All that angelic point you made is pure speculation, as you admitted (also, I remember I used Holy Water against Dante in DMC4 and it didn't work, so...), also somewhat flawed since Dante can use Holy Water without any harm.
As I said, I base my conclusion on the facts the games show us, not speculations. Those facts say that DMC3 Dante is more gifted in durability and regeneration. Nothing we can say or speculate can change that. DmC Dante visibly suffers from finger piercing. DMC3 Dante must sustain more than that, in order to suffer and be harmed. Period.
Point about durability and regen, and "defensive" capacities solved. We need to move on to the other factor TerrorA took into account: strength.
You're joking right? You're aware that in those pictures of DmC Dante, it's when he was growing up. So YOU DON'T KNOW if his pain tolerance increased significantly or not over time. Also, DMC 3 Dante got shot in the head and literally lost all of his muscle control. DmC Dante, as I said, RAN at the bullets and didn't flinch AT ALL!
Their regeneration is not the same. DmC Dante heals slightly faster than DMC 3 Dante and as I've said before, it depends on the element with DMC 3 Dante.
"Wound - stab in the belly
Object causing the injury - Yamato
Physical state - in pain, seriously weakened, serious blood loss
Regen rate - slow (once on the ground, he still spills blood, staining the floor)
Wound - repeated cut wounds
Object causing the injury - Yamato
Physical state - visibly tired and weakened, but not in a critical state, some blood loss
Regen rate - normal/slow (he doesn't seem able to recover in seconds this time, it takes some time)
Wound - face smash
Object causing the injury - Jester's feet (drop kick)
Physical state - KO
Regen rate - fast (his face looks perfectly fine just seconds later)
To me, it seems that DMC3 Dante has more durability, since apparently he's able to sustain bigger damage compared to DmC Dante without feeling pain.
Also, he seems to possess faster regen rate, as DmC Dante's healing factor is fast, yes, but not instantaeous. "-Foxtrot
Your words, not mine.
How are you going to have a conclusion that DMC 3 Dante has a better regeneration than DmC Dante? There were several times DMC 3 Dante took AGES to recover. Whilst, with DmC Dante, he ATE his bullets from in front and from behind, surprise or not.
He recovered instantly from SIX of Mundus's attacks. Did you mention these?
Mundus Shockwave, tackle, slam, slam, slow piercing, and Omega Mundus slam.
How about Vergil?
Vergil palm and he's not even affected by the entirety of the fight vs VERGIL and Yamato. Actually, Dante seems to have gotten stronger fighting someone of Vergil's rank without having to endure insane amounts of pain. It's highly unlikely that this is speculation as Phineas said WHILE LOOKING AT THE WHITE IN DANTE'S HAIR
"You have yet to discover your full potential."
So, with that being said, there's a chance DmC Dante could become even more stronger fighting Nephilim. Rather than just getting a weapon from a demon.