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Nightmare-β is the last firearm Dante acquires in Devil May Cry. It is said to be a similar weapon to the demonic machine Nightmare, and is the only firearm Dante has access to during his trip to Mallet Island that was not made by human hands.[1] It functions in a unique manner, drawing power from the Devil Trigger gauge to fire potent ricocheting energy bolts formed from light.[2]

Appearance[]

Nightmare-β resembles Nightmare's armored form, minus the pool of slime at its base. It is worn over the user's left forearm rather than being held in their hands: Dante's firing posture is to hold his left arm out and brace it with his right. When activated, the six claws at the base clench tightly around the user's arm, the midsection constricts, and the front section lifts up to reveal the barrel.

Gameplay[]

Nightmare-β can be found in two places: the first is in Mission 15: Wheel of Destiny, when Dante uses the Emblem Shield on the doors outside the Coliseum to acquire the Pair of Lances. The Pair of Lances will be at the end of whichever shield door path Dante takes first, while Nightmare-β will be at the end of the other one. If the player does not obtain it then, it appears on the bed in the Mirror World version of the Castellan's bedroom in Mission 19: Enter the Corrupted World.

Nightmare-β fires green energy bolts that pierce though enemies, and will continue bouncing off any solid surface they strike until they disappear after a set period of time. It can be fired on the ground or in the air. The weapon changes its properties depending on how much of the DT gauge is invested into its shots. With the DT gauge empty, pressing Button ps4 r1 and shoot (Button ps4 square or Button ps4 cross) fires a small, weak bolt that has little effect and only bounces a few times before disappearing. In this state, holding down shoot will repeatedly fire the weapon, with the delay between shots short enough to maintain the Style rank. With DT, Button ps4 r1 and shoot will expend one rune of the DT gauge to fire a larger energy bolt which bounces for a longer duration and deals significantly more damage with a greater hit-stun effect. As with other firearms that can be used in the air, Button ps4 r1 does not need to be pressed to fire Nightmare-β while jumping.

If there is more than one rune lit in the DT gauge, the weapon can be further charged by holding Button ps4 r1 and shoot, releasing the latter to fire. Dante can only charge Nightmare-β on the ground, and cannot move while he is charging the weapon except turning on the spot to track enemies. A ball of energy forms in front of Nightmare-β's barrel and grows larger as it is charged. Its shot power maxes out at three runes, at which point it will not deplete the DT gauge further. A two-rune charge fires off three bolts in a spread pattern with one bolt going straight forward and the other two at 45-degree angles horizontally. A three-rune charge fires five, the extra pair at 45 degree angles vertically to the central bolt.

Nightmare-β has a very beneficial interaction with Devil Trigger mode: when DT is activated, firing Nightmare-β does not subtract runes from the DT gauge, and charging it does not increase the rate at which the DT gauge is depleted. With a full ten-rune gauge, outside of DT Dante can fire ten single-rune shots before reverting to uncharged shots, while with DT activated he can fire up to forty. This occurs with both normal Devil Trigger and when using the Bangle of Time.

It is highly effective in confined spaces and particularly powerful against Blades, which will be knocked down by even weak shots from the weapon. Its piercing ability means it disregards armor and any attempt to block it. It is also very good for raising the Style rank when charged, and can very quickly raise the ranking all the way up to Stylish if fired at a group of enemies in a narrow space or with a wall behind them. Since it draws power from the DT gauge, Nightmare-β is not effective if used in combination with Force Edge, or Sparda outside of phase 2 of the battle with Mundus.

It has no effect when fired at Nightmare, but doing so at least once is required to unlock one of Nightmare's Enemy File entries.[3] The same is true of Plasmas.

Aside from acting as a gun, Nightmare-β also provides an undocumented enhancement to Dante's melee capabilities when using Ifrit or the bare-fist moveset accessible during Round Trip. Specifically, outside Devil Trigger mode, it doubles the damage of punches with Dante's left hand.

Other appearances[]

MONSTER HUNTER WORLD: ICEBORNE[]

Nightmare-β is utilized by the player character if "Dante's Gloves α" or "Dante Layered Arms" are equipped. It serves as a slingshot and it only appears on the player character when they have ammunition. While using the Clutch Claw, it is replaced by the Devil Bringer.

Gallery[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. Devil May Cry, Guns — Nightmare-β: "A weapon formed in the Underworld. Its powers are unknown."
  2. Devil May Cry Enemy File, Plasma: "Plasma is an embodiment of evil electricity. Thus, the use of Nightmare-beta against it is useless. Its ability to manipulate ambient energy will only bend the light, not damaging it at all."
  3. Devil May Cry, Enemy File — Nightmare: "Nightmare-β is a similar weapon to the Nightmare. Hence, the weapon has no effects against it."
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