During your first journey through the path to the Master’s Dungeon in Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, you will have been drawn into the Desecrated Necropolis to face death. Once this undead enemy is defeated, subsequent biomes will progress normally, with no other DLC maps in sight. However, after reaching the clock room and beating the timer, you’ll find Alucard standing near the entrance to the next level. It will mention that you can only enter Dracula’s domain “either from the prison or from this room, but never from both”.
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Unlock the master’s dungeon and fight Dracula’s boss in Dead Cells
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Therefore, to access the master’s dungeon and unlock the boss fight with Dracula in Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, you must follow Alucard’s instructions and enter Dracula’s castle, not from the prisoner rooms, but from the clock room. At first, it may seem unnecessarily confusing. However, the gist of this mechanic is that you must avoid entering the outskirts of the castle from the prison and instead fight your way through the levels to the clock tower, as you would in a typical game. In other words, entering the Castle Outskirts will permanently lock you out of the Master’s Dungeon in Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, forcing you to fight death.
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So, to avoid the battle with Death and continue to Master’s Keep to access the Dracula boss fight in Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, you need to go to the Clock Tower by bypassing the Castle Outskirts. The route we took was through the Prisoners’ Quarters, Toxic Sewers, Ramparts, Black Bridge, Stilt Village, Clock Tower and Clock Room. After defeating the Timekeeper, Alucard led us to the second entrance to Dracula’s Castle. Inside we found the petrified key to advance to the Master’s Tower Path, after which we were able to access Dracula’s throne room in Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania.
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