The Time Keeper

The Time Keeper is the third boss in Dead Cells. She was added in the Brutal update. The Time Keeper is found in the Clock Room which can be reached from the Clock Tower or the Forgotten Sepulcher.

Damage on a single hit is soft-capped at 15% of Time Keeper's maximum health.

First Phase

 * The Time Keeper performs one slash with her sword.
 * The Time Keeper throws one shuriken forward.
 * The Time Keeper throws a hook that, if hit by, pulls the player to the Time Keeper and roots them in place, followed by a powerful blow.
 * The Time Keeper teleports a short distance away from the player (often used before shurikens, hook or dash).

After reaching around 70% health, the Time Keeper conjures a shield of spinning shurikens and pushes the player outward, after which the second phase begins.

Second Phase

 * The Time Keeper performs a two-hit combo with her sword.
 * The Time Keeper throws three shurikens in a quick succession.
 * The Time Keeper performs a dash attack through the entire room.
 * The Time Keeper throws a hook that, if it hits, pulls the player to the Time Keeper and roots them in place, followed by a powerful blow.
 * The Time Keeper teleports a short distance away from the player (often used before shurikens, hook or dash)

After reaching around 50% health, the Time Keeper teleports away and says "Let's finish this" in a cutscene, before conjuring another circle of shurikens and entering the third phase.

Third Phase

 * The Time Keeper performs a three-hit combo with her sword.
 * The Time Keeper throws five shurikens in a quick succession.
 * The Time Keeper performs two dash attacks one after another.
 * The Time Keeper throws a hook that, if hit by, pulls the player to the Time Keeper and roots them in place, followed by a powerful blow.
 * The Time Keeper teleports a short distance away from the player (often used before shurikens, hook or dash)
 * Swords fall on the player's location and randomly around the room.

Attacks

 * All of her attacks can be roll-dodged or parried, except for the fallen swords, which can only be dodged. The five shurikens can be dodged by double-jumping then rolling at the right moment, or by staying behind a turret like Sinew Slicer, or the biters spawning from Swarm.
 * The Swarm can be used to divert her attention and chip her off at a decent rate thanks to the skill's low cool down.
 * Since there are short pauses between her basic attack combos, it is a good idea to stay just in range to bait her attacks, then move/roll away, then roll back in after she finishes the combo for a few hits.
 * The blow following the hook-pull can be blocked or parried with a shield, despite the player being rooted in place.
 * Getting hit by the three-hit combo in the last phase can be deadly, because the hits stun the player just long enough for her to land the next blow(s).
 * The following video is a melee Brutality build with focus on dodging: melee Brutality build dodge only.

Weapons/Skills

 * She is susceptible to all status effects, like freeze, slows and immobilize. However, using them repeatedly will shorten their duration.
 * The Wolf Trap, Frost Blast or any ice related weapon/skill can be used to inflict these status effects.
 * A viable strategy is to hit her with a powerful weapon like the Cursed Sword or Heavy Crossbow when she is incapacitated.
 * Even slow weapons like the Broadsword, Nutcracker, and Giant Killer will have enough time to land their swings.
 * Phaser along with the Assassin's Dagger is a good way to cause massive damage to the Time Keeper.
 * The Vorpan can likewise tackle her heads-on, but without a shield it can be very risky.
 * Also, parrying most of Time Keeper's attacks is a good way to beat her, as seen in this video Shield build strategy.
 * The Ice Shield and the Cudgel are good examples, as they leave controlling status effects upon a successful parry.
 * The Cleaver can be used drain her health at a decent rate, but the wide area of the Clock Room may reduce its effectiveness.

Lore
Information about the Time Keeper can be found in a few lore rooms, mostly located in the Clock Tower.
 * A letter left by the Time Keeper indicates that she is repeating the same day over and over, as if time was rewinding every day . indeed, the Time Keeper keeps track of all the infected people and monsters she has executed, but all her entries are classified as "Day 1". It is also implied that her task makes her increasingly exhausted, as the number of executions decreases each day.

The following lore contains spoilers about the true ending of the game: After beating the game on 5 BSC for the first time and upon entering the starting area, a portal will spawn and pull the player into the Clock Room. There, the Time Keeper will berate the Beheaded for his recent actions, thus reluctantly reseting the time loop. Shortly after, the Time Keeper kicks the Beheaded, but this pushing him through a portal that had opened without the acknowledgement of either one.

Trivia

 * Before the Baguette Update, the Time Keeper was named 'The Assassin'.
 * According to the transition loading screens added in the Baguette Update also, it appears that she requested the King of the island to build the Clock Tower, for unknown reasons.
 * For the second and third phases to activate, it is necessary that the Time Keeper teleports away from the player first. Because of this, if the player manages to deal massive damage in a short amount of time, it is actually possible to end the fight before she enters the second and/or third phase.
 * Sometimes she can freeze in her dashing animation when defeated while doing that attack.
 * Since the Pimp my Run Update, the Time Keeper will jump one last time to the center of the map after having her health depleted, pester on her repeated defeat, implying that she remembers all the other times the player has fought her, and then claim that "This won't end well...", only to run away.
 * She is thus the only boss that can't be truly defeated in this sense, as she reverses every encounter with the player.

Gallery


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