DmC 2: Devil May Cry 2

DmC 2: The Awakening
DmC2: The Awakening is an action-horror-adventure game and a sequel to the reboot/alternate standalone title DmC: Devil May Cry. A large collaborative effort, it is developed by Capcom, its main publisher and IP owner, and Ninja Theory, the company behind its first installment's development; this also introduces two new creatives into the new installment, known by their aliases Lordy88Greg, a new writer, and CelesteLunaR53L, in character design.

The sequel introduces many new gameplay aspects alongside recognizable staples, such as combat: besides playing as Dante, there are three more playable characters. Free-roaming is now part of the game as exploration helps in expanding subplots and reaping secret rewards, complementing the unique Skill Tree upgrading system. Along with this are the customizable combat and puzzle-solving difficulties.

The Bloody Palace returns, with different challenges that range from combat, traversal, puzzle-solving, boss rush fights and even a mixture of all four in one challenge. Two new mini-games are also added: a rhythm game where Dante must perform in ‘The Sunken Opera House’ and is only done so in the main game; the second is called the Hunters’ Palace, a multiplayer game consisting of four players defeating as many enemies as possible, which is similar to the Resident Evil’s The Mercenaries.

The story is set four days after the fall of Mundus, the self-imposed demon emperor, and after the defeat of Vergil, who revealed his true intentions to replace the fallen monarch. Dante remains as the main protagonist, accompanied by his best friend, Kat, a psychic and witch, as they try to stop an untethered horde of demons who are taking advantage of the power vacuum and other new forces that will either defend or will bring the end to the Human Realm.

Now taking place in a new area, they travel to a county called Wolfhaven, with its three towns, each with its unique setting and enemy encounters: Angelavale, the main hub for where the characters can have respite; Rochenmore, a more suburban area; and Edenville, an older town with a mountainous forest and where the Paradise mansion still stands.

Vergil, the main antagonist, is guided by a mysterious scholar named Dr. Arkham, as they plan to summon the Sky Tower, an ancient and powerful marvel that can be used to direct its power by those who have fulfilled its requirements. Dr. Arkham’s daughter, Mary Ann, seeks vengeance against him as she finds that he committed several murders, including the murder of her mother, and hunts down several demons along her way.

During Dante’s and Kat’s adventure throughout the county, they are helped by a secret but dwindling group, the Vie De Marli, and other entities that seek to eradicate the evil powers surrounding both the county and its spreading malignance. Many of these characters range from humans to gods: Commissioner Gaiman Morrison, an undercover agent of the Vie De Marli who climbed the police ranks to gather intel and has become a de facto leader of the current police group in Limbo City; the prophet Phineas, who had assisted Dante before, continues to convince several demons who formerly serve under Mundus’ court to redeem themselves to build a new world; the mysterious Nemain, a pub manager in the town of Angelavale in Wolfhaven, who shares folklore information in exchange for Dante to perform in her pub ‘The Sunken Opera House’, among many others.

Besides demons, angels are introduced as one of the main antagonists in this sequel. As Mundus’ downfall reveals that a truce was formed during the Ancient War to grant Mundus exception, in exchange to making sure no Nephalem could be born or survive under his dominion, the angels finally find an opportunity to bring Judgment to the world. A seraphim named Beatrice takes the chance to face Dante, wanting to eradicate Eva’s offsprings, condemning his mother as a traitor and a blasphemy. She also plans to assassinate Vergil and patiently waits for the moment to strike even if the Sky Tower is summoned.

Gameplay Summary:
Although mainly an action, hack-and-slash combat game, the sequel introduces other video game genres to create a pastiche and complement the overall experience and story of the second installment. The game borrows elements of RPG in upgrading, item management and signifiers in enemy's reactions against the player's attacks; elements of horror, particularly eldritch-horror and survival horror, when it comes to the design of the enemies and certain characters' tactics against them, among other tropes that supplements their actions. The sequel introduces four main playable characters, with each playable character mechanically unique in both play style and sub-genre, both a first in the standalone franchise and the entire Devil May Cry franchise.

Dante, as the main playable character, maintains the signature combative nature of the game. However, the two playable characters, Mary Ann and ______, are also combative but each are played with their unique gameplay styles. Kat, also playable, is the only one that plays in a survival horror genre in a specific segment of the game, using stealth and magic, as well as with a fantasy-item management twist when it comes to combat support with Dante.

Throughout the game’s progression, Dante’s combat will sometimes be supported by another character as an A.I. The player can create a combo with that second character and even switch to them from time to time during combat. All four characters will band together in the last arc of the game's story and the player is given that opportunity to switch and play all four characters in combat.

Along with the different combat styles and mechanics, the game also allows players to choose the combat difficulty:


 * from “Tourist” - easy,
 * “Traveller” - normal,
 * “Adventurer” - hard.

The unique aspect of this combat difficulty setting is the rewards reaped from each battle: the harder the difficulty, the higher the number of rewards are given to the player. The higher difficulty also allows players the Bloody Palaces. Most of the Bloody Palaces are hidden across the county and finding one unlocks it automatically. Each Bloody Palace has a unique challenge for Dante, whether as a solo character or accompanied. Besides combative challenges, traversal or platforming, puzzle-solving and boss rush challenges are also found here. Bloody Palaces become available to play outside the main game.

Another customizable asset is puzzle-solving. Players can choose a puzzle-solving difficulty that reveals a myriad of puzzles unique to one difficulty:


 * “Armchair” - easy,
 * “Sleuth” - normal and,
 * “Investigator” - hard.

For example, in an easy difficulty, only the linear/main storyline puzzles are available to be solved. Choosing a higher difficulty tweaks the main storyline puzzles, adds a few more that the characters can find throughout the county and allows players to find more information about the county of Wolfhaven. The normal and hard difficulty in puzzle-solving also increases the rewards given to the player.

Because of this difficulty system, rewards reaped will be smaller in an easy level in both the combat and puzzle-solving difficulties and therefore, upgrading characters will be difficult; however, in an easy combat level, even the most challenging enemies are survivable. In a higher difficulty, more rewards are given to upgrade and purchase items to defeat tougher, smarter and more numerous enemies, with boss fights being severe in the highest difficulty.

To upgrade and purchase, the Divinity Statue, a staple in the Devil May Cry franchise, returns. This time, however, the Divinity Statue is given a prominent lore. Depending on which character’s story, she will not appear until the plot reveals her. Now given the name Nishkara, she provides the characters their much needed upgrades for the character’s Skill Trees and purchasing items, as well as cryptic hints against enemies and puzzles that haven't been solved. By trading Red Orbs/War's Ichor, unique, supportive orb items are purchased. Proud Souls are traded for the character’s unlockable abilities and even unique movesets for a Combat Style to improve their Skill Tree.

Besides combat and puzzle-solving, platforming levels add challenging segments in regular combat, puzzle-solving and boss fight levels. In tandem with this is another major element introduced to the sequel: its free-roam mechanic. Maintaining its linearity, the player can only roam an area as allowed by the story progression. As the story progresses and a new area is introduced, the previous area remains open for exploration, until players reach the final segment and are given one last opportunity to re-explore areas before proceeding. This helps in completing puzzles in higher difficulty and finding Bloody Palaces.

Lastly, there are three minigames available, with the first only playable in the main game but can be returned to before the final segment of the game: the first is a rhythm game, a first in the franchise, where Dante performs with Nemain's band the Imbolc Swing and plays music for her, in exchange for rewards and storyline information. The second minigame is the Bloody Palaces, which requires a lot of free roaming to unlock and become available outside the main game. Rewards given depend on if the score matches or surpasses the required score from a scoreboard.

Lastly is a standalone minigame akin to the Mercenaries of the Resident Evil franchise, the Hunters' Palace. This minigame allows co-op and multiplayer, up to four players. The Hunters' Palace has players choosing from a selection of characters to defeat as many generated opponents as possible.

Besides the main four characters, a few more characters who aren't playable in the main storyline are now available:


 * Nemain
 * Commissioner Morrison
 * Beatrice
 * Vergil
 * Beatrice
 * Vergil

Costumes and specific weapons are also available and matched to each outfit for the character. Up to 10 different arenas are available and a ten-minute timer counts down. Defeating an opponent gives players an extra five seconds while taking a timer littered throughout the arena rewards fifteen seconds. Bonus timers multiply each five seconds on the number of opponents defeated consecutively, until fifteen seconds of the bonus timer runs out. Scores depend on the number of opponents defeated, as well as how quickly and uniquely a boss is defeated in the arena. The score also tallies how much time is still left if all opponents for that arena are defeated.

Plot
Story summary: "A few days after Mundus' downfall, Dante and Kat are summoned by Commissioner Morrison, regarding powerful demonic activity on the mountainous province of Wolfhaven, where it so happens where the twins' old manor stands to this day. As they hunt down the horrific horde responsible for a massacre, they unearth the history of an ancient civilization, a powerful tower and possibly Vergil's new plan."


 * TBA

Main Protagonists/Main Playable Characters:

 * Dante - the rough, darkly-humored but carefree main protagonist of the game, Dante is a Nephilim, born of the unique parentage of having an angel mother and a demon father. Besides looking for and wanting to stop Vergil and his schemes, he discovers more of the world now free from its previous demonic emperor and journeys to refine his purpose even more. With emphasis on combative, action-adventure levels with open-world traversal for side missions (side puzzles, demon hunts, Bloody Palaces) and sometimes with supportive elements from Kat on certain situations. He upgrades by trading Red Orbs/War's Ichor for items, unlockable abilities and Combat Styles, whilst trading Proud Souls to improve his Skill Tree. The Skill Tree affects his overall gameplay, from his attacks, to unlocked abilities and weapon handling, to the effectiveness of the Combat Style. Default Skills: Precision 50, Strength 90, Harmony 22, Durability 89, Acceleration 46.
 * Kat - a psychic and "witch", Kat is in a unique position to both defend humanity and fight powerful beings that continue to belittle her kind. Her gameplay is more on survival horror, emphasizing on psychological and supernatural dynamics between her and the demons who prowl for prey. Item management and crafting, stealth, puzzles, Psyche meter and the choice to approach combat wisely. Gives supportive elements to Dante's combat in certain situations. She upgrades by trading Red Orbs/War's Ichor to unlock abilities and for items or ingredients for her craft and item management, whilst trading Proud Souls to improve her Skill Tree. Improving her Skill Tree affects her Skills: Tolerance 24, Mental Stability 48, Crafting 30, Effectiveness 44, Harmony 35.
 * Lady - bore witness to her mother's murder from the hands of her father, Mary Ann "Lady" chases after her father and is indiscriminate with any creature who isn't human that tries to block her path. A blend of action and survival, Lady's armaments are destructive but run on finite ammo and supplies. Using her weapons and skills, she has a choice of directly facing the demons or hunting them down through stealth, picking her prey patiently whilst not becoming prey in the process. Scavenging for supplies and maintaining her motor bike, which serves as a holder of her gear, she at first utilizes a work desk to upgrade, maintain and craft her weapons and first aid. Nishkara, the entity known as the Divinity Statue, soon introduces herself and aids Lady further, by trading the Red Orbs she’s found for Green Orbs and Holy Water, and the Proud Souls to further enhance Lady’s Skill Tree. Default Skills: Tolerance 34, Crafting 30, Harmony 26, Precision 70, Combat 50.
 * ______ - born from very unnatural circumstances and carrying his guilt as his only sense of direction, he nevertheless moves forward to help defend against demonic and angelic opponents. Combative in nature but stylistically different from Dante, he also must survive different environments and navigate his way to his goals (platforming, puzzles and combat). Utilizing speed and long-range attacks, _____ races his way to ensure Vergil’s schemes are foiled. Precision 67, Strength 90, Harmony 48, Durability 89, Acceleration 79.

Main Antagonists/Bonus Playable Characters:

 * Vergil
 * Dr. Arkham
 * Beatrice/"Trish"
 * Demons
 * Angels

Supporting Characters/Bonus Playable Characters:

 * Commissioner Gaiman Morrison
 * Nemain
 * Nishkara, The Divinity Statue
 * ...more to come soon....
 * ...more to come soon....
 * ...more to come soon....

Demonic Enemies
This is a list of all the demonic enemy types in DmC 2: The Awakening, from the lowest tier to the upper echelon/Boss Fights.

Low Tier:
The Revenants - weak but adamant entities that grow branch-like tendrils and made from the corpses of the county’s victims, they rise again to serve the demons that rule the area it inhabits. They are similar to zombies or the idea of the undead, with some notable exceptions: for instance, their creation involves being collected and put in fleshy cocoons or husks; these husks act as incubators to transform these corpses as monsters for the demons’ to use; the husks in turn are placed to closed-off areas, or deep inside public structures.

Once they are released from these husks, they are completely transformed; they can become amalgamated masses of conjoined body parts or even malformed entirely to the point they are unrecognizable from more human-like or humanoid zombies, with some even missing heads, which has been recognized as weak points for zombies.

Another notable difference from the typical zombie is their self-awareness; they are aware that they have died and are reacting against their abnormal resurrection. They express shock and sadness, among a myriad of other negative emotions, with most of the Revenant wailing and begging to end their suffering. Because of this, they approach the player for pity and desperation, yet their transformation makes them involuntarily “attack” anyone nearby, becoming unwilling hostiles.

These creatures are slow and are quite predictable, but reveal how their undead nature made them very resilient. Despite being weak to all types of attacks, they have a few involuntary defensive mechanisms: body parts that are torn or destroyed are replaced by parasitic-looking organisms that, depending on their roles, are used offensively or to create ways to obstruct the target or create more amalgamated Revenants; unlike zombies, they do not bite their victims. Instead they will keep moving forward their target until they can embrace them, begging to pass away; as they move closer, branch-like tendrils spring out to slow down their target and paralyze them, until the Revenant surrounds their target and transforms them to create another cocoon, hence turning the target into one of the Revenants.

Most of the Revenants are found in larger indoor spaces, like malls, subways, etc, where the Prion, responsible for propagating the corpses into Revenants, will not be disturbed in doing their activities. Furthermore, because of the unpredictable weather patterns brought upon by the powers of both demons and angels, the Prion must drag and bring the bodies inside to lessen their exposure, ensuring a better transformation from fresh or undisturbed corpses.

Because of this, Revenant encounters are scant, especially in outdoor or public places across the three towns of Wolfhaven County. It’s only when the players head inside buildings to fulfill a goal do their numbers increase and the process of their cultivation is revealed.

These are the types of Revenants:

Stygians - the regular mooks from the first installment, the Stygians return as among the regular low-level demons that target the player/s, with a sense of vengeance as their fallen monarch Mundus resulted in their unstable physicality, hinting a connection to their master. Although they come in varieties, Stygians do have common features, such as their cracked porcelain doll faces revealing black demonic fluid, with plating and armor encasing their spindly bodies and giant bladed weapons grafted to their arms.
 * 1) Lurch - the most identical to a zombie, they are released from the husks as individual undead, shambling towards their target. They are the ones mostly able to sensibly speak, pleading for help and even dissuading anyone, and the player/s, from coming closer, realizing that they are no longer human. Their main “attack” is to embrace their target by shambling closer, the purpose of which is to turn them into a Revenant. If any body part is torn away or destroyed, the parasites that replace them appear like branch-like growths that help extend their reach to the target or inject paralytic toxins in their targets. Because of their shambling and uncoordinated movement, they are slow and will sometimes walk in a direction they don’t want. Even when downed, they will crawl until they get up or will crawl and grasp onto their target, clinging unto them to slow the player’s movement, enough time for another Revenant or demon to assault them.
 * 2) Amalgam - the result of having too many corpses in one husk, this larger undead are agonizingly transformed into a wailing mass of twisted, conjoined faces and branch-like parts, appearing like a many-headed demonic tree, that clumsily yet effectively still move toward their target. Unlike the Lurch, they do hop from their spot to get closer to their target or rush against their target as a type of offensive. Despite this, because of their uncoordinated limbs, they are unable to accurately get to their target and rely on their size as obstruction. Nevertheless, when enough of their parts are torn or destroyed, thin parasitic needle-like growths would suddenly spring out to surround their mass as a defensive mechanism, each containing a paralytic toxin to maim their target that’s within reach.
 * 3) Cadavers - unlike the actual corpses of people, this one refers to a mature Revenant that was unable to escape the husk it should’ve released. The Cadaver are remnants of the husk that will eventually grow to surround the area, whether as reusable husks for new Revenants or as active obstructions, capable of catching new targets despite being immobile. Their parasitic hair-like tendrils, although slow, will grow more than six feet in length to reach their targets, once they’re seen. Still, they are the easiest to destroy as they are stuck with limited movement.
 * 4) Prion - born from the curse of very violent, sudden deaths at the hands of demons, these demonic creatures bloom from the corpses in which they shall use. The Prion are crawling creatures in charge of propagating more of its kind by creating the husks on the very corpse it was born from. Significant in the spread of Revenants, they arrange the corpses strategically in a lot of indoor places that can impede the targets’ progression overall. They can sometimes be seen laying or arranging their husks, before leaving for the husks to incubate. The Prion is the only Revenant that moves quicker and attacks directly when necessary, by jumping onto their target and digging their claws to their skin, before hopping away to avoid retaliation. They appear crab-like, except their limbs, which resemble thick human-like arms, combined with clawed pincers. Like the Revenant, if one of their limbs are damaged, a parasitic-like growth replaces it, this time a long tentacle with a scorpion-like tip to sting with a paralytic toxin or slash at its enemy.

They return to accompany all the demons that will attack the players. Though they are the easiest to kill, they come in hordes and their attack patterns can complement with other demons’ attacking styles.

These are the types of Stygians:


 * 1) Dark Stygians - once the Lesser Stygians, the dark fluid encased within their porcelain and plating had spilled and now make most of their entire appearance and abilities. Still the weakest Stygian, they nevertheless have an unsettling bearing and appearance to them, in addition to being the most quickfooted Stygian. Their broken porcelain heads vibrate when they are near their target, readying their one strike attack. Though they have grafted spiked clubs as weapons, the dark fluid oozing out of their plating indicates its harmful nature and seems to be boiling hot. Streaks of their dark fluid would spray across whenever they strike, lengthening their attack’s reach. But as the weakest, the Dark Stygians take the fewest hits and go down, but their numbers can overwhelm the player and their close proximity could serve as a distraction for other enemies to assault the player. It’s best to be on the move whilst mowing down these Stygians, as their attacks can momentarily halt combo progressions and possibly give the enemies enough time for their attacks.
 * 2) Broken Stygians - These were the regular Stygians whose porcelain doll faces are now slightly cracked, revealing a longer, downturned horn made from its own dark fluid, dripping down its face and pale plated armor. They have become taller, but hunchbacked in posture, shuffling much slower. They strike once, but with a heavier weight to it, using their grafted giant razor blades, also tinged with their dark fluid. Once a while, they stop and hack up dark fluid, spewing the harmful liquid across the ground. Despite rarely doing this, they usually puke the fluid when near their target and its only indication is how unwell its gestures are before retching. With not a lot of defensive manuevers, players can easily attack the Broken Stygian and dodge its heavy attack and spewing as they make recognizable gestures. However, Broken Stygians act like sponges to attacks and are a bit enduring, making them act as bait for attacks whilst other enemies can come and overwhelm the player. They are good for stringing combos and pulling them in with other enemies for more damage and kills, allowing the player to add more points after defeating them.
 * 3) Ravaging Stygians - Once called the Ravagers who wielded chainsaws, they now have dark fluids spilled from their gleaming helmets and onto their chainsaws. These tall Stygians appear more manicked versions than their former counterparts during Mundus’ reign; they come screeching words of desiring to kill the player/s and wildly waving their chainsaws as they come charging towards their target. With their berserk mode as their only behavior, they will not stop waving and striking their chainsaws even as each hit lands, until finally impaling their target as their last attack in this long chain of attacks. They do momentarily take a break to revive their saws, but once they do, they come attacking in this berserk style once again. Since the Ravaging Stygians can take damage without stopping, not even when they’ve stopped to restart their saws, it’s best to keep an eye on their movement and take advantage of when they stop their berserk mode. Using stronger weapons to parry or using evasion and then attacking can help in whittling down their health.
 * 4) Scourge Stygians - These were Elite Stygians who grafted the parts from the Butcher their circular saws to their arms and their glass spheres that houses a humanoid head at their backs, indicating how they’ve likely murdered the Butcher demons to take these parts to themselves. Tall and horned, with its armor and plating resembling an insectoid form, the Scourge Stygians seem to have retained their intelligence and calm unlike the other Stygians; similar to the Ravaging Stygians, they, too, are able to speak, murmuring hostilities at their targets. The dark fluid encased within their armors are also maintained much better, as it now mostly fills the glass sphere on their backs, making their appearance cleaner. They only have one type of attack, which is rushing forward with full force using their circular saws and chasing their target with it; however, after this attack, they are left vulnerable as they try to restart their saws once again, leaving their dark glass spheres open for attacks. Although they can still be attacked on their main bodies, the dark spheres depowers their saws and spills their dark fluid, making them helpless and easier to defeat.

Mormolyca - an all-female group with serpentine features, they are the followers of the queen empusai, Lamia. Appearing as women with serpentine bodies and hoods similar to cobras, they also have arms with thick claws and their mouths expand wider to reveal two long fangs to bite or spit venom onto their target.

Accompanied by fog and snow, as Lamia stole [**redacted for now, story spoiler**]..., her minions have some control and manipulation of the weather around Rochenmore. Using fog to phase their bodies as immaterial for a short time, attacking them head on is useless. They will also use this opportunity to do mitosis, an asexual propagation to increase their numbers. Attacking them while they’re still immaterial and during mitosis quickens their splitting.

Using artillery or magic that has light, wind or ice dissipates their fog or freezes them, and renders them physical for a regular fight. However, this magical ability is taken away after the defeat of Lamia, and returns the crown and egg. With this, the Mormolyca use their default attacks.

Aside from their physical attacks—such as claw attacks, whipping their serpentine bodies, coiling to suffocate their enemies or lunging to bite and flail them around before throwing them away—they have two long-range attacks: one reveals their ability to spit their venom, which lowers the efficacy of magic or the Trigger’s gauge; their second are the screeches, which discombobulates the player, rendering them unable to perceive their surroundings for a short period, enough time for the Mormolyca to attack.

Despite their quick and clever tactics, attacking as a group and sometimes with other types of demons, the Mormolyca’s health isn’t resilient and relies on outwitting the player in battle. Crowd-controlling weapons are highly recommended before going for harder-hitting weapons to finish them off. The default artillery may help in whittling down their health and in preventing their mitosis, with/out their [**redacted**] magic. However, upgrading the player’s default artillery and using more powerful artillery is a must to finish them off faster, especially in a battle full of other quickfooted demons.

The Mormolyca are first found in Rochenmore, able to wield the elemental powers [**redacted**}..., with only a few Mormolyca banding with other demons across the county because of animosity towards the protagonists. They are the few demons who can speak and show their personalities to the player characters; they are arrogant and proud during the time Lamia has become powerful and taken the magical items from [**redacted**]. It’s after Lamia’s defeat that they are more hostile and insulting the characters, swearing violent activities upon them.

Hunter Demons - once the bounty hunters under Mundus' rule, are now only hunting their targets for their own gains. They appear as large figures and come in a variety of hulking, primate-like or simian-like biologies with jet-black fur and skin, a gaunt face with a deep scar that runs down across it; it is completely missing a nose or any analogous organ to it, only an open nasal cavity remains, which is its actual weak spot. They have metal harnesses over their torsos and have holsters that contain a grappling gun and a knife.

In battle, Hunter Demons primarily use their knives or daggers to slice at the player, or their free hand to swat at the player to momentarily stun them. Their grappling hooks can be used for their environmental advantage or to hook the player closer to their range. Hunter Demons are very agile and will also have leaping attacks to try to close in on the player. When their health is low or close to defeat, they spew black fog to hide themselves whilst they throw their knife at the player, making it circle around before returning.

They appear to battle the player as either a lone demon or in a group, and are prone to do surprise attacks more; however, because of their occupation, they are competing against other demons or opponents to defeat the player to collect them for their own gains or reward. Thus, Hunter Demons can be used to take advantage of in a group setting, where they will sometimes bat away or strike against the player’s opponents just so the Hunter Demon can defeat the player all to themselves. With this, an area can be cleared of any cluttering demons that would usually attack the player as a collective.

As they were once a boss fight in the first installment, the Hunter Demons’ hides are very unyielding and are actually the hardest to take down. Their strikes take away from the player’s health a lot, especially at the hardest difficulty.

Despite this, there is a predictability to their moves and they barely defend their weak spot, the nasal cavity, easily stunning them or making them evade the player to recuperate. Repeatedly damaging their nasal cavity will render them completely defenseless and open for the player to attack it. Heavy-hitting or very damage-inducing weapons are a must here so the Hunter Demons are not given any chance to stand up. If they do, they will use the black fog and their knife to be thrown at the player; with this, the player has to parry or evade the knife as it circles and tries to hit its target. The Hunter Demon’s black fog eventually dissipates and the usual battle recommences, until defeating it.

Hunter Demons appear randomly, but their first appearance is on Rochenmore. Because of their nature and skills as hunters, they will initiate a surprise attack on the player especially during times or places where it can appear peaceful or quiet. They can sometimes join a horde of demons, sometimes entering the battle much later when the horde of demons have lessened and just when the battle is almost over. They would even be hostile to other fellow Hunters and demons, as they want to take the lead characters in exchange for rewards. The Hunter Demons are among the few demons who speak and show their personalities, shouting against other demons to stay out of their way, or promising to obtain the head of the player character.

Dreamrunners & Drekavacs - Dreamrunners, and their more powerful counterpart the Drekavac, are the silent and agile, dual sword wielding demon warriors. They were once the personal assassins and bodyguards of Mundus, but after he was overthrown, the Dreamrunners and Drekavacs have chosen to serve Vergil and his schemes. However, there seems to be plots of mutiny or overall doubts in having Vergil as their leader. They share such opinions with their commanding officers, the Prideful Ones, who have differing opinions of Vergil. Nevertheless, they are united for one goal: the defeat of Dante and bringing his body for his brother’s machinations.

These sword wielding demons are agile, able to teleport and outrun the player, and can counter attacks and projectiles. With the Drekavac in particular, it can even block and parry heavy-hitting weapons. The Dreamrunners are identified with pale bluish masks, while the Drekavac have bright red masks, and both have humanoid figures that wear long skirts under tassets around their waists.

They are highly-resilient and are very responsive to every move from the player. Evasion and parrying/deflecting the player’s weapons is among their most effective ways in putting them in place when the player is too eager to finish off a Dreamrunner or a Drekavac, with the Drekavac being especially difficult in the most difficult mode. In addition, their teleporting skills are an advantage to cross distances and surprise attack players in any direction, making them very cunning enemies.

To defeat them is a test of the player’s skill set and quick-thinking, and taking advantage of the small window of opportunity the Dreamrunners and Drekavacs let slip. The player can take the opportunity to deal damage after evading or blocking a surprise attack from either a Dreamrunner or Drekavac, from after they teleport from their portals. They can even be knocked midair after they finish their pattern for a light attack and, while stunned midair, is open to attacks. Keeping them aloft until they eventually block or parry the player’s attack is one of the most effective ways of dealing a combo against them; though Drekavacs recover faster and would retaliate with a heavy hit that involves plunging their blade on the player and forcing them to the ground. Charged-up heavy-hitting weapons break their guards/defenses and will allow the player a small chance to strike.

In all of this, the core method of defeating Dreamrunners and Drekavacs is to not allow them to return in a battle stance or to not let them take their breather after an attack pattern. Keeping an eye on their movements and quickly reacting is essential in landing any strike against them, until their defeat.

They make their first appearance during Kat and Dante’s travel towards Rochenmore; riding a borrowed paramilitary van, they are ambushed by demons, with the Dreamrunners among them. They are also found guarding over Roch Lake, where Lamia has imprisoned [**redacted for now, story spoiler**]... They guard over the creature alongside the Mormolyca, however, their numbers are not as large. They are almost everywhere in one of the lavish habitats in one of the Circles from Hell, and, with the Dreamrunners, among the prisons working alongside Hell Vanguards. They are also loyally nearby the three commanding Pride, ready at their beck and call.

Hell Vanguards & Hell Wardens - the guardians of prisons, oubliettes and panopticons in certain circles of Hell, they are in charge of guarding and policing many of its circles’ captive and imprisoned. With Hell Wardens in charge of certain levels of these prisons, the Hell Vanguards under their command roam its floors and keep an eye upon the incarcerated, or any intruder. They are encountered when Dante [**redacted for now, spoiler story**]..., following the escaped intruders into the Human Realm.

Although possessing similar qualities, such as being humanoid in appearance, floating tall figures with long limbs and a white face with no other features other than lidless, wide eyes that spark when it spots their target, they differ in their costume, weapon and attack patterns, and size; the Wardens being much larger, twice the Vanguards and would likely fill an ordinary hallway. Despite their size, a Warden will be the only one to appear in their set, with a slew of Vanguards under its command.

Vanguards are recognized for their long brown cloaks, their distinct raspy voices when expressing themselves that “vibrate” their white faces and their weapon of choice, a knout, a type of whip that they use to inflict pain upon the incarcerated. They are quick opponents that patiently look for openings before striking once and floating away to evade retaliation. Despite this, their attack patterns are predictable and are easily defeated. They use their numbers moreso to collectively inflict damage on the player.

Wardens are larger versions of the Vanguards, with red cloaks, loud artificial, siren-like sounds that “vibrate” their faces to express themselves and wield two large cleavers against their opponents. With their blaring sounds to command the Vanguards, the Wardens would let them attack first while it evades the player. Only when it has found an opportunity does it deliver two devastating chopping strikes, before retreating away to let the Vanguards or other demons attack the player.

Although generally weaker, both Vanguards and Wardens are very quick to evade and can be a nuisance in the fight if the player is surrounded by many other types of demons. The use of artillery to create damage against these enemies at long-range is highly useful, as well as utilizing heavy-hitting weapons and timing attacks, especially since both demons have a predictable moveset.

As guardians over the imprisoned and tortured, they are first encountered in the panopticon section [**redacted for now, spoiler**]. The Vanguards and Wardens make up most of the enemies encountered here, and because of...[**redacted for now, spoiler**]. Despite this, they appear less than most of the low-level demons across Wolfhaven County, though not as less or context-dependent as the Revenants.

The Deadly Sins/Sinners (Low Tier):
The deadly Sins, or Sinners as they are sometimes referred, are a more specialized group of demons under the command of an Upper Echelon demon. Despite their loyalty, they are known to have individual opinions and will plot dissent if deemed necessary. This is especially true to the more powerful Pride, exempted as part of the Upper Echelon, acting as strategists and commanders of the Sinners, and as the Boss Fights to players (see Demonic Enemies High Tier).

A. Wrath - explosive, shuddering tall creatures, with exposed beating hearts and churning intestines; its large bloodshot eyes want nothing else but to look for its opponent, a mouth sewn shut that, out of anger, will be clawed open and scream. The Wrath initiate their attacks in a highly volatile, unpredictable attack pattern, along with a boiling substance that would spill from the pulsating growths from its ruptured skin, or from imploding oneself.

They sweep and attack everything out of rage, which half the time won’t make contact with their target. They have these pulsating growths that bulge on different body parts and will explode, after causing it to rupture from repeated attacks, causing the creature’s demise. It explodes a boiling substance at close proximity and will remain within the area in a short period of time, so while the explosion gives heavy damage, the boiling substance spilled on the ground will continue to damage the player if they’re still in its radius.

This also causes "friendly fire" against their fellow demons, but doesn't cause effective damage. This can create momentary openings against other enemies for the player to attack.

The Wrathful ones are easy enough to defeat because of their behavior, being prone to raging blindly, and susceptibility from long-range attacks; their unpredictable attacks are a nuisance, however, as they either will attack their target while they still have their sight or, as their rage mounts high, renders them to desperately throw their bodies across the area in a volatile, physical tantrum. The latter attack pattern may not hit the player but they will fill the area, making little space to maneuver around against other enemies.

Even when they haven’t immolated from their own ruptured parts, the boiling substances they leave behind will also leave the player lesser areas to maneuver, until it dissolves. The best way to defeat Wrath is to be patient and outwit them, using long-ranged weapons or artillery to rupture grown, pulsating parts quickly so you can move on to other enemies, taking advantage of some of the Wrath's indiscriminate abilities.

The Wrathful demons are introduced during ...[**redacted for now, spoiler**], chained and rabid, under the command of Hunter Demons. The number of Wrathful demons that appear depends on the difficulty chosen.

They are part of the legion of Aeshma, demon of wrath.

B. Gluttony - appearing at the front as a giant, floating, jagged-toothed maw that shows itself on floors, walls or from thin air, is in actuality composed of smaller root-looking creatures attached underneath its maw.

They appear from these areas at a peripheral or from corners, gradually opening their maws before they dash across to another spot before disappearing. The player has a window of opportunity to dodge their dashing attack while it’s opening its mouth. The best way to attack Gluttony is to go behind to damage the root creatures, or underneath it after it does its aerial dash attack.

Otherwise, its maw is invincible and will retaliate; during their dashing attack, the target must go behind or underneath to attack the root creatures. It is not a difficult nor highly-offensive enemy, but it does its best to halt the player’s chain of attacks and provide an opportunity for their fellow demons to defeat the target. Guns provide a useful tactic against these highly-mobile enemies, but more powerful firearms or weaponry, such as heavy-hitting demonic weapons, can defeat them faster.

The Glutton make their first appearance during their siege on Mallet Castle, trying to reach survivors inside by phasing through its walls. The number of Gluttons increase when choosing a higher difficulty, though Gluttons are still noticeably easier to take out.

They are the weaponized flies of Beelzebub, demon of gluttony.

C. Envy - a lone, humming entity that mostly remains at corners, merely identified with its dark, translucent veil and silhouette, eyes that glow brighter as it nears or sees the target. The area dims to make things difficult to see and would use its multiple, shadowy hands that reach for its victims.

Besides the usual Stygians, it is usually accompanied by Greedy and Slothful creatures. Its recognizable attack involves dimming the area’s brightness or clarity, proving it difficult for the player to see any of its enemies. It then goes to their target after a few seconds and halves the contents of the Trigger State’s meter, only then does it pull away the ‘dimming’ of the area as well as pull back to a distant corner. Envy will continue to deplete the Trigger State meter until it latches onto the Vitality/Life meter, taking away portions of it until it successfully depletes the meter on its next attack, defeating the player. Envy backs away after this to let its cohorts continue to damage their target.

Difficult to pin down, the best way to handle Envy is to be aware of its location, as it does stay away from the fight most of the time. Envy will defend itself when the player gets too successful in parting the translucent veiling protecting the creature, which is actually a smooth-skinned, faceless humanoid-like creature, with only its hazy-milk colored, glassy, protruding eyes as its defining feature.

Its best way of defending itself is unleashing a multitude of hands, outstretching themselves to push the player on the other end of the area, effectively creating distance and making the player open for attack from the other enemies. Despite its high consequence, the player can dodge or even parry this defense and can continue unveiling Envy. Once the veiling is completely torn away, attacks can go directly on its skin to defeat it.

The best way to survive Envious’ dimming ability is to keep attacking the other enemies, as the player’s weaponry gives flashes of light or glow, giving the area enough light to discern enemies incoming (though one can use Lock On but against Envy's dimming, there's a delay in response as it’s minimally affected by its ability). As Envy takes a few seconds before it latches onto the player, you can actually still hunt down Envy across the area, although getting close to Envy causes it to perform its latching attack instead of defending itself, so it’s best to use these seconds to locate Envy instead.

Envy gives an auditory cue that it will begin to latch onto the target via its humming getting louder; once they growl, the player has a second to dodge or jump out of the previous spot before Envy could completely overpower the player. Once captured, the Trigger State can repel Envy from the player. Parrying is possible but very difficult as it requires the right timing. Despite Envy’s formidable tactics, it isn’t the most important enemy in the area and their own life meter is not as long, and so is quick to defeat after unveiling it.

The Envious make their first appearance in Mary Ann’s/Lady’s campaign, in the abandoned town of Edenville. In a set of demonic enemies, the Envious appear at a maximum of three, which is the default in the hardest difficulty.

They are the shadow legions of the demon of envy, Alabasandria.

D. Greed - very fast, stoat-like creatures that scurry, hunt and evade, they are also identified with their foldable frills containing quills; with long, swiping tails and eyes that glow bright in the dark. They guard an Envious creature, alongside Slothful creatures, but would be seen scouting ahead in certain areas and even using ambush tactics to surround their target.

Though they lack powerful attacks and are easy to kill, they are quick in movement, are good trackers, strategically outnumbering the player and will actually steal Supporting Items from their target, like Red Orbs, with a sting or swipe of their tails. Its attack patterns are quite diverse: from up close, it will swipe their front claws and even do back kicks as a way to push away the target’s attacks; and, of course, the tail-whip attacks, which they do when the target has their back on one of the Greeds. They also perform tail-whips at mid-range, as well as a tail-swipe to sweep the target’s legs.

Their long-range are projectile quills, when they unfurl their frills on their neck and shoot four quills from it, before and after running a good distance; they do this while their fellow Greeds are attacking the player as a form of distraction. Their deadliest attack, however, is them lunging at the player and taking a bite out of them, clinging onto their body unless the player parries or does a Trigger State to repel them.

To defeat Greedy enemies is a test of the player's whole skill set, preferred styles and techniques as well as great patience, timing and being able to keep an eye on all these quick footed creatures. One of the best recommended tactics against these are crowd-controlling weaponry; once they are within the target’s preferred range, they can be attacked with heavier weapons in the target’s arsenal. Remain alert as they will switch tactics to find openings, especially while using heavy-hitting weapons.

The Greedy are introduced in Mary Ann’s/Lady’s story and campaign, [**redacted for now, spoiler**]. The Greedy are, by default, the most numerous demons to appear, alongside another low-tier demon, the Stygian. They become more difficult and quicker on higher difficulties.

They are the special thieving servants of Mammon, demon of avarice.

E. Sloth - slow, humanoid creatures that drag themselves like a parade around Envy, their hunched figures carry a large, grey growth that will gradually open up to make a dissonant chanting sound, summoning demons, from common mooks, a Sinner and even a Hunter Demon.

Despite its slow gait and almost inoffensive role, Sloth will snarl at their target while being attacked. The snarling sound increases in volume, which will cue the player it will attack, using an outward swinging arm attack. While summoning more demons to their party, Sloth is an easy prey and will likely not be able to fulfill summoning two more if the player is quick enough to defeat them; this, however, reveals the Sloths’ very resilient hide. This makes them long to put down, putting the player at a disadvantage if they remain going for the Sloth. If left unchecked, they will continue summoning more demons to their party however.

The best way to defeat them is to juggle between defeating other enemies, then giving the Sloths hard-hitting attacks, then juggling back to other enemies to avoid the Sloth’s hand swipe attack. This is useful if there are more than two Sloths. So in spite of fulfilling a Summoning action, the player can still gradually eliminate the enemies around and decrease the lifespan of the Sloths.

They are encountered early on when Kat and Dante depart to Rochenmore, finding them as slow assistants to the Mormolyca and summoning Stygians. The Sloths are plentiful in Edenville, however, and in accompaniment with the Envious. Their numbers remain the same on each difficulty, but their resilient hide is hardened as the difficulty gets higher, making them tougher to defeat.

The Sloths are the slaves that serve their prince Baal-Peor, demon of sloth.

F. Lust - is a creature with an amalgamated mass of beautiful faces on a tall, pale humanoid completely covered in a milky white substance, with its feet resembling that of tall, thick high heels, with no toes and its arms twined behind, having no hands. Instead, they unwind their arms from behind, revealing giant, branch-like ‘hands’, which they use to ensnare their opponents. They appear to have male or female body parts, particularly their 'faces', and masculine and feminine quasi-genitals respectively. Despite this, they are considered genderless.

Without its multitude of faces, its stump from its long neck reveals a glowing, pinkish growth resembling petals of a blooming flower. These petals regrow defeated ‘faces’. One of its attacks is by launching its 'faces', acting like flying drones surrounding their target, as their beautiful faces contort into monstrous versions, swarming around the player to trap them in one place, before their main body teleports on the spot, untwining its arms to trap their target, while the faces violently attach themselves on the target's head. They then disappear within the milky white substance, only for Lust to later regurgitate the player out from the pool of white substance.

Another attack pattern is when a Lustful itself 'swims' across the area through its white substance, cuing the player where it will reappear. Once it does, a Lustful captures the player and cradles them like a toy before brutally gripping it, and then tossing away the player. It re-submerges back into the depths of its white substance, leaving the player open for attacks from other demons.

The way the player can attack Lust is to keep note of their white substance, as it's an obvious cue of their next moves. While its ‘faces’ are still intact, Lust remains less susceptible to attacks, so the player must wait for it to launch its ‘faces’ to expose its stumped neck and attack the 'flower'. Use the Lock-on to keep track of Lust as it teleports/swims across the area. The faces’ attacks and lifespan are minimal, and can be defeated quite quickly; their cues come from them visually when they transform into demonic faces; eliminating a few of them minimizes their numbers and increases the chances of hitting the pink stump exposed once the ‘faces’ return to Lust. Evasion is key when Lust wants to capture the player. If the player is captured, the only way to escape is to use Trigger State.

Overall, Lust is one of the difficult enemies to defeat as they make use of their drone ‘faces’ as additional tactics to complement other demons' attacks, and are found to be slightly more resilient than Sloths.

The ‘male’ Lustful are first introduced in the factory in Rochenmore, serving the all-female Mormolyca, though in whatever difficulty, they are not as numerous. The ‘female’ Lustful make their first appearance early in Mary Ann’s/Lady’s campaign, during which her goal is scavenging for supplies. Both variants of the Lustful make more of their appearance in Kat’s campaign, making for a very difficult enemy.

They are the loyal followers of Asmodeus, demon of lust.

Weapons
TBA