The Devil May Cry franchise is notorious for its brutal difficulty. The main character usually starts out with half or less of his or her full HP bar and, with the exception of Devil May Cry 2, must unlock most of his or her combat abilities by buying them with Red Orbs or Proud Souls, which are gained from defeating enemies.
Overview
All games start the player on a "normal" difficulty, but, after fulfilling certain criteria, the player can opt to play through the story missions again on a higher difficulty. Enemies have more Vitality and deal more damage, making the main character seem weaker. In addition, enemy behavior is altered: lesser demons become more aggressive and less inclined to stand around taunting, bosses will utilize their special attacks more often, and some enemies will even gain access to a Devil Trigger.
The player is allowed to keep items and abilities gained from each playthrough when moving to a higher difficulty, with the exception of Automatic Mode in Devil May Cry.
Modes by difficulty
- Easy Mode - Bosses and enemies have less health and deal less damage than normal. This mode is only available from the start in Devil May Cry 4. In Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3, it must be unlocked by dying 3 times on Normal Mode. It is called Human Mode in Devil May Cry 4 and DmC: Devil May Cry.
- Normal Mode - The default difficulty setting for each game. Compared to other hack-and-slash games, Devil May Cry’s "Normal Mode" is difficult. It is called 'Devil Hunter Mode in Devil May Cry 4 and DmC: Devil May Cry
- Hard Mode - Bosses and enemies either deal more damage, or deal more damage and have higher vitality, depending on the game. This is unlocked after beating the game on Normal. It is called Son of Sparda in Devil May Cry 4 and Nephilim in DmC: Devil May Cry.
- Very Hard Mode - Only available for Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. Strength and vitality of enemies is increased even more than in Hard Mode. However, it is still less than Dante Must Die mode. It is called Son of Sparda in DmC: Devil May Cry
- Dante Must Die/Lucia Must Die/Vergil Must Die - All enemies gain access to Devil Trigger, which they enter after a set period of time has passed since the start of the fight. Strength and vitality for enemies is also increased.
Additional Modes
- Automatic Mode - Simplifies combos so that players can heedlessly mash buttons and still perform varied and stylish combos; however, there is no control over which combo is executed. For more information, see the article.
- Turbo Mode - Only available for Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, Devil May Cry 4 PC Version and Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition. Makes the game run 20% faster. Not truly a difficulty mode rather than a gameplay option. Can only be changed at mission select, not during a mission.
- Legendary Dark Knight - Only available for the PC version of Devil May Cry 4 and Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition for PS4, XB1 and PC. The strength and vitality of enemies is comparable to those on Son of Sparda difficulty, but enemies spawn in hordes per encounter, and even additional enemies which are not originally present in that mission will spawn.
- Heaven Or Hell - Everything, even the player, dies from one hit of any kind.
- Hell And Hell - Available both in Devil May Cry 4 and the new contemporary reboot, DmC: Devil May Cry. Enemies adopt the difficulty of Son of Sparda Mode, but the player still dies in one hit.
Modes by Game
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry is known for its unforgiving difficulty. There are four modes in total.
- Easy Automatic - This difficulty is unlocked if Dante dies in the first three missions. The game prompts you to switch to easy automatic mode or stay on Normal mode. Many things are different in this mode. The combat system has simplified firing controls, with Dante shooting several rounds from Ebony & Ivory with just one press of the button, and some enemies won't even appear in normal missions, like the Frost, Fetish, and Shadow. Dante himself gains resistance to damage, though mostly through beginning play with a higher starting pool of Vitality, performs better in combat, and his starting Devil Trigger capacity is doubled compared to the other difficulty settings. The various enemies encountered also have less health. Additionally, the amount of items that can be held/purchased are different: Dante can buy up to three Vital Stars instead of just one, but can only purchase two Blue Orbs and four Purple Orbs. Unlike the harder modes, you cannot switch difficulty modes after completing the game, preventing you from unlocking anything.
- Normal - This is the default mode and the first you will play when you start the game.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 100%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 100%
- Hard - Monsters are harder to kill in this mode. Dante is easier to kill and deals less damage. Completing it unlocks the Legendary Dark Knight costume.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 100%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 250%
- Dante Must Die - The hardest gameplay difficulty, Dante Must Die mode features a countdown that begins at the start of each fight. When the countdown reaches 0, all enemies left alive will Devil Trigger and become much more formidable. Additionally, Bosses are capable of killing Dante in a matter of 2~4 hits. Dante is much more vulnerable, even being unable to regain health in Devil Trigger, though the gameplay commands remain somewhat the same as in Hard Mode. Completing this difficulty grants you the Super Dante costume, which bestows unlimited Devil Trigger. Oddly, normal enemies in this mode have less health than on Normal.
- Lesser demons health: 90%
- Bosses health: 250%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 250%
Devil May Cry 2
- Normal - This is the default mode of the game. It resembles the Easy Automatic Mode of the first game wherein the combat is simplified and enemies and bosses are docile and easy to defeat. Enemies and Bosses also have simple and weak attacks.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 100%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 100%
- Hard - This difficulty mode is unlocked by beating Normal with both Dante and Lucia. Enemies get more health and are more hostile. Bosses also get more health and have better attacks. Tougher enemies appear earlier in the game. The player's character deals less damage as well.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 100%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 200%
- Dante Must Die/Lucia Must Die - This difficulty appears once you have beaten Hard with both Dante and Lucia. Enemies generally take less damage and can now activate their Devil Trigger. Bosses have more effective attacks, are more aggressive and deal more damage.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 200%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 200%
Devil May Cry 3
Devil May Cry 3 is said to be the most difficult game in the series, and the original release is often regarded as one of the most difficult games of all time. Enemies and Bosses generally get tougher while the player gets weaker as the difficulty increases. It's also worth noting that the style ranking has a direct impact on the difficulty of the game in terms of enemy patterns and aggressiveness on nearly all counts.
- Easy - Easy mode is not available at the beginning. It is unlocked by dying at least 3 times in Normal mode. Enemies in this mode have less health and generally deal less damage. Bosses have less health and are more docile. Easy also has Automatic Mode a mode for players which allows them to perform complex combos by just repeatedly pressing a button without regard to timing. It should be noted that originally the western difficulty was shifted by one, making Western normal-Japanese hard. This was fixed in the special edition with very hard being the original's Japanese Dante must die.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 90%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 90%
- Normal - The default mode of the game. Enemies have more health. Bosses are tough and attack frequently. The player also takes more damage.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 100%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 100%
- Hard - Unlocked by beating Normal. Enemies have even more health and deal more damage. Bosses attack more frequently.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 175%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 175%
- Very Hard - This difficulty is only available in the Special Edition version of the game. It is unlocked by beating the game on Hard. Bosses attack even more frequently. The player deals less damage and takes more damage from enemies. It introduces the enemy waves and boss patterns used in Dante Must Die mode.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 200%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 200%
- Dante Must Die/Vergil Must Die - This difficulty is unlocked by beating the game on Hard. Enemies are hostile and deal more damage. They also have access to Devil Trigger and activates it after a certain period of time. Vergil Must Die is only available in the Special Edition version of the game.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 250%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 250%
- Heaven Or Hell - New to the series is the Heaven Or Hell mode. It is unlocked by beating the game on Dante Must Die. In this mode, all Enemies and Bosses die in one attack. However, the player also dies in one attack.
Devil May Cry 4
With each rise in difficulty, enemies and bosses generally get tougher and the player gets weaker. There are 6 modes for the console versions of the game with an additional mode for the PC version.
- Human - One of the default difficulty modes of the game. Enemies have less health, deal less damage and are quite docile. Bosses take more damage. The player deals more damage and takes less. This is equivalent of the Easy difficulty. Clearing all the missions on this difficulty unlocks the special artwork "The Two Heroes," and 29 character images for viewing in the Gallery.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 90%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 90%
- Devil Hunter - One of the default difficulty modes of the game. This is essentially the Normal difficulty. Clearing all the missions on this difficulty unlocks the Bloody Palace, Son Of Sparda difficulty, and the special artwork "The Cast".
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 100%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 100%
- Son Of Sparda - This difficulty mode is the equivalent of Hard. It is unlocked by beating the game on Devil Hunter. Enemies have more health, are more hostile, deal more damage and tougher enemies appear early on. The player deals less damage and takes more. Some of Nero's levels have more complicated paths. Clearing all the missions on this difficulty unlocks Dante Must Die mode, Heaven or Hell mode, and the special artwork "The Demons" and 12 additional pieces for viewing in the Gallery.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 175%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 175%
- Dante Must Die - This difficulty is unlocked by beating Son Of Sparda mode. Enemies get tougher and bosses utilize more attacks. Enemies also now have Devil Trigger and frequently use it. Clearing all missions on this difficulty unlocks Hell And Hell mode, the special artwork "Demon Invasion", and the Super costumes for Dante and Nero.
- Lesser demons and bosses health: 225%
- Lesser demons and bosses damage: 225%
- Heaven Or Hell - Unlocked by beating Son Of Sparda mode. Enemies and bosses all die in one attack. The player also dies in one attack. However, the player is given 3~4 lives to use whenever he dies. Clearing all missions on this difficulty unlocks the special artwork "The Ladies of Devil May Cry."
- Hell And Hell - Unlocked by beating Dante Must Die. The player dies in one attack, but is given 3 gold orbs to utilize whenever he dies. Enemies and bosses in this mode do not die in one attack, and adopt their difficulty from the Son Of Sparda mode. Clearing all missions on this difficulty unlocks the special artwork "Light from the Demon Blade".
- Legendary Dark Knight - This difficulty is only available in the PC version of the game. It is unlocked by beating the game on Human or Devil Hunter mode. It is similar to Son Of Sparda mode, but with more enemies spawning than before. In this mode, it is capable of spawning about 20~30 Scarecrows in a single room, making this mode a little bit harder than Son Of Sparda. Clearing all missions on this difficulty unlocks the special artwork "Secret Festival of the Sword"
- Automatic Mode - Although not listed as a Difficulty Mode in the Mission Menu, it is equivalent to the Easy-Automatic Mode, but can be used on all difficulties. This mode can be activated depending on the player's choice on the New Game section or in the Character Selection screen.
DmC: Devil May Cry
With each rise in difficulty, enemies and bosses generally get tougher and the player gets weaker. There are 7 modes for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, 3 of which are selectable from the beginning.
- Devil May Cry - A category for the default difficulties.
- Human - One of the default difficulty modes of the game. Enemies have less health, deal less damage and are quite docile. Bosses take more damage. The player deals more damage and takes less. This is equivalent to the Easy mode difficulty
- Devil Hunter - One of the default difficulty modes of the game. This represents the Normal mode of difficulty in the game.
- Nephilim - One of the default difficulty modes of the game. This mode of difficulty is harder than Normal but easier than Son of Sparda. Clearing all the missions with a SSS rank in this mode will unlock the Jackpot award for Xbox 360 and PS3.
- Son Of Sparda - This difficulty mode is the equivalent of Hard. It is unlocked by beating the game on Human, Devil Hunter or Nephilim difficulty. Enemies have more health, are more hostile, deal more damage and tougher enemies appear early on. The player deals less damage and takes more. Clearing all the missions on this difficulty unlocks Dante Must Die mode, Heaven or Hell mode, and Son of Sparda costume for Dante.
- Dante Must Die - This difficulty is unlocked by beating Son Of Sparda mode. Enemies get tougher and bosses utilize more attacks.
- Heaven Or Hell - Unlocked by beating Son Of Sparda mode. Enemies and bosses all die in one attack. Dante also dies in one attack. However, the player is given 3 Gold orbs to use whenever he dies.
- Hell And Hell - Unlocked by beating Heaven or Hell. The player dies in one attack, but is given 3 gold orbs to utilize whenever he dies. Enemies and bosses in this mode do not die in one attack, and adopt their difficulty from the Son Of Sparda mode.