Stygian (Lesser / Regular / Elite)

These are the easiest and most common enemies in the game. They attack in pretty much the same manner and can all be launched. They do not enter 'devil trigger mode' aka DT mode (indicated by a windy yellow aura) except for when you play on DMD mode.

Bathos / Pathos

Bathos shoot exploding bombs while Pathos shoot arrows up to 3 times in a row. They are usually shielded but have very low health even on DMD mode. Demon pull off their shields and hit them a few times to finish them. It is possibly to parry the arrows back at the Pathos.

'Demon Projectile'

These appear at specific parts of some missions and do not have an official name. The game's tutorial teaches you to shoot them dead (before they hit you). The handguns can do the job just fine, but later you'll get the shotgun which is even more efficient. Vergil does not encounter these enemies.

Hell Knight

Only demon weapons can hurt these guys. Use any other weapon and you'll get parried. As the tutorial advises, Arbiter and demon pull work well against them. They have a regular swing attack and a charge attack that they do in temporary DT mode like the Ravagers.

Frost Knight

Only angel weapons can hurt these guys. Use any other weapon and you'll get parried. You have to keep hitting them until their shields break before you can do any real damage on them (unless you hit their back when they happen to face away if ever). Use Aquila's Roundtrip to trap them and Osiris' Shredder to break their shields. They have the same swing attack as the Hell Knights but in addition, they also shoot a trail of ice across the ground which freezes anything in its path, fellow enemies included. Vergil does not encounter these enemies.

Ravager

When Ravagers attack they enter DT mode, which means it's impossible to interrupt them during their attack. They'll also chase you down even across the entire battlefield just to get to you. The safest way to avoid is to angel evade/stay in the air. It's possible to parry them as well but the risk vs reward is not worth it IMO. When they're not attacking, you can fight them like Stygians.

Tyrant

Tyrants takes very little damage anywhere except their back. Despite their size they're quick to attack when you're in range (their arm's reach). The safest way to deal with a Tyrant is to stand a good distance away to lure him into doing his charge attack. Evade/jump + angel glide (Jump + Trick Up for Vergil) over him and then demon pull his back to topple him down. You'll have a good few seconds to attack before he gets back up. For Dante, a fully charged Uppercut (Eryx) might be the most damaging. Towards the end of a game you'll acquire the Kablooey gun which works even better against him. Shoot at least 4 darts onto his back and detonate it to stun him temporarily, then run up and attack until he recovers. Some of the Tyrant's attacks can also be interrupted with a fully charged Uppercut but it is a little risky. When its life is low, it'll enter DT mode and become more aggressive and you can no longer demon pull at its back.

Note: There's an exploit for Dante. After a Tyrant topples over, run to his back and do a fully charged Uppercut (Eryx) > Roulette (Rebellion) > Shotgun shot > Roulette > Shotgun shot… (keep repeating Roulette and Shotgun). If you're fighting in a room and you hit the ceiling while doing this, you can minus out the shotgun and just repeat Roulette nonstop till he dies. (See video demonstration below)

Butcher - 0:00 , Witch - 0:22 , Tyrant - 0:30

Rage (Regular / Ghost / Blood)

These agile creatures can be launched but are more resistant to ground attacks and may not get stunned when hit. They have 3 types of attacks - single swipe, double swipe and a jump attack. Regular Rages (they are gray-blue in color) are vulnerable to all weapons, Ghost Rages (transparent blue) to angel weapons and Blood Rages (transparent red) to demon weapons. When you encounter two or more of them at the same time, try to always trap one using Aquila's Roundtrip to give yourself some breathing space. If both are Blood Rages, try to use Arbiter's Drop to get them both at the same time, which will launch them both into the air and you're free to follow up however way you want.

If you have serious trouble with them, you can always resort to environmental kills. Fight near the edge and knock them off. For normal Rages, you can launch them into the air then do an Aerial Flush (Arbiter) or Aerial Rave (Rebellion). For Ghost Rages, trap them with Aquila's Roundtrip first and then push them off the edge with Tornado. For Blood Rages, launch them with Drop (Arbiter), then immediately jump and do Aerial Flush (Arbiter).

Vergil only encounters regular Rages. Use Spiral Swords to stun it while you whack with Yamato. If there's more than one Rage, it'd be ideal if you can stun them both with Spiral Swords as you focus on killing off one of them. Always watch out for when they enter DT mode (it may or may not happen) as Spiral Swords will no longer be able to stun him at that point. If they're in DT mode, you can rely on Flush and Summoned Swords.

Harpy

Harpies have three forms of attacks. 1) Flying charge – evade to the side to avoid. 2) Stab – They will elongate a weapon of sorts to stab you. This move locks onto you wherever you are so you must evade with timing to avoid. 3) Light burst – Stay out of its range to avoid. You can tell they're going to do this move when they begin to twirl around fast in the air.

For Dante, destroy their wings ASAP with the shotgun and then you can fight them like a common Stygian. If they lose their wings while hovering over open space, they will die instantly as environmental kill. However, do note that they are able to regenerate their wings after a while. For Vergil, destroy their wings ASAP with Blistering Swords. 

Witch

The Witch is protected by a shield that can be broken only using angel weapons, but her physical body is vulnerable to all weapons. In the beginning you may only have Osiris' Prop to work with, but later on you'll get Aquila's Roundtrip, which works much better. She can be launched but is immune to environmental kills. The fastest way to kill her is to trap her with Aquila's Roundtrip (even after her shield is down) and whack her with Arbiter for optimal damage. See video demonstration.

She has 3 forms of attack. 1) Crystal – A block of crystal will emerge out of the ground. Evade to avoid. 2) Swords – She'll summon 1~3 red swords above her and shoot them at you one by one. She takes her time to shoot them so it'd be best if you can break her shield before then to interrupt her. Alternatively, you can parry (using Osiris' Prop + Shredder) or demon pull her swords. 3) Burst - her body will start to glow as she charges up energy. Stay away to avoid, or interrupt with an attack right before it bursts.

For Vergil, Blistering Swords should break her shield fast, then angel lift over and keep whacking with demon mode Yamato and summoned swords together (hold R2 and mash [] and /\). Activating Spiral Swords works even better for trapping but will cost you DT.

Butcher

Butchers only take damage in his round orange belly and it's immune to all of Dante's guns. One of his ground attacks can be parried (with precise timing) to deflect back at him, which would stun him temporarily. Also, notice that after certain projectile attacks, the Butcher will pause to regenerate its blades. The process takes some time, which makes it a very good opportunity for you to close in and attack. There's enough time for you to Stinger (Rebellion) + fully charge Uppercut (Eryx) + aerial attacks for optimal damage.  When its life is low, it'll enter DT mode and become very aggressive and it will no longer need to regenerate its blades.

Note: The exact same exploit for Tyrant works on Butcher, except you do it on its stomach instead of its back.

Dreamrunner

The safest and most certain time you can attack a Dreamrunner is right after you evade his warp attack. The timing to evade is quite easy to catch as long as you pay attention to the warping sound. (Demon evade is highly recommended) You can also parry instead of evade but overall demon evade is still the safest + most advantageous choice due to its bonus damage. They also have a double-flip sword attack which leaves them open/vulnerable at the end. Against everything else, keep your distance using angel evade and wait for one of these two safe openings.

Dreamrunners can parry you off in mid-combo and mid-air, and it's hard to tell exactly when they'll do this so a chain of projectile moves may be safer/better during an opening. For example, this is my personal favorite combo - Stinger (Rebellion) > Overdrive x3 (Rebellion) > Flush (Arbiter) > Aerial Flush (Arbiter). However note that when not vulnerable they are capable of deflecting your projectiles back at you, although you can ping pong it back at them. Vergil does not encounter these enemies.

Below are two examples of how to fight two Dreamrunners at the same time.

First demo below shows how to evade/parry/keep out of their attacks as well as attack them at every given opportunity.

Wisp

Wisps only appear in Vergil's Downfall DLC. They are transparent to begin with and you'll need to shoot with summoned swords to materialize them. They float around in the air but you can easily get close via angel lift/demon pull. Spiral Swords work well against them. When its life is low, it'll enter DT mode and angel lift/demon pull will no longer work on them. At that point you can try jump + Trick Up + Aerial Flush. The Wisp's attacks are mid to long range and some lock-on to you so always be on the sharp look out to evade them in the nick of time.

Imprisoner

Imprisoners only appear in Vergil's Downfall DLC. They're some tough bitches. They fire a trail of thorns across the ground (must evade in time to avoid), they lift and throw a block (must evade in time to avoid no matter the direction they throw at), they protect themselves inside a tornado of thorns (stay away to avoid) and they swing their arms around when you're close (evade). Stay away from the thorns that remain on the ground. They will eventually disappear on their own, although the Imprisoner sometimes breaks some running through them.  The best way to hit/stun them is with Drive + Stomp. If you don't mind repetition, you can actually repeat these two moves to victory, and it works even better with Spiral Swords.