- Good grief... They really made a big mess, didn't they?

Ok, it's not a great game. But well, it's not really that bad. Or is it? Probably. But at this point, piling up some more on the meme might just be even more boring than playing the game. We'll just assume that for whatever reason some people do try this game out, for more than a quick playthrough, or even to get the achievements. We'll decide not to judge, and try to make the most of it. The good news is that it won't take too long to 100% (20-30h max).

There are a lot of criticisms that can be made about this game: the levels, the enemies, the lack of variety in melee weapons, etc. They're all justified. But I think that in the end, the biggest issue is that unlike the other DMC games, DMC2 never really pushes the player to get better. There is rarely the satisfaction of finally beating a boss after getting stuck on it for a while, or revisiting earlier areas that proved challenging at the time but feel now almost trivial because of how damn good at the game we've got.

That sense of progression in skill can come from a variety of factors, but it just doesn't work very well in DMC2. You can go through Normal and Hard just mashing buttons. Regular enemies are small and numerous and difficult to read. Bosses are a mixed bag, with some decent ones, and some that are incredibly and inexplicably bad. Overall, there is little incentive, and practically no necessity, to get better and more stylish, which is what this type of game should be about. However, that's not to say that there is no possible depth to be found in DMC2's gameplay. Check out for example this video by Javelina Devil:


The guide below contains some good pieces of advice if you're interested, although some are not really relevant if you consider going for the achievements.
https://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2941112591
My advice (which goes in the other direction than the guide above), to find a little bit of fun despite the many poor design choices that plague this game, is to do by yourself what the game does not encourage you to do. Try to get better at it. Right from the start, keep an eye on your style meter, and learn how to get it higher, how to read enemies and avoid their attacks, how to keep it alive by dodging and shooting (and if you dodge near a wall and climb it up, be sure to shoot your way down).

It's not necessary by any means (except maybe in Must Die Mode, but even then not so much). But if you're going to play the worst DMC game, you might as well do it in style. Because that's a big part of what makes the other games satisfying. Don't exaggerate though, there are some enemies and bosses that do not deserve anything more than button mashing and cheesy tactics, some areas that do not deserve anything more than to be ran through, completely ignoring the spawns.

- Every hero has a weakness.

When you launch the game, you choose between the Dante and the Lucia "disk". Dante and Lucia are the two main playable characters, each with their own campaign and completely separate save files.

There are 3 difficulty levels:

• Normal: The first playthrough for both Dante and Lucia is automatically in Normal. After completing Normal, you have access to a Mission Select allowing you to replay any specific mission.
  
  
• Hard: It is unlocked by completing a full playthrough in Norrmal with both Dante and Lucia. Mission Select is expanded to all missions already completed in Hard, and you can make a pause in your Hard campaign at any time to farm a mission in Normal for example.
  
  
• Dante/Lucia Must Die: It is unlocked by completing a full playthrough in Hard with both Dante and Lucia. Mission Select is expanded to all missions already completed in DMD.

Each playthrough unlocks more things, mostly just different costumes for Dante or Lucia. The only notable one is the new playable character Trish, unlocked by beating Hard with Dante. Trish has her own weapons and abilities, but she still works as a costume for either Dante or Lucia: sharing the bank account, the Health/Devil Trigger upgrades, and the stock of consumable items of either Dante or Lucia, depending on which campaign she is playing.

- King? Yeah, here's your crown!

There are 33 achievements for the second DMC game. Most should come naturally while playing, so there is no need to worry about them. I will focus mainly on the achievements that are more complicated, or require some special care.



Maximizing the health bar requires acquiring all the Blue Orbs available in the game for either Dante or Lucia (but better doing it for both anyway). This means 1) completing the Secret Missions; 2) finding all the Blue Orb Fragments hidden in the environment; 3) purchasing all 5 Blue Orbs from the shop. For Magica Maxima, all Purple Orbs must be purchased for either Dante or Lucia, to max the Devil Trigger gauge. Getting a larger health bar is obviously going to make life easier, so it's worth working on this early on. But it's not a big issue if some orbs are missed during the first playthrough since they can be acquired during the subsequent NG+ ones, or by replaying specific missions individually.



There are several achievements dedicated to collecting and upgrading gear, although it is not required to max out everything. For Dante: collect all 3 swords and upgrade them all to level 3, and upgrade at least one gun to level 3. For Lucia: collect all 9 Devil Hearts, collect all 4 Arsenals and upgrade them all to level 3, and upgrade at least one sword to level 3. The Mission Guides below will make sure you collect everything. And we'll do some quick Red Orbs Farming after the Normal playthroughs, to get the funds for the upgrades.



There is also the Highest Honor achievement, which is the same but with Dante. S-ranking a mission is more difficult than in DMC1, and is unlikely to happen by chance. You'll most likely get a bunch of Bs and Cs, with maybe an A here and there. But since the game has Mission Select, it can be done at any time after completing the Normal playthroughs. The "S-rank Missions" section below has a few tips on the matter.



Must Die mode is not as difficult as Dante Must Die in DMC1. You can choose the campaign (Dante's or Lucia's), and the character you want to complete this. And once you've chosen Trish, it's probably the most fun playthrough of them all, with finally a bit of challenge, and a moveset that is closer to what we had in DMC1. You can also buy a bunch of items to make your life easier, and go back in Normal at any point to farm some Red Orbs if necessary. I'll go over some tips in the corresponding section below, but not much to worry about.



Devils may never cry, but you will. In fact, you may never stop crying. As if somebody decided to expand Hell a bit, by building 8991 additional circles. An exquisite tragedy, a divine torture, or a grotesque comedy. Certainly a perfect opportunity to re-evaluate all of your life choices. On the bright side, there is a way to cheat this.

---

There are a few other achievements that should come naturally while working towards the ones mentioned above, but are not technically absolutely automatic, so you may want to keep them in mind:


Stylish! DMC2: Perform an S Rank Combo using Dante. And En Vogue is the same but with Lucia. These ones might be hard to achieve when starting up, but it becomes a lot easier later on. The Infested Tanks (Mission 5 for Dante, Mission 4 for Lucia) practically guarantee an S rank Combo just by mindlessly slashing at them. Just take care of the birds first with Lucia.



Barehand Beauty. DMC2: Finish the game on any difficulty with Trish. She is unlocked as a new costume for both Dante and Lucia, after completing Hard with Dante. This achievement can be unlocked on either Dante's or Lucia's campaign. Playing Must Die Mode with Trish is a good option, but otherwise a quick Normal playthrough will do.

- We have until the Sun is completely eclipsed. But...how are you going to enter the building?

A minimum of 5 playthroughs is required, Normal and Hard with both Dante and Lucia, and Must Die Mode with any character. Thankfully, these playthroughs are short. Lucia on Hard difficulty took me no more than 1h30, for example.


If you want to play it blind (or at least without following a guide every step of the way), just go ahead and enjoy your Normal playthroughs of the game without worrying. It won't cost too much in the long run, since anything that was missed can easily be gotten later either during the Hard playthrough, or via Mission Select of the relevant missions in Normal.

• Do it with both Dante and Lucia, in any order.
  
  
• Complete all Secret Missions and collect all Items (Blue Orbs, Devil Hearts, Weapons). For this, just follow the "Mission Guides" sections below while playing.
  
  
• Pick up Red Orbs as you see them, but do not bother specifically farming for those.

• If you missed some Secret Missions or Collectible items, go back and pick them via Mission Select (it's not even necessary to finish the missions: save/quit after acquiring the desired items). Alternatively, don't bother, as you can still get everything during the Hard playthrough.
  
  
• Do some Red Orbs Farming with Dante. See the corresponding section below. For the achievements, you need to purchase all Blue and Purple Orbs, and upgrade all 3 Swords and 1 Gun to level 3, but you'll get tons of Red Orbs anyway. Maybe buy a few Vital/Devil stars or other items in preparation for Hard, but you shouldn't need that many.
  
  
• Go and try to S-rank a mission with Dante and with Lucia. See the corresponding section below. Give it a few attempts, but if you don't get it quickly (especially with Lucia who is not fully upgraded yet), you can come back to this later.

• You could start Hard with Lucia, but we want to unlock Trish first so that it's easier to farm Red Orbs for Lucia.
  
  
• If you are still missing some Collectible Items (Blue Orbs, Hearts, Weapons), make sure to pick those during the Hard playthrough. If you ever need a Yellow Orb, do not buy one, but go catch the one in Mission 1 in Normal, then save/quit.
  
  
• In case you didn't complete all Secret Missions in Normal (20 for Dante), they can be done in Hard. Note that all Secret Rooms will be accessible, even the ones already completed in Normal. You just need to complete a total of 20 to get all the Blue Orb Fragments. It is possible to do more (up to 60 by playing them all in the 3 difficulties), but there is no benefit whatsoever.
  
  
• Otherwise, you can speed through Hard mode without worrying about anything. The Mission Guides are no longer necessary since Blue Orbs and Gear items already picked up are not replaced by anything.

• Do some Red Orbs Farming with Lucia, or with Trish for Lucia. See the corresponding section below. The achievements require to upgrade 1 Sword, and all 4 Arsenals to level 3. And better buy all Blue/Purple Orbs as well. Maybe buy a few Vital/Devil stars or other items in preparation for Hard, but you shouldn't need that many. Farming Orbs for Lucia takes more time than for Dante, but it is really not necessary to max out everything.
  
  
• If you didn't get the S-rank missions for both Dante and Lucia, give it a few more attempts. It can still be done at any time later.

• If you are still missing some Collectible Items (Blue Orbs, Hearts, Weapons), make sure to pick those. If you ever need a Yellow Orb, do not buy one, but go catch the one in Mission 1 in Normal, then save/quit.
  
  
• If you didn't complete all Secret Missions in Normal (10 for Lucia), they can be done in Hard. All Secret Rooms will be accessible but you just need to complete a total of 10 to get all the Blue Orb Fragments.
  
  
• Otherwise, you can speed through Hard mode without worrying about anything.

• It can be done on Dante's campaign (more red orbs for items), with either Dante or Trish, or on Lucia's campaign (shorter and fewer bosses), with either Lucia or Trish. Lucia's campaign with Trish is what I would recommend, but all choices are perfectly valid.
  
  
• If necessary, do some more Red Orbs Farming to max out the gear you actually use (no need to upgrade anything for Trish), and buy some items like Vital/Devil stars (there is no need for too many, and they can still be re-stocked between missions).
  
  
• See the corresponding section below for more info and a few tips, but not much to worry about.

• If you haven't completed Must Die Mode with Trish, speed through Normal with her, on either Dante's or Lucia's campaign.

• This is going to be a real test of nerves and endurance, at least if you want to do it legit, which is not absolutely required. See the corresponding section below for more info.

- Crap like that doesn't interest me. But your swan song will!

I wanted to keep it short and simple so as to not distract much from just playing the game. So the Mission Guides are not walkthroughs, but are meant as quick checklists to ensure that you do not to miss anything in each mission. They include:

• The location of the Secret Missions. Note that the #ID of the mission depends on the order you play them. So if you skip one, you'll get a different #ID than in the guide. Blue Orb Fragments are rewarded on missions with even #ID (for Dante).
  
  
• The location of all Collectible Items: Blue Orb (Fragment), Yellow Orb, Devil Hearts, and Weapons (swords, guns, arsenals).
  
  
• Some Red Orbs Statues and caches. No need to go out of the way for Red Orbs, since the farming methods detailed below are much more efficient.

On subsequent playthroughs, the mission guides are not really needed. Indeed, once picked up, the Collectible Items are not replaced by anything. Secret Missions can be played in each of the 3 difficulties (60 Missions for Dante, 30 for Lucia), but there is no benefit completing more than a total of 20 for Dante / 10 for Lucia.

• Blue Orb Fragment #1. Proceed downhill and jump over the wall blocking your path. You will then pass under an archway, double jump or wall jump against the inner walls of this archway.
  
  
• Secret Mission #1. After being introduced to the Puia enemy (some kind of bird), you will have a large door straight ahead and a path to the left. Inspect the large door for the secret mission.
  
  
• Secret Mission #2 (Blue Orb Fragment #2). Take the path to the left and a bit further you will have to jump over a building with a door. Once you do, directly turn around and go through the door of that same building.
  
  
• Yellow Orb. Follow the path and you'll see the Orb in the middle of the street.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #3. A bit further, you'll see a Divinity Statue (hourglass) on your left, jump down in the water straight ahead, and go to the right.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. In the village, walk down the path on the seaside.

• Secret Mission #3. After dropping down in an area with water, you'll see some breakable walls. Behind the second is a Red Orbs Stone. Inspect the coffins nearby.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #4. After being attacked by a bunch of firebats, do not follow the red orbs on the left, but go the right for a breakable wall. Destroy it and a wall will move to give access to a small area. Go there and let the floor break under you.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #5. After the puzzle with the 4 orbs, move ahead and there will be a breakable wall directly on Dante's left (do not break it yet), and an opening to the right. Go there and backtrack on the other side of the wall, to find another breakable wall. Destroy it and the fragment will be on the other side.
  
  
• Secret Mission #4 (Blue Orb Fragment #6). When you reach an Orb Switch (floating sphere circled by white cubes), inspect the coffins nearby before hitting the switch.
  
  
• Aerial Heart. After beating the Goats. Can't be missed.

• Blue Orb Fragment #7. At the start of the mission, move forward until you reach an Y-shaped intersection. Do not follow the trail of red orbs, but go towards the huge door at the foot of the Y. To the left of that door, you will find some stone colunms (jump on top for Red Orb caches), and a broken bridge with the fragment.
  
  
• Secret Mission #5. Down the street with the red orbs, you'll soon get trapped by red barriers. Finish the fight, then before doing anything else, go back up the street. Count 4 pairs of light poles up from the white door, and inspect the door on the (camera) right, before a building with fenced windows.

• Secret Mission #6 (Blue Orb Fragment #8). Walk down the street at the beginning of the Mission, and enter the first door to the (camera) right.
  
  
• Complete Blue Orb #1. Continuing down the street and around the corner, you'll be attacked by monkeys. More or less at this level, on a small elevated platform on the left side of the street. You can reach it with double jump or wall jump.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #9. Keep going down the road after breaking the debris that obstruct the passage. Jump on a small platform with a red orb on the left side, then keep climbing up the cliffside by jumping on the successive platforms (note: you can get more air if you jump - shoot once - jump).
  
  
• Secret Mission #7. Drop down on the pier on the right side of the road, and follow it past the bridge until you reach a Red Orbs Stone. Interact with the garage door.
  
  
• Quick Heart. Go back to the main street that took you down the cliffside, and follow it to the door at the end. Fight with the skeletons then take the door upstairs. There is also a Yellow Orb in that small room, if you jump up the machine.
  
  
• Shotgun. Next to the motorcycle after beating the tentacle boss. Cannot be missed.

• Secret Mission #8 (Blue Orb Fragment #10). After going out of the tunnel (and clearing the second fight with a red barrier), go to the right, jump to the upper walkway and check out the door.
  
  
• Secret Mission #9. After beating Orangguerra, keep going forward until you spot a gas tanker obstructing the passage. Do not yet jump over the tanker, but instead go on the upper walkway to the left of the tanker. Inspect the last door before the corner.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #12. Defeat the first Tank, then go all the way up the ramp to the right (defeating the second Tank in the middle of the ramp).
  
  
• Offence Heart. Drop down the ramp and you'll be back at the start of the area, with the burning tanker on your left, turn around and jump over the broken wall, then through the opening on the left side of the fence. You may need to defeat all tanks firsts.
  
  
• Secret Mission #10 (Blue Orb Fragment #11). At the start of the area where Infested Tanks are introduced, with the burning tanker on your left, inspect the door on the right.
  
  
• Complete Blue Orb #2. When you have to climb a building with green/blue lights, under bird attacks, go to the right side. On the last level before reaching the roof, a cutscene will show you the way forward. Don't go on the roof just yet, but jump down in a small elevator-platform that will take you down to the Orb.

Nothing here, have fun!

• Flame Heart. When you find yourself in a large spiral staircase, run all the way down and inside the central cylinder. Fly all the way up using Devil Trigger with Aerial Heart.
  
  
• Vendetta. The next room is divided in the middle by a river of lava. Jump on a small platform with a door in the middle of the lava, and go through the door.
  
  
• Secret Mission #11. In the room with the lava, on the opposite side from the entrance, do not go up the stairs but follow the narrow path next to the lava, and inspect the wall / the crates at the end.
  
  
• Complete Blue Orb #3. When you get out of the train, destroy the small crates on Dante's left and jump on the bigger one. Then wall jump and aim backwards (or fly with Aerial Heart) to land on a ventilation tube close to the ceiling. The Orb is on a nearby platform.
  
  
• Secret Mission #12 (Blue Orb Fragment #13). After the ride up the elevator. You will see three doors. Ignore the one forward (with a red light), which is the exit. Go up a few stairs and inspect the one on the left.

Nothing here, have fun!

• Red Orbs Stone. At the bottom of the central section of the large red spiral stairs.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #14. After climbing up the large spiral staircase, you will have to hit 3 switches to open the garage door to the next area. Wall jump to get on top of the building to the left of the 3rd switch (the one closest to the garage door), and you will see pipes circling above you. The fragment is atop these pipes, a bit further back in the direction of the spiral staircase building you came from. It's not easy to catch it, but it can be done either by walking on the pipes, by using Devil Trigger + Aerial Heart, or by a well aimed jump-shoot-jump from the building below the pipes.
  
  
• Missile Launcher. Destroy a crate inside the airplane.

• Blue Orb Fragment #15. At the very start of the mission, walk forward and directly make a U-turn on the other side of the wall to your right. Walk towards the camera to grab some red orbs, and the blue orb fragment at the end.
  
  
• Secret Mission #13. In the middle of the same area, interact with the pillar with a flaming skull at the far-right corner of the decorated square on the ground.

• Secret Mission #14 (Blue Orb Fragment #16). At the start of the level, walk down the path until you see an eye painted on the wall. Interact with it.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. Right in the middle of the path, after getting out of the circular room with the Orb Switch.
  
  
• Merciless. In the next room, with the ceiling spike trap, destroy the breakable wall but do not go through just yet. Jump up an opening in the wall on the opposite side of the room. Follow the small passageway to find your third sword.
  
  
• Complete Blue Orb #4. Jump up in the area just above where you found Merciless.
  
  
• Secret Mission #15. In the next room with red pillars and an Orb Switch, go to the wall opposite to the entrance, and jump up a small platform then a larger one in the center (just below the Orb Switch). Interact with the door on that platform.
  
  
• SMG. In the same room, make your way up until you reach red platforms. Pass two pairs of those then up the pillars on the left. Move back in direction of the camera and follow the platforms, jump on a pair of blue platforms, and next you will see a passage in one of the upper corners of the room. Enter it and follow the corridor to find the weapon.
  
  
• Healing Heart. When you find yourself in a small room with 3 breakable statues, you have a chance to get the Healing Heart a bit early. These statues take a lot of hits before they break, and they regenerate. You have to weaken them so you can break the 3 of them almost simultaneously, then go really fast (Devil Trigger + Quick Heart) to the next room to pick up the Heart. You can skip this as you will get the Healing Heart a bit later anyway.

• Secret Mission #16 (Blue Orb Fragment #17). At the very start of the mission, turn around and walk through the door.
  
  
• Secret Mission #17. After the fight with the flying crystals and the Sargassos, drop down to a room with a Divinity Statue. The next corridor has breakable statues in alcoves on both sides. Before going through the door at the end, break the last statue to the left, and interact with the wall inside the alcove.

Nothing here, have fun!

The mission takes place in a circular area composed of slightly altered parts of the early missions. You need to hit 4 Orb Switches, which I will also note here. Going in clockwise:

• Secret Mission #18 (Blue Orb Fragment #18). At the very start of the mission, turn around (you'll see a Divinity Statue a bit further) and walk through the door on your left.
  
  
• Orb Switch #1. Move forward and you'll find yourself in an area from Mission 1. On the right just before the intersection, there is a slightly elevated ground with a column. Go at the corner of the buildings (before the column) and jump-shoot-jump to get on the roof. You might want to kill the flying goats first.
  
  
• Healing Heart. Keep moving along the path you took during Mission 1 until you see a small alley with a string of red orbs. Jump up into the opening on the wall to your left, to get in the area where you found a Rusty Key earlier. After the fight, you'll receive the Heart.
  
  
• Orb Switch #2. In the same area as the Healing Heart.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. Take the small alley with the red orbs, and look to Dante's left after leaving it.
  
  
• Orb Switch #3. Go forward until you reach the Y intersection from Mission 3. The switch is at the foot of the Y.
  
  
• Yellow Orb. High up on a green wall to the left of the last Switch (where there used to be columns and a broken bridge). You can jump-shoot-jump to reach it.
  
  
• Orb Switch #4. Go down the left branch of the Y towards the area where you started the Mission. When you come in view of the Divinity Statue, there will be a path to the left. Follow it.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #19. On a small platform up the left-side walls, just before Orb Switch #4.

• Chrono Heart. You start the Mission in a circular area. There is an eye in the middle (which you need to hit to start things up). On the circumference, there are four other eyes, as well as a grey mound. Hit the central eye, and when the timer starts go close to the grey mound and try to push enemies onto it using Stinger. After doing this for a bit, the Chrono Heart will appear, go ahead and grab it.

• Complete Blue Orb #5. After grabbing the Sacrilege from a Lion's head, go to the opposite side of the room (staying on the upper balcony).
  
  
• Secret Mission #19. In the same room, drop down from the balcony and inspect the door just below the Lion's head.
  
  
• Frost Heart. You'll pick up the Sacrilege a second time after defeating Bolverk, and a third time in a cramped room after defeating some goats and cherubs. Get out of this last room the way you came in (through the Lion's head, not the normal door). Then go to the right (away from the camera), then to the left at the next intersection (where skeletons are spawning), then to the far right in the next room. You'll end up in a clean room with an Ornb Switch and goat statues. Hit the switch, defeat the enemies, and grab the Heart. (Then make your way back to the last Sacrilege room and pick the Normal door).
  
  
• Secret Mission #20 (Blue Orb Fragment #20). After defeating Trismagia, you will find yourself in Arius' office. Do not go into the portal, but walk around it to jump and stand on the office chair, and inspect the back of the chair.

Nothing here, have fun!

Nothing here, have fun!

• Yellow Orb. After the first fight with the skeletons, up in the air in the way to the exit.
  
  
• Secret Mission #1 (Blue Orb Fragment #1). Jump in the water to the right of the Divinity Statue and inspect the grates.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #2. On an elevated platform just to the left of the Divinity Statue.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #3. After passing over the bridge and under a large archway, you will be on an upwards path with canons on the left side. The fragment is atop the head of a humanoid carving on the cliffside. In the area between the canons and the closed gate barring the way, jump-throw-jump along the cliffside to try to land on the shoulder of the carving; from there jump on/over the head to catch the fragment.
  
  
• Secret Mission #2 (Blue Orb Fragment #4). Once you reach the church, do not enter the main gate, but inspect the face carving at then end of a passage to the right.

• Aerial Heart. After the first fight. Cannot be missed.
  
  
• Darts. While climbing up wooden stairs and platforms inside a tower, you will first encounter skeletons on a larger platform. Right above it is a small platform with a statue that you should break.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #5. Up in the air to the left (when facing the wall) of the platform where you found the darts. Double jump in that direction.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. Keep climbing up the wooden platforms inside the tower, and it will be in the middle of a larger one.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #6. Right after the boss battle, you'll need to pick up the Arcana Spada on an Altar in an Alcove. The fragment is in the same alcove, on the left side.

• Complete Blue Orb #1. After dispatching the flying goat and clearing the red barriers, go through the big white door. A bit forward down the path you can jump up to a small platform with a red orb on the left. Jump up to the next platform a bit further and higher, and you should see the orb above you.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #7. After destroying the debris that block the passage. Climb up several successive platforms on the cliff side. Jump-throw-jump to get more air if necessary.
  
  
• Secret Mission #3 (Blue Orb Fragment #8). Follow the road down the cliffside to the door at the end. FIght the skeletons, then inspect the face carving across from the entrance, on the ground floor.
  
  
• Healing Heart. Behind the door upstairs, in the same building.
  
  
• Secret Mission #4 (Blue Orb Fragment #9). Directly after crossing the bridge, do not go through the door just yet. Pick up the green orb and up the stairs on the left side. Go as far as you can and inspect the wall that blocked you.

• Blue Orb Fragment #10. At the start of the mission, before going anywhere else, you can grab the fragment by jumping down in the underground tunnel at the place where the railing makes an U-shape.
  
  
• Offence Heart. In an alcove down in the underground tunnel, after defeating some enemies.

• Cranky Bomb. Destroy a crate inside the airplane.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #11. When you receive the Evil Heart, jump all the way down to the (camera) left. The fragment is visible between some cylindrical oil tanks.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. At the base of the inside cylinder in the large red spiral staircase.
  
  
• Flame Heart. Fly all the way up the cylinder inside the large spiral staircase. Same as with Dante.
  
  
• Electro Heart. Take the small door in the middle of the lava stream (though there is no lava at the moment). In the next room inspect the end of the alcove, to replace the Evil Heart with the Electro Heart.
  
  
• Complete Blue Orb #2. Return to the lava room, and jump to the platforms on Lucia's left. Do not go up the stairs, but follow the narrow path next to the lava.
  
  
• Secret Mission #5 (Blue Orb Fragment #12). After the ride up the elevator, you will see three doors. Do not yet go through the one straight ahead (with a red light), but take the one up a few steps to the right.

• Blue Orb Fragment #13. After defeating the boss and its worms, go through the portal. There will be a small cutscene, then turn around and go grab the fragment and some red orbs.
  
  
• Bow Gun. Jump down in the water, the Arsenal is in a blue-lit alcove underwater, right under the spot where you started on the bridge.
  
  
• Secret Mission #6 (Blue Orb Fragment #14). Go underwater to the far end of the area (Lucia's left at the end of the cutscene). Use Devil Trigger and Aerial Heart (farm some underwater enemies if necessary) to fly out of the water and land on a large platform just above water level, to the camera left. There is a huge dark cavern entrance, interact with it (might need to find the right spot).

• Complete Blue Orb #3. At the very start of the mission, swim forward and turn to Lucia's left a bit before you reach a dead end.
  
  
• Aqua Heart. When you get out of the water, jump down, and it will be in front of you. Hard to miss.
  
  
• Klyamoor. Down the small corridor to the left of the Aqua Heart.
  
  
• Secret Mission #7 (Blue Orb Fragment #15). Jump on the platform right above the Aqua Heart, and you will see two other platforms higher up. The one above you has some breakable junk for red orbs. The one on the left side has a door that you can interact with.

• Yellow Orb. In the first open (underwater) area, where you encounter some Blades, hidden under a piece of broken wall.
  
  
• Secret Mission #8 (Blue Orb Fragment #16). In the same room, go inside one of the stone doorways and inspect the back wall.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #17. When you go out of the water after the Blades, you'll climb a few platforms arranged in spiral. In the next room, there is a large statue with an eye. Do not interact with it just yet, but walk around behind it.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. Just in front of you when you get out of the water.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #18. After the Red Orbs Stone, you'll take a small hallway and jump again in the water. Swim down and you'll see a door-like opening below the entrance. As soon as you've gone through it, float down all the way to the bottom, and you'll see some circular stone structure. Go between this structure and the wall to find an opening, enter it and follow the path until you find the blue orb fragment (and some red/green orbs).
  
  
• Quick Heart. When you find yourself in a corridor with 3 Orbs, first dispose of the enemies. Then you have to destroy the 3 Orbs and run/dogde to the next room with a Divinity Statue and the Quick Heart behind a force field. But the Orbs regenerate, so you have to weaken 2 of them first, then destroy all 3 almost simultaneously.

Nothing here, have fun!

The mission is similar to Dante's 14th mission, except things are in different places. You need to hit 4 Orb Switches, which I will also note here. Going in clockwise:

• Secret Mission #9 (Blue Orb Fragment #19). At the very start of the mission, take the first door on the left side of the street (across from the column with a red orb on the right side).
  
  
• Orb Switch #1. Keep going straight ahead from your starting point until you reach a wall. The switch is a bit to the right, you'll be attacked by goats.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. Go back to the street and follow it along the canal, turn right at the end, and you'll see some stairs ahead. Before reaching those stairs, jump up the buildings to the right.
  
  
• Yellow Orb. Keep going forward until you reach the area where there was a Divinity Statue in Mission 1, and you'll spot the second Orb Switch. The Yellow Orb is on slightly elevated platform to Lucia's right.
  
  
• Orb Switch #2. Right in the middle of the path, after picking up the Yellow Orb.
  
  
• Complete Blue Orb #4. A bit further, you'll see a small alley with red orbs. Do not take it just yet, but jump up through the opening on the wall to the left of the alley. There will be some enemies, and the Orb is in the opposite corner.
  
  
• Orb Switch #3. Take the alley with the red orbs and turn to Lucia's left at the first opportunity.
  
  
• Zambak. Keep going until the Y intersection, go towards the foot of the Y but turn to Lucia's left before reaching the end wall.
  
  
• Orb Switch #4. Go down the left branch of the Y towards the area where you started the Mission. When you come in view of the Divinity Statue, there will be a path to the left. Follow it. The switch is up on a platform to Lucia's right, at the next intersection (you'll fight a bunch of Mages).

• Chrono Heart. Same as mission 15 with Dante. You start in a circular area, with an eye in the middle (which you need to hit to start things up). On the circumference, there are four other eyes, as well as a grey mound. Hit the central eye, and when the timer starts go close to the grey mound and try to push enemies onto it. After doing this for a bit, the Chrono Heart will appear, go ahead and grab it.

• Secret Mission #10 (Blue Orb Fragment #20). When you exit the elevator, go to Lucia's left, smash the vase at the end of the corridor, and inspect the wall behind it.
  
  
• Complete Blue Orb #5. When you pick up the second Sacrilege from a Lion head, go to the opposite side of the room (staying on the upper balcony).

Nothing here, have fun!

- Oh my... Both sides are heads!

Two achievements require to obtain an S-rank for at least one mission with Dante, and one with Lucia. It's a bit more difficult than the corresponding achievement in DMC1, but it's not that hard either.

The rank for a mission depends on the time needed to complete the mission, the average combat style ranking, the amount of red orbs collected, the damage taken (don't take any), and the items used (don't use any). A detailed explanation of how the rankings work can be found in this guide by Director Bison, but it is not necessary to know all this:

https://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1753766220

The best option is Mission 8 (in Normal), which consists in a single boss fight. Equip the SMGs, and keep shooting while staying at mid-distance. When he does the ring of fire attack go close to the fire (without touching it) and dodge to raise your Style. Finish the boss up close to collect the orbs. See the video below by superbuu3.


Alternatively, you can try it on Mission 1: just skip most fights, and make sure to finish the ones you don't skip with a Show Time!

One option is Mission 1 (in Normal): fight the first group of skeletons and make sure to finish the fight with Show Time! Skip all the other fights, and collect some red orbs on the way. The final fight with the golems cannot be avoided, just don't take any damage and try to get up to at least a Bravo style.

Another option is Mission 2 (in Normal): skip all the fights until the boss. And slowly kill it with thrown knives while evading its attacks. Check out this other video by superbuu3. Just be really careful when he throws one ball, and then the second directly afterwards (he doesn't do it often, so it often got me by surprise with this).


Which one is easier probably depends on the player. I'd recommend playing Missions 1 and 2 successively until you get an S-rank in either one of them. And if you screw up, finish the mission and save: it will net you some red orbs (which are more of a pain to farm with Lucia than with Dante).

- A false coin, for a false god.

Red orbs are the game's currency. They are used to level up the melee/ranged weapons, and to buy Blue Orbs to extend the health bar, Purple Orbs to extend the Devil Trigger gauge, and various consumable items.

Pick up the red orbs you see, destroy breakable objects to get a bit more, but overall it is not worth farming enemies for red orbs during the missions. Better come back to some specific places after finishing Normal, to farm Red Orbs and get the desired upgrades (for the achievements and/or in preparation for the harder difficulties).

Dante has an extremely efficient method for farming red orbs. You can get hundreds of thousands in about 10 minutes:

1. Start Mission 9, and equip the SMG.
   
2. Run back to the lava room, jump on the left side to spawn the firebats, and go back in the lava.
   
3. In front of the door you came in from, continuously dodge from left to right to get your Style up to S. You shouldn't hit the walls, but if you do and start wall climbing, make sure to shoot on your way down so you don't lose your style.
   
4. When you reach an S Style, dodge to the other extremity of the lava pit, and keep shooting. From time to time, dodge to the door and back to pick up the green/white orbs.
   
5. If you lose your Style ranking, repeat 3-4.
   
6. When the timer gets close to 0:30 or something (to be safe), save and quit the missions.

I didn't come up with this obviously. Check out this video (by ffffaaaacccckkk) if you're having trouble:

For the achievements, buy all blue/purple orbs, upgrade one of the guns to level 3, and all 3 swords to level 3. You get so many orbs from the method above that it's rather easy to max out everything and buy a bunch of items.


One option for Lucia is to replay Mission 9 a bunch of times on Normal. This mission is a single easy boss fight against Arius. It can be completed in a couple of minutes, and nets you at least 5000 Red Orbs if you achieve a B rank (more with A or S rank).

If you have unlocked Trish, another option is to try to do something similar as Dante in the lava, but it is going to be a lot less efficient:

1. Start Mission 5 with Trish, speed through it until you get rid of the evil heart, then directly go back into the lava room (which will now have some lava).
   
2. Like with Dante: spawn the firebats, then dodge left to right in the lava to increase your style up to Show Time! Then start shooting.
   
3. The issue is that pistols are not SMGs, and maybe there are fewer firebats or I don't know, but there is going to be a lot less drops, and it's very easy to lose the Show Time! style as you don't always lock on to a firebat fast enough.
   
4. I'm not sure if there is an ideal way to do this, but I ended up staying in the area in front of the door (before the camera switches), and continuously (double) jumping and shooting my way down, as it seems to catch the firebats more reliably. It still requires to go back to dodging for Show Time! rather frequently.

I made about 150,000 Red Orbs in 30 minutes with this technique, so it's not so bad. At least this mission is not on a timer. You don't really need to buy all the upgrades and max out everything (one Sword and all Arsenals to level 3 for the achievements; and Hard is not that hard), so don't feel like you have to waste too much time here.

- I know. He did the same thing. Hold my beer, Lucia.

There are several options: Dante's campaign with either Dante or Trish, or Lucia's campaign with either Lucia or Trish. Must Die Mode is not that hard, and all choices are valid and feasible.

Trish is a good character, her gameplay is arguably more fluid and fun than Dante's or Lucia's. And you've already played twice with Dante and Lucia. And there is an achievement for completing a playthrough with Trish. So she seems the natural choice here. But otherwise you can still run a quick Normal playthrough with Trish afterwards. Either way, check out her moveset:


As for Dante's vs. Lucia's campaign. On Dante's side, it's a lot easier to farm red orbs and max out everything and purchase a ton of items, for both him and Trish. But on Lucia's side, the campaign is shorter and has fewer bosses (e.g. no Bolverk and his wolves, while Dante gets them twice).

I would recommend Trish in Lucia's campaign. But there is one issue: the underwater boss Tateobesu in Mission 7. Trish has the Nightmare-gamma to shoot underwater, but it's not nearly as efficient as Lucia's Bow Gun. It's still doable but it takes longer especially if the big fish decides to spend a lot of time invisible (during which it can't be locked-on, and Trish is shooting mostly blind). Stock up on Vital Stars for this mission, to survive while slowly chipping away at its health bar. For reference, it took me about 40 minutes, and 4 large + 5 small Vital Stars... but it stayed invisible the whole damn fight. If it's too much, it's still possible to switch to Lucia just for this mission, but then another full playthrough with Trish will be required for the related achievement.

For the rest, a few general tips:

• A lot of fights that can be skipped by just moving along to the next area.
  
  
• So far, just mashing buttons was generally sufficient. In Must Die Mode, it's starting to get actually useful to read enemy tells and to dodge their attacks. It's not always easy though, and in the middle of an attack or combo, the dodge button might just not interrupt everything and get you out of the way quickly enough. So (especially for bosses) when getting close to attack with the sword, better not mash until the start of an enemy attack, but rather perform a few attacks then back off. See what you can get away with.
  
  
• Enemies go in Devil Trigger after a while, in a lot of spots it's practically impossible to avoid. Thankfully the enemies in Devil Trigger are not that different in terms of damage given/received, but they just don't get stunned and can interrupt your combos. Better prioritize the more annoying enemies (like the goats), and finish the enemies one by one instead of damaging everyone a little bit. Maybe even leave the already Triggered enemies alone in favour of the new spawns.
  
  
• Trismagia attacks a lot more often, try to evade them and shoot from time to time. But you will only do serious damage when it's in joined single head form. Make sure to pull Devil Trigger at that moment (with a Devil Star if necessary).
  
  
• Go back to Mission 1 to catch a Yellow Orb if necessary. Always have a couple Vital/Devil Stars with you, just in case. But honestly, except for Tateobesu, I barely used any items: max 1 Vital Star per boss, and 2 small Devil Stars for Trismagia. I didn't even try using Holy Water etc (might be useful I imagine).

- There's just one thing left. Kill me... Kill me and everything will be over.

The Bloody Palace gives you a succession of rooms (up to 9999) with different waves of enemies, just like the Secret Missions. The rules are:

• Portals: When you clear a room, you have a choice of 3 portals: the black one getting you to room number +1, the white middle one +10, and the green one +100. There is no extra reward for using any of those, so it will be +100 most of the time.
  
  
• Enemy waves: each room typically faces you with a bunch of enemies of the same type, or a combination of 2-3 different enemy types. It is mostly random, a given room number will not necessarily have the same enemy content every run. Rooms that are a multiple of 10 (20, 430, 5460, etc) have a boss, sometimes with other enemies. Level 9999 repeats indefinitely and gives you a bunch of bosses.
  
  
• Difficulty: The first levels are easier. But from level 1000 and up, enemies spawn in Must Die difficulty, and go in Devil Trigger if you leave them alive too long (which you almost certainly will).
  
  
• Items: Items can and should be used (though sparingly: it's a long trip), except Holy Water which doesn't work in the Bloody Palace.
  
  
• Objective: Reaching the max level (or 9000 for the achievement) without dying. Actually you can die once if you have a Yellow Orb, but no more. You can't save, so it has to be done in a single session.
  
  
• Rewards: Once you die, you get to keep the Red Orbs you collected, plus a bonus that is about 10 times the max level reached (so 30,000 if you reached level 3,000). Compared to the Red Orbs Farming methods we've seen, it's not worth it.

You can try it, Or maybe you should try at least once, to see how far you go. A few tips:

• Character: Choose which character you want to use (Dante, Lucia, or Trish). Trish is generally recommended, although personal preferences can play a role.
  
  
• Preparation: Do some Red Orbs farming to max out your gear, and stock up on items (Vital stars, Devil stars etc. Holy Water does not work, so no need for those). Make sure to have your Yellow Ob.
  
  
• Path: If you always take +100, you'll have 90 levels to beat with regular enemies (no bosses). Alternatively, you can go to room 10 first, then use +100 and go through only the boss levels. The latter option is sometimes recommended as faster and safer, as you have to deal with fewer enemies simultaneously, and bosses don't go in Devil Trigger (or at least it doesn't change much if they do). This is probably true once you've learned to deal with each boss type effectively. Ultimately it is up to personal preference, you can always switch from one route to the other by taking the +1 portal.
  
  
• Bosses: The bosses you can get are: Orangguerra, Tartarussian/Plutonian, Bolverk, Infested Tank/Chopper, Arius, Possessed Arius, Arius Secretaries, Phantom, Furiataurus, Despair Embodied. Sometimes they come with supporting enemies (you probably want to try to get rid of those first before they go Devil Trigger).
  
  
• Regular Enemies: You can get practically every type of enemy encountered in the game, except for the underwater ones. They come in packs of 8 or so, generally from 1 or 2 (sometimes 3) different types in each level. When you kill one, a new one spawns immediately until the wave limit is reached. Some waves are very easy (e.g. Firebats), some can be very difficult and taxing (e.g. Goats or Wolves). In general, staying at a distance and shooting may be safer, but is boring and takes a lot more time, so use your sword as well, but don't get too cocky. Prioritize enemies (Goats, or ones that are not yet in Devil Trigger), go for isolated enemies rather than groups when possible. Golems can be used to regain your health (leave the last one alive, and recharge your Devil Trigger to use with Healing Heart, then let the Golem regenerate).
  
  
• Some commenters posted additional useful tips and strategies, have a look at the bottom of this guide.
  
  
• You're probably looking at 5-8 hours to get to level 9000. Take some breaks, drink water, etc.

There is a cheat code to get infinite Devil Trigger. It makes the Bloody Palace mostly trivial, and a lot faster (less than an hour to get to 9000).

• On the main menu screen (where you select the game DMC1-2-3), go in settings and set the language to one of the european languages (French, Italian,...).
  
  
• Launch the game on the campaign (Dante or Lucia) where you completed Must Die Mode.
  
  
• Select your last save (with the gold medal indicating you completed Must Die Mode), with Trish.
  
  
• On the mission select screen, hold RB+RT+LB+LT and select Bloody Palace. If all is right you should spawn in Level 1 with your Devil Trigger fully charged.
  
  
• Go in Devil Trigger, jump and use Air Raid to murder everything quickly. For the Sargassos, you have to go close to them to activate them. Use the +100 portal all the way.

- Now go! Everything I know, I have passed on to you. You are my daughter.

Well that was... uhm... a game? Not very challenging nor time consuming, and I even started enjoying it a bit more in the harder difficulties. Not that much, granted, but more. My combined Dante/Lucia save files indicate about 20 hours. I'm sure it can be done faster, since I'm not particularly good or anything. Though I only did Bloody Palace legit up to level 3000 or so. That part could take more time.

I hope you liked the guide, let me know if it helped!



If you're interested, I made similar guides for DMC1, DMC3, and DMC4:
https://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2934304748
https://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2949541899
https://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2992272611