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Cuphead grades boss fights using several performance categories—not just damage or time. The results screen considers elapsed time, health performance, parries, Super Meter use, and the selected difficulty. Boss-grade ceilings differ by mode: a community-maintained Cuphead Wiki reports B+ on Simple, A+ on Regular, and S on Expert. Run ’n Gun stages use a separate ranking system, with P as the top rank.
What determines your grade after a boss fight?
The post-fight results screen brings together several aspects of your performance. The categories described for boss results are:
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- Time: How long the fight took. The available sources do not establish one time cutoff that applies to every boss.
- HP bonus or health performance: The results include a health-related measure. Sources describe it in terms of remaining health or damage taken, so it is safest to treat it as a health-performance component rather than assume one precise calculation.
- Parries: Qualifying parries contribute to the result. No universal minimum for every encounter is established.
- Super Meter: Super Meter use appears as a score category. The available evidence does not establish a fixed quota of EX attacks or other meter use.
- Skill level: The selected difficulty affects the grade you can earn.
Because the result combines these categories, a fast clear alone does not guarantee a particular grade. The sources reviewed do not provide a complete, authoritative formula.
How difficulty affects boss grades
The Cuphead Wiki’s Difficulty Rankings page reports different boss-grade ceilings for each mode. These are secondary-source figures, rather than values confirmed by an official scoring manual.
#1 Best Overall
- Experience the classic run and gun action with a pal in 2-player local co-op
- Includes the “Delicious Last Course” expansion filled with new bosses and brand-new character Ms. Chalice
- Includes exclusive “Cuphead Funnies” comic collector cards & vintage-inspired “Cuphead Club Membership”, and a hand-drawn reversible coversheet
| Mode | Reported boss-grade ceiling | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | B+ | Boss content may be easier or abbreviated. The Wiki says Simple does not award soul contracts. |
| Regular | A+ | The standard mode and progression route. |
| Expert | S | The harder mode, with S reported as its top boss grade. |
Simple can be useful for practicing a fight, but it is not equivalent to Regular for progression: according to the same community reference, it does not award soul contracts. For the normal progression reward, play on Regular.
What does P rank mean?
P rank belongs to Run ’n Gun stages, not boss fights. A TrueAchievements guide describes grades for these stages and identifies P as the best rank. Keep it separate from the letter grades used for boss results.
Rank #2
- Experience the classic run and gun action with a pal in 2-player local co-op
- Includes the “Delicious Last Course” expansion filled with new bosses and brand-new character Ms. Chalice
- Includes exclusive “Cuphead Funnies” comic collector cards & vintage-inspired “Cuphead Club Membership”, and a hand-drawn reversible coversheet
Are there exact time or score thresholds?
No reliable, complete per-boss threshold table or authoritative formula is established by the sources available here. Community discussions suggest that time requirements can differ between bosses, but isolated discussions are not enough to turn a particular completion time, parry count, or amount of Super Meter use into a guaranteed grade. Treat the results categories as guidance, not a universal checklist with fixed quotas.
The results screen also shows the performance categories being assessed, so use it to identify where a run fell short. If you are targeting a higher boss grade, improve the overall performance across the categories rather than relying on a single number.
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Quick Recap
Best Value
- Play as Cuphead or Mugman in single-player or local co-op, as you traverse strange worlds
- Meet a variety of bosses in a single game or local cooperative action
- Acquire new weapons, learn powerful and exciting moves, and reveal hidden secrets
- Defeat your enemies and win boss battles to pay your debt back to the devil!
- The game's completely traditional hand-drawn graphics and watercolor background in a combination with a jazz soundtrack provide a unique gaming experience
Rank #4
- A Nintendo Switch Online membership may be required for online play. Please check the game detail page on Nintendo.com for membership requirements.
- 2022 StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cuphead and StudioMDHR are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc. throughout the world.
Rank #3
- Experience the classic run and gun action with a pal in 2-player local co-op
- Includes the “Delicious Last Course” expansion filled with new bosses and brand-new character Ms. Chalice
- Includes exclusive “Cuphead Funnies” comic collector cards & vintage-inspired “Cuphead Club Membership”, and a hand-drawn reversible coversheet
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
