Taunts are non-combat gameplay elements that somehow 'manipulate' a battle. During the games, taunts have different effects such as increasing the player's Stylish Rank and even the D.T. Gauge. However, they were referred to as an "enemy intimidator" due to the effects of a taunt to an enemy. Taunts appear in every game installment except for Devil May Cry 2 and the reboot.

Devil May CryEdit

Taunts in Devil May Cry serve mainly to replenish the Devil Trigger gauge and prevent the Style Gauge from resetting. There are two kinds of taunts: single-handed and double-handed. Pressing the button rapidly will execute a double-handed taunt, while pressing the button slowly or partially will execute a single-handed taunt. Double-handed taunts replenish more of the Devil Trigger gauge, up to two full glyphs, compared to single-handed taunts, which replenish a maximum of one glyph, but are more difficult to execute. The total amount of the D.T. gauge restored by a taunt is also affected by the distance Dante is from the enemy. The farther away, the less D.T. gauge Dante receives.

Taunts can be cancelled by jumping or rolling, but this forfeits the Devil Trigger gauge refill effect. Even cancelled taunts, however, prevent the Style Gauge from resetting. By holding one of the directional buttons at the beginning of the taunt, the player can get Dante to move before the taunt animation finishes but after the D.T. gauge replenishes.

Devil May Cry 2Edit

Player-controlled Taunts were taken out of Devil May Cry 2 because the development team felt they did not fit with the direction of Dante's new personality. The player community roundly criticized both decisions,^[1] and taunts returned in all subsequent games.

Devil May Cry 3Edit

The Taunting mechanism was expanded in Devil May Cry 3 to include multiple verbal lines delivered by Dante (and Vergil in the special edition). Pressing causes Dante to use a Taunt. Which line Dante delivers depends on his current Style Rank. His known lines are, in order of lowest to highest Style: "Come on, wimp!", "Come and get me!", "You scared?", "Crazy!", and "Sweet baby!"

In the Special Edition, Vergil also has access to taunts. Like Dante, Vergil delivers one of several possible taunts, depending on which weapon he has equipped. Vergil's known taunts are: "You shall die", "Hmph, how boring", "Hmph, what's wrong?", "Come on!" and an evil laugh, the last one being used only in Nelo Angelo DT.

The Doppleganger boss character also taunts Dante during their battle in Mission 17 saying, "Hey, do your job!" and "Come and get me!".

HD CollectionEdit

When the player chooses the coatless DMC3 or coatless DMC1 character costumes for Dante he uses taunts recorded for the original version but which were left out. These are, "Huh, is that it?", "Hey, do your job!" and "Let's start the party!"

Devil May Cry 4Edit

The function of Taunts in Devil May Cry 4 is slightly different than previous games. Not only do they have a greater impact on enemy behavior, but there are also more of them. Both Dante and Nero have three levels of taunts, with three taunts for each level except the highest tier, for which Nero has four and Dante only has two. Which taunt is used is random within the level, meaning that if the Style Rank is high, Dante or Nero will use one of the three high-level taunts.

Taunting draws the attention of nearby enemies, in case an enemy is attacking a demon, taunting it will force the enemy to attack the player instead. Performing taunts with a high style rank will produce more stylish Taunts, as with Nero's posing with the Red Queen and Blue Rose. Different Taunts have different effects on enemies, for example: some taunted enemies attack faster and more ferociously, while some demons react to a taunt by means of panicking. Taunting in Dante Must Die mode increases the chance of a demon entering its Devil Trigger State.

Although this isn't a taunt, pressing the Taunt button (/) while running fast causes Nero to execute an attack called "Rainbow". It is essentially the double-footed kick he performs on Dante during the opening movie.

VideosEdit

Devil May Cry 3 SE - Dante & Vergil taunts Burlas(01:15)
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Devil May Cry 4 Nero Taunt(00:57)
1,028 views

Devil May Cry 4 Dante taunt(00:31)
783 views

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