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.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Mission 2: Qliphoth | Style rank from D to SSS basics | V | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Mission 8: Demon King | Nero's Exceed and Devil Breakers mastery | V | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Mission 11: Reason | Dante's four switchable styles + gear | Nero or V | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Mission 13: Three Warriors | Build optimization | Nero | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Bloody Palace | Min-max | Nero or Dante's four combat styles | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (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.
Level/Difficulty: Early campaign, Human to Devil Hunter Key Rewards: Goliath kill, early Red Orb income, first Blue Orb fragments
What to Do in Mission 2: Qliphoth
- 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. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick V as your starting role. See our builds guide for why.
- 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.
- Acquire your first weapons upgrade: Gerbera or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Style rank from D to SSS fundamentals
- V selected and functional
- Mission 2: Qliphoth main content cleared
- Ready for Mission 8: Demon King
Phase 2: Early Game (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.
Level/Difficulty: Mid campaign, all difficulties Key Rewards: Alternate cutscene for winning, Urizen attack pattern practice
What to Do in Mission 8: Demon King
- Work on 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. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Gerbera if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- 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.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Mission 11: Reason.
- Consider whether Nero might suit your playstyle better than V.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Nero's Exceed and Devil Breakers integrated into gameplay
- Gerbera acquired
- Mission 8: Demon King fully cleared
- Ready for Mission 11: Reason
Phase 3: Mid Game (Mission 11: Reason)
Dante against Cavaliere Angelo, the armoured knight that Trish is trapped inside. The fight is a clean test of Royalguard because the knight telegraphs a small number of very heavy attacks.
Level/Difficulty: Mid campaign, Devil Hunter and above Key Rewards: Cavaliere Angelo kill, strong Red Orb payout at high style rank
What to Do in Mission 11: Reason
- Master Dante's four switchable styles. Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royalguard sit on the d-pad and swap mid combo. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Red Queen. It's the best weapon and becomes accessible around now.
- 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.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in V fighting through familiars for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Dante's four switchable styles mastered
- Red Queen acquired or in progress
- Mission 11: Reason fully cleared
- Ready for Mission 13: Three Warriors
Phase 4: Late Game (Mission 13: Three Warriors)
The one mission where the game lets you pick which of the characters to play, which makes it the standard farming stop for anyone grinding a specific character's skill tree.
Level/Difficulty: Late campaign, any difficulty Key Rewards: Free character choice, repeatable Red Orb farming
What to Do in Mission 13: Three Warriors
- Finalize your build. You should be running Nero or V with optimized gear.
- Red Queen should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- 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.
- Devil Trigger and Sin Devil Trigger optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Bloody Palace.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Red Queen upgraded to max
- Mission 13: Three Warriors fully cleared
- Ready for Bloody Palace
Phase 5: Endgame (Bloody Palace)
A 101-floor survival tower added free on 1 April 2019, played with Nero, V or Dante, and with Vergil once the DLC is installed. There is a per-floor timer and clearing floors quickly is the only way to keep the clock alive to the top.
Level/Difficulty: Post-campaign, 101 floors Key Rewards: Completion trophies, the real test of a character's move set
What to Do in Bloody Palace
- Bloody Palace tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- 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.
- The endgame loop: run Bloody Palace, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Dante's four combat styles for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Devil Trigger and Sin Devil Trigger mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Bloody Palace fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- 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.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
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 Beginner's Guide
- 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
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