So you’ve mastered the dodge in Devil May Cry 5, and now you’re looking to work the jump cancel — or enemy step — into your repertoire. Good thinking: the jump cancel move is an essential combat mechanic that you’ll need to master. Here’s how to master the enemy step, which should help you jump cancel your way to a SSS combo.
Much like how dodging works in Devil May Cry 5, the jump cancel is — and always has been in the DMC series — an “exploitable” game mechanic. I put exploitable in quotation marks, because it’s essentially a flaw that the game designers expect you to take advantage of. So maybe “exploit” isn’t the right word, given it’s a fundamental part of the gameplay, but you are still expected to break some rules in effectively executing the move. Given it’s also a purchasable asset, it’s kind of part-and-parcel of the Devil May Cry experience at this point.
Okay, so what the hell is the jump cancel, or enemy step, or whatever? Well, to put it simply, it’s a move that effectively cancels any animation sequence, and essentially “resets” your move allowances. This occurs by “jumping” mid-air, off of an enemy’s head.
Certain moves require you to touch the ground before being reset, but you can continue using it and build up your combo meter by simply executing an effective jump cancel.
Aside from extending your move allowance, you may be wondering why it’s necessary to “jump” again in mid-air. Well, any veteran DMC player will tell you that, not only is it good for extending your range and keeping a combo going, it also keeps you well out of range of enemy attacks. You’re far less vulnerable when in the air, and so staying up there is obviously ideal, away from all of the nasties on the ground.
Pulling off an actual Jump Cancel may take some practice, just as with any other move in the game.
Firstly you want to actually buy the “Enemy Step” move from the store. Otherwise you’ve read all of this for nothing. Good one!
You then probably want to get used to the gameplay fundamentals, slowly working the jump cancel into your own personal style. You can do this by jumping, aiming your fall over an enemy, and then jumping again off their head.
Once you’ve got that down, work the jump-pull-jump system into your gameplay: jump into the air, pull an enemy up, release, and then jump off it as it’s falling. This takes some pretty precise timing, but the release and jump should make for a smooth transition: just “slide” into it on your gamepad.
It won’t take you heaps of time to master, but it will be something you’ll want to practice, and eventually work a familiar move into.
Have any other tips for mastering the Enemy Step? Sound off in the comments below!
