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Blades and Assaults are lizard-like demons created by Mundus, the emperor of demon-kind,[1][2] to attack the Human World.[3] Blades are encountered as common enemies in Devil May Cry starting with Mission 9: New Strength, and briefly in the underwater missions of Devil May Cry 2. Their Devil May Cry 4 counterparts, the Assaults, are first encountered by Nero in Mission 8: Profession Of Faith.

Description[]

Blades resemble large, lizard-like creatures with oversized claws on their left hands. They wear a round shield on their right forearm, coated with evil powers to deflect most attacks,[4] and armor on their heads to protect them from firearms.[5] Their defense is good for attacks that comes from above, but never from below.[6] A tactic they favor is to increase the blood flow into their left arm to shoot off their talons like javelins.[7] Even if they are juggled in midair, for example by a flurry of Ebony & Ivory shots, they use their reptilian agility to flip backward and counterattack using their lunge slash.[8]

Even with all this protection, Blades are not weighed down. Their incredible physical strength grants them the ability to leap high into the air and surprise their victims from above.[9] They are just as able to attack underwater as on land, making them a dangerous enemy.[10] Most of all, Blades attack in packs, and are relentless, bloodthirsty killers that will grant their weakened prey no quarter.[11]

File[]

Devil May Cry 2[]

File ā€” Enemy ā€” Blade

English version

A combat creature, which high class demons have created to attack the human world.

Japanese version

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Wiki translation

A battle creature created by the senior demons to attack this world.
The one encountered this time seems to be an aquatic subspecies that lurks in the water and attacks by striking with its sharp claws.

Assault[]

Assaults are the Devil May Cry 4 equivalent of the Blade. The two demons are essentially identical in appearance and behavior but Assaults are lighter in color and have decorative frills around their heads. Assault helmets and shields also appear different than those of the Blades. While the Blades' armor appears to be made of metal, the Assaults' equipment appears to be made out of an alabaster substance similar to bone.

Though being similar in powers, Assaults have their own offensive features, such as having extremely strong vocal cords.  And if enraged, their screams can generate sonic shockwaves around themselves, which rends the air and creates a small sandstorm. While doing that, their frills also raise up to indicate the demon's intimidating look. Another significantly noticeable ability is to be able to freely move like in the air and make aerial attacks by spinning like a drill. The also can ramp up velocities in mid-air by curling and spinning up before that.

In the Mitis Forest, the serve as a potential host prey to Chimeras, obtaining remarkable movement abilities afterwards, such as being capable of performing more dynamic and stable air attack and increase their number up to three and  also make farther jumps.

Behavior[]

Assaults[]

Assaults have a variety of attacks:

First being combo attack: The Assault swings its claws in arc and then performs an uppercut, launching in the air if hit.

Second being burrow strike: The Assault digs into the ground and then moves at you (trail can be seen) and emerges with a claw strike.

Third being aerial dash: The Assault jumps, starts to spin its body which enables it to move in the air and then rushes at you. If the Assault is possessed by Chimera Seed, it performs this attack three times.

Buster on Assault mid-air

Buster on an Assault in mid-air.

Note: Assaults can be grabbed mid-air with Nero's Buster, which performs a unique animation of Nero slamming Assault into the ground.

Fourth being claw shot: The Assault stands into aiming stance and then shoots the claws from its hand at you, which have high range. The Assault then suffers from the loss of its claws afterwards, which makes it vulnerable.

Fifth attack is the enrage: after taking some hits or the time period has passed, the lizard-demon lets out its full power by creating an ear-piercing screech, generating a shockwave around itself and becoming more aggressive. This attack can be used by the Assault only once.

Strategy[]

Devil May Cry[]

The Blades, large or small, all share a weakness, and that is a downward midair slash when they are on the ground, face down.[12] One way to get them face down on the floor is this: First, you must perform a well-placed Stinger to the face. If done correctly, the Blade will be reeling back, temporarily stunned. While it's stunned, get behind it and do another Stinger to the back. Now it will be face down. Lastly, jump and do a downward slash. High Time or an ordinary slash will do. The Blade will then bleed to death.

Devil May Cry Blade appears for the first time

First encounter with Blades.

They usually attack by lunging at their target with their swollen left arm, but the slash can be predicted by an experienced player. They are also able to burrow underground in order to attack their enemies from below. There can be larger Blades who tower over Dante but attack in the same way as their smaller counterparts.

You can also use grenade rolling or you may use Inferno, especially for large groups of Blades. If you prefer to juggle your enemies, High Time them with Alastor (without following them into the air) and just wail on them while their uncovered areas are exposed. A strategy for newbies is to hit them with Ifrit and the Grenadegun until you have enough DT and start whaling on them as the DT breaks their shields easily.

Devil May Cry 2[]

Only Lucia has to contend with these enemies, and only in the underwater missions. Shoot them repeatedly with the Bow Gun and dodge their claws when they shoot them. You can also use Cranky Bombs.

Devil May Cry 4[]

Assaults appear for the first time

First encounter with Assaults.

Because of their speed and resistance to being staggered, Assaults can make aggravating opponents. The shield can easily be broken, however, by using Devil Trigger and attacking with a fast combo. It can also be easily shattered with a single blast with a Charge Shot 3, and the secondary explosion will damage them even further. The shotgun also helps break their shields, if they block with them.

Nero's Devil Bringer comes in handy here, as he can use it to seize an Assault by the tail and then smash it into the ground repeatedly. Any enemies caught in the way of this also take damage. Dante's best bet is to blast the Assaults with the Coyote-A while leaping into the air to attack from above.

Other appearances[]

Devil May Cry 2 novel[]

An alternate universe version of Blade appears as part of the demon rebellion against Mundus, alongside fellow elite demons Frost, Phantom, Shadow, and Griffon. Though appearing human, he can take on the form of his namesake via Devil Trigger.

TEPPEN[]

The Blade was first added to TEPPEN via its "The Force Seekers" expansion. It's featured in one red unit card. Another Blade card was added with the "Adventures of a Tiny Hero" expansion.

Development and background[]

Blades were originally conceived as a variant of Hunters for an early version of Resident Evil 4, planned as a "stage 3 middle-sized monster", also referred to as Primitive Hunter (åŽŸå§‹ćƒćƒ³ć‚æćƒ¼, Primitive Hunter?) in the development materials.[13] Since Hideki Kamiya was aiming towards a more action-oriented game, Hunter's horror-style design was changed, its body features made sharper, with more dynamic reptilian-like silhouette, longer tail, and further elongated claws that gave the name to the enemy.[14]

Blades were the first enemies finished during the Resident Evil 4/Devil May Cry development. While their animations remained mostly the same, after the game's setting was changed to the Demon World, Blades' naked lizard appearance has been considered too plain, so shields and helmets were added, and Kamiya also wanted them to have an attack where they fire their claws, something the Hunter couldn't do.[15][excerpt 1][14]

Blade introduction cutscene is a reference to the scene in the 2000 film X-Men where Wolverine gives the middle claw.[14]

Gallery[]

Notes and references[]

excerpts
  1. ā†‘ Tomoya Ohtsubo: My best memories are of the minor enemy "Blade". It had been around since before the title even became "DMC". Before the change, when the game was still "RE 4", Blades were B.O.W.'s [bio organic weapons]; half-man and half-beast, with no shield or helment. After the change, though, Blades went from being B.O.W.'s to demons, so we gave them shields and helmets, and Kamiya-san said, "Make sure they can fire their claws." (laughs) That was key. So I started working on their "claw missile" attack. That was the point when I started really liking these guys.
references
  1. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "They are soldiers created by the Dark Emperor to take control of the surface. They use a kind of reptile as host bodies, thus having much lizard-like characteristics."
  2. ā†‘ Devil May Cry 4, Lesser Demons File ā€” Assault: "An elite demon sired by the emperor of demon-kind. Able to burrow through the ground with its sharp claws, Assaults have varied attack techniques. They use their shields to ward off blows, but destroying it will render them defenseless."
  3. ā†‘ Devil May Cry 2, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "A combat creature which high class demons have created to attack the human world."
  4. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "The round shield on their forearm is coated with evil powers and deflects most attacks. Their defense is good for the attacks that come from above. But it is not as good for the attacks that come from the bottom."
  5. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "The mask they wear protects them well against bullets. Either you can destroy the mask quickly or it may be wiser to go around the enemy to attack it from other angles."
  6. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "The armors they wear protect them from most attacks. But underneath the armors lie their weak points. They have armors that protect most of their backs. But some parts are not covered. It is safe to say that attacking places not covered by armors can do a lot of damage."
  7. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "They can pressurize their blood, concentrate it to their claws, and shoot them out like missiles. When you see them take the stance to fire, do your best to dodge them."
  8. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "Possessors of super agility, the Blades can resume their body positions even when theyā€™re struck up into the air. Trying to defeat them with monotonous attacks will be a difficult task."
  9. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "They have tremendous jumping ability and their lower body strength is present in their underwater agility. Their spinning attack is a deadly one."
  10. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "Relying on their superb agility, they are capable of moving freely underwater, almost as if they were aquatic organisms."
  11. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "When they notice that their prey is weakening, they will, without mercy, come to finish you. Remember to always be on guard."
  12. ā†‘ Devil May Cry, Enemy File ā€” Blade: "Even the Blades equipped with their masks, claws, and agilities will not stand a chance when they are put off balance. Attack from behind and take them down face first. Then attack from the air to finish them for good."
  13. ā†‘ Devil May Cry HD Collection, Vault ā€” Art
  14. ā†‘ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Devil May Cry Official Site ā€” Topics ā€” Monster introduction ā€” Blade
  15. ā†‘ Devil May Cry: 3142 Graphic Arts. p.200
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