The Bad Seed DLC adds an entirely new biome to Dead Cells and a new boss to take on. This new boss is the main focus of the DLC, really. While the new biome is interesting, this is the enemy that you’ll be trying to kill most of the time. She’s well worth it too. In this Dead Cells Mama Tick boss guide, we’ll cover all of the enemy’s moves and how to avoid getting stomped by her.
What is Mama Tick?
Mama Tick is the third tier 1 boss in the game. She’s actually an alternate to The Concierge, meaning you’ll face her pretty early on. You’ll find her in the Nest, but you’ll need the Teleportation Rune to get to her.
You can actually skip her boss fight if you sacrifice Mushroom Boi! in the Morass of the Banished. Interestingly though, you can still attack her eye when it bubbles above the water to start the fight if you really want to.
Attacks and Strategies
There are roughly three phases to this fight. We’ll go through each here and outline the attacks you’ll need to deal with.
First Phase
Before this phase, the boss only has her eye sticking out of the water. If you hit it, you’ll start the fight. If you’re playing at 1+ Boss Stem Cell then the fight will immediately go to phase two.
Stab
Mama Tick will poke a single claw out from beneath the water to hit you. This can be blocked, parried, or dodged. you may be best off dodging since it’s a large attack.
At 75% health, the boss is going to hide her eye beneath the water so that you can’t hit it. She’ll then perform the following move.
Quick Stabs
This is the same as the Stab move, but more claws will pop up and it’ll be faster than that initial move. The next claw pops up as the first one is drawn back under the water. The attacks are random, not aimed at you, so they’re harder to dodge in a sense.
You can block, parry, or dodge all of these attacks. If you roll, you’ll probably get stabbed though. It’s worth watching out for that because it can cause you a lot of harm. Try to be sensible and block where possible.
Second Phase
During this phase of the fight, the Dead Cells Mama Tick will reveal her body. It’s so large that it takes up one entire side of the arena.
Slash
The boss raises one of her claws, it will glow yellow, and then she’ll slash it out at you. Blocking, parrying, and dodging all work on this attack. The best way forward is whatever you’re most comfortable with.
Spit Bomb
The boss spits out three projectiles. These will fly through the air at high speed and land on the water. Then they’ll explode. You can dodge, parry, and block this attack. We suggest dodging though. It’s a disgusting attack that can leave you with little health.
Lightspeed Claws
Before this attack, a yellow line appears across the screen. Quickly after, a claw will slash out across the arena, and then a second one will follow another yellow line, but that’s a stab. you can block, parry, and dodge all of this, but it’s best to get to a safe area and wait it out.
Don’t be a hero, you’ll just lose health. Save your energy and attack when possible.
Slasher
The boss raises her claws and begins to slash them down very fast as she moves towards the edge of the arena. She’ll stop when her claws reach the third quarter of the arena. Once that’s over, she dives under the surface and pops up on the other side of the arena afterward. You can block, parry, or dodge this attack, but we’d say it’s too fast to be offensive. Stay back, dodge, and live.
Even when the boss is rooted, she’ll still slash her claws about. This is a good way to ensure she doesn’t get too close, allowing you to do some ranged attacks. Use whatever you have at your disposal.
At 50% health, the Dead Cells Mama Tick boss will dive under the water and hide her eye again. She’ll be invulnerable for this section and perform the following attacks.
Quick Stabs
This is the same Quick Stabs attack as the boss uses in the first phase. It’s random, so don’t get caught out by it. You need to be careful and avoid the attacks while she goes through this small segment of the fight.
Third Phase
During this phase, the boss can still use all the moves from the second phase.
Lightspeed Claw +
This is the same as the Lightspeed Claw move, except the boss will attack one additional time. Once again, it’s best to stay in a safe area and avoid getting hurt altogether. Those of you who are ballsy might go in for hits, but that can end in disaster.
Best Strategy
Mama Tick is immune to fire, so scrap all notions that you’ll use it against her before entering the arena. However, she is susceptible to freeze and slow and can be rooted as we mentioned earlier. Try to gear your equipment to these powers and you’ll give yourself an edge in the battle.
You can get a lot of weapons with ice and freezing capabilities that boost your speed in this fight. It’s also not a bad idea to use some electricity to make short work of the boss. Just make sure it’s a weapon you’re comfortable with. Other than that, stick to the recommendations for each move and you should get through fine.
Mama Tick Lore
Mama Tick appears to be worshipped because she protects the morass and its inhabitants. Locals sacrifice humans to her to gain her protection. That’s why there are so many bodies in the boss arena. It’s indicated that the sacrifices are completely involuntary, but we don’t know for sure. We don’t see anyone going to her willingly though.