Gold orbs don't make the game any more forgiving. You only get, what? Three gold orbs per playthrough?
If I'm getting aggravated on Easy, it's not the difficulty of the game that's making me throw it on the shelf. It's the design of the game. The enemies, levels, and lack of items. The gameplay, is possibly the best out of any DMC... but without the vast amounts of items scattered throughout each level, each annoying enemy (there are a lot) becomes even more annoying. Such as the blood bats or whatever (the ones that split apart), and the fallen angel things (flying angel-like things that swing around the sword), and the spiders that drop the little jumping larva on the floor. All these enemies were fun to fight on the PS2 with Super Characters, but now... they're simply and utterly annoying. Each time I encounter them they feel cheap and unfair.
Given, this is just my opinion... but, once again, I beat DMC1 on DMD mode. I'm not 'skilled' at hack and slash games, but the game gave me enough items to do this. The only reason I even beat it on DMD mode was for Super Dante.
What I find ironic about DMC, is that they reward players that beat DMD with Super Costumes... but many times the players that are good enough to beat DMD don't even use the super characters as they like the challenge of the normal character.
I like to just go for stylish points, and I'm terrible at Hack'n'Slash. My favorite thing about DMC is to use the Super Characters and just do combo's to fling enemies around and this is what I find fun about DMC.
From what I understand, you're forgetting one aspect of any game: Learning it. Trust me, Hack n' Slashes are the easiest games in terms of gameplay and even moreso in combat. The strategies employed are quite simple and all it really depends on is your timing, which will improve as you play the game. Just remember, Hack n' Slash does not equate to Beat 'em Up, so you can't play the game thinking that you can button mash your way through. I learned that the hard way. Just experiment, figure out what moves and weapons work best for you, and play in a style that's comfortable. I myself thought that you had to use pretty much everything, but I don't even touch the O button anymore, and I only use Rebellion and E&I (sometimes I would use Nevan and A&R just for fun). Believe me when I say that you'll get better if you keep trying.
For example, take the enemies you described. The Blood Bats turn to stone when exposed to magic, so just shoot the crap out of them with E&I or Shotgun, or blast them away with Kalina Ann; just watch out for their dive attacks.
The Fallen Angels are tough, I'll give you that, but again a simple strategy is needed to make things less difficult. They have two modes: Armored and Unarmored. In Armored mode, they are impervious to all attacks and tend to attack at close- range, but their shields go down after a certain number of hits. Once you break their shields, they'll stay away and attack from a farther distance, but they can't attack while moving. Instead, they stand still to swing their swords around. Just go up under them and start swinging and shooting, the sword won't hit you but your's will hit them. Just be careful when there's more than one and make sure to beat them as fast as you can becuase their shields will return after a certain period.
Finally, The Spiders, which I do hate, but they are fun to fight. As you know, they are swift, but like the Fallen Angels they stand still when they attack. Just shoot them when they are moving, dodge their attack, and quickly retaliate; they leave openings after attacking at close range. But I must emphasize on dodging, their dash and web attacks are quick and dangerous. Oh, and be careful not to attack when they block, they'll jump into a dash attack while you're stunned. The small, white spiders are very easy to bounce around after attacking, but the bigger, green ones only react to one strike and start tanking everything else, so be make sure you use heavy attacks. As for the baby spiders, just stay away from them and shoot.
If you need anymore help, follow these tips that I learned from my own experience (they helped me alot):
*Dodging is important. When you see an attack coming, move away. Try to keep yourself from being surrounded.
*Cancelling is essential. Keep your attacks quick and continuous. Use the cancellability of your moves to fine tune the timing of your dodges and switch up on your attacks.
*Launching is benefical. Use High Time, Prop Shredder, Uppercut, and any other launcher moves to put your enemies in the air. It allows for openings and helps when you're surrounded. Plus, who doesn't love Juggling?
*Isolation is key. Try to fight one-on-one. Launching and Knockbacking helps keep enemies away, and dodging can help to keep you from getting surrounded.
*DT is necessary. If you're stuck in a pinch, DT. The sweet thing about DMC 3 is that you can unleash the energy of your Trigger into an attack, so use that to push your lighter enemies back when you're surrounded.
*Health is not important. Well... It is, but don't make it a major focus. Just worry about kicking the crap out of the guy in front of you. If you do things right and head for the S rankings, you won't get hit all that often.
*Experimentation is absolute. Like I said, experiment. Figuring out your style is one of the best things about DMC 3. Even hardcore players have small little strategies that make their style unique to them.
These have been quick tips by Advanced DMC Player, Railazel!
