Devil May Cry

1. Grab every Red Orb cluster. They’re the only currency for moves, items, and health upgrades at statue checkpoints—and early missions are stingy.

2. Jump-cancel your sword combo. Tap Jump right after the second hit of Dante’s basic sword string to reset the combo and keep enemies airborne. This is the foundation of high-rank play.

3. Save your Devil Trigger meter. The white bar fills as you deal damage; hold full bars for mini-bosses or when you’re surrounded. DT heals you slightly on activation and grants brief invincibility.

4. Buy Air Hike from the first statue. The double jump costs 3,000 Red Orbs but opens up half the combat system and trivializes platforming. Skip health upgrades until you have core movement.

5. Fire guns between sword hits. Ebony & Ivory shots during repositioning or enemy recovery keep your Style rank alive—the meter decays fast if you stop attacking, and pistol rounds are free.

6. Yellow Orbs are full revives—use them. You start with one. Die mid-mission and you can burn a Yellow Orb to continue from that spot, or restart the mission at no cost but time.

7. Ignore the ranking on your first run. D-ranks are fine. Learn enemy patterns, find the Secret Missions, and save S-rank optimization for Hard or Dante Must Die mode when you have the full moveset.

• Save Red Orbs for Blue Orb fragments and moveset upgrades. Yellow Orb continues and Vital Stars burn currency you need for permanent health extensions and combo tools. A deeper health pool and stronger attacks prevent more damage than any stack of consumables.

• The roll has invincibility frames — roll into attacks. Dante’s dodge-roll grants brief i-frames at startup. Rolling into slow telegraphed swings — especially Phantom’s lunges — lets you pass through damage and reposition for counterattacks. Learn the timing once; half the game’s threats become trivial.

• Stinger is your best Orb-per-second move. Forward+Forward+Triangle deals excellent damage, covers ground fast, and racks up hits without the commitment of aerial combos. Upgrade it to level 2 as soon as possible; the increased range and speed make it the backbone of efficient Mission clears.

• Air combat keeps you safe and stylish. Launch enemies with High Time (pull back+Triangle), then juggle with Ebony & Ivory in midair — most threats stay helpless while your Style rank climbs. Alastor’s aerial moves have generous active frames; loop three or four jump-attacks before landing.

• Devil Trigger is a panic button and a damage multiplier. DT heals you, boosts attack power, grants super armor, and refills on Orb pickups. Save it for boss phases or when surrounded, but don’t hoard it to the point you die with a full gauge. The meter regenerates; your continues don’t.

• Backtrack for Secret Missions after gaining new abilities. Air Hike (double-jump) and later weapons unlock previously inaccessible areas. Secret Missions award Blue Orb fragments and Untouchables (damage-free bonuses), both critical for Hard/DMD runs. Check Mission 4’s starting courtyard after acquiring Air Hike — there’s a fragment you walked past earlier.

Mission 3 — Phantom Spider Boss (First Encounter)

The lava-armored arachnid walls off half the cathedral after you grab the Pride of Lion, and players burn through all their Vital Stars here. Phantom rears back before every lunge — a full second to roll laterally. Roll backward and you clip the arena edge. Stay unlocked during his meteor-rain phase; camera lock hides the falling magma chunks. If you’re undergeared, sprint past Phantom when he appears, grab the item, and bail through the door. Return after Mission 4 with the Shotgun and Ifrit gauntlets for a dramatically easier rematch — this fight is optional.

Mission 11 — Mundus Phase 2 (Flying Combat)

The perspective shift into rail-shooter mode breaks players who spent ten missions mastering ground combos. Your Devil Trigger meter refills automatically in this sequence — stay transformed the entire time. Spam the homing Meteor projectiles (mash Circle/○) and save the Vortex beam (hold Circle) for when Mundus fires his dragon-head attack. The beam negates his projectile and deals heavy stagger damage. If you’re taking chip damage from stray orbs, you’re dodging too much; the DT healing outpaces the incoming fire if you stay aggressive.

Mission 16 — Nightmare (Third Fight, Underwater Arena)

This damage-sponge cube boss becomes a war of attrition without the Nightmare-β weapon. Ignore the core-exposure mechanic entirely and unload Grenade Gun rounds into Nightmare’s base form. Each full magazine forces a core spawn even without proper damage triggers. Stock 200+ grenades before this mission (farm Red Orbs in Mission 13’s Blade hallway). Out of grenades? The Ifrit Rolling Blaze (forward+forward+Triangle in DT) deals enough fire damage per pass to trigger cores, but requires 15–20 cycles.

Dante Must Die Mode — Shadow Cats (Any Encounter)

These panther summons gain DT armor in DMD, making them nearly invincible to standard combos. They’re still vulnerable to environmental kills. Lure Shadows near spiked walls or bottomless pits, then use the Shotgun’s knockback (hold △ for charged blast) to punt them into hazards. In the Mission 17 coliseum, the floor spikes activate on a timer — herd all three Shadows into the center grid and wait for the impale.