Dave’s Fun Algebra Class: Remastered: Beating The New Cell Mode

This guide is about Cell Mode only, so any information or tips on anything outside of it can be found in the original guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3212833045
Some information from the original guide that I haven’t manually confirmed may still be present in this guide, as some things in that guide I can’t verify but do still believe. Other information taken from that guide has been manually verified and corrected if needed. The rest of the information is my original findings, but some still match the findings mentioned in the original guide.
Also, credits to Goldy333 for commenting on the original guide on May 2, and confirming some thoughts of mine on errors in the original guide.

I am aware I am late, but if I’m this late, maybe somebody else is too.

I only recommend this guide if you are struggling with Cell Mode, as reading about what to do without trying it for yourself can take out all the fun.
Spoilers aren’t fun, but getting stuck and not being able to get sufficient help is even less fun. You’ll get the best experience if you only read anything before the Cell Phase 2 section, as everything from there on in Cell Mode is easy to beat on your own and contains most of the spoilers, letting me purposefully omit any story spoilers from the parts before it, making them safe to read.

“Story spoilers” refer to dialogue, events, and how parts of the story connect, and these are held off until Cell Phase 2 and beyond with the appropriate warning in case you forget or don’t realize.

To get to Cell Mode, you need the first four trophies:

1. Trophy of Failure (win Normal Mode after failing every question)
2. Trophy of Raw Skill (win Hard Mode)
3. Trophy of Resilience (win Modifier Mode with all modifiers enabled)
4. Trophy of Unknown (win Cheater Mode)

The original guide has information and tips on getting these trophies, so refer to that guide to get them.

Cell Mode begins normal (Dave even tells you so!), but once you inevitably fail a question, Dave disappears and the lights dim.
There is a poster for each enemy, which can be found in detention, and don’t go away even if you enter Cheater Mode from Cell Mode.
The enemies only react when you grab a paper, not when you answer a question. Nothing changes if you get a question wrong, and enemies don’t spawn any sooner if you get the first question wrong.
Each enemy glows a certain color with a short range (reaching 1 tile in each direction), and the lights seep through nearby walls. They always play a staticky sound that can be heard if they’re nearby, but Creep has discernable vocals included.

There are three enemy types before Cell, and they are the only other enemies in Cell Mode.
Each enemy will spawn when you grab a paper starting from a certain amount of papers, and will spawn again each paper you grab after.

1. Crypt: Duplicatable and can despawn. Starts from 2/8 papers.
2. Crawl: Only one can exist, and is replaced when you grab a paper, starting from 3/8 papers.
3. Creep: Duplicatable and can despawn. Starts from 4/8 papers.

These enemies can’t see through doors or windows, even if the door is open or the window is broken, and each have their own simple mechanic with a few quirks. None of them can break windows. The Crawl doesn’t despawn, but Crypts and Creeps will, even if you’re nearby. They will despawn after a certain amount of time, but only can if they aren’t chasing you and just reached a corner they want to turn. Every enemy can chase you, but there is no indicator for when they start chasing you. They all can forget about you and stop chasing if they can’t see you after a while, but Crawl will stay alert until you grab a new paper, waiting until he sees you again to start chasing again.
The hammer does not work on any of them. Trust me.

Crypts are really fast, being the fastest of the three enemy types. Every paper you grab after the first, after a short wait each time, a Crypt will spawn on the opposite side of the map and start skimming through the hallways, perhaps missing yours entirely, though it’s unlikely. If they see you, they’ll start chasing you. As their detention poster suggests, they won’t enter rooms unless you lead them into one.

• You should probably hide in a room as soon as you get a paper and wait until the corresponding Crypt passes your room or despawns.
• They pass through the outside area and cafeteria extremely often, and their eyesight extends past those entire rooms, so it is best to avoid those areas while any Crypts are spawned.
• A Crypt’s lifespan is short, so they won’t often revisit areas, but you can wait for them to despawn to ensure you won’t get caught.
• They glow red and their light seeps into rooms, so if they’re right outside, you can see their light as they pass. Of course, you can look through an open door or window and they still won’t see you.
• The shiny-blocking sunglasses let you see Crypts through the walls, except for any that spawn while you’re wearing the sunglasses.

The Crawl spawns at set positions every paper you grab after the second, with a certain position for each paper. Unlike the other enemies, there can only be one Crawl and it won’t despawn. They will be alerted if you run while really close to them. If they can’t see you while you do this, they will wait until they do to chase you. They won’t chase you into rooms, and instead will wait outside the door or window you went through. They won’t chase you again unless they see you outside of a room. They can see to the end of any hallway and move slightly faster than you run. They can still catch you if you just walk into them, so they can be in the way and force you to go around. They forget about you if you grab a paper.

• If they are waiting outside your door, you can break a window with a hammer and exit without them noticing. They will forget that you alerted them if you grab a new paper.
• If exit their sight during a chase, they’ll go to the last place they saw you and wait for you to re-enter their sight to chase you again.
• They are really only a problem if they’re in your way, and you’ll have to reroute. Their range of intolerance to running is really short, being about the range of their light, and if you need to run while that close to them, you probably already have no way out.
• The Crawl’s most devastating spawns are the two papers at the entrance, so probably do those first.
• Crypts and Creeps very often will get stuck on Crawl. When this happens, the stuck enemies won’t despawn, and will only chase you if you enter their sight from a certain side, those being backwards or forwards from the direction they were moving upon getting stuck. Grabbing a new paper will teleport the Crawl and unstick any enemies.

This mostly-accurate map shows where Crawl will move to for each paper.
Save the image, study it for a moment and draw a path that avoids Crawl, and you’ll have a map and path you can pause the game and refer to whenever you need to.
Keep in mind that Crawl won’t spawn until you grab a third paper.

One Creep spawns a bit after each paper you grab after the third one. They wait a little bit longer before spawning than a Crypt. Like Crawl, they are slightly faster than your running speed. Creeps will check rooms one time each, in no set order. They have a very short eyesight and can be avoided by staying in any corner of a room. They barely check some rooms (e.g. detention) and go all the way to the other end of a room in others. After some time, that being much more than a Crypt, a Creep will despawn. Like Crypts, Creeps can get stuck on Crawl and then won’t despawn and will still chase you if seen from a certain side.

• Like Crypts, their light seeps into rooms, giving you a quick visual warning.
• Their sound is probably the most memorable, as it is staticky yelling (“WOH-WAH-WOH-AAAAAAaaah”) on loop.
• All you need to do is hide in a corner and they won’t see you. Some rooms, you have to be on the opposite end of the room from them.
• A Creep won’t revisit a room, but may pass the room you’re hiding in multiple times to get to other rooms.
• Waiting for Creeps can really slow you down, so using items or your own personal tricks can be good if you want to hurry past this part of Cell Mode.

I’ll go into more detail on items and their usability against enemies here, also to make it so you don’t have to skim through the enemy descriptions just for info on items. Any items not present in this list are not present in this part of Cell Mode.
Because Cell will take all your items and destroy the others once he appears, there is not really a need to conserve most items as you approach the end of pre-Cell Cell Mode.

You can use the Orange Soda on any enemy except Cell. Crypts and Creeps will forget about you if they can’t see you anymore after you use it on them. The spray from the soda is very slow and gives you a lot of time to run away, ESPECIALLY when sent down a long hallway. Cell Mode has no coins, so Orange Soda can not be obtained from its vending machines.
Watch out when using an Orange Soda while being chased! The spray moves slow, and the enemies are fast and can still catch you before or while they are caught by the spray if they are already close enough, so the best idea is to use the soda and walk away. If they’re hit by the spray and you don’t get caught, you’re safe.

The NRG Bar, like the Orange Soda, can not be obtained from its vending machines, as there are no coins. It will give you infinite stamina for some time. It is not typically helpful here, as all of the enemies are faster than you. It can be helpful to just speed up this part of Cell Mode or to get through the hallways and into a safe room faster.

The hammer can be used to smash windows, which can help you escape the Crawl if they’re waiting at a room’s door, or let you enter a room you wouldn’t be fast enough to reach in time. It also lets you cut into rooms that you would need to go around to get into, so can help you evade a Crypt or Creep that is on their way to you but hasn’t spotted you yet. Like the NRG Bar, this can also simply help you get through this part of Cell Mode quicker. In Cell Phase 1, it can be used to add more exits to faculty rooms, or just give you a neat shortcut.

The shiny-blocking sunglasses can be used to see enemies through the walls. This is most helpful if you’re worried about any enemies or want to confirm that the path to your next destination is clear as soon as possible. Any enemies that spawn while sunglasses are worn won’t be shown. Keep this and that Crypts and Creeps wait a bit before spawning after you grab a paper in mind.

The heavy-duty glue stick can be used to glue red doors shut. This can be used pre-emptively to keep enemies away, or during a chase to get a Crypt or Creep to forget about you, or earn you some time to escape the Crawl. However, you might never get into a chase where it is applicable, especially if you aren’t trying to.

Despite the name, there can be multiple The Majestic Cube of Invisibilitys. You can use one to go invisible for about 40 seconds, where no enemies can catch or see you. This partially includes Cell, who won’t be able to catch you, but will still chase you anyway.

Once you get to the fourth exit, it will close, all the previous enemies will despawn and not come back, and Cell will quickly run over to the exit to tell you that you can’t beat the mode, to give him the trophies, and that you can throw the NULL Pies (he calls “green things”) that spawned around the map at him to beat him. Cell takes all of the items you have, all your stamina, and your stamina bar. NULL pies are the only item for the rest of the mode. Hammers and Orange Sodas don’t work on him. Trust me.

NULL pies are green and glow green. If you pick up and use a NULL pie, you will throw it straight ahead, or backwards if you’re looking behind you with your “Look Back” keybind. Using Look Back will be very helpful later, while being chased by Cell. A thrown pie moves about as fast as you move after gaining the to-be-mentioned speed boost, unfortunately doesn’t go through walls, and you lose points if a pie doesn’t hit Cell.
In this first phase, you need to hit Cell with eleven NULL pies. Once you hit him with a NULL pie, the game freezes for a split second, his health bar appears in the top left, and you gain a massive speed boost but still can’t sprint. After a couple of seconds, Cell will chase after you, smashing through any windows to get to you. When Cell is hit with a pie, he gets stunned for one second, unable to move or catch you. Pies spawn in hallways and faculty rooms, so any other room is a waste of time and will get you caught.

How do you get and throw eleven NULL pies before Cell catches you, considering all of these rules? Here are some methods.

This is the most exciting way to win, and thus also an absolute mood-killer if you lose.
The easiest pies to get are the ones located in hallways, but these can be pretty spread out, and it hasn’t worked for me to risk it trying to only get hallway pies (I couldn’t beat it fair, so I switched to the cheat method of winning after three attempts because those three attempts cost me half an hour).
All four exits have their own benefits as your starting area (except the Northeast one).
To win fair, I think you need to get some of the pies located in faculty rooms. If you enter a faculty room with only one exit, here’s the best way to survive:

1. Save a NULL pie from a hallway and bring it into the faculty room.
2. Grab all the pies inside.
3. Either turn around or use Look Back to face Cell, making sure you don’t get caught off-guard by him breaking through a window.
4. Once Cell comes close, throw a pie to stun him, then select a new pie in your inventory.
5. Run to any room exit while he’s stunned and throw the new pie at him to stun him again.
6. Exit the room and run for more pies, unless he’s defeated.

It can be annoying to go back through the pre-Cell part of Cell Mode every time you lose during Cell’s Phase 1, so you might want to consider the following methods to victory.

This fair and square method of winning is using The Majestic Cube of Invisibility to gain 40 seconds of invincibility, which is more than enough time to defeat Cell. You must find one of these cubes and activate it before Cell reaches the exit you are at, as he will take all your items then.
Quickly grab a pie and throw it at him so you can begin the chase as soon as possible.
Cell will still attempt to catch you while you’re invisible, and can block you from grabbing pies if he stands in your way. If he does, walk back and forth and spam-grab until you grab the pie, then run forwards and immediately throw the pie at him so you can grab another without being blocked.
If you lose too much time while invisible, you may run out of time. If you’re running low on time, throw a lot of pies to stun him for a while and gain distance, then get the rest of the hallway pies you need.

This is the slowest and most boring to win, but makes absolute sure you don’t lose the 8-10 minutes you spent getting here (which starts to stack up after even two attempts).
-of course, that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun.
Before starting the chase, you can fill your inventory with pies, then try to pick up more pies. With your inventory full, when you pick up another pie, you place down another where you’re standing. You can use this to backwards-juggle pies to a long hallway, where once you are holding three pies and have eight more sitting at the end of that hallway, you can aim at Cell, throw the first pie, run back to your pies if needed, and throw the rest of the pies at Cell.
As long as you don’t miss any of these shots, you should get the Bullseye achievement. If you gathered exactly eleven pies and miss a shot, it might be hard to find another pie, as you probably took all the pies from your area. It’s best to just make absolute sure you don’t miss, which you can guarantee if you take some time to aim, then throw the pies, as it will stunlock him and he can’t progress towards you.

When juggling pies, keep in mind you can’t directly grab them through any doors. To bring them through a door, you need to stand halfway through the door (slightly more on the side the pie is on so you aren’t blocked by the door), grab the pie to place it halfway through the door, walk to the side you want to move it to, then grab the pie again.

Don’t worry though, you won’t have to hover over text whenever you want to read any of the sections, having it flicker in and out as you scroll and needing constant repositioning.

Once Cell loses all of his health, he will run up to you and act like he’s dying, then he reveals he’s not actually dying. He tells you “I’m not playing fair anymore. There’s no way you’ll get me this time,” and teleports you into the cafeteria for the second phase.

Cell Phase 2 has 3 sub-phases. It takes place in the cafeteria, where both exits are glued shut for the duration of the fight. Cell’s health bar is refilled and you now have a health bar as well. You can get an achievement for not getting hit. Cell has a few set places he can move to during the fight in any of the sub-phases, which is also where the NULL pies spawn. In all of the sub-phases, NULL pies will periodically spawn for you to pick up and throw at Cell to damage him. They spawn in batches, and multiple can spawn in the same place. In each sub-phase, Cell can move to the spot he’s already in, attacking from the same spot twice.

This sub-phase lasts until Cell is down to 2/3 of his health. He will move to a random spot (of his preset choices), then lift up a nearby chair or table and throw it at you. Get the NULL pies as fast as possible to end the sub-phase quickly, praying you don’t get hit, as he throws objects very randomly, either missing entirely or hitting you straight-on. He throws objects too fast to dodge, and I can’t find a difference in the odds of getting hit when running around or standing still. You can’t exactly speed past this sub-phase because of how slow the pies spawn, meaning you might be fighting this sub-phase for a good minute, giving Cell a lot of time to end your flawless run early with a lucky throw. Give it enough attempts, and don’t miss your throws.
-and if you don’t pass this sub-phase without taking damage, take a break, because you’ll need it after losing 11-13 minutes to chance.

This sub-phase lasts until Cell is down to 1/3 of his health. Every time he moves to a spot, he spawns a tiny spike beneath you, which won’t hurt you if you move out of the way. Just don’t stop moving nor get caught on any objects when he spawns one.

This sub-phase is the last, and ends upon Cell losing all of his health. When he moves to a spot, he will jump high up, then slam down into the ground. This will damage you if you’re too close, so run away if he runs up to you, and just make sure to time your pie shots correctly. The only penalty for missing a pie is a small deduction of points, and perhaps a long wait time for the next batch of pies. Pies will still hit him even if he has jumped up and over them. He takes long enough to stomp that you can run away from him if he runs up to you, and you have a lot of time to turn around if he runs in front of you.

Once Cell runs out of health, his health will go back to one pie away from dead and he’ll yell, then say “No… no, no, this isn’t over yet. No!” Then, he will slowly start floating up as his health bar slowly refills and the lights slowly brighten, and Cell becomes wobbly in the same way the structure in Cheater Mode does. While this is happening, he says (while coughing a lot):
“I’ll get you! Don’t leave me! This isn’t over yet! I’m fine- Don’t leave me! NO- WAAAAAAAAAAA-“
-and disappears when his health is almost maximum, having his health instantly switch to 0.
The health bar GUIs slowly move off the screen. The red doors unglue, the lights are back on, and you must get to all 4 exits to win. There is no time limit to escape and no enemies to catch you. Once the GUIs fully exit the screen, fog rolls in and nice music begins playing.

You get the flawless achievements at the end of their respective phases, and the Cell’s Demise achievement and Cell’s Trophy once you go through the final exit. If you replay Cell Mode after winning, when Cell reaches you at the fourth exit, he will say “Spoiler alert! You didn’t actually defeat me. You just allowed me an opening to make my escape. If you want, we can fight again, I really do not care. You know what would REALLY impress me though? If you got my health to zero in that [first] phase without missing a shot, and then on that last phase I’m gonna do after that, you beat it without losing any health. You’ll get some cool rewards if you do that.” This is how you’re supposed to learn about the secret flawless achievements. This also reveals that the accidental mess-up, where Cell tells you that you can throw NULL pies at him to defeat him, was actually intentional, as he wants to lose so he can “escape.”

-and that’s it for Cell Mode. No, that doesn’t mean to go get A+ in every mode.