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Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition – Battle/Combat Mechanics FAQ
PlayStation 2
Battle/Combat Mechanics FAQ by Dahbomb
Version: 1.5 | Updated: 01/26/06
*************************************** DEVIL MAY CRY 3: DANTE'S AWAKENING FAQ *************************************** Analysis of Tactics/Combo Mechanics FAQ Ver. 1.5 FAQ Written by Dahbomb Co-Written by Pokey86 =========== FAQ History =========== ------------ Version 1.5 ------------ * DT Enemy Rising mechanics added enemy analysis. * Stylish combo requirements section filled in. * Free-form combos are still left unfilled. * Credits for specific mechanics/techniques are no longer credited. * Minor fixes in gramatical, structure and wording. *New Enemy Property added +Summoning * New sections are added as follows (note that these sections apply to DMC3SE, so they will not be filled in until at least a week into the game's release) + Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition Intro and Additions + Jester boss fight mechanics + Vergil's "Bag O' Tricks" WEAPONS - Yamato - Force Edge - Beowulf - Phantom Swords Special Abilities - Dark Slayer Style - Nelo Angelo Devil Trigger + Triple Devil Arm switch mechanic + Advanced Phantom Sword Buffering + Wave teleporting technique +Section for SE exclusive combos - Vergil's free-form combos - Nelo Angelo's free-form combos + Mini-section for Bloody Palace (other minor changes have also been added pertaining to SE) ------------ Version 1.0 ------------ * Enemy Mechanics completed + Gigapede + Soul Eater + Fallen * Doppelganger advanced techiniques section added * Stylish Combos not yet done minor errors corrected ------------ Version 0.5 ------------ * FAQ debuts. * Fallen, Gigapede and Soul Eaters mechanics not yet discussed due to lack of testing. * Other miscellaneous topics not yet discussed either but will be after more research. * Stylish combo section not yet completed. *FAQ is still in a very primordial state, chances are it will look different in the months ahead. Current Size: 352KB ******************************************************************** ================= Table of Contents ================= 1) Prelude A) Introduction B) Mission Statement/Purpose/"Thesis" C) Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition Intro and Additions (SE) 2) The Basics of Devil May Cry 3 A) Commands, Notations and Abbreviations 1) Control Layout 2) Notations 3) Positioning and Movements 4) Commonly Used Abbreviations I) Weapons II) Styles III) Move Specific Abbreviations 5) Interchangeable Phrases B) Basic terminologies 1) Cancel 2) Linking 3) Juggling 4) Launcher 5) Rising 6) Infinites 7) Manual "Free-form" Combos 8) Automatic "Predetermined" Strings 9) Buffering 10) Enemy Rebound 11) Air Reset 12) Frames 13) Just Frames 14) "Crazy" Combos 15) Crowd Controlling 16) Evasive Rolling (Roll) 17) Just Roll 18) Auto-Parry 19) Perfect Impacts 20) Soft Lock-On/Hard Lock-On 21) Pole Play 22) Free Ride C) Introduction to Expert Combo Tactics and Stylish "Free-form" combos 3) Getting to know your Enemies A) Enemy Classifications 1) Juggleable (small weight) 2) Comboable (medium-large weight) 3) Medium Sized Bosses 4) Large Sized Bosses 5) "Cannot-be-comboed" enemies B) Enemy Combat Mechanics and Attributes 1) Hit stun 2) Major Stun 3) Guard Stun 4) Auto-Parry/Perfect Impact 5) Air Stun 6) Jump/Falling animation 7) Downed/Fallen 8) Face-downed 9) Wall Stun 10) Crumple Stun 11) Scared tactics 12) Recovery animation 13) Devil Triggered 14) Invincibility 15) Weakspot 16) Elemental Affliction 17) Special stuns/stances/transformations C) Enemy Attack Properties 1) Regular hit 2) Stagger hit 3) Combo attack 4) Knockdown effect 5) Knockback effect 6) Air attacks 7) Projectiles 8) Multiple Projectiles 9) Charging attacks 10) Auto-Parry attack 11) Wide-area effect 12) Grapple (rare circumstance) 13) Special moves 14) Semi-omnipotent Move (partial Guard Crush) 15) Omnipotent Move (complete Guard Crush) 16) Homing moves 17) Special Abilities 18) Summoning D) In-depth Enemy Analysis 1) Hell Pride 2) Hell Lust 3) Hell Sloth 4) Hell Envy 5) Hell Gluttony 6) Hell Greed 7) Hell Wrath 8) Hell Vanguard 9) Abyss 10) Arachne 11) Bloodgoyles 12) Enigma 13) Damned Pawn 14) Damned Bishop 15) Damned Knight 16) Damned Rook 17) Damned Queen 18) Damned King 19) Dullahan 20) Soul Eaters 21) Arkham's legions 22) Fallen E) In-depth Boss Analysis 1) Cerberus 2) Gigapede 3) Agni and Rudra 4) Vergil I 5) Leviathan 6) Nevan 7) Beowulf 8) Geryon 9) Vergil II 10) Lady 11) Doppelganger 12) Arkham 13) Vergil III 14) Jester (SE) F) Random Enemy Combat Tactics/Tips/Strategies etc. 1) Weapon clashing/Perfect Impact combat 2) Interrupting 3) Weakness exploit 4) Pattern recognition/Awareness 5) Visual/Audio Clues 6) V.S. Weapon set ups 7) A.I. changes mid-battle 8) Enemy Devil Triggers 9) DT Enemy Rising mechanics 4) Getting to know Dante A) The "Arsenal" and "Bag O'Tricks" B) Move Properties 1) Single Hitting 2) Multiple Hitting 3) Knockback 4) Launcher 5) Rising Launcher 6) Knockdown 7) Median 8) Crazy Combo 9) Bufferable 10) Delayable 11) Stun 12) Crowd Control 13) Just Frame Input 14) Reboundable 15) Deflecter 16) Projectile 17) Distance Decay/Growth 18) Linear 19) Invincibility 20) Time Flip 21) Lunge/Dash C) Style Move Analysis 1) Trickster a) Dash/Double Dash/ Triple Dash b) Wall Run/Wall Hike c) Star Dash d) Air Trick e) Just Evasion 2) Royal Guard a) Block and Charge b) Just Parry/Silver Parry/Gold Parry c) Release and "Perfect" Release d) Just Release e) Air Parry f) Air Release g) Air Just Release h) Ultimate 3) Quicksilver a) Time Lag 4) Doppelganger a) After-image D) Weapon Attributes 1) Combo Ability 2) Reach/Range 3) Crowd Control 4) Speed/Lag 5) Strength/Power 6) Ground manueverability 7) Swordmaster/Gunslinger upgrades 8) Special Abilities 9) Devil Trigger enhancements (not applicable to firearms) 10) Aerial offense E) Weapon Special Moves List Analysis (includes analysis of Swordmaster and Gunslinger moves) 1) Rebellion a) Stinger b) Hightime c) Rising Hightime d) Million Stab e) Helm Breaker f) Combo String I g) Combo String II h) Drive i) Air Hike j) Swordmaster I) Pop Shredder (both versions) II) Aerial Rave III) Sword Pierce IV) Thrust Kick/Flying Kick V) Dance Macabre VI) Crazy Dance 2) Cerberus a) Revolver b) Windmill c) Satellite d) Aerial Cross e) Combo String I f) Combo String II g) Swordmaster I) Flicker II) Air Flicker III) Crystal IV) Million Carats V) Ice Age 3) Agni and Rudra a) Jet Stream Lv. 1 -3 b) Whirlwind c) Rising Whirlwind d) Million Slash e) Sky Cross f) Air Hike g) Combo I h) Combo II i) Combo III j) Swordmaster I) Crossed Swords II) Sky Dance III Crawler IV) Tempest V) Twister 4) Nevan a) Reverb Shock b) Bat Rift c) Jam Session d) Air Raid/Thunderbolt e) Vortex f) Tune Up/ Combo I/Volume Up (passive ability) g) Combo II h) Combo III i) Air Play/Bat Summoning (passive ability) j) Swordmaster I) Scythe Slash II) Air Slash III) Feedback IV) Crazy Roll V) Distortion 5) Beowulf a) Straight b) Beast Uppercut c) Rising Dragon d) Hyper Fist e) Killer Bee f) Tame (passive ability) g) Air Hike h) Combo I i) Combo II j) Swordmaster I) Zodiac II) Hammer III) Volcano IV) Real Impact V) Tornado 6) Ebony and Ivory a) Rapid Shot b) Charged Shot c) Free Ride d) Wild Stomp e) Rainstorm f) Two-Some Time g) Air shooting 7) Shotgun a) Fireworks/Rapid Fireworks b) Air Fireworks c) Charged Shots d) Gunstinger e) Point Blank f) Air shooting 8) Artemis a) Dispersion shot b) Multilock c) Sphere d) Acid Rain e) Free Ride f) Air shooting 9) Spiral a) G-canceling with RG b) Trickshot c) Sniper d) Ricochet 10) Kalina Ann a) Hysteric b) Grapple c) Explosion F) Devil Trigger Guide 1) Hit Properties 2) Enhancements 3) Devil Arm specific power-ups a) Rebellion b) Cerberus c) Agni and Rudra d) Nevan e) Beowulf 4) Sparda Devil Trigger 5) Transformation Flux Discussion 5) Getting to Know Vergil (SE) A) The Arsenal and "Bag O' Tricks" (Look at above section for move properties) B) Style Analysis: Dark Slayer C) Weapon Special Move List Analysis (Look at above section for weapon attributes) 1) Yamato a) Combo I b) Upperslash c) Downward Slash d) Rapid Slash e) Aerial Slash f) Judgement Cut 2) Force Edge a) Combo I b) Stinger c) Hightime d) Helm Breaker e) Round Trip 3) Beowulf a) Combo I b) Lunar Phase c) Rising Sun d) Killer Bee/StarFall 4) Phantom Swords a) Regular Throws b) Ring Formation c) Spiral Swords d) Blistering Swords e) Sword Storm D) Devil Trigger Guide (Look at above section for similarities) 1) Nelo Angelo DT 6) Expert Combat Tactics A) Expert Cancelling 1) Double cancelling 2) Advanced Weapon Swapping 3) Jump/Roll Cancelling B) Advance Combat Movements 1) Just Roll 2) Reverse Kick 3) Enemy Rebound cancelling 4) Advance Command Buffering 5) Counter hits/Countering Perfect Impacts 6) Gliding 7) Skillful Taunting 8) Invincibility frames 9) Advanced Phantom Sword formations (SE) 10) Triple Devil Arm switch strategies (SE) 11) Wave Teleporting (SE) C) Advance Royal Guard strategies 1) G-cancelling 2) Just Framing/Just Parry/Just Release 3) "Just Counters" 4) Aerial Royal Guard 5) "Ultimate Guard" 6) Levels of Just Frame (Gold and Silver) D) Advance Trickster, Doppelganger and Quicksilver strategies 1) Just Evasion 2) Dual combos with After-image 3) Time Lag Combo Physics E) Miscellaneous tactics/strategies/tips etc. 1) "1-hit wonders" 2) Delaying 3) Transformation Flux/Devil Trigger Explosion 4) Style ranking/Crazy combo cancels 5) "Orb Warping" 6) "The Running Man"/"Super Man" 7) "Quicksilver Guardian" 8) "Bunny Dashing" 7) The Ultimate Stylish Combo Guide A) Definition of "Combo", Restrictions and Rules 1) Timings 2) Flow 3) Restrictions 4) Options 5) Vulnerability 6) Repetition 7) Difficulty 8) Practicality 9) Stylishness 10) Overall effectiveness B) Weapon Specific Swordmaster Free-from Combos 1) Rebellion + Cerberus (5) 2) Rebllion + Agni and Rudra (5) 3) Cerberus + Agni and Rudra (5) 4) Agni and Rudra + Nevan (5) 5) Nevan + Rebellion (5) 6) Beowulf + Rebellion (5) 7) Agni and Rudra + Beowulf (5) 8) Cerberus + Nevan (5) 9) Cerberus + Beowulf (5) 10) Nevan + Cerberus (5) C) Free-form Gunslinger Combos 1) Ebony and Ivory + Shotgun (5) 2) Ebony and Ivory + Artemis (5) 3) Artemis + Shotgun (5) 4) Artemis + Spiral (5) 5) Shotgun + Spiral (5) 6) Shotgun + Kalina Ann (4) 7) Spiral + Kalina Ann (4) 8) Spiral + Ebony and Ivory (5) 9) Kalina Ann + Artemis (5) 10) Kalina Ann + Spiral (4) D) Style specific combos 1) Trickster (20) 2) Royal Guard (20) 3) Quicksilver (25) 4) Doppelganger (25) E) Vergil's Free-Form Combos (SE) 1) Yamato (25) 2) Force Edge (25) 3) Beowulf (25) 4) Spanning all weapons (25) F) Nelo Angelo's Free-Form Combos (SE) G) Sample Expert Video Combos spanning ALL OF THE ABOVE 8) Mini-Section: Bloody Palace (SE) 9) Conclusion A) Credits B) Frequently Asked Questions C) Disclaimer ******************************************************************* ============ 1) PRELUDE ============ Back in 2001, Capcom released what is known throughout the gaming community as one of the best current-generation 3D action game, known as Devil May Cry. Aside from the technical and artistic achievement of the game, DMC1 excelled in advance combat and featured a robust combo system that really blew the action community away. A dedicated fan base was made after the release of DMC1, and the fans anxiously awaited the next installment for a further evolution of this great combat engine. Capcom released a haphazard follow up, DMC2 that disappointed many fans and action game connoisseurs alike. The title of "King of Action" was no longer claimed by the DMC franchise, when a superior action game by the name of Ninja Gaiden rolled on the Xbox. Ninja Gaiden was another evolution in current-generation 3D action game, and was claimed by many to be superior to DMC1. NG ruled uncontested for a long period as a AAA+ action game, boasted a very tactical combat system and a multitude of devastating moves that had a lot of depth. NG lacked only in a definitive free-form combat system, relying more on block cancels to produce manual combos rather than simple cancelling and linking. Capcom quickly starts development on the return of the DMC franchise, bigger and better than ever before. For the first time, Capcom showcases a very early 10% completed DMC3 at E3 2004, COMPLETELY playable. Graphics and art direction aside, the DMC fans foundreassurance of a fleshed out combat system that will hopefully rejuvenate the franchise. It wasn't until the DMC3 demo was releasedwith the Resident Evil: Outbreak File#2 pre-order that DMC3 was given some attention from the action community. Boasting faster and more intense combat, the combat mechanics in the demo alone surpassed that of the original DMC. The demo was a combo maniacs dream, featuring 3 styles and 3 weapons and lots of hidden moves to tinker with, along with an ultra powerful boss to experiment on. Soon enough, March 2005 rolls around and the action gaming community is "awakened". The first thing that most people noticed about DMC3 was an absurd difficulty level, a hint at it's seemingly complex combat system. Once player were accustomed to the near-vertical learning curve, DMC3 took off and quickly established itself as an AAA+ action title. DMC3 pushed the envelope as far as perfectly combining advance battle tactics and completely free-form combat system, along with an intuitive weapon switching feature and an ingenious style system to help DMC3 get around the limited RAM of the PS2 and deliver an intricate action experience. Only a few days after it's release, combo and skill videos alike flood the Internet showcasing the game's combat depth. At a time, about 5 videos a day were released, each being progressively more stylish than the previous one, immortalizing players like Kazak, Gemasis, Pandaattack, and Yuriseal etc. Even 3-4 months after the game's release, videos are released at a progressive rate, each revealing new hints at the vast possibility of the combat engine. It wasn't long until someone made a FAQ delineating a good fraction of the game's advance game play mechanics, in the form of an Expert Tactics/Combo FAQ. And here we are, 5 months after the game's released at the foundation of a great FAQ! ---------------- A) INTRODUCTION ---------------- Our names are Dahbomb and Pokey86, and we consider ourselves fairly skilled in this game. The overwhelming task of completing a FAQ such as this couldn't be tackled by just one player, so it's going to take 2 people to finish this FAQ. Since it's impossible for the FAQ to cover everything in the game, it's recommended that you either e-mail either one of us (e-mail link at the end of the FAQ) or frequently visit the Devil May Cry IGN boards or the Devil May Cry Gamefaqs/Gamespot message boards. We will gladly help you out will any problems you might encounter when playing DMC3. This FAQ is a culmination of everything we have learned over our 200+ hours of COMBINED game play in DMC3, and I will state that even now we are learning new things about the game! ----------------------------- B) MISSION STATEMENT/PURPOSE ----------------------------- Our mission for this FAQ is to help the gaming community get an idea of what DMC3 has to offer as far as combat is concerned. This FAQ is not a walkthrough of the game , but merely a compilation of the tactics/strategies/tips/mechanics/manuevers etc., found in the game that will help one hopefully master the game. Hopefully after reading the FAQ you appreciate the game more rather than putting it in the back shelf after it beating it one time and give it a spin a few more times. DMC3's replay value comes from the ingenuity of it's combat system, not from cheap gimmicks or unlockables (though these are always good for games lacking in a great combat system). A FAQ of this stature is required since as you know by now DMC3 is not just your average action game on the PS2. The game incorporates the first ever on the fly weapon switching feature spanning 4 weapons out of a possible 10 weapons and a style system of 6 uniquely different styles, equating to 720 different set ups. This does not include Dante's large arsenal of moves (although in a game like DMC, a large move list is not at all required due to the free-form system, but more useable moves is always a good thing) or Dante's manueverability in combat. In addition, DMC3 features a fighting game like combat system where the game pits you against fights that will require you to take advantage of frames, exploit weakness/stuns and take note of battle conditions. This FAQ will cover the following essentials: Basics combat manuevers, Enemy classifications/hit mechanics/attack properties, Move analysis/properties/strategies, weapon analysis/properties//attributes, style analysis/dicussion/properties/levels, expert combat mechanics and discussion of "stylish" combos. This FAQ will not cover how to beat certain enemies, how to solve puzzles in the game, or general walkthrough strategies. This FAQ assumes that you have all necessary stats maxed out, all moves purchased, all styles level up and all weapons upgraded, and you have beaten the game on all modes and are looking to either A) sharpen your comboing skills or B) SS rank Dante Must Die mode (this FAQ will, as of now, not cover the walkthrough of a SS rank DMD). ------------------------------------------------------------ C) Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition Intro and Additions (SE) ------------------------------------------------------------ Due to the increasing popularity of DMC3 especially within the DMC fanbase, Capcom opted to make a Special Edition Greatest Hits re-release for DMC3. Similar to Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution, DMC3SE comes with the Greatest Hits label and with a large amount of new content. Since this is not an expansion, this FAQ will cover DMC3SE as well. However, any new aspects will be labelled with an "SE" tag. This FAQ will mostly cover the game play aspects of DMC3SE, there are many articles online that cover the new features quite well. The most important feature that will be discussed is the new character *Vergil* and the extra mini-character/costume *Nelo Angelo* (DMC1 fans will recognize him). Also, this FAQ will cover some mechanics dealing with the Jester boss fight, including his new summoning ability. Finally, some aspects of Bloody Palace will be covered depending on demand (meaning if no one cares for it, then the section will be expunged). This FAQ will be updated with any additional SE information, especially the advance tidbits. Do not expect to see anything major until at least 1 week after the release of DMC3SE. *********************************************************************** =============== 2) THE "BASICS" =============== Before moving on to the indepth discussions, we will go over the basics so that everyone is up to speed on what to encounter in the FAQ. This FAQ assumes everything written in the last paragraph of the previous section (i.e. maxed out stats). --------------------------------------- A) COMMAND, NOTATIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS --------------------------------------- The following is the legend and key that will be used for the entire FAQ. It's recommended that you get a grasp of the notations and abbreviations before trying to comprehend the FAQ itself. ------------------- 1) CONTROL LAYOUT ------------------- /\: Triangle button: Melee weapon hit []: Square button: Fire arm shot O: Circle button: Style button X: X button: Jump/Roll/Air Hike R1: Lock-On L1: Devil Trigger (DT) L2: Melee arm switch (MAS) R2: Fire arm switch (FAS) L3: Toggle targets R3: Reset camera behind player (may not always work, and will not be used in this FAQ) D-pad: This will not be used in this FAQ. Short cuts to accessing the menus. Select: Taunt Vergil's Layout (SE) (same as above with these 2 changes) R2: Switches Devil Arm in clockwise direction (Yamato - Force Edge - Beowulf back to Yamato) L2: Switches Devil Arm in counter-clockwise direction (Yamato - Beowulf - Force Edge back to Yamato) --------- NOTATIONS --------- , - Standard link input > - Cancel animation input P1 - Split second pause/within a few frames P2 - More than a second pause/with a large frame window ... - Repeat previous input as required + - Simultaneous press { } - Buffer command, must be holding the said input during all combo } { - Release buffer, must let go of input as indicated ( ) - Hold command/Delay hit ~ - Input command as fast as humanly possible * - Special condition, please refer to notation : :- Just Frame input [ ] - Optional input /: Either or ~>- Crazy Combo cancel (C3) etc. - Repeat previous loop for a possible infinite --------------------------- MOVEMENTS AND POSITIONING --------------------------- F: Forward: The direction that Dante is facing B: Back: The direction opposite to what Dante is facing L/R: Left or Right: Towards the right or left of what Dante is facing. UL/UR: Upper-left or Upper-right: Towards Dante's left or right shoulder (will only be used to cover Jam Session combos for Nevan) N: Neutral: Dante not moving and completely resetted (understood when not indicated) R1+L/R+X : Evasive Roll R1+B+X: Back flip Land: Dante comes back to the ground after an air combo Wall: Any combo that will require the existance of a wall if dealing with juggleable enemies. Downed: Approach a juggleable enemy in flat downed position for "down" specific combos. OTG: Off the ground: Hit the enemy as it lays flat on the ground or in recovery phase, also known as "okizeme" W.jump: Also known as Wall Rebound, when connecting with a wall during a jump, press jump again. PP: Pole Play, near a pole press X and then input further for more spins. Free Ride: Approach a Downed opponent, press X and realign Dante so that he lands on the Downed opponent. Move the left analog in the direction of desired movement and use Firearms if applicable. ---------------------------- COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS ---------------------------- For brevity and concise purposes, it's only best that I abbreviate some commonly used words to help decrease the strain on my wrists! DMC1: Devil May Cry (the original) DMC2: Devil May Cry 2 DMC3: Devil May Cry 3 DMC3SE: Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition SE - Used commonly throughout ver.1.5 or higher of this FAQ. Indicates SE exclusive game play feature. SE = Special Edition ---Weapons--- E&I : Ebony and Ivory A&R : Agni and Rudra KA: Kalina Ann Cerb: Cerberus Beo: Beowulf Reb: Rebellion Nevan: Nevan Spiral: Spiral Artemis: Artemis FE : Force Edge (SE) Yam : Yamato (SE) PS : Phantom Swords (SE) ---Styles--- RG: Royal Guard style TS: Trickster style GS: Gunslinger style SM: Swordmaster style DG: Doppelganger style QS: Quicksilver Style DS: Dark Slayer Style (SE) --- Move specifics --- DT: Devil Trigger- Dante's Devil transformation accessed when having 3 or more Devil Trigger symbols. Transformation is accessed by press the Devil trigger button, default at L1. T-Flux: Transformation Flux- A technique that allows the player to store DT symbols to be released upon transformation. Need at least 4 symbols to access this move. DTE: Devil Trigger Explosion (same exact thing as above) MAS: Melee arm Switch- An input that allows the player to switch Melee/Devil arm on the fly in realtime with the press of a single button (R2 default). FAS: Fire arm switch- An input that allows the player to switch Firearm on the fly in realtime with the press of a single button (L2 default). TAS: Triple arm switch (SE) - Inputs that allows the player to switch among three Devil arms on the fly in realtime with either R2 or L2. JF: Just Frame- Any input that requires a precise input and can only be accessed through certain frames on an attack/time window. Input can neither be too fast or too slow. B&C: Block and Charge - Hold down the O button during the RG to entire a Guard stance. Will sustain partial block damage, and Guard can be crushed. (since this is an "expert" FAQ, this will not be analyzed in-depth. Explained later) R: Release- R1+F+O with RG to Release stored Rage onto an enemy as an attack. JP: Just Parry- Precisely tap the O button with Just timings to successfully Parry an attack. A.Parry: Air Just Parry- A perfectly timed Parry in mid-air. SP: Silver Parry- Tier#1 of a successful Parry. GP: Gold Parry- Tier#2 of a successful Parry. JR: Just Release- A perfectly timed Release within Just frames of an enemy attack. SR: Silver Release- Tier#1 of a JR. GR: Gold Release- Tier#2 of a JR. AJR: Air Just Release- A perfectly timed JR in mid-air. CS: Charged Shots- The command of charging up bullets in GS style and release them in a hail of red energy. TT: A&R Twister ~> Tempest- Technique with A&R on SM, R1+B+O ~> O... RI: Beo Real Impact- Powerful technique with Beo on SM, R1+B+O SS: Nevan Scythe Slash- Powerful sickle slashes with Nevan, Ox2 VWR: Vertical Wall Run- While near a wall, move analog stick towards the ceiling and tap O. HWR: Horizontal Wall Run- While near a wall, move analog stick towards the right/left and tap O ER: Enemy rebound- When near the body of an enemy while in mid-air, tap X to rebound off of the enemy. Can be used infinitely. AP: Auto Parry- Command Parry initiated by an enemy as a defense mechanism, signaled by a Blue flash. PI: Perfect Impact- State of auto-parrying when the enemy is in a cycle of 1 dimensional attacks. PP: Pole Play- Near a Pole, press X to spin on it. After spins, Dante ends in mid-air. FR: Free Ride- Approach Down opponent, press X and hold a direction. Dante slides on the fallen enemy and can use a FA. PSF - Phantom Sword Formations (SE) : Any input that causes the PS to change in formation realtime around Vergil to access a large variety of moves. Usually a transition is required from the Ring Formation into either Spiral or Blistering Swords. ------------------------- INTERCHANGEABLE PHRASES ------------------------- Melee Arm: Devil Arm Firearms: Guns Teleport: Air Trick Air Dash: Star Dash Wall Hike: Wall Run Parry: Just Guard Shadow: After-image: Doppelganger Time Lag: Slow down time: Slow-mo Just: Precise Roll: Dodge: Evasive Roll Hurricane: Tornado Devil Trigger Explosion: Transformation Flux Dark Orbs: Judgement Cut: Dimensional Orbs (SE) ----------------------- B) BASIC TERMINOLOGIES ----------------------- There are many terms that get thrown around during a standard conversation involving DMC3, that it's necessary that I write them down and define them here to avoid future confusion. This will help people who are new get accustomed to the verbal lingo in DMC3. There are more terms that will be listed later on but these are the basic terminlogies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Cancel - There is no DMC3 player on earth that does not play the game NOT using cancelling. Most other games have cancelling as some sort of uber elitist technique, but in DMC3 it's so natural that you do it without even realizing it. Cancelling is the interruption of the animation recovery of a move by another move's starting animation, essentially "cancelling" out the frames of the move as the starting animation of the second move. Ex: Rebellion: Triangle, Triangle cancelled into Stinger. Doing this move seperately is laggy and ineffective, when combined you get two standard slashes and their recover is cancelled with the quick starting animation of the Stinger. The Stinger can further be cancelling into Million Stab using a buffered command of Triangle inputs, the Million Stab can be cancelled anytime into let's say a Hightime, which can be cancelled into a Helm Breaker etc. You are not supposed to understand the full concept of this right now, but this is just the basics of it. A cancel is denoted as ">". ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Linking - A series of hits that flow in natural progression without any cancellation of frames or animations. Linking is usually referred to as "natural combos", meaning the combos flow together nicely and there is little to no twitchy feeling. Linking is the antithesis of cancelling, although it takes more skill to pull off cancels than links. Some combos can be changed around so that you don't need to cancel at all and just link naturally. Ex: Agni and Rudra: R1+Back+(/\), /\. A Rising Whirlwind move, linked into a Sky Cross. The animation of the Rising Whirlwind is such that the animation can't be cancelled, so you must wait until you go all the way up (unlike the Hightime, which you can at least some what vary the height). The Rising Whirlwind puts the opponent at the perfect arc for a Sky Cross slash, which is why it is a natural link. If you wait until Hightime reaches it's zenith, then you can do Helm Breaker with Rebellion for a natural link, though it's just faster to cancel it. A link is denoted as ",". ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Frames - This is not a fighting game, so frames aren't nearly as important. Even so, DMC3 is an advance action game that borrows concepts from many fighting games (the combat system's basics are tied to Street Fighter Alpha 3 in the loosest of all definitions). DMC3 runs on 60 Frames Per Second, meaning every second that goes by, 60 frames go with it. It's inhuman for someone like me to actually list all the moves, give their frame starting points/recovery/advantage since I lack the equipment to do this. Instead, in the entire FAQ I will refer to frames in a relative term. A few frames will mean a split second, a lot of frames will usually mean a bit over 1 second etc. Frames are important mostly for cancelling, linking and Just Frame inputs(discussed later). Frames become even more important with Royal Guard, allowing you to G-cancel frames (discussed later) and gaining even more frame advantage. Ex: Each weapon has openings where their frames can be cancelled, the best places are the times where you have the option to branch off using delayed pauses. Agni and Rudra: Triangle, pause, Triangle, Triangle will essentially come out fairly slow used normally, but with some adjustments you can do Triangle, pause, change to Rebellion, Triangle, pause, change to A&R, Triangle to create a moderately fast infinite string utilizing frame advantages of both weapons (something that is oh so simple, a better way to utilize frames is using the Triple Threat of Gun Stinger, Stinger and Straight using weapon cancelling). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4) Just Frame - A term burrowed from fighting games, any technique that requires an input which is neither super fast nor slow, but precise or "just". A Just Frame move will require precision input down to the frame. There are different levels of Just Frames, and most of them apply to the style Royal Guard. A Just Frame technique will give you obvious frame advantages as well as other special advantages or moves. There are very few pure attacking moves in the game that can be considered Just Frame, but 90% of the moves in Royal Guard and to some extent with Trickster require Just Frame timing. Ex: Beowulf: R1+Back+/\, :/\: You will notice that this is a Beast Uppercut to Rising Dragon technique for Beowulf, an uppercut cancelled into a rising launcher. The last Triangle is written with two colons, indicating Just Frame input. You must tap Triangle the moment the Beast Uppercut reaches it's uppermost limit, not anytime earlier and certainly not anytime later. The input has to be precise or you will not get the rising launcher. There is another non-Just Frame input to this move that is highly recommended since it's much easier to pull off (requires minimal Buffering). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5) Infinite(s) - The concept of infinites is not uncommon in the gaming community, but it's usually related to either a cheap exploit or a technique reserved for top tier play (mostly in terms of fighting game mechanics). In DMC3, forget about this. Infinites are WAY too easy to do, the developers did this on purpose. Using advance cancelling and linking, you can string together infinites extremely easily. The developers put a huge handicap on infinites, tied in with the Style ranking. If you initiate a move more than twice, it automatically will count against you and it will drop your style. Keep continuing with the infinite will result in your style ranking completely disappearing, and thus you will end up losing important power boosts and frame advantage (frame advantage is mostly tied in with Crazy Combos here though). Ex: Rebellion = Triangle, R1+Back+Triangle, Triangle, R1+Back+Triangle A regular hit causing hit stun, followed by a launcher, then back to a regular hit, this time converted into a juggle, and then followed by another post- launcher. The result is the enemy being continuosly juggled in an infinite loop, utilizing merely 2 moves. This is very ineffective in combat, resulting in poor stylish points and overall lack of flair to the crowd you are attempting to please, in addition to leaving you open for other attacks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Launcher - Any move in the game that tosses an enemy in the air, essentially neutralizing their ability to attack and allowing you to attack until your heart's content. Any move followed by a launcher is considered a juggle. Some launchers can be cancelled into a rising animation for air combos. Ex: Rebellion: R1+Back+Triangle. The most standard of all launchers, the Hightime. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Juggle - A concept introduced to current-generation action games through the original Devil May Cry, DMC3 takes it one step further. Basically, like the name implies, you launch an enemy in the air and attack them while they are in mid-air. Certain moves juggle enemies more effeciently than others. A juggle must be followed by a launcher (a move that launches the enemy in the air). Not every enemy in the game can be juggled though, and no boss can be juggled either. Ex: The most basic juggle, R1+Back+Triangle, [] x .... . Launch the enemy in the air using Hightime, pull out your Ebony and Ivory and start blasting away. The impact of the guns will keep the enemy suspended in the air for as long as you keep firing. This is considered an infinite juggle, so you need to variate this juggle further by "rising" with the enemy and follow up the shooting in mid-air. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7) Rising - This goes hand in hand with juggle actually, some launchers can be converted into a "rising launcher". Dante launches the enemy as well as himself in the air to follow up with an air only combo. This instantly starts an Air Combo, but remember that Dante is heavier than a lot of the enemies you encounter (most of them are made out of sand anyway) so Dante will drop faster. There are lots of possibilities here and Swordmaster makes the best out of this situation. Ex: R1+Back+Triangle (hold Triangle). The hold input initiates a built in rising launcher when you do Hightime. An alternate way is to just tap R1+Back+Triangle and just jump to intercept the enemy but the flow is completely ruined and you need to do some air control to keep your combos going. Note: Rising an enemy twice in a row (like for example Hightime into Pop Shredder) causes them to be launched further in the air. You however cannot add a 3rd launcher in hopes of rising the enemy even further, the height will be the same as for the 2nd launcher. This is a useful tidbit for doing those insanely long air combos. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Manual Combos - A manual combo is a self made combo, done through your own ideas, in most games this would use major other factors (Guard Canceling, Ground Cancel etc) though due to the mechanics of DMC, Manual combos (AKA Free-Form combos) can be made at a very early stage of skill, when on higher Difficulties the need of Manual combos is extreme. Manual combo in this FAQ will be considered the linking of any 3 or more moves in standard succession. There are an infinite number of manual combos in this game. Ex: Rebellion- Triangle, Triangle R1 + Back + Triangle (Hold), Triangle, R1 + Forward + Triangle This would be a basic Free-Form Combo (though effective) The first two hits of the Rebellion basic combo I is initiated, then cancelled in to High Time which is then Cancelled in to Helm Splitter, then to Keep up with the enemies knock back A stinger is performed. Though basic it is highly effective & damaging. To continue the combo, the Stinger can be cancelled into a Million Stab for additional options into more Manual combos. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) "Predetermined" Strings - A Predetermined String is what you would expect from any Fighting game with combo strings, you input A button combination & a set combo comes out that links smoothly with all previous attacks. At the start of the game these will be staple moves for you, expert & pro players will rarely use these as average combos (Excluding in between combo's & Crazy Combos). "Predermined" strings in this game are usually labelled with the weapon and then the Combo number (ex: A&R Combo I is done below). You can't branch from particular hits in a "predetermined" string, so your options are limited but you can still make good use out of them. Ex: Agni & Rudra- Triangle X 6 This is a perfect Predetermined string, easy perform & never changes, all move link perfectly & ends with a final blow (as most PS combo's do) most Predetermined combo's end with finishing strike. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) Buffering - Buffering is a mechanic that has dual meanings. It usually means the art of inputting a move within the animation of another move, or you can hold certain buttons during another input and then release the button to make the move come out instantly (Tekken and Soul Calibur players are very familiar with this). This game will cover the latter, more than the former. It is also known as Charging a weapon, though the time it takes to prepare is long for some, attacks can be made whilst charging, they cause no extra damage, merely charging up power until you feel like releasing the stored energy. Though Buffering is mainly on the Gunslinger Style there are many other uses for this technique (Devil Trigger explosion, Drive etc.) Ex: Ebony & Ivory/Gunslinger- (Hold []) Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, R1 + Back + Triangle, []... This is a basic combo while buffering Ebony & Ivory, at the very end of the combo the charged shots are released doing extra damage, though Charging guns do not need the R1 button held, which will allow you to charge some guns while moving as you would normally move before entering or during a fight. The main tactical advantage about Buffering is that you can play the game as freely as you want without having to worry about the charge. Play normally, and when the charge is completely, just simply release. Not doing a Buffer will put you in complicated positions you don't want to be in. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11) Enemy Rebound - This is using the body of the enemy as a jumping post, works well while the enemy is suspended in the air for extra height, this can be used in extremely advance tactics (Explained later) but is a difficult ability to master. Rebounding off enemies allows you to stay in the air for extended times automatically evading minor threats. This technique can be used indefinitely as long as you have a base to jump off of. Ex: Rebellion: R1 + back + Triangle (Hold), R1+ []~X, []...~X etc Though it looks "Fancy" it is an extremely easy combo to do, providing you shoot fast enough. This is the most basic air combo possible but the benefits are shown to its fullest, very few normal attacks will hit you as you are completely suspended in the air with the enemy you are shooting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) Air Reset - Any technique that will put you motionless in the air, almost at zero gravity, but from there you are free to do whatever you want. This is a tricky concept to understand, but know that the experts use it without even thinking about it. After an Air Reset, you are free to do any move that is doable in the air. The most common way to gain an Air Reset is by Enemy rebounding, although there are some move that have built in Air Resest. Ex: Agni and Rudra: R1+Back+O, press O immediately and keep tapping. This move is known as the Twister crazy combo, a Swordmaster lv.3 move for Agni and Rudra. Dante will start to form flames around him, over his head, and then start rising in the air, upside down and then come at a halt in the air, almost suspended, at an Air Reset. From there you can do something like Air Play or Killer Bee or whatever your desire. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) Crazy Combos - Any special move that is visually represented as a golden flash and requires multiple inputs to come out. A crazy combo can only be inputted through a median move (discussed later), and once the median move is initiated, you must press the correct button in quick successions to pull off the Crazy Combo. Crazy Combos are directly related to the Style rank, a low style rank will make you do more inputs and thus the CC will not come out as easily, but a high Style rank will assist you in inputting the CC. A Crazy Combo is NOT to be confused with a "button-mashing" technique, it is controllable, cancellable and does not require lots of button presses provided you have a high enough style rank. Some of the more powerful moves in the game are Crazy Combos. It is noteworthy to say that some CC's will not kill the opponent but will drain the enemy's life to a pixel until the final blow is connected. If the final blow doesn't connect, then the opponent will be left with 1 pixel of life. Ex: Rebellion: /\, Pause, /\, /\, tap /\ quickly or R1+Forward+/\, tap /\ quickly. The two inputs for Million Stab, pretty self-explanatory. Million Stab is a crazy combo, and requires one of 2 median moves to initiate (Combo II or Stinger). The initial stabs will not kill the enemy but simply drain their life, while the final hit will finish them off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) Crowd Controlling - The art of handling multiple opponents using minimal moves and maximum range. Crowd control is a term describing the way policemen handle large crowds of people and in used commonly in games like Dynasty Warriors. In DMC3, you will be surrounded by a large group of enemies and you must effectively deal with them, most of the time simultaneously. Any move that hits multiple enemies is considered a crowd controller. Crowd controlling raises style exponentially, more enemies connected with 1 move equals more style raised. Ex: Nevan: /\, hold direction towards Dante's back+/\. A single hitting move with the weapon Nevan that will quickly hit any enemy within a couple foot of Dante's proximity. It's a natural crowd controlling technique, and it will clear Dante's surroundings quite easily. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) Evasive Rolling (Roll) - An extremely basic technique missed by many newcomers, this move is doable at any time in the game and is one of the most useful moves in the game. Dante does a Roll in the direction of the input with invincible frames. An attack will not do damage or put Dante in any form of hit/stun and he will continue to Roll right through it unphased. DMC3 player's of all skill type use this useful little technique. Ex: R1+Left or Right+X The input for the Evasive Roll. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 16) Just Roll - An Evasive Roll that is timed perfectly with an enemy's attack, and will yield Dante free Style points and some DT recharge. This technique requires a Just Frame input in sync with an enemy's attack. This goes hand in hand with Just Evasion discussed later on. Ex: Wait a few seconds before Vergil's Dashing Stinger, as soon as the last wave is about to hit you, tap R1+L/R+X. A hard to do Just Roll, but you can see the obvious frame advantage you receive from waiting those extra frames before Rolling. Most people will Roll too quickly and not get the reward of a Just Roll. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) Roll/Jump/Air Hike cancelling - Any time a move or animation is cancelled with the X or R1+X input, is considered a Roll/jump cancel. A Jump/Roll cancels 90% of the moves in the game with perfect accuracy, and it's an essential part of effective evasion. Anytime you find yourself caught in the midst of a combo while about to be intercepted by an enemy attack, simply Roll/Jump cancel. Ex: During Million Slash, press X to cancel. During this Crazy Combo, you are going to be in a stationary position, unable to move. If an enemy is a few feet from you, then it might hit you with a projectile. Simply cancel the animation of Million Slash by pressing X to jump cancel out of the way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) Auto-Parry - An Auto Parry is basically a defensive manuever by some enemies in the game that is used to gain an advantage over the player. An AP is done ON COMMAND by the enemy, and can occur at practically anytime during a match. An AP is signified by an obvious blue flash that causes you to stagger back and the enemy to be in full control for an attack. Vergil and Arachnes love to this move, and A&R and HVG will do it from blocks (A&R and HVG automatically go into Perfect Impact state after the AP). Be wary of this technique, always evade or Just Parry after it for maximum safety. Ex: Vergil's command Auto Parry. After a set of combos, Vergil will stagger back away from Dante and fake out so that it appears that he is in a weakened state, when in fact he is preparing for an AP. When the next blow is made, Vergil will bring out his arm and pull off an AP almost instantly. A very common manuever pulled by Vergil in ALL encounters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) Perfect Impact - A weapon clash signalled by a very obvious blue flash, similar to the green flash of a Guard Impact in Soul Calibur. Some enemies in the game have moves with built in parries, and if it connects with one of your moves, then they will gain a slight frame advantage over you. To counter this, you must cancel your post-parry recovery with either a move of your own or do a Roll/jump cancel. Whatever the case, the enemy will continue the attack on you and with each additional parry he will gain slight frame advantage and you will gain Style points for continue the parries. The enemies with built in Perfect Impacts will be discussed later on. Please note this is NOT to be confused with Parrying in Royal Guard. Ex: Any of the Agni and Rudra brothers, the normal over-head slash, Cerberus R1+Forward+/\ for Perfect Impact A seemingly simple attack with a seemingly complex property, this move has a built in Perfect Impact that upon connection with any of your physical attack put both of you in a state of parries. With each parry, the brother will gain additional frame advantage (allowing his successive attack to come out slightly faster) and you will gain Style points for matching his frame advantage. Since the move comes out slow as it, simply using a quick hitting move will allow you to over come him, most people will prefer to use Revolver to get the upperhand here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20) Soft Lock-On/Hard Lock-On - Combat manuevers that allow a player to better manage the enemies on screen with little to no effort. By pressing and holding down the R1 button, Dante locks on to the nearest enemy and is committed to the enemy as long as the button is pressed down, if the enemy dies or teleports or if Dante gets hit. This is used commonly for singe person combos, and is called "Hard" lock-on. Soft lock-on is basically playing the game without using the R1 button (though you will have to tap it occasionally to pull off certain moves) and Dante will aim and attack the nearest enemy and will usually change his attack path when another enemy comes closer. This is used for more effective crowd clearing, like with Nevan. Both have a purpose in the game and are used so often that they become second nature to a player. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 21) Pole Play - A combat manuever where the player can press X near a pole and start spinning horizontally on the pole with the legs extended. Similar properties to the move "Crazy Dance" for Reb SMlv.3 move, can be cancelled for an aerial attack. It is a universal move, but requires a pole of some sort to be on the battlefield. Ex: Poles in Leviathan boss fight. A place where you can use the Poles to your advantage in a boss fight, by swinging on the poles you can effectively rack up style points from the incoming Hell Envies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) Free Ride - A combat manuever that allows Dante to "surf" on a fallen juggleable enemy (the 4 basic Hells and Abyss only) and use some firearms while spinning towards the direction that is inputted. A "cool" looking move that doesn't really serve much of a big purpose, but can be used as a median through which players can buffer moves (Drive or Multilock are useable direction after a Free Ride). You can shoot freely in a 360 degree arc with E&I. Ex: Hell Sloth downed, jump on it, initiate Free Ride, charge Multilock, backflip up and release. A b&b combo with Free Ride that is as stylish as it is effective, can be substituted for charged shots (CS) as well. ----------------------------------------------------- C) INTRODUCTION TO EXPERT TACTICS AND STYLISH COMBOS ----------------------------------------------------- After covering the basics, the enemies and the moves/weapons, the FAQ will combine everything that you have learned in this one section labelled for "Experts". These tactics are the creme of the crop, it's what top-tier players use to either A) make stylish combo videos or B) SS rank on Dante Must Die mode. Putting the Expert tactics section first would be pointless as most of the subtleties will go over an average player's head, so I am including it right before the sample combos section. The Expert tactics section will be divided in the following categories: A) Expert Cancelling - Quick and skillful manipulation of the cancelling system to produce combos that appear to be free-flowing and uninterrupting. There are many forms of expert cancelling and this section will cover all of them found in DMC3. B) Advance Combat Movements: Any move that give you a large amount of tactical advantage over your opponent will be discussed here. Whether it be frame advantage, style advantage, or zoning advantage, it should be discussed in this section. C) Advance Royal Guard Strategies: Royal Guard is the most masterful style in the game, and thus requires an entire expert section for itself. This section will cover the intricacies of Royal Guard, the most concentration on the frame advantages and Just inputs. D) Advance Trickster/Doppelganger/Quicksilver Strategies: The other remaining styles also have some hints of expert useage in them, and it's only necessary that I cover every single style to the maximum potential. E) Weapon specific tactics - This section will cover the expert useable of the 10 weapons in the game AS WELL as the styles Swordmaster and Gunslinger. There are some techniques that are not apparent with the weapons, that will be discussed in this section. F) Miscellaneous tactics: Any strategy/tactic/tip that does not fall into the previous 5 categories will be placed here for reference. These expert tactics will cover the SS ranking of DMD mode, but there are other ways of crowd pleasing in this game, and they come in the form of "Stylish combos". DMC3 is the king of stylish combos, without equal. The entire combat engine is based mostly around mind blowing combos that are free- form and manual (meaning you are only limited by your imagination). Since it is virtually impossible to cover every single aspect of the combo system, I have instead written down rules and regulations for some stylish combos that are used by the professional players. I have also given sample combos used in the hundreds of combo videos that flood the internet and the message boards. The Stylish combos are divided into the following sections for better reference: A) Definition of "Stylish combos": There is no real definition of stylish combo in this game, however I have listed some prerequisites that some players follow when coming up with top-tier combos. These prerequisites are merely guidelines to help you practice combos more effeciently. B) Weapon Specific Swordmaster Free-from Combos: Swordmaster is generally considered the most "stylish" style to pull off combos with, and thus it's only natural that I cover it first. The combos will be divided among the 10 different melee weapon set ups, 5 combos in each set up for a total of 50 combos. C) Free-form Gunslinger Combos: Whoever said that you can't combo with guns obviously hasn't experience Gunslinger in DMC3. While Gunslinger is not at the same level of Swordmaster in terms of sheer combos, it's effectiveness is the same and will yield you the same results as far as "Style ranking" is concerned. The combos for Gunslinger will be divided among the 10 different firearm set ups, 4-5 combos for each for a little under 50 combos. D) Style Specific Combos: The other styles are mostly used for tactical advantage in battle rather than comboing, but they can still be used in combos using their expert techniques mentioned in the previous section (i.e. G-cancelling, Teleporting). This section will cover combos for Trickster, Royal Guard, Doppelganger and Quicksilver. The first two styles having 20 each due to their tactical approach to battle, and the next two styles will have 25 combos each since they change the prerequisites of "stylish combos" somewhat. E) Sample Combo spanning ALL OF THE ABOVE: Just as simple as that, this section will contain extra combos that were submitted by other users or that I felt were worthy to be added here. This section will cover any possible combo in the game, spanning any weapon or style. The number of combos in this section will vary, but I will try to limit it to under 50 combos. ************************************************************************** ================================ 3) GETTING TO KNOW YOUR ENEMIES ================================ DMC3 is all about fighting numerous enemies at one time and insanely difficult bosses. Obviously you aren't going to be pulling stylish combos if you don't know your enemies. Knowledge is 60% of beating your enemies, and I will cover that 60% here. The rest is up to you on how you want to defeat them. The expert tactics will make sense when you think of them in context against certain enemies. ------------------------- A) ENEMY CLASSIFICATIONS ------------------------- Here all the enemies and bosses will be classified under certain categories, depending on their combo physiques and weight classes. Understanding of these classifications will help you effectively combo each enemy accordingly and gain the desired "Style points". ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Juggleable enemies (small weight class): The enemies in these categories can be launched in the air, knocked back, wall stunned etc. They follow a large portion of the hit properties and statures found in the game and they are the easiest to combo. The prerequisite of being in this category requires that under ANY condition, they will be launched by a Real Impact hit (this includes being in DT mode). Hell Pride Hell Lust Hell Sloth Hell Gluttony Abyss *Arachne *Bloodgoyles (stone mode) *Enigmas *Arkham's Legions * Special conditions on normal juggling is required. See "Enemy Analysis" for an in-depth discussion of the juggle physics of each of the enemies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Comboable enemies (medium to large weight class): These enemies can be effectively comboed and expert tactics can be used against them, but they can't be launched under normal circumstances and most aerial attacks will go over their heads. Enemies in this category are fairly difficulty to combo, but it's still very possible due to the flexibility of the DMC3 combat system. *Hell Envy Hell Greed Hell Vanguard Damned Pawn Damned Bishop Damned Knight Damned Rook **Damned Queen **Damned King *Not enough tests are done on this enemy, some statures might follow Juggleable enemy class. **Very narrow combo oppurtunity unless countering with Invincible frames tactics (discussed in Expert Tactics). Medium-sized bosses: The same prerequisite as the the "Comboable enemies", aerial attacks will usually miss when done in a standing combo. Most of these bosses first need to be put in some sort of stun before following up with devastating combos. They are all still very comboable, especially when in their weaker states. Nevan Agni & Rudra Vergil (all forms) Gigapede Doppelganger Lady *When on it's back, the combos you do will follow the medium-sized bosses category. Large-sized bosses: These bosses, although have weakspots and stuns, will mostly be unphased by combos in the form of regular hit stuns. They are however more comboable than medium-sized bosses, because their height allows them to be hit by any aerial attack. If a boss fully connects with a Real Impact > Tornado move taking full damage, then it's considered a large-size boss. *Cerberus Leviathan Beowulf Arkham *Geryon *While in their weakened stun, they will follow a medium-sized boss category until they resume their normal position. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) "Cannot-be-Comboed" enemies: This FAQ assumes that when pulling off "Stylish" combos, you will not be squaring off against these foes. Due to some conditions, it is virtually impossible to hold a combo of "SSStylish" or higher. These conditions will be discussed later in the "Enemy Analysis". Hell Wrath Soul Eaters Dullahan *Fallen *A "SSStylish" combo is possible using Royal Guard build up, but the practicality in such a combo is non-existant. ----------------------------------------- B) ENEMY COMBAT MECHANICS AND ATTRIBUTES ----------------------------------------- The enemies in DMC3 follow a wide variety of statures that allow you to exploit them and further bring on the pain. These enemies also have many counters and special abilities that they use on command to ward off your exploits. Understanding of these attributes will help you effectively deal with certain enemies on a top-tier level. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Hit stun: Any hit on an enemy that makes the enemy wince or slow down during an attack. There are differing levels of hit stuns in the game, varying with each enemy. Hit stun allows you to transition from ground hits to ground hits easily. Ex: A Hell Lust will slow down it's motion when fired with E&I and will go into a very minor hit stun. Vergil being hit by any melee hit will go into a fairly major hit stun but will not suffer any hit stun from E&I fire. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Major Stun: Usually followed by a powerful hit (or a large group of medium level hits), not knocking the enemy away or up, but causing the enemy to falter back some and leave a large gap of opening in between. Enemies that go into a major stun usually retaliate pretty quickly. Many enemies and bosses follow a major stun of many varieties. Ex: Hell Vanguard will take too steps backwards, flailing his scythe, when hit by a powerful multi-hitting attack. An Arachne will go into a major stun when hit by either a Lv.3 Jet Stream or a Crossed Sword at close proximity. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Guard Stun: Whenever an enemy guard, it will go into a stationary stance and will not take any additional damage from your attacks (some moves do penetrate guard with chip damage). Any hit during a guard will be a guard stun, and will merely prolong the state and negate your attacks. Some guards can be cancelled into Auto-Parries or Perfect Impacts. Ex: Hell Pride's block state allows it to withstand many attacks. A&R brothers also have a very rock like defence on their guard stun. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Auto-Parry: Almost always follows either a hit stun or a guard stun, this allows the enemy to completely turn the tide of battle. An Auto-Parry is signalled by a large blue flash, something that many players have noticed during battles with certain enemies. An Auto-Parry will cause you to be at a frame disadvantage, but since no enemy in the game (aside from Vergil's double Hightime slash) has a move fast enough to take advantage of these frames, you can usually counter with a move fast enough. Ex: Arachne's AP after a guard stun. Dullahan's AP when hit from the front. Hell Vanguard's AP after a guard stun. Vergil's AP after a hit stun. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Perfect Impacts: Always following an AP, some higher level enemies and bosses will go into a state of clashing known as Perfect Impacts. At this point, the enemy will go into a repeating cycle, trying to hit you with moves that have built in AP's. You can continue to counter attack for additional style points, or sometimes after a certain number of PI's, you can completely disable their defenses! Ex: The most common and abused PI is the one for the A&R brothers, following their guard stun AP, into an overhead slash PI loop. Another one is Hell Vanguard's PI, similar to that of the A&R brother minus the overwhelming battle overturn (discussed later in A&R analysis). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Air Stun: Air stun is basically the aerial version of hit stun in the air. During an air stun, an enemy will take a wide variety of air based attacks as inputted by the player. Most higher level enemies can break out of air stuns if sloppiness is shown. Ex: The most common air stun is the Fallen's air stun, though that can be converted after 3 hits into a major air stun. Arachne's air stun during their Wall Cling state. Hell Sloth's air stun during their jumping animation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Jump/Falling animation: During an offensive or zoning manuever, an enemy will usually jump to get close to you. The jump is very high and slow, giving you enough oppurtunity to intercept. During this animation, an enemy hit will go into a very minor air stun though continuing hit will convert that air stun into major status. Ex: Arachne's post-Wall Cling jump. Abyss's Vertical Jump Scythe throw attack. Hell Pride/Sloth/Gluttony standard jump animation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Downed/Fallen: After most knockback attacks or powerful moves, a lower classed enemy falls down almost completely incapacitated. This will start combo hits known as OTG (off the ground aka okizeme) and will continue until the enemy recovers. This state is not limited to just regular enemies, even the most powerful of bosses go into a Downed state. Ex: Cerberus's massive falling weakness after a large number of major hits. Geryon's massive falling weakness after a single major hit. The Hell's after almost any knockdown attack. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) Face-downed: Lower-leveled enemies can be knocked down from the rear side which causes them to fall flat on their face. A Face-downed enemy will remain on the ground longer than a Downed enemy and will recover slower. Face-downed is only limited to some juggleable enemies. Ex: Arachne's after a Major Stun, knocked back from the rear. The Hell's if knocked back from the rear. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) Wall Stun: Exclusive to juggleable enemies, a wall stun is major stun animation that results from the knockback effect of colliding with a wall. An enemy will cease to move and simply drag across the wall while slowly falling. The wall hit is added to the damage slightly, and the falling animation can be exploited for even nastier set ups. Ex: Hell's knocked back with a wall behind. Abyss's knocked back follow a curiously large Wall Stun animation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) Crumple Stun: An obcenely massive stun that causes the enemy to be immobilized, double over and crumple to the floor very slowly. Similar to the Wall Stun, only much greater. Crumple stun is not limited to just juggleable enemies, some bosses go into crumple stun also. Ex: Beowulf after 3rd eye stun hit goes into complete crumple stun. A&R go into complete crumple stun after varying numbers of Perfect Impacts. Hell's go into crumple stun after a single major hit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) Scared tactics: Something that is very amusing put into DMC3, that really gets your adrenaline rushing. Scared tactics are only followed by enemies, not bosses. Whenever a group of enemy is completely decimated infront of the eyes of it's brethrens, the remaining enemies start to take steps back usually in a pseudo-Guard state (not a complete guard stun since they are trembling). Scared tactics are very common during SSStylish combos, and apply to all enemies that come in groups of 3 or more. Ex: A Hell Vanguard can be scared if he sees the death of fellow Hell's infront of him. The most obvious of all scared tactics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) Recovery animation: This animation covers a large portion of animations employed by all the enemies in the game. Whenever an enemy goes into an sort of stun or stature, they will go into a phase of recovery to continue the offensive. These range from simple getting up on one's feet, to creating a large energy light around oneself or teleporting away etc. Check the "Enemy Analysis" for more details. Ex: Beowulf after a complete crumple stun with recover with a Berserk explosion. An Abyss will recover after a knockback with an instant charging attack. Geryon recovers after a Downed stun with a Quicksilver burst. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) Devil Triggered: A special ability of ALL the enemies in the game that only occures in Dante Must Die mode. This is a transformation that was carried over from DMC1 and makes a nasty appearance in DMC3. It follows the same format as scared tactics, only in DMD mode enemies DT instead of being scared! DT completely changes the physics of the combat system, especially for juggleable enemies, increases attack cycles, increases useable of advance manuevers, increases stamina, increases strength and just in general make the enemy much tougher to defeat. The statures in DMD follow a "every 1 out of 6-8 hits" during a progressive style increase. What it means is that you can launch an enemy only after hitting it 6-8 times until it goes into a standard hit stun allowing you an opening to launch/knockback etc. No bosses except Vergil can DT, and he has different requirements for DTing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) Invincibility: High-tier enemies are allowed a grace period in which they are completely invulnerable from your attacks. A lot of the bosses are given invincibility to either certain attacks to all attacks against you. This invincibility can be removed after following some conditions of battles. Ex: Nevan's Bat Formation, can be removed using melee weapons. Doppelganger's Dark state, can be removed by breaking the light switches. Lady's Roll animation, similar to Dante's Roll animation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) Weakspot: Some enemies in the game have certain weakspots that can be exploited for more damage than normal. Weakspots are essential in defeating the higher leveled bosses in the game, every bit of extra damage helps. Weakspot is analagous with "weak state", where the boss/enemy takes more damage than normal. Ex: Beowulf's right eye. Cerberus's 3 heads without ice. Geryon's rump and carriage convergence area. Bloodgoyle's stoned weaker state. Gigapede's neck- to-head area. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) Elemental Affliction: A lot of enemies and bosses are weak against certain elements in the game, most commonly the 3 elements: Fire, Ice and Light. If an enemy is attacked with an elemental attack, then the power of the attack is increased by 20% (rough estimate). Some enemies even have double elemental afflictions. Here is the list of all the elemental afflictions in the game (an elemental affliction is signaled on the enemy by either a burning fire, an encasing of ice or a burst of flashing light): Fire: Cerberus, Bloodgoyles, Arachnes, Gigapede, *Leviathan Ice: Gigapede, Nevan, Agni, Geryon, Abyss. Light: Hell Vanguard, Doppelganger, Nevan, *Arkham. *Partial elemental affliction, no visual clue but obvious attack increase. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- B) ENEMY MOVE PROPERTIES ---------------------------- Knowledge of enemy is the analysis of their attack potential. Knowledge of their attack potential allows you to effectively counter them and turn the tide of battle to your advantage. While most players will say that the basic enemies in DMC3 have a very low number of attack variations, it's noteworthy to state that the higher level bosses have a very diverse moves list, and bosses like Vergil have an extremely deep moves list. Some basic definition of move properties will help describe these attacks more effeciently. This section will also cover numerous other forms of enemy abilities like teleportation, transformations, shields etc. Please take note that any effect on Dante applies to his normal condition, not while Devil Triggered (check DT section for the hit properties of Dante DTed). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Regular hit: A very standard physical hit that causes Dante to wince slightly in pain. These hits are usually very basic and will not do an absurd amount of damage. Ex: Hell Pride vertical slash, Hell Sloth post-teleportation attack. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Stagger hit: A more powerful physical hit that will cause Dante to move more violently but still hold his ground. Any follow up move is guaranteed to hit Dante, and thus this is usually a very deadly hit since most players miss this property very often. Ex: Vergil's Helm Breaker when Dante is grounded, Hell Vanguard's vertical slash into horizontal mini-slash (an attack after these moves is usually guaranteed under normal conditions). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Combo attack: An string of attacks that can be varied by an enemy for mix up to keep the player on it's toe. Most of the time, the combo attacks are dependent on Dante's motions other than the enemy's own special AI. Combo attacks can be lethal if little attention is paid to them. Ex: Vergil's Yamato slash strings combined with Force Edge, Beowulf's 3 hit punch combo, Hell Vanguard 2 hit slash attack. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Knockdown effect: An attack that will cause Dante to come insantly crashing down when he is in the air. These moves are specially engineered as anti-air moves, because in DMC3 Dante's manueverability in the air was greatly expanding (allowing Dante to jump, double jump in mid-air, dash in the air, jump on enemy's head, attack effectively in mid-air and teleport mid-air, all virtually at the same time!). The enemies are equipped with some nasty anti- air attacks, and they begin with knockdown attacks. Ex: Vergil's Helm Breaker when Dante's in the air, Hell Lust's Sliding Uppercut, A&R brother's Charging Stomp. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Knockback effect: Any powerful move that will cause Dante to be instantly knocked far away, usually about 3-12 meters away (in-game length). A lot of enemy/bosses have this move, although with varying power. More powerful knockback will cause more extreme measures of recovery to be taken. Dante is not effected by the wall unlike the enemy, so that is certainly a plus for him. Ex: Beowulf's Volcano, Hell Vanguard's Dashing Teleport attack, Damned Pawn's Cross Swords. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Aerial attack[s]: Countering Dante's nimble movement in the air, some enemies can attack mid-air to match Dante head-on. Some enemies exist solely in the air and can't be brought down, so all of their moves exist in the air (self- explanatory). Ground based enemies will be at serious frame disadvantage if their air attack is Just Parried. Ex: Vergil's Killer Bee attack, Beowulf's Final Pounce, Abyss's Infernal Toss (post materialization). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Projectiles: Any attack that travels in the form of a projectile and hurts Dante on contact with varying properties. Going with the theme of "anti-air", projectiles are the next step in the "anti-Dante" enemy tactics. Projectiles are numerous in this game, and I have split them into two categories. * In addition, most projectile attacks are Deflectable and reward style points for each consequent Deflection. Ex: Cerberus's Ice Blast, Doppelganger's Dark Energy Ball, Hell Gluttony's Sand Vomit. * Applies to Multiple Projectiles as well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Multiple Projectiles: A series of projectiles, usually in a linear pattern, that cause devastating damage to Dante. The developers really went overboard with multiple projectiles, so much that even Royal Guard in it's early states couldn't handle it. The move "Ultimate" revolves completely around nullifying such atrocities, but other than that multiple projectiles are one of the most deadly moves in the game. Ex: Beowulf's Feathers of Doom, Enigma's Blue/Red Arrow Shots, Nevan's Electrified Bat Projectiles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) Charging attacks: A single hitting attack that propells the enemy towards Dante's position, usually causing a stagger or knockback. Most enemies during a charge attack cannot be interrupted with a physical attack from Dante, but Royal Guard is sublime here, converting charging recovery into pure frame advantage. Ex: A&R brothers Charging Slash, Cerberus's Ultimate Pounce, Hell Vanguard's Dashing Teleport attack, Soul Eater charging attack. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) Auto-Parry: An defense mechanism that causes a blue flash to appear on contact. This goes hand in hand with Perfect Impacts, usually an AuP is followed by a state of Perfect Impacts (lower enemies will not go into Perfect Impacts). Surprisingly, a lot of enemies have this little feature and it's essentially the ultimate combo breaker. Ex: Arachne post-guard AP, Dullahan front shield AP, Damned Chessboard recovery animation AP. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) Wide-area effect: Usually a single hitting move covering a large radial distance with massive power output. One of the harder moves to avoid in the game, most bosses usually have one of these up there sleeves. Ex: Beowulf's Volcano, Rudra's Tempest, Geryon's Quicksilver. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) Grapple (rare circumstance): A special technique by an enemy that causes Dante to be completely immobilized and under the mercy of the enemy. Once in a grapple, there is little you can do to completely escape it, though it has been proven that twisting the analog stick in a 360 degree arc deals with the few Grapples in the game. Grapples in DMC3 serve a higher purpose than to just hurt Dante. Ex: *Nevan's Kiss of Death, Arachne's Web Throw, Soul Eater's Soul Devour. *Grapple escapable using DT. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) Semi-omnipotent Move (partial Guard Crush): The following two properties apply to Royal Guard players, so if you aren't planning on mastering Royal Guard, then you don't have to pay too much attention here (though it will give clues to a move's relative attack power). During a Block and Charge, Dante can only effectively block certain low-tiered moves. There are some moves that will completely crush his stance and put him at serious disadvantage. Any enemy attack that causes Dante's stance to break during a B&C and cause Dante to stagger back slightly with an absurd amount of frame disadvantage is considered a "Semi-omnipotent" move. This applies to land B&C only though. Most players will ask us "Why bother with these categories when a Just Parry can effectively deal with these moves 100% of the time?" The answer is simple: There is no guarantee that you will Just Parry every single move in the game. By categorizing them, you can effectively plan out which moves to take a risk with, and which not to. While with a semi-omnipotent move you will take partial damage, you can still recover with a Roll. A move like this has a medium risk to worry about. Ex: Vergil's Helm Breaker, A&R brother's Powered up Elemental slashes, *Beowulf's 3 hit combo. *First 2 hits are semi-omnipotent, last hit is omnipotent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) Omnipotent Move (complete Guard Crush): An omnipotent move is essentially "unblockable" by B&C, and thus the risk factor is at it's greatest for a 100% damage hit. You will see an animation of the guard being shattered, but Dante will follow the standard hit property of the move rather than staggering back during a Guard Crush. Needless to say, you need to be absolutely sure before attempting a JP on an omnipotent move. ANY moves hitting a B&C when Dante is in mid-air is automatically an omnipotent move. Ex: Vergil's Force Edge Stinger, Beowulf's Volcano, Cerberus's Ultimate Pounce attack. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) Homing moves: A variety of the projectile, though not exclusive, this is a property of a move that allows it to follow Dante even when he attempts evasion. It's going to be a bit tricky differentiating homing projectiles and non-homing projectiles, but just know that any attack that changes path mid- flight is considered homing. Ex: Beowulf's Feathers of Doom, Vergil's Infinity Orb Slashes, Arkham's Parasite Lasers, Lady's Hysteric Missiles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) Special move[s]: An attack that doesn't fall into any of the previous categories will be listed here. The properties vary so I will have to discuss each special attack/move in-depth by itself. Ex: *Vergil's Phantom Swords , **Combined A&R's Tempest + Crawler, ***Nevan's Laughing taunt. *Varies in properties with each formation. **A projectile and wide area effect combined move. ***Serves absolutely no tactical advantage in battle. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) Special Abilities: DMC3 has a big list of special abilities for virtually every enemy in the game (if you consider DT a special ability, then all the enmies in the game have it). This also has to be done at a case by case level, aside from DTing the special abilities are very different from each other. Ex: Cerberus's Ice Growth, Geryon's Quicksilver, Doppelganger's Banish the Light, Agni and Rudra's Ultimate Fusion, Fallen's Shield Regeneration, Arachne's Wall Cling, Soul Eater's Phantom Invisibility, Bloodgoyle's Multiplication, Enigma's Red/Blue arrow conversion. ^^ Just to name a few. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summoning: An ability/move that calls on to the battlefield additional support enemies. Most of the time these are unavoidable, you just have to deal with it accordingly. The new enemies are generally fodder enemies and dealth with relative ease. Ex: Jester's Jack n' the box (SE), Arkham's Legions, Leviathan's Hell Envies. ***************************************************************************** ---------------------------- D) In-depth Enemy Analysis ---------------------------- Time to get right to it and analyse some of the specifics of the various enemies in the game. Some of this is going to come out as common sense, some not so. It's best that I cover all grounds to avoid confusion. Note that you will not find tips to avoid certain moves or how to beat a certain enemies, this section is here to feed your knowledge of the game (just like 90% of the text in this FAQ). ============================================================================= 1) Hell Pride The fodder enemy of DMC3, Hell Pride's exist solely for your killing pleasure. Weak stamina, slow attack rates, low mix up capabilities and a decent Guard stun, Hell Prides can be easily walked all over. Hell Prides have nothing to be "proud" of. Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Follows the maximum capacity of all juggles and combos. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows all the possible stun statures in the game's mechanics. Goes into Guard stun on command. Recovery: Recovers from all standard stuns using a rising animation. Recovery is slower with crumple stuns, wall stuns and face-downed stuns. Jump/falling animation is standard. Scared Tactics: Holds scythe vertically in front, taking a few step backwards. Block is fake, all hits are unblockable. *Moves* Overhead Vertical slash - Hell Pride brings it's scythe over its head and brings it crashing down. Good vertical reach, arsy coverage on the sides. This move is used mostly as an attempt to hit Dante when he is in mid-air. Properties: Regular hit stun, knockdown effect (if Dante is in air), Interruptable. Horizontal Swing slash - Hell Pride rests the scythe over it's waste and then swings it from one side to the next. Good all around coverage, 0 vertical reach. This is a good move to test your Just Rolls on, as the Roll will cleanly go under the Horizontal slash. Properties: Regular hit stun, Interruptable Special Ability/Special Stance: Guard stance - Anytime during combat, a Hell Pride will assume a vertical scythe Guard stance, effectively blocking a large portion of Dante's move list while taking minimal damage. This Guard stance's tactical advantage is that it keeps Dante busy on one Hell Pride long enough for another enemy to hit Dante while he is comboing. A Hell Pride alone can never counter attack from a Guard stun, so crush it's Guard and finish it off. (Hell prides become incredibly tedious in DT form as most attacks will be completely devoid) ============================================================================= 2) Hell Lust A decent upgrade over the Hell Pride, the Hell Lust are the most mobile of the Hell enemies. Hell Lust specialize in dashing attacks and adept strafing so that Dante's moves will wiff and it will afford the Hell Lust enough time for a counter attack. Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Follows the maximum capacity of all juggles and combos. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows all the possible stun statures in the game's mechanics. Recovery: Recovers from all standard stuns using a rising animation. Recovery is slower with crumple stuns, wall stuns and face-downed stuns. Jump/falling animation is standard. Scared Tactics: Noticeable decrease in strafing and manueverability, backwards motion. *Moves* Lunging Dash attack: Hell Lust flips vertical backwards and violently lunges towards Dante and swings his scythe horizontall across. The accuracy on this move is low, but the reach is great. It's a move most likely to hit you from off-screen (though the move will always be signaled by a very distinct audio cue, so you have no excuse for getting hit by this attack). Properties: Charging attack, Regular hit stun, Interruptable. Dashing Upperslash: Hell Lust strafes forward stealthily and delivers a massive upperslash with it's scythe. This move is designed specifically with Dante's aerial manueverability in mind. The move has good vertical reach but poor all around coverage, and thus is fairly inaccurate but still something to look out for. The move is very difficult to trace due to the Hell Lusts faints (only in DMD) Properties: Knockdown effect (when Dante is in air), Stagger hit (unconfirmed when on ground), Interruptable. Special Abilitiy: Strafing/Dodging - Hell Lust has an annoying ability to strafe and side-step for a large portion of a battle, keeping you on your toes for it's movements. The biggest problem that arises from this ability is that a lot of your lunge attacks will clearly wiff the Hell Lust and it will provide it enough time to counter attack (i.e. don't throw out Jet Streams out of the blue). The best strategy is to use a firearms small hit stun to slow it down and then come in with melee attacks to subdue the Hell Lust. Faint: the Hell lust will faint a Dashing upperslash (without follow through) most likely causing you to prematurely evade rather than attack ============================================================================= 3) Hell Sloth Hell Sloths have a unique ability to Teleport to make up for their slow overall movements. They have a great importance in DMC3 as they hold the title of THE MOST COMBOABLE/JUGGLEABLE ENEMY IN THE GAME. This is in part due to their slightly bigger size, fully juggleable physique and large stamina for really long and painful combos. Go nuts with this one, he is there for you to bring out the big guns! Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Follows the maximum capacity of all juggles and combos. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows all the possible stun statures in the game's mechanics. Recovery: Recovers from all standard stuns using a rising animation. Recovery is slower with crumple stuns, wall stuns and face-downed stuns. Jump/falling animation is standard. Scared Tactics: Heavy decrease in Teleportation cycles. *Moves* Post-Teleport Overhead slash: The Hell sloth will Teleport after making a blood curling scream and reappear next to Dante and deliver a blow. Easily telegraphed, easily avoided, low coverage on all sides, this move is hardly daunting. Just watch out for this moves when comboing while in a group of 3 or more Hell Sloths. Properties: Regular hit stun, Interruptable (the Teleportation can NEVER be interrupted, but the slash can be), Knockdown effect (if Dante is in air). Special Ability: Teleportation - Hell Sloth's staple technique, it allows the Hell Sloth to move all over the area with little effort. This also allows it to temporarily escape from an incoming attack though a Hell Sloth will NEVER Teleport mid-combo unless DTed. A Teleportation is easily telepgraphed with a round sand-like projection. Jump: The Hell Sloth's only other form of mobility out of teleporting ============================================================================= 4) Hell Envy A version of Hell Pride with completely eccentric body physiques, meaning the same combos will not work on Hell Envy. Hell Pride is basically a palette swap of Hell Pride with slightly more stamina and a different body physique. Class: Limited Juggleable capability with Medium weight class. Real Impact sometimes juggles this enemy, though it is nearly immune to all other types of launchers or severe stuns. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows most of the stun statures in the game's mechanics to a limited extent. Goes into Guard stun on command. Recovery: Recovers from all standard stuns using a rising animation. Recovery is slower with crumple stuns, wall stuns and face-downed stuns. Scared Tactics: Holds scythe vertically in front, taking a few step backwards. Block is fake, all hits are unblockable. *Moves* Overhead Vertical slash - Hell Envy brings it's scythe over its head and brings it crashing down. Good vertical reach, arsy coverage on the sides. This move is used mostly as an attempt to hit Dante when he is in mid-air. Properties: Regular hit stun, knockdown effect (if Dante is in air), Interruptable. Horizontal Swing slash - Hell Envy rests the scythe over it's waste and then swings it from one side to the next. Good all around coverage, 0 vertical reach. This is a good move to test your Just Rolls on, as the Roll will cleanly go under the Horizontal slash. Properties: Regular hit stun, Interruptable Special Ability/Special Stance: Guard stance - Anytime during combat, a Hell Envy will assume a vertical scythe Guard stance, effectively blocking a large portion of Dante's move list while taking minimal damage. This Guard stance's tactical advantage is that it keeps Dante busy on one Hell Envy has long enough for another enemy to hit Dante while he is comboing. A Hell Envy alone can never counter attack from a Guard stun, so crush it's Guard and finish it off. ============================================================================= 5) Hell Gluttony Hell Gluttony is known only for its sand projectile ability, other than that it's just a weaker Hell Sloth. The only advance mechanic to discuss about Hell Gluttony is it's Sand Pore ability, which could make Hell Gluttony actually pose a threat. Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Follows the maximum capacity of all juggles and combos. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows all the possible stun statures in the game's mechanics. Recovery: Recovers from all standard stuns using a rising animation. Recovery is slower with crumple stuns, wall stuns and face-downed stuns. Jump/falling animation is standard. Scared Tactics: Heavy decrease in projectile cycles. *Moves* Sand Vomit Projectile - Hell Gluttony's bread and butter move, he summons a cloud of sand around him, sucks it up and then projectile vomits it out. Great linear coverage although (Though pathetic for a projectile attack) decays with distance. The power at close range is considerable, and so is the wide range (sort of like the Shotgun). The move has a very distinct audio and visual clue, it's a rarity to be hit by this move. Properties: Projectile, Uninterruptable, Semi-omnipotent (unconfirmed), Wide- area effect, Stagger hit stun. Close proximity hit - As a last resort defense mechanism, the Hell Gluttony will attempt to do a weak hit with it's staff. Very weak, very slow, and very rare, this move is easily ignored. The brunt of Hell Gluttony's arsenal comes from his sand projectile. Properties: Regular Hit stun, Interruptable. Special Ability: Sand Pores - This is a passive ability which increases the pores in Hell Gluttony's body so that more sand is absorbed during the Sand Vomit Projectile move. The pores are increased when Dante uses firearm against it, most specifically E&I. Naturally, a long distance game against Hell Gluttony is not recommended, as you don't want to be hit by a powered up projectile and take more damage than necessary. Easily remedied by using close range attacks. It's possible that the pores may increase with standard Nevan strings also. (if you stun the Gluttony with enough E & I Bullets it will cancel the increased pores in its attack) ============================================================================= 6) Hell Greed A higher level Hell enemy, that carries a giant coffin to the battle which has the uncanny ability to summon other Hell's (Except Hell Envy). Hell Greed itself is a heavy enemy and cannot be juggled but his size is great for standing combos. Hell Greed is your ticket to infinite combos on the Hell enemies, as long as a Hell Greed is alive, more Hell's will be summoned to the battle. Class: Comboeable, Heavy weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows only a mid-level Hit Stun, which limits it's offensive power and movement capability. Recovery: Hell Greed always recovers with a Casket Swing, and uses it as a Counter attack also. Scared Tactics: Places Coffin casket infront for a fake block, all attacks still unblockable. *Moves* Casket Swing - As a counter attack from in coming attacks, Hell Greed swings around the coffin to clear up some space before putting down the coffin in order to summon other Hell enemies. Casket swing has great coverage on sides, and it's a combo attack (Potentially 3 hit), and it's usually very annoying. Keep your distance and once the coffin is down, unleash hell upon it. Properties: Uninterruptable, Knockback effect (on last hit), Stagger hits (on first few hits), Combo attack. Special Ability: Hell Summon - Once the coffin is down, Hell Greed goes into a state of summoning and will be completely immobile. Hell Greed summons a possible of 4 Hell monsters (Pride, Lust, Sloth and Gluttony) and will keep doing this until he is dead. Enemies are (Certain Greeds can only summon 1 type of Hell) summoned in waves so you won't have to worry about just 1 Hell monster at one time. ============================================================================= 7) Hell Wrath A weak Hell monster carrying a large molten rock over it's shoulders, Atlas style. Hell Wrath is essentially a suicide bomber and should be handled with care. The most annoying aspect of Hell Wrath is that due to the rock's solid state, Hell Wrath has a built-in Auto-Parry. Hell Wrath will simply die in a few FA hits, or in one Ice Age cycle. Class: Cannot be effectively comboed, due to built-in Auto-Parry against 90% of physical attacks in the game. Can be comboed minutely with FA combos. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows only a small-level Hit stun from FA's only, limits it's manueverability. Recovery: Will never recover from a Self-Destruction and die on execution. Scared Tactics: No noticeable scared status, though manueverability seems to be affected when in DT. *Special Move* Self-Destruction - Hell Wrath will bring down the rock at it's feet and it will explode on contact. You can also trigger the explosion by targetting the rock and cause it to Self-Destruct automatically. The explosion is very powerful, taking out a Hell Pride with a single hit (it damages friends and foe a like). Self-Destruction can be a very effective offensive tool in essentially clearing out a crowds and then isolating the enemies for easy kills. Properties: Wide-area effect, Knockback effect, Omnipotent, Uninterruptable. ============================================================================= 8) Hell Vanguard The leader of the Hell army, Hell Vanguard is in a class of it's own. Not the weak Hell monster you will encounter, Hell Vanguard has a large variety of abilities at it's disposal to dispatch a certain silver haired half demon hero. A great battle to fight, one that is further enhanced when fighting multiple Hell Vanguards (there is one part in the game where you face 3 of them simultaneously!). Class: Comboeable, Heavy weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. Elemental Affliction: Beowulf (Light) Stuns: Does not stun effectively from standard Hit stuns, will however go into Major stagger stun from multi-hitting moves. Goes into Guard stun on command for an Auto-Parry and PI state. Recovery: Will recover from Major stun with either a Teleportation or Dashing Teleport attack. Also recovers while Materializing in the ground but DOES NOT go into Invincibility state. Scared Tactics: Assumes defensive posture with vertical scythe block, fake block stun. *Moves* Dashing Teleport attack - The most devastating move in Hell Vanguard's arsenal, it's always followed by Hell Vanguard's Materializing ability. Similar to Major Bison's Psycho Crusher attack (Street Fighter reference), this move makes Hell Vanguard propell itself towards Dante with inhuman accuracy. Always count on the attack to hit you, it rarely misses. It's the ultimate newbie killer, most people have trouble evading this move. A common misconception with this move is that HV is invincible during this attack and he definitely is not. It's safe to use FAs when he is moving around, especially Multilock with Artemis. This move comes in 2 variations: Vertical and Horizontal. Audio clue is given by a loud bell tolling sound. Properties: Charging attack, Stagger hit, Knockdown (if Dante is in the air), Uninterruptable, Air Attack. Overhead Vertical Slash - A simple move enhanced by Hell Vanguard's boss like status. It appears to be a simple vertical slash but when you come to intercept it, you realize that it has a built in Auto-Parry. By intercepting this move, you enter into a state of Perfect Impacts. These PIs will continue on until you miss your attack or get hit. The PI's can be used to build up style substantially. Contrary to popular belief, this move IS interruptable using fast multi-hitting attacks in between the recovery phase of the PI and the slash. Each consequent PI will result in slightly more frame advantage for HV and more style points, for you. Properties: Interruptable, Stagger hit, Knockdown (if Dante is in the air), Auto-Parry/ Perfect Impact. V.Slash to Horizontal Hook - A simple combo attack that HV likes to mix up with when at close proximity. This usually comes out after successive PIs. The last his is a very short but fast horizontal slash in the shape of a hook that catches many off guard. Always expect the 2nd hit to come out for best safety. Properties: Interruption unconfirmed (testing still in progress), Stagger hit, Combo attack. Special Abilities: Materialize - HV has the ability to phase in solid objects creating a dark pool through which HV phases in and out. HV combines this ability with his other Teleporting ability for a major mix up game. Know that HV is NOT invincible unlike the other forms of Materialization in the game (Abyss, Nevan and Fallen), so FA hits will connect. Teleportation - A much more potent form of Teleportation than the Hell Sloth, this one is used as a combo breaker and an offensive tool. Used in conjunction with the Dashing attack, and you can see why many newcomers have trouble with this foe. HV has a recovery animation after this ability, which brings in perfect opportunity for free combos. Command Guard - ============================================================================= 9) Abyss The generals of the Hell enemies, surprisingly they are not that tough at all. The Abyss are fire-based enemies, they take less damage from A&R and are sometimes immune to the Whirlwind launcher. Abyss combine the abilities of all the Hell in one tight package for a variable battle experience. Abyss do little once in a combo, and thus are easily defeated. Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Follows the maximum capacity of all juggles and (Though they can interrupt combos with evasions) combos. Elemental Affliction: Cerberus (Ice) *Elemental Affinity: Agni and Rudra (Fire) *This enemy does not launch 100% with A&R combos because of this affinity. Stuns: Follows all the possible stun statures in the game's mechanics. Wall stun is noticeably longer than normal. Also has Guard stun. (Counter-attack is triggered with a knockback effect or Gold parry) Recovery: On top of all the standard recovery of the Hell enemies, Abyss recovers from a Knockback effect using a flip over Dashing Lunging attack. Interruption of this attack will result in a counter Dashing Lunging attack as well. Abyss also recovers while Materializing in the ground for untouchable status. Scared Tactics: Takes step backwards, while facing Dante. *Moves* Overhead Vertical slash - Abyss brings it's scythe over its head and brings it crashing down. Good vertical reach, arsy coverage on the sides. This move is used mostly as an attempt to hit Dante when he is in mid-air. Properties: Regular hit stun, knockdown effect (if Dante is in air), Interruptable. Lunging Dash attack: The Abyss flips vertical backwards and violently lunges towards Dante and swings his scythe horizontally across. The accuracy on this move is low, but the reach is great. It's a move most likely to hit you from off-screen. Properties: Charging attack, Regular hit stun, Interruptable. Air Firecracker Toss: Usually after jumping in the air or post- Materialization, the Abyss tosses an explosive projectile that explodes on contact. Not that great for an area of effect, but decent power on attack and comes out pretty fast. This move can hit Dante from virtually on the ground except directly below Abyss. Properties: Projectile, Wide-area effect, Uninterruptable, Omnipotent, Knockback effect. Ground Firecracker Toss: Abyss does a horizontal Scythe Slash also releasing a Firecracker that targets you anywhere (Air or ground) Minimal area effectivness but good damage nun the less, you will take severe damage if this hits at close range (Though it is Abyss's long range attack) Properties: Projectile, Wide-area effect, Uninterruptable, Omnipotent, Knockback effect. Special Abilities: Materialize - Abyss can Materialize in the ground on command and resurface for a Firecracker toss. This ability can be annoying since during this move an Abyss is untouchable and thus is invincible as well. There is weird glitch that I have seen where you can Wild Stomp/Free Ride an Abyss while it's Materializing, during the animation where it's partly lying on the ground and partly materialized. Outside of that, the Abyss is untouchable. Special Stance: Guard stance - Anytime during combat, an Abyss will assume a vertical scythe Guard stance, effectively blocking a large portion of Dante's move list while taking minimal damage. This Guard stance's tactical advantage is that it keeps Dante busy on one Abyss long enough for another enemy to hit Dante while he is comboing. An Abyss alone can never counter attack from a Guard stun (Except through knockback effect attacks), so crush it's Guard and finish it off. ============================================================================= 10) Arachne An interesting enemy, for a large spider they can certainly hold their own in a battle. While juggling them is quite possible, doing so is not an easy task and requires precise hits for the Arachne to let down it's defenses. Speaking of which, Arachne is a countering beast and should be handled with extreme caution. Please take note that Arachne's come in a larger version and after this FAQ hits ver 1.0 I will experiment on it as well for differences in properties. Class: Juggleable, Medium weight class. Follows limited capacity of all juggles and combos. Elemental Affliction: Agni and Rudra (Fire) Stuns: Follows Hit stuns, and especially Major counter stuns. Jumping/Falling animation results from Special ability "Wall Cling." Will assume Face-down position if knocked back from the rear during Major counter stun. Crumple stun is possible with a move powerful enough. Guardstuns on command. Guard stun can be converted into Auto-Parry. Air Stun is common but rarely converted into suspension or juggles. Recovery: Will recover from Face-down position slowly, same for crumple stuns. Recovery from a normal knockdown is standard, although it has enough frames for a Real Impact charge up. Recovery from Lunging Slash attack is very low, can easily be Face-downed. Scared Tactics: Covers face with front legs, no visual block or detection of movement. *Moves* Crossed Arm slash - Arachne's close proximity move, one that is quite fast and deadly. Using it's front hind legs, the Arachne will take a vicious slash at Dante. Interrupting this attack with a JP will put you at great frame advantage. This move has great frame advantage and great frontal coverage. Properties: Regular hit stun, Interruptable. Lunging Pounce - Mostly used as a counter attack after an AP, an Arachne rears back and propells itself in the direction of Dante. Interestingly enough, another move of Arachne that can be interrupted by a JP for loads of frame advantage. The move has great frontal coverage but the recovery is horrible and can easily be countered once you dodge this move. Note- Ultimate will Parry all the Spiders basic attacks (large or small spiders) they are the only enemy to be parried by ultimate Properties: Charging attack, Semi-Omnipotent (unconfirmed), Knockback, post- AP. *Special Move* Web Throw - Usually after clinging on to a wall, the Arachne throws a string of web that captures Dante and keeps him completely immobile. This move ends up being very problematic, especially because of the other Arachne's habit of using Lunging Pounce when you are trapped. Note that the Arachne that has you in the hold will be immobile also, so you are only in danger if there are other Arachne's around. This grapple can be broken out of faster by twirling the Left-analogue stick in a 360 degree motion. Failure to break out of the attack will result in the Spider to counter attack your disadvantage with a powerful rolling attack. Properties: Grapple, Immobility stun, interruption unconfirmed. Special Abilities: Wall Cling - Being the spider-like enemies that they are, Arachne's have the ability to cling on to a nearby wall. This is really used for positioning purposes so that the Arachne can easily pick you out with Web Throw from afar. Intercepting an Arachne during a Wall Cling will instantly put it into an air juggle. Recovery is the same as any falling animation. Side-Hops - Similar to the Hell Lust's strafing ability, the Arachne's always hop side to side while facing Dante directly. This is really a very strategic movement, it allows the Arachne's to quickly counter attack and during this phase the Arachne is very hard to attack. On top of that, most lunge attacks will wiff allowing the perfect set up for a Pounce attack. Command Guard to Auto-Parry - The ultimate defense mechanism for Arachnes, this and the Pounce attack is all that the Arachne needs to turn your world upside down. Starting out in a Command Guard, the Arachne will appear to guard your hits. Anytime during the Guard, the Arachne will initate an AP (essentiall breaking your combo) and then instantly counterattack (usually with a Pounce). Approach with extreme caution, remember that after the Auto- Parry you will be at a frame advantage, so it's advisable to counter with a JP. (Auto Parry can be cancelled with Ultimate, also avoiding the inevitable pounce attack after)) ============================================================================= 11) Bloodgoyles Unique flying enemies that are really only beatable by converting them to Stone mode. From there you can do a wide range of combos on them since they are in a immobile stun. Their stamina is weak and they don't have many attack options, make quick work of them using a combination of FAs and MAs. Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Follows the limited capacity of all juggles and (Except knock down effect) combos. The following applies to Stone mode. Elemental Affliction: Agni and Rudra (Fire) Stuns: No stun in Blood mode, permanent locked stun during Stone mode. Enemy is completely immobile during Stone mode. Stone physics are moderately heavy, though can be effectively comboed using standard hit properties. Stone mode cannot be achieved through physical hits. Recovery: Recovers from Stone mode through command transformation after set time limit. During recovery animation, the enemy can still be converted back into Stone. Scared Tactics: Noticeable decrease in attack cycles. *Moves* Spinning Rush - The Bloodgoyle will spin around and then charge right towards Dante and tackle him. Unlike the Soul Eaters, the Bloodgoyle can be interrupted during this charge attack and can be converted to Stone mode. Deceptively accurate move, you have to be careful as it is a homing attack. Distinct visual clue and battle cry for this move makes it easier to avoid. Properties: Charge attack, Interruptable, Stagger hit. Special Abilities: Blood/Stone mode - When in normal battle, Bloodgoyles are in Blood mode and virtually immune to all forms of attack. However, after being hit by projectiles (note that Bloodgoyles are not immune to long ranged moves like Jam Session and Volcano) theBloodgoyle is converted into Stone mode. In Stone mode, the Bloodgoyle is in a immobile stun and will take all forms of punishment for a brief time until it will convert back to Blood mode. Bloodgoyles can only attack in Blood mode. Multiply - Bloodgoyles are the only creatures in DMC3 that can Multiply on the spot. I have observed that only large sized Bloodgoyles can Multiply manually, and they only Multiply into small Bloodgoyles (but they keep themselves in tact). As part of advance tactics, it is advisable to go after the big Bloodgoyles first to avoid killing unnecessary enemies. Attacking any sized blood goyle in blood mode will sometimes cause them to duplicate. (Irrespective of size) ============================================================================= 12) Enigma Enigmas are enemy designed solely for long ranged combat. They have an unlimited supply of energy arrows and their accuracy is deadly. Their bodies are very frail and easy to combo (but easy to kill). Enigmas are a big threat in DMC3, any player that is unable to perfectly manipulate Nevan is going to have a hard time fighting against Enigmas. Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Follows ALMOST the maximum capacity of all juggles and combos. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Follows Hit stun, Wall stuns, Crumple stuns and Face-downed stature. No detection of Stagger hits has been confirmed yet. Recovery: Recovers from stuns through standard rising animation. Recovers from hits usually by Sliding away from Dante to create space. Scared Tactics: Heavy decrease in arrow discharge. *Moves* Blue Arrows: Enigma's natural attack, a group of Blue arrows shot in a overhead fashion as projectiles. Deflectable to a certain extent, Blue arrows are moderately powerful and very accurate. Excellent range and excellent accuracy, this move has to be watched out for. Blue arrows are launched in an overhead attack rather than direct Properties: Multiple projectiles, Deflectable, Regular hit stun. Red Arrows: More potent than the Enigma's Blue Arrows, Red Arrows have caused many controller broken over instant deaths. Red arrows are distinctively bigger, faster, stronger and more accurate than Blue arrows. However, they are also easier to Deflect and reward higher style points upon successful Defection. Approach with extreme caution. Red arrows are shot directly at Dante rather than overhead. Properties: Multiple projectiles, Deflectable, Regular hit stun. Special Ability: Slide - To make up for Enigma's lack of close proximity attacks, Enigma uses a speed Sliding technique to create the distance for an arrow discharge. This is usually a very annoying Enigma ability, it moves faster than Dante can run or even stinger, so more extremeforms of combat are required to deal with Sliding Enigmas. Note that the Enigma can charge up a batch of arrows WHILE Sliding so be careful when you zone in. ============================================================================= 13) Damned Pawn Pawn fits the description perfectly, it is a mere "pawn" relative to the other Damned Chess pieces. It has very basic moves like most of the Damned Chess pieces but cannot be juggled. Slow, predictable and weak, Damned Pawns are only a "threat" when facing batches of them Class: Comboeable, Medium weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Only follows bare minimum Hit stun. Recovery: A simple jumping animation is used to recover, though it's usually used as apositioning device. Unawakened state is invincible. Scared Tactics: No confirmed changed in tactics after killing spree. *Moves* X-Slash: Damned Pawn lights up in a red energy and then slashes with both of it's sword. Slow wind up and low coverage and on top of being obcenely telegraphed, this move is an inadequate attack. The only problem that it creates is due to the fact that it's completely uninterruptable. Properties: Knockback effect, Uninterruptable. Jumping X-slash: Similar to the X-slash, only the Pawn follows it up with a jumping animation. Still telegraphed, but it's a trickier move than the previous one. Properties: Knockback effect, Uninterruptable. Special Ability: Unawaken State - Ability of all Damned Chess pieces to go into state where they are completely immobile but also completely invincible to ALL attacks. In addition, any physical attack is will be met with an Auto- Parry. Do not bother worrying about a Damned chess piece in an Unawakened state. ========================================================================== 14) Damned Bishop A spellcaster type enemy, the Damned Bishop excels in hurling flaming projectiles and is a master in regeneration. Bishops are usually underestimated enemies until they start up their Great Balls of Fire attack! Class: Comboeable, Medium weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Only follows bare minimum Hit stun. Recovery: Recovers stamina of both itself and other Damned chess pieces through Restore. Uses 4-way Fire blast as a counter. Unawakened state is invincible. Scared Tactics: No confirmed changed in tactics after killing spree. *Moves* Great Balls of Fire - The Bishop summons 4 fireballs around itself, revolving and getting bigger by every second. When they reach their maximum size, the Bishop launches the fireballs in 4 opposite diagonal directions. Be weary that you can be hit by the revolving fireballs for ABSURD damage and the fireballs do have wide area effect with no decay. Properties: Multiple projectiles, Uninterruptable, Combo attack (the revolving fireballs can hit multiple times), Wide-area effect, Semi- Omnipotent, Knockback effect. Special Ability: Unawaken State - Ability of all Damned Chess pieces to go into state where they are completely immobile but also completely invincible to ALL attacks. In addition, any physical attack is will be met with an Auto- Parry. Do not bother worrying about a Damned chess piece in an Unawakened state. Regeneration - The Bishop lights up in a bright green flashing light and regenerates any Damned piece in the vicinity and sometimes itself also. The Regeneration is maximum, meaning the piece is restored to full life. Needless to say, do not let this happen to you! ============================================================================= 15) Damned Knight The most mobile of the Damned Chess pieces, the Knight can be an annoying foe, having the ability to jump over other enemies and hit you from above and it also has a nasty close proximity attack. Class: Comboeable, Medium weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Only follows bare minimum Hit stun. Recovery: Recovers from a very high jump, used also as a counter attack and a positioning tool. Unawakened state is invincible. Scared Tactics: No confirmed changed in tactics after killing spree. *Moves* Raging Stomp: The Damned Knight's eye lights up and it's base lights up in a fiery glow and it proceeds to go into a rage that consists of lots of jumps oriented towards stomping you to death. The stomps are predictable but it's best that you don't attack the Damned Knight during this attack phase, due to the stomps deceptively wide range. Properties: Semi-Omnipotent, Knockback effect, Air Attack, Uninterruptable. Horn Gore: In close proximity, the Knight loves to use it's horn on it's nose to hit Dante with it. A very basic form of physical attack, it's also fairly inaccurate but it still shouldn't be underestimated as it comes out fairly fast. Properties: Knockback effect, Uninterruptable. Special Ability: Unawaken State - Ability of all Damned Chess pieces to go into state where they are completely immobile but also completely invincible to ALL attacks. In addition, any physical attack is will be met with an Auto- Parry. Do not bother worrying about a Damned chess piece in an Unawakened state. =========================================================================== 16) Damned Rook The most stationary piece and also the most durable. Damned Rook's large size allows easy combos in and low attack cycles allows you to keep the combos going. The only notable feature of the Rook is that it has the ability to swap places with the Damned King whenever the King is touched. Class: Comboeable, Heavy weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Only follows bare minimum Hit stun. Recovery: Unawakened state is invincible. Scared Tactics: No confirmed changed in tactics after killing spree. *Moves* 4-Way Laser - The Damned Rook opens up it's encasing and releases 4 straight lasers in a cross. Easily telegraphed and slow starting type, but infinite reach. Properties: Uninterruptable, Knockback effect, Omnipotent, Projectile (?). Motion Laser: Similar to the previous move, this move is basically the 4-way laser only the Rook moves a few spaces to gain more coverage with the lasers (many people are throw off by this little mix up move). Still telegraphed and you shouldn't have a problem if you are careful. Properties: Uninterruptable, Knockback effect, Omnipotent, Projectile (?). Special Ability: Unawaken State - Ability of all Damned Chess pieces to go into state where they are completely immobile but also completely invincible to ALL attacks. In addition, any physical attack is will be met with an Auto- Parry. Do not bother worrying about a Damned chess piece in an Unawakened state. Castle: The ability of the Damned King and Damned Rook to instantly Teleport and switch places so that the King escapes immediate harm. It only takes 1 hit to the King for it to switch spots with the Rook. This is a defense mechanism and doesn't provide any offensive tactical advantage. Creation: The Rook has the ability to create new chess pieces, this is an extremely scarce move & rarely happens. (It happens more frequently on the chess board on DMD but is extremely difficult to spot) ========================================================================== 17) Damned Queen Out of the all the Damned Pieces, this one takes the cake for the most annoying enemy. Not in terms of battle, just from pure psychological factor. The damn whore laughs like a maniac every time she attacks, and it really gets on one nerves. In addition, her only attack is an near invincible charge attack which just adds to her annoying factor. Class: Comboeable, Heavy weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. Narrow combo window time frame. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Only follows bare minimum Hit stun. Recovery: Always in constant motion, moves in a linear but damaging path. Unawakened state is invincible. Scared Tactics: No confirmed changed in tactics after killing spree. *Moves* Diamond Rush - The Damned Queen rushes forward in a linear path, completely uninterruptableuntil she reaches her destination. If you are in her way unable to cancel out of a move, then you will get hit. This moves comes in fast but has a very distint visual and audio clue (you cannot miss the obnoxious laugh). Most players prefer to use Ice Age to drag the Queen with her and then follow up with additional combos. This attack is very unique as it is a counter attack, if you hit her OR any other chess piece she will automatically target you. Properties: Counter attack, Charging attack, Semi-Omnipotent, Uninterruptable, Knockback effect. Special Ability: Unawaken State - Ability of all Damned Chess pieces to go into state where they are completely immobile but also completely invincible to ALL attacks. In addition, any physical attack is will be met with an Auto- Parry. Do not bother worrying about a Damned chess piece in an Unawakened state. Mass Effect- It is debatable as to whether the Queen has a mass effect after being defeated, audio cues signify a change but nothing is visually apparent ============================================================================= 18) Damned King Just like it's real life chess counter part, the King lacks in a serious offense. The only real importance that the King serves is that upon defeating the King, all the remaining Chess pieces automatically die. It's necessary that you take out the 2 Rooks first to pull off any sort of combos on the King. Class: Comboeable, Heavy weight class. Cannot be Juggled, but can be effectively comboed under all conditions. VERY narrow combo window time frame. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: Only follows bare minimum Hit stun. Recovery: Recovers INSTANTLY using Special Ability "Castle". A Damned Rook has to be present for this recovery. Unawakened state is invincible. Scared Tactics: No confirmed changed in tactics after killing spree. *Moves* Judgement Day - The King's head opens up and releases a very powerful purple energy blast that covers a radial area immediately around the King in a flash. A powerful blast but the range isn't that great (the size of one extra square in diameter) and the recovery on this move is A LOT. Zone in after the blast for free combo oppurtunities (provided you have taken out the Rooks first). Properties: Counter attack, Wide-area effect, Omnipotent, Uninterruptable, Knockback effect. Special Ability: Unawaken State - Ability of all Damned Chess pieces to go into state where they are completely immobile but also completely invincible to ALL attacks. In addition, any physical attack is will be met with an Auto- Parry. Do not bother worrying about a Damned chess piece in an Unawakened state. Castle: The ability of the Damned King and Damned Rook to instantly Teleport and switch places so that the King escapes immediate harm. It only takes 1 hit to the King for it to switch spotswith the Rook. This is a defense mechanism and doesn't provide any offensive tactical advantage. Mass Effect- After defeating the King all other Chess pieces will die one by one ============================================================================= 19) Dullahan The analysis for this enemy will be brief, it cannot be comboed because only 3 hits from the rear kills it. This enemy sucks, it's a chore to fight and no one likes it. Use A&R Sky Cross to take them out ASAP. They have a built in Auto-Parry on their front shield. Class: "Cannot be Comboed." Enemy dies within 3 hits from the rear, front side has a built in Auto-Parry. No Elemental Affliction but shows weakness against Bladed weapons (A&R and Reb.) Stuns: Only a Major hit stun when slashed from the back. Recovery: Keeps moving in linear path. Scared Tactics: None confirmed. *Moves* Justice Slash - Occasionally while moving in a linear path, it lunges it's sword out for a hit. EXTREMELY inaccurate, minimal reach, it sucks. Properties: Knockback, Uninterruptable, potence unconfirmed (aka "I don't care") Razor blade- the outer rim of the shield will do minimal damage to you if you decide to get to close to the Dulluhah Properties: Uninterruptable, constant Special Ability - Built-in Auto-Parry on frontal shield. Self explanatory. (SE Upgrade) - Will be discussed later ========================================================================== 20) Soul Eaters Another annoying enemy, and cannot be comboed. They like to disappear and absord your souls and charge you with an uninterruptable charge. YAY, watching Dante getting owned by a jellyfish is really fun. Class: "Cannot be Comboed." Enemy disappears on sight and cannot be Locked- on. Dies within 3 hits of Trickshot anyway. (No Elemental Affliction) Stuns: None. Recovery: Upon sight, disappears into a gas like substance and cannot be locked, both untouchable and invincible. (Can still be taunted though) Scared Tactics: No scared tactic *Moves* Blood Thirsty Charge: Soul Eater Reels up, screeches then swoops down with an unstoppable lunge attack. Very difficult to evade but a very large opening to actually kill it, if caught in the air this move will injure you, if caught on the ground the Soul Eater will begin soul-Devour. Propperties, causes grapple on ground & Knockback effect in air Soul Devour – initiated after a Blood Thirsty Charge, if caught the attack will cause NO damage but will deplete DT, this is a useless move for Soul Eater as activating DT will nullify it. Propperties: Grapple, DT Depletion Special Abilities: Invisibility – The Sould Eater will become completely invulnerable but can still be taunted (for free DT) When the Soul Eater is out of Dante's sight it will reappear, this makes the Soul Eater an extremely annoying enemy to face. ============================================================================= 21) Arkham's legions Arkham's legions (also known as fish or dolphin) are extremely annoying enemies due to the sheer amount of them, the best way to despatch of them is to use Kalina Ann & blow them away. Only red Dolphins can cause damage. Class: Juggleable, Small weight class. Very limited combo capacity due to obcenely low stamina. No Elemental Affliction but surprisingly weak against Kalina Ann Stuns: Only a minor Hit stun. Has a knockback & rising effect but is negligible as it rarely happens. Recovery: Goes into formation around Dante in a 360 degree radial arc if it doesn't die from hit. Scared Tactics: None. *Moves* Dolphin Rush – The Dolphin turns red & Lunges at Dante, pretty simple attack, best to jump to evade as rolling will often put you in the line of another fish Properties- Stun, Knockback in air (Dante will also be juggleable) multiple hits will cause knockback effect Special Stance: Ring Formation – Arkhams Legions will Circle Dante (Apparently sealing him in) using any attack during this time will leave you at a serious disadvantage, though this is the perfect time to use a T-flux. (3 blocks will kill them) ============================================================================= 22) Fallen The Fallen has 2 modes Wing guard mode- it protecting it from all harm unless parried using RG, this mode has its own move set of basic sword attacks Shattered wings mode- After its wings are shattered it becomes far more mobile moving a lot quicker & at further distances, its basic sword attacks are replaced by more destructive & powerful attacks, this is the only time out of RG that you can cause significant damage to the Fallen Class: EXTREMELY limited combo capacity. Can only be air comboed, enemy goes into special air stun after 3 major hits. Invincible stamina during Shield mode. No Elemental Affliction Stuns: Special shatter stun after solid hits on the Shields, Air Stun after 3 major hits. Guaranteed Stun after a ParryVery minor hit stun with firearms. Recovery: Best recovery is through Materializing the Shield for invincible status. Also phases into wall for untouchable status. Scared Tactics: Noticeable decrease in attack patterns and manueverability. *Moves* *During Wing Guard mode* Air Slash – the Fallen Raises its blade over its shoulder & slashes towards Dante, excellent coverage horizontally & vertically as well as good range, though it is one of the easier attacks to Silver/Gold Parry, accompanied with a grunt. Properties: knockback effect High time – Similair to Air Slash except comes when Fallen is mid level or below Dante, causes significantly more damage & hard to trace as the Fallen often does it below the ground, accompanied with a grunt. Propperties: Knockback effect Stinger – An exceptionally powerful attack tha should be avoided at all costs, the Fallen winds up & lunges at Dante leaving his core open for attack (causing good damage) this is very hard to trace, even harder to parry & can cause severe damage if not correctly avoided Properties: Knockback effect *During shattered wings* Explosive Sword – After the Fallen is a fair distance from Dante they will real there sword above there head in a Stabbing stance then launch it directly at Dante, the sword itself causes pitiful damage, the explosion that follows is exceptionally powerful, another move to avoid at all costs. It has excellent range & is sometimes hard to spot (if you don't trace the sword) Properties: stun, knockback effect, large range Swinging Sword – After the Fallen finishes Circling it has a short pause then starts flailing its Sword in circles 3 times above its head, after this attack it is a great time to counter, the attack has good damage & excellent range, be very careful when approaching it during this move (it will sometimes also use this attack with a forward dash) Properties: Stun, Large Range Special Abilities: Phase- The Fallen have the annoying ability to phase in & out of walls, floors & anything Dante can't go through, this makes the fight irritating as the Fallen will spend most of there time attacking through walls. Shield Regeneration - They also have the rather annoying ability to regenerate the wings that you have shattered, though this comes a long time after you have just shattered, them you shouldn't encounter this ability to often ************************************************************************* -------------------------- E) In-Depth Boss Analysis -------------------------- DMC3 takes intense boss fights to a whole new level, a trend that was started with the original DMC. The bosses are challenging but extremely satisfying to fight (the good ones at least, 3 out of the 13 boss encounters are not really that fun to be honest) and defeat. The bosses follow a wide range of advance mechanics that allows a multi-faceted battle, rather than the generic hit, evade, memorize attack patterns, exploit weaknesses etc. =========================================================================== 1) Cerberus Easily one of the toughest first bosses you will face in this generation of gaming, Cerberus is a giant 3-headed ice guardian. Specializing in ice attacks anddevastating feral attacks, Cerberus puts up an intense fight even while being chained to the wall. Lots of special abilities and moves that will bring down a certain hero in training. Class: Large-size boss, all hits will connect at close proximity. During Massive Crumple stun, this boss will follow the Medium-size class specifications. Elemental Affliction: Agni and Rudra (Fire) Stun: Shaking stun when hit by standard hits on the head area.(Or large hails of bullets) Dazed stun during post-Ultimate Pounce attack. Massive Crumple stun after successive major multiple hits. Recovery: Recovers from hits to the heads by shaking, throwing off combo connections. Counters close proximity hits with Headbutt attack. Recovers from Dazed stun when fullyretracted to original position. Massive Crumple stun is recovered through rising animation. Special ability Ice Growth puts a protective layering on Cerberus to reduce damage exponentially. Weakspot: More damage from Massive crumple stun. Simultaneous hits on all 3 heads yields extra damage. AI Change: After mid-life, Cerberus will initiate "Feral Rage" that will automatically turn Cerberus reddish in color. This will cause Cerberus' attack to come out faster, have faster recovery, frequent cycles and have more power. *Moves* Headbutt- A simple hit with the top of the head to create some space between Dante and Cerberus. This move comes out very quickly, but it has low range, used only at close proximity. Properties: Uninterruptable, Regular hit stun. Paw Swipes- Cerberus will use its paws to slash at Dante hoping to damage and create distancefor more powerful moves. This is a combo attack, the first few hits will be at close range and the last one being slow but having lots of coverage. Properties: Uninterruptable, Combo attack, Regular hit stun (on first few attacks), Knockback (on last hit), last hit Semi-Omnipotent. Ice Shower- Cerberus will rear its head up to the ceiling and call a group of icycles to come crashing down on Dante from above. Wide coverage and lots of projectiles, you will receive more damage if you air borne. Visually telegraphed by a shadow casted across the floor. Properties: Uninterruptable, Stagger hits, Multiple Projectiles, Wide-area effect. Dentyne Ice- A breathe of cold air used to freeze the ground below Dante's feet. The move is very slow, although very deadly if it connects. The properties of this move is similar to a Grapple, in that upon connection Dante goes into an immobile stun (in this case he is frozen until the ice shatters doing damage to him). Properties: Uninterruptable, Grapple, Immobile stun, Projectile (?), potence unconfirmed, Wide-area effect. Crystal Stomp- Cerberus violently stomps his paw on the ground and causes a group of linear crystal icycles to shoot out.A surprisingly fast and deadly attack, but sometimes a bit inaccurate. This move can be done twice in a row using the other paw. (rarely happens but can actually juggle Dante causing heavy damage) Properties: Uninterruptable, Knockback, Projectile, Omnipotent, Wide-area effect. Ultimate Pounce- Cerberus rears back, and then launches himself towards Dante for a strike backed up by 3 tons of muscles! The recovery on this move is considerable, providing enough time for the player to put up a counter- offensive, though without RG is extremely difficult to evade Properties: Uninterruptable, Knockback, Knockdown (if Dante in air), Omnipotent, Charge attack. Ice Blast- A solid ice projectile fired from the mouth of Cerberus, this attack is possibly one of the most deadliest attacks in the game. It has some starting lag and recovery phase, but the move is made by the fact that it's a homing projectile and it does tons of damage. It is however deflectable, for those brave enough to time the attack perfectly. Properties: Deflectable, Knockback, Knockdown (if Dante in air), Omnipotent, Projectile, Homing. Special Abilities: Ice Growth- The ability of Cerberus to grow ice on its body to nullify incoming attacks. Cerberus after a while will automatically re-summon the ice back to its body, for full regeneration. Make sure this doesn't happen to you often. (though you cannot stop him from doing it) Feral Rage. At half life, Cerberus will announce "You are not human are you", rise up slightly and come crashing down with all its weight, causing the entire floor to be covered with ice shards (seeing as how Cerberus is the master of ice) and damaging anything in its path. This move is only done once by Cerberus, and after it his AI sky rockets with loads of upgrades. ============================================================================= 2) Gigapede A fairly tame boss, Gigapede specializes in multiple forms of electrical projectiles. Gigapede is in permanent flight, so comboing him is going to be tricky. Luckily, this boss fight is very simple no matter what strategy you employ. Class: Medium-sized boss (when on backside), some air combos will wiff. Elemental Affliction#1: Cerberus (Ice) Elemental Affliction#2: Agni and Rudra (Fire) Stun: Massive head/neck crush stun, causing immobility in actions. Sustained by hitting the head/neck area with multiple major hits. Recovery: Runs an electrial charge through its body and flips over to cause the player to drop off from Gigapede's flying body. Goes into wormholes in the environment for near untouchablestatus. (Can be damaged in the wormhole by Spiral for severe damage) Weakspot: Attacks after a Massive head/neck crush stun will do extra damage. Weak to BOTH fire and ice. Weak against Spiral when in the wormhole AI Change: Nearing 1/3 life, noticeable increase in deadlier projectile patterns. *Moves* Purple energy orbs- Perhaps one of the most irritating attacks to dodge & pile up the damage, gigapedes "fins" start to glow purple, then they release the purple orbs directly at you. Once hit by one volley you will nearly always be hit by the rest (causing surprise kills) they come in 7 Volleys of 2 balls at a time, these can be deflected but are exceptionally hard to time, you often rely on luck to deflect them, though deflected properly they cause exceptional Damage to gigapede. At 1/3 health he starts using 2 Waves each time he comes out of a worm hole. Gigapedes most common & Lethal move. Properties – Stun, eventual knockback, Projectile, deflectable Static Blast- Only dangerous if you are on the floor, Gigapede flies high in the air & starts raining down enormous thunder bolts directly below it, this is extremely inaccurate & causes little damage. Properties – knockback effect, projectile Blue energy columns- once again only dangerous if you are on the floor, though they can juggle Dante from column to column causing heavy damage, these column come horizontally or Vertically, but never both at the same time. Properties – Stun, knockback, (if hit during stun) projectile Electric Wave- this look like it is meant to be gigapedes penultimate attack, Giga releases a Massive blue orb. Once the orb hits ythe floor it creates a huge electrical wave that is twice the size of Dante & spans the entire floor, you shoud get to higher ground when you see the large orb in Giga's mouth. To be honest, we haven't tested this attack enough, it is possible the blue orb is deflectable, which due to the size of it will cause severe damage Properties – Knockback effect, projectile, Heavy damage Special Abilities: Permanent Flight- Giga has the ability of permanent flight Electric Flip- as a minor defence mechanism Giga covers himself in electric then does a 360 barrel roll, getting any heroes off of him that might be there, this defence is very annoying as it stops any combos you may have been trying to do on him, though at least it causes no damage. Wormhole recovery- gigapede always retreats in to wormholes, giving him near invincibility, though if you position yourself correctly shooting Spiral in to the whole will cause heavy damage, couple that with Spiral cancelling to bombard Giga with bullets at all times ============================================================================= 3) Agni and Rudra A devastating boss duo, one that is just as fun as it is challenging. The game pits you against two demonic brothers carrying fire and wind elemental serrated scimitars, with advance sword/magic skills. Many strategies have been built around thisencounter, it's a great overall fight. Class: Medium-sized bosses, some air combos will wiff. *Elemental Affliction: Cerberus (Ice) *Affliction applies only to brother Agni, no confirmed affliction for brother Rudra. (Though it seems the weapons Agni & rudra does more damage to Rudra than Agni, but that could be due to fire nullifying fire) Stun: Stagger back stun after sustaining fast multiple hits in succession. Massive kneel-over crumple stun after multiple successive Perfect Impacts. Recovery: Evades by running and then air stomping. Recovers from kneel-over stun by aninstantaneous rising animation. Timing a Real Impact can be linked with the rising animation allowing the hurricane to connect for a brief period. Weakspot: Damage is increased exponentially when in Massive kneel-over stun, brother Agni is weak against Ice. Each successive Perfect Impact adds potential damage. AI Change: Whenever one of the brother dies, the other brother undergoes a permanent fusion using both scimitars. The new fused enemy is a much more powerful foe, with better AI and more devastating moves. This phase can be avoided if both brothers are killed at the same time. *Moves* (Both) Double Team attack- An evasive tactic used by the brothers that involves running away to create distance and then take a powerful stomp towards the ground after an aerial flip. This tactic is made effective by the fact that there are 2 bosses, meaning ones recovery is another brother's attack phase (leaving low openings). Properties: Interruptable (run phase is interruptable by Stagger stun), Knockback, Knockdown (if Dante is in air), Semi-omnipotent, Wide-area effect, Air attack. Horizontal cross- A very standard slice by the scimitars that has very nice coverage and does a lot of damage. Properties: Interruptable (AP or JP), Stagger hit, Semi-Omnipotent. Lunging Stab- The brothers rear back and deliver a long reaching stab with the scimitar. Effective when Dante starts to create distance and needs to be punished from mid-range. Properties: Interruptable (AP or JP), Stagger hit. Overhead slice- A slash that comes when the brothers swing the swords over their shoulders (because they don't have heads) and then bring down their swords for a swift attack. Thisattack is the most common move that most people like to AP. Properties: Interruptable (AP or JP), Regular hit stun. Dashing Cross- Another long distance counter, the brothers dash towards Dante and deliver a quick cross slash. Great coverage on this move, and the best part is that move is often mixed with the "Run n' Jump Stomp" to keep Dante guessing. Properties: Charging attack, Interruptable (Stagger stun), Semi-omnipotent, Knockback. Rising Uppercut- Similar to a Hell Lust's uppercut, this move is rarely used by the brothersbut its basically one of their best anti-air moves. Whenever Dante spends too much time in the air, one of the brothers will attempt to knock him down with an uppercut. Most of the time this is very effective in doing its job, although the Stomp is just as effective of an anti-air attack. Properties: Knockdown, Air attack. (Agni exclusive) Crawler- After powering up his sword, Agni can choose to unleash his elemental power of fire through a linear path of crawling fire. This moves comes out fast and his great linearcoverage, although it can be easily side- stepped/Rolled out of. It's a very devastating move if it hits. Properties: Uninterruptable, Projectile, Knockback, Omnipotent. (Rudra exclusive) Tempest- After powering up his sword, Rudra can choose to unleash his elemental power of wind by creating a vortex around him that damages anything that comes near him. Very powerful move and sick with coverage, though not much distance on this move. Like Crawler, a very devastating move. Properties: Uninterruptable, Wide-area effect, Knockback, Omnipotent. (Agni and Rudra Fusion) Double Dashing Cross- Similar to the Dashing Cross, only the boss uses both swords and makes a giant X shape slash in front of him for more coverage. Due to lack of testing in this form, the same properties are assume for its single counterpart. Properties: Charging attack, Interruptable (Stagger stun), Semi-omnipotent, Knockback. Forward slashes- The boss lunges forward and delivers a swift but very powerful slash. This move has great coverage and very potent. This is not like the standard slashes of the single brothers. Properties: Interruptable (AP and JP), Knockback, Omnipotent. Double Overhead slash- THE move that you need to wish that he brings out, the boss will strike with both scimitars from over its shoulders. Large AP window gap, though not as large as the single brothers. This is the move through which you need to start the PI state with the fusion boss. Properties: Interruptable (AP and JP), Stagger, Semi-Omnipotent. Wildfire- The boss will start spinning the dual scimitars while powering it up, and then makes quick little slashes and causes crescent like fire projectiles to come out. Go into evasive manuevers immediately and do not counter attack until he is finished with it. A very dangerous move if you don't go on the defensive. Properties: Uninterruptable, Multiple Projectiles, Knockdown (if Dante is in air), Regular hit stun. Gust of Fury- Similar to the Wildfire move, but instead of crescent shape projectiles coming out, large fire gusts come out in big waves. Being at close proximity when this move is activate is suicide unless you want to go on a heroic JP quest. This move however lacks in distance, and since the boss is immobile you can easily hit away with FAs. Properties: Uninterruptable, Multiple Projectiles, Stagger stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air), Semi-Omnipotent, Wide-area effect. Crawling Twister- The ultimate Agni and Rudra move, combining the super moves of both brothers, the fusion entity does the same animation and BOTH Crawler and Tempest come out. The moves appear to be slightly upgraded, doing more damage and having more coverage. Yeah, this move is THAT powerful. Properties: Uninterruptable, Wide-area effect, Projectile, Knockback, Omnipotent. Special Abilities: Perfect Impact state- Using the different variations of sword strikes, the brothers (fusion included) can start a PI cycle with Dante. This is where Cerberus' Revolver move really shines, allowing you protection from the back (in case the other brother want to join in the fun as well) and giving you enough revolutions for a perfect clash. After multiple PIs, the brother will drop to a kneel-over stun, and you can pick him apart from there. Elemental Fusion- Whenever one of the brother dies, the other one takes the remaining sword and undergoes a fusion that allows him to become God-like. A revamped moves list, aggressive AI and devastating moves contribute to making this one hell of a fight. Luckily you can avoid this by killing both brothers at once. ============================================================================= 4) Vergil I Finally, the climactic battle of the Sons of Sparda. Interestingly enough, this isn't really the ultimate climactic battle, far from it actually. One of the reasons is that Vergil is surprisingly docile and has a very limited amount of moves. He is easy todefeat in this first encounter, but it's still a very fun and engaging boss battle. Class: Medium-sized boss, some air combos will wiff. No Elemental Affliction, though Beowulf is extremely effective here. Stun: Major hit stun, will take successive hits for a defined number. After the defined number hit connects, Vergil will enter a Stagger stun, from which he can resume normal battle. Recovery: During the Stagger stun, Vergil's signature defensive manuever is his ability to Auto-Parry ON COMMAND. A very advance manuever that allows Vergil's the advantage he needs to turn the battle. Vergil also uses his Teleportation ability for defensive manuevering and recovering. In DMD mode, Vergil will initiate Phantom Sword formation that has an invincible summoning shield. Weaksness: Easily goes into hit stun after sustaining a solid hit from a recovery. Can sometimes be tricked by delaying hit, causing his command AP to wiff. AI Change: Goes into Phantom Sword formation at 1/3 life, and will keep doing this move at regular intervals. At 2/3 life gone, will start going into slightly advance Teleportation tactics and will rely heavily on projectile attacks. *Moves* 4-hit Yamato Combo- The standard combo in Vergil's arsenal, its 2 close priximity slashesending with an uppercut and then a downwards slash (similar to the Hightime slash move). Decent speed and power, though low coverage on the sides. Properties: Interruptable, Hit stun (first few hits), Knockdown (last hit), Combo attack, Semi-omnipotent (last 2 hits). UpperSlash- A juggle started, ending with a violent downwards strike that brings Dante to the ground. The 2nd hit is guaranteed after the first hit, naturally. Also has low coverage on the sides. Properties: Interruptable, Juggle starter-to-Knockdown, Semi-omnipotent, Combo attack. Rapid Slash- Vergil lunges forward with this katana to his side, dashing with his sword waving and cutting the very air around it. This move catches many people off guard as it has a delayed hit. A poweful strike but easily telegraphed. Properties: Interruptable, Knockback, Semi-omnipotent, Charge attack. 4-hit to Horizontal slash- The starting is the same as the first 2 hits of the first combo, but the last is unique in that it mixes up with the last hit to have a lot of coverage on the sides. This move is really used for Vergil's mind games, though if you are safe then you don't have to worry about it. The last his can be thrown out randomly to catch the player off guard. Properties: Interruptable, Knockback, Semi-omnipotent (last hit). Judgement Cut- Vergil will assume a stance slightly kneeling and start slashing away while being immobile. The catch is that instead of normal slashes come out, the slashes travel far by cutting through the air and hitting Dante from afar (trust me, it's as crazy as it sounds). This move's length can be varied according to Dante's position. Due to Vergil's immobility, it's a great time to mount a counter-offensive. Properties: Interruptable (by hitting Vergil, the projectiles themselves cannot be interrupted), Knockback, Knockdown (if Dante in air), Semi- omnipotent, Multiple Projectiles. (Phantom Sword Formations) Tutu of Death- During the initial formation of the swords, Vergil will summon the Phantom swords around his waist and they will move sharp edges pointing out. Approaching Vergil while the swords are spinning is suicide (unless again you want to go gung-ho with JP), they will keep spinning until you either break them with your attacks or until Vergil orders them to take another formation. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Combo attack, Hit stun. Impending Doom- The swords will materialize around Dante, revolving around him at a good length. The swords will track Dante's movement on a vertical plane (adjusting as Dante moves up and down). The swords will then converge very quickly towards Dante from all sides, it's a hit or miss deal here (if hit, you will take damage from all the swords). Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Multiple projectiles, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Spiral Swords- The swords will take a different form around Vergil, and will point towards Dante, tracking his every movement. One by one, Vergil will launch them towards Dante. Avoid them at all costs. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Projectile, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Blistering Swords- Similar to the Lock-on move, only Vergil will send ALL the swords towards Dante in linear fashion. Getting hit by one usually means getting hit by the rest as well. A hit and miss situation here. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Multiple projectiles, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Special Abilities: Teleportation- The staple ability of Vergil, you will encounter this ability across all encounters. Vergil can Teleport to any location in the battle arena, so you must be aware of his tactics. Some moves are used in conjunction with his Teleportation ability for devastating results. Command Parry- Vergil will make an arm motion with his right arm and an attack to connect will automatically be Auto-Parried. This command usually occurs after Vergil's Stagger stun or after any form of recovery. In later stages, this will occur more frequently. Phantom Swords- DMD mode only ability, Vergil will put an invincible shield around him while he summons his Phantom swords. A very interesting and formidable ability, one that needs to be taken very seriously. Phantom Swords can be broken. ============================================================================= 5) Leviathan Most people don't like this boss fight, it's extremely simple and has hardly any depth to it. The analysis for this boss fight will be brief, as you can imagine. Class: Large-size boss, all hits will connect at close proximity. *Elemental Affliction: Agni and Rudra (Fire) *Partial affliction, no visual clues but obvious attack increase. Stun: None. Recovery: Covers itself with an impenetrable exoskeleton, which can only be removed by destroying the organs on either the right or left of Leviathan. Weakspot: The middle organ is just one giant weakspot when it's exposed. AI Change: None. *Moves* Dual Motion Lasers- Motion lasers scanning all the surface of the ground and "Cleaning" anything in its path (including incoming Hell Envy's). Very damaging, but will not coverthe air and Leviathan is vulnerable to all forms of air combo attacks. (The shell above Leviathans core is also damageable during the Laser attack) Properties: Uninterruptable, Knockback, Omnipotent, Projectile, Wide-area effect. Electric Spark- Leviathan will open up temporarily and toss a few electrical sparks towards Dante's position. They disappear the further they move, so if you keep your distance you are ok. Other than that, it's a very slow moving but highly accurate move. Properties: Uninterruptable, Stagger stun, Multiple Projectiles, Homing. Special Abilities: Hell Envy summon- During the entire fight, scores of Hell Envy will come to assist the Leviathan in killing you. Use the Hell Envys to your advantage and gain massive amounts of style points from them and use it to damage the Leviathan. Siphon Devil Trigger- The Right organ of the Leviathan siphons Devil Trigger from Dante when alive. This is the organ you want to concentrate on if you wish to kill the Leviathan swiftly. Siphon Red orbs - The Left organ of the Leviathan siphons Red orbs from the battle (when killing Hell Envys). This is the organ you want to concentrate on if you wish for an S rank in Red orbs. Semi-permanent Exoskeleton- Whenever not attacking or whenever one of the organs is alive, the Leviathan is covered by an invincible exoskeleton. Note that the organs will regenerateafter some time and the exoskeleton will be put back up. ============================================================================= 6) Nevan An interesting battle indeed, one that requires more stamina that finesse. Nevan specializes in many different forms of dark arts, including bat summoning, electrical summoning and dark special abilities. A great overall boss fight. Class: Medium-sized boss, some air combos will wiff. Elemental Affliction: Cerberus (Ice) Stun: Massive fall-over stun whenever the attack after her batshield is removed has a knockback effect or when Kiss of Death is effectively broken out of. Recovery: Recovers from Massive fall-over stun by creating a Dark Hole around herself, engulfing everything within its vicinity. Teleports and slides away when going head to head with Dante. Goes into completely invincibility status after Dark Hole attack to resummon Bats. Recovers stamina by intiating Kiss of Death move. Weakspot: Takes extra damage from Massive fall-over stun. Weak to Ice. Bats are easily removed using quick multi-hitting moves (Sphere, Revolver, Jam Session etc.). AI Change: At 1/2 life, Nevan develops a powerful technique that engulfs the ground with electricity. She incorporates this and other more devastating electrical projectile in her arsenal. At 1/3 life remaining, she attempts to regain health using Kiss of Death technique. Oddly enough, she is easiest to defeat when at 1/3 life remaining. *Moves* Bat Projectiles- Nevan will say a taunt ("How's this") & A series of electrical bat projectiles that travel towards Dante one by one. Slow speed and telegraphed easily, this move is hardly a threat. Properties: Uninterruptable, Multiple Projectiles, Regular hit stun. Electric Shocks- Nevan will say a taunt ("You will become tired"), and summon electric charges near Dante's feat. This can come in multiple successions, and she loves to mix this move up with the previous move. A powerful move, but comes out very slow. Properties: Uninterruptable, Wide-area effect, Omnipotent, Stagger hit. Flip over kick- One of Nevan's physical attack, she will do a vertical back flip when Dante is at close proximity, this will cause dark spikes (Ala shadows on DMC1) to protrude from the groun. Fairly innaccurate and low coverage on the sides. Properties: Uninterruptable, potence not confirmed, Regular hit stun. Homing to an extent Spinning Vortex- Another physical attack, this one deadlier than the previous one. Nevan will furiously spin around, hoping to catch Dante off balance and trap him in the small vortex. Getting hit by one attack usually guarantees every next successive hit. Properties: Uninterruptable, Wide spread damage, Regular hit stun. Dark Hole- A counter move, used when Nevan goes into Massive fall-over stun. Nevan telegraphs this move by flashing her eyes red, and then engulfs herself in a dark cloak materializing from a dark hole in the ground. The move will hit Dante if he is in close proximity, so take notice of this move when she counterattacks. Properties: Uninterruptable, Wide-area effect, Knockback, Omnipotent (?), Electrical Columns- After a while, Nevan will be completely immobile and start summoning electrical charges that are in a shape of long rods. The electrical columns will track Dante's movements to some extent and will slowly move towards him. Not that difficult at all to avoid, it's just annoying because it takes so long for this attack phase to be over. Properties: Interruptable (by coming behind Nevan and breaking her Bat Shield. The projectiles themselves cannot be interrupted), Multiple projectiles, Stagger hit, potence not confirmed. Final Shockwave- An ultra powerful move, that requires more evasive manuevering than normal. Nevan covers the entire floor with a powerful electrical charge and then electrocutes everything that is touching the floor. You have to use the Gliding technique (discussed in the Expert mechanics section more in-depth) to gain hang time for a long period of time. Properties: Uninterruptable, Wide-area effect, Knockback effect, Omnipotent. *Special Move* Kiss of Death- Nevan will temporary remove her Bat Shield at 1/3 life remaining and proceed to slide towards Dante in order to grab him and then suck his stamina. This grapple will convert Dante's health lost into Nevan's stamina recovery. Can be broken out of by Devil Triggering. Properties: Charging attack, Grapple, Immobile stun, *Recovers stamina. Special Abilities: Bat Shield- Nevan covers herself in a very formidable Bat Shield which will negate ANY attack on her (meaning she will not lose any stamina). Every hit will remove a number of mini bats from her shield, until there are none left. Fast multiple hits on the Bat Shield will remove the bats quicker and will expose Nevan's weak body. Rejuvenation- The Kiss of Death allows Nevan to rejuvenate her stamina by converting Dante's loss into her gain. Teleportation- Throughout the battle Nevan will evade using her Teleportation techniques. Unlike some of the other enemies with this ability, Nevan rarely uses this as an offensive tool. This is really more of a nuisance as it allows her employ keep away tactics. ============================================================================= 7) Beowulf This battle is highlighted by a sense of primal aggression in that you are tempted to charge into battle and take on Beowulf head on. It's a really intense boss fight, great close quarters combat (though it has a good mix of long ranged combat as well). A very fun fight, not all that difficulty but still intense. Class: Large-size boss, all hits will connect at close proximity. (No Elemental Affliction) Stun: Eye block stun after sustaining a single direct hit on the right eye. Dazed stun sustained after taking a major hit to the eye, or during a counter attack or when 1/3 life is depleted. Massive crumple stun after multiple successive hits on the eye, consecutively. Recovery: Counters eye block stun by flailing his other arm around his body as a defense mechanism. Dazed stun is recovered with a Blinding Flash attack counter. Massive crumple stun is fully recovered through a counter Berserker Rage. Weakspot: Takes almost 2-3 times as much damage when hit on the Right eye. Takes additional damage when in massive crumple stun. AI Change: A bit more than 1/3 life gone, initiates a Berserk Explosion and develops a large range of next attacks and tactics. At 1/3 life remaining, mixes up practically the entire moves list for an intense experience. *Moves* 3-hit Punch combo- The staple combo of Beowulf that he likes to throw out a lot. It's basically two horizontal hook punches, side to side and ended by a powerful fist to the ground. Easy to counter, easy to dodge but the timings for this move can be tricky and Beowulf can change his direction at will. Properties: Combo attack, Regular hit stun (first 2 hits), Knockback (last hit), Semi-Omnipotent (first 2 hits, last hit Omnipotent), Interruptable (if you get behind Beowulf or far away enough, he will automatically interrupt the attack). Stomp- A basic stomp using the massive foot that Beowulf has, it's basically a close proximity move that he uses when Dante starts to take him on from the front. Low coverage on the sides, but comes out very quick. Can be done multiple times for a combo attack Properties: Knockback, Uninterruptable, Semi-Omnipotent, *Combo attack. *Used when doing the Cage Throw manuever. Eye Stun Counter Punches- After you put Beowulf in the first basic stun, he will attempt to counter additional hits by flailing his arm around in hopes of hitting you. Don't be fooled with Beowulf's temporary blindness, there is a very high chance that this move will hit you at close proximity. There are 2 hits to this attack *Properties: Uninterruptable, Regulat Hit stun, Knockback, Knockdown, Stagger stun, Combo attack, Semi-Omnipotent. *Variable properties due to random nature of attack. Blinding Flash- Use partly as an anti-air attack, and partly as a Dazed stun counter, this move is used to cover Beowulf's head from the front (more importantly his right eye). It comes out blindingly fast, but has poor coverage. This is the move that many people use to JR Beowulf's eye since the flash comes from Beowulf's face. Properties: Uniterruptable, Projectile, Knockdown, unconfirmed hit status when grounded, unconfirmed potence. Berserker Rage- A defense mechanic that activates either when Beowulf loses 1/3 life OR when Beowulf is put in his massive crumple stun. This move looks daunting but its really not all that bad. It's powerful yes, and its wide area effect, but it has low range and its very easily telegraphed. Properties: Uninterruptable, Knockdown, Knockback, Wide-area effect, Omnipotent. Cage Throw- Beowulf stomps the ground multiple times and the shockwave causes the cages from the ceilings to drop to the floor in front of Beowulf (it is after all in a Torture Chamber). Beowulf will then punch the Cage towards Dante, which can either be easily brokenor easily be deflected back at Beowulf for free damage. Properties: Deflectable (also breakable), Semi-omnipotent, Projectile, Knockback, Knockdown. Feline Pounce- Beowulf will get on all four and start running around the area. Beowulf runs remarkably fast and damages anything in its path. At the end of the run, Beowulf will end with a very potent final pounce attack (has some recovery time at the end though). Note that Beowulf loves to toss around Cages while in Pounce mode. Properties: Charge attack, Knockback, Knockdown, Uninterruptable, Omnipotent. Volcano- Beowulf's ultimate move, and one of his most devastating moves. In an attack similar to the last hit of the 3 hit punch combo, Beowulf will strike the ground. The animation is slower, but when he connects with the ground, you will know why. A massive wave of light materializes around Beowulf and travels in a wave (not too far though). Nice coverage and excellent power, definitely a move you need to watch out for. Note that the wave has very LIMITED vertical reach, so Air Hiking over Beowulf's head should keep you safe. Also, Volcano causes cage to drop from the ceiling and travel in a projectile, so watch out for that as well. Properties: Wide Area effect, Knockback, Knockdown, Omnipotent, Uninterruptable. Feathers of Doom- Beowulf is really one of the few enemies that can theoretically be beaten by just "gun spamming". Capcom took note of this and attached him with that is considered to be the most devastating move in the game. This move will NEVER be used at close proximity, but will be used at a long distance. Beowulf will grow 2 waves of feathers and launch extremely fast feather-like projectiles at Dante. The feathers are homing and will put Dante in a hit stun, causing every successive feather to hit guaranteed. It's nearly impossible to effectively dodge, just make sure you don't stay too far from Beowulf at all times. Properties: Multiple projectiles, Homing, Regular hit stun, Uniterruptable, Semi-omnipotent (?). Special Abilities: Summoning Cages- Beowulf has an annoying ability to summon cages on command, practically anytime after the 1/3 life mark. He does this with a wide range of his moves, most notably his Stomps, Pounces and Volcano. Always be on the look out for stray Cages in the area, they can spell trouble for you if you don't pay close attention. Berserker Rage- Part defensive mechanic and part offensive manuever, this move allows Beowulf's to stay safe for some time from close range attacks. At close proximity this ability is deadly, however at long range its not threat. This ability is only used after a massive crumple stun and when Beowulf loses 1/3 life. ============================================================================= 8) Geryon A ghost horse with a chariot on back, a seemingly tame boss until you actually face him in the colisseum. Needless to say that Geryon will use any cheap tactic in the book to bring you down, but luckily Capcom stuck him with many weakness for you to exploit. Class: Large-size boss, all hits will connect at close proximity. During Massive Crumple stun and when on chariot, this boss will follow the Medium- size class specifications. Elemental Affliction: Cerberus (Ice) Stun: Minor hit stun (raises front legs up as if to retaliate) sustained after taking minor hits on the body. Massive crumple stun (complete body drop) after sustaining a major hit on the head area. <~ Recovers from this stun very quickly on high difficulties. Recovery: Recovers from virtually any form of disadvantage by either A) Running away, swinging his chariot or B) Initiate Quicksilver spell. He will most likely combine the two with devastating results. Counters with blue flame attack when Dante is on the chariot. Weakspot: Chariot can be hit for minor damage. Head can be hit with a major attack for a crumple stun. The area between the rump and the chariot is a weakness also, getting simultaneous hits on both yields extra damage. Weak against ice. AI Change: At about 10% gone, he will cause the bridge underneath him to collapse, allowing him more area to run around. At 1/3 life remaining, he will start throwing out Quicksilver orbs that upon connection will slow down time allowing Geryon an enormous advantage. *Moves* Chariot Charge- The standard running attack of Geryon that is really the most annoying. For one, you don't actually take damage from hitting Geryon but from the chariot. Secondly, the collision detection on this move is a bit off, getting in free hits in when you clearly dashes/roll/jumped out of the way. Best way to counter this is to air hike over it. Note that there are spikes near the wheels that have decent range and can hit you for loads of damage. Properties: Charge attack, Omnipotent, Knockback, Knockdown, Interruptable (knocking Geryon down). Disperse Rockets- Geryon has quite a few forms of throwing rocket-like projectiles from his chariots. The rockets have decent tracking ability, although you should always be on your toe with them. Geryon uses this moves ALOT , so its recommended that you have an effective strategy against it. Properties: Multiple Projectile, Regular hit stun, Knockdown, Interruptable (by getting on Geryon's chariot). Chariot Swing- High damage, high range, 360 degree coverage and high speed. Yeah, this move is going to kick your ass. Most newcomers will get hit by this move alot, simply because Geryon will always use it after a Quicksilver Time Lag. It is virtually impossible to avoid this move when you are on the ground and time has been manipulated. Avoid getting "Quicksilvered" and you avoid getting crushed by this move. Properties: Uninterruptable, Wide-area effect, Knockback, Knockdown, Omnipotent. Azure Flames- Another projectile attack, this one too comes with quite a few variations. It is used when Dante is on the chariot, its used when Geryon comes to screeching halt and its used when Geryon recovers from a massive crumple stun. The flames are slow traveling and can easily be jumped over, there is no need to make a headache over this move. Properties: Interruptable (varies, but the projectile itself cannot be interrupted), Wide-area effect, *Projectile/Multiple Projectiles, potence unconfirmed, hit status unconfirmed. *Depends on the variation. Spears of the Past- During a Quicksilver Time Lag, Geryon will summon spears around Dante's position to impale him while he is moving around. The spears track on a vertical plane only and only come out during a Quicksilver Time Lag. This move is not at all hard to avoid, but you should always be careful. Properties: Uninterruptable, potence unconfirmed, Knockdown, grounded hit status unconfirmed, Multiple Projectiles. Special Abilities: Quicksilver Time Lag- Whenever Geryon drops flat on the floor, it will flash its eye read and counter attack with a Quicksilver spellcast. Quicksilver is basically a negative image render that upon connection with Dante, slows down time but keeps Geryon at the normal pace. It's a cheap little ability that Geryon has, and it spreads from the source in a wide area. Quicksilver Orbs- A variant of the Time Lag, this time Geryon summons little Quicksilver air pockets that float around the arena. If they touch Dante, then Geryon gets to automatically initiate Time Lag and summons Spears that impale you on the spot. Luckily, if you have Quicksilver yourself, then you can counter this by activating your own Quicksilver. The reversal will cause the game to automatically resume real time, with no DT cost to you! ============================================================================= 9) Vergil II Now this is what I am talkin about! It's basically the Vergil fight that Capcom has been hyping up all this time, and I am here to report that I am satisfied. Fast, furious, intense and challenging, Vergil at nearly the top of his game (speaking in DMD of course). Vergil retains all his previous moves and gains a new weapon (the Beowulf gauntlets). Class: Medium-sized boss, some air combos will wiff. No Elemental Affliction, though Beowulf is extremely effective here. Stun: Major hit stun, will take successive hits for a defined number. After the defined number hit connects, Vergil will enter a Stagger stun, from which he can resume normal battle. Recovery: During the Stagger stun, Vergil's signature defensive manuever is his ability to Auto-Parry ON COMMAND. A very advance manuever that allows Vergil's the advantage he needs to turn the battle. Vergil also uses his Teleportation ability for defensive manuevering and recovering. In DMD mode, Vergil will initiate Phantom Sword formation that has an invincible summoning shield. Recovers from some combos by Teleporting in the air and coming down with a Killer Bee attack. Devil Triggers on command for ABSOLUTELY NO hit stuns. First time DT will create an invincible shield around Vergil. Weaksness: Easily goes into hit stun after sustaining a solid hit from a recovery. Can sometimes be tricked by delaying hit, causing his command AP to wiff. AI Change: Goes into Phantom Sword formation at 1/3 life, and will keep doing this move at regular intervals. At 2/3 life gone, will start going into slightly advance Teleportation tactics and will rely heavily on projectile attacks. Devil Triggers are regular intervals based on stamina loss. At 1/3 life remaining, will summon his Yamato sword and will start using it a more advance fashion. *Moves* (Only uses this move at 1/3 health) 4-hit Yamato Combo- The standard combo in Vergil's arsenal, its 2 close priximity slashes ending with an uppercut and then a downwards slash (similar to the Hightime slash move). Decent speed and power, though low coverage on the sides. Properties: Interruptable, Hit stun (first few hits), Knockdown (last hit), Combo attack, Semi-omnipotent (last 2 hits). (Only uses this move at 1/3 health) UpperSlash- A juggle started, ending with a violent downwards strike that brings Dante to the ground. The 2nd hit is guaranteed after the first hit, naturally. Also has low coverage on the sides. Properties: Interruptable, Juggle starter-to-Knockdown, Semi-omnipotent, Combo attack. (Only uses this move at 1/3 health) Rapid Slash- Vergil lunges forward with this katana to his side, dashing with his sword waving and cutting the very air around it. This move catches many people off guard as it has a delayed hit. A poweful strike but easily telegraphed. Properties: Interruptable, Knockback, Semi-omnipotent, Charge attack. (Only uses this move at 1/3 health) 4-hit to Horizontal slash- The starting is the same as the first 2 hits of the first combo, but the last is unique in that it mixes up with the last hit to have a lot of coverage on the sides. This move is really used for Vergil's mind games, though if you are safe then you don't have to worry about it. The last his can be thrown out randomly to catch the player off guard. Properties: Interruptable, Knockback, Semi-omnipotent (last hit). (Only uses this move at 1/3 health) Judgement Cut- Vergil will assume a stance slightly kneeling and start slashing away while being immobile. The catch is that instead of normal slashes come out, the slashes travel far by cutting through the air and hitting Dante from afar (trust me, it's as crazy as it sounds). This move's length can be varied according to Dante's position. Due to Vergil's immobility, it's a great time to mount a counter-offensive. Properties: Interruptable (by hitting Vergil, the projectiles themselves cannot be interrupted), Knockback, Knockdown (if Dante in air), Semi- omnipotent, Multiple Projectiles. (Beowulf moves) 2 punch-to-Double Kicks- Vergil will do 2 grouded punches, followed by 2 spinning kicks. A slow moving combo, though the ingenious of this battle is the way Vergil mixes up his moves list to keep the player guessing. Properties: Interruptable, Regular hit stun (first 2 hits), Knockback (last 2 hits), Combo attack. Rising Sun- Vergil will do double kicks with a rising animation, effectively launching both himself and Dante for additional combo oppurtunities. This move is mixed up a lot with the previous double kicks to keep the player guessing. A faster move than before, great vertical coverage. Properties: Interruptable, Knockdown, Launches, Combo attack. StarFall- Identical to Dante's own Killer Bee attack, only much more crushing. Vergil will almost always combine this move with this Teleportation powers to get you off guard. Be very wary of this move, its a common nuisance. Properties: Interruption unconfirmed, Semi-omnipotent, Knockback, Knockdown. 2 punch-to-Rising Kicklift-to-Killer Bee- A 5 hit combo stringed into 1 giant combo. This combo can be mixed into any one of the previous moves at any time, I just listed the longest manuever possible. This shows Vergil's versatility in combat. Properties- Varies with each hit, see previous properties. (Phantom Sword Formations) Tutu of Death- During the initial formation of the swords, Vergil will summon the Phantom swords around his waist and they will move sharp edges pointing out. Approaching Vergil while the swords are spinning is suicide (unless again you want to go gung-ho with JP), they will keep spinning until you either break them with your attacks or until Vergil orders them to take another formation. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Combo attack, Hit stun. Impending Doom- The swords will materialize around Dante, revolving around him at a good length. The swords will track Dante's movement on a vertical plane (adjusting as Dante moves up and down). The swords will then converge very quickly towards Dante from all sides, it's a hit or miss deal here (if hit, you will take damage from all the swords). Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Multiple projectiles, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Spiral Swords- The swords will take a different form around Vergil, and will point towards Dante, tracking his every movement. One by one, Vergil will launch them towards Dante. Avoid them at all costs. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Projectile, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Blistering Swords- Similar to the Lock-on move, only Vergil will send ALL the swords towards Dante in linear fashion. Getting hit by one usually means getting hit by the rest as well. A hit and miss situation here. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Multiple projectiles, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Special Abilities: Teleportation- The staple ability of Vergil, you will encounter this ability across all encounters. Vergil can Teleport to any location in the battle arena, so you must be aware of his tactics. Some moves are used in conjunction with his Teleportation ability for devastating results. Command Parry- Vergil will make an arm motion with his right arm and an attack to connect will automatically be Auto-Parried. This command usually occurs after Vergil's Stagger stun or after any form of recovery. In later stages, this will occur more frequently. Phantom Swords- DMD mode only ability, Vergil will put an invincible shield around him while he summons his Phantom swords. A very interesting and formidable ability, one that needs to be taken very seriously. Phantom Swords can be broken. Devil Trigger- At about 2/3 health, Vergil will create a shield around himself, taunting "You will not forget this devil's power…… You are not worthy as my opponent." Vergil will turn into an azure demon, capable of wreaking havoc the likes of which you have never seen. All previous moves have more power and more speed. Expect MORE of everything when dealing with Vergil's DT. Vergil will NOT go into ANY stun when in DT mode. After 3 major hits, Vergil will revert back to normal mode with a Stagger hit stun. During the time that Vergil is DTed, he will automatically regenerate stamina. Weapon Transition- At about 1/3 life remaining, Vergil will Teleport to the center of the arena, taunt and summon back his Yamato sword. From this point on, he will have access to all of Yamato's moves list. This is an excellent opening for attack if you have quicksilver equipped, as he is retrieving Yammato he is vulnerbale ============================================================================ 10) Lady A tactical gun fight that is very fun highlighted by the nimble movements of Lady. This battle is really only appreciated in the harder difficulty levels, where Lady actually puts up a fight. This battle is not that hard, but very fun if you like one on one gun fights in close proximity. Class: Medium-sized boss, some air combos will wiff. (No Elemental Affliction) Stun: Major hit stun, sustained when hit during either a counter or just being stationary. Recovery: Backwards dive while tossing a Knife after sustaining a lunge attack or after a certain number of hits. While running, she will do an Evasive Roll if she is attacked (she will be invincible during the roll). Occasionally, she will Grapple away from a spot for a better vantage point. Weakspot: Takes lots of damage during Major hit stun. Not really a weakness but very LARGE opening during either Kalina Ann explosion or Hysteric attacks. AI Change: At 1/2 life, more evasive manuevers utilizing the environments. When 2/3 life is depleted, expect gun tactics and very few openings in battle. *Moves* Gun shots- Lady looks for cover and starts shooting with her standard pistol. Very minimal damage, though damage in DMC3 should be avoided at all costs. Very hard to detect and a bitslow moving for a gun shot. Oddly enough, it can be deflected back by shots from you E&I (like that one cutscene where Lady and Dante square off in the hallway). Properties: Deflectable (E&I fire), Multiple projectiles, Regular hit stun. Knife Toss- A simple Knife toss used in retaliation to a lunge attack. You can deflect this move also, but be wary that it comes out surprisingly fast. Expect this after doing a long combo on Lady as well. Properties: Deflectable (E&I fire), Projectile, Regular hit stun. Evasive SMG Fire- Used in conjunction with many evasive moves in Lady's arsenal, this is basically a salvo of SMG fire used to keep Dante away. Very minimal damage, though still very annoying. Properties: Deflectable (E&I fire), Multiple projectiles, Regular hit stun. Grenade Toss- Use with many evasive manuevers by Lady, she tosses a group of time-delay Grenades that attack to a surface. They are marked by a flashing red light. A very powerful explosion, avoid at all costs. Properties: Wide-area effect, Knockback, Knockdown(rare), unconfirmed potency. Kalina Ann explosion - Lady stops for a second, busts out her giant rocket launcher and braces for a missile launch. Huge gap opening but it comes with a price. The rocket, if connected, does LOTS of damage. Its also wide area effect, be careful on what you get yourself into. Properties: Wide-area effect, Projectile, Knockback, Omnipotent. Hysteric- Lady sets the rocket launcer face down on the floor and launches several mini-rockets from the launcher's pod area. VERY hard to avoid rockets, though thankfully if you do get hit by one, the rest aren't guaranteed. There is a large opening when she sets down the launcher, and its safer to counter attack this time since the Hysterics will be interrupted upon hit sustained. Properties: Interruptable (Hysterics themselves cannot be interrupted), potence unconfirmed, Multiple projectiles, Knockback, Homing. Special Abilities: Evasive Roll- An evasive manuever that makes Lady invulnerable. She will do it when you try to attack her while she is rolling. Obviously a very annoying ability, but you can't do much about it. Grapple- A more tactical manuever used to help Lady get to a more strategic place (usually to set Grenades). She will use the bayonet on the rocket launcher to grapple a wall and a then jump away. The catch is that while she is being launched, she will fire a round of SMG so that Dante doesn't follow up with her. ============================================================================= 11) Doppelganger A boss plagued by repetitive attack cycles and AI, Doppelgange is a chore to fight. The analysis will be basic, though there are some key things that you need to know to beat this boss as soon as possible. Class: Medium-sized boss, some air combos will wiff. Elemental Affliction: Beowulf (Light) Stun: Minor Light dazed stun when 1 light switch is opened at close proximity. Major Light dazed stun when ALL the light switches are opened. Recovery: Recovers from light dazed stun by backflipping back into a dark area. Closes up light switches with Dark Zodiac. Recovers from major light dazed stun by jumping up and doing Dark Volcano to close all light switches. Weakspot: Weak state exposed by opening the light switches. Takes extra damage from Beowulf's light attacks. In daze longer when all light switches are opened at once. AI Change: None. *Moves* Dark Uppercut: A few wave dashes ended by a quick uppercut. Very fast and nasty range, you need to be careful when dealing with this move. He will try to hit you with this move when you attempt to open a light switch. Properties: Stagger hit, Semi-omnipotent(?), Interruptable (opening light switch as soon as he closes in). 3-hit slash: Similar to Rebellion's Combo I, Doppelganger does a combo attack to close proximity for extra damage. Don't get caught in it, it does quite some damage and you might get the extra hits. Properties: Regular hit stun, Interruptable (light switch), Combo attack. Dark Stinger: Same exact as the Stinger of Dante, very fast and excellent range. Doppelganger will use this move when you try to escape from his dark area or try to close in on him. Be wary of this move, it comes out very quickly. Properties: Semi-Omnipotent, Uninterruptable, Knockback, Charge attack. . Dark Zodiac: A purple fireball throw towards an open light switch in an attempt to close it. The interesting thing about the fireball is that it can be deflected back at Doppelganger for free damage (even though he is in his Dark state, invincible to all your attacks but not his). The fireball can hit you for massive damage though. Properties: Deflectable, Knockback, Omnipotent(?), Projectile. Dark Volcano: There are two versions to this move, one where the Doppelganger tries to hit you with this through a long ranged attack and the other where he closes up all the light switches at once in one hit. Very powerful move but easily telegraphed, you don't have to worry about the last variation at all. Properties: Wide-area effect, Omnipotent, Knockback, Uninterruptable. Special Abilities: Dark State: Whenever Doppelganger is not in a light stun, he will completely invincible and untouchable to ALL attacks except his own (really only Dark Zodiac). Approach with extreme caution, only hit him during a stun or he will counter attack. ============================================================================= 12) Arkham No DMC game is complete with a blob enemy, and unfortunately DMC3 delivers on this. Arkham when analyzing as a stand alone boss is very simple and easy to beat, however the latter portion of the battle you are left without Devil Trigger and Style specific attacks, making this battle a bit unbalanced. You get the aid of Vergil in this fight, which can be controlled by a 2nd controller. Class: Large-size boss, all hits will connect at close proximity. *Elemental Affliction: Beowulf (Light) *Unconfirmed partial affliction. Stun: None Recovery: Recovers into the liquid substance underneath and leaves the battle temporarily. Returns from above, while you are busy attacking his Legions. Weakspot: None. AI Change: around 1/10 of health left, he uses all of his serpent attack vociously *Moves* Arm reach- A slow grab with the arm that Arkham uses at close proximity. Very innaccurate and very slow, this move is hardly a threat though in the heat of battle it's hard to keep track of it since Arkham blends effectively with his environment. There are two variations to this attack, but they can both be evaded using the same tactic. Properties: Stagger hit, Uninterruptable, potence unconfirmed. Red/Yellow Parasite Lasers- The most powerful move in Arkham's arsenal, a group of projectiles that are fully homing. The Yellow version is fairly tame with limited homing capabilities and weaker damage. The Red laser is significantly faster, more powerful and trickier to dodge. The chance of evading this projectiles is the greatest when at long distance and lowest when at close proximity. Properties: Knockback, Knowdown, Uniterruptable, Omnipotent. Special Abilities: Summon Arkham's Legions- When Arkham goes into his recovery phase, he will summon a large number of purple dolphin-like Legions to his aid. They are fairly weak but they make it with numbers. Destroy these legions with crowd controlling moves and then crush Arkham when he returns. ============================================================================= 13) Vergil III DMC3's grand finale, and one hell of a boss fight. In the climactic battleagainst your evil brother, you have to face him when he has the significantly more powerful Force Edge sword. He seems to have developed a whole range of new abilities in this battle, making this the most difficult encounter yet. Get ready for a whole new level of boss fighting. Class: Medium-sized boss, some air combos will wiff. No Elemental Affliction, though Beowulf is extremely effective here. Stun: Major hit stun, will take successive hits for a defined number. After the defined number hit connects, Vergil will enter a Stagger stun, from which he can resume normal battle. Immobility after finishing Super Devil Trigger mode. Recovery: During the Stagger stun, Vergil's signature defensive manuever is his ability to Auto-Parry ON COMMAND. A very advance manuever that allows Vergil's the advantage he needs to turn the battle. Vergil also uses his Teleportation ability for defensive manuevering and recovering. In DMD mode, Vergil will initiate Phantom Sword formation that has an invincible summoning shield. Vergil can Devil Trigger on command which gives him no Hit stun. During Super Devil Trigger mode, he will recover health exponentially while doing ultra-powerful moves to keep Dante at bay (he cannot be knocked out of DT in this mode). Weakness: Much more difficult than in previous encounters to go into a major hit stun UNLESS during the recovery of a move. Can sometimes be tricked by delaying hit, causing his command AP to wiff. AI Change: Goes into Phantom Sword formation at 1/3 life, and will keep doing this move at regular intervals. At 2/3 life gone, will start going into slightly advance Teleportation tactics and will rely heavily on projectile attacks. Devil Trigger ability kicks in at 1/3 life interval, and will be used consistently throughout the battle. At 1/3 life remaining, he will activate his Super DT ability, allowing him to regenerate life safely and pull devastating attacks. Vergil III can effectively mix any move and ability with any other for an insanely unique fighting experience. *Moves* (Force Edge moves) Helm Breaker- Vergil Teleport over Dante's head and then he comes down crashing with the Force Edge. Devastating attack, very quick and barely any recovery. Be wary of this move during post-APs. He will do this move in his Ultimate 5-hit combo attack. Properties: Uninterruptable, Semi-omnipotent, Stagger hit, Knockdown. Stinger- This move is what will make you scream for mercy. Anytime Dante attempts to take this battle long range, Vergil will close the gap quickly with a Stinger hit. Instant start up, insane range and insane power, this move has no equal. This move is used at the end of the 5-hit combo. Properties: Charging attack, Uninterruptable, Omnipotent, Knockback. Roundtrip- An interesting move with the Force Edge, Vergil tosses the Force Edge and it travels towards Dante in a boomerang fashion. Very unpredictable and hard to avoid, but it can be deflected completely. Properties: Deflectable, Projectile, variable hit properties, Homing, Semi- omnipotent. Ultimate 5-hit combo- A combination attack using both Yamato and Force Edge. Vergil starts off with the Yamato, doing the first 2 hits and then a Hightime slash (note that he doesn't finish with a vertical slash downwards as he does with Yamato alone), Teleports above Dante, does Helm Breaker and then finishes with a Stinger. This move will kick your ass, period. TAKE EXTREME CAUTION. *Properties: Combo attack. *Variable properties, see individual move lists. (Yamato moves) 4-hit Yamato Combo- The standard combo in Vergil's arsenal, its 2 close priximity slashes ending with an uppercut and then a downwards slash (similar to the Hightime slash move). Decent speed and power, though low coverage on the sides. Properties: Interruptable, Hit stun (first few hits), Knockdown (last hit), Combo attack, Semi-omnipotent (last 2 hits). UpperSlash- A juggle started, ending with a violent downwards strike that brings Dante to the ground. The 2nd hit is guaranteed after the first hit, naturally. Also has low coverage on the sides. Properties: Interruptable, Juggle starter-to-Knockdown, Semi-omnipotent, Combo attack. Rapid Slash- Vergil lunges forward with this katana to his side, dashing with his sword waving and cutting the very air around it. This move catches many people off guard as it has a delayed hit. A poweful strike but easily telegraphed. Properties: Interruptable, Knockback, Semi-omnipotent, Charge attack. 4-hit to Horizontal slash- The starting is the same as the first 2 hits of the first combo, but the last is unique in that it mixes up with the last hit to have a lot of coverage on the sides. This move is really used for Vergil's mind games, though if you are safe then you don't have to worry about it. The last his can be thrown out randomly to catch the player off guard. Properties: Interruptable, Knockback, Semi-omnipotent (last hit). Judgement Cut- Vergil will assume a stance slightly kneeling and start slashing away while being immobile. The catch is that instead of normal slashes come out, the slashes travel far by cutting through the air and hitting Dante from afar (trust me, it's as crazy as it sounds). This move's length can be varied according to Dante's position. Due to Vergil's immobility, it's a great time to mount a counter-offensive. Properties: Interruptable (by hitting Vergil, the projectiles themselves cannot be interrupted), Knockback, Knockdown (if Dante in air), Semi- omnipotent, Multiple Projectiles. (Phantom Sword Formations) Tutu of Death- During the initial formation of the swords, Vergil will summon the Phantom swords around his waist and they will move sharp edges pointing out. Approaching Vergil while the swords are spinning is suicide (unless again you want to go gung-ho with JP), they will keep spinning until you either break them with your attacks or until Vergil orders them to take another formation. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Combo attack, Hit stun. Impending Doom- The swords will materialize around Dante, revolving around him at a good length. The swords will track Dante's movement on a vertical plane (adjusting as Dante moves up and down). The swords will then converge very quickly towards Dante from all sides, it's a hit or miss deal here (if hit, you will take damage from all the swords). Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Multiple projectiles, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Spiral Swords- The swords will take a different form around Vergil, and will point towards Dante, tracking his every movement. One by one, Vergil will launch them towards Dante. Avoid them at all costs. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Projectile, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). Blistering Swords- Similar to the Lock-on move, only Vergil will send ALL the swords towards Dante in linear fashion. Getting hit by one usually means getting hit by the rest as well. A hit and miss situation here. Properties: Deflectable (breakable), Multiple projectiles, Hit stun, Knockdown (if Dante in air). (Super Devil Trigger move) Infinite Judgement Cut- Vergil while Super DTing completely disappears from the screen, and then all you see is a large number of invisible slashes all over the place, homing at your location. The screen will violently shake and you will feel the impending doom. Keep track of the slashes and dodge them, or else its Dante's ass on a steak. Properties: Homing, Semi-omnipotent, Knockback, Knockdown, Uninterruptable. Infinite Helm Breakers- Basically, a lot of really, really fast Helm Breakers with almost 0 recovery. This is really more of a tactic used to regenerate Vergil's health than anything else, it's fairly easy to dodge the Helm Breakers. Properties: Semi-omnipotent, Stagger hit, Knockdown, Uninterruptable. Special Abilities: Teleportation- The staple ability of Vergil, you will encounter this ability across all encounters. Vergil can Teleport to any location in the battle arena, so you must be aware of his tactics. Some moves are used in conjunction with his Teleportation ability for devastating results. Command Parry- Vergil will make an arm motion with his right arm and an attack to connect will automatically be Auto-Parried. This command usually occurs after Vergil's Stagger stun or after any form of recovery. In later stages, this will occur more frequently. Phantom Swords- DMD mode only ability, Vergil will put an invincible shield around him while he summons his Phantom swords. A very interesting and formidable ability, one that needs to be taken very seriously. Phantom Swords can be broken. Devil Trigger- Vergil will turn into an azure demon, capable of wreaking havoc the likes of which you have never seen. All previous moves have more power and more speed. Expect MORE of everything when dealing with Vergil's DT. Vergil will NOT go into ANY stun when in DT mode. After 3 major hits, Vergil will revert back to normal mode with a Stagger hit stun. During the time that Vergil is DTed, he will automatically regenerate stamina. Super Devil Trigger- This is the nastiest of all abilities in the game. During this powerful, Vergil will pull one of 2 insanely powerful moves to keep Dante at bay while he safely recovers his health. Because of this ability, this battle will last a longer time and will be significantly difficult when Vergil nears death. Vergil cannot be knocked out of super DT mode, but will self-deactivate. ============================================================================= 14) Jester (SE) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- F) Random Enemy Combat Tactics/Tips/Strategies etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is basically going to be a recap of mechanics discussed previously pertaining to the enemies, only highlighting the important stuff as well as giving some extra tidbits in the process. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Weapon clashing/Perfect Impact combat Some enemy attacks in the games can be clashed, causing either an Auto-Parry or a double Parry. The most common occurences include Hell Vanguard, Vergil and Agni and Rudra. A clash puts both characters at equal frame advantage, however since Dante is faster than just about every enemy in the game (Vergil being fast ,but not as fast Dante though) you can easily take advantage of this. Some of Vergil's basic katana moves can be interrupted by an attack of your own, causing both Vergil and Dante to go into a weapon clash, with their weapons hanging on the side (note that with timings you can even interrupt some of this Devil Trigger moves). The same concept applies for Hell Vanguard and A&R, though they will immediately go into a state of Perfect Impacts. PI tactics are simple, build up guage until you reach maximum capacity or until the enemy gives up (in this case, A&R will go into massive crumpe stun). Some moves are better than others for PI combat, like Revolver or Flicker of Cerberus. Please remember that the frames start to move towards the enemies favor, but that is hardly a problem since Dante will always be faster than his enemies. As far as Vergil's command AP is concerned, it's best if you don't let it happen to you. Normally, Vergil just teleports away after a post-AP, but sometimes he will do a quick attack that will be guaranteed and you will take the damage (Hightime slash will be guaranteed if you don't immediately do a Roll after the AP). There is a trick that some players use to wiff Vergil's AP, which involves delaying the hits of Beowulf. The animation of Beowulf's starting move is read by Vergil and he will put up his arm, but the player can hold the input and wait until Vergil's arm is to its side again so that he takes a free hit. On Vergil I, this is an effective tactic, but on later encounters due to DT he will not fall for this that often. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Interrupting/Deflection You will have noticed by now that I put "Interruptable, Uninterruptable,Deflectable/Breakable" next to practically every move in the game. The reason why I do this is because DMC3 is an offensively oriented game. The game rewards offensive tactics, though some defensive manuevers can be done in order to gain offensive hand in battle. These properties define how you can effectively keep the flow of combat in your favor. An Interruptable attack can be stopped long enough for you to set up a counter-offensive, a Deflectable/Breakable attack either completely negates an attack or reverses the attack back at the enemy and an uninterruptable cannot be stopped under any condition. Some interruptions have prerequisites that are not available in normal combat, but they can still be used to your advantage. A Deflection always yields you extra style points and so does an Interruption. The notable Deflections include Beowulf's Cage Throw, Doppelganger's Dark Zodiac and Enigma's Blue/Red arrows. The last one yields a large number of style points, and is highly recommended when dealing with Enigmas. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Weakness exploit Aside from elemental weaknesses, most of the advance enemies in the game have many forms of weaknesses and weakspots. They are there for a reason, to be exploited. The basic enemies tend to have a low amount of weaknesses, since they are easy to kill, but higher level enemies like A&R, Geryon and Beowulf have a lot of weaknesses that can be exploited. I have listed the so far discovered weaknesses of every enemy in the game, but there are likely to be more exploits. Exploiting weaknesses yields you lots of style points, using elemental affliction yields you at an average 20% increase in power. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Pattern recognition/Awareness While this FAQ certainly outlines the majority of what you need to counter the enemies in the game, you have to learn the patterns yourself. By thumb rule, a basic enemy will have a basic pattern of attack. Be aware of these patterns and you will succeed in battle. It is noteworthy that the higher level bosses in DMC3 like Vergil III have a large moves list from which they can mix up their patterns with, so knowledge of this move will suffice. It is impossible for you to predict what combination of attack your foe will do next, but always be prepared for the worst. Awareness in battle is key to success in DMC3. There are going to be many factors in the game that will not be written in this FAQ, stuff like environment hazard, wall situations, obstacles etc. As a good player, you have to deal with these factors and make the most out of them. You also have to be aware of enemies that are docile and not engaged in battle, they can converge on your at any time while you are comboing. Awareness comes from practice and experience, it's nothing something that you can learn overnight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Visual/Audio Clues It's safe to say that every enemy in the game has some sort of visual or audio clue before attacking. If this wasn't the case, then it would be impossible to avoid the attacks in the game when the camera becomes jittery. This goes hand in hand with pattern recognition. Audio clues are the most important, since visual clues can be blocked out by a sometimes bad camera angle. If you cannot find a visual clue, then you aren't looking hard enough (though some moves have a fast start up) and if you can't hear an audio clue, then you aren't hearing well enough either. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) V.S. Weapon set ups Weapon and style selection is key to survival against certain enemies. A single set up can never see you through all the encounters in the game, because they are so diverse. What may work for Cerberus will not work for Agni and Rudra or Beowulf etc. Balance is the key, you have to have mastery with every style and weapon in the game to learn v.s. set ups against certain enemies. Theoretically speaking, any set up can beat any encounter, though some are blatantly easiers to use than others. I have provided some set ups that players use against certain enemies that are highly effective. Hells (Pride, Lust, Gluttony and Sloth): MA: Reb + Nevan, FA: E&I + KA, Style: Any MA: Any, FA: Shotgun + Artemis, Style: GS Hell Vanguard: MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I + Spiral or KA, Style: Any MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I + Artemis, Style: GS Arachne: MA: A&R + Cerb/Beo, FA: E&I + KA, Style: SM MA: A&R + Reb, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: TS MA: A&R + Reb, FA: Shotgun + Artemis, Style: GS Abyss: MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I + KA, Style: Any MA: Any, FA: Shotgun + Artemis, Style: GS Enigma: MA: Nevan+ Beo, FA: E&I + KA, Style: SM MA: Nevan+A&R, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: TS Same as above, Style: QS Bloodgoyles: MA: A&R + Nevan, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: GS MA: A&R + Beo, FA: E&I + KA, Style: SM Damned Chess pieces: MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I + KA, Style: SM/QS MA: Beo + Reb, FA: E&I + Shotgun/Artemis, Style: GS Soul Eaters: MA: Nevan + Any, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: GS Dullahan: MA: A&R + Any, FA: Any, Style: TS Fallen: MA: A&R + Reb, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: RG Same as above, Style: TS Cerberus: MA: A&R + Nevan, FA: E&I + Spiral/KA, Style: SM MA: A&R + Nevan, FA: E&I + Spiral/KA, Style: TS Same as above, Style: DG Gigapede: MA: Cerb + A&R, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: SM MA: Cerb + A&R, FA: Artemis + Spiral, Style: GS MA: A&R + Beo, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: RG Agni and Rudra: MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: RG MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: TS MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I/Shotgun + Artemis, Style: GS MA: Cerb + Beo, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: DG Vergil (all forms): MA: A&R + Beo, FA: E&I + KA, Style: TS MA: Reb + Beo, FA: KA + Artemis, Style: GS MA: Reb + Beo, FA: E&I + KA, Style: RG Leviathan: MA: A&R + Nevan, FA: E&I + KA, Style: SM Nevan: MA: Beo + Cerb, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: SM MA: Beo + Cerb, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: TS MA: Reb + Nevan, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: RG Beowulf: MA: Beo + Reb, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: RG MA: A&R + Reb, FA: E&I + Spiral, Style: TS MA: A&R + Reb, FA: Artemis + Spiral, Style: GS Geryon: MA: Reb + Cerb, FA: E&I + Any, Style: QS MA: Nevan + Beo, FA: E&I + Any, Style: SM MA: A&R + Reb, FA: Artemis + Shotgun, Style: GS Lady: MA: A&R + Reb, FA: E&I + Any, Style: QS MA: A&R + Reb, FA: E&I + Any, Style: TS MA: Beo+ Reb, FA: E&I + Any, Style: RG Doppelganger: MA: Beo+ Cerb/, FA: E&I + Any, Style: SM MA: Beo+ Cerb/, FA: E&I + Any, Style: DG Same as above, Style QS Arkham: MA: Beo + Nevan, Spiral + KA, Style: SM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) A.I. changes mid-battle Enemies are adapting in DMC3, and this includes some noticeable changes in A.I. duing mid-battle. Bosses go through the most drastic change in A.I., usually depending on their life status. The regular enemies all change A.I. by either Devil Triggering (increase in A.I.) or being scared (Decrease in A.I.). To master an enemy, you need to be aware of all their A.I. changes especially when in DMD mode. Some bosses may change A.I. as much as 3 times during a battle, so you should always be on your toes. I have already listed all the A.I. changes in the bosses, the enemy A.I. changes will be discussed in the DT section right below. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Enemy Devil Triggers Whenever an enemy witnesses the death of its fellow kin, it will explode in a purple explosion and will be transformed into it's devil state (the DT for all enemies is merely a purple haze over them, indicating that they have DTed). Another condition of DTing is time-based, if you take too long to kill the enemies, then they will DT automatically. The former DT condition is where you need to be the most strategic, as you must systematically take out higher level enemies first and then take on the the weaker DT enemies. All juggleable DT enemies will be converted to half-medium sized status, at least for every other 6-7 hits. They can be juggled under the condition of aggressive assault (multiple successive hits on a DT enemy until it let's its guard down going into a Stagger stun allowing you to get in one hit of extreme property, like a juggle or a knockback). Below are few of the special DT upgrades confirmed through testing: Hell Vanguard: Dashing Teleport attack upgraded to more simultaneous attacks. Enigmas: 90%+ of the Arrows thrown will be read. Fallen: Faster movement and attack aggression. Hell Pride: 80%+ Guard stance formation. Bloodgoyles: More tendency to Multiply. ^^ More enhancements will come soon with more testing. Another note in DTs is that Vergil is the only boss that DTs. This is triggered by both time-based and hit status. After taking certain hits, Vergil will automatically DT or will DT automatically after some time has expired. Vergil receives all standard upgrades (speed, strength, stamina and variety in moves) plus has NO stuns during DT so it's very difficult to combo him. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) DT Enemy Rising Mechanics For a time there has been some debate as to how exactly DTed enemies are juggledin DMC3. In DMC1, it was a lot simpler where you just DTed to match the enemies DT and the properties would for the most part return to normal. In DMC3, it's a lot different. DTing has no extra effect on property against DTed enemies. Enemies after they have DTed generally don't get phased by attacks or follow any of the properties discussed before (knock back, launched, knock down, or even minor stuns). This resulted in general frustration and confusion when enemies that were "punching bags" before just walked through most of the attacks that the player threw at it. This proved to be a problem against the regular enemies that you would disable just by juggling them in the air for absurd combos, and since this is not an option now you have to rely more on endurance than actual skill. This was the thought at first HOWEVER there was actually a mechanic implemented for players that actually used some critical analysis. Fact is that enemies CAN be juggled/knocked back while they are DTed, but the method to go about it is a bit awkward at first. Most players knew this but were unfamiliar with how it exactly worked and I am here to break down the specifics. It requires a bit of intuition and awareness to get this to work but once you pay attention it's not that hard. First I need to make clear a definition so that things are easier to understand: *Stunt attacks*: I will refer to this as an attack that can knock down, stun, knockback OR rise un DT'd enemies at any time. Examples- Devil Arms: Rebellion's stunt attacks: Stinger/High Time/Drive/Helm Breaker/final hit of Aerial Rave/Sword Pierce/Final hit of crazy dance/Prop Shredder. Cerberus' stunt attacks: Final hit of Revolver/Final hit of combo I/Crystal/ Million carats. A&R stunt attacks: Final hit of combo I/final hit of Million Slash/Aerial Cross/Final hit of Jet Stream lv3/Crossed Swords/Final hit of Sky Dance. Beowulf's stunt attacks: Final hit of combo I & II/Straight/Beast Uppercut/ Rising dragon/Final hit of Hyper Fist/Hammer/Zodiac/Volcano. Nevan's stunt attacks: Reberb shock/Crazy roll/Distortion/Bat Rift. Guns: E&I: Final hit of wild stomp. Shotgun: Normal & Charged shots/Fireworks/Gunstinger/Point blank Artemis: Sphere Spiral: Normal shot/Sniper. *Kalinna Ann*: This is one of the special cases. Normal shots can knock down DT'd enemies with less hits. This is a SPECIAL attribute of the Gun. Rising DT'd enemies system (Hell type enemies): This mainly consists of the number of stunt hits that you need to inflict onto the DT'd enemies to prepare them for rising or knocking them back, each rise-able enemy in the game has different number of stunt attacks that you have to inflict so you can rise them with the final hit. I'll explain the rise-able Hell type enemies. Note that if you knock down the DT'd enemy, its stunt cycle will reset. Also some enemies like Abyss reset their stunt cicle when they teleport to attack. (this is a special property of Abyss). Hell Pride: Standing: 1 Stunt attack, Rise. Knocked down on the floor: 1 Stunt attack, Rise. Hell Lust: Standing: 2 Stunt attacks, Rise. Knocked down on the floor: 2 Stunt attacks, Rise. Hell Gluttony: Standing: 3 Stunt attacks, Rise. Knocked down on the floor: 2 Stunt attacks, Rise. Hell Sloth: 4 Stunt attacks, Rise. Knocked down on the floor: 2 Stunt attacks, Rise. Abyss: Standing: 3 Stunt attacks, Rise. Knocked down on the floor: 2 Stunt attacks, Rise. So basically what this means is that in order to rise a Hell Sloth that is standing, you need to first hit it with 4 stunt attacks which will temporarily disable its defenses and the next hit (ifa stunt attack) will pull off. Meaning if you do something like: Rebellion: /\ x3, Pop Shredder, Hightime (short), Stinger, Hightime (any) Then the last Hightime will cause the Hell Soth to rise up. Or if you replace the last Hightime withStinger, the Hell Sloth will be knocked back normally. NOTE: NOT ALL STUNT ATTAKS HAVE THE SAME POWER, MEANING SOME ENEMIES WITH HIGHER DEFENSE LIKE HELL SLOTHS MAY NEED MORE THAN ONE OF THAT STUNT ATTACK EXAMPLE: Stinger works for lesser hell type enemies, but it isn't as effective as Straight for Hell Sloths. Knowledge of these mechanics is crucial for stylish SS rank play. If you plan to combo DTed enemies, then you need to know this like the back of your hand. There is a lot more to cover on this but this is the basics of it and should get you going. I plan to release one for the other enemies as well, but outside of Arachnes there really is no need. Arachnes follow a similar mechanic even when they are unDTed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ****************************************************************************** ========================== 4) GETTING TO KNOW DANTE ========================== Dante has received a major overhaul in moves and abilities, and a proper discussion of all these attributes are required for a better understanding of the type of hell he can raise. A skilled player can make use out of EVERY single move and style in the game, because the moves list is very balanced (though naturally, some attacks will be more effective than others in certain situations). --------------------------------------------------- A) The "Arsenal" and "Bag O'Tricks" --------------------------------------------------- Dante has 5 Devil Arms (aka Melee Arms or MA), 5 Fire arms (FA) and 6 Styles, all uniquely different. Combining all of this yields a move list of easily 90+ moves, all moves with varying special properties and abilities etc. Make no mistake, a DMC game has no need for a large moves list because of it's complete reliance on free-form combos (stretching a few moves into infinite possibilities) but due to the "My Dante" system, you are allowed to carry 2 Devil Arms, 2 Fire arms and 1 Style at one time, therefore limiting your movelist somewhat (it's actually much better than most other action games that give you 1 main weapons, 1 sub weapon and 1 magic attack). All of these abilities are accessible on the fly completely real-time, even switching between the pairs of DA and FA, equalling upto 720 different set ups of weapon/style combinations. To start off, a discussion of moves properties will be made to get a better understanding of the difference in the 90+ moves. Then the Styles will be discussed moderately, the extremely intricate stuff saved for the Expert section (though you will find a fair share of in-depth analysis here). After that, all the weapons and their move lists will be analyzed combined with the 2 styles Swordmaster and Gunslinger, finishing off the section with the Devil Trigger guide (a mechanic that is a universal part of Dante's arsenal). --------------------------- B) Move Properties --------------------------- An analysis of the move engine found in the game, differentiating the different types of moves in the game into specific properties. This will help the player mount a proper offense using all the available combination of moves possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Single Hitting- Any move that after complete input hits the opponent only 1 time. Pretty self-explanatory, these are mostly used as combo finishers and are usually powerful hits. Ex: Straight, Volcano, Sky Cross. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Multiple Hitting- A move that upon 1 input hits multiple times with varieting speed or intensity. Most of the Crazy Combos in the game are multiple hitting moves, as are the Nevan's moves. Ex: Reverb Shock, Jam Session, Pop Shredder. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Knockback effect- Any move that upon connection will launch a juggleable enemy direction back, and causing a wall stun if applicable. Some knockbacks are used as combo finishers or as wall combos. Ex: Stinger, Revolver (last hit), Satellite. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Launcher- A move that automatically launches a juggleable enemy in the air for additional combos either ground or aerial. Uses a lot in this game if you want to be stylish. Ex: Bat Rift, Crystal, Beo. Combo I (last hit) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Rising Launcher- A launcher that can be converted into a rising animation to assist Dante in pulling off stylish air combos. Ex: Rising Dragon, Hightime, Whirlwind. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Knockdown- A move either aerial or ground that causes an air borne or grounded enemy to fall flat on it's face for free OTG combos. There are varying forms of knockdown that are similar to knockback properties, so a comparison will be made for clarification. Ex: Beo. Combo II (last hit), Hammer, Helm Breaker (1st hit). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Median- Any move that can be cancelled into a Crazy Combo, or in other words a move that acts as a "median" for another move. Ex: Stinger, Cerb. Combo II, Tempest. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Crazy Combo: A special move that is activated only by inputting rapidly during a Median move. All Crazy Combos are visually signalled by a Gold flash, some of them can be increased in intensity with additional inputs. Crazy Combos are great style builders. Ex: Million Stab, Tornado, Point Blank. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) Buffer-able: Any move that can be inputted during the course of another move by usually a hold input. This is used to cancel the charge animation of some moves to keep the flow of combat going. Some forms of buffering are required for Crazy Combos for better inputs (usually with hard to pull moves like Wild Stomp, Point Blank and Ricochet). Ex: Charged Shots, Multilock, Drive. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) Delayable: A hit that can be delayed by an additional input, sometimes through a hold input. 2 weapons in particular Beowulf and Nevan specialize in delay hits. Delay hits usually increase the potency of a move or give additional properties to a move. Ex: Straight, Air Play, Nevan Combo I-III. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) Stun: A potent move that daze stuns a slightly larger sized enemies. Stuns are hard to detect when fooling around with easy juggleable enemies, so the best enemy to test stun moves are on an enemy like Arachne. Some conditions apply. Ex: Zodiac, Crossed Swords, Million Carats (when not knocking back) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) Crowd Control: Any move that hits more than one enemy with one input simultaneously. Crowd controlling is very important in DMC3, you WILL be surrounded by a lot of enemies at once. Ex: Twister, Volcano, Acid Rain. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) Just Frame Input: A move that requires a Justly timed input to execute. Royal Guard is the master of Just Frame inputs, though some other moves do require Just Frame input as well. Ex: Just Parry, Rising Dragon, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) Reboundable: A property of a move that allows it to be effectively cancelled into an Enemy Rebound technique. Used for expert air combos, this is a very valuable asset of a move. Most air attacks are Reboundable. Ex: Revolver, Killer Bee, Helm Breaker. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) Deflecter: A move designed specifically as a Deflector against certain projectile attacks in the game done by certain enemies. Used in gaining a serious advantage in battle over your enemy by completely negating their attacks or better yet turning their moves against them! Ex: Windmill, Vortex, Air Play. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) Projectile: A special move that is travels in a projectile to damage an enemy outside of close proximity. The brunt of Dante's projectile moves will come from the firearms (actually, all the FA moves are understood to be Projectiles) though there are quite a few moves from the MAs that are projectiles also. Ex: Air Raid, Zodiac, Drive. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) Distance Decay/Growth: A moves tendency to either decrease or increase in power depending on the distance of attack. Some moves will gain momentum from higher height attacks, others will decrease in power the further the enemy is. Ex: Helm Breaker (G), Distortion (D), Crawler (D) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) Linear: A projectile move travelling in a perfectly linear path, sometimes going through an enemy and hitting someone behind it. Most linear attacks will decrease in power with increased distance. Ex: Crystal, Crawler, Sword Pierce. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) Invincibility: Any move that will make you completely invincible against virtually any attack in the game. These moves will give you supreme tactical advantage in battle, there is nothing sweeter than coming out from an all- powerful move unscathed and then continuing your attack. Ex: Ice Age, Gold Just Parry, Air Trick (while Teleporting). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) Time Flip: A rare property of a move that upon activation causes time to stop temporarily. A time flip comes with an automatic invulnerability frame, lasting as long as the time flip. Ex: Time Lag, Real Impact. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) Lunge/Dash: A move that upon activation causes Dante to dash or lunge forward. Use as a way to close in on enemies that are knocked very far back and come in with extra combo oppurtunities. Ex: Jet Stream, Dash/Star Dash, Reverb Shock. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- C) Style Move Analysis ---------------------- This section will cover style specific moves for the 4 special styles: Trickster, Royal Guard, Quicksilver and Doppelganger. ------------- 1) Trickster ------------- Trickster is considered to be the most defensive style in the game, because it allows the player to manuever more quickly for safety purposes. However, TS is used to its maximum potential when used in an offensive manner, that is zoning in and out of combos while increasing the style meter through deft movements. Expert TS play relies heavily on Just Evasion and skillful zoning and movement in combat. Note that TS is made exponentially more useful with Air Hike, due to TSs reliance on aerial manueverability. a) Dash/Double Dash/Triple Dash Input: O [O x2-3] + Any direction Description: With a direction input, Dante will Dash in any direction in an invincible charge. Used as a spiffy alternative to Roll, this Dash gives Dante some frames of invincibility. You can use this move upto 3 times in a row for maximum coverage. Prosuse this move as a "zoner" to get around the enemy with safety, however most top-tier players just prefer to use the "bunny hop" technique with Star Dash over regular Dashes. Properties: Invincibility (on first dash), Dash, Multiple inputs. b) Wall Run/Wall Hike (WR) Input: Near a wall, O. (UP for VWR, Left/Right for HWR) Description: Either air borne from the ground, pressing O near the wall causes Dante to automatically start running up/across the wall (depending on what direction you press, he will either run horizontally or vertically). This move has a huge invincibility frame window, and will avoid moves almost 99% of the time. Use this inconjunction with Star Dash and Air Trick for maximum effectivenes. Doing WR gives free Style points if done with tactical evasion. Note that one WR can be done during an "air phase", though it can be done infinitely using appropriate air manuevers (with the help of ER). Properties: Invincibility. c) Star Dash (SD) Input: In the air, O. Description: A much quicker form of Dash with more frames of invincibility, this is the defensive manuever that most players prefer to use. Gives great aerial manueverability and is as defensive as it is offensive. Most players prefer to do X ~ O so that it appears that Dante is Star Dashing over level ground, which is very effective since as soon as the SDis over you can continue your offense on the ground. This limits the end lag of the ground dashes Properties: Invincibility, Dash (air). d) Air Trick Input: R1+F+O [in the air] Description: Dante will disappear and reappear slightly above the enemy in mid-air. A basic form of Teleportation that is very useful for offensive combat. The Teleport animation makesDante invincible and untouchable, until he reappears again. The range of the Teleport is limited, so combining it with Star Dash for maximum coverage is the best approach. Properties: Invincibility, *Special manuever. *Automatically moves Dante to the locked-on enemy. e) Just Evasion (JE) (Tactic) Description: An expert tactic used by expert TS player where the moves of TS's are used with "Just Frame" inputs. That means that they will Star Dash/Dash ONLY when they are are 1 frame away from being killed, using the same timing as Just Parry from Royal Guard. The tactical advantage for this is that a JE will give the player extra DT symbols AND an increase in style guage. An effective TS player can keep the raise the Style Guage to SSStylish WITHOUT even landing a blow on an attacking enemy. This is what makes TS extremely useful in Vergil boss fights. --------------- 2) Royal Guard --------------- A misconception among DMC players is that Royal Guard is a defensive style, when in actuality it's the most offensive style in the game, which is what makes it the "best" possible style to use in the game. Virtually everything in RG requires "Just" timings, and is oriented towards an offensive advantage. Most RG techniques reward a player with free DT guage replenishes, style boost and an increase in Rage meter, all of which are geared towards full-blown offense. Somes moves in RG have multiple levels in themselves for varying intensities depending on the accuracy of the timings. a) Block and Charge Input: Hold O. Description: For a lack of a better word, this is a newbie tactic. The first thing you learn in RG 101 is that holding O is the worst thing you can do in the game. This is a game where you can block attacks using your bare flesh, you will take block damage, or your guard will be crushed putting you at insane frame disadvantage or it will be completel yshattered by a very powerful move and you will take full damage. No seriously RG player will use this move, it's just here for reference for Semi-omnipotent and Omnipotent enemy attacks. Properties: Hold input, Reduces damage. b) Just Parry/Silver Parry/Gold Parry Input: :O: Description: NOW we begin to get into why RG is the best style in the game. Using precise input, you can completely Parry an enemy attack with absurd frame advantage. A Just Parry(JP) is always signified with a blue flash, style raise raise and DT guage increase. This very quick little manuever gives a player all the advantage he/she needs to turn the tide. JP comes in two levels, Silver(S) and Gold(G). Silver Parry(SP) is signified by a faintish blueflash, and decent style/DT increase. A Gold Parry(GP) is signified by a much larger blue flash and with a great style/DT increase. A GP's just input requirements are much more strict than a SP, for obvious reasons. A successful JP always increases your Rage meter (top left-hand corner, 3 orb guages), which is used to output damage using the Releases. GP increases Rage more than SP. Properties: Just input, Invincibility, Deflector. c) Release and "Perfect" Release (Tactic) Input: R1+F+O Description: Using this move, you can unleash the Rage build up from Parrying enemy attacks. Once you connect with a Release, all the stored energy is converted into attack energy and the enemy receives damage depending on how much energy you have stored up. A Release WILL NOT be wasted if you do Release with no connection, but it will be wasted if you hit something else that is not your target (i.e. Beowulf's Cage throw). A Perfect Release (PR) is when you do Release when the enemy is attacking, although not with Just Frame input. Sometimes it interrupts the enemy's attack and stops it completely (best if used on Vergil or on most lower level enemies). A PR is just a manuever that top-tier players use they have no Rage build up, though for tactical purposes a JP almost always suffices. Properties: Dash (short). d) Just Release/Silver/Gold Input: :R1+F+O: Description: The offensive powerhouse move of RG. Instead of doing the skimpy Release animation with a standard Release, Dante rips through the enemy in an invincible dash and damaging the enemy with at least 1.5x the damage of a standard Release. This is a Just Input, and you have to perfectly time it with an enemy's attack, with the same accuracy of a Parry. Just Release is also separated into 2 levels (S & G). A SR does 1.5x the damage of a Release, and does a medium length Dash. A GR does 3x the damage of a Release, and does a long length Dash. Style and DT increases in both levels (varying increase), and all your Rage meter will be depleted. Properties: Just Input, Invincibility, Dash(medium to long). e) Air Parry (A.Parry) Input: :O: [O] Description: Dante's ability to JP in the air, however with a significant advantage over the ground based JP. A. Parry is DEPENDENT on Dante's motion in the air, depending on his frame advantage in the air, the A. Parry will be as effective as Dante's motion. You still need to make a Just Input, though the requirement is so lax due to a big frame window in Dante's falling animation. This results in a 95% rate of Just Inputs, something that is quite astonishing. It is very easy to get spoiled by A. Parry's leniency. The percentage is further increased by Dante's built in jump invicibility frame, which combined with the invincibility of the Air Parry results in some really peculiar battle conditions (i.e. Mulitiple A. Parries with only 1 input). Hold O results in the same situation as B&C, though almost all attacks will shatter Dante's guard in the air. Properties: Just Input [Hold Input], Invincibility, Deflecter f) Air Release Input: R1+F+O Description: Almost identical in property with the ground Release, only this one is doable in the air. It should be noted that Dante (unlike A. Parry) will stay suspended in mid-air for the duration of this move, so it can be used as a "ghetto" Gliding technique. Properties: Dash (short). g) Air Just Release Input: :R1+F+O: Description: Just as potent as the JR, only since this is in the air more leniency is given for the Just timings. Not as lenient as an A. Parry, but you will get in Just Inputs more frequently. The same G/S levels apply here as well. Properties: Just Input, Invincibility, Dash(medium to long) h) Ultimate Input: R1+B+(O) Description: This move is usually completely ignored in RG's arsenal and is considered the least useful. A shield is created in front of Dante that deflects weak moves and converts them into HP. Dante is completely stationary during this move, and it only deflects weak attacks and projectiles. Most semi-O and O moves will rip right through it, putting you at serious disadvangage. Besides, any more from the side or back will be unblockable anyway. This guide will not cover this move extensively. Properties: Deflecter, Hold input. -------------- 3) Quicksilver -------------- Quicksilver comes with a very powerful ability (it's only ability) to slow down time in relation to your DT symbols. It's simple, upon activation time will stop until a silverish tint spreads over the screen and then QS slows down everything EXCEPT Dante. This leads to a plethera of combos never before possible in DMC3, including follow ups to knockbacks, ground/juggle combos etc. QS also has other unique properties, like the ability to completely negate Geryon's very own QS burst. QS is still in the experimental phases, though the usefulness of this move emerges every day. a) Time Lag Input: R1+O Description: As mentioned above, Dante slows down time momentarily until his DT runs out. This opens up a world of new possibilities as far as stylish combos are concerned. Time Lag can alsobe used in a tactical manner, exploiting enemy weakness even further and prolonging the pain. This is indeed a powerful manuever, but it comes at the cost of not being able to use DTE when using Time Lag, at full DT Quicksilver lasts for 10 seconds. Properties: Time flip. --------------- 4) Doppelganger --------------- A giant leap in action gaming, Doppelganger allows a second player to enter the world of DMC3'sinsane combat system! Normally, DG has set commands for a time release Shadow image of Dante to appear and do moves that mimics Dante's actions. The Shadow will mimic either instantly, 1 second later, or 2 seconds later (rough esimate). These time releases are controlled by pressing DT during Shadow mode (1 sec delay = 1 orb flashing, 2 sec delay = 2 orbs flashing, no delay = no orbs flashing). However, all of this can be ignored if a 2nd player puts in his/her controller and presses "Start" on it. The 2nd player will take full control of the 2nd Shadow images and can play until Dante's DT runs out. This also opens up a world of tactical battle never truly tapped in a stand alone action game like this. a) After-Image/Shadow Input: R1+O Description: Dante DTs and splits into 2 forms (1 is a Shadow replica of his self). The Shadow replica CANNOT weapon switch, but the original form CAN weapon switch freely. Like previously mentioned, the Shadow is controlled by time releases based on the orbs flashing. Normally, the Shadow will copy exactly what player 1 presses on the controller. This lets you do some wicked combos or just essentially double your power output. Properties: Double damage, multiple stuns b) Dual Play (Tactic) Desription: A 2nd player can press Start on their controller and take control of the newly formed Shadow image. The Shadow will have the weapons that Dante had right when he pressed R1+O and none else. This opens up a large variety of combos never before possible in DMC3. It is noteworthy that the Shadow's attacks DO NOT raise style, but do damage so player 1 still needs to be very creative in his/her tactics. Super Dante costume makes this style a 2 player Co-op mode. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- D) Weapon Attributes -------------------- This section will cover the attributes of weapons that help distinguish their status among other weapons in the game. These are basically outlines on how a weapon performs THEORETICALLY when compared with others. Since there is no obvious superior weapon, these comparisons should be taken lightly, since the best weapon is what the player uses the most effectively. (All of these attributes take into consideration SM and GS style upgrades) 1) Combo Ability: The ability of a weapon to combine together different moves into superlative combos with least effort and highest effectiveness. 10 - Best possible combo ability. 1 - Worst possible combo ability. 2) Reach/Range: The reach of a move, how far it hits from a standpoint. Reach applies to MAs, range applies to FAs. Distancing is a big factor when it comes to mounting an offense. 10 - Longest reach/range. 1 - Shortest reach/range. 3) Crowd Control: The ability of a weapon to hit multiple enemies with one hit. Integral part of getting high stylish points and a necessity for defeating large number of enemies at once. 10 - Best crowd control (lots of enemies hit). 1 - Worst crowd control (hits one enemy) 4) Speed/Lag: A weapon's overall speed in battle, whether it's high or low. Speed is a crucial part of DMC3, since the game is extremely fast paced. Unnecessary lags gets you killed, ridiculously high speed makes you God-like. 10 - Highest possible speed or rate of fire. 1 - Gamebreaking lag. 5) Strength/Power: The raw power output of a weapon, another very important factor in judging a weapon. Strength is measured in per hit attacks, not time- based strength. 10 - Maximum power. 1 - Minimum power. 6) Ground manueverability: How a weapon performs WHILE attacking as related to Dante's manueverability with the weapon itself. This is really more important for the FAs than the MAs, though it's still a crucial element for both weapon categories. 10 - Best manueverability. 1 - No manueverability. 7) Swordmaster/Gunslinger upgrades: As compared to the other weapons, how effective a weapon becomes when attached with SM/GS style as compared to playing the weapon without the style. 10 - Best possible upgrade. 1 - Hardly any upgrade. 8) Special Abilities: The variety in a weapon's abilities(aside from a weapon's move list) as far as both offense and defense is concerned. 10 - Lots of special abilities. 1 - No special ability. 9) Devil Trigger enhancements (not applicable to firearms): How much more effective a MA becomes when enhanced with DT. 10 - Vast enhancement with DT. 1 - Barely noticable enhancement. 10) Aerial offense: The effectiveness of a weapon when airborned, how great it's offense is when pulling off air combos. 10 - Excellent offense in the air. 1 - Ineffective in the air. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- E) Weapon Special Moves List Analysis -------------------------------------- (includes analysis of Swordmaster and Gunslinger moves) This section will analyze every weapon in the game along with their moves list. Due to time constraints, I am not going to give point value to attack power of moves. The weapons will be analyzed through the 10 attribute system and the moves will be discussed in relationship to their properties. =============================================================================== 1) Rebellion (Reb) A balanced and most simple to use Devil Arm in the game, one that is highlighted by versatility and great options. A staple MA among many players. Combo Ability: 9 Reach: 9 Crowd Control: 4 Speed/Lag: 8 Strength/Power: 7 Ground manueverability: 10 (best of the MAs due to Stinger and Dance Macabre) Swordmaster upgrades: 6 Special Abilities: 6 (Drive is a low tier move, though the ability to cancel Stinger is great) Devil Trigger enhancements: 3 (only a useless Air Glide feature) Aerial offense: 8 a) Stinger Input: R1+F+/\ Description: Dante lunges forward with his Rebellion sword, connecting with a powerful stab attack and effectively knocking back the enemy in a single powerful hit. This move can be cancelled into Million Stab CC. Used primarily as a means to close the gap between an enemy and Dante. Great b&b move that is truly the signature attack of Reb. Properties: Single hitting, Lung/Dash, Median, Knockback effect. b) Hightime Input: R1+B+/\ Description: A standard juggle starter that can be held for a free rising animation. Excellent for combos in general, quick and precise. Best air combo starter in Reb's aresnal. Properties: Single hitting, Launcher. c) Rising Hightime Input: R1+B+{/\) Description: Dante rises after doing Hightime for instant air combo opportunities. Fairly fast and decent vertical coverage. Properties: Single hitting, Rising launcher. d) Million Stab Input#1: R1+F+/\ ~> /\... Input#2: /\, P1 ~> /\... Description: Either after a Combo String II or after a Stinger hit, doing a C3 (crazy combo cancel) allows Dante to pull off lots of instantaneous stabs at once. Great reach though low coverage on the sides and variable hit rate. Initial stabs will deplete until 1 pixel of life then a solid hit has to connect to finish off the enemy. Last hit has a special property. Properties: Multi hitting, Crazy combo, Knockback (last hit). e) Helm Breaker Input: In the air, /\ Description: Dante comes down to the earth with a powerful vertical slashing. Great combo finisher and also a good anti-ground move. Does extra damage with more height up to a certain limit. This move is reboundable. Properties: Single hitting, Knockdown, Distance growth, Reboundable. f) Combo String I Input: /\ x3 Description: A simple 3 hit slash ending with a nice knockback slash. The recovery after the first 2 slashes has great frame advantage and most players prefer to cancel after it for most effective flow in combos. Properties: Multi hitting, Knockback (last hit), Delayable (time release not hold). g) Combo String II Input: /\, P1, /\,/\ Description: A variation of the previous string that pauses after the first slash and ends with two great coverage horizontal slashes. This move is Reb's top crowd clearing move, yields great style and serves as a median for Million Stab. Great frames after the 2nd slash. Properties: Multi hitting, Knockback (last hit), Delayable (time release not hold), Median. h) Drive Input: {/\}, }/\{ Description: A bufferable technique that allows Dante to charge up his sword and release a fairly powerful linear blast. This move is extremely underused due to it's ridiculous charge up time and the lack of decent reward from execution. Also, the attack path is very linear and Dante is stationary for the continuation of the move (but can jump out after release). This move has lots of properties that make it some what useful, along with the fact that it does good damage, hits multiple enemies and raises style enormously. Properties: Singe hitting, Launcher, Linear, Bufferable, Distance Decay, Crowd control (linear). i) Air Hike Input: In the air, X. Description: A move available for Reb, Beo and A&R that allows Dante to jump in mid-air. This move is probably the most versatile move in the game, allowing Dante the flexibility he needs to manuever properly in the air. Properties: Invincibility (only with Just timings) j) Swordmaster - Reb receives a decent upgrade on SM style, though nothing it receives is too powerful that it makes Reb's basic strategy flourish (unlike with other MAs) I) Pop Shredder (both versions) Input: O [O...] Description: Dante spins Reb vertically and launches the enemy in the air, and then with additional O inputs, Dante can continue to spin the sword to keep the enemy suspended in front of him. A move used a lot against both medium-sized and juggleable enemies due to its simplicity yet great flexibility. Great transitional move since it can cancel easily to and from moves. Properties: Single hitting (first hit), Multi hitting (2nd phase), Launcher (first hit) II) Aerial Rave Input: In the air, O x 4 Description: While in the air, Dante swings his sword horizontal for a great air combo. Used a lot for it's simple air attacks, though it can be cancelled at anytime for some really unique air combos. The sky is the limit with this move when equipped with other similar SM or aerial moves. Properties: Multi hitting, Reboundable, Knockback (last hit). III) Sword Pierce (SP) Input: R1+F+O Description: Dante tosses Reb like a projectile and effectively impaling it in the enemy for free drain damage. The enemy will continue to lose life when being impaled by the sword. A great long ranged move, but used as a support move for other MAs. If weapon isn't switched, then Dante will pull off moves with his legs. Properties: Single hitting, Projectile, Knockback, *Special drain damage IV) Thrust Kick/Flying Kick Input: During SP, /\ [in the air [/\] Description: Dante will do a forward thrust kick when on ground and a flying kick when in the air when pressing /\ after he tosses his sword. These moves are generally very weak and do not amount to anything other than serving as an offensive mechanism for Dante when he unarmed. Properties: Singe hitting, Knockback (Thrust Kick), Reboundable (Flying Kick), Knockdown (Flying Kick), Distance Growth (Flying Kick). V) Dance Macabre Input: R1+B+Ox7 Description: Dante will Dash towards the enemy and deliver some 0 lag slashes in rapid successions. Keep pressing the O, and Dante will go into Million Stab without any need to cancel (completely automatic). All the hits have the same properties, they keep the enemy in a regular hit stun. Enormous style increase per hit. Properties: Multi hitting, Dash, Median. VI) Crazy Dance Input: R1+B+Ox7 ~> O... Description: Dante will impale Reb into the ground and use the hilt is a pivoting point from where he continues to violently spin around on, using his legs to kick the enemy. A stylish looking move that hits enemies in a 360 degree arc and raises style exponentially. Last hit delivers decent damage. This and the previous move have to be used very sparingly since there is very low room to cancel into other moves with, and Dante is stationary in relative movement when in this move. Properties: Multi hitting, Median, Knockback, Crowd Control, Knockback (last hit). ========================================================================== 2) Cerberus A weapon that is designed for fast, close ranged combat and used to string together a lot of hits in successions. Multi-hitting is the theme of this triple nunchuks, 90% of its movelist is used to continue an onslaught of combo strings. Combo Ability: 9 Reach: 6 Crowd Control: 8 Speed/Lag: 9 Strength/Power: 7 Ground manueverability: 7 Swordmaster upgrades: 9 Special Abilities: 2 (Windmill is decent) Devil Trigger enhancements: 7 Aerial offense: 6 a)Revolver Lv.1/2 Input: R1+F+/\ Description: Dante jumps forward in a rolling form swinging Cerberus by it's middle hoop, it hits several times before finishing with a final blow that knocks back the enemy. One of the most tactical moves in the game as you can enemy rebound out of the attack, allowing devastating combos to be produced. Level 2 increases Revolutions. The rebound feature on this move allows great combo oppurtunities. Properties: Multi-hitting, Knockback effect(last hit only), Reboundable b)Windmill Input: R1+B+/\ Description: Dante spins the Nunchuks around his wrist deflecting & defending him from most frontal attacks, though useful, this move is extremely weak. It can be increased with CC input & an extremely defensive move. Also used to extend combos with lengthy hits. Properties: Mult-hitting, Deflector. c) Satellite Input: /\, /\, P1, /\~> /\... Description: After Cerberus Combo 2, the windmill cancels & Dante Spins the Chuks around his body hitting in all directions & causing a lot of damage, further damage can be caused by trapping an enemy against a wall, that way they will take every spin that hits them. Properties: Multi-hitting, Knockback, Crowd Control, Crazy Combo d) Swing Input: /\ (in air) Description: probably the quickest air attack in the game, Dante jumps up & spins revolver style in the air, effectively whipping the enemy, easily cancelable & very powerful for a move that just stuns the enemy. Can be used multiple times in a row through ER cancelling and double cancelling. Properties: Single hit, stun, rebound-able. e) Combo String I Input: /\x5 Description: Dante spins the Chuks around hid body, specifically aiming in front & behind him, the last few strikes of the combo strongly stun the enemy pushing them back, then the final blow totally knocks back the enemy, A very good basic combo but slightly difficult to cancel in to other attacks fluently. Properties: Multi-hitting, Crowd Control, Knock-back. f) Combo String II Input: /\, /\, P1, /\, /\ Description: After the first 2 initial hit, Dante spins the chuks while spinning around giving 360 Crowd Control, then finishes with a Windmill, the windmill can not be increase but it can be cancelled in to the move below. Properties: Stun, Multi hitting, Crowd Control, Median, Deflecter (last hit only). g) Swordmaster- The MA that receives the most crucial upgrade from SM, Cerb truly becomes a weapon of mass destruction with SM. Gaining enormous crowd clearing potential and some really devastating attacks, the strategy for Cerb's simple stringing of moves get upgraded to total annhialator. I) Flicker Input: O Description: Dante spins the Cerberus around his entire body in true nunchuka fashion. This has enormous crowd control as well as being a crazy combo, it can be used (cancelable) in the air. Though it is very weak, it's excellent crowd control should not be neglected Properties: Multi-hitting, Reboundable, Crowd Control II) Air Flicker III) Crystal Input: R1+F+O Description: an extremely useful move for damaging all enemies in front of you while knocking them in the air, this move is the median to an extremely powerful move. It has medium crowd control & good distance to all enemies in front of Dante, one of the most useful moves in the game Properties: Multi-hitting, Launcher, Linear, Median IV) Million Carats Input: R1+F+O~>O... (CC during Crystal) Description: Dante Slams the chuks in to the groundencasing him in ice shards & severely damaging all enemies around you, this move has enormous crowd control & damage, while keeping Dante moderately safe from most attacks due to it's knockback effect Properties: Single hitting, Crowd Control, Knockback effect V) Ice Age Input: R1+B+O Description: Another extremely useful move in Dantes arsenal, this move makes Dante totally invulnerable to nearly every attack. It causes moderate to minimal damage & the enemy must be launched or on the floor for all hits to connect, extremely useful for avoiding that "powerful" attack that is difficult to dodge. It's only minor is the lag before & after the attack Properties: Multi-hitting, Stun, Invincibility, Crowd Control =============================================================================== 3) Agni and Rudra A fairly balanced weapon on all fronts, A&R is a good weapon. Usually underused due to its lag on certain combo strings, but thanks to its balanced stats it works out well for A&R. Great when used with both RG and SM, A&R specializes in crowd clearing techniques with some exquisite combos. Combo Ability: 8 Reach: 7 Crowd Control: 9 Speed/Lag: 4 (very laggy weapon) Strength/Power: 7 Ground manueverability: 7 Swordmaster upgrades: 9 Special Abilities: 8 (Jet Stream is unique, Air Hike, 3 strings) Devil Trigger enhancements: 8 (power and defense increase, as well as elemental upgrade) Aerial offense: 9 a) Jet Stream Lv. 1-3 Input R1+F+/\ [(/\)] Desription: Dante lunges forward towards the enemy with blinding speed then unleashes a barrage of predetermined attacks to slaughter the enemy in front of him, this can cause enormous damage, comes out very quickly & one of the best moves to get up close to an enemy at long distance. If the enemy gets hit by the first attack it will get hit by all following attacks, that said, if the first strike misses, all other strikes will miss most of the time. Properties: Multi-hitting, Stun (first few hits), Knockback (last hit only), Lunge. b) Whirlwind Input: R1+B+/\ Description: Dante connects both swords while spinning them, vertically up. It actually has reasonable Crowd Control for a basic launcher move, if raising with the attack Dante will finish the move off with a final attack in the air. Properties: Single-hitting, Launcher. c) Rising Whirlwind Input: R1+B+(/\) Description: Dante connects both swords while spinning them, vertically up and then rises up while spinning the swing a quick rising animation. Excellent for combo set ups in the air, on the same tier as Hightime as far as Rising Launchers are concerned. Properties: Single-hitting, Rising. d) Million Slash Input: /\, P1, /\, P1 /\ ~> /\... Description: This has got to be the best Crazy Combo you can do, hits in all directions traps enemies, causes huge damage & lacerates everything it touches. This move can destroy enormous crowds of hells, while keeping you safe from attacks in all direction, its only flaw is its lagtime of coming out due to the 2 pauses Properties: Multi hitting, Knockdown/Stun, Crowd Control, Crazy Combo. e) Air Cross Input: /\ (in air) Description: this move destroys enemies, in air or on ground, it has excellent range for an air attack & is great for quickly clearing a crowd of enemies in no time. It knock enemies back, sending them miles away if done in the air. Properties: Knock-back, single hit, Rebound-able f) Air Hike Input: In the air, X. Description: A move available for Reb, Beo and A&R that allows Dante to jump in mid-air. This move is probably the most versatile move in the game, allowing Dante the flexibility he needs to manuever properly in the air. Properties: Invincibility (only with Just timings) g) Combo I Input: /\x5 Description: A superb move for new players, Dante swings both swords per input that hits in nearly all directions. The best move for new players due to the lack of skill required & power & Crowd Control dealt out, the downside is that it is reasonably hard to cancel out of. Semi- pro players will find it awkward, slow & sluggish. Properties: Multi-hitting, Crowd Control, Knockback. h) Combo II Input: /\, P1, /\ /\ Description: A very good combo for canceling, it has no knock-back, just hefty damage to the enemy in front of you, great for combining with Jet Stream, & comes out very fast. A move worthy for Agni & Rudra, semi-pros will find it more useful than the Combo 1 as it is fluent & not sluggish. This move is used most for its one on one combat affinity. Properties: Multi-hit, stun i) Combo III Input: /\, P1, /\, P1, /\ Description: Whilst not particularly the most powerful or useful move in the game, it does look extremely cool. Dante does 4 swings with A & R before shoving his foot down in the enemies throat. This move is also a median to a combo of greater value. Due to the 2 pauses it takes a while for the full combo to come out. Properties: Multi-hitting, stun (slashing hits only), Knock-back (last hit only), Median. j) Swordmaster- A hefty upgrade, A&R receives a much needed aerial attack and a fast hitting ground attack. Along with that, A&R further enhances its crowd clearing ability with moves like Twister/Tempest for some really nasty spread damage. Overall, A&R is at its finest when used on SM. I) Cross Swords Input: O Description: Dante pulls both scimitars from his back & creates a huge cross of fire & wind. This move is extremely powerful, has enormous crowd control & can be perfect as a combo finisher, though it has a small amount of lag so you must be careful when utilizing it. Properties: Single hit, Crowd Control, Knockback II) Sky Dance Input: In the air Ox3 Description: Dante Slices with both Sword for each of the first two inputs, on the final O Dante Salms the enemy down to the floor then trails them in s fire wheel fashion hitting them on the floor, this is another tactical move for infinite air combos, stylish "fire wheel" rebound cancels & also does exceptional damage to any juggle-able enemy. Properties: Multi-hitting, Stun, Rebound-able, Knockdown, Knockback III) Crawler Input: R1+F+O Description: Dante slams the swords in to the ground, trailing a streak of fire in a straight forward motion. Not particularly useful as it does very little damage unless the enemy is caught & carried in the flame though it rarely happens, none the less an ok move to hit enemies at a distance. Properties: Single/Multi-hitting, Projectile, Linear, Stun, Distance Decay IV) Twister Input: R1+B+O Description: One of the best moves in the game, high damage, knocks enemies in to the air regardless as to whether they are on the ground or not, hits in all directions & cancelable in to a more devastating attack. The exceptional quality to this move is it's ability to knock enemies that are already in the air, further & further. Twister reaches as high as the enemy can go & you can kill them with this move alone quickly, it's only downside is it's lack of range.....the enemies must be very close to you Properties: Single hitting, Launcher, Crowd Control, Median V) Tempest Input: R1+B+O~>O... (CC during Twister) Description: this move is a follow up to the launch effect of Twister. Dante jumps in to the air Twirling his swords like propellers lacerating any enemy it hits. The range isn't as large as the animation would have you believe, enemy falling towards Dante will take enormous damage & any enemy below Dante will take high damage, the advantage with this move is, during the final stages you are in the air keeping you safe from any imminent attack below you. Properties: Single hitting, Rising, Crowd Control, Crazy Combo, Distance Decay(?). =========================================================================== 4) Nevan The weapon deemed for the "professionals" due to its eccentric way of play. Nevan is arguable the "best" weapon in the game, though it's also the most difficult to manipulate. Is equipped with many options and is the best crowd clearer in the game. Combo Ability: 9 Reach: 10 (a MA with built in projectiles) Crowd Control: 10 (best CC in the game. Period) Speed/Lag: 10 (insanely fast per hit) Strength/Power: 1 (very weak per hit) Ground manouverability: 6 (only because of Reverb Shock) Swordmaster upgrades: 7 Special Abilities: 10 (most multi-faceted weapon in the game) Devil Trigger enhancements: 7 (health regeneration and Air Raid) Aerial offense: 7 (slow in the air but still decent) a) Reverb Shock Input: R1+F+/\ Description: A gliding lunch with Nevan, that upon contact launches an enemy up and instantly summons bats WHILE gliding. A great overall move, and the summoned bats offer a protective layering for incoming attacks, perfect for Deflection. Unlike most launchers, this one launches a lot of enemies at once, and is an excellent crowd controller. Properties: Single hitting (first hit), Multi hitting (every other successive hit), Lunge, Launcher, Projectiles (after first hit), Crowd Control, Deflecter. b) Bat Rift Input: R1+B+/\ ([/\]) Description: The standard juggle starter with Nevan, not that much more effective than Hightime but has a nifty ability to summon bats after the launcher to further suspend the enemy in mid-air. The bats form a semi-shield around Dante when summoned, and the intensity can be manually controlled. Properties: Single hitting (first hit), Multi hitting (every other successive hit), Delayable, Launcher, Projectiles (after first hit), Deflecter. c) Jam Session Input: U/F+/\ ~> /\... Description: The b&b move of Nevan that is the ultimate crowd clearer. Dante summons a large number of bats that damage anything within a certain radial distance around Dante. Absurd style increase and decent power, with quick cancelling ability makes this move very deadly. The last hit clears the crowd for extra damage and style spike. Further enhanced by G-cancelling. Properties: Multi hitting, Crazy combo, Knockback (last hit), Projectile, Crowd Control(heavy), Deflecter d) Air Raid(AR)/Thunderbolt Input: In the air, R1+X. []... *MUST BE IN DT MODE* Description: When in DT mode, the player can start to fly in the air and pull off a few decent moves. This is called "Air Raid", and after it the player can press [] to shoot out bolts of electricity. Weaker than its DMC1 counterpart, but keeps Dante safe at a distance for free damage. Decent range and follows the properties of most standard projectiles. Properties: Multi hitting, Projectile, Distance Decay(?), Stun. e) Vortex Input: During AR, /\... *MUST BE IN DT MODE* Description: Dante charges towards the enemy while spinning in a vortex of electricity. Again, not as powerful as its DMC1 counterpart, but it is a great move to deflect attacks with. It DOES not afford Dante any window of invincibility, contrary to popular belief. The spins come out in short bursts. Properties: Multi hitting, Dash, Crowd Control, Stun, Deflecter. f) Tune Up/ Combo I/Volume Up (passive ability) Input: /\... [(/\)] Description: The standard attack of Nevan when Dante summons a group of bats and launches at the enemy quickly. This move can be held down for extra bats and extra potency. Before using the Nevan combo strings, the player must go into Tune Up mode, which is easily accessed by pressing /\ in any way possible. When doing a standard Tune Up transition, Dante will move the guitar in front of him, the transition actual does slight damage to an enemy in its path (good for getting off weaker enemies away from you for a second). Volume Up is a passive upgrade applying to all Nevan attacks, making them come out faster and stronger. Pretty self-explanatory. Properties: Multi/single hitting (depends upon input), Projectile, Delayable, Crowd Control. g) Combo II Input: U/F+/\ [(/\)] Description: Dante rears his head back and summons bats at a very rapid rate, and sends them out. The command can be held for the summoning of a large group of bats. This move is really used for its median affinity into Jam Session. Properties: Multi hitting, Projectile, Delayable, Median, Crowd Control. h) Combo III Input: B+/\ [(/\)] Description: Dante strikes a powerful chord on Nevan and causes a massive shockwave to come out which covers Dante in a 360 degree arc. Very powerful crowd clearing move, and can be delayed for an even more powerful outburst. The knockback effect is substantial as well. Properties: Single hitting, Crowd Control (heavy), Projectile, Delayable, Knockback. i) Air Play/Bat Summoning Input: In the air, /\ [(/\)] Description: An aerial technique that allows Dante to summon in the air and even glide in the air. The player when slowly fall when holding down /\, but once released gives lots of air time. The bats summoned are numerous, and create a near perfect shield in front of Dante from incoming projectiles (most importantly, Enigma arrows). Also does decent damage as an air attack, and has ok range. Properties: Multi hitting, Reboundable, Projectiles, Delayable, Crowd Control, Deflecter. j) Swordmaster- Nevan becomes a close encounter beast with its SM upgrades. The moves it receives are all extremely powerful, as opposed to its universal attack, which although fast, are fairly weak by themselves. Great overall upgrade. I) Scythe Slash Input: O x2 Description: A two hit slash with the Scythe part of Nevan that does adequate damage to the enemy. The attack is slow, due to the weight of the Scythe, but the lag can be diverted through AWS (advanced weapon swapping). Not much to discuss, fairly standard hit properties. Properties: Multi hitting (2 hits), Partial Stun. II) Air Slash Input: In the air, O x2 Description: The b&b aerial attack move of Nevan, this one is a a lot stronger that its land version. Both attacks will knockback an enemy and will do massive damage to any enemy powerful enough to withstand the first attack. A great move and when coupled with other aerial attacks makes a deadly force. Beowulf's eye ball will never be the same! Properties: Multi hitting (2 hits), Reboundable, Knockback. III) Feedback Input: R1+F+O Description: A 360 degree spin with the scythe with adequate crowd control and decent speed and power. Good move, quick and easy to use. By wary that Dante is stationary during this move. Properties: Multi hitting, Crowd Control, Median, Partial Stun(last hit). IV) Crazy Roll Input: R1+F+O ~> O... Description: A much more powerful version of the Feedback, this C3 covers Dante in a wider arc, spins faster, does much more damage, raises style even further and knockback all the enemies with the final hit. Easily one of the best moves in the game, and also one of the most abused. Great overall move for pros and newcomers alike. Very powerful crowd controlling move. Properties: Multi hitting, Crowd Control (heavy), Crazy Combo, Knockback. V) Distortion Input: R1+B+O [(O)] Description: A very technical move that requires precision and timing to pull off correctly (not Just timing, reasoned battle positioning and awareness). This move can be delayed for a much more devastating blast, but in any case this move has severe lag on it. At close range, it is one of the most powerful moves in the game but the further away the enemy, the less damage it does. Still a good move that has to be used sparingly. Properties: Multi hitting, Delayable, Projectile, Linear, Distance Decay, Partial Stun. ======================================================================== 5) Beowulf The most powerful single hitting weapon in the game, but also the one with the worst speed and crowd control. Even so, Beo has more than enough options to put a group of demons at rest. Beowulf shines at RG, taking advantage of G-cancelling to get around its lag and in SM it gets one of the most powerful moves in the game. Combo Ability: 7 Reach: 3 Crowd Control: 6 Speed/Lag: 4 Strength/Power: 10 Ground manueverability: 8 Swordmaster upgrades: 9 (Real Impact) Special Abilities: 8 (Delayable hits, Killer Bee, Air hike) Devil Trigger enhancements: 7 (Defense upgrade is large) Aerial offense: 8 (Killer Bee and Hammer) a) Straight Lv. 1/2 Input: R1+F+/\ [(/\)] Description: Dante reels his arm back & prepares for a lunge forward smashing in to the enemy, this move causes heavy damage & while considerable speed for a Beowulf attack, it can be delayed to make the damage more intense. Level 2 increases Speed & power making this move extremely versatile Properties: Single hitting, delay-able, Lunge, Knockback b) Beast Uppercut Input: R1+B+/\ [(/\)] Description: Dante again reels back preparing for the uppercut, it has heavy damage but delaying the attack will not increase the damage of this attack only the damage of the move that follows Properties: Single hitting, Delay-able, Launcher c) Rising Dragon Rising Dragon (aka Rising uppercut or "shoryuken") Input: R1 + B + /\, /\ [(/\)] Descrition: This cancels the final animation allowing you to raise with the enemy, depending on how long you delayed "Beast Uppercut" depends on the damage of this move. It has 3 levels of power, though every strike of this attack is a launcher. (including the strikes in the air) Level 1- Next to no extra damage, you will merely raise with the enemy Level 2- Good extra damage, you will raise with the enemy spinning, hitting them multiple times & knocking them further in to the air. (Half way charge) Level 3- A fully charged "Rising Dragon" is one of the most powerful moves in the game & worthy of it's title, you will knock the enemy in the air & continue to deal heavy damage to them while raising them to an extreme height Properties: Single/Multi-hitting, Rising Launcher, Delay-able. d) Hyper Fist Input: /\, /\, P1, /\~> /\... Description: Dante drops his leg & comes out flying with an enormous barrage of punches, it's downside is its lack of Crowd Control. Its upsides are brilliant, the strongest of all Combo canceled Crazy Combos, great for destroying a single enemy as well. Properties: Stun, Multi-hit, knockback, Crazy Combo e) Killer Bee Input: /\ (in air) Description: Dante pauses for a brief moment in the air then comes crashing down on top of the targeted enemy, another highly tactical move that can be easily rebounded & very very powerful. Great for closing the distance on an enemy while taking a hefty chunk of there health away. Properties: Single-hit, Stun, Reboundable. f) Tame (passive ability) Input: (/\) Description: Properties: Delay-able g) Air Hike Input: In the air, X. Description: A move available for Reb, Beo and A&R that allows Dante to jump in mid-air. This move is probably the most versatile move in the game, allowing Dante the flexibility he needs to manuever properly in the air. Properties: Invincibility (only with Just timings) h) Combo I Input: /\x3 [(/\)] Description: Though it isn't anything to cool to look ay, it certainly gets the job done when it comes to annihilation, the first 2 hits stun the enemy & the final hit launches it in the air, giving enormous potential for further combos. Properties: Multi-hitting, Launcher(last hit), Delay-able. i) Combo II Input: /\, /\, P1, /\, /\ [(/\)] Descrition: After the 2 initial strikes Dante cocks his leg up preparing a barrage of kicks followed by a heel drop slamming the enemy face first in to the ground. Great for keeping a single enemy firmly near you whilst battering them. Properties: Multi-hitting, Delay-able, Knockdown, Median j) Swordmaster- An adequate upgrade, though most players will concentrate almost only on Hammer and Real Impact. These two moves are some of the best moves in the game, though the rest of Beo's SM skills need work (they are good for light crowd clearing but are near useless against the more powerful enemies in the game). A worthy upgrade that highlights Beo's reliance on powerful one hitters (though Tornado in itself is the most powerful CC in the game). I) Zodiac Input: O Description: As Dante pulls his fist back light starts to emanate from it, once released A ball of light is released to about the range of a level 2 straight. It doesn't cause to much damage even when charged, has a lot of lag & has a small distance covered considering it is a projectile, not a particularly useful move. Properties: Single hitting, Projectile, Knockback, Delay-able, Distance Decay II) Hammer Input: O (in air) Description: Dante clasps both hands together & smashes whatever you hit to the floor. It's range is terrible admittedly but what this move lacks in range it makes up for in speed & power. In fact this is the single most powerful air attack throughout all the weapons in DMC3 if comparing through single hits. Properties: Single hit, Knock-down, Reboundable III)Volcano Input: R1+F+O [in the air R1+F+O] Description: This is truly Beowulf's crowd control problems eliminated. Can be used in air (No lag) or on ground (charge-able) clears a good distance in all directions & causes a lot of damage. The damage increases greatly when it charged.......In fact on a full charge this will kill Hell prides in one hit, an astronomically powerful move that should never be neglected. Properties: Single hitting, Crowd Control, Delay-able, Knockback IV) Real Impact Input: R1+B+O Description: Dante pulls back as if to go for an uppercut & slams in to the enemy it hits with tremendous force. One of the strongest moves in the game but also has a hefty lag, if it misses there is also lag after the attack. If it hits.....Well, that enemy won't be bothering you anymore. Also a median to another severely powerful move. Whether or not the enemy is DT'd this move will always lift a juggle-able enemy. Properties: Rising Launcher, Multi-hitting, Time Flip, Median, Reboundable V) Tornado Input: R1+B+O~>O.. Description: After the initial launch & damage of Real Impact, if the enemy survived he will then have to go through onslaught of spinning kicks, in total causing the same amount of (if not more) damage as the initial R- Impact, this move can quickly clear off DT'd enemies with ease. Properties: Multi-hitting, Rebound-able, Crowd Control, Crazy Combo ======================================================================== 6) Ebony and Ivory Dante's everlasting dual companions, E&I. A pair of handguns that are the most versatile firearms in the game. This can be deduced from the number of 10's that are in its attributes! E&I will stay with the DMC series forever, as it will always be a necessary part of Dante's arsenal. Combo Ability: 10 (best for a firearm) Range: 7 Crowd Control: 1 (hits 1 person) Speed/Lag: 10 (fastest FA) Strength/Power: 2 (weak) Ground manueverability: 10 (most manueverable FA) Gunslinger upgrades: 7 Special Abilities: 10 (the gun that can do it all) Aerial offense: 10 (gun with the most aerial potency) *Note: All Firearm moves are understood to have Projectile property unless otherwise stated. a) [RS]Rapid Shot(GS, Passive ability) Input: After 6th shot, []... rapidly. Description: A passive ability gained in GS style that allows the player to fire the E&I in a semi-automatic manner (as in just tapping [] normally equates to a surprisingly rapid rate of fire) and do extra damage on the bullets. The RS have an additional stun to weak enemies, due to the extra power output, and RS always fire at a constant rate. Properties: Multi-hitting, Stun, *Semi-automatic b) [CS]Charged Shot(GS) Input: ([]), []... [{[]},}[]{] Description: Another ability of GS that allows the player to charge the E&I bullets in advance for some really powerful discharges, signified by a red energy. CS can always be buffered into any other command, and that is the most effecient manner to use this ability. CS can be powered up additionally by RS for additional damage and semi-automatic rate of fire. Great move to bring out time to time, it's one of the best way to utilize E&I in higher level play. Properties: Multi-hitting, Bufferable, Stun. c) [FR]Free Ride Input: Downed opponent, X, Direction+[]... Description: Dante hops on a Downed opponent, and then slides on them while shooting in all directions. Most used for to raise some eyebrows from a spectator, this move has limited strategic value. It raises style by 1 whole bar, though the damage on other enemies is weak and the enemy that is being slide upon will take minimal damage. This technique however serves as a great buffering median, since it lasts for quite some time and the player's move list is very restricted. During the sliding animation, an enemy will be pushed aside and will not stop Dante's momentum. Properties: *Will not work on non-juggleable enemy. Crowd control, Stun, Multi-hitting. d) [WS]Wild Stomp(GS) Input: Downed opponent, ~>[]... Description: A CC that requires no median to travel through, just approach a Downed opponent and start hammering away at the [] button. Some viable strategies have been built around this move, though it is still limited due to the fact that it will not work on non-juggleable enemies. The most used tactic with WS is as a buffering median, though a bit tricky since you need to keep pressing [] to continue the attack. Another tactic is when landing from an air attack right above the enemy, the player can press [] in the air a few frames before landing and do what is deemed as a "Just Wild Stomp". As soon as the player lands, the WS move is initiated without delay, making it a great follow up after Rainstorm. Due to this moves limited effect on various enemies, "Just Wild Stomp" will not be discussed any further unless I get requests for it. Properties: *Will not work on non-juggleable enemy. Multi-hitting, Crazy combo, Knockback (last hit only). e) Rainstorm(GS) Input: In the air, O Description: The b&b style raiser for E&I, Rainstorm allows the player to safely gain style points as well as do chip damage without much effort. A good move to throw out in between air combos or during gliding, this move is fairly versatile and simple to use. It does do a bit of crowd controlling, so style raise can be further enhanced. Another great median for CS. Properties: Multi-hitting, Stun, Crowd control, Reboundable, *Semi-automatic. f) Two-Some Time(GS) Input: O + Any direction Description: Another stylish move with E&I, this one allows Dante to shoot in multiple directions without the aid of any form of lock-on and puts the player in a stationary position. This move is a great alternative for regular shooting, and serves a lot of purpose in light combat. It serves as yet another great median for CS, it can be used alternatively with RS to fire rapidly towards the front of Dante and with precision it can keep a large group of normal Hell enemies at bay. The move raises style at an adequate rate, and with it comes decent chip damage. There is some skill required in using this move correctly. Properties: Single-hitting, Stun(heavy), Crowd control (limited = 2) g) Air shooting Input: In the air, [] Description: A basic manuever with E&I that allows the player to shoot in the air. One of the most comboable air techniques in the game, this move allows Dante to suspend himself AND the enemy in the air for a short time. Excellent for gliding and using in between air combos for mix up. Properties: Single-hitting, Reboundable. ======================================================================== 7) Shotgun A fairly useful FA at close range, near useless far away. Only in GS style does Shotgun really shine, though the might of Artemis completely overshadows the Shottie. Still, it's a good FA with some decent combo ability and some really spiffy moves. Combo Ability: 7 Range: 3 Crowd Control: 7 Speed/Lag: 5 Strength/Power: 9 (Gunstinger) Ground manueverability: 8 (Gunstinger) Gunslinger upgrades: 9 (Gunstinger) Special Abilities: 6 Aerial offense: 7 (decent) a) Fireworks/Rapid Fireworks(GS) Input: O... Description: Dante defies the rules of firearm manipulation and twirls the Shotgun as if it were a nunchuk. The result is that due to the recoiling animation of the move, the Shotgun fires almost instantaneous shots without the need to auto-reload. This also results in a great inaccuracy on the Shotgun, since it is no longer assised by any form of lock-on. Dante fires a blast forward, back, left and then right and continues in the same pattern from there. Good crowd clearer, decent damage but like most of Shotgun's attacks lacks in range. Properties: Multi-hitting, Crowd control, Knockback, *Semi-automatic. b) Air Fireworks(GS) Input: In the air, O Description: The air version of Fireworks, this one is used mostly for gliding purposes than a way to combo the enemy in the air. It is very inaccurate and should be used very sparingly. Properties: Multi-hitting, Crowd control, Knockback, Reboundable, *Semi- automatic. c) Charged Shots(GS) Input: ([]), []... [{[]},}[]{] Description: In essence, similar to CS of E&I but only fires off at most 3 CSs. More power and more coverage, a move to be buffered in with Shotgun's other GS exclusive moves. Utililize this move with the "Rapid Shotgun fire" technique (it's basically where you shoot once on the groundthen hop up and shoot, then Air Hike and shoot and then shoot while falling down for 4 quick shots without delay) for maximum effectiveness. Properties: Single-hitting, Bufferable, Crowd control, Knockback. d) Gunstinger(GS) Input: R1+F+O Description: Now we get down to why Shotgun kicks ass in GS style. This move is THE b&b move of not only Shotgun, but the entire style. At a quick glance, it just appears to be a Stinger rip-off move with a Shotgun Charged Shot attached at the end. The lunge is shorter however the power output is ridiculously high (a bit too much actually, more than a Straight hit) and has decent crowd controlling ability. It serves as a median for the next move. Quick and powerful, use it and abuse it, especially against bosses. Properties: Single-hitting, Lunge, Median, Crowd control, Knockback. e) Point Blank(GS) Input: R1+F+O~>Ox3 (Maximum 5 extra shots depending on style) Description: Another good move, however not really as good as Gunstinger. Dante stops during the blast of Gunstinger, and follows it up with up to 5 NO DELAY charge shot blasts with the Shotgun. The rate of fire as well as the added power equals more overall damage on the attack For additional pain, buffer in an actual CS input with the Point Blank and then proceed to do "Rapid Shotgun fire" for a flury of red energy! Properties: Knockback effect, Multi-hitting, Stun, Crowd control, Crazy Combo. f) Air shooting Input: In the air, [] Description: A simple shot in the air that gives decent gliding advantage and knockback effect. Good air combo finisher, but there are better. Good to throw in between combos once in a while for added variety, though the range it still poor and for some reason grounded opponents even at close range are sometimes unaffected by the knockback. Properties: Single-hitting, Knockback, Crowd control. ======================================================================== 8) Artemis At first glance, most players deem this weapon useless, and they are partly correct. Artemis is USELESS without its GS upgrades, there is no denying this. However, that fact is excused because Artemis on GS is one of the best weapons in the game (rivaling that of even the more powerful MAs). Artemis on GS is a killing machine, thanks to Multilock. Combo Ability: 10 (Multilock + Sphere) Range: 8 Crowd Control: 8 (good) Speed/Lag: 8 Strength/Power: 9 (Mulilock) Ground manueverability: 7 Gunslinger upgrades: 10 (perfect upgrade) Special Abilities: 10 (Mulilock, Dispersion shot, Sphere) Aerial offense: 9 (Multilock in air) a) Dispersion Shot Input: (R1+[]), release [] [{R1+[]}, }[]{] Description: An underrated move that when used properly could give some tactical advantage. This move is universal for Artemis, allowing it to attack multiple enemies at once depending on how long the charge is held. Problem is that the enemies will receive a very minor hit, but it keeps them back long enough for a second wave. Mostly used for crowd clearing lighter enemies like Bloodgoyles and Arkham's Legions. Great when used in conjunction with other crowd clearing style moves like with SM and Nevan. Not even near the level of use of Mulilock. Can be used in the air. Properties: Single/Multi-hitting, Stun, Crowd control, Bufferable, Homing. b) Multilock(GS) Input: (R1+O), release O [{R1+O}, }O{] Description: The b&b move of not only Artemis but of GS in general. No high- level GS player should go on without at least giving this move a twirl. This move allows the player to charge up a large group of lasers and release it on the enemy. Normally this takes some time, but this move is bufferable with all techniques in the game so charging it is no sweat. The lasers do great damage, they Home-in perfectly and raise style greatly without decay. Truly an exceptional move, one that warrants a complete change in the control layout just so you can easily hold both R1 and the style button at the same time. Proved to be even more effective when used in air combos, since this move is easily accessed in the air as well for additional versatility. Properties: Multi-hitting, Stun, Bufferable, Homing. c) Sphere(GS) Input: R1+F+O Description: A quick burst of energy in front of Dante in sphere-like projection. Just by one input, lots of hits are discharged. Very quick, and due to its multi-hitting property it hits a DTed enemy out of an attack 9/10 times. Great for comboing at close ranged, even better when used after Multilock. Another great style raiser as well and a very good cancelling tool. Properties: Multi-hitting, Median, Crowd control(?), Stun. d) Acid Rain(GS) Input: R1+F+O~>O... Description: Another underrated move, one that is used sparingly since Dante is very vulnerable during this move. After cancelling Sphere, Dante shoots bolts of energy straight to the sky and lets them fall to the ground in rapid succession as rather small bits of energy. The damage on these small bits as VERY high, and when a lot of them hit a target at once they do tons of damage. Problem is that the pattern on this move is hard to discern, so most of the time you will have to rely on Lady Luck. To maximize this move, use it against large sized bosses so that most of the laser beams actually hit for stacked damage. Takes out a crowd of enemies very easily if the success rate is high, if not then you might be up for a wake up call! Properties: Multi-hitting, Crowd control, Crazy Combo. e) Free Ride Input: Downed opponent, X, ([]) or (O), then release Description: Similar to the E&I version, only Dante will use the sliding animation to charge up the beams for either a Dispersion Shot or a Multilock (9/10, players prefer Mulitilock since the shots will be fired on the fallen enemy and will result in additional combo oppurtunities). Great for most stylish combos, extensively used when dealing with juggleable enemies. Properties: *Will not work on non-juggleable enemy. Homing, Stun, Multi- hitting. f) Air shooting Input: In the air, [] or O Description: Used extensively when dealing with Multilock, this allows the player maximum safetly and more air combo oppurtunities. When used on a grounded opponent, most player prefer to follow up with a move like Killer Bee/Helm Breaker to continue the onslaught while the enemy is being assailed by an endless number of purple lasers. Multilock also does a great job of suspending an enemy in mid-air. Properties: Single/Multi-hitting, Stun, Homing (if using Multilock or Dispersion Shot). ======================================================================= 9) Spiral Spiral is the longest ranged weapon in the game, has some good uses not in GS but in RG as well. Does decent damage and has decent power, but suffers in manueverability due to its heavy weight. Still an excellent FA, with adequate GS upgrades. Combo Ability: 4 Range: 10 (highest in the game) Crowd Control: 8 (great with GS upgrades) Speed/Lag: 2-9 (depends on weapon swapping/style) Strength/Power: 9 Ground manueverability: 1 (none) Gunslinger upgrades: 8 Special Abilities: 7 (deflecting shots, excellent with RG) Aerial offense: 1 (N/A) a) G-canceling Spiral (RG) Input: [] > O > [] Description: A technique used extensively when dealing with long ranged situations. Normally, a Spiral standard shot is very laggy and has a large recoil. When cancelled with the animation of the Guard from RG, the recoil animation is completely negated. Then the Guard cancel can be cancelled again with a Spiral shot for a cancelling session that appears as if the Spiral is shooting without delay almost instantaneously. Every shot will raise style without decay (a bit less than 1/2 a bar), and that's why it is abused so often, especially against bosses. A tactic worthy of making the list here. Properties: Single-hitting, Knockback *Special technique b) Trickshot(GS) Input: O Description: Dante fires a bullet with Spiral towards the sky and lets it rebound off of a nearby wall and allows it to Home-in on a target without the aid of any form of lock-on. The first hit is an effective juggler, the other hits are great for chip damage. Best when used in crowds for extra style increase. The extra bullets keeps an enemy in stun mode until the volley is over. A decent move to throw out once in a while. Properties: Multi-hitting, Homing (after first hit), Crowd control, Stun. c) Sniper(GS) Input: R1+F+O Description: An extremely powerful linear travelling bullet that damages anything in it's path. It has a considerable amount of starting lag (and as of yet there is no way to circumvent it) but the reward is still good. Best when used against a stationary enemy like Enigma and allow it get knocked back for easy pickings. The bullet always travel through the enemy and can hit enemies behind it as well for great linear damage. Properties: Single-hitting, Knockback, Linear, Crowd control, Median. d) Ricochet(GS) Input: R1+F+O~>O... Description: Dante purposely deflects the Sniper bullet and allows it to gain momentum from additional hits (ignoring the laws of physics completely!). Excellent when used in a corner against tightly grouped enemies, the damage is quite suprising and so is the style upgrade. This move should still be used sparingly, due to the lag that is associated with Sniper. Much more effective than Trickshot since the bullets are more potent and more focused. Properties: Multi-hitting, Stun, Crowd control, Crazy Combo, Homing. =============================================================================== 10) Kalina Ann One of the best crowd clearers in the game and packs quite a punch up close. However, KA suffers when fighting enemies from a far (actually doing nil damage to enemies further than 10 feet from Dante!) and has some lag in between attacks. In addition, KA's GS upgrade are poor, they are quite disappointing. Nevertheless, it is actually a very excellent weapon because its regular shots at close range are overwhelmingly powerful, which assists with the MAs in SM style. The focus of KA seems to be bringing down fodder enemies to their knees. Combo Ability: 3 Range: 1 (crappiest in the game) Crowd Control: 10 (perfect at close range, 1 at far) Speed/Lag: 7 (not bad for a rocket launcher) Strength/Power: 10 (at close range, 1 at far) Ground manueverability: 1 (none) Gunslinger upgrades: 2 (poor) Special Abilities: 7 (explosion knockback is excellent) Aerial offense: 1 (N/A) a) Hysteric(GS) Input: O Description: Dante sets the bladed edge of the rocket launcher down, pinning the opponent directly in front of the player and releases a large volley of mini-rockets. The rockets keeps the enemies at bay, but Dante is still stationary and very vulnerable. The style increase is adequate, and the damage is decent (although on the low side). A decent move to throw out, but it comes with some drawbacks. Properties: *Semi-automatic, Homing, Projectiles, Stun. **Special technique, instantly Downs an opponent on first hit. ***First hit only will not work on non-juggleable enemy. Note: A quantifiable use for this otherwise low-tier move is its effeciency in nullifying Vergil's Phantom Sword formations. b) Grapple(GS) Input: R1+F+O Description: Grapple is unique in the fact that it causes a knockback effect on a juggle-able enemy towards Dante, this means that after knocking an enemy away from you can just shove them right back at you. Properties: Knockback effect towards Dante *Instantly downs an enemy on contact c) Explosion Input: [] Description: KAs regular shot comes with an explosive that clears the room infront of the player and knocks back the enemies instantly. A move that is abused a lot, and used over KAsGS moves by a significant margin. This is why KA works well even when not in GS style. Properties: Crowd clearing, Knockback. *This property allows the move to get around the DTEd enemy properties by knocking them back in less stunt hits. ========================================================================= ---------------------- F) Devil Trigger Guide ---------------------- DT is an essential part of Dante's arsenal, mostly because it's a universal part of his abilities. You can use it at anytime, and DT enhancements depend upon the weapon equipped. This section will cover some of the information on DT that is not readily available 1) Hit Property The first thing that players notice about the DT is its resilience to enemy attack. Damage is reduced drastically during in DT mode, and enemy attacks that cause a Regular hit stun no longer affect Dante in DT mode. Further more, upon attack instead of receiving full style downgrade, you only get a partial/half style downgrade. It should be noted that while in DT mode, Dante can still be knocked back, although Dante can almost NEVER be interrupted while in a move animation. In addition, Beowulf DT is significantly more difficult to knockback, and will NEVER be knocked back when not standing still. 2) Enhancements I have already discussed how DT makes Dante more resilient to damage, in addition it increases Dante's power by a substantial margin, increases Dante's running speed (and in some cases, the attack rate) and allows Dante to regenerate lost life. These enhancements vary per MA, and a weapon like Nevan has some DT specific moves. Finally, DT enhances the power of RG by increasing the overall potency of ANY form of Release. 3) Devil Arm specific power-ups (due to lack of testing, specific numerical values will not be given yet) a) Rebellion- Moderate attack/speed/regeneration/defense increase. Ability to Glide by pressing and holding R1+X. b) Cerberus- Moderate attack/regeneration/defense increase. Superior running speed and attack rate. c) Agni and Rudra- Moderate speed/regeneration increase. Additional attack power AND defense increase as well as superior elemental affliction. d) Nevan- Moderate attack/speed/defense increase. Superior regeneration increase. Ability to fly by pressing R1+X. Can use attack Thunderbolt by press [] and Vortex by press /\ when in Air Raid mode. e) Beowulf- Moderate speed/regeneration increase. Additional attack increase and superior defense increase 4) Sparda Devil Trigger Sparda DT is a form that is accessed through using one of the three costumes: LDK costume, DMC1 Dante and DMC1 Coatless Dante. Sparda DT has BALANCED DT enhancements, meaning even though it doesn't have any superior attributes over the regular Devil arm enhancement, it gains additional increase in every stat. Here's a run down as compared to other Devil Triggers: Power: More than Reb, Nevan and Cerb. Less than Beo and A&R. Speed: More than Beo. About the same as the other MAs. Less than Cerb. Regeneration: More than every MA except Nevan. Defense: More than Nevan, Cerb and Reb. Less than Beo. About the same as A&R. Sparda DT is recommended most for players who use Reb as their primary weapon, as it gives the stock sword slightly more enhancements. In general, Sparda DT usually tends to be weaker since the increases aren't that much and more players are better off with the superior increases of the regular DTs. 5) Transformation Flux Discussion T-flux is one of the most useful abilities in the game, and makes the DT a valuable asset to Dante's arsenal. You need MORE than 3 symbols to activate this ability. By holding the DT button, you can "burn" the DT symbols for stored energy so when you activate your DT, it comes at as a powerful radial wave. The attack power increases exponentially with every DT symbol you absorb so more symbols = more damage. The charge can be buffered into ALL commands in Dante's list, so charging it is very simple. The time it takes to charge is considerable, so it is recommended you charge in advance if possible. One release of a T-Flux is substantially more powerful than a Holy Water item useage, and will kill most normal enemies in one wave. It does great damage on most bosses as well, and great when coupled with the massive power of RG. One connection with T-flux yields enormous style increase, almost instantaneously to SSS if it connects on a group of enemies. ***************************************************************************** =============================== 5) Getting to Know Vergil (SE) =============================== ---------------------------------- A) The Arsenal and "Bag O' Tricks" ---------------------------------- ------------------------------ B) Style Analysis: Dark Slayer ------------------------------ ------------------------------------ C) Weapon Special Move List Analysis ------------------------------------ (Look at above section for weapon attributes) 1) Yamato a) Combo I b) Upperslash c) Downward Slash d) Rapid Slash e) Aerial Slash f) Judgement Cut 2) Force Edge a) Combo I b) Stinger c) Hightime d) Helm Breaker e) Round Trip 3) Beowulf a) Combo I b) Lunar Phase c) Rising Sun d) Killer Bee/StarFall 4) Phantom Swords a) Regular Throws b) Ring Formation c) Spiral Swords d) Blistering Swords ---------------------- D) Devil Trigger Guide ----------------------- (Look at above section for similarities) 1) Nelo Angelo DT ************************************************************************** ======================== 6) Expert Combat Tactics ======================== Now, we get right down to the "real" stuff. Hopefully you have learned a lot from all the previous stuff and all the following will be easy to understand. These combat tactics are showcased in some of the most combats in the videos of DMC3. Most of these are essential tactics for top tier play, some are insanely difficult manoeuvre that can only be mastered through lots of practice. I just recently learned of 2-3 tactics so expect this section to grow in the future. -------------------- A) Expert Cancelling -------------------- Before I discussed the basics of cancelling, now we will delve more into. Just so I set the record straight, it is impossible for me to discuss the infinitely many forms of cancelling animations in the game so I will just discuss the most commonly used types. 1) Double cancelling An act of cancelling blindingly twice extremely quickly, to create an illusion that the second animation never happened. This is basically used to effectively string 1 move in a combo without any form of delay. An example of this multiple Sky Dance technique, where a player does Sky Dance, cancels animation with ER (enemy rebound) and then cancels the ER animation with another Sky Dance to create the illusion that he does 8 consecutive slashes as opposed to the standard 4 slashes done by a standard Sky Dance (first 2 inputs, not the last one). Another useful double cancelling technique that will be discussed later on is the Spiral G-cancelling trick, where it just appears that you are shooting regular Spiral shots in quick successions. 2) Advanced Weapon Swapping(AWS) Used extensively in high-end combos, AWS is a technique that has to be learned at all levels of play. AWS brings in a whole new level of instantaneous options for the player to use at his/her fingertips. The advantage of AWS lies in its ability to cancel certain combos into another very freely, and hence why it resides in the "expert cancelling" section. An example of AWS would be alternating between E&I and Spiral to create a hail of fast and furious bullets at long range with no delay. Another example is used in zoning, when players use an aggressive tactic that allows them to cancel the Straight(Beo) animation into a Stinger(Reb) animation for long ranged and quick damage. You will see many examples of this in practically all DMC3 combo exhibition videos 3) Jump/Roll Cancelling A defensive cancelling tactic that allows maximum safety at once. During most ground based moves in the game, the player can easily Jump/Roll cancel out of the move to secure Dante's placing during an enemy attack. This is a very old DMC tactic but still vastly effectively. Jump cancelling allows Dante to instantly access his aerial moves, while Roll cancelling allows Dante to safely JP an incoming attacks once he ends the Rolling animation and takes advantage of the invincible frames it affords. Utilizing double cancelling with Jump cancelling allows you to stay on the offensive without any delay (i.e. jumping vertically up into Helm Breaker). =========================================================================== ---------------------------- B) Advance Combat Movements ---------------------------- Universal manoeuvrings that will help ease the flow of combat at all times. These manoeuvres are used constantly at high level play. 1) Just Roll Precisely Rolling during an enemy attack with Just timings. A rare manoeuvre that only occurs when you perfectly evade an attack. A J. Roll gives the player free Style points and DT gauge recovery, similar to J. Evasion with TS. A very difficult input but with obvious advantages. 2) Reverse Kick A basic attack manuever that allows Dante to attack behind and then instantaneously start a new combo attack. The Reverse Kick I believe only comes out with Reb. It is a defensive manuever that kicks in when an enemy is directly behind Dante and the player presses back (towards Dante's back)+ /\. Weak damage but great frame advantage. 3) Enemy Rebound cancelling Goes hand in hand with double cancelling but takes lots of skill to master perfectly. It'sbasically an ER that is very quickly cancelled into any other aerial move with an almost inhumanly fast input. This will cause the jump animation to be almost completely negated, allowing the player to pull off combos with great potency. ER cancelling yields a decent style increase, so obviously the developers wanted players to master this manuever. Used extensively in high level combo videos and many SM sample combos. 4) Advance Command Buffering A simple concept that when used properly is the b&b tactic for a lot of special moves and weapons. Adv. command buffering is basically the art of holding input(s) during standard combos and wait out for oppurtunity to release the input. The most commonly used form of Adv. buffering is holding R1+O for Mulilock on GS with Artemis and DT button for T-flux attack (both can be used simultaneously with each other). Other forms of command buffering includes buffering in command for Rising Dragon (Beo) for better accuracy in input, buffering in a Just Parry in advance by going into B&C stance in RG (used for "Infinity Guard") and CS with GS during style specific GS moves (i.e. CS directly after 2 Some time or Rainstorm). 5) Counter hits/Countering Perfect Impacts Countering enemy attack is essential for the flow of combat, and a player needs to counter attack effectively to gain an upperhand in battle. The most common form of counter hit is repetitive striking during PIs (i.e. A&R and HVG). After an AP, the player should always time an attack with the enemy's attack to start a PI state and then continue with moves with large coverage and multihitting propety (i.e. Revolver/Windmill/Feedback). Never attempt to counter attack with projectiles, they will never work. Another form of counter attack occurs when yousword clash with Vergil, and it puts both players at equal frame advantage, though the equality technically favors Dante since he is always faster than Vergil and any other enemy in the game. Apparently, a "Perfect" Release effectively counter attacks even a DT Vergil attack. Other forms of counter attacks come from deflection, like with Beowulf's Cage or Enigma's Arrows. These forms of counter attacks are used a lot in even standard walkthroughs and they are an essential part of the combat engine. 6) Gliding Before the confusion sets in, I should state right now that this form of Gliding is NOT the same as gliding with Reb when in DT. The gliding with Reb is a bit useless and rarely used in high level play, but this technique is different and is used a lot. Gliding is the manuevering of Dante in the air for extended air time and air manueverability. Not a lot of action games allow great manueverability in the air like DMC3 does. This usually comes in the form of attacking in the air with moves that have high "float" times. Nevan's Air Play technique has enormous air time and is the prime move used for Gliding, as is Rainstorm, Sky Dance and various other aerial moves. Gliding is used to the maximum effect against large sized bosses, which opens up into very devastating combos as combining AWS, double cancelling and Gliding yields damage equalling upto 1/3 boss life in DMD mode! An example of this is against Leviathan when it uses Red Lasers, the player can Air Hike near it, and start combo gliding with Nevan and A&R, but cancelling Sky Dance animation into Air Play into Air Scythe into E&I shoot into Sky Dance into Sky Cross etc. Gliding has been used A LOT with ARs (Air Releases) as a means of orienting oneself in the air slightly. 7) Skillful Taunting Hardly "skillful", more like "intelligent" taunts. There really any form of skill required here just good judgement in battle. Taunting is a great asset to Dante's arsenal, one that instantly raises style and DT at no effort (aside from pressing the Taunt button and waiting for the animation to stop). Of course, throwing out Taunts is just plain stupid as most enemies/bosses will kill you during the animation, so you must space out your Taunts during enemy laggings. Make sure you Taunt when the enemy is in a static position (not in a weakened state, then you will be giving away combo time for measly style/DT raise) or after pulling off a devastating combo. Most players use Taunt at the end of a devastating offense, to raise the style further and get the Style meter to max. A Taunt varies with easy style rank, though discussing the animations is futile since they don't serve the combat engine whatsoever, aside from "looking cool". A Taunt always raises the style bar by 1 whole rank, and if used more than once in a rowwhiLe not increase style at all (waIt until at least 3 variations oF attack before beginning the neht Taunt). The DT increase varies by how high your style is and How many enemies are around, it's possible to get as high as 6-7 symbols with only 1 taunt! 8) Invincibility frames An invicible frame is any state during a move in which Dante is graced with complete invincibility against all forms of attacks. There are many of these techniques in the game, and they all serve to protect Dante from all forms of harm. The following is a list of techniques during which Dante is invincible during some point: Quicksilver Activation Just Parry/Air JP(all levels) Just Release/Air JR(all levels) Single/*Double/*Triple Dash Star Dash Wall Run Jump (In any direction) Air Hike*/Wall Hike* Roll/Just Roll Ice Age *Real Impact Air Trick (during Teleportation animation) *Very small invincible frame window More invincible moves might be in the game, these are the ones that are confirmed to be invincible. 9) Expert Phantom Sword formation tactics (SE) 10) Triple Devil Arm switch strategies (SE) 11) Wave Teleporting (SE) ======================================================================== ---------------------------------- C) Advance Royal Guard strategies ---------------------------------- There is no denying that RG is an extremely complex style, and such it requires a section of its own. RG can be summarized in three words: Timings, Timings, Timings. 1) G-cancelling A form of cancelling only accessible with RG, that allows a large portion of Dante's arsenal to be cancelled on command by a simple guard. The extent of G-cancelling still hasn't been tapped, but it is known that it makes some universal moves in the game practically unstoppable. An example of this is G-cancelling with Spiral. By G-cancelling a Spiral shot, the player can effectively eliminate any form of lag associate with the recoil of the fire. Then by double cancelling, the guard animation can be cancelled into the fire animation, resulting in an over all 3 fold increase in fire rate. This is merely the tip of the iceberg as far as how integral G-cancelling can be to Dante's arsenal. 2) Just Framing/Just Parry/Just Release If you can't Just input with RG, then you cannot play with the style on a high level. Period. An input with RG that requires Just input, yields a great advantage for the player. A Just Parry affords perfect invincibility, style/DT/Rage increase as well as loads of frame advantage. A Just Release increases the maximum potency of a Release, as well as utilizing an invincible dash through the enemy at lightning speed. They Just moves are the b&b techniques of RG, and no decent RG player will be found without them. 3) "Just Counters" A technique more difficult than the Just framing with RG, this combined counter hits with RG. I myself am not fully familiar with this, but players have utilized this technique into some form of advantage. The most commonly used form of "Just Counter" has risen from doing an AR against Vergil (DTed) during one of his attacks. The AR will stop Vergil in his tracks, and will put him at massive frame disadvantage. A J.Counter always occurs against the A&R brothers when the player J.Parries during the PI state. 4) Aerial Royal Guard Using the basic and advance RG techniques in the air, taking the style to a new level. The biggest advantage of ARG is that the Just timings are much more lenient, allowing even newcomers to become accustomed to the style with little effort. This is especially the case with AJP, where the timings for the Just frame is so lax that many players get spoiled by itand over use the technique. Air Just Releases are used for taller enemies with specific high weakspots. 5) "Ultimate Guard" Another unfamiliar technique that has been used skillfully in the past. It is the command buffering of a JP into an Ultimate and right back into a JP. It allows more safety against more projectiles in the air, ones that would be near impossible to JP all at once. I have seen this technique being used on Phantom Swords effectively as well. As far as I can tell, this is really the only time where the move Ultimate has been used "skillfully". 6) Levels of Just Frame (Gold and Silver) Both Release and Parry have three levels: Stardard, Silver and Gold. The differences between standard and gold/silver is strikingly obvious, already detailed in the RG section and then again in the Just frame section. The differences between gold and silver are a bit harder to discern, but when carefully scrutinized the difference is great. In general terms, a gold input requires more precise timings than a silver input, but a gold input will reward with more style/DT/rage/damage. Here is a basic outline of gold v.s. silver: Just Parry Silver: Moderate Style/DT/Rage increase. Standard Just timing required. Gold: Large style/DT/Rage increase, with a bigger and brighter Parry flash. Precise Just timing required. Just Release Silver: Moderate Style/DT increase, moderate dash length, 1.5x damage of a Release. Standard Just timing required. Gold: Large Style/DT increase, very far dash length, 3x damage of a Release. Precise Just timing required. =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- D) Advance Trickster, Doppelganger, Quicksilver and Dark Slayer (SE) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not to leave out the other styles, this section will cover some strategies with the 3 underused styles: Trickster, Doppelganger and Quicksilver. All 3 of these have been used professionally to a great extent, and they deserve some credit. 1) Just Evasion (Trickster) Taking a page from RG timings, J.Evasion is the core system behind playing TS on a high level. J.Evasion applies to ALL moves of TS. Whenever a TS move is done in accordance with an enemy attack, the player gains style points AS WELL as DT guage replenish. By utilizing TS's moves in cleverly used strings (Star Dash > VWR > Teleport > ER > Star Dash > Teleport etc.) allows the player to not attack yet still not receive any major style decline (allowing the player to keep the battle in his/her favor for a prolonged period fo time). Teleporting allows TS players to always stay on the offensive and keep the attacks going. 2) Time Lag Combo Physics (Quicksilver) QSs ability to slow down time brings in a whole new depth of combo physics. This allows the player to pull off combos that were impossible or very loose before. The most important part of QS is that it almost nullifies the Knockback property and allows the player to easily combo after such attacks. For example, it is impossible to combo after a Satellite attack under normal conditions and without a wall, but with QS a simple Stinger cancelled into Million Stab allows the player to capture the enemy. In additiona, it only takes one Satellite hit to knockback an enemy, but in QS ALL HITS connect perfectly. This is merely a sample of the surprises waiting in store for combo fanatics and QS players. 3) Quick Cancel – An astonish side effect upon activation of Quicksilver which gives you ½ a second of invincibility after activation, causing any attacks around you to wiff at ANY time, during anytime except Stun states, you can activate Quicksilver(mid attack for instance). Professional players use this a lot to negate any form of evasion that may need to be done (or merely for getting out of dangerous situations) -------------------------------------------------------------- D part 2 Doppelganger -------------------------------------------------------------- Due to the significant amount of hidden techniques in Doppelganger style it will have its own area (there is a lot to tell) due to the nature of Doppelgangers style these tactics are for show purposes & do not fair well in actual play 1) Dual combos with After-image (Doppelganger) Sample dual combos will be given for DG. Basically, dual combos mean comboing with the help of a second player. Just by experimenting with a second player, the combo window is drastically increased, allowing truly off the wall, absurd combos. It should be noted that the player will not receive any bonus style from the hits of the Shadow, only from the player's own hits. While it is possible to pull off some exquisite combos without the aid of a second person, some combos are not doable without a second person. For best results, it is advised that the second player be of equal skill of the first player. It also recommended that dual combos should be practiced with Super Dante mode and follow the timing/flow section in the Stylish combo guide before attempting to pull off any practical combos in a combo exhibition video. 2) ½ & 1 second Delay – Pressing L1 once during activation of Doppelganger will cause him to do his attacks ½ of a second after Dante Strikes, pressing it twice will cause him to do his attacks 1 second after Dante, this can open up great combos, especially while switching weapons 3) Gun Cancelling – As we know the shotgun, Artemis, K Ann or spiral has a small lag time before you can react again, using this lag time you can trigger attacks that the Doppelganger will not register, using this small opening you could for instance perform a million stab & million slash at the same time Ex: Doppelganger has Rebellion & shotgun equipped, Dante has Agni, rudra & E&I equipped [], /\, P1/\, P1/\~>/\ That small combo above will trigger you to do million slash & the Doppelganger to do million stab 4) Deactivation attack- this is a neglected gem of Doppelganger that involves Beowulf only (or any chargeable attack), during the charging of any strike, de-activating the AI (After Image) will cause it to complete its attack. Ex: Beowulf- R1, B, /\, (O*) P1, Hold /\ In the doppelganger section anything in brackets should be input while charging another attack) This will cause the AI to perform a beast uppercut while after that has hit you will do a rising dragon. Mix it up for some great combos 5) Silent inputs – Perhaps one of the hardest things to spot, that make a single player perform seemingly impossible combos, these are inputs that are created during the frames/charges of another attack, these can vary from gunshots to extra combo attacks Ex: AI= Rebellion & E&I Dante= Beowulf R1 B Hold /\, ([]x infinite) Hold /\ This though simple again clearly shows a silent input, as the AI performs a high time he is free to attack, where as while Dante is charging he cannot perform any attacks. Silent inputs is a major part of Doppelganger & can become seriously advance & unnoticeable, depending on the combo. 6) Auto attack – This is one of the more significant "tricks" in Doppelganger, double tapping L1 in quick Succession mid combo will cause the AI to perform the next following attack, leaving you free to do as you wish. Though it sounds simple this can be used exceptionally well to do multiple attacks using the same weapon, or extremely diverse combos using multiple weapons. Ex: AI= A&R Dante = A&R & Cerbe (Starts with A&R) /\ P1, /\, (L1 +L1) (MAS- Melee Arm Switch) R1 F /\ This is once again a simplistic explanation of the auto attack, upon double tap of L1 AI will finish of A&R Basic combo 3 (the multi slash & kick) while you have switched to Cerberus & started a Revolver ======================================================================== --------------------------------------------- E) Miscellaneous tactics/strategies/tips etc. --------------------------------------------- This section will cover miscellaneous tactics used by players as random "crowd pleasers" and are good for reference here. Expect many more of these to come up on an almost daily basis. 1) "1-hit wonders" "1-hit wonders" are moves/techniques that destroy either 1 or many Hell Prides in only 1 hit. Note that the Hell Prides have to be in DMD mode, but NOT DTed. These attacks are confirmed to be crowd killers, and they deserve such a mention. Not all "1-hit wonders" are found yet, and the term is a misnomer since it should really mean "1-input wonder" as a move requires only a single press but might hit multiple times. Here are the lists of confirmed "1-hit wonders": Volcano (Max charge) Distortion (Max Charge at close proximity) Real Impact T-Flux (at least 4 symbols burnt) Release (1 orb filled with Rage) Feedback > Crazy Roll (Crazy Roll cannot be accessed without a C3 so Feedback has to be listed) Crystal > Million Carats (see above) Twister > Tempest (Tempest must connect on a grounded Hell Pride) 2) Delaying Delaying is an art that applies to weapons like Beo and Nevan which can delay their inputs for a much more potent strike. This brings in great depth in to theirattacks as you can strategically make strikes depending upon the conditions. Delaying was discussed before, but here some more advanced form of delays will be discussed. One such technique is against Vergil, where the player using Beo can cause Vergil to wiff when he uses his Auto Parry. When Vergil is in his stagger stun, delay hit a Straight. Vergil will put up his arm as if to AP but your arm will be retracted and then you can release it to hit Vergil when his arm is fully retracted. You can continue this for some time but be warned that Vergil on later encounters catches on will respond with a devastating ability (Phantom Swords or DT). To put him in this flinching state, delay the hits Straight and just the regular /\ jab. Another form of delay is used with Nevan in conjunction with other weapons. For example, while charge up some Nevan bats you can attack the enemy further. A better idea would be to change to a weapon with better attack cycles. So what happens is that during the move of the 2nd weapon, the enemy is still being hit by the summoned bats. This is a way to add extra damage to some potent SM moves (i.e. Combo II bat summon delay, switch to A&R and input T~>T). 3) Transformation Flux/Devil Trigger Explosion No level headed DMC3 player should be seen without using this technique. This move was discussed before but it deserves another reiteration. A T-flux or DTE can be used AT ANY TIME, with any weapon/style set up and under pretty much any condition. It is bufferable WITH ALL techniques in the game. It does more damage than a Holy Water at full charge. The explosion is instantaneous, and so is the damage as well as the style increase. It does absurd damage to bosses and enemies a like. Use it a lot if you are attempting to SS rank a DMD mission. Always use T-Flux when a boss is in a weakened state for extra damage. Taunting after a T-flux is effective as well. Usually on US Normal/Easy modes it's a very devastating mode, but as you go up the difficulty levels it becomes less and less abusive, especially against bosses. Rule of thumb, only a great player will be able to use DTE frequently. 4) Style ranking/Crazy combo cancels Crazy combos in this game require fast and rapid input. This DOES NOT promote button mashing whatsoever. What happens is that the C3s are tied directly to the style ranking system, which is why I stress on the importance of good style increase (it's not just for show, it serves as a great tactical advantage at all times). With every additional style rank, the input for a C3 is made more lenient so you need to do less and less inputs. If you are near the maximum limit, then all a player would have to do is make upto 2 simple taps and pull off a devastating CC! Style ranking does not just affect C3s, it also increases the damage done by Dante on ALL attacks AS WELL as yield more red orbs from kills and more DT replenish So let's see: More Style points = More damage = Enemies killed faster= More Red orbs = More DT = Better overall rank at mission's end. However, it takes only 1 hit to ruin a good style build up, so avoid being hit at ALL times. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to SS rank missions on DMD mode even when getting hit only once. And finally, here is the list of the style ranks: D: Dull C: Crazy B: Blast A: Alright S: Sweet SS: Showtime SSS: Stylish 5) "Orb Warping" Orb Warping is a technique used with RG that allows a player to do pseudo- teleports toward the enemies. The best example of this is with Vergil, where the technique was first discovered (Orb warping referring to Vergil's Inivisible Orb Slash) and dubbed. When Vergil does his IOS, it is possible to do a Just Release off of it (since you can do JR off of every attack in the game). Vergil will track your movement and will do another IOS that lands where you stopped after the JR. Another JR off of the 2nd IOS will bring you closer to Vergil and he will still continue until you appear directly infront of Vergil for GUARANTEED combos. Basically, this is like a few seconds long manuever where the player JRs off of the bosses projectiles and come closer and closer after every success JR on the incoming projectiles. Another example of this was show cased against Nevan, where the player warped across the floor using Nevan's electrical currents and then came near enough to remove Nevan's bat and freely combo her. 6) "The Running Man"/"Super Man" This technique is used with RG on a blank Rage meter. What happens is that usually a player is in a peculiar position and needs some breathing space. Using an enemy's attack as a median, the player can use a blank JR to zone around the battlefield and pick a better spot to attack from. Running man is JR on the ground, and Super Man is AJR. These basically serve as evasivemanuevers that serve to replace Dash/Star Dash of TS style. 7) "Quick Cancel" Quick Cancel is the Invincibility frames at the very beginning of the activation of Quicksilver, Activation Quicksilver in a similair fashion to RG (with easier time constraints) any folloeing flurry of moves will NOT connect. The advantages (Over RG Parrying) are severely easier time constraints, can be used mid attack or at any time (except during any type of Stun) This tactic is most commonly used against Hell Wraths, However no one tested this on Geryon. Apparently, using Time Lag during the time Geryon uses his QS abilities allows the player to COMPLETELY negate Geryon's QS without ANY cost of DT. Obviously, this is a supreme tactic to use against the above mentioned boss as it completely nullifies Geryon's QS abilities. There is a possibility that more of these defensive tactics might be discovered with QS in the near future. 8) "Bunny Dash" An effective dodging technique used with Star Dash, which allows the player the large invincibility window without being vulnerable in the air afterwards. The player can use this input: X ~ O to quickly cancel a jump animation into a Star Dash (notice that although this is a cancel, I notated it with ~ to indicate a very fast input). By using a wave like motion, it is possible to cover a large distance using these "bunny dashes" and have a great invincible advantage. It is easier to pull off J.Evasion with "bunny dashes", and it almostnegates the use of regular Dashes if a player has completely mastered it. *************************************************************************** =================================== 7) The Ultimate Stylish Combo Guide =================================== This section right here is the pride and joy of DMC3. Free-form stylish combos is what makes DMC3 such a great action game. You have an infinite number of variations when it comes to free-form combos, so this section does not even begin to come close to the level of depth the combos can get into. I will just say that this is merely a guide to help you to make your own free-form combos. -------------------------------------------------- A) Definition of "Combo", Restrictions and Rules -------------------------------------------------- It's better that I give some solid definitions concerning free-form combos and what seperates a "good" or effective combo from a "bad" or ineffective combo. These guidelines will allow you to think more critically when coming up with combos on the fly. 1) Timings Timings basically means that you can't waste time in between moves nor can you input moves too early. Every frame counts, and some moves you need to be more careful when to cancel and when not to cancel. There is also that added layer of awareness that you need when dealing with heights in combos, and timing your height with your enemy so that you arrive at the same height for air combos. Ex: When rebounding from an enemy and doing an aerial combo after it, make sure you time your next hit and cancel so that the enemy doesn't drop to the floor before you do. 2) Flow Flow is the second element of timings. This has to do with what's happening on screen rather than what you are inputting. Flow is very important for combos that require lots of weapon switches. When transitioning from 2 moves you need to make sure that the moves flow correctly into one another. A good flow will provide solid style increase and a bad flow will provide style decay. Ex: DO NOT follow up Rising Dragon after a Combo II of Cerberus. This will mess up the flow and will cause the enemy to recover in time. A better idea is to cancel the last two hits of Combo II into a Hightime with Rebellion for better flow. Rising Dragon is used when an enemy is more or less incapacitated due to the lag. 3) Restrictions You need to be aware of when you can do certain things and when you can't. The best example I can give is cancelling. There are certain frames within a move where you CANNOT cancel. Be aware of this when coming up with combos, you cannot always cancel a move into any other move. Ex: You CANNOT cancel out of Satellite when initiated, meaning that unless you are doing free-form combos for QS or a wall combo, you are restricted to its properties of knockback/non-cancelling. 4) Options This is really more of a suggestion. Try to link moves that puts you in the best place to link into other moves or gives you more options. There are certain manuevers that do this better than others, whether you are in the air or on the ground the concept is the same. Ex: An enemy rebound will give you more options than an Air Hike simply because it resets your actions in the air. It's a very commonly used manuever. 5) Vulnerability There will be times when you are comboing an enemy with other enemies around. This is practically unavoidable so it's best to minimize your risk when coming up with combos. Generally speaking, air combos are safer than ground combos. Most ground combos can be made safer with using moves that are more suited for crowd control. Ex: Minimize the use of Real Impact in combos, it leaves you open without any room to fully cancel out of the starting animation. 6) Repetition This should be common sense, especially in DMC3. Do not repeat moves in combos especially in a row. Not only is it boring to watch, it causes your style meter to decay rapidly. It does not give you any advantage in battle or combos. Now there are a few exceptions to the rule, like cancelling moves into another for a cycle like multiple Sky Dances in a row (in this case, the style meter stays about the same for some time). Ex: Combo I, Hightime, Combo I Hightime, etc. = NO! 7) Difficulty Rule of thumb: The more difficult a combo is to pull off, the better you look when you pull it off and the more you are rewarded by the style meters. There are exceptions to this rule, however difficulty plays an important part in coming up with combos. A difficult combos generally tends to rise in style faster than an easy combo. More inputs leads to more difficulties, so make use of all the buttons on the controller. Ex: Artemis buffer, Rebellion Combo II, Reverb Shock, Hightime (rise), release, enemy rebound, Air Hike, Rainstorm, buffer Charged shots, shoot, connect with a Just Wild Stomp. Generally speaking, a difficult combo to do but its not without its rewards. 8) Practicality This is the flipside of difficulty. You don't want to do a combo that is so absurdly difficult that it's virtually impractical in actual combat. Try to balance out these two elements to make great combos. Learn ways around the style system to create combos that are both high in flash yet consistent. Ex: Most combos that were used in DMC1 are very practical. Usually throw in some aerial combos and you have a good base to pull off practical combos. Something like: Combo I, Pop Shredder, Hightime(rise), Air Hike, Aerial Rave, Helm Breaker, Stinger. 9) Stylishness This is a very subjective element. Pull off combos that are "stylish" to look at. It's not surprising that the highest style ranking is named "Stylish" as is the THEME of the entire Devil May Cry series "stylish, hardcore gothic action". Live up to the DMC name, and play stylishly all the time. Be creative and think outside the box, don't just rely on a few moves or just the effective ones. Don't be afraid to throw out a low tier move for variety. Ex: Free Ride is a stylish move that is generally a low tier move, but that shouldn't stop you from using it. Free Ride is a great median to buffer moves in with, most importantly Charged Shots, Drive, Multilock and a few others. It also sets up well for almost all combo finishers. 10) Overall effectiveness The end result of the free-form combo should be satisfying/stylish as well as effective. There should be an accomplishment when finishing a combo, whether it be a large style boost, decrease in enemy health or setting up the battle area to your favor. Cut the fat of combos, always streamline for maximum effectiveness. There is a fine line between a "stylish" combo and a "useless" combo. Ex: Don't needlessly cancel in and out of moves just because it looks cool. ****************************************************************************** This section is still under construction. The number by a specific section indicates how many free-form combos are planned for it. I have most of the combos in my video database but I have not gotten around to typing them up here. I did however give a couple of examples of what some combos will look like. Please note that all combos are performed on a Hell Sloth on DMD mode (unDTed) unless otherwise stated. ----------------------------------------------- B) Weapon Specific Swordmaster Free-from Combos ----------------------------------------------- 1) Rebellion + Cerberus (5) 2) Rebllion + Agni and Rudra (5) 3) Cerberus + Agni and Rudra (5) 4) Agni and Rudra + Nevan (5) A&R + Nevan, any firearm Start out with A&R: /\, P1, /\, /\, R1+B+(/\), O, O, R2, (/\), Land, UF+(/\}, O~R2 > R1+F+O, R1+B+/\, R1+B+O, R2, R1+B+(O). 5) Nevan + Rebellion (5) 6) Beowulf + Rebellion (5) 7) Agni and Rudra + Beowulf (5) 8) Cerberus + Nevan (5) 9) Cerberus + Beowulf (5) Cerb + Beo, any firearm Start out with Cerb: /\, /\, P1, /\,/\ > R1+F+/\ > X, R2 ~ O > /\, Land, /\, /\ ,/\, R2, R1+F+O, R2, R1+Back+(/\):/\:, R2, O, O, R2, O > /\ ~ X ~ R1+F+O. 10) Nevan + Cerberus (5) ------------------------------ C) Free-form Gunslinger Combos ------------------------------ 1) Ebony and Ivory + Shotgun (5) 2) Ebony and Ivory + Artemis (5) 3) Artemis + Shotgun (5) 4) Artemis + Spiral (5) 5) Shotgun + Spiral (5) 6) Shotgun + Kalina Ann (4) 7) Spiral + Kalina Ann (4) 8) Spiral + Ebony and Ivory (5) 9) Kalina Ann + Artemis (5) 10) Kalina Ann + Spiral (4) ------------------------ D) Style specific combos ------------------------ a) Trickster (20) b) Royal Guard (20) c) Quicksilver (25) 1) Cerberus + Rebellion, E&I + Spiral Input: Start out with Reb: /\,/\ {R1+O}> R1+B+(/\), []..., R2, /\~X~/\, Land, /\,/\, R1+F+/\ > X ~ /\, Land, /\,/\, P1, /\x3 ~> /\..., R2, R1+F+/\ ~> /\..., /\, L2, R1+[]. Description: That's a decent combo to work with, you will know that I put Satellite in there and cancelled into Stinger > Million Stab. It's possible in Quicksilver due to difference in physics. This combo is doable on any enemy, you just need to orient yourself for medium sized enemies. Best if used on juggleable enemies, as always. d) Doppelganger (25) --------------------------------- E) Vergil's Free-Form Combos (SE) --------------------------------- 1) Yamato (25) 2) Force Edge (25) 3) Beowulf (25) 4) Spanning all weapons (25) -------------------------------------- F) Nelo Angelo's Free-Form Combos (SE) -------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- G) Sample Expert Video Combos spanning ALL OF THE ABOVE ------------------------------------------------------- http://babildo.brinkster.net/videos/ComboVid.wmv ============= 7) Conclusion ============= Finally, it is done. It's about time I give credit where it's due. I will also use this section to answer some question and write the Disclaimer for this FAQ. This FAQ took about 1 and 1/2 month to complete, so yeah it took quite awhile to make it. I have left some room for additional information as I know there will be plenty. ---------- A) Credits ---------- Capcom (Production Studios#1): For making the single greatest action game of the last decade. I especially want to thank the DMC2 team for proving everyone that they are competent game developers (since DMC3 team consists of mostly the DMC2 team). Capcom has proven themselves as one of the best game developers on the planet. Myself: For writing this FAQ, and putting up with the questions of so many people and still answering in a polite manner. Most of the Gunslinger tactics have come through me as I am one of the few players around who uses GS on a professional level. My Official DMC3 Sticky FAQ for IGN can be found here (56K warning): http://boards.ign.com/Devil_May_Cry/b5258/78079609/?4 Pokey86: For helping me write this FAQ. He did parts of the Devil arm section, came up with many Expert manuevers, came up with many Stylish combos and made lots of videos at HVE. GreatDMC3 player right here. Pretty much 99% of the Quicksilver tactics you see in this FAQ are from him, I salute him from using the style most professionally. Gemasis: For making the greatest DMC3 website on the planet, HVE. Featuring over 3 gigabytes worth of DMC3 footage and growing every day. one of the true pioneers of the game. His website can be found here: http://www.thehandvseye.com/dmc3.htm Venom: A worker at the HVE who has become quite excellent in DMC3 and produces DMC3 videos at an enormous rate. Keep up the good work. Also came up with some nice DMC3 expert tactics. Tatsumarublack: A great RG player that frequents the RG board. He has been with DMC3 for a long time now, truly a veteran at the game. His latest RG video was exceptional and showcased quite a few techniques. Dantelink: Aggressive DMC3 player to the max. Dantelink really knows how to take offense to a whole new level and watching his pitbull style of fighting is usually very refreshing in the midst of some practical combat and some more strategic combat. An excellent all round player. Kazak: What can I say. The RG legend. Everyone knows him, no one has seen him or heard his opinions about the game. All I know is that he is has made some ground breaking RG boss battles that will probably be never forgotten. No doubt an exceptional player and inventor of many b&b RG tactics. Kazak's videos can be found here: http://ayayanoya.myweb.hinet.net/mov05.htm Saurian Dash/Lionheart: The creators of the best RG and SM FAQ out there, they get a big mention from me. Most of their discovered mechanics are listed in this FAQ and they deserve credit for writing it down. Their website can be found here: http://www.ntsc-uk.com/feature.php?fea=TechniqueDMC3 Yuriseal: A frequent at the DMC3 Gamefaqs boards, another pioneer in the game. He is the go-to player as far as anything about Swordmaster is concerned. He also has his own DMC3 video website: http://babildo.brinkster.net/videos/ Hwaorang: No, not the Tekken fighter, but another skilled RG player. Has posted on both the Gamefaqs and IGN boards before, for a time he was considered the "Kazak" killer since he showcased some really superb RG tactics. He came out with something fresh everytime, but I haven't seen much of him lately. "Prince of Devil": Another unknown legend, he/she is known as the "everything killer". Showcasing what is deemed as the best DMC3 combo exhibition video ever, Propsychokiller is an expert in Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Doppelganger combos and has some good RG skills. His video was the basis of my Stylish combo guide, most of the combos listed were performed by this person. His fabled combo video can be found here: http://babildo.brinkster.net/videos/ComboVid.wmv LHK: Like myself, he did everything within his power to make DMC3's combat system heard. He was basically DMC3's public relations guy and he deserves a mention for his work. I look forward to hyping up DMC4 with him! ALL people at the DMC3 Gamefaqs and IGN board: Thanks for being gracious hosts to me, it was an honor to talk to like-minded fans! ========================================================================== ----------------------------- B) Frequently Asked Questions ----------------------------- This is where I will answer some frequently asked questions about the FAQ itself or any other question that might pertain to DMC3 in general. 1) Why did you make this FAQ? A) For many reasons actually. A FAQ like this needed to be constructed to answer the many questions people have about the combat system and a guide to help them better understand the intricacies of the combat/combo in the game. Also, the DMC universe always lacked a universal notation system, and a way to express combos freely without taking 1/2 a page! 2) How were you able to come up with so many mechanics discussed in the FAQ in such a short time? A) Simple, I didn't do most of the work in discovering these tactics, other much more skilled players did. 90% of these mechanics are taken from tactics player use on a daily basis in numerous skill/combo videos posted at an astounding rates on various message boards. It also helps that I have 90+ hours of game play logged on my DMC3 saved file and with the combine knowledge of my co-writer Pokey, I was able to make this FAQ. 3) DMC3 is a hack n' slash game with button mashing moves and very few combos. How does it warrant such a FAQ? A) Your first sentence is completely incorrect, and borderlining ignorant. DMC3 is far, far from being a "hack n' slash" game, and it definitely does not qualify as a "button masher" either. Hack n' slash games provide the player with limited close range combat manuevers and mechanics, with usually a very small move list and legions of copy/pasted enemies that you need to kill extremely repetitively. As proven by this FAQ, DMC3 does not include any of these features, it has a robust combo engine, lots of combat mechanics and a fairly large move list for a manual based game of this caliber. I can see however where people can be confused on the button mashing mechanics in DMC3. There are moves in the game called "Crazy Combos", where the player has to rapidly press a button in succession to pull off a move. However, it does not qualify as a button masher because A) The number of inputs you press is dependent on your style gauge. If you are already playing with a button mashing mentality, then the game will punish you by making the inputs harder to make and thus reducing your game to a button mashing fest. B) If you are skilled enough to not button mash, then the game will reward you by upping the style meter you would only have to make at most a couple of inputs to get the moves off. C) The crazy combos are almost all cancellable and controllable by your inputs, so most of the time you are not committed to a "Crazy Combo" and you can always branch off. As far as gun spamming is concerned (just sitting there pounding away at the [] button), the game handles itself quite well and does not tolerate such cheese tactics. Your style will drop and the enemies/bosses will slaughter you. Guns are support weapons at best. Your last statement is a result of your lack of understanding between automatic and manual combo systems. DMC3 has an INFINITE number of free-form combos in the game, and highlighted by a large move list and 4 swappable weapon (with 1 style) at one time. The game however, has very few predetermined combo strings that are only there to serve as medians for more powerful "Crazy Combos". The predetermined strings are there just for variety sake, they rarely differ in hit properties like most other fighting/action games with combo "strings". Also, a string can rarely be comboed into and out of other moves without some form of cancelling, most moves in this game can easily be cancelled into another move for a world of combo possibilities. Since I have addressed your sentence, you can tell by now why the game warrants such a FAQ ; in order to stop the foolishness that some people have when discussing game mechanics. 4) This FAQ doesn't answer my specific question about combat in the game. Where can I find better help? A) My advice is to either A) Look in the other FAQs on Gamefaqs or B) Visit the Gamefaqs DMC3 message board or the IGN DMC board to ask for the question. I visit these 2 boards occasionally (I visit the IGN board very often) so you can ask a direct question to me there. 5) Why is there no such FAQ for the original Devil May Cry? Surely a classic action game like DMC1 deserves such a vast FAQ? Do you think it's "unworthy"? A) No indeed (to last statement) , DMC1 is a classic action game that redefined the genre. It does deserve such a FAQ, though not as in-depth as this. Unfortunately, this FAQ has taken a toll on me, and that was only in the summer. Making FAQs is hard, and DMC1 is now very old and most people don't really bother with it since DMC3's combat and controls are vastly superior. If I could go back in time to when DMC1 was all the rage, then yes I would've developed something similar. Back then, I was also not much of a DMC fan as I am right now. 6) What are your opinions on other similar action series, most particularly Ninja Gaiden and God of War? A) Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox is an excellent, excellent action game. I would actually put it on the same level as the original DMC as far as evolving the genre is concerned. The game is truly the first game where there is actually depth in an automatic combat system. The game features a great balance between offensive and defensive manuevering, thanks to Ryu's devastating moves off the walls and an easy to use Block system. The game features a state of the art combat engine, very similar to some basic 3D fighters (as opposed to DMC3, which borrows heavily from 2D action games and translates them onto the 3D plane) and has many statures and hit states. However, NG lacks in free-form combos, the restriction from it being too similar to a fighting game takes a toll on it sometimes. It's Karma system isn't really just either, it rewards kills with large number of hits rather than the moves employed for the kill (meaning you can use the same move over and over but the system will not care as long as you get the decaps, get the #of hits and use UTs). DMC3 excells in some places, while NG excells in others, so they are both games that every action connoisseur must experience. You can tell from my writing in this FAQ which game I prefer. Now we move on to God of War. First of all I have to commend David Jaffe, I know he had to take a lot of crap from DMC fans because of GoW's status as an action/adventure game of epic proportions. Most of these fans are a bit ticked off that a game like GoW got more media attention and better review scores than DMC3/DMC1. Now that that's out of the way, I will get to the point. GoW as a stand alone game, is great. It has great variety in adventure game play, stunning graphics, epic feel, cinematic approach and an outstanding music score. The game play is simple to get into and easy to be stylish. However, a FAQ like this cannot be made for GoW (as opposed to NG, which already has a FAQ) of this caliber in place simply because it's too simple and doesn't feature much complexity. Also, it's a bit unbalanced and the hit system is off too. Mastery of this game comes from simply beating the game a few times, not months of intensive research and game time. It's still a great game, but when compared solely on its action merits, it really can't hold a candle to NG/DMC3. 7) Does this FAQ cover the newly released Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition as well? A) Yes of course, however it will take time to learn of all the new game play elements in DMC3SE. I have started to analyze trailers and game play clips for some new mechanics and so far it has been worth my time. There should be quite a few new additions to the FAQ and those that are DMC3SE exclusive will have a little "SE" tag by it to indicate a difference. I promise that on day 1 the expansion will be put under a critical eye (more critical than DMC3) by the top players and videos will be released instantly. Stay tuned for more info. More questions will be answered soon... ============================================================================ ------------- C) Disclaimer ------------- This FAQ is copyright (C) August 2005, Dahbomb. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is copyright (C) Capcom and so is the entire Devil May Cry franchise. This guide is for viewing only from www.gamefaqs.com or www.ign.com. I do not write FAQ/Guides for monetary gain or profit, nor do I specifically work for Capcom in any department. E-mail: Pokey's- thenameiskeithhotmail.comBoth of my emails are not working at the current moment, but I visit the IGN boards frequently and the Gamefaqs boards from time to time. I am willing to share my FAQ with other sites on the condition that I am first notified and if the site doesn't do any form of illegal activities. www.thehandvseye.com is copyright(C) Gemasis/Vosor.
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