DMC: Lore Explanations Outside Gameplay Mechanics

[InZodwetrust]

In DMC, demons are more of trans-dimensional eldritch horrors instead of the usual infernal horror. They were never explained in depth. Are they connected to sins? Why do they hunt humans?

 

[InZodwetrust]

Good
What are demons?
What we know

• Monstrous creatures, usually originating from another dimension (underworld)
• Possess superhuman strength, agility, durability and/or healing
• Are immortal or at least long lived
• Arrogant and aggressive
• Hunt humans (or just sapient creatures) for a type of energy which they store in their blood (red orbs)
• They can also harvest this energy from some objects
• Possess an energy (demonic energy) that grants them supernatural abilities eg elemental control, teleportation, intangibility, flight etc
• Demonic energy has an empowering, but corrupting influence on humans and can turn them into demons
• Have varying levels of spatial manipulation which they use to travel to the human world, create hammer spaces for storing objects, create folded spaces to hide in order to set up an ambush
• Stronger demons weaken the dimensional barrier around them, making it easier for weaker demons to portal into the Human World within their vicinity
• Low level demons are feral and guided by instinct, but develop minds the older and more powerful they get
• Stronger demons can command weaker demons (Alto Angelo and Bianco Angelos, Proto Angelo and Scudo Angelos, Hell Judecca and Hell Cainas/ Hell Anetoras)
• Have limited shape shifting/evolution ability (Assaults evolved into Frosts and Furies). In the anime, even low level demons could disguise as humans
• Have a 'super mode' (devil trigger) they can go into

Looking at these facts, DMC demons are very similar to hollows in Bleach.

My own take on DMC demons is

• Feed on the essence/potential (spiritual energy if you use Bleach terminology) produced by sapient creatures
• This essence is naturally released in small amounts through emotions or in larger amounts when casting magic or upon death, but dissipates quickly
• Emotions add 'flavour' to this essence, with negative emotions being more palatable to demons. This gives rise to the legend of demons being associated with sin
• Over time, objects can absorb this essence (explain why sentimental or ancient objects produce red orbs when destroyed)
• Demons store this essence in their blood, forming red orbs
• Some demons can directly drain the life force and/or spirit of their victims and and store in their bodies (as green and white orbs respectively) for later use
• Over time, this stolen life force and spirit becomes infused with demonic power and mutates to a more potent from (blue and purple orbs respectively)
• Demons can process essence (red orbs) for an emergency boost to health (green orbs) or stamina (white orbs), though it is very cost inefficient
• When tainted with a demon's life force or soul over time, stored essence (red orbs) can be used by demons to gain a permanent increase in their ability (blue or purple orbs). This explains how demons get stronger over time

 

[InZodwetrust]

Divinity Statue/ Watcher of Time

Spoiler: Divinity statue

What we know

• It's in the form of a lion-headed woman carrying an hour glass
• Is said to be a conduit for an omniscient god of time and space
• Trades different items and skills for red orb

My own explanation

• It is a conduit for a powerful and elusive demon with spatial and temporal abilities
• Can connect others to alternate timelines of themselves in order to teach them a skill they would have learnt in the future or would have learnt if they made a different decision in the past
• It can't actually make someone more powerful (that is why you can never buy DT from a divinity statue

 

[InZodwetrust]

What we know
A hybrid describes an individual with both demonic and human ancestry, usually born from the result of a demon and human relationship, but also those whose relations can be traced to a demon within their lineage. Because of this, these hybrids innately exhibit enhanced physical prowess and unique abilities thanks to the demon blood within them. Every hybrid has enhanced physical attributes, as well as the ability to infuse almost anything with the demonic energy that they possess. With this blood, they can transform into their demon state via an ability called the Devil Trigger. However, Dante and Vergil also possesses an ability called Sin Devil Trigger. This ability now allows them to harness the full totality of their powers though they cannot stay in the form for long.
Quoted from https://devilmaycry.fandom.com/wiki/Demon#Hybrids

My own addition
What makes hybrid special is that they are a combination of demons and sapient beings. This means that their human half can produce the essence that their demon half needs to grow stronger.

This means that hybrids can become stronger just through training and living a fulfilling life. It also makes their growth rate and potential high.

Unfortunately, as most demons look down on humans, hybrids are usually perceived as abominations to demons.

 

[InZodwetrust]

	Dante	Vergil	Nero
Physical Strength	2nd	3rd	1st
Speed	2nd	1st	3rd
Endurance	1st	2nd	3rd
Regeneration	1st	3rd	2nd
Demonic Might	1st	1st	3rd
Demonic Energy Manipulation	2nd	1st	3rd
Growth Rate	2nd	3rd	1st
Weapons	1st	2nd	3rd
Skill	1st	2nd	3rd

This is my personal opinion. Please comment

 

[Hyperionthetitan]

	Dante	Vergil	Nero
Physical Strength	2nd	3rd	1st
Speed	2nd	1st	3rd
Endurance	1st	2nd	3rd
Regeneration	1st	3rd	2nd
Demonic Might	1st	1st	3rd
Demonic Energy Manipulation	2nd	1st	3rd
Growth Rate	2nd	3rd	1st
Weapons	1st	2nd	3rd
Skill	1st	2nd	3rd

This is m personal opinion. Please comment

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I think vergil regen is on par with dante . But due to his demon world adventure it get stressed out a bit too much without resting period and he start breaking down .mundus glued him together using the angelo armor and his power .

 

[InZodwetrust]

What we know
DevilArms are demonic, variably sentient weapons that are commonly the manifestation of a defeated Demon's soul or power. In the Devil May Cry series, Devil Arms are considered to be the characters' most powerful weapons. When wielded, Devil Arms often convey their power to the wielder, provided they have been subdued first.
Quoted from devilmaycry.fandom.com


Devil arms...

• Are created from the weaponized souls of demons that either submitted (Balrog) or were defeated (King Cerberus)
• Can also simply be weapons crafted through demonic magic (Artemis), the souls of demons (Dr Faust) or just from body parts of demons
• Have their names and abilities derived from the demon they originate from
• Feed on the magic or demonic energy of their users
• Can corrupt a user who lacks either their allegiance, sufficient strength (in body and/or mind), or both in order to resurrect (Artemis)

My own explanation

• Devil arms are created either from the crystalized souls of powerful demons or from weapons infused with souls (either demons or humans) through demonic alchemy
• As a result, all devil arms possess a degree of sentience
• They feed on magic or demonic energy from the souls of their users. Because of it this, anyone with weak body, will and/or soul can be consumed by a devil arms. This can explain why Lady never uses a devil arm in the series as she's a pure human that doesn't use magic or any means to strengthen her soul.
• Additionally, they absorb essence from beings they are used to kill to grow stronger (implied by Balrog)
• Devil arms can be a means of escaping death as DMC demons haven't shown the ability to reform in hell when killed. When they absorb enough essence from either their users or their victims they can resurrect themselves

 

[InZodwetrust]

Additionally, they absorb essence from beings they are used to kill to grow stronger (implied by Balrog)

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Balrog says he cannot defeat someone so strong as he is now, and instead surrenders. He offers himself as a Devil Arm, saying that he wants to continue to fight so that eventually he will be strong enough to fight Dante himself.
Quoted from https://devilmaycry.fandom.com/wiki/Balrog#Story

 

[InZodwetrust]

I think vergil regen is on par with dante . But due to his demon world adventure it get stressed out a bit too much without resting period and he start breaking down .mundus glued him together using the angelo armor and his power .

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That might be so, but in DMC 5, Vergil showed poor stamina even after recovering and receiving a power up

 

[Hyperionthetitan]

That might be so, but in DMC 5, Vergil showed poor stamina even after recovering and receiving a power up

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If you mean that he kinda lost to nero .look at dante who is getting a lot weaker after one round of a fight with post-fruit urizen he got bully around by newly form vergil

 

[InZodwetrust]

If you mean that he kinda lost to nero .look at dante who is getting a lot weaker after one round of a fight with post-fruit urizen he got bully around by newly form vergil

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Don't forget that Dante was just waking up from a coma

 

[Hyperionthetitan]

Don't forget that Dante was just waking up from a coma

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Well thats kinda count as a rest aint it ?

 

[InZodwetrust]

Spoiler: Image

What we know
The Devil Bringer was Nero's demonic right arm, and the physical manifestation of his demonic power. The arm possesses superhuman strength, which it can also manifest through a larger, spectral arm. It is also capable of absorbing items of power, such as the Yamato or Evil Legacy, and manifesting their power

Quoted from http://devilmaycry.fandom.com/Devil_Bringer​

My own explanation
It is the demonic right hand of Nero. It was an incomplete DT that covered Nero's right hand after it was mutilated in a demon attack. It is more durable and stronger (common feature of a typical DT) than the rest of his body. It's primary ability is to create a spectral copy of itself that mimics the movement of the Devil Bringer. Because it seeks to complete itself, it can absorb power from external sources. Nero gains abilities if a powerful artifact is absorbed. The artifacts absorbed are

• Evil Legacy: It is a skull shaped crystal containing an ancient spirit. From this artifact, Nero gains the ability of astral projection which is responsible for his move "Snatch". With this ability, he can project the astral arm produced by the Devil Bringer to manifest at a distance from himself.
  Spoiler: Snatch

  
• Rusalka Corpse: This is one of the feelers of the demon Bael shaped like a nude woman which he uses to lure his victims. From this artifact Nero gains the ability "Lure". This makes the DB's absorption power a passive ability. Whenever the ambient demonic energy in the area is high (b/c a demon is nearby) the energy accumulates in the DB and causes it to glow
• Sephiroth Fruit: This is a seed produced by the demon Echidna. Remember, these seeds are parasitic and connects to a host to form chimeras. This artifact gives Nero to absorb energy directly from living things (fatal to the victim if enough energy is absorbed). Unfortunately, the victim can resist it. This limits the ability to plants that have little to no willpower to resist.
• Yamato: The sword wielded by his father. Because it is a powerful artifact and resonates with him well. It gives him the ability to unlock a false DT.
• Aegis Shield: The left hand of Angelo Credo formed into a shield. From this artifact, Nero gains the ability "Reinforce". This greatly increases the durability of the DB. It helps Nero to reinforce anything. The apex of this ability is reinforcing space. Though this is costly to Nero's energy reserves, he can bypass the cost by using the energy absorbed from a subdued enemy (giving rise to the skill "Hold")

With his fully unlocked DT, the DB has turned to spectral wing arms and enables Nero the ability to use his obtained abilities with his body (Nero turning his arm to a spectral form in order to wear a Devil Breaker can be related to the astral projection ability gained from the Evil Legacy)

 

[Gray Walker]

Interesting explanations for the abilities gained from the key items.

After 5 I saw the Devil Bringer's ability to absorb stuff as a weaker version of Rebellion's fusion ability, or just a trait of the Spardas like how Dante could absorb demon souls to gain styles. The angle of constantly trying to complete itself is neat but it kind of limits it so that once he'd unlocked his true DT he'd no longer be able to absorb stuff, which depending on how you interpret him still replacing his arm with breakers might not be true as of five.

I saw the Evil Legacy as just acting as a source of power that just strengthened Nero's existing astral projection abilities. (Remember he was able to manifest the spectral arm already when fighting Dante at the start, when he threw the giant stone sword at him).

Didn't see the Sephirophic fruit that way. I always thought it just gave him limited control over the plants Echidna spawned which he could only really manifest via destroying them, but that's a fairly reasonable explanation. Alternatively the game file says it holds the power that binds together demonic plants, so I saw it as absorbing that binding energy from the plants into itself.

As for the Aegis Shield, I saw it as not originally coming from Credo but something that was infused into him during his ascension ceremony that then influenced his form. Thus why Nero could absorb it (and the item file looks different from Credo's shield) without destroying Credo's own shield.

The Yamato one I agree with fully however.

Edit: For the Rusulka corpse, I saw it as him gaining an ability I'll call detection. Which merely resonates with nearby demonic power. A s a parallel to feelers helping search out sources of food.

 

[InZodwetrust]

Interesting explanations for the abilities gained from the key items.

After 5 I saw the Devil Bringer's ability to absorb stuff as a weaker version of Rebellion's fusion ability, or just a trait of the Spardas like how Dante could absorb demon souls to gain styles. The angle of constantly trying to complete itself is neat but it kind of limits it so that once he'd unlocked his true DT he'd no longer be able to absorb stuff, which depending on how you interpret him still replacing his arm with breakers might not be true as of five.

I saw the Evil Legacy as just acting as a source of power that just strengthened Nero's existing astral projection abilities. (Remember he was able to manifest the spectral arm already when fighting Dante at the start, when he threw the giant stone sword at him).

Didn't see the Sephirophic fruit that way. I always thought it just gave him limited control over the plants Echidna spawned which he could only really manifest via destroying them, but that's a fairly reasonable explanation. Alternatively the game file says it holds the power that binds together demonic plants, so I saw it as absorbing that binding energy from the plants into itself.

As for the Aegis Shield, I saw it as not originally coming from Credo but something that was infused into him during his ascension ceremony that then influenced his form. Thus why Nero could absorb it (and the item file looks different from Credo's shield) without destroying Credo's own shield.

The Yamato one I agree with fully however.

Edit: For the Rusulka corpse, I saw it as him gaining an ability I'll call detection. Which merely resonates with nearby demonic power. A s a parallel to feelers helping search out sources of food.

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My whole explanation is based on the fact that abilities gained should be related to a feature possessed by the artefact it originates from.

The glow in the Evil Legacy reminded me of a soulstone from Diablo franchise. I assumed that the spirit of an ancient demon was sealed inside. The Snatch move reminded me of astral projection.

Rusalka corpse act like the lure of an anglerfish; they attract prey. So I decided that the Detection ability should be based on attracting ambient demonic energy to his arm

Sephiroth fruit are parasitic entities. Parasites feed on hosts. So I decided that the ability to wither strange trees must be because the DB is feeding on their energy similar to a parasite. The ability would not have worked on standard demons if it was easy to resist.

As for the aegis shield, I mentioned it in your DMC story when I was hypothesizing how the DB became the new sheath of the Yamato

 

[Gray Walker]

Fair enough on the rationale behind this stuff.

I guess I'll add in some of my own theories.

Using the Sparda to Devil Trigger in DMC1 permanently helped awaken some of Dante's hidden potential. This awakening of inner power is part of the reason his Devil Trigger doesn't change based on Devil Arm anymore after 1 and he started to develop his Devil Trigger independent of Devil Arms.

This potential was also represented by DMC2's Majin form.

Sparda had an ability similar to Nero's DMC4 Devil Trigger/Doppelganger naturally except instead it summoned a spectral dragon. This is based on the Devil Trigger attack while fighting Mundus phase 1 in DMC1.

 

[Lost1]

Well I like this and agree with most of what is said nice,concise and sufficiently detailed good job Chief .

 

[InZodwetrust]

Sparda had an ability similar to Nero's DMC4 Devil Trigger/Doppelganger naturally except instead it summoned a spectral dragon. This is based on the Devil Trigger attack while fighting Mundus phase 1 in DMC1

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Really! I've not played parts 1 & 2. All I know from them are YouTube video

 

[Gray Walker]

Really! I've not played parts 1 & 2. All I know from them are YouTube video

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During Mundus Phase 1 of DMC1 you're playing as Dante who has devil triggered with Devil Sword Sparda. This devil trigger lasts for the entire phase and grants Dante unlimited flight meanwhile. It's kind of a rail shooter section.
Anyways since you're in devil trigger already using devil trigger runes charges up an attack where Dante summons a large spectral dragon to tackle/attack Mundus.


https://i.redd.it/gna6i1x4bin11.jpg
Kamiya calls the Dragon Puff but I like to think it's a spectral projection that Sparda was able to summon

 

[Lethaius]

Divinity Statue/ Watcher of Time

Spoiler: Divinity statue

What we know

• It's in the form of a lion-headed woman carrying an hour glass
• Is said to be a conduit for an omniscient god of time and space
• Trades different items and skills for red orb

My own explanation

• It is a conduit for a powerful and elusive demon with spatial and temporal abilities
• Can connect others to alternate timelines of themselves in order to teach them a skill they would have learnt in the future or would have learnt if they made a different decision in the past
• It can't actually make someone more powerful (that is why you can never buy DT from a divinity statue

Click to shrink...

Yo you pointed me here, and I figured I'd pop in, but now Iv've got a Q. How would yellow and gold orbs be handled in a lore compliant method? Would it be WoT sorta playing with the timestream to revert their death and power loss while keeping the memories? or what?

 

[Hyperionthetitan]

Yo you pointed me here, and I figured I'd pop in, but now Iv've got a Q. How would yellow and gold orbs be handled in a lore compliant method? Would it be WoT sorta playing with the timestream to revert their death and power loss while keeping the memories? or what?

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Premonition (like in final destination) and crystalized life force?

 

[InZodwetrust]

Yo you pointed me here, and I figured I'd pop in, but now Iv've got a Q. How would yellow and gold orbs be handled in a lore compliant method? Would it be WoT sorta playing with the timestream to revert their death and power loss while keeping the memories? or what?

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That would be very likely. Both versions replace the person from a version of themselves from the recent past of their timelines. Yellow orbs rewind the client's timeline to the last time they were safe, while gold orbs replaces the client with their past selves of the last time they were healthy.

I've not really thought about it

 

[Lethaius]

That would be very likely. Both versions replace the person from a version of themselves from the recent past of their timelines. Gold orbs rewind the client's timeline to the last time they were safe, while gold orbs replaces the client with their past selves of the last time they were healthy.

I've not really thought about it

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You used gold twice there, but I assume yellow is the former and gold the latter?

 

[InZodwetrust]

You used gold twice there, but I assume yellow is the former and gold the latter?

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Thanks. I've corrected it

 

[InZodwetrust]

Sorry for the long time afk. I'm taking suggestions on the topic of my next exposition.