DMC5 Cavaliere Guide v1.1

SO YOU WANT TO LEARN CAVALIERE
Want to use the weapon Itsuno wanted since he was put on DMC2? Can't figure out how to git gud with it? Well, it's your lucky day, because this guide is here to tell you everything you need to know to ride this chopper all the way up to SSS. Cavaliere is DMC's first true heavy Devil Arm. In previous games the hardest-hitting of Dante's melee weapons were generally his gauntlets, and that standard is continued by Balrog, but Cavaliere is on another level. Its damage output is insane compared to other weapons at the cost of speed, but it has mechanics such as Super Armor and Gear Wheel which are designed to mitigate these flaws once you learn them. Cavaliere also lacks pause combos, but this is due to its ability to flow between its own moves seamlessly. All that said, Cavaliere is not a weapon you can solo every encounter with, at least on higher difficulties. Its low speed and high commitment make it risky in larger skirmishes or against faster bosses. You need to find your moment to strike with Cavaliere, oruse another weapon to make your opening for you. While Cavaliere is very capable of staggering enemies, staggering them with another weapon or a parry before going in is the safest bet. Lastly, just know that since I'm writing this guide right as Bloody Palace is releasing, there could be tech involving Cavaliere that I might not have found, since I've only had the game for a few weeks.

VERSION 1.1 CHANGELIST
-Included Slipstream's i-frames in its description
-More detail as to how Top & Overtop Gear affect certain moves
-Combo Structure section has better clarification
-Added a tidbit to Redline description I forgot about
-New Tech Notes/Gun Pairing tips based on more Void time, including a way to cancel Full Throttle into Redline
-Included goggles explanation in Tech Notes
-Beginner Example Combo 5 changed to better reflect combo structure and show off Overtop Cross Line
-Beginner Example Combo 6 added to show off Full Throttle's Redline cancel window
-Fixed a typo in Advanced Example Combo 3

BRIEF MOVELIST
DEFAULT
Cavaliere Combo A: Three-input string where Dante gets a swing in with both of the buzzsaw club bike halves (fucking weird weapon, right?) before doing an advancing spin with the two halves positioned on the ground. This last hit will knock enemies away.
Cross Line (Lock-on Forward+Atk): Dante converges the two saws onto one target after one large step forward. Despite the input, this is not the distance-closer. It is an effective combo tool, however. Will send the enemy away if not cancelled into another move.
Slipstream (Lock-on Back-to-Forward+Atk): The real distance closer. Dante will hold the two bike halves behind him and ride them like a motorized chair towards an enemy before doing a similar strike to Cross Line. The distance travelled on the upgraded Slipstream 2 is significant. The backflip on startup has invincibility frames, much like Nero's Shuffle.
Idling (Lock-on Back+Atk): Dante swings the clubs underhanded upwards 1, 2 or 3 times, depending on how many times you press the attack button, before doing a double-armed swing that knocks the opponent away.
Cavaliere Air Combo A: A two-input string of Dante swinging one half of the bike and then the other. Can be repeated into itself, but it's more effective to cancel into another midair attack.
Highside (Midair Lock-on Back+Atk): Dante will turn around and drag the saws upwards from behind him, pulling enemies upwards. A midair launcher with a large window to Jump Cancel due to Dante moving upwards on startup.
Braking (Midair Lock-on Forward+Atk): A Helm Splitter equivalent that grinds the enemy against the floor with the saws. Combos naturally from Highside.
SWORDMASTER
Cavaliere Combo B: Three-input string in which Dante rides Cavaliere as a motorcycle. The first attack drives forward a decent distance before grinding with its front wheel. The second hit has Dante quickly make a turn next to the enemy so he can grind the rear wheel against them. The third attack features Dante doing donuts which pop up enemies before jumping off with a kickflip that launches away. This last part can be held to extend the number of Donuts Dante performs, but this can make it harder to land the final kick.
Full Throttle (Lock-on Forward+Style): Dante drives straight ahead a significant distance with shorter startup than Slipstream.
Wheelie Jump (Lock-on Back+Style): Dante performs a backflip on the bike, launching enemies with him. Unlike High Time, Dante must always leave the ground when doing this move. Its upgraded version sends enemies much higher than any other launcher in the game (outside of Real Impact if you count that).
Cavaliere Air Combo B: A three-input string. The first input yields two attacks, the first has Dante sling the bike back for a full swing (this first hit has a hitbox below Dante that can catch falling enemies), the second is a simple followup from another angle, and the third has Dante spin the bike around his waist twice, the second swing knocking the enemy far away. This combo builds significant style if completed, and the first hit of the third input is great for JC extensions.
Redline: See Cavaliere R section.

SUPER ARMOR
Cavaliere has a property called super armor during its attacks. What this means is that Dante will not flinch if hit by an enemy and finish his animation. Dante will take all damage from the attack, but will not lose his Style Rank. This can be useful to land a hit and maintain style while surrounded, but can be an issue on higher difficulties where enemies do significant damage. Keep in mind, however, that super armor is not perfect and you can be hit out of your animations if the enemy hits you hard enough.

HOW GEAR WHEEL WORKS
Gear Wheel is simply the long hitstop of Cavaliere's blades grinding against enemies. This time is essentially a window during which Dante can cancel into another move of Cavaliere's. The various Gears based on the timing of that input.
LOW GEAR
Low Gear is activated when you press the next attack's input very early in your string. This simply has Dante move on to that attack.
TOP GEAR
If you wait until Cavaliere begins to crackle with electricity before your input, then you will apply Top Gear to your next attack, buffing its damage, style build, and stagger ability, while also shaving off some of its startup frames. A visual indicator that you have performed Top Gear is that the wheels will spin faster and have something of an orange glow to them.
OVERTOP GEAR
Overtop Gear is activated by inputting Dante's next attack at the very end of Gear Wheel's animation. The buff given by Overtop Gear is larger than Top Gear's on its own, bringing you to the highest level of damage, style, speed, and stagger that Cavaliere can muster. Careful not to delay too long or you will miss your window and end your combo.

The extent of the buffs given by Top & Overtop Gears are different depending on the attack. For example, activating Top or Overtop Gear for the first hit of Air Combo A will significantly reduce the startup of the second hit, while Swordmaster attacks generally don't gain quite as much speed (although they gain some). Wheelie Jump will also launch higher if in a higher gear. Agaisnt DT'd enemies, Idling will generally only pop them up slightly on the third launch, but at the end of a string buffed by Gear Wheel, enemies will be popped up a larger amount by the first attack, and even higher by the next two.

GEAR WHEEL NUMERICAL EXAMPLES (Assuming all hits connect)
DAMAGE VALUES (tested on DMD)
Low Gear Combo A: 357-377
Top Gear Combo A: 522-578
OVertop Gear Combo A: 665-707
Low Gear Combo B: 557-587
Top Gear Combo B: 642-802
Overtop Gear Combo B: 905-987
STYLE BUILDING (starting from no Style Rank)
Low Gear Combo A: Bottom of C
Top Gear Combo A: Mid-High C
Overtop Gear Combo A: Bottom of B
Low Gear Combo B: Bottom of C
Top Gear Combo B: Bottom of B
Overtop Gear Combo B: Mid B

CAVALIERE'S FREEFORM COMBO SYSTEM
Cavaliere requires hitconfirms to progress in its combos, unlike the other Devil Arms which will let you do full strings regardless of if you hit anything; this is likely to accommodate both Gear Wheel and its unusually open combo structure. Cavaliere can move between its strings and input moves seamlessly while maintaining your Gear Wheel; the first hit of Combo A can be canceled into the second hit of Combo B into Wheelie Jump, or the first hit of Combo B into Cross Line into the final hit of Combo A, or the first two hits of Air Combo A into the last hit of Air Combo B, etc. There's technically nothing forcing you to stop either, until you do a move that is explicitly a Gear Wheel string ender. This means you can do something like AA Cross Line BB Cross Line AB Cross Line BA Cross Line ABA and have that be one uninterrupted combo. Feel free to experiment.

Slipstream, Cross Line, Highside, and Braking can be cancelled into and out of regular string attacks without ending your Gear Wheel. The last hits Cav Combo A/Combo B/Air Combo B, Full Throttle, Wheelie Jump, Idling, and Redline will end your combo string, but they will still maintain the Gear Wheel effect of the previous move in the string. One small note is that Slipstream for whatever reason causes you to do the second piece of your ground combo after it lands, unlike Cross Line which lets you move your Gear Wheel over to the first hit. Slipstream seems to be the only move that this applies to.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH CAVALIERE R?
Cavaliere R, a Devil Arm that came with the Deluxe Edition of DMC5, is the original Cavaliere after getting a tune-up and paintjob from Nico. It is essentially identical to the regular Cavaliere outside of three key differences:
1. It's red.
2. R's attacks do not have super armor, and as such Dante can be knocked out of his attack animation by any enemy. This can be both a positive and a negative depending on the situation you find yourself in, and what difficulty you're playing on.
3. Redline (Lock-on Back-to-Forward+Style in Swordmaster) is exclusive to Cav R. This attack starts up much faster than Full Throttle while also being performable in midair. The attack has significant recovery where Dante lands on the ground next to where the enemy will land, but if both Dante and the enemy are on the grounded when performed or Dante does Redline at certain juggle heights, Redline can be Jump Cancelled for decent damage and a good bump of style. From a grounded position, JC Redline acts as a very low-to-the-ground Launcher. The late hitbox as Dante is landing before the long recovery will occasionally hit at certain heights but it is inconsistent and hits from below, which means there's no way to Jump Cancel it even if it does hit.

TECH NOTES
>Some Cavaliere combos and attacks open with a hit during the wind-up that can briefly stagger enemies (Combo A, Combo B, Air Combo B, Slipstream, etc.); Combo B's is particularly large as it's an AoE of electricity around the bike
>Overtop Gear Cross Line is INCREDIBLE. Its startup is much shorter than normal, and it will SHRED through an enemy or boss's life if you can get as much of it as possible to land. Given its ability to be cancelled into and out of during strings without issue it's great for just layering on the damage.
>Cavaliere's insanely high active frames and super armor make it one of Dante's best parrying tools, although not quite as good as Ice Age. Braking is probably your best parry tool; letting it grind for Gear Wheel will basically auto-parry Cavaliere Angelo for 2-3 straight seconds.
>If the enemy is slightly further from Cavaliere's reach than normal, then less of the attack will land, meaning that the window for Gear Wheel will be smaller
>Cavaliere is exceptional at breaking defenses due to its damage and active frames. Behemoths are very easily freed by only a few attacks from Cavaliere, which could be a good or bad thing.
>Air/Ground Trick is very useful if you use some of the weapon's combo enders that send opponents away. Air Trick to Highside in particular acts as a quick way to get a launch on an enemy raw, since Idling and Wheelie Jump are quite slow without Top or Overtop Gear.
>There is a window during Full Throttle that allows you to cancel into Redline which is just a bit before Dante does the small wheelie; this allows you to use Full Throttle as a combo extender or even a combo starter instead of an ender when using Cavaliere R; depending on the positioning you can potentially JC the Redline into further combos
>Switching between Cavaliere and Cav R can maintain your Gear in certain circumstances; currently only been able to do by alternating between them using the first two parts of Combo A Top or Overtop Gear'd each time (requires more testing)
>Air Combo B can be done exceptionally close to the ground, to the point where Dante's feet are touching it, without being interrupted (can do Rainstorm, switch to Swordmaster while holding Style, and start Combo B to consistently do this)
>Highside (Air Lock-on Back+Atk) has unique properties that propel Dante upwards when using it, allowing him to gain height he normally couldn't; stops gaining net height after the 4th use; this trick is what enables the Mission 12 sequence break.
>Dante can cancel each of the upwards swings of Idling with a jump, allowing him to use it as a traditional High Time-style launcher.
>On a couple occasions I've noticed the ability to delay Gear Wheel so late on the first hit of Cav Combo B that I did the first hit again but with Gear Wheel active.
>Slipstream will very slightly steer in one direction or another when locked-on to an enemy that has moved from their position when Dante started the move, but unless it was just a step or so it will likely still miss.
>Because Cavaliere is so large, Dante does not visibly hold it when equipped like the other Devil Arms. Instead, a pair of goggles are around his neck. He puts them on when he uses Devil Trigger.

SWORD FORMATION
Like the other Devil Arms, Sword Formation (and Devil Trigger) give Cavaliere additional summoned sword attacks during its moves while in Swordmaster. These generally just add attacks during startup which can help getting hits and tacking on damage. This section will only make note of Sword Formation reactions that add something significant.
Idling: The swords spike the enemy down on the underhand swings, groundbouncing them.
Highside: Swords sweep up and create a windmill from below, letting you juggle with this more easily.
Combo B: The swords cover the wide gaps in this combo significantly better than any other instance.
Wheelie Jump: The windmill formation during the startup helps corrale enemies and keep them in hitstun, similarly to how they function for Real Impact.

QUADRUPLE S
If you're really getting Stylish with Cavaliere out, you can consider using Quadruple S to throw in some Sin Devil Trigger attacks. Here's just a handful of ideas to get you started:
>Combo A, Quad S, Advent, SDT Combo, depower, Slipstream
>Combo B, Quad S, Sin Inferno, depower, Wheelie Jump
>Braking, Quad S, Sin Inferno, Advent, depower, Air Combo A or B
>Braking, Quad S, Sin Inferno, depower, Wheelie Jump
>Redline, Quad S, Sin Stinger, depower, Braking

GUN PAIRING TIPS
E&I: Jump Cancelling the first hit of the third part of Air Combo B (or Redline at certain heights) into one press of Ivory followed by Rainstorm followed by any midair Cavaliere move is a really solid combo extender that gives good style.
Coyote A: Coyote's shots are likely to stagger enemies, which allows Dante to capitalize with Cavaliere in spite of the startup. Slide-In is a useful approach tool that can lead to a conversion with Slipstream or Cross Line into a full combo.
Dr. Faust: Hat Trick (the pull-in) can be very helpful for Cavaliere use as it removes the need to approach and often staggers enemies while doing so. Man In Red (Lock-On Back+Gun) surrounds Dante in orbs, which can make your approach with Cavaliere more safe and fill the gaps in your attacks before Top/Overtop Gear kicks in. Magic Hat (the Faust turret) also allows Dante to have a constant stream of fire that juggles enemies in place even when stuck in other animations. That turret allows Dante to combo after Redline without a Jump Cancel, which opens up way more options for that attack in combos. I would argue that while E&I are great Cavaliere combo filler, smart use of Dr. Faust can help maximize Cavaliere's potential.
Double Kalina Ann: Because both Double KA and Cavaliere are designed to be heavy weapons, they both have slow starts to their moves. As such, there's some difficulty in using them in tandem. You can use Multiple Twins to cover an approach with Slipstream or Full Throttle if you wanted, but the main use will be to use the midair Gunslinger move (Blaster Twins) with DKA after Jump Cancelling Highside or Idling to knock them upwards. From there you can keep your position in midair with another Highside or Cav Air Combo B.

EXAMPLE COMBOS
These are combos designed to teach you how Cavaliere combos work. They're not the most optimal or stylish and they are designed to focus on Cavaliere. Damage numbers are based on DMD enemies before they DT. Once you can do these and learn from them, you can start using pieces of them to create your own more balanced combos featuring Cavaliere. Half the fun of the weapon is moving from string to string with Gear Wheel in whatever way you want. (SM), (GS), and (TR) denote that you should be in that style before the move it precedes, for the style switching combos (feel free to switch earlier if possible). You should obviously have a weapon selected by the point in the combo where it says to do a move that the weapon has.
BEGINNER
1. (Cavaliere only, Swordmaster only, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
Cross Line, Combo A first two inputs, Full Throttle (872 Damage, High B)
2. (Cavaliere only, Swordmaster only, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
Slipstream, Combo A first input, Wheelie Jump, Air Combo B, Highside, Braking, Combo A (2032 Damage, High S)
3. (Cavaliere only, Swordmaster only, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
Combo B first input, Combo A first input, Idling (jump after third swing), Air Combo B (1845 Damage, Mid-High A)
4. (Cavaliere only, Swordmaster only, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
Combo A first two inputs, Cross Line, Combo B first two inputs, Combo A third input (1540 Damage, Mid-A)
5. (Cavaliere R only, Swordmaster only, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
Combo B first two inputs, Cross Line, Combo A first two inputs, Cross Line, Wheelie Jump, Air Combo A, Highside, Jump Cancel, Air Combo B first two inputs, Redline (3020 Damage, High SS)
6. (Cavaliere R only, Swordmaster only, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
Combo A first two inputs, Full Throttle, Redline, Jump Cancel, Air Combo A (or Air Combo B first two hits), Highside, Braking, Combo A first two inputs, Full Throttle, Redline (2042 or 2392 Damage, Low-Mid to High-Mid SS)
INTERMEDIATE
1. (Cavaliere/E&I, SM/GS switching, assumes Top/Overtop gear):
Cross Line, Combo A first two inputs, Wheelie Jump, Air Combo A, Highside, Jump Cancel, (SM) Air Combo B, Jump Cancel either second input or first hit of the third input, (GS) fire Ivory once, Rainstorm (hold for positioning if needed), (SM) Air Combo B first two inputs, Braking, Combo A first two hits, Full Throttle (2975-3350 Damage, High SS)
2. (Cavaliere R/E&I, SM/GS switching, assumes Top/Overtop gear):
Slipstream, Combo A first input, (SM) Redline, Jump Cancel, (GS) fire Ivory once, Rainstorm, (SM) Air Combo B (1485 Damage, Mid S)
3. (Cavaliere/Coyote A, GS/TR switching, assumes Top/Overtop gear):
(GS) Gunstinger, (TR) Air Trick, Highside, Jump Cancel, Air Combo B first two inputs, Highside, Braking, Combo A first two inputs, Idling, jump after third swing, fire Coyote A (2452 Damage or more if you charge the last shot during Idling, very bottom of S)
ADVANCED
1. (Cavaliere/Double KA/E&I, TR/GS/SM switching, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
(TR) Mustang, Highside, Jump Cancel, (GS) Blaster Twins, Jump Cancel, (SM) Air Combo B first two inputs, Jump Cancel, (GS) fire Ivory once, Rainstorm, (SM) Air Combo B (1855 Damage, Top of S/Empty SS)
2. (Cavaliere R/Dr. Faust, GS/SM/TR switching, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
(GS) Magic Hat, Slipstream, Combo A first input, (SM) Redline, hold Gun to keep the enemy suspended until Dante recovers, Wheelie Jump, let get of Gun while doing an Enemy Step, Air Taunt, Jump Cancel, Air Combo A, Braking, Combo A first two inputs, Redline, hold Gun, (TR) Air Trick, let go of Gun as you land Air Combo A, Braking (3052 Damage, Low SS)
3. (Cavaliere R/E&I, SM/GS switching, Full SDT, assumes Top/Overtop Gear):
Cross Line, Combo A first two inputs, Wheelie Jump, Air Combo A, High Side, Jump Cancel, Air Combo B first two inputs, Jump Cancel, (GS) fire Ivory once, Rainstorm, (SM) Air Combo B first two inputs, Jump Cancel, Air Taunt, Air Combo B first two inputs (either JC the Taunt before for a bit more damage or let them fall into it), Redline, Quadruple S, Sin Stinger, release Quad S, Braking, Combo A first two inputs, Redline (4014 Damage, prolonged SSS)

Thanks for reading all this shit and enjoy being stylish with a motorcycle.