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Devil May Cry 5 Beginner’s Guide

Perfect those SSS ranking's with our beginner's guide to Devil May Cry 5

Nic Rueben
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Intrigued by Devil May Cry 5 but new to the series? Excited to master some of gaming’s most intense and stylish combat, but don’t know where to start? Renowned demon hunting business Digital Trends has your back. So grab a slice of pizza, polish your ridiculously oversized sword, and check out our absolute beginner’s guide to Devil May Cry 5.

Which Difficulty Should You Choose?

Devil May Cry V gives you two options when you first start: Human or Devil Hunter. You’ll later unlock access to the much meatier Son of Sparda, plus series’ classics Dante must Die and Heaven and Hell, in which both the player and the enemies die in just a single hit!

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In Human mode enemies have less health, don’t hit as hard, and also drop more life-replenishing green orbs. If you’re a complete beginner to the series, and just want to learn the controls in a stress-free setting, Human may seem like a good choice. Keep in mind that squishier foes means you won’t get a chance to test the combat in its full glory.

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On standard difficulty, Devil May Cry 5 is still one of the easier entries in the series, so we’d recommend starting right off with Devil Hunter. Trust us, you can handle it. You’ve got three legendary demon hunters to choose from, after all.

To Auto Combo or Not to Auto Combo?

By holding down ‘R3’ in combat, you can switch between manual and auto combo modes. Auto means that Devil May Cry V’s more complicated, stylish, and outright ridiculous combo attacks can be pulled off by simply pressing the corresponding attack button.

Auto mode is great if you want to practice nailing those evades, jumps and dodge rolls, or just want to give your broken fingers a rest for a while. Once you’re comfortable with the controls, however, we’d recommend turning it off for good. So much of the series’ joy comes from mastering the varied and fluid combat system, and Devil May Cry 5 is no exception.

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Devil Breakers

You’ll kick off Devil May Cry 5 in control of the brash and stylish Nero, and soon get access to Devil Breakers — prosthetic arms with a variety of different combat effects. Devil Breakers can be purchased before a mission or found scattered around levels, and the further you progress, the more you’ll unlock. Each one is useful in their own way, but beginners will want to make good use of Gerbera. Using this Devil Breaker will give Nero huge evasive capabilities, launching him swiftly out of harm’s way.

Upgrades

See those shiny red orbs that the game showers you with at every possible opportunity? Turns out that they’re quite useful. At the start of each mission, as well as during missions whenever you find a payphone, you’ll be able to spend them to buy upgrades and additional moves for Nero, V, and Dante.

Your best bet here is to avoid buying Devil Trigger and Health upgrades, since they don’t make all that much difference, and you’ll be able to find collectibles that do the same job. Instead, first focus on expanding your sword combos for Nero and Dante, and Shadow’s set for V, as these will give you the most options in combat.

Any abilities that let you jump higher or run faster should also be prioritized, as they’ll help a lot with traversal and exploration. Oh, and be sure to check out abilities guide to perfect that stylish combat.

Exploration

Speaking of exploration, Devil May Cry 5’s 20 missions are home to a whole slew of hidden secrets for those willing to stray from the beaten path. As well as tons of red orbs, there’s secret missions, blue and purple orb fragments to increase your health and Devil Trigger respectively, and even the occasional secret weapon!

At any time, you can hold down L3, and the game will show you which direction to move in to progress through the level. Our tip? Make sure you know exactly which way to go, and then immediately go the opposite way to ensure you don’t miss anything.

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Nic Rueben
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