Dead as Disco: Beat and Score Guide

As I said in the description, the game came out yesterday, and very little is actually known. Take this with a grain of salt and make sure to read the comments in case I got anything wrong. With that being said…

The biggest thing I find weird and unique about this combat system is the different penalties to the score multiplier and the combo meter. It is the source of all my frustrations with reading the game and my fascination with it.

• prioritise getting your beat up by performing actions in sync with the beats of the song,
• use the running attack on walls to get a wall bounce and free juggles into a beatdown
• do emotes between rounds when enemies spawn
• be deliberate with every button press and do not mash,
• do not get hit
• abuse frenzy rush to generate takedown tokens
• spam thunder strike for ton of hits
• only use takedown tokens and beatdowns when the enemie’s health is already almost depleted.

The total score determines how many stars you get.

The combat score is determined by each action you perform and the score multiplier. Each action gets multiplied by the score multiplier then gets added on to your total. The total you see on the top right is also the total you get at the end of each level.

To be completely honest, I have no idea how the time bonus is calculated. I am just assuming it is set individually for each level by the devs.

The amount of fans you get depends on the level, as each level gives a base sum for clearing it and a bonus sum based on the time. It seems that the stars you get and the total score do not affect this.

The score multiplier operates on a penalty and bonus basis. This has straight numerical calculations, but I prioritised getting this guide out of the door before pulling out the spreadshits. I did test everything here on the infinite arena mode (devs pls add practice of something like the void from DMC 5 or bayonetta).

If you go without hitting opponents for long; if you take hits; if you spam the same move; it decreases. Note that getting hit adds a penalty and subtracts a sum and does not reset the multiplier. Also note that spamming the move does not decrease the multiplier bonus added per move, it decreases the multiplier flat out. It is a penalty to the multplier itself.

Moves add a set amount to the score multiplier. Hits, counters, dodges, special moves, stick throw, emotes, you get it. Perfect hits and counters and such add more. Keeping your moves varied adds to the score faster as they maintain a hidden “fresh” bonus. I don’t have hard numbers for this yet, sorry.

The beat sum is not what gets added to your total score. Each individual beat gets multiplied by the score meter and that sum is added to your total score. Increasing the beat meter increases the amount of beat each individual action gives, so for a higher score, you need to keep both the score meter and the beat meter up.

Much like the combo meter in the Batman Arkham games or the style meter in Devil May Cry, Dead as Disco does reset your Beat meter when you take a hit. The Beat meter acts like a combo meter, whenever you land hits or use special moves, you get a numerical sum added to your beat meter.

What is important to note here is that every action gives a different amount of points, and because most arenas and challenges have a limited number of enemies, being efficient with your actions, maximising the score per action, is tantamount to success. Hence, keeping the beat meter up and avoiding hits is what gives the highest score, as that increases the number of beats rewarded per action.

Dodges and counters each reward a higher amount of points if you execute them “perfectly” via the visual indicator.

Sometimes, you may still get the visual distinction of “Perfect” + score on the side bar, but a regular hit on the beat and a perfect hit on the beat award the same amount of Beats to your Beat Meter. This is because perfect hits on beat increase your score meter faster, but do not affect your beat meter.

Surprisingly, getting hit increases your meter. Unsurprisingly, not as much as if you land perfect moves directly.

Takedowns generate frenzy bar very quickly; both beatdowns and takedown tokens. Use them to quickly gain a ton of heat. Frenzy moves in turn generate takedown tokens extremely fast, so a meta for a boss would be to hold frenzy rush and generate a token quickly, use the token to generate frenzy again, counter a few hits as perfectly as you can, repeat.