Newcomer V of Devil May Cry 5 is a surprising arrival in the Devil May Cry franchise, as his mysterious frame and set of Familiars bring a unique dimension to gameplay. Unlike the more action-packed Dante and Nero, a lot of V’s combos and gameplay rely on his Familiars to do the dirty work for him, with V often using his cane only to eliminate foes on the brink of death.
With these unique elements in mind, it’s easy for any Devil May Cry 5 newcomer to feel a bit overwhelmed with V’s mechanics. However, any Devil May Cry veteran knows that upgrading some essential abilities and skills first can help players maximize their V game. When V begins helping players get in the “groove,” his upgrades simplify his mechanics.
10 Trigger Heart (Ability)
It’s important to remember that while Nightmare is the most powerful among V’s Familiars, it also costs three Devil Trigger gauges to summon it on the field. This can become extremely detrimental to V’s fighting ability, as this won’t let him summon Shadow and Griffon to help him in combat. This is why Nightmare is recommended as a last resort, given its punishing costs.
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To make this less hurtful to V’s resources, he can purchase the Trigger Heart ability. This essentially reduces the overall gauge consumption when summoning Nightmare into the battlefield, effectively prolonging its duration as well.
9 Breakthrough (Skill, Shadow)
When V summons Shadow, this is often to ensure it gets to fight enemies up close and personal. Thankfully, Shadow’s slate of attacks allow it to not only focus on dishing out punishment in melee, but also do crowd control as well. However, it’s an annoyance to manually chase enemies trying to leave combat because of their weakened state.
If V purchases Breakthrough, Shadow won't need the hassle of manually running towards an escaping enemy. Instead, Shadow can just zoom towards an escape foe while dealing damage at the same time, effectively punishing their cowardice.
8 Double Check (Skill, Griffon)
As Griffon is based on the original lightning-affiliated Griffon from Devil May Cry 2, it makes sense for V’s Familiar to be acquainted with lightning as well. One such move it can pull off when facing multiple enemies is Double Check, which lets Griffon unleash an electric shock that can slam into enemies as though it were a battering ram. He can do this by using RB + LS (Back to Forward) + X.
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When upgraded further, Double Check can shoot not just two, but three electric shocks in a row, allowing Griffon to stun multiple groups of enemies at once. It's perfect to let Shadow or even Nightmare do the trick.
7 Flank Attack (Skill, Griffon)
Griffon is already V’s go-to Familiar when it comes to long-ranged incursions, but that doesn’t mean it’s only there for the sole purpose of being a turret. With Flank Attack, Griffon obtains a nifty melee attack that can hit multiple targets at once.
Flank Attack already deals a surprising amount of damage to enemies. What’s interesting is how hitting multiple foes with Flank Attack can probably send them to the air, leaving them wide open for attack and combos from Shadow and even Nightmare.
6 Blockade 2 (Skill, Griffon)
When attacking from long-range, Griffon’s Blockade attack allows it to summon pillars of lightning to attack and stun multiple opponents. However, players who want to punish their enemies further can improve upon Blockade via Blockade 2.
Unlocking Blockade 2 allows Griffon to use an upgraded charged attack, this time unleashing three pillars of lightning. V can do this by holding X and then releasing, which will then blast more enemies due to the boosted damage. This is a great way to stun enemies, and prepare Shadow and Nightmare for better combos.
5 Griffon Vim (Skill, Griffon)
Being stalemated can be one of the most annoying things that can happen to V’s Familiar, especially since this means they get sidelined before being summoned again. With Griffon Vim, Griffon can help V much more frequently by ensuring its time being stalemated is significantly reduced.
While there’s only one tier to this ability, securing is early on is a great way to ensure Griffon can consistently aid V in combat. This is extremely relevant, considering that Griffon is V’s go-to Familiar when it comes to long-distance combat.
4 Griffon Vigor (Skill, Griffon)
One might reckon that one of the best ways for V’s Familiars to avoid getting stalemated is for them to be able to take more hits. Thankfully, improving V’s Familiars’ durability is perfectly possible, thanks to a few skill upgrades. With Griffon Vigor, V can help Griffon get boosted durability in order to receive more damage from enemies.
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That way, Griffon can theoretically take more hits before being un-summoned into a stalemate. Of course, a good alternative here is to force V to double jump, forcing Griffon to go by V’s side and allowing it to heal its damages.
3 Shadow Vim (Skill, Shadow)
With Shadow being V’s go-to Familiar for short-ranged combat, it’s extremely important to keep Shadow always prepared for summoning. Unfortunately, when Shadow becomes decommissioned into a stalemate, it can take a bit of time before V can get it ready for summoning again. Thankfully, Shadow Vim can help circumvent this problem. It allows V to at least boost Shadow’s recovery time from stalemate.
That way, V can call forth Shadow more often, allowing it to dish out much-needed melee punishment to V’s foes. Considering how Shadow is the more recommended manually-controlled Familiar, being able to call it more frequently is a godsend.
2 Shadow Vigor (Skill, Shadow)
While many players would say upgrading Shadow’s attacks would make it work better as a melee combatant, some V savants would recommend improving Shadow’s overall health first. Thanks to Shadow Vigor, V can further improve the survivability of Shadow by boosting its overall durability. Given its nature as a melee combatant, this ability allows Shadow to take more punishment.
Alternatively, V can also simply do a side-dodge to force Shadow back to his presence, interrupting any attack that might force it to a stalemate. Regardless, Shadow’s boosted durability with Shadow Vigor allows players to control the Familiar for extended fights.
1 Royal Fork (Skill, Cane)
At its core, V’s Cane can’t do much damage, except for finishing off opponents. However, when there are multiple enemies in need of a finisher, it can be quite hassling to finish them one at a time. Thankfully, Royal Fork allows V to effectively use his finisher to multiple opponents at once.
With Royal Fork, V can use his cane to pull off a devastating multi-hit combo, perfect for blasting off weakened enemies. This is a great finisher to use while Nightmare is still mowing down enemies, since V will likely encounter near-death enemies right after Nightmare is done with its rampage.
Devil May Cry 5 was released in March 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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