The Collector/5 BSC

The Collector is the final boss in Dead Cells. He was added in v1.2, aka the Rise of the Giant DLC. He can only be reached on 5 BSC difficulty in the Observatory.

First phase
During the first phase he has 3 main attacks:


 * Syringe lunge: the collector lunges at the player with his syringe. This attack can be rolled through or parried.
 * Syringe spin: the collector will jump onto his syringe and rapidly spin towards the player. This attack can also be rolled through or parried.
 * Ground smash: the collector will smash his syringe into the ground which will cause a shock wave on the entire floor forcing the player to jump. After this attack many bombs will fall from the roof.

Mob phase 1
The player will be teleported to a room with three doors which will open and let three early game enemies loose. During this phase the collector will also throw bombs at the player from above. After killing all the mobs, the collector will teleport down and he will not attack and is open to hit.

Torture room phases
During these phases the collector will use the same attacks in the first phase except for there is a giant spike ball going around the room. The number of spike balls increase as the phases go on.

Second Phase
In this phase the collector removes all of his old attacks for new ones:
 * Orb laser: the collector will fly above the player and will charge a laser from his orb and there will be a few particles just before the laser strikes this attack can only be rolled at the last moment to avoid.
 * Orb throw: the collector will raise his hands and charge up orbs that can be parried or rolled through.
 * Fire tornado: the collected will charge and leash out to tornadoes both left and right many times. These tornadoes can be rolled or parried through.

Mob phase 2
Same as mob phase 1 but two mid take enemies are spawned.

After this he will probably go into torture phase.

Mob phase 3
Probably the last mob phase you will see. Note if you don't attack the collector and throw his potion out of his hand then there will be more and more mob phases in this mob phase one end game or late game enemy will spawn.

Final phase
The player will be teleported into a room with a giant telescope. Here the collector will take less damage and will use both phase 1 and phase 2 attacks. In here when he drinks the panacea the player must knock it out of his hand and drink it. This will immensely boost the player's damage and will refill their health flask, as well as rendering them invincible, which allows the boss to be easily defeated.

Strategy
TBA

Lore
Prior to the events of the game, The Collector did not practice alchemy. He was an astronomer and the only scientific elite on the island. The Astrolab and Observatory are reserved for his special use, likely by The King. Also, The Giant, and The Hand of the King, two well-known royal guard members who have clear disdain on each other, agreed that nobody liked The Collector, despite their mutual hatred for each other.

When the malaise pandemic broke out, The Collector started to research on the plague, in hopes of finding a cure, though most of his efforts failed. His labs can be found in almost ALL biomes (save for boss biomes). The Collector theorized that it came from the Sanctuary, and spread either by contaminating the sewer network, or by rats. He even has two specialized rooms in the High Peak Castle that the King granted him for research use. Even his own astrolab was eventually corrupted by enemies and he disappeared after the utter failure of his research, retreating to his observatory. His efforts are not well-received by some people (likely supporters of The King), who vandalized one of his desks, telling him that his methods are not working, and that The King reacted better.

Earlier on, The Beheaded may discover flasks that are extremely similar to those used by The Collector. He wonders that if either the two purchased them at the same place, or they are just the same person. However, he is unable to reach a conclusion.

When the the player reaches The Observatory, the Collector appears and explains that he had a catalyst apparatus running on cells, even referring to himself as an "Aspiring Alchemist" (part of evidence that proves him as The Alchemist). He then asks the Beheaded to deposit them in the machine next to him. Afterwards, he asks if The Beheaded knows about the Panacea, the rumored fabled cure to all diseases passed down from myths of first alchemists, can be extracted from the essence of life itself. (Hence the reason to demand cells from the player, and his absence at 5BSC)The Collector expresses clear disdain, claiming that he only turned to this because he tried everything else, but none of his own methods worked. As the Panacea is produced, he attempts to drink it, only to be supercharged and driven mad with power. Claiming that he now has great strength, he demands The Beheaded to bring more cells, before teleporting him into a room and beginning the fight.

During the fight, which consists of a number of phases in different rooms, the Collector keeps healing by drinking the Panacea. Once the player has dealt enough damage to the boss and/or survived through all phases, the Collector teleports himself and the Beheaded in the last room. Then, he becomes vulnerable when he attempts to drink, and drops the Panacea when hit. The player can then pick up the Panacea, which fills their potion slot with a blue liquid. If the player drinks it, The Beheaded will gain a bluish flame on his entity, and his attacks will become extremely powerful, decimating The Collector within seconds.

As he was dying, The Collector exclaims that what the king was doing has ruined the island (like how the Giant refers to it), and he was trying to revert the consequences, which causes The Beheaded to flip him off. He then ends the Collector by stomping his face 4 times, despite The Collector's pleas for mercy, exclaiming pity as he walks away. It is at this moment that he realizes that the cure is effective, though this caused his body is vanquished by the Panacea, before he realized that his entity wasn't destroyed. He proceeds to crawl away in a scuffle as the credits roll.

If the player reaches the Hand of the King a second time with 5 BSC active, he can possess the King's glitched corpse by using the Homunculus Rune and thereby repossess his own body. Then, a special ending can be seen by beating the Collector again while wearing the King Outfit. Also, when the Beheaded kills the collector, instead of vanishing, he proceeds to kick the corpse of the boss, claiming that he needs to clean-up, before returning to his throne.

Trivia

 * Due to a sprite bug, when The Beheaded kicks The Collector's corpse, the syringe somehow moves in sync.
 * Even when the player is not wearing the Classic Outfit, the cut-scene where The Collector was killed will not change. The only exception is the King Outfit.
 * When The Beheaded kicks his face, the game may play a rubber ducky sound.