Stats

Stats are a mechanic in Dead Cells which modifies the player's damage output and health pool, as well as properties of many mutations based on their level during a run. There are three different stats: Brutality, Tactics, and Survival. All stats are set to 1 at the start of every new run and can be increased through specific actions.

Many Weapons and Skills have the option of scaling their damage off of either of two stats - for these items, the larger of the two stats is used as the damage scaling stat (this is indicated by the larger stat's color dominating the item's icon; if both stats are equal, the icon is split equally into the two stats' colors). Colorless items and dive attacks always scale off of the largest stat.

The various stats serve as broad outlines for playstyles, and have a number of themes associated with each. For example, Brutality items are often quick, one-handed melee weapons and offensive skills. Many of these items inflict bleed or burn, and lack defensive or ranged capabilities. Its mutations expand on this by enhancing the power of rapid melee attacks, inflicting bleed with said attacks, or reducing skill cooldowns when slaying foes with melee attacks.

Damage scaling

When the player picks a stat, the damage of items scaling with this stat is increased by +15% (provided it is the highest value stat for dual-color items). The scaling formula is identical for all colors: if one picks a Brutality stat, the DPS of Brutality-scaling items will increase by 15%; if one picks a Tactics or Survival stat, the DPS of Tactics and Survival-scaling items will increase by 15%.

In the table below, you will find the cumulative multiplier applied to an item's base DPS as the player's stat number increases. In this example, it shows the cumulative multiplier and resulting increase in DPS for the Assassin's Dagger I, a Brutality-scaling sword, until 20 Brutality levels. The formula used is the same for all colors, i.e. [Base DPS] × 1.15^{(Stats - 1)}. In this example, the Stats value corresponds to the player's Brutality level.

Brutality Stat Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Cumulative multiplier	1x	1.15x	1.32x	1.52x	1.75x	2.01x	2.31x	2.66x	3.06x	3.52x	4.05x	4.65x	5.35x	6.15x	7.08x	8.14x	9.36x	10.76x	12.38x	14.23x
Assassin's Dagger I (base DPS)	134	154	177	204	234	270	310	356	410	471	542	623	717	824	948	1090	1254	1442	1658	1907
Assassin's Dagger I (critical DPS)	402	462	532	611	703	809	930	1069	1230	1414	1626	1870	2151	2473	2844	3271	3762	4326	4975	5721

As you can see from this table, the exponential nature of the scaling formula means that at high Stat levels, each additional stat grants significant increases in DPS. While the % increase itself does not change (15%), the absolute DPS increase becomes more and more important. For example, going from 2 to 3 stats only grants an additional 70 DPS, which may not feel like a big upgrade when fighting enemies, but going from 19 to 20 stats results in a 646 DPS increase. Thus, in late biomes where the player has high stats, taking one or two additional scrolls can often be the difference between killing enemies with only one versus 2+ attacks. A general rule of thumb is that the DPS is doubled with every +5 stats.

Health scaling

To determine the player's max health, the player's base health (100) is multiplied by 3 separate values, which rely on the current level of Brutality, Tactics, and Survival that the player currently has. Each color grants a different relative percentage of health increase, with Survival giving the highest upgrade and Tactics the lowest. For each additional stat, the relative health increase becomes lower (e.g. going from 2 to 3 Survival stats will grant a 41% total health increase, but going from 9 to 10 Survival will only grant a 12% increase).

• Dual-stat scrolls have a higher chance of generating with the player's lowest stats. For example, if the player has 10 Brutality, 1 Tactics, and 1 Survival, then the likelihood of a Guardian's scroll (Tactics/Survival) is likelier than a scroll capable of boosting the player's "main" stat. Exact percentages are unknown.

Brutality

The Brutality stat gives a slightly weaker health increase than Survival (65% for second Brutality level) up until 35 Brutality levels.

Brutality can be increased during a run by using Epic Scrolls of Power, selecting the Brutality +1 option while using Assassin's (Brutality/Tactics) or Minotaur's (Brutality/Survival) scrolls, Scrolls of Power, or equipping an amulet with Brutality on it (+1 to +4).

The table below shows values for health increase as you get more Brutality levels up to 30 Brutality level (assume that Survival and Tactics are kept at 1 while Brutality is increased).

Brutality Stat Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Max Health	100	165	229	292	354	416	476	535	594	651	708	763	818	872	924	976	1027	1077	1126	1174	1221	1267	1312	1357	1400	1442	1484	1524	1564	1603
Cumulative Multiplier	1x	1.65x	2.29x	2.92x	3.54x	4.16x	4.76x	5.35x	5.94x	6.51x	7.08x	7.63x	8.18x	8.72x	9.24x	9.76x	10.27x	10.77x	11.26x	11.74x	12.21x	12.67x	13.12x	13.57x	14x	14.42x	14.84x	15.24x	15.64x	16.03x

Tactics

The Tactics stat gives the weakest health increase (50% for second Tactics level) up until 25 Tactics levels.

Tactics can be increased during a run by using Epic Scrolls of Power, selecting the Tactics +1 option while using Assassin's (Brutality/Tactics) or Guardian's (Tactics/Survival) scrolls, Scrolls of Power, or equipping an amulet with Tactics on it (+1 to +4).

The table below shows values for health increase as you get more Tactics levels (assume that Survival and Brutality are kept at 1 while Tactics is increased).

Tactics Stat Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Max Health	100	150	198	243	286	327	366	402	436	468	498	525	550	573	593	611	627	641	652	661	668	673	675
Cumulative Multiplier	1x	1.5x	1.98x	2.43x	2.86x	3.27x	3.66x	4.02x	4.36x	4.68x	4.98x	5.25x	5.5x	5.73x	5.93x	6.11x	6.27x	6.41x	6.52x	6.61x	6.68x	6.73x	6.75x

Survival

The Survival stat is the largest factor in determining the size of the player's health pool (gives 70% extra health for second Survival level).

Survival can be increased during a run by using Epic Scrolls of Power, selecting the Survival +1 option while using a Guardian's (Tactics/Survival) or Minotaur's (Brutality/Survival) scroll, a Scroll of Power, or equipping an amulet with Survival on it (+1 to +4).

The table below shows values for health increase as you get more Survival levels up to 30th Survival level (assume that Brutality and Tactics are kept at 1 while Survival is increased):

Survival Stat Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Max Health	100	170	240	310	380	450	520	590	660	730	800	870	940	1009	1079	1149	1219	1289	1359	1429	1499	1569	1638	1708	1778	1848	1918	1988	2057	2127
Cumulative Multiplier	1x	1.7x	2.4x	3.1x	3.8x	4.5x	5.2x	5.9x	6.6x	7.3x	8x	8.7x	9.4x	10.09x	10.79x	11.49x	12.19x	12.89x	13.59x	14.29x	14.99x	15.69x	16.38x	17.08x	17.78x	18.48x	19.18x	19.88x	20.57x	21.27x

Scroll Fragments

• Scroll fragments were added in the Corrupted Update. Upon collecting four scroll fragments, you can upgrade one of your three stats. A fixed number of fragments spawn in the various biomes of the game on Boss Cell 3 and above, with additional fragments spawning on Boss Cell 4/5. A table displaying each biome’s number of fragments can be viewed below.

Random Fragments

• Three separately generated fragments are randomly placed throughout the biomes. Their locations are determined at the beginning of a run, so it is possible to miss out on these extra fragments if you choose a biome that they did not spawn in. They can spawn on any level, with the exception of boss biomes. Only one can spawn per biome. They can also spawn on the optional biomes (Prison Depths and Corrupted Prison) as well as being a rare drop from starred enemies in any biome. The only way to know which levels they spawned on ahead of time is by using a fixed seed.

Biome Fragments

Biome	BC3	BC4/5
Prisoner's Quarters	0	0
Promenade of the Condemned	1	2
Toxic Sewers	2	3
Dilapidated Arboretum	1	2
Prison Depths	0	0
Corrupted Prison	0	0
Ramparts	1	2
Ossuary	2	3
Ancient Sewers	3	5
Morass of the Banished	2	4
Black Bridge	2	3
Insufferable Crypt	3	5
Nest	3	4
Stilt Village	1	2
Slumbering Sanctuary	3	4
Graveyard	2	3
Fractured Shrines	1	2
Clock Tower	3	4
Forgotten Sepulcher	2	3
Cavern	4	5
Undying Shores	3	4
Clock Room	2	3
Guardian's Haven	3	4
Mausoleum	2	3
High Peak Castle	1	2
Derelict Distillery	1	2
Infested Shipwreck	1	2
Throne Room	0	0
Lighthouse	1	3
The Crown	0	0
Astrolab	0	0
Observatory	0	0

Stat Playstyles

Each stat/colour has a set identity which is represented by the items that scale with those colours. Most items that work based on fire will scale with Brutality as fire is a part of that stats identity.

Brutality

• Pro: Quick melee weapons and quick offensive skills.
• Theme: Bleed, Fire and Oil.
• Con: Few ranged weapons and no defensive skills.

Tactics

• Pro: Ranged weapons, turrets, and quick offensive skills.
• Theme: Electricity and Poison.
• Con: Few melee weapons and low HP pool.

Survival

• Pro: Long-ranged melee weapons, two-handed weapons, shields, bigger health pool, and defensive skills.
• Theme: Stun, Root, Slow, and Freeze.
• Con: Few quick melee weapons and often slow combo chains.

Stats Management/Strategy

Generally, it is best to allocate all possible scrolls to one stat. This is because with each scroll your damage will increase exponentially. Meanwhile, you receive diminishing returns if you focus solely on increasing your health. It is also worth noting that dual-stat scrolls are more likely to select your two lowest stats in order to prevent the player's health from becoming too low.

Your highest stat should be the most common one between your items. If you focus on Brutality, then your items should scale accordingly in order to maximize your damage output. The same can be applied to Tactics and Survival.

Mutations also have effects that scale based on player stats. For more details, see the main article dedicated to mutation effect scaling. With mutations, analyze your stats to choose your mutations, since most mutations scale with your stats as well.

Colorless/Legendary items scale with your highest stat, even if the item originally wouldn't scale with that specific stat at all.

Overall, the best strategy is to choose a stat to focus on at the beginning and then invest all possible scrolls into said stat. Your items and mutations should be picked depending on your build, but they should often scale with your main stat as they can benefit drastically from your scroll count with a few exceptions (e.g. Ice Armor).

Footnotes

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