12 :: A New Beginning

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Devil May Cry 4 - Mission 12: A New Beginning

Character control now shifts from Nero to Dante. Luckily you retain all of the Proud Souls and Red Orbs acquired while playing as Nero, as well as your health bar and D.T. gauge. Dante is much different than Nero in terms of gameplay; his move list is a lot larger for one thing, and he lacks the Devil Bringer, but his combat style is much more diverse. This transition might be tough to adapt to at first, but you'll likely find that the sheer amount of skills available to Dante makes him both powerful and quite fun to use. In other words, if you were getting by fine with Nero, you should have no problem slaying demons as Dante.

Dante

Before starting the mission, select 'Power Up' from the menu and enter the 'Skill Up' menu. Purchase all of the sword skills to start, Charged Shot for Ebony & Ivory or Coyote-A, and definitely the Speed and Air Hike abilities. You'll also want to upgrade a couple of styles, but it's difficult to know which ones you prefer without first playing as Dante. If you're looking for an authorial suggestion; the Trickster and Swordmaster styles are enough to get you through most any situation.

Ascension Chamber

Test out each of Dante's combat styles on the Scarecrows in this room. You'll find that Dante has several moves that are similar to Nero's (Stinger/Streak, Helm Breaker/Split, High Time/High Roller), so he isn't entirely different when it comes to swordplay. Pause the game and open up the Skill List for a complete rundown of the moves currently available to you. Once the Scarecrows have been dealt with, head through the door at the north end of the room.

Meeting Room

A new type of enemy is encountered here; a larger, more powerful Scarecrow. The Mega Scarecrows can take more of a beating than the standard Scarecrow, deal more damage, and have a projectile attack added to the mix. They're still one of the lesser enemies, though, so they aren't too difficult to defeat this far into the game. Once the enemies have been dealt with, proceed through the door at the north end of the room.

Experiment Disposal

Approach the lift and examine it to retrieve the Wing Talisman key item that Nero left behind. When the lift reaches the first floor, an ominous message appears on screen; the HQ is about to collapse! You have less than 10 minutes to escape.

Lift	Wing Talisman

Drop down into the pit up ahead and pick up the Gold Orb there. Locate the wheel at the west end of the room and slash away until an elevator drops down into the pit. Step into the elevator and kill the Frosts that spawn within to rise back to the floor above. Shatter the Red Orb cluster in the northwest corner of the room before moving on to the next area.

Wheel

Frosts

Security Corridor

As soon as you step into the corridor, the ledge collapses and Dante falls to the floor below. You'll face three Mephisto on the lower level. While Dante lacks Nero's Devil Bringer (and thus the Snatch and Buster skills), a few rapid shots from the Coyote-A does a nice job of removing a Mephisto's cloak. Follow up with a barrage of attacks to quickly eliminate the weakened Mephisto.

Mephisto

Afterwards, examine the time-slow machine to retrieve the Key of Cronus and halt the spinning blades. Hop up the stationary blades and head through the doorway at the north end of the area. Don't waste your time with the secret mission if you missed it the first time around, as it will just waste time and can't be completed as Dante anyway. Hit the time-slow machine and hop over the lasers to reach the other end of the corridor. Exit through the door and cross the bridge to reach the Grand Hall.

Time-slow Machine

Key of Cronus

Grand Hall

Eliminate the Angelos that spawn in the hall to remove the red mesh blocking the door. Afterwards, either exit to the Gran Album Bridge using the door at the north end of the hall to safety, or, if you have time to spare, head through the door on the east side of the room to the Key Chamber.

Blue Orb Fragment -- Hit the time-slow machine in the Key Chamber, ignore the Gladius creatures, and slip through the lasers at the far end of the room to reach the Gauntlet. Search for the Combat Adjudicator here and attain a style grade of B by attacking it to receive some Red Orbs and the fragment. Now quickly make your way back to the Grand Hall!

Combat Adjudicator

Blue Orb Fragment

You're home free once on the Gran Album Bridge. Make your way to the end of the bridge to clear the mission.

Gran Album Bridge