DMC3 Speedrun Guide

General Stuff


PC is the fastest version, followed by HD collection. PC has issues with controller binding on triggers so use an external program. There are also issues with lag; if you experience lag, rename your sound folder in the game directory to sound2.

On PC, you can use your keyboard controls during unskippable cutscenes. This is excellent for a Dash when you enter a new area.


Combat


Devil Trigger Explosions (DTE) are done by holding down your DT button, building up a charge, then releasing. It does about as much damage as a Holy Water after you get 6 Purple Orbs. Spam this whenever you get a chance, especially against chess pieces.

Avoid crazy combos outside of the occasional Million Stabs. They don’t do as much damage as other things you can do.

Jump Cancelling (JC) is your best friend and worst enemy. If you don’t know what it is, you cancel your aerial attacks by jumping off an enemy then attacking again. It’s an easy way to deal insane damage in a very short amount of time. If you’re having issues with JCs, rebind your keys. It’ll be worth it in the long run.

Play stylishly but effectively. You get more orbs for upgrades and health by playing to the style meter.

Certain weapons are better on certain enemies. Spiders hate Agni & Rudra, Beowulf destroys Arkham, and Cerberus is excellent on Nevan. While these strengths are important, it’s not always worth it to reequip.

Always always always fire the shotgun while in midair. It reloads about twice as quickly and you can cancel animations by landing.


Styles


You’re going to be using Trickster (TS) for 90% of the game because Double Dash into a low Sky Star is the fastest and most versatile way to move around. There are a few places where alternative movement is faster but those’ll be pointed out.

For the earlier missions Swordmaster (SM) is technically faster (M01, M02, Cerberus in M03) but you want to level TS to Level 2 as early as possible. If anyone ever gets good enough to not need Vital Stars, it could be viable to sink orbs into Stinger 2, Jet-Stream 3, and Straight 2 for movement while combat is SM move JCs, but you miss out on all the yummy SM 3 moves that deal the really crazy damage (Real Impact, Tornado, Twister, Tempest) because you don’t get Level 3 in any style until M19 or so.

Royal Guard (RG) deals the more damage more quickly than anything outside of JC and DTE. For the speedrun, you don’t use RG enough to level it but even at Level 1 it packs a punch. Use it on Vergil 2, Vergil 3, Arkham, Agni & Rudra, and if you’re feeling ballsy, Nevan and Greyon (don’t do it on Greyon unless you know exactly what you are doing).

Gunslinger, Quicksilver, and Doppelganger: haha don’t use these in a run.


Upgrades and Items


Purple Orbs > Blue Orbs. You’re gonna be using DTE a lot so you want a large reserve to draw upon.

Keep a lot of spare orbs for M19. You’re gonna need to heal against Arkham and spam Holy Water during the second phase.

My policy with health items is better safe than sorry. Pick up plenty.

If there are any stars in a level you can pick up, get them.

Make sure to attack red orb crystals whenever you see them. You’ll want the extra orbs.

The game throws 4 Blue Orb Fragments in your face during the run. One on M03 before Cerberus, one in M04

If you ever have spare orbs and don’t think you’re gonna need to spend them on health, invest in moves for Beowulf.


Missions


M01: A Crazy Party
Be stylish, don’t get hit, pick up red orb, use Trickster. You should S rank this mission and potentially SS it if you don’t get hit and play crazy with your limited moveset.

M02: The Blood Link
Same as before, but buy Stinger before the mission. Shoot the Hell Wraths to blow up the other Hells and dash into the Hell Vanguard’s Scythe attacks. You can get hit on this mission but ideally you’ll walk away with an A rank or above. Make sure to pick up the Vital Star S at the start!

M03: The Devils’ Tower
Ignore the first area, get the Shotgun, go crazy, yadda yadda. Make sure to get the red orb crystal and blue orb fragment and heal before Cerberus.
Cerberus: You’re probably going to die here because Dante is not equipped to deal with this boss this early without SM. You can switch to SM, but you’ll lose time because you want the style levels to be sunk into TS. Shoot the ice over his body with the shotgun before you go ham on him with Rebellion. His tells are easy; just make sure to use the i-frames that TS gives you and run up walls whenever he does the ice fall attack and back up whenever he starts his swipe attack. He’s tough but he can go down reliably.
Rank doesn’t matter too much with this mission; just get through it alive, healing if you have to.

M04: The Uninvited One
If you have 20000 orbs and you want to kill Gigapede quickly and reliably, put them into Air Hike for Rebellion. He can go down quickly without it but it does make the fight a whole lot easier.
Don’t get lost and get the Blue Orb Fragment after the elevator ride.
Gigapede: get on his head and wail on him with Cerberus, but make sure to jump as he rolls to stay on. You can reflect his purple orbs back to him but the timing is somewhat tight.
From here on ranks don’t matter. You can upgrade whenever really; better play and ranks just means more health and purple orbs.

M05: Of Devils and Swords
Shoot the Blood-goyles before they multiply.
Jester: this fight is mandatory in Special Edition (which you’re probably playing on). Just shoot at him with E&I and then attack with Reb. Easy fight.
Go to the top of the center room, get the Astronomical Board, get Vajura from the left side of the Chambers of Echoes around the middle, bring it to Living Statue Room, and get the Soul of Steel. From there, head back to the Endless Infernum and cross over the gap. In the next room, activate the lift and keep the Hells off of it as you rise. Heal if you haven’t, and switch to RG.
Agni & Rudra: parry their attacks to knock their swords away then go nuts as they recover. Block with RG or avoid them with TS. Take care of the blue one first with Reb, then as he has just a little bit of health left use Cerberus on the red one (he’s weak to it). Kill him, then kill his brother. If you take too long to kill one after the other is already dead a cutscene will play and the remaining demon will grab another sword and be much harder to kill.

M06: Family Ties
Upgrade A&R with Jet-Stream, get a few health items, and switch back to TS.
Do the trials of Skill and Intelligence; ignore Combat. By this point you’ll have TS Level 2 so get used to Double Dash -> short jump -> Sky Star -> repeat for movement. You can dash through the spears in the Skill chamber.

M07: A Chance Meeting
The name of the game is Jump Cancelling. JC A&R is fantastic and the best way to deal absurd damage in a short period of time, especially against Hell Vanguards and Greeds. While this mission is a fetch quest it’s straightforward as long as you remember to stop by the library first to pick up the Orihalcon Fragment. In the Skull Chamber, climb on top of the chained ball when it’s lowered to break it faster. Once you’ve gotten the Crystal Skull, head back to the Skull Spire and on towards Vergil 1.
Vergil 1: Jet-Stream him nonstop, dodging only when needed. This is an easy fight as long as you can read his tells.

M08: A Renewed Fear
Dump all your orbs into Purple Orbs. You should be able to afford 3.
This mission is simple outside of the pus nodules (which you can shoot at a range with your firearms) and one chamber where you can body surf a Hell Envy to the other end for extra speed. Run away from the Gigapedes; don’t fight them.
Leviathan: JC the right side with A&R, build up a DTE, release on the central organ, repeat.

M09: Faded Memories
Spiders hate fire and they hate fire while you’re DTed even more. They’re still dicks though. Pick up the orbs at the right side of the Subterranean Lake and get Spiral. Get the Ambrosia then head to Nevan after equipping Reb, Cerberus, Spiral, and E&I. Additionally, you can equip RG if you aren’t confident with your dodges against the bats or you can kill her very quickly.
Nevan: She does not like ice. Take down the bat cloak, damage her, run away, repeat. Her tells are easily telegraphed through audio cues. The only tricky part is saving up DT for the end of the fight where you need to have it activated in order to prevent her from sucking your blood.

M10: The Job
Backtracking \o/. Really simple mission that I’m not going to bother to explain in detail. Just go where you need to go.