The penultimate mission in the game will have Dante facing his brother, Vergil, one-on-one. This is the hardest fight in the game, as Vergil is quick, agile and powerful. First and foremost, ranged weapons are going to be pretty much useless in this battle, as Vergil will pretty much deflect all of them. That means you can’t sit back and try to fire off some Kalina Ann rockets at him from a distance. Also, Vergil only has brief windows of vulnerability, so you will need to get used to his attacks and how to dodge them. You will want to keep Trickster on at all times, especially if this is your first encounter with Vergil, as dashing away and around will prove to be useful in dodging.
When you see Vergil plant a foot behind him and grasp the hilt of his sword, he will be doing one of two things. The first attack is him dashing forward and performing a flurry of slashes. This is a good attack to see, as you can unleash a little combo of your own after dodging it. The second attack he can do from this stance is similar to the previous one, but it is a ranged attack, as Vergil sends out a sphere that looks like a flurry of sword slashes. Dashing to the side or backwards is ideal for avoiding both attacks.
Should you keep your distance from Vergil, he can fire off little projectiles at you, four in a row, in fact. These are relatively easy to avoid, as long as you dash side to side. Lastly, the final attack you’ll probably see in the first phase is Vergil dashing to you and trying to perform a combo with his sheathed sword, which is about four to five hits in total. Keep attacking after the dash-in and flurry, and you’ll start whittling down his health. Once you get Vergil’s health to around 60-70%, he will enter Devil Trigger and things will definitely become a lot tougher.
(1 of 2) Some attacks, like the flurry spheres, aren’t as dangerous pre-Devil Trigger
Some attacks, like the flurry spheres, aren’t as dangerous pre-Devil Trigger (left), and become a lot more deadly after he activates it (right)
Vergil’s attacks will be amped up with Devil Trigger, with that ranged flurry of strikes being sent out three times instead of just once. He can also appear in the air above you and slam his sword into the ground twice. Remember those little projectiles he shot at you in the first phase? Well, he can summon eight of those by his side, sending them one at a time at you in very quick succession. Vergil also has the dash-in and flurry attack, which seems a little faster while in Devil Trigger. There is also still the sheathed sword combo, so be on the lookout for that.
Whenever you see Vergil charging up in Devil Trigger, that means he’s ready to take flight. He will fly to the outside of the arena and then charge straight at you, hitting for major damage, even on Human difficulty. He will perform this two to three times before crashing down and reverting to his human form. Dodging it with Trickster can be a little troublesome, as it has some homing properties, but if you time your own Devil Trigger, it can knock him out of it. Once Vergil is out of his Devil Trigger, the battle will take a step forward in becoming more difficult.
Those energy balls he sends out with the “sword flurry” is now set at three for remainder of the fight. He also summon a ring of swords around both himself and you, but you can actually attack yours to clear them out. Otherwise, they will eventually converge on you after moving away for a quick second. You might also see Vergil turning his back on you, then perform two quick dashes, resulting in him stabbing you in a cinematic attack. Vergil will also perform the air-to-ground slams with his sword, two in a row in fact, but he will be vulnerable after doing the second, so that’s your chance for a combo.
By far, the most dangerous attack in Vergil’s arsenal is when you see a large aura on the ground around him. You want to escape this dome, as it will be filled with a series of sword slashes that hurt a lot. Luckily, this zone is pretty well-defined, so you can quickly use Trickster to dash out of it. Vergil can also go in and out of Devil Trigger for the remainder of the boss fight, although he doesn’t seem to use that flying attack from the first Devil Trigger. At 25% health, he can create a clone of himself while in Devil Trigger, which has all of the same moves as him, but it has greatly reduced health.
(1 of 2) When you see the large circular aura on the ground
When you see the large circular aura on the ground (left), get away from it, as Vergil will unleash a flurry of sword slashes (right)
Get rid of the clone as soon as possible, as you don’t need two Vergils raining attacks on you. If this is your first time fighting Vergil in the game, you will want to take things a little slow and be on the defensive side. Trickster is your best style here, mainly for the dashes, and the Cavaliere weapon is way too slow to deal any damage to him, so stick to the other three melee weapons. You might be able to sneak in a Kalina Ann shot or two during the big dome sword slash move, but it’s better to avoid it altogether. Eventually, you will bring his health down, ending the mission and starting the next one automatically.
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