So you’re done. Beaten DmC to unlock the age-old Bloody Palace Mode. At least that means you have some experience under your belt and a pretty evolved set of moves for Dante. Here are some tips on beating what this downloadable content has to offer.
1. Train up!
Whatever skill trees your Dante has explored in single player are the ones he’ll be bringing into Bloody Palace Mode. The same goes for health and Devil Trigger bars. That said, Bloody Palace Mode itself will grant you some points to level up with.
2. Some statistics for you.
Going through a level without taking any damage grants you an extra two seconds to your timer. It’s a nice bonus, but not as substantial as what you get for killing enemies and getting high style scores.
3. No environmental kills possible here
We’ve praised the power of the environmental kill in our walkthroughs (especially where Vergil’s involved), but know that in Bloody Palace Mode, they just aren’t possible! Fiery walls block off the dropping points, so you’ll have to progress through good old-fashioned direct damage.
4. Use your Devil Trigger if it’s full…
There’s no use in sitting on a full bar. Use it if you’ve got it; you’ll regain it in no time! Having the mode activated also heals you, which can often be a lifesaver in this “one death and you’re done” mode.
5. … Unless you’re about to face a boss.
It’s in boss levels that you’ll need Devil Trigger Mode most, both for its healing properties and the super damage it has you deal.
6. Use this cool Kablooey trick!
Remember the Kablooey launcher? It’s that gun you get late on in the game, which shoots up to six (depending on whether you leveled it up) explosive darts. Multiple darts embed into your enemies before you choose to let them all rip.
Usually Dante undergoes a bit of a cooldown between trigger pulls, but you can interrupt this by using jump, evade, or even by landing. In very quick succession, you can shoot, jump, shoot, jump, shoot, evade, shoot, land, and shoot. It’s a mouthful, but that means 5 darts on the foes around you, all sent in a matter of seconds. Just remember not to let Dante’s jumps unfold completely. Interrupt even these with a dart shot!
7. Crowd control
There are two Aquila moves that together will make short work of a big group of Stygians (or any other enemies really). These are Buy In and Tornado. Look them up in the Move List!
8. What’s the quickest way to kill a Lesser Stygian?
Maybe someone out there can prove me wrong, but so far I’ve found it to be with Eryx. Just use Uppercut, jump up to meet the Stygian, and use Showdown (the standard Eryx melee move while in the air). Those two hits are enough to kill a Lesser Stygian.
9. Don’t get complacent
Remember that you’re looking to add seconds to the clock for the sake of long-term success. Near the end of Bloody Palace Mode, you can slowly but surely racked up over an hour of resource time. To get there, you’ll need to be at your most efficient right from Level 1.
10. Study up, yo!
Bloody Palace Mode is your chance to really explore Dante’s move set. In your quest to get faster and faster, you’ll find that refreshing your memory on some of Dante’s more obscure moves might be just what you need.
