are:
 * THE CHERRY ON THE CAKE
 * TRAPPED DOORS
 * BLOODLUST
 * VENOMOUS
 * JUMP
 * Custom Mode was originally meant for players to re-lock items they don't want to use. But it ended up with broader modifications to runs.