Youngster Nero returns with his signature aggressive gameplay in Devil May Cry 5, this time around with yet another unique feature courtesy of the new Devil Breaker armaments. As the trailers showed, Nero has a personal investment in this Devil May Cry installment, as for some reason a mysterious entity ripped his Devil Bringer and started a new demonic invasion. Thanks to Nero’s partner Nico, he has access to Devil Breakers, new prosthetics with different abilities.
However, as Devil May Cry players would expect, the addition of these new limited-ammo Devil Breakers can add an entirely new dimension of gameplay absent in the other games. This new mechanic can easily make Nero a bit overwhelming for Devil May Cry 5 newcomers and other franchise savants. Thankfully, upgrading some of Nero’s core abilities can make playing with his combat style much easier.
10 Air Hike (Ability)
When it comes to an action-packed game like DMC 5, speed and mobility take the reins when it comes to securing the best combos and kills against bosses. In the case of Nero, Air Hike easily becomes an essential Ability to upgrade to help him achieve peak performance in the air.
By the time this is upgraded, Air Hike not only allows Nero to double jump, but it also makes aerial combos much easier for him to pull off. Thanks to Air Hike, Nero can access the full brunt of both his long-ranged and melee options, allowing him to fight more enemies with ease.
9 Wire Snatch 2 (Ability)
Players of Devil May Cry 4 would inevitably remember Nero and his iconic Devil Bringer just literally pulling enemies off the ground or off the air and into his range for a good beating. Called Snatch, this skill invariably vanishes as soon as the mysterious figure steals Nero’s Devil Bringer in DMC 5. Thankfully, Nico builds Devil Breakers for Nero to use, allowing him to use an alternate to Snatch, called Wire Snatch that has the same functionality.
Upgrading this to Wire Snatch 2 allows Nero to extend the range of this grabbing mechanism. This not only allows him to snatch enemies from further distances for combat purposes, but this also allows him to snatch items and collectibles from afar without much worry.
8 Enemy Step (Skill, General)
Whereas Air Hike gives Nero a double jump, Enemy Step will invariably change the way he plays with enemies in mid-air. As the name implies, pressing A while in mid-air with enemies allows Nero to jump on them to keep himself afloat.
Granted, Enemy Step is quite expensive to acquire, but this is easily worth the while when it comes to juggling foes and maintaining aerial combos. This is especially useful against bosses, which have a tendency to just whip out one minion after the other. Why not use them for infinite mid-air attacks, right?
7 Color Up 2 (Skill, Blue Rose)
Of all Nero’s weapons in Devil May Cry, it’s Blue Rose that remains his ever-trusty gun of choice when it comes to dispatching enemies from afar. However, Blue Rose is quite the effective gun should Nero need to keep enemies at bay or even juggle them. With the right toolkit, Nero can use Blue Rose as a means to get enemies to him for him to finish with his weapons.
One such skill would be Color Up 2, allowing Nero to press and hold X in order to load special bullets into the Blue Rose and charge it for a special attack. Despite the mundane nature of this skill, the ability to load a more powerful charged shot against an enemy is a great way to punish them from afar.
6 Roulette Spin (Skill, Red Queen)
While Air Hike allows Nero to double jump, he still needs to use certain abilities if he wants to maintain peak performance in mid-air. One such skill is Roulette Spin, a Red Queen skill that allows him to spin the sword to propel him in the air for much longer. A trick here is to use Y, Y, Pause, and then Y when jumping to give Nero just a bit more boost in the air.
However, this isn’t just something Nero could use to stay in the air similar to Dante. Offensively, he can use Roulette Spin to keep up with flying foes and ensure his juggles stay afloat. Defensively, he can use Roulette Spin to dodge pesky ground attacks.
5 Streak (Skill, Red Queen)
Exclusive to Nero’s Red Queen sword, Streak maximizes his lock-on capabilities by ensuring they never get to escape his sight. When activated, Streak allows Nero to rush towards an enemy he is currently targeting.
This skill is extremely crucial when it comes to combos, especially when Nero wants to keep up his Style Meter by dashing towards a new enemy or chasing another enemy who’s been trying to escape his wrath. With Streak, Nero can avoid relying too much on manual dashing to chase opponents.
4 Calibur (Skill, Red Queen)
While the Streak allows Nero to maintain his control over distance by zooming in towards any locked on target, this doesn’t necessarily work mid-air. For this to work with flying and floating opponents, Nero would have to instead purchase the more expensive Calibur upgrade.
Despite its cost, its perks as a mid-air Streak is worth the while. Not only does this give Nero the opportunity to never let opponents escape his aerial assaults. Rather, this gives Nero the opportunity to further improve his air game by giving him expanded options when it comes to chasing and mowing down enemies.
3 Payline (Skill, Red Queen)
Players who want to maximize Nero’s exposure in mid-air would probably want to try snagging Payline as a mid-air skill. This Red Queen attack is extremely fast and will expose an enemy’s weak point, leaving them vulnerable for Nero’s follow-up strikes - making this extremely useful against bosses that become Devil Arms.
However, what’s perhaps compelling about Payline is how it can also be used to interrupt enemy attacks. When timed properly, Payline not only leaves enemies wide open for attacks but also wouldn’t even let them do decent counter-attacks against Nero. To pull this off, Nero has to be in mid-air before using RB + LS + Y.
2 Combo B (Skill, Red Queen)
While the Red Queen does have a lot of combo options, it’s perhaps Combo B that can become Nero’s go-to when it comes to dishing out quick punishment towards foes. Pressing Y, Pause, Y in rapid succession will have Nero slam the sword on the ground to dish out damage to every demon that falls on its path.
However, while this can potentially deal a lot of damage to multiple foes, Combo B is best reserved when fighting much stronger opponents, particularly elite foes and bosses that tend to have tougher armor.
1 Split (Skill, Red Queen)
Granted, Nero likely has access to some combo finishers with the Red Queen upon the first few times he’s used it in the game. However, none could compare to the sheer appeal that Split has when it comes to giving Red Queen a stylish combo. When Nero locks on to an enemy in mid-air, he can press RB + LS Back + Y.
This way, Nero can simply grab an enemy from the air with the sword and just slam them back down. If Nero uses a Streak afterward, they can keep the combo attack going for good measure.
Devil May Cry 5 was released in March 2019 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.