Cuphead & The Delicious Last Course: Complete Guide

A guide to Cuphead and its DLC, The Delicious Last Course: controls, parrying, weapon and charm loadouts, a boss-by-isle roadmap, Ms. Chalice, secrets, grades, and tips for Expert mode.

Researched September 2026 — current as of patch 1.3.4 (August 2022), the latest Cuphead update. The game and DLC are feature-complete; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Learn to parry. Anything pink can be parried by jumping into it and pressing jump again. Parries fill your super meter and are required for A+ and S grades.
• Buy the Spread or Chaser early. Porkrind's Emporium sells weapons for 4 coins and charms for 3 to 5. Spread melts bosses up close. Chaser auto-aims so you can focus on dodging.
• Equip the Smoke Bomb or Heart charm while learning. Smoke Bomb makes your dash invincible. Heart gives +1 HP at a small damage cost.
• Don't play Simple mode if you want to progress. Simple difficulty won't give you the boss's Soul Contract, so you can't advance the story with it.
• Death is learning. The progress bar on the death screen shows how close you were. Each attempt teaches a pattern.
• Collect coins in Run 'n Gun levels. Each has five coins. Coins buy everything.
• Visit the Mausoleums. They teach parrying and give you Super Arts. Clearing one also frees the Legendary Chalice, which leads to the DLC.
• Swap loadouts from the retry screen. Since patch 1.3.2 you can change weapons from the "Retry" screen instead of walking back to the map.
• Play co-op if you can. Two players split attention. Revive your partner by parrying their ghost.

Controls and Core Mechanics

Action | What it does

Shoot | Fire your equipped weapon

Lock | Stand still and aim in 8 directions

Jump | Jump. Press again when touching something pink to parry

Dash | Quick horizontal dash. Invincible with the Smoke Bomb charm

EX shot | Uses one super meter card for a stronger shot

Super Art | Spends a full five-card meter

Switch weapon | Swap between your two equipped weapons

The super meter

Your meter has five cards. Dealing damage and parrying fill it.

• EX moves use one card: a stronger version of your current weapon's shot.
• Super Arts use all five cards and must be unlocked in the Mausoleums.

Parrying

• Parry pink objects mid-air by pressing jump again as you touch them.
• Each parry fills a full card.
• Some bosses have pink projectiles that are safer to parry than dodge.
• P. Sugar charm auto-parries the first pink object you touch per jump (handy for parry-heavy fights like King's Leap).

Weapons

Weapon | Price | Best for

Peashooter | Starting weapon | All-round, decent range

Spread | 4 coins | Huge damage up close, weak at range

Chaser | 4 coins | Homing shots. Low damage, great for learning and plane-like chaos

Roundabout | 4 coins | Shoots forward then boomerangs back. Useful for enemies behind you

Lobber | 4 coins | Arcing bouncy shots, strong damage, awkward aim

Charge | 4 coins | Big charged shots. Excellent damage if you can time it

Crackshot (DLC) | 4 coins | Straight shot that breaks into weaker aimed projectiles

Converge (DLC) | 4 coins | Full-screen piercing three-way shot. Hold lock to narrow the spread

Twist-Up (DLC) | 4 coins | Rapid-fire shots on an arced path, average damage

Beginner combo: Spread + Chaser. Use Spread when you can get close, and Chaser when you need to focus on dodging.

Charms

Charm | Price | Effect

Heart | 3 coins | +1 HP, slightly lower damage

Smoke Bomb | 3 coins | Invisible, invincible dash

P. Sugar | 3 coins | Auto-parry the first pink object each jump

Coffee | 3 coins | Slowly builds super meter over time

Twin Heart | 5 coins | +2 HP, lower damage

Whetstone | 3 coins | Parry with a melee axe swing instead of a jump

Heart Ring (DLC) | 3 coins | Gain extra HP from your first parries

Broken Relic (DLC) | 1 coin | Starts the Divine Relic quest (secret boss)

Astral Cookie (DLC) | Given in the DLC | Play as Ms. Chalice

New charms unlock in Porkrind's shop as you buy earlier ones, so check back after each purchase. With the DLC installed, the DLC items show up earlier in the order.

Super Arts

Clear each Mausoleum to unlock one Super Art:

Super Art | Effect

Energy Beam | A huge beam of damage

Invincibility | A few seconds of invulnerability

Giant Ghost | A ghost that deals heavy damage

Energy Beam is the best damage option. Invincibility is great for getting through hard patterns.

Boss Roadmap by Isle

Inkwell Isle One

Boss / Level | Type

The Root Pack | Boss

Goopy Le Grande | Boss

Hilda Berg | Plane

Cagney Carnation | Boss

Ribby and Croaks | Boss

Forest Follies, Treetop Trouble | Run 'n Gun

Mausoleum I | Parry challenge

Tip: The Root Pack and Goopy Le Grande are the gentlest intros. Cagney Carnation's final phase is where most new players hit their first wall.

Inkwell Isle Two

Boss / Level | Type

Baroness Von Bon Bon | Boss

Djimmi the Great | Plane

Beppi the Clown | Boss

Wally Warbles | Plane

Grim Matchstick | Boss

Funhouse Frazzle, Funfair Fever | Run 'n Gun

Mausoleum II | Parry challenge

Tip: Grim Matchstick is a difficulty spike. Chaser helps with the fireballs.

Inkwell Isle Three

Boss / Level | Type

Sally Stageplay | Boss

Werner Werman | Boss

Captain Brineybeard | Boss

Rumor Honeybottoms | Boss

Cala Maria | Plane

Dr. Kahl's Robot | Plane

Phantom Express | Boss

Perilous Piers, Rugged Ridge | Run 'n Gun

Mausoleum III | Parry challenge

Tip: Dr. Kahl's Robot and Phantom Express are among the hardest in the base game.

Inkwell Hell

• King Dice — a board-game gauntlet. Each roll sends you to a mini-boss (such as Tipsy Troop, Chips Bettigan, Mr. Wheezy, Pip and Dot, Hopus Pocus, Phear Lap, Pirouletta, Mangosteen, and Mr. Chimes) before you reach King Dice himself. Parry the dice to control your roll.
• The Devil — the final boss. Two long phases. Bring your best loadout.

You need the Soul Contracts from the earlier bosses to open the path to the final confrontation.

Plane levels

In plane levels you pilot a small plane:

• Shrink to dodge and pass through gaps (lower damage while shrunk).
• Switch weapons to swap between the plane's gun and its bombs.
• Your ground loadout doesn't apply. Plane fights use their own shots, EX, and super.
• Parry by pressing jump when touching pink objects.

The Delicious Last Course (DLC)

Released June 30, 2022. It adds Inkwell Isle Four, a new playable character (Ms. Chalice), new weapons and charms, and some of the game's hardest bosses.

How to access it

Free the Legendary Chalice from one of the base game's Mausoleums, then follow the summons to the new island.

Ms. Chalice

Equip the Astral Cookie charm to play as Ms. Chalice. She has:

• +1 extra HP
• Double jump
• Invincible roll (ground dash)
• Dash parry — dash into pink objects to parry them
• Her own Super Arts

Ms. Chalice is much easier for most fights. Many players use her for the DLC and to beat base-game bosses they're stuck on.

Inkwell Isle Four bosses

Boss | Type

Glumstone the Giant | Boss

Moonshine Mob | Plane

Mortimer Freeze | Boss

Esther Winchester | Boss

The Howling Aces | Plane

Chef Saltbaker | Final boss

King's Leap

Five parry-focused chess piece fights: The Pawns, The Knight, The Bishop, The Rook, and The Queen. You can't shoot. Damage comes from parrying. P. Sugar and Ms. Chalice's dash parry help a lot.

Secret boss: Angel and Demon

Buy the Broken Relic charm (1 coin). Equipping it starts the Divine Relic quest. Solve the gravestone puzzle on Isle Four to fight Angel and Demon. Look up the puzzle clues in a walkthrough, or experiment with the graves on the isle.

Grades

Each boss gives a grade from D to S based on:

• Time
• HP remaining
• Parries
• Super meter use
• Difficulty

A+ needs a good time, full or near-full HP, three parries, and super meter use. S rank requires Expert difficulty.

Difficulty Modes

Mode | Notes

Simple | Easier patterns. No Soul Contract, so it can't finish the game

Regular | Standard. Required for story progress

Expert | Unlocked after beating the game. Faster, harder patterns. Required for S ranks

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Beating bosses on Simple and expecting to progress. You need Regular.
• Ignoring parries. They're free super meter.
• Sticking with the Peashooter. Spread and Charge do far more damage in the right fights.
• Forgetting the Smoke Bomb. Invincible dashes save runs.
• Dying the same way repeatedly. Watch what killed you and plan for that phase.
• Skipping Run 'n Gun levels. They're where most coins come from.
• Not using Ms. Chalice. Her extra HP and double jump make hard fights easier.

Advanced Tips

• Spread + Smoke Bomb is a top damage setup for skilled players who can stay close.
• Charge has excellent damage per second if you learn to hold and release on time.
• Lock aim (stand still and aim diagonally) to hit bosses from safe positions.
• Use EX moves when a boss enters a vulnerable pattern.
• Save Supers for a boss's final phase.
• In co-op, one player focuses on damage and the other on survival and revives.
• Pacifist runs of Run 'n Gun levels (no enemies killed) are a separate challenge and give special grades.
• Use the title screen toggle (patch 1.3.4) in Options > Visuals if you prefer the original title screen and song.

FAQ

How do I unlock The Delicious Last Course? Buy the DLC, then free the Legendary Chalice from a Mausoleum in the base game. You'll be summoned to Inkwell Isle Four.

Do I need to beat the whole base game for the DLC? No. Freeing the Legendary Chalice from a Mausoleum is the key step.

What's the best weapon in Cuphead? It depends on the fight. Spread for close damage, Charge for timed burst, Chaser for safety, and Lobber for arcing damage.

How do I get an S rank? Beat a boss on Expert with a fast time, no damage taken, and full parry and super use.

Who is the secret boss in the DLC? Angel and Demon, unlocked through the Broken Relic / Divine Relic quest.

Can I play as Mugman solo? Yes. Since the 1.2 update (2019) you can pick Mugman in single player.

Is Cuphead still updated? The last patch was 1.3.4 in August 2022. The game is considered finished.

Sources

• Cuphead on Steam
• Cuphead Steam news — patches 1.2, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.3.4
• Cuphead Wiki (wiki.gg) — main page
• Cuphead Wiki — Porkrind's Emporium (prices)
• Cuphead Wiki — The Delicious Last Course
• Cuphead on Wikipedia