Death’s Door guide: Ability upgrade boss locations and maps

In Death’s Door, you collect different abilities as you complete various areas in the game. The skills are powerful on their own and allow you to solve puzzles, but you can upgrade them by defeating bosses found in The Lost Cemetery and the surrounding areas. Our Death’s Door guide will show where to find these skill upgrades with maps and how to take down the bosses.

Death’s Door skill bosses tips and tricks

For each ability, there’s a glowing white door with an icon representing the ability floating at the top of the door. Near these doors, there are flower pots where you can plant seeds and recover health. Always plant seeds. These boss fights take a bit of time.

All of the skill upgrades require you to fight the same boss, though some fights have quirks that make them a little bit different. The boss typically does two melee attacks in a row: once in front of it, and another either in a circular motion around it or in a line straight in front of it. Dodge accordingly, and hit it with your weapon of choice after it uses its second melee attack.

Occasionally, it will also hit its weapon on the ground, slowing you down. Roll rapidly to break free from the slow faster.

Bow and arrow skill upgrade location

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Image sources: Devolver/Acid Nerve

To upgrade your basic bow and arrow skill, once you enter The Lost Cemetery door from The Hall of Doors, head to the structure directly below the door. You’ll need the fire skill, obtained from The Urn Witch’s Ceramic Manor, to get in. Use the fire skill to blast away the spider cobwebs and hop into the crypt. There’s lots of critters down here to kill, along with the Lost Compass Shiny Thing.

Note that you’ll have to fight several waves of enemies from red doors before you can actually get to the bow and arrow boss door. Come prepared with full health.

Upgrading your bow and arrow ability allows you to charge it for longer to do more damage.

Fire skill upgrade location

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Image sources: Devolver/Acid Nerve

The door to upgrade your fire ability is in the crypt right before The Estate of the Urn Witch. You can either travel north from The Lost Cemetery door or travel backwards from The Urn Witch’s Estate door from the Hall of Doors. In the crypt before the room with the exit to the elevator, there’s a door blocked off with webbing. Use your fire skill to burn the webbing and access the fire ability boss fight.

Upgrading your fire ability adds a damage-over-time burn to enemies you hit with it.

Bomb skill upgrade location

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Image sources: Devolver/Acid Nerve

The bomb skill upgrade is under a bridge near the entrance to the jungleYou can either head east from The Lost Cemetery’s Hall of Doors entrance or you can use the door in the Overgrown Ruins and take the gondola back up to The Lost Cemetery. Go north of the gondola and cross a bridge. Hop down the bridge across the part that has no railing. Use the bomb skill on on the a cracked, breakable wall right under the bridge. The bomb upgrade boss door is right inside this structure.

Upgrading your bomb ability makes it so your bombs no longer get hurt you.

Hookshot skill upgrade location

Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Image sources: Devolver/Acid Nerve

To find the hookshot upgrade, you need to enter the cave from The Lost Cemetery leading to The Stranded Soldier in the mountains. Exit the Hall of Doors through The Stranded Sailor door and backtrack towards The Lost Cemetery to get here. (You had to have passed this area to get the hookshot skill to begin with.) Once you’re in the cave, use the hookshot on the nearby anchors to access a lever. This lever will open up the gate between the two statues in the center of the room. The boss door is right behind this gate.

Upgrading your hookshot ability adds the ability to slash your weapon as you travel with the hookshot.