And so the very first enemy ever you face in this game is none other than our ex-main character... o_o… Sweet. Though a boss, Dante starts out going very easy on you (on Human and Devil Hunter modes), probably because on a fresh new game you have nothing but Combo 1, Aerial Combo, Shooting and Devil Bringer (DB). O_o… It’s not like you can do any much with that.

Human/Devil Hunter modes

1. Get used to the fact that Dante is unlikely to shoot if you don’t. He shoots only because he needs to deflect your bullets, which means that the gun is entirely useless, for now.
    
   However, if you stand too far away from him, he may be tempted to shoot you with Rapid Shot from afar (it sounds like a machinegun but it’s just his handguns), which is quite annoying to avoid if you don’t start hiding or side rolling soon enough.
    
   
2. Dante taunts at you sometimes, leaving him entirely open for a few seconds. You can then run up to him and press O for a DB attack, or you can do the 4-hit ground combo. (DB damages more though).
    
   
3. If he doesn’t taunt, wait for an opening, especially after he does Helm Breaker or Stinger, which you can jump from to avoid. Then hit him with the ground combo or DB again. Repeat until victory.
   
   Note: It is possible to do High Roller (R1 + back + hold /\) on Dante but he will fall back to the ground before you can continue on with Aerial Combo, hence disabling you from air combos except for Split, maybe. (Nero’s version of Helm Breaker).
    
4. Lastly, if you want to play cheap, there's always this method:
   Start shooting at him from a distance but slowly close in on him as you shoot. Once Dante's of grab-able distance, press O. As Dante gets up, start shoot from a distance again, and then rinse and repeat.

Sons of Sparda/Dante Must Die mode

1. This time Dante’s got the shotgun, which will throw you back in one shot, and he’ll shoot it typically if 1) you shoot in mid-air too much 2) you do a Streak and it misses him (he may also do Stinger instead of shotgun).
    
   On DMD, he'll have Pandora as well, although he'll do only the mega-laser attack (PF398: Revenge). Also, if you keep shooting when he keeps deflecting your bullets, eventually he'll pull out his shotgun on you, so I recommend that you don't shoot for the hell of it unless you're going for the cheap method mentioned above.
    
   
2. Dante abuses Stinger and Rapid Shot a lot this time. If you stay too far, he is very likely to shoot at you, which is really hard to jump away from (only side rolling/Table Hopper is effective). Otherwise, he’ll seem to wait around for the chance to do a really fast Stinger or ground combo at you, which is bad if you don’t jump away fast enough, but good if you manage to so that you can use that moment of opening to snatch and grab him in mid-air immediately.
    
   
3. Thing is, succeeding in grabbing him with DB does not guarantee that you’ll land the attack as Dante is capable of escaping, both in mid-air and ground. If he escapes mid-air, you can either quickly snatch him back for another grab, or you can quickly perform Split or Aerial Combo as Dante flips in mid-air to get in a hit despite the unsuccessful DB. (Be careful as Dante may perform Helm Breaker)
   
   If he escapes on ground, there will be a short action sequence whereby both of them clash their swords, and in order to beat him in that you’ll have to mash O as fast as possible. If you’re lucky, Nero will automatically push Dante off, inflicting DB’s damage. If not, both of them will get parried off and the faster one to attack will receive the free attack. If you lose at it, Dante will parry you off and attack.
    
   
4. If you snatch Dante in mid-air and do not wish to grab him with DB, you can always try attacking immediately in mid-air. But still, be careful of his Helm Breaker.
    
   
5. Another safe way of attacking is to use Charged Shot LV 3. It’ll take quite a while to store up to LV 3 but the damage it does is worth it. Keep holding onto the charged shot and release only when Dante either 1) does Rapid Shot 2) does a combo/Stinger. That way he is guaranteed to take the hit.
    
6. Note: If you’re in DT and Dante is breaking his fall from a hit he just took from you, never keep slashing in his face hoping to get more hits in. It WON’T work, and he will retaliate with a ground combo or Helm Breaker which will hit you. When Dante breaks his fall from anything, stay away until he reveals another opening. You can always use that time to charge your gun.

Video demo on DMD | Mirror link on Youtube
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