Anyone who’s played a Devil May Cry game will rejoice as Dante, Son of Sparda, himself makes a return to help Nero save the world from another demonic invasion in Devil May Cry 5. Armed with his Devil Arms, flashy fighting abilities, and a dashing sense of charm, Dante brings his signature sense of style from Devil May Cry in this most recent installment.
Being the last character for players to unlock, Dante brings a wholly unique powerset that players may feel is overwhelming at first. After all, performing combos with Dante in Devil May Cry 5 will feel quite different compared to Nero’s with his Devil Breakers, and V’s with his Familiars. However, for newcomers who want to specialize in Dante, just which abilities and upgrades of Dante should players unlock first?
10 Enemy Step (Skill, General)
There are a lot of weapon skills that allow Dante to launch a huge attack and force his enemies in mid-air, giving him a lot of openings to punish them with aerial combos. Unfortunately, Dante could only do so much with limited air time. However, Enemy Step allows Dante to do what action flicks would ordinarily allow martial arts masters to accomplish: step on enemies.
With Enemy Step, Dante could simply step on enemies to continue staying up in mid-air. This gives him a lot of combo opportunities, especially when it comes to having to sustain himself up in the air for decent combos. This is of great assistance when fighting bosses, especially since their weak spots tend to be much higher than normal, and they summon quite a lot of minions anyway.
9 Stinger (Skill, Rebellion, Devil Sword Sparda, Devil Sword Dante)
When it comes to action-packed battles with mobs, it’s important for Dante to always keep up the advantage against enemies and bosses. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure he always gets the upper hand in terms of speed, and that means catching up to foes if they try to do something funny like run for their life.
With Stinger, Dante makes escaping hurt like hell for his enemies. Essentially, Stinger allows Dante to rush towards an enemy he’s locked on to, closing the gap between him and an enemy who thinks they can simply escape the Son of Sparda.
8 Million Stab (Skill, Rebellion, Devil Sword Sparda, Devil Sword Dante)
What better way to punish opponents than to make sure they know how hurtful it is to try and leave in the thick of combat, right? When Dante gets up close to an opponent like Vergil, he can activate Million Stab to just pierce through opponents with his blades.
Activated by holding Y, Dante can either use Million Stab as a regular finisher or as a decent follow-up to Stinger. That way, Dante can simply punish escaping opponents and finish them off quickly before they go back into the thick of the fight.
7 Revolver (Skill, King Cerberus)
Of all the combos available for the multi-element King Cerberus, it’s probably Revolver that is the most appealing. At its core, Revolver launches Dante in mid-air as he spins the nunchucks around him, and then crashes into the enemy for huge damage. If he uses this with his Devil Trigger active, this attack becomes more powerful at the cost of more of the Devil Trigger gauge.
While this seems like a steep price to use with the Devil Trigger, the Revolver is easily a powerful-enough mid-air attack to not only intercept mid-air targets but also fight more powerful foes. It hits multiple times as well, ensuring combos are secured.
6 Ice Age (Skill, King Cerberus)
Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. Aside from offering Dante a lot of elemental attack options, King Cerberus also gives him a decent defensive ability in the form of Ice Age. To activate this, Dante needs to be on the ground and press RB + Back/Forward + Y.
When triggered, Ice Age will release rock-hard ice to cover Dante’s body, protecting him from enemy attacks. While this wouldn’t protect Dante from the harshest of enemy blows, it’s still more than enough to protect Dante from pesky attacks from smaller and weaker foes.
5 Updraft (Skill, Balrog)
Thanks to Balrog, Dante has a nifty hand-to-hand option when it comes to fighting his enemies. However, Balrog isn’t just the run-off-the-mill demonic armor that lets Dante whip out generic combos. Rather, its moveset offers Dante different attacks when under Standard and Swordmaster settings, as well as when using Blow Mode and Kick Mode.
In particular to Kick Mode is Updraft, a handy (no pun intended) skill that allows Dante to pull off a flip kick that launches him and an enemy into the air. However, where Updraft is most useful is when Dante is up against airborne enemies, as Updraft allows him to launch himself in the air and intercept them, leaving them open for combos.
4 Slipstream (Skill, Cavaliere)
One of the most surprising reveals in the DMC 5 trailer is how Dante not only gets to ride a demonic motorcycle but somehow divides it into a pair of giant buzzsaw blades. When Dante begins learning the ropes with this heavy weapon, it’s easily implied that his Cavaliere Combo A and Cavaliere Combo B would be the go-to rhythmic combos for decent damage.
However, the Slipstream skill adds a bit more mobility for Dante’s use of the weapon. On the ground, pressing RB + L (Up/Down) + Y would propel Dante forward with the two blades. Afterward, Dante slams the blades together to pierce through the opponent. After using the Slipstream, Dante could immediately get into Combo A or the second step of Combo B.
3 Set Hat (Skill, Dr. Faust)
Of all Dante’s weapons across the games, it’s probably Dr. Faust that offers a lot of combat flexibility. After all, not only is this a boomerang, but it can also transform into a barrier, a machine gun, and other sorts of knick-knacks. However, of all its skills, perhaps one of its most useful would probably be the Set Hat.
Activated by pressing RB + L (Forward) + X, Set Hat will have Dante toss Dr. Faust towards an enemy. When hit, the enemy will drop Red Orbs when attacked with other weapons aside from Dr. Faust. However, taking hits from Set Hat-affected enemies will have Dante lose Red Orbs as well. This type of risk-reward situation is very appropriate for Dante’s personality.
2 Sin Stinger (Skill, Sin Devil Trigger)
It’s one thing for Dante to unleash the Stinger and chase down an enemy trying to escape. However, it’s another thing entirely to have Sin Devil Trigger Dante use Sin Stinger to chase down an enemy, especially when fighting Vergil.
Triggered when using RB + L (Forward) + Y, Sin Stinger essentially lets Dante also charge onto a locked-on enemy, this time surrounded by various swords. This will immediately damage the enemy upon impact, but Dante can hold Y to keep the attack going as much as possible. This makes Sin Stinger a perfect tool to mow down into an enemy mob.
1 The Luce (Skill, Sin Devil Trigger)
Why even fight enemies up close in the Sin Devil Trigger form, when Sin Devil Trigger Dante can call forth his infernal power to mow down foes at a distance? With The Luce, Dante can simply follow the namesake of his father Sparda’s gun Luce and launch a barrage of lasers towards a target.
Players can simply do this by pressing and holding RB, which effectively will have Dante compress his wings and raze the earth with lasers. Players can also hold RB to keep the attack going for as long as the Devil Trigger Gauge can muster.
Devil May Cry 5 is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Amazon Luna.