Antewise

Dead Cells True Ending — How to Reach the Astrolab and Observatory

Updated 30 Oct 2026 Source Dead Cells Wiki (deadcells.wiki.gg) — Bosses page (Collector listed as the 5 BSC true final boss, Rise of the Giant, unreachable via Queen or Dracula Final Form) and Boss Stem Cell page (5 BC opens Astrolab and Observatory); cross-checked against published endgame progression guides for the Homunculus possession step. By Antewise Editorial
Data status: The facts on this page were checked against the source named above. Game values can still shift with a patch, so re-check anything that looks off.

There are several endings, and only one is the real one

Beating the Hand of the King in the Throne Room rolls credits and hands you your first Boss Cell. It is also, story-wise, not the end. The actual conclusion sits behind two extra conditions and a biome that does not exist until you meet them.

The Queen route (The Crown) and the Dracula route (Master’s Keep) are alternate endings that award the first four cells — but the wiki is explicit that the true final boss is unreachable from either. Only the Throne Room path opens it.

What the true ending requires

  1. Five Boss Cells active. The fifth comes from The Giant at 4 BC — not from the Hand of the King. See the Boss Cell progression guide for that route.
  2. The Homunculus Rune. Dropped by the Hand of the King. It lets you leave your body, and it is the same rune that opens the Cavern to reach The Giant in the first place.
  3. A Throne Room run at 5 BC. At five cells the Throne Room gains a seventh stage — the Astrolab — which leads to the Observatory.

The sequence

Step 1 — Get the fifth cell. Take the Graveyard, open the Cavern door with the Cavern Key (hidden behind a secret door in the Prisoners’ Quarters), clear the Cavern and beat The Giant in Guardian’s Haven with 4 BC active.

Step 2 — Run the Throne Room at 5 BC. Inject all five cells at the Tube. Note that at this tier Malaise is on, the Collector is replaced by his apprentice in passages, and flask recharges must be bought. Reach and beat the Hand of the King.

Step 3 — Take the seventh stage. Instead of the run ending, the Throne Room continues into the Astrolab, and from there into the Observatory.

Step 4 — Fight the Collector. The Collector is the true final boss of the game and is immune to nothing you have relied on so far — a full kit, not a gimmick loadout, is what gets you through.

Step 5 — The hidden layer. With the Homunculus Rune you can leave your body and possess the King during the sequence, which is how the deeper hidden ending is triggered.

Why this is the last thing you should attempt

The true ending is gated behind the hardest difficulty tier in the game, an optional boss, a hidden key and a rune that only drops from the default final boss. Everything in it assumes you can already clear a 4 BC run comfortably.

If you are still working out which biome leads where, the useful order is: get all the runes → climb to 4 BC → take the Cavern detour for the fifth cell → then attempt the Astrolab.

Frequently asked questions

What is the true ending in Dead Cells?

The true ending is behind the Astrolab and the Observatory, which only appear when you run with five Boss Cells active. The final boss there is the Collector — not the Hand of the King.

Can I get the true ending on the Queen or Dracula route?

No. The wiki is explicit that the Collector cannot be reached through the Queen or Dracula final-form routes. Only the Throne Room path with 5 BC opens the seventh stage that leads to the Astrolab.

Do I need the Homunculus Rune for the true ending?

Yes. The Homunculus Rune drops from the Hand of the King and lets you leave your body — it is the mechanic used to possess the King during the true-ending sequence and it is also what opens the Cavern route for the fifth cell in the first place.

Is beating the Hand of the King the ending?

It is the default ending, and it is what awards your first Boss Cell. The story does not actually resolve there — the real conclusion needs 5 BC and the Astrolab.

More Dead Cells guides

Sources

Figures and item data on this site are read from the game’s own reference wiki before publishing. Where a value could not be confirmed there, the page says so instead of filling the gap.