Capcom shipped Devil May Cry 5 on 8 March 2019 on the RE Engine, eleven years after Devil May Cry 4. The campaign is a prologue plus 20 missions that rotate between three playable characters: Nero with the Red Queen and single-use Devil Breaker arms, the physically useless summoner V, and Dante with four switchable styles and six Devil Arms. Vergil came to the PC version as a separate 4.99 dollar character on 15 December 2020, playable in story missions, the Void and Bloody Palace.
Starting Devil May Cry 5 can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Devil May Cry 5 is a action game built around Style rank from D to SSS and Nero's Exceed and Devil Breakers. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Role
| Role | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Nero | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| V | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Dante | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Vergil | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Dante's four combat styles | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with V. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Dante's four combat styles as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Style rank from D to SSS
The meter climbs from Dismal through Crazy, Blast, Alright, Sweet, Savage and Smokin Sexy Style as you land varied attacks, and it drops if you repeat one move or take a hit. Rank feeds directly into the Red Orb payout on the mission results screen.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Style rank from D to SSS works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Mission 2: Qliphoth
Nero's first real mission inside the demon tree's roots, ending in the Goliath fight. It is where Exceed timing has to click, because Goliath's charge punishes anyone still mashing the attack button.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Gerbera: it's the most accessible early upgrade. A Devil Breaker that fires a shockwave and, more usefully, dashes Nero through the air in any direction. Its Break Age releases a wide laser, but most players spend it on mobility instead because Nero has no air dash otherwise.
Step 4: Understand Nero's Exceed and Devil Breakers
Tapping the Exceed trigger at the instant a Red Queen swing connects fills a rev tank and adds fire damage to the next attack, and a three-tank MAX-Act is what separates a competent Nero from a good one. Devil Breakers are consumable prosthetic arms that shatter when Nero is hit, so his loadout physically degrades over a mission.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Mission 8: Demon King
The second Urizen encounter as Nero, and one the game expects you to lose. Losing here continues the story rather than ending the run, but beating it is possible and unlocks a separate cutscene branch.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Style rank from D to SSS
The meter climbs from Dismal through Crazy, Blast, Alright, Sweet, Savage and Smokin Sexy Style as you land varied attacks, and it drops if you repeat one move or take a hit. Rank feeds directly into the Red Orb payout on the mission results screen.
Nero's Exceed and Devil Breakers
Tapping the Exceed trigger at the instant a Red Queen swing connects fills a rev tank and adds fire damage to the next attack, and a three-tank MAX-Act is what separates a competent Nero from a good one. Devil Breakers are consumable prosthetic arms that shatter when Nero is hit, so his loadout physically degrades over a mission.
Dante's four switchable styles
Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royalguard sit on the d-pad and swap mid combo. Trickster handles spacing with dashes and Air Trick, Swordmaster adds moves to whichever Devil Arm is equipped, Gunslinger does the same for firearms, and Royalguard blocks and stores incoming damage to release as a single counter.
V fighting through familiars
V never deals meaningful damage himself. Griffon covers ranged lightning, Shadow handles melee as a shapeshifting panther, and Nightmare is a golem summoned with Devil Trigger. V has to walk over a downed enemy and finish it personally with his cane, which is what makes his crowd control positioning matter.
Devil Trigger and Sin Devil Trigger
Devil Trigger burns gauge for damage, speed and health regeneration on hit. Dante's Sin Devil Trigger is a second, deeper transformation that spends three full Devil Trigger bars, and Vergil's version pairs with his Concentration gauge, which fills when he moves deliberately and empties when he flails or gets hit.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Holding the Exceed button instead of tapping it on impact
Holding it fills revs slowly and passively; tapping on the hit is what produces MAX-Act and the damage that goes with it.
2. Hoarding Devil Breakers for a boss and then losing all of them to a single chip hit, because Breakers shatter automatically when Nero takes damage rather than staying in reserve
3. Playing Dante in one style for a whole mission
Style rank rewards variety, and locking into Swordmaster caps both the score and the Red Orb payout that funds every upgrade.
4. Treating V as a ranged character and never closing distance
Familiars only knock enemies down; if V does not walk over and land the cane finisher, downed enemies recover with their health intact.
5. Spending early Red Orbs on Devil Trigger extensions instead of movement and Exceed skills
Mobility and Exceed carry every difficulty, while extra gauge only matters once you already survive the fights.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Style rank from D to SSS and Nero's Exceed and Devil Breakers
- Choose V as starting role
- Clear Mission 2: Qliphoth main content
- Acquire Gerbera or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Mission 8: Demon King
- Learn MAX-Act rather than settling for single revs. Tapping Exceed at the exact frame the Red Queen connects banks a rev, and hitting three in a row triggers MAX-Act, which roughly triples the damage on the following attack. It is the largest free damage increase available to Nero and costs no Red Orbs.
- Break Away your Devil Breakers deliberately. Breakers shatter automatically when Nero takes a hit, wasting them, but manually breaking one releases its Break Age effect and immediately swaps to the next arm. Spending an arm you were about to lose is strictly better than losing it.
Tips for New Players
- Learn MAX-Act rather than settling for single revs. Tapping Exceed at the exact frame the Red Queen connects banks a rev, and hitting three in a row triggers MAX-Act, which roughly triples the damage on the following attack. It is the largest free damage increase available to Nero and costs no Red Orbs.
- Break Away your Devil Breakers deliberately. Breakers shatter automatically when Nero takes a hit, wasting them, but manually breaking one releases its Break Age effect and immediately swaps to the next arm. Spending an arm you were about to lose is strictly better than losing it.
- Style rank feeds the Red Orb payout on the results screen, so the fastest way to farm upgrades is not to replay easy missions but to replay any mission at a higher rank. Varying attacks, taunting between kills and avoiding damage all push the rank up.
- Dr. Faust pays for itself. It consumes Red Orbs to fire but returns more than it spends when hats land and detonate, which makes Gunslinger Faust the standard farming setup for anyone short of orbs before a Dante Must Die run.
- Royalguard's Just Release is timed on the frame of impact, not on seeing the wind-up. Blocking early stores nothing extra. Practise a boss's two or three heaviest attacks in the Void until the timing is muscle memory before taking it into a real run.
- As V, keep Griffon and Shadow in different parts of the arena. They fight independently, so splitting them knocks down two groups at once and gives V two separate sets of downed enemies to walk over and finish with the cane.
- Nightmare is V's panic button and his crowd clear. Summoning it costs Devil Trigger gauge but it fights on its own, absorbs aggro, and lets V reposition safely while it works, which matters most on the Mission 13 and Bloody Palace waves.
- Dante's styles swap mid-combo on the d-pad and the game does not penalise switching. A Swordmaster string into a Trickster dash into a Gunslinger follow-up scores far higher than staying in one style, and higher style rank is more Red Orbs.
- Sin Devil Trigger costs three full Devil Trigger bars, so do not burn Devil Trigger for chip healing in the middle of a boss fight if you were saving for it. Its Devil Sword Dante attacks do enough damage to end most boss phases outright.
- Play Human difficulty only to see the story. Devil Hunter is the intended first run, Son of Sparda changes enemy placement rather than just numbers, and Dante Must Die gives enemies their own Devil Trigger. Heaven or Hell and Hell and Hell unlock afterwards and both kill you in one hit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Vergil playable in the PC version?
Yes, but as a separate purchase. Capcom released the playable Vergil DLC for the base PC game on 15 December 2020 at 4.99 dollars, and he works in story missions, the Void training mode and Bloody Palace with Yamato, Beowulf, Mirage Edge and the Concentration gauge.
How many missions does Devil May Cry 5 have?
A prologue plus 20 numbered missions. Character control is fixed for most of them, Mission 13 lets you choose between characters, and the three Diverging Point missions split the cast across parallel routes before the finale.
What is Bloody Palace and does it cost anything?
It is a 101-floor survival mode released free on 1 April 2019. You pick one character, fight through floors against a running timer, and clearing enemies quickly adds time back. Vergil can run it once his DLC is installed.
Are Legendary Dark Knight and Turbo Mode on PC?
Not in the base PC release. Both were added for Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, and Capcom did not bring them to the original Steam version. PC players use community mods for a Legendary Dark Knight equivalent.
Which character should a newcomer start with?
You do not choose. The campaign assigns Nero for the opening missions, introduces V from Mission 4, and hands you Dante from Mission 10. Nero's Exceed system is the one worth practising early because it carries through every later difficulty.
More Devil May Cry 5 Guides
- Devil May Cry 5 Devil May Cry 5 Overview
- Devil May Cry 5 Best Builds
- Devil May Cry 5 Tier List
- Devil May Cry 5 Walkthrough
- Devil May Cry 5 Tips & Tricks
- Devil May Cry 5 Weapons Guide
- Devil May Cry 5 Combat Guide
- Devil May Cry 5 Boss Guide
- Devil May Cry 5 Maps & Locations
- Devil May Cry 5 Crafting Guide
- Devil May Cry 5 Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Devil May Cry 5, check out these related guides:
- Helldivers 2 Beginner's Guide: action game with similar mechanics
- Black Myth: Wukong Beginner's Guide: action game with similar mechanics
- Monster Hunter Wilds Beginner's Guide: action game with similar mechanics
