- I can already tell, looks like this is going to be one hell of a party.

I'm not going to review the game here. You probably already know that you're in for a treat, especially if you're coming straight from DMC1 and DMC2.

Concerning the achievements, it's not a walk in the park. But there is nothing that is extremely complicated either. A lot of the difficulty can be tempered by using items or super costumes. Alternatively, you can get good, or get really good, at the game. There's a lot of depth, lots of things to learn: how to read and manage every enemy type, how and when to use the different weapons and styles, etc. And you can go as far as searching the internet to discover and master a variety of very useful special techniques like jump cancelling. This is not really the point of this guide, but it's part of the point of the game, so it needs to be mentioned.

Have fun!

- No doubt you got some fun planned for me. Right Vergil?

When you start a New Game, you choose between Dante or Vergil (unlocked after beating Normal with Dante). These two characters work on separate save files, have different abilities and weapons, but go through the same exact missions, and find collectibles etc, in the exact same places (unlike Dante/Lucia in DMC2).

When you start a New Game, you also choose between Gold and Yellow Orb mode. In Gold Orb mode, like in DMC2, dying means either being revived on the spot (when using an Orb) or restarting from the last checkpoint (without Orb). In Yellow Orb mode, like in DMC1, dying means either restarting from the last checkpoint (when using an Orb), or restarting the whole mission (without Orb). Gold mode is obviously a lot more forgiving, so it should be preferred except for getting the corresponding achievement. Note that this setting sticks with the save file and cannot be changed: it's not possible to make a playthrough in Gold Orb mode, and later a playthrough in Yellow Orb mode with the same character, you have to start a new one from scratch.

There are 6 difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, Dante Must Die, and Heaven Or Hell. Normal unlocks Hard, which unlocks both Very Hard and Dante Must Die. Dante Must Die unlocks Heaven Or Hell (which is gimmicky but not difficult).

A Mission Select screen is always available, allowing you to replay any specific mission in any difficulty (provided you've already completed that mission on that specific difficulty). The Mission Select screen also allows to switch costumes at any time between Missions.

The notable costumes are Super Dante/Vergil, unlocked by completing Very Hard with Dante/Vergil. And Super Sparda/Corrupt Vergil, unlocked by completing Dante Must Die with Dante/Vergil.

- Give that to me.
- No way, you got your own.

There are 33 achievements for the third DMC game. Most should come naturally while playing, so there is no need to worry about them. I will focus mainly on the achievements that are more complicated, or require some special care.



Maximizing the health bar requires acquiring all the Blue Orbs available in the game. This means 1) completing all Secret Missions; 2) Defeating all the Combat Adjudicators (testing your weapon skills); 3) Finding all the Blue Orb Fragments hidden in the environment; 3) Purchasing all Blue Orbs from the shop. You will also need to purchase all Purple Orbs for Give 'em Hell, and all Devil Arms Skills for Big Spender. It's worth working on all this early on, but it's not a big issue if some orbs are missed during the first playthrough since they can easily be acquired later.



Devil May Cry 3 is not an easy game, already in Normal. Hard is no big deal, but things start to get trickier in Very Hard. And Dante Must Die can get very punishing at times: everything does a ton of damage, bosses are a lot more aggressive, and enemies in Devil Trigger are significantly harder to dispatch. You can use Super Dante (unlocked by completing Very Hard), but even then it remains a challenge. Thankfully, Vital Stars can be stocked and used in large quantities, in case your skills are not (yet) sufficiently honed. After Dante Must Die, the Heaven Can Wait achievement, requires completing Heaven or Hell (mostly a walk in the park).



This is definitely one of the most demanding achievements. It can be done on any difficulty, so better do it on Easy. Many guides recommend to leave this for last, since it is easier once the super costumes are unlocked. However, there are many missions that are not too difficult to S-rank even without the super costumes. So I'd advise to start working on this relatively early on, as it also serves as a decent Red Orbs grinding method.



You have to go through at least 100 stages of random enemies and bosses, with the difficulty progressively increasing. It has to be completed in a single session, without intermediate saves. With the basic characters, this can be a decent challenge. But with Super Sparda and Quicksilver, it becomes essentially trivial, so not much to worry about if you don't want to spend hours and hours on multiple attempts.

---

There are a few other achievements that should come naturally as you work towards the ones mentioned above, but are not technically absolutely automatic, so you may want to keep them in mind:

Trend Setter. DMC3: Reach the highest level in all Styles with Dante. There are 4 styles (Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger, and Royalguard). Don't worry about this during the first playthrough, and follow your preferences. It doesn't take too long to level up the Styles, so replaying missions later to experiment with Styles and weapons will be enough. To specifically grind for Style-XP, Mission 18 is a good choice.

Path Less Travelled. DMC3: Clear every mission in Yellow Orb mode. On Easy and with some experience of the game, Yellow Orb mode is not an issue at all. But the problem is that this setting sticks with the save file and cannot be changed, so it has to be done on a separate character. The most efficient way to go for this is to combine it with Am I My Brother's Keeper, i.e. the playthrough with Vergil, since only one Vergil run on Easy is sufficient for the achievements.

To Hell With That. DMC3: Kill 100 enemies during the credits. As soon as you defeat the final boss in Mission 20, you're thrown into the credits alongside Lady, to kill a bunch of enemies. You have time, but not that much time, so deal death expeditiously if possible. Don't let Lady steal your kills (might as well steal hers though). If you miss it at the end of your first Normal playthrough, don't worry since it's a lot easier on Easy.

- Easy, Fido! how about I take you out for a walk? Come on puppy, let's go!

If you want to go in blind for your first playthrough (or at least not follow a guide every step of the way), just go ahead. It won't cost you in the long term since anything you missed can easily be retrieved later by replaying the Mission in Easy/Normal, or during the Hard playthrough (which is not that hard anyway).

Otherwise, you can follow the Mission Guides below to ensure you catch all the Blue Orbs, Secret Missions, Combat Adjudicators, and Collectibles. Note that some Secret Missions or Combat Adjudicators might be difficult to complete on the first run of the Mission, and you might have to come back later with more upgrades/weapons/skills. There is not really anything else to worry about. You can farm a bit for Red Orbs if you wish, but it's not necessary at all.

Start a New Game with Vergil on Easy, and make sure to select Yellow Orb mode. With Yellow Orb mode dying means restarting the level if you don't have a Yellow Orb. It's not really an issue on Easy Difficulty though.

• All Blue Orb Fragments, Secret Missions, and Combat Adjudicators are in the same places as for Dante, so you can follow the Mission Guides below as well. Some Secret Missions can be much more difficult with Vergil (no Trickster, no Air Hike). It's worth doing the easier ones to increase the health bar, but it's not necessary to max it, so feel free to skip.
  
  
• Be REALLY careful with your save files once you start playing with Vergil, and especially if you alternate with Dante. The save slot given as default is the last saved, not the last loaded... so you can rather easily overwrite your Dante progress with Vergil, or conversely.
  
  
• Make sure to kill at least 100 enemies during the credits, if you haven't already unlocked that achievement. It's really easy on Easy.

Once the Easy playthrough is completed, we'll be done with Vergil for the achievements. If you want to keep playing higher difficulties with Vergil just for fun, consider restarting from scratch in Gold Mode.

Back to the Dante save files, start a playthrough on Easy. The main goal of this playthrough is to try to S-rank each mission (see corresponding section below).

This is easier once the super costumes are unlocked, but there are many missions that are not too difficult to S-rank simply with Dante. The advantages of already starting to work on this: 1) It is good practice (learning to avoid damage, etc) that will be useful for the higher difficulties, and 2) attempts at S-ranking missions reward a ton of Red Orbs, so it doubles as a Red Orb grinding method. Waiting until the very end to try to S-rank missions makes all these orbs useless. That said, no worries if some missions appear too difficult to S-rank, they can be done later with super costumes.

What I found ideal (for myself at least), was to alternate between attempts to S-rank missions on Easy and progressing through the higher difficulties (Hard/Very Hard/DMD). I always had more than enough Red Orbs for whatever I needed, and by the time I unlocked Super Sparda, I only had a few missions left to S-rank.

• Check the dedicated section below for some tips on how to S-rank missions.
  
  
• While you're at it, pick up or complete anything you missed in Normal: Secret Missions, Combat Adjudicator, and Blue Orb Fragments.
  
  
• Use the Red Orbs from these attempts to purchase all Upgrades, Devil Arms skills, Blue/Purple Orbs, etc.
  
  
• Experiment and learn to use the different weapons and the different styles. Level up all Styles to max.

• With all the upgrades, Hard is actually a lot easier than the first Normal playthrough. Buy a few Vital Stars just in case, but not much to worry about.
  
  
• Beating Hard unlocks both Very Hard and Dante Must Die, but better start with Very Hard so as to unlock Super Dante for DMD. There is a visible bump in difficulty from Hard, with new enemy waves etc. But even if you're not yet a stylish master, nothing that can't be dealt with a couple Vital Stars.
  
  
• You can use Super Dante for Dante Must Die, but even then it's another bump in difficulty. Everything does a lot of damage, you'll find some enemies that used to be trivial have become extremely annoying, and some bosses that you thought you had under control may give you pause once again. Your mastery of the game and Styles, and special techniques like jump canceling, will make a lot of difference. It's up to you to put more or less time in learning those skills. But nothing is absolutely required, and I won't make a specific section about Dante Must Die, since in the end there is nothing that a bunch of Vital Stars can't solve.
  
  
• While working on these playthroughs, go back from time to time to your S-rank missions attempts in Easy, especially if you need Red Orbs for items. After beating Very Hard, you'll have Super Dante, which makes S-ranking missions easier. After beating DMD, you'll have Super Sparda, which makes it even easier with Quicksilver.
  
  
• Beating Dante Must Die unlocks Heaven Or Hell. Everything dies in one hit. So bring out your pistols. it's gimmicky but most of the time rather trivial. Dante dies in one hit as well, although in Gold Orb mode, that's rarely an issue. There are a few sections that can be slightly more annoying because of traps or environmental damage, but overall it's a walk in the park.

With regular Dante/Vergil, the Bloody Palace can be a serious challenge. But with Super Sparda and the Quicksilver style, it's almost trivial. So not much to worry about. Check the corresponding section below for some information and tips about the Bloody Palace.

- Remember that kid. Write it down on your hand if you don't trust your head!

Since some of the missions can be a bit confusing, I added a short walkthrough for most of them, under the spoiler tag. These directions only include the main trajectory to complete the mission, and not any detours that might be necessary to pick up items (for that matter, check the list of collectibles). Don't forget that you can access the map from the Status menu, although it's not always extremely useful.

The mission guides below include the following:

• Secret Missions. Note that there are a few ones that may be difficult to complete on the first run through. But you can always complete them later, and the Total Results screen conveniently shows which ones have been completed.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicators. Some may be difficult or impossible to complete directly, notably if you don't have the proper Devil Arm equipped, or haven't bought enough moves yet. You can come back later, though maybe take a note of the ones you missed. Don't forget that you can check the move set of each Devil Arm at any time from the Status Menu, and that Swordmaster Style gives you some additional moves.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragments, Yellow Orbs, Holy Water, Vital Stars, Devil Stars. Here again you may want to take a note of the ones you missed, especially the Blue Orb Fragments.
  
  
• Red Orbs: hidden caches and destructible stones/crystals.

Secret Missions can be replayed any time, you'll get a Red Orb instead of a Blue one on subsequent completions. This is useful for S-ranking certain missions. However, everything else (incl. items like Vital Stars, and even Red Orbs caches) is a one-per-save-file deal. And things that are already collected are not replaced by anything in subsequent replays of the mission (on any difficulty). With a new save file (e.g. Vergil playthrough), everything will be available again in the same place.

Note that saving some Red Orbs caches/stones may be mildly useful for later when you'll try to S-rank missions. But it will only help for a single attempt, and S-ranking missions is definitely possible without that. On the other hand, having more Red Orbs to buy moves/items during the first playthrough is very valuable... so I wouldn't bother saving them.

Nothing here, have fun!

• Vital Star S At the bottom of the stairs directly to Dante's left at the start of the mission. You have to grab it during the combat.

Walk down the street and take the door at the end, go through the bar and the nightclub, and walk up the next street towards the tower.

• Red Orbs cache In the first area, stand at the edge of the rooftop to the left.
  
  
• Shotgun Inside the bar, after unlocking the first blue seal on the door. Pick it up on the wall to the left of the door to the next area.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache As you leave the club and get back in a street, jump on top of the O of the LOVE sign. A bit further, on the same side of the street, you can break through a weak wall/door and find a Red Orbs Stone.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #1 Visible on a ledge to the right side of the street.
  
  
• Secret Mission #1 (Blue Orb Fragment #2). Inspect the door just below Blue Orb Fragment #1.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Rebellion B (Blue Orb Fragment #3). Jump on the roofs on the left side of the street, more or less in front of Blue Orb Fragment #1.

Starting in the Chamber of Echoes, up the spiral path and through the blue(ish) door. Pass through the Living Statue Room (with blue-arrow Enigma enemies), break the chess pieces and hit the circular switch to ride up the elevator platform. Once back in the Chamber of Echoes, go higher to take the yellow door. Go up the stairs above the pit. Then after coming back, through the large red door. After the battle, exit through the door on the opposite side, and grab the Astronomical Board.

• Red Orbs Stone. In the room with the elevator platform and chess pieces.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #4. In the room you reach after riding up the elevator. In an alcove above the exit, you need to jump on the pipes first.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. After coming back from the pit, jump against a red narrow window with inscriptions, to the left of the large red door.

After Jester, backtrack to the Chamber of Echoes (large red door, then yellow door), and go all the way up to use the Astronomical Board. Collect the Vajura a few levels below, then through the blue door. Use the Vajura in the Living Statue Room, and pick up the Soul of Steel. Then back the way you came into the Chamber of Echoes, and through the yellow door. Walk over the pit, where the stairs used to be, and use the Soul of Steel to open the door. Hit the circular switch and ride up the elevator platform. From there, it's linear.

• Jester I. Take the portal in the first area. Cannot be missed.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Cerberus A (Blue Orb Fragment #5). Next to the door up the broken stairs above the pit (in the room behind the yellow door).
  
  
• Secret Mission #2 (Blue Orb Fragment #6). In the next room, inspect the red skull on the wall next to the elevator platform.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. After riding the elevator, on top a pillar just in front of the exit.

Go straight past the statue in the middle of the first room. Complete at least 2 of the 3 trials in the next room to collect the various Essences. Go back and use them on the statue in the first room, then take the newly opened passage and follow the hallway.

• Red Orbs cache. Jump on top of the statue in the middle of the first room.
  
  
• Artemis. Complete all 3 trials, and insert the 3 Essences into the statue.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Agni & Rudra A (Blue Orb Fragment #7). In the next area after using the statue to unblock the passage, directly to Dante's left.

Take the first door (a red one). Drop to the bottom of the tower, and collect the item in the Library. Back inside the tower, use the jumpads to go all the way up and take the green door. You'll soon reach the Skull Spire corridor, ending on a blocked door with a missing blue skull. Take the other exit to the left, pick up the Siren’s Shriek and go through the large red door in front of the altar. A small elevator brings you back to the Chamber of Echoes. Take the red flaming door and you'll eventually find the Crystal Skull. Backtrack all the way to the Skull Spire (via Chamber of Echoes and the elevator), to use the Crystal Skull.

• Secret Mission #3 (Blue Orb Fragment #8). At the very start of the mission, inspect the red light in an elevated alcove to the right of the first (red) door. Attract the enemies, find a corner and mash the jump button.
  
  
• Holy Water. Inside the tower with jump pads, on the level just below the upper one with the green door.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. After taking the green door in the tower with jump pads, go on the outside balcony and jump on top of the outermost pillar.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #9. In the inside area after the green door (a hallway with a small set of stairs). On the arches above the stairs.
  
  
• Vital Star S. In the Skull Spire area, behind some fences near the exit.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. In the area with the altar where you find the Siren’s Shriek. Jump on top of the candlestick near the door.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Rebellion SSS (Blue Orb Fragment #10). In the next area (with the elevator), to the right of the stairs.
  
  
• Yellow Orb. Just after passing through the red flaming door, down the corridor to the left.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. Right behind the door that is unlocked with the Crystal Skull.

Smash the 5 bulging thingies in the starting area to open a door. 1) on a ledge above the starting point, 2) opposite side of the same ledge, 3) down the ledge and next to the bus, 4) inside a cave below the starting point, 5) follow the path inside the cave, exit and cross the bridge. Then the door is accessible from the top of the bus. Follow the path inside until you collect the Ignis Fatuus. Follow the path until you reach the starting area, and take once more the door from the top of the bus.

• Red Orbs cache. In the starting area, stand at the tip of the ship's bow.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #11. On the deck of the same ship.
  
  
• Secret Mission #4 (Blue Orb Fragment #12). Smash the weak planks at the bottom of the ship and inspect the tablet. Can be very difficult until you get the rocket launcher Kalina Ann.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stone. In the starting area, after passing through the small caves and to the left after crossing the bridge.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Cerberus SS (Blue Orb Fragment #13). After picking up the Ignis Fatuus and everything turns black, follow the path and watch out for secondary paths on the left side. The Adjudicator is down the second one.

Cross the bridge and follow the path until you reach an open area with a Divinity Statue. Solve the light puzzle then take the blue door (on the left side from the entrance). Keep going until another open area with a Divinity Statue and a waterfall. Take the door next to the Divinity Statue and collect the Ambrosia. Backtrack and go through the waterfall.

• Blue Orb Fragment #14. In the area with the light puzzle, in an alcove high up, just to the left of the Divinity Statue. Trickster level 2 is most likely required.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. In same area, jump on top of the stone tablet near the light puzzle.
  
  
• Spiral. Go past the waterfall without entering it, and use the stone pillars to jump up on the platform above the Combat Adjudicator (for a weapon you do not have yet).
  
  
• Secret Mission #5 (Blue Orb Fragment #15). Just after entering the cave below the waterfall, go through an opening in front and above Dante. Inspect the red crystals. It will take a few attempts but is perfectly doable with melee weapons (e.g. Agni&Rudra); you may also try with Gunslinger's Fireworks.
  
  
• Devil Star. From the entrance of the cave below the waterfall, stick to the left wall and you'll enter a cave with pretty lights. It's in there.

Pick up the Stone Mask and backtrack to the area with the waterfall. Use the stone mask on a carving between the two doors, pick up the Neo-generator at the statue's foot. Take the big blue door and you'll be backtracking to the bridge at the beginning of Mission 9.

• Combat Adjudicator - Nevan B (Blue Orb Fragment #16). In the area with the waterfall, to Dante's right when exiting from the cave.
  
  
• Secret Mission #6 (Blue Orb Fragment #17). In the same area, after using the Stone Mask. Inspect the skull to the right of the big statue. You will need Nevan with Air Raid, and having bought a few purple orbs would help as well.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. Right after rotating the bridge, take the door closest to Dante. Jump around the eye of the dead Leviathan.
  
  
• Red Orbs Stonee. In same area, jump on a platform above the door you came in from.

Traverse the room with the large gears, and follow the only path. Solve the puzzle by moving the two stones into their slots, then take the newly exposed exit at the far-left corner from the entrance. Jump on the tram platform when you reach it.

• Devil Star. In the first room (with the large gears), on a small platform to the left when facing the exit door.
  
  
• Secret Mission #7 (Blue Orb Fragment #18). Inspect the large red mural decoration on a ledge above the Devil Star. It requires to traverse an area quickly. Start with Devil Trigger to run faster (you can fail the secret mission on purpose to kill enemies and recharge it), then use stinger appropriately. An option for the second part is to knock the enemy just after the bridge and jump on top of it to ride it towards the exit, if you can steer it correctly.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #19. At the entrance of the next room (after the large gears), in an alcove high up, to Dante's left. You need to jump on the pipes above.
  
  
• Holy Water. When you reach a tram platform, do not jump on it just yet. Hit the statue at the bottom of the stairs to move it and reveal a passage.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. Keep hitting the statue to move it as far as possible, then jump on top of it.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Agni & Rudra SS (Blue Orb Fragment #20). In the same area, in an alcove under the stairs.

Backtrack all the way to the rotating bridge, use the item and cross it yet again. You'll end up with a room with a light portal and Divinity Statue. Portal is optional, then down the spiral staircase.

• Jester II. Take the light portal in the room with the Divinity Statue. Hard to miss.
  
  
• Vital Star L. In the same room, at the top of the spiral staircase.

Follow the only path, down a spiral staircase and some corridors with chess enemies. You'll reach a room with a light puzzle, solve it and pick up the Orihalcon. Get out of this room the way you came and follow the corridor until you reach a Divinity Statue and a huge door where you can insert the Orihalcon.

• Red Orbs cache. Jump against the wall on the right side of the entrance to the spiral staircase.
  
  
• Secret Mission #8 (Blue Orb Fragment #21). In the spiral staircase, inspect a red light on the right wall.
  
  
• Devil Star. After exiting the spiral staircase, go to Dante's left and take the next door down the hall. Then go to Dante's right (towards the camera) and kick jump up the wall at the end.
  
  
• Secret Mission #9 (Blue Orb Fragment #22). In the room with the light puzzle, in the corridor behind the breakable wall, look for an elevated ledge on the left, and inspect the demon's head. Gunslinger style helps a lot, and so do Ebony & Ivory upgrades.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Nevan SS (Blue Orb Fragment #23). When you reach a room with a Divinity Statue and the very large door where you can insert the Orihalcon, do not go through it just yet, but follow the path to the left of the door.

Run around the tower and take the blue exit door. Follow the only (and familiar) path until you hop on the tram platform. Then you'll have to traverse a series of small rooms with chess pieces. It's a bit confusing but check the map from the Status menu to see the layout. First go to the right, then backtrack and follow the only path to the exit. A bit further you'll take a white light portal and end up in the club from Mission 3, take the exit to the street and towards where you fought Cerberus.

• Red Orbs cache. At the start of the mission, turn around and take the external path around the tower, clockwise (in front of the divinity statue). Jump against the wall at the end.
  
  
• Beowulf. In the starting area, take the internal path around the tower, counterclockwise.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Beowulf C (Blue Orb Fragment #24). In the starting area, blocking the exit door, not far from Beowulf. Then take the door and go around the elevator on the left side, you'll see an opening in the wall leading to a Red Orbs Stone.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. After exiting the waterfall area through a crack in the wall, walk past the door and jump against the wall at the end of the area.
  
  
• Vital Star S. After riding the tram, in a dead-end room in the series of small rooms with chess pieces (check the map from the Status menu). Watch out when you enter a room that has 3 entrances, one of them directly adjacent (on the left) to the one you came out from. Take that adjacent entrance to pick up the Vital Star. You must grab this one as soon as you can, because that room may become locked later on.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #25. In the last of those small rooms. Hard to miss.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. In the Subterranean Garden (where there used to be a light puzzle), jump on top of the stone tablet. Same location as in Mission 9, but you can grab it again.
  
  
• Vital Star S. When you return to the Subground Water Vein (with Enigma enemies), you will see a withe light portal just past the bridge. Do not take it yet, but go through the door on the other side. There will be some sort of chess convention.
  
  
• Yellow Orb. After taking the white light portal, you'll end up in the club from Mission 3. Go through the bar and back to the front of Dante's office (Mission 2).
  
  
• Holy Water. In the 13th Slum Avenue (last street from Mission 3), on top of the last building on the right, which has a truck on its roof. Turn around the corner to jump on it.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache. Jump on top of the truck on the roof of the same building.

Follow the only path until you reach an area with a central elevator and two sets of stairs. Ignore the elevator (you need 3 Orihalcon Fragments) and take the other stairs, you'll find the dead Leviathan and a circular switch you can hit. Backtrack to the area with the spiders and you'll see another circular switch with special colors. Hit it then take the tri-coloured door.

From there: follow the only path in each area until you can pick up the Orihalcon (or Blue Orb) Fragment. Then backtrack to the tri-coloured door, making sure to hit the circular switch on your way back (only once). First time you'll start in the room with spinning gears, second time in a corridor with spinning blades, third time in the waterfall area, and fourth time in the Marble Throughway (this is optional, only for the Blue Orb Fragment: if you already have it, hit the circular switch twice in the waterfall area). The fifth time, more spiders then back to the central area with the elevator that you can now unlock.

• Blue Orb Fragment #26. Once you reach the waterfall area, take the blue door to get the Orihalcon Fragment, then hit the circular switch and take the tri-coloured door. You should be in the Marble Throughway. Follow the path until the bridge where you encountered Greyon. Drop down at the end of the bridge and run around the tower. Once you have the fragment, take the elevator platform up and backtrack to the waterfall area.

There are two doors in the starting area, which can be taken in any order. On one side you'll find the Golden Sun, on the other the Onyx Moonshard. With both collected, come back to the starting area, and use them on the small pillars in front of the elevator. From there it's mostly linear.

• Secret Mission #10 (Blue Orb Fragment #27): Through the door on the right of the elevator. After picking up the Golden Sun and defeating the chess pieces, inspect the golden section of wall to the right of where the Golden Sun was.
  
  
• Devil Star: After going through the door on the left of the elevator, you'll be in a narrow hallway with stairs. The star is behind the door at the top of the stairs (after a fight).
  
  
• Vital Star S: After using the two items and opening the way in front of the elevator, follow the only path until you reach a room with metal gears and a Divinity Statue. The star is on a small dead-end path to the right, between the gears.
  
  
• Red Orbs cache: After the boss fight and climbing inside the tower with jump pads, before entering the brown door, jump on top of a broken piece of wall to the left of the door.

Take the blue door at the end of the hallway (breach in the wall is optional). Climb the floating cubes to the 2nd floor (1st floor is optional for a blue orb fragment). From there it's mostly linear: you'll go through some of the trial chambers and use a jump pad on the exterior of the tower, and pass through a few other familiar areas.

• Vital Star S: At the very start of the mission, in an elevated alcove to the right of the door.
  
  
• Yellow Orb: At the end of the first hallway, go through the breach in the wall. The Orb will be rewarded for completing a combat trial.
  
  
• Combat Adjudicator - Beowulf SSS (Blue Orb Fragment #28): In the room with the floating cubes, on the ground level. There is also a Red Orbs Stone.
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #29: After climbing the cubes and going through the 1st floor door, you'll be thrown into a fight. In the next room you'll find a Divinity Statue. Head outside and up the stairs.
  
  
• Jester III: Back in the room with the cubes and through the upper door, then use the portal.
  
  
• Secret Mission #11 (Blue Orb Fragment #30): After going through the hallway with the spikes, you'll use a jump pad to reach a higher level of the tower. Once inside, there are ledges with red orbs above the hallway. One of those ledges has a golden statue on the side, interact with it. Another hallway with spikes. The easiest way I found is to use the invincibility frames from the Trickster dash, and simply go through each set of spikes no matter where the opening is.

Go towards and on the white rock platforms until you reach and jump in the mirror. After a fight you'll end up in a similar place. Keep going on the white rock platforms until the foot of a statue and another mirror. In the Escher area, you need to interact with walls with coloured gems until you complete at least a closed loop on the summary board.

• Secret Mission #12 (Blue Orb Fragment #31): When you come in view of the foot of a large statue, do not go through the mirror just yet. Go around the left side of the statue's foot, following a few red orbs, then interact with the tablet. Moving cubes to climb, and it's more complicated than the previous time. Having Trickster can help a lot (especially wall running and air dash).
  
  
• Blue Orb Fragment #32: In the Escher area, you need to interact with all 9 walls with gems, and complete the challenge behind each, so that the summary board is fully lit up. Do not go through the mirror before completing all this and receiving the orb fragment.

Basically, keep jumping into the silver mirror whenever possible. In the second room, ignore the enemies and focus on hitting the green wall mirror (which moves around). Break it twice to continue. In the area with an hourglass, beat the enemies fast enough and you'll get the Samsara. Back and forth into the silver mirror until you get in the room with mirrors on the walls, and use the Samsara on the Golden Statue. Then one more time into the silver mirror.

• Vital Star L: In the second area, a circular room surrounded by mirrors, atop one of the 3 chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Nothing here, have fun! And when it ends, don't forget to kill enemies quickly enough during the credits.

- Why isn't this working? Is there something missing? Must more blood be shed?

Devil Trigger explosions are absolutely critical. If you use it on a bunch of enemies grouped together, it will immediately boost your Style ranking high up, which will give you more orbs, and end the fight much faster (less time, less damage). Figuring out the best moments to use this in each mission is first priority. In many cases, you don't need your full bar to kill everything around (on Easy). It is sometimes worth going out of Devil Trigger directly afterwards, to recharge the bar faster.

Taunting is very useful as well. It boosts / keeps up your Style, and refills your Devil Trigger bar. Try to systematically include in your gameplay, if you haven't done so yet. This is particularly necessary during boss fights, since there are often phases where direct attacks are impossible/dangerous.

Super Costumes. Using super costumes still allows you to get S (or SS) mission ranks, and it can make it a lot easier. The main advantages with Super Dante are the faster movement, and the reduced damage taken. Since DT explosions are very useful but still consume the DT bar, you still have to manage that aspect (e.g. in some cases, it may help to get out your "infinite" DT, just to recharge your DT bar faster). With Super Sparda, and especially with the Quicksilver Style, everything is a lot easier. It may feel almost like cheating, but it shouldn't be too hard to wrap up any remaining mission to S-rank.

S-rank requirements. The tables below give the requirements for an S-rank in Time/Style/Orbs/Damage (on Easy difficulty, with Dante). The 5th criterion is Item use (don't use items, that's easy). To get an S-rank for the Mission, you should have all S except for at most one B or two As. If you get an S in all 5 categories, you get an SS rank, which is way cooler, but not necessary for the achievement.

Optimal Path. The requirements vary widely from one Mission to another. You may have a mission where Time is very short, and another where the Time requirement is very forgiving, but reaching the required amount of Orbs is very difficult. So in some cases, you may want to re-spawn some enemies so as to kill them several times, or play some Secret Missions one or more times. in other cases it is preferable to completely skip some enemies or Secret Missions. When you fail an attempt, compare your scores with the requirements and decide how to adapt the path you take through the mission, and how to spend your time in it. You can allow two As or one B, so you may choose to settle e.g. for an A in certain category, and build your strategy around that. I left a few notes on the matter in the table below, but only for a few missions.

---

The S-rank Time/Orbs/Style/Damage requirements on Easy with Dante are given below. Check this
guide for more comprehensive data:

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1933807836

- More importantly, I've come all this way. I'm sure you have time for one more game, right?

The rules of the Palace are the following:

• There are 10,000 levels (from 0 to 9999). In each one you'll face a random set of enemies. Every 10 levels that you complete (no matter which ones), you will be facing a boss. And the last one (9999) is the final Vergil battle.
  
  
• At the end of each level, you can choose one of 3 portals (Water for level +1 and a free Green Orb; Lightning for level +10 and a free White Orb, or Fire for level +100).
  
  
• Enemies become progressively tougher as you level up. Not sure what are the specific thresholds, except that after 9000 all enemies will spawn in Dante Must Die difficulty, with Devil Trigger already activated.
  
  
• It has to be completed in a single run (no saving). You cannot use items, and you cannot change your loadout / Style. If you die, you fail, and Gold orbs will not save you either.

Some tips:

• Decide which character you want to use. With regular Dante/Vergil, the Bloody Palace is going to be a real challenge. But super costumes make it a lot easier. Super Sparda and the Quicksilver Style makes the Bloody Palace essentially trivial, so that's definitely your choice if you want the achievement and be done with it, and don't mind if it feels somewhat cheaty. Super Dante/Vergil may be a reasonable intermediate, but again, only if you want some challenge.
  
  
• Choose your loadout and Style wisely, since you cannot change. It depends a lot on your personal preferences. I would recommend to have Kalina Ann among your chosen guns, as it makes it easier to deal with some annoying enemies (like the blood-goyles, soul eaters, or the fallen).

- Bravo bravo! I never dreamed that things would go so smoothly. Well done everyone!

This game certainly deserves its reputation. Fun and challenging without being unfair. Lots of ways to get better at it. As I'm finishing this guide, I have about 120h of playtime in DMC3, and I'm nowhere near mastering the game. Of course, a decent part of that time was spent taking notes and pictures for the guide, and doing things that are not required for the achievements (like S-ranking more than just Easy, playing some harder difficulties with Vergil). So if you focus only on the achievements, maybe 50-70 hours? Just a guess.

Anyway, I hope you liked the guide and I hope that it helped! Feel free to favourite it, give it a thumbs up, and leave a comment, it's always nice...


If you're interested, I made similar guides for DMC1, DMC2, and DMC4:
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2934304748
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2940707560
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2992272611