Cancel

Cancel is a myriad of techniques which uses well-timed command inputs to shorten or bypass certain animations in order to attack or act faster than would normally be allowed. Compared to DMC1 and DMC2, DMC3 expands this technique much further as it involves more than just one method.

Weapon Switching

SC is the general term for both Melee Switch and Gun Cancel. Certain strikes within an equipped weapon's combo can be instantly cancelled into strikes with the other equipped weapon. This allows Dante / Vergil to loop their DPS by switching back and forth between weapons, cutting out the finishing sections of combo strings by interrupting them.

The general idea is to find which hits of each combo chain can be interrupted smoothly into the strikes of your other equipped weapon. You can freely change direction on each strike as you would while using a single weapon, by not sticking solely to standard combo chains you can attack constantly and tag command attacks in any way you like.

Dante Example with Reb / A&R

Vergil Example with FE / Beo

Guard Cancelling

Dante usually utilizes this with three weapons for speed and efficiency:

2nd Slash Reb that allows him to create combo chains that never ends.
Stinger Reb to move faster.
Shotgun and Spiral to cut the recoil animation, so he can fire again straight away.

Gun G-Cancel

Melee G-Cancel with A&R

Jump Canceling

JC is one of the core aspects of this speedrun. To perform a JC, press X right as any of the aerial attack hits. If the player is close enough this will cause Dante / Vergil to jump off the enemy so you can use the attack again. This adds flare and style to combos, as well as causing big damage.

Broly2012 ⁽¹⁾ made comprehensive tutorial about JC explaining each weapons JC's move. His written supplement is avaliable at Devil's Lair ⁽²⁾.

Stinger Cancel

Stinger is another core tool for this speedrun. Both Dante and Vergil have to acquire this as soon as possible to maximize their movement. Although, there are distinct difference on how they cancel and move:

Dante cuts the recovery animation with RG to do another straight away.
Vergil movement option is accessible once he gets DS into Lv2. Because, it enables him to obtain Trick up and the ability to buy Lv2 Stinger and Starfall. Therefore, he will loop Stinger > Trick Up > Starfall which grants more movement options and advantage than his brother. Stinger > Jump > Trick Up > Starfall is used if the room has big space.

Dante's Movement

Vergil's Movement

Dante has another layer of cancelling stinger by SC'ing with Beo's Straight. This is called Rapid Stinger ⁽³⁾ which is usually used in wheels. However, it can also be useful in some combat situation such as chasing down an enemy. Considering the end frames of Reb Stinger and Beo Straight can both be cancelled into a command. For example, Dante can RG quickly or jump out of the way of an oncoming attack. Therefore, it's near instant to do so.