________
     ,-'  ______`-.
   ,'  ,-'      `-.\      ,   __                                  /\
  /  ,'               _  /|  / /        /|   ____             _   \/
 /  /     ,'`._  ___,'/_/ |_ | |  ,-'\  \ \  \  /   ,'`._ /\,' \  /\    ,'`._
/  /    .'|`. / / __,'|_   _|| | | |\ \  \ \  \ \ .'|`. / | ,'\ \ | | .'|`. /
|  |    | | | || \__/\  | |  | | | |_\ \ | |   | || | | | | | | / | | | | | |
|  |    | | | | \  __ \ | |  | | |  _,-' | |   / /| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
\  \    | | | |  \/  \| | |  | | | \     | |  / / | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 \  \   | |,' | /\___// | |_ | |  \ `._  | `.' /  | |,' | | |_| |_| |_| |,' |
  \  `. |_,'|_//____,'  \__/ \_/   `.__/  `-.,'   |_,'|_/ |_,'|_,'\_,'|_,'|_/
   `.  `-.______,-'/
     `-.________,-'
                      THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO JULIUS BELMONT VERSION 1.5
   _                                                 __
  ' )  /                                      /)    /  )
   /--/ __.  __  ______  __ ____  __  ,   __ //    /  / _  _   _   __.  o __
  /  (_(_/|_/ (_/ / / <_(_)/ / <_/ (_/_  (_)//_   /__/_</_/_)_/_)_(_/|_<_/ (_
                                    /      />                /
                                   '      </                '

===============================================================================
===============================================================================
 ______________________________________
|                                      |
| Author: Zimmygunnar (GT: romertremor)|
|                                      |
| Guide Started: August 31, 2011       |
|                                      |
| Guide Completed: October 3, 2011     |
|                                      |
| Email: romertremor@gmail.com         |
|______________________________________|

===============================================================================
===============================================================================

-----------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS*
-----------------
 1.0---Preface
 2.0---Glossary
 3.0---Who is Julius Belmont?
 4.0---The Vampire Killer
 4.1---Magnes Points
 4.2---Wall Whipping
 5.0---Subweapons
 5.1---DLC Subweapons
 5.2---Subweapon Damage Tables
 6.0---Martial Arts
 6.1---Omnia Canceling
 7.0---Dual Crushes
 8.0---Boss Strategies
 8.1---DLC Boss Strategies
 9.0---Online Etiquette
10.0---Fun Facts
11.0---Shoutouts/Contributions
12.0---Updates
13.0---Legal

*To skip to a section quickly, press Ctrl+F and type the number of the section.
Mac users should press Command+F.

===============================================================================
===============================================================================
-------------
1.0---Preface
-------------

Hello, I'm romertremor. I also go by Rome, RT, Tremor, and Chocolate Thunda.
There are a couple of reasons I'm writing this guide. First off, it's because
of the way I see a lot of people playing Julius. I'm not saying there's a right
or wrong way to play this game, but it seems like people ignore a lot of his
potential. Rarely do I see anybody whipping through walls, or using Omnia
Vanitas correctly, or consistently using subweapons. Second, it's because this
game has matured enough to the point where I feel comfortable writing a guide
without having to worry about a patch changing the metagame and invalidating
what I've written. Finally, it's because I feel like it would be a waste not to
give anything back to the community after 120+ hours of experience with Julius.
So without further ado, I present The Complete Guide to Julius Belmont!

===============================================================================
===============================================================================

--------------
2.0---Glossary
--------------

If there are any terms you aren't familiar with in my guide, check here to see
if you can find any answers.

---
Health/HP: Hit points. It's the red bar at the top left corner of your screen.
Every character begins a level with 300 of these. The total amount can be
modified through your equipment, either positively or negatively. They are
depleted in varying amounts as you take hits from enemies. When they reach
zero, you die. If you're playing single player, that ends the level. If you're
playing multiplayer, you will wander around as a skeleton until a teammate
revives you with a Water of Life.
---
Mana/MP: Your magic reserves. It's the green bar right under your HP bar. Every
character begins a level with 100 of these. Your MP determines how often you
can use subweapons or Dual Crushes. It regenerates on its own after time. Your
MP and MP regeneration rate can also be modified through your equipment as well
(again, positively or negatively).
---
Subweapons: Special attacks. You can have up to four of them equipped at once.
Using them will cost you MP, but they can add variety to your attacks and can
be very useful if you can't hit something with your whip.
---
Dual Crush: Very costly special attacks that can only be performed in
multiplayer. Stand next to a teammate and press the command prompt that pops up
to initiate a Dual Crush. If your teammate responds, you will unleash a very
damaging magic spell at the cost of 60 MP. You are invincible while casting the
spell, but not while you're initiating it.
---
Level: Stage. Called Chapters in-game. The areas you play in, basically. Most
of the level will be spent trying to find a way to the boss. You can replay a
level once you have completed it.
---
Level Up: As you use your subweapons, you will gradually build up experience
points. Gather enough experience and your subweapon will level up, adding
extra damage to the subweapon itself, to the Vampire Killer, and possibly
changing the form of the subweapon at the appropriate level.
---
Water of Life: Available in multiplayer only. In single player, blue chests
will give you extra items or equipment to use. In multiplayer, the blue chests
are guaranteed to contain a Water of Life. If one of your teammates dies, you
can stand next to them and use the Water of Life to revive them.
---
Boss: The big cheese for that level. Kill the boss and a gold chest will
appear. Open the gold chest to receive rare items, rare equipment, and end the
level.
---
Skeleton: A dead (undead?) player. Revive these players with a Water of Life.
A Skeleton has 100 HP and 100 MP, so they are very fragile. If a skeleton dies
again, three minutes will be subtracted from the time limit and the skeleton
will respawn at the place they died originally, so defending them should be
your top priority if you ever have to escort them.
---
Switch: Switches open gates around the level. There are two types of
switches: levers and floor switches. You only have to hit a lever once to open
a gate. Gates connected to floor switches will remain open as long as there is
somebody standing on the switch. Generally, floor switches lead to boss rooms
while levers lead to paths around the level. There are exceptions for both
types of switches, though!
---
Stats: There are seven statistics in Harmony of Despair governing how effective
your character is: attack (abbreviated as ATK), defense (abbreviated as DEF),
strength (abbreviated as STR), constitution (abbreviated as CON), intelligence
(abbreviated as INT), mind (abbreviated as MND), and luck (abbreviated as LCK).
The higher your stats are, the better. Listed here are their effects:

ATK - How much damage you do with physical attacks (not including Martial
Arts).
DEF - How much damage you are protected from against physical attacks.
STR - Contributes to how much damage you do with physical attacks and Martial
Arts. Every two points of STR are equal to one point of ATK.
CON - Contributes to how much damage you are protected from against physical
attacks. Every two points of CON are equal to one point of DEF.
INT - How much damage you do with subweapons and Dual Crushes.
MND - How much damage you are protected from against magic attacks.
LCK - How often enemies drop items. Contrary to popular belief, LCK does not
have a huge effect on what items you can get from treasure chests.
---
Status: There are various status effects you can incur throughout the game.

Good - You have no status effects.

Curse - You will flash yellow, lose all of your MP, and be unable to regenerate
it for a short amount of time. Very annoying.

Poison- You will flash purple and lose 3 HP every second for a short amount of
time. Not as annoying as Curse, but it can cripple you if you're prone to
making mistakes.

Petrify - You get turned to stone until you can break free. This is probably
the most harmless of the status effects. Just move around to regain control.

Charm - The most dangerous status effect. You will have a heart flashing over
your head until you come to your senses and snap out of it. During this time,
you won't have any control over your actions. You will attack your allies, but
you can still be hurt by enemies and by your teammates. If you get Charmed,
don't expect to survive for long. Dracula can charm female characters and
Astarte can charm male characters. Anybody lacking the correct anatomy will be
damaged instead.
---
Area Coverage: The amount of space you can cover with your whip or subweapons.
Something with good area coverage is useful for clearing out enemies that are
grouped together or for clearing out dangerous projectiles.

----------------------------
3.0---Who is Julius Belmont?
----------------------------
   ____________
  |            |
  | Background |
  |____________|

  Julius Belmont is, canonically, the last Belmont to ever fight Dracula. In
1999, with the help of Dracula's son Alucard and a team of Japanese priests,
Julius defeated Dracula and sealed his castle (and by extension Dracula
himself) inside a solar eclipse. These actions cost him his memory, however.
   ________________
  |                |
  | Aria of Sorrow |
  |________________|

  In 2035, there is another solar eclipse. Soma Cruz and his friend Mina
Hakuba are sucked into it, along with supporting characters Hammer,
Genya Arikado, Yoko Belnades, Graham Jones, and a man known only as J. When
they wake up, they find that they are inside Dracula's castle! As Soma makes
his way through the castle looking for a way out, he eventually learns the
truth: that he is the reincarnation of Dracula and that the castle had
summoned him there to become its new master. Graham and J learn of this too,
and both eventually try to kill Soma. J remembers that he is in fact Julius
Belmont, last of the Belmont bloodline. It is currently unknown if he had any
children. After a short fight against Soma, Soma makes Julius promise to kill
him if Soma ever turns to the dark side. Julius obliges. If Soma loses the
final battle against Chaos, the game will show a bad ending with Soma sitting
on Dracula's throne and Julius arriving to honor his promise to him.

   ________________
  |                |
  | Dawn of Sorrow |
  |________________|

  In 2036, a cult leader named Celia Fortner is attempting to find a
replacement for Dracula, believing that there must always be a balance between
good and evil. She tries to kill Soma Cruz, believing him to be a road block
in her scheme. Soma follows her to a castle, where he finds that she has
summoned monsters from Castlevania to stop him. Julius, Arikado (eventually
revealed to be Alucard in disguise), Yoko, and Hammer have also gone to the
castle. Soma encounters Julius several times throughout Dawn of Sorrow, the
last of which sees Julius using his remaining strength to destroy a barrier
so Soma can get through. There is a plot event in the last hours of the game
where Soma can turn to the dark side. If this happens, the game will show a
bad ending much like Aria of Sorrow's where Julius goes off to kill Soma.
   ____________________
  |                    |
  | Harmony of Despair |
  |____________________|

  Julius Belmont was released alongside Yoko Belnades as DLC on
October 27, 2010. When Julius is on the ground, he can whip in five directions.
While airborne, he can whip in eight directions. Compared to Jonathan, his whip
is longer, swings faster, and does more damage. He has fewer subweapons to
level up and has higher intelligence than Jonathan, meaning his subweapons will
do more damage. On a minor note, he can also use the Vampire Killer to
swing from Shanoa's Magnes Points (more on that later). He was included (along
with Yoko Belnades and Chapter 7) for free with the PS3 version of Harmony of
Despair, which was released on September 27, 2011.

===============================================================================
===============================================================================

------------------------
4.0---The Vampire Killer
------------------------

  The Vampire Killer whip is the Belmont clan's ancestral weapon, dating all
the way back to the late 11th century. Every Belmont that has ever killed
Dracula has wielded it, and Julius is no different. Four characters in
Harmony of Despair use the Vampire Killer: Jonathan Morris, Julius Belmont,
Richter Belmont, and Simon Belmont. The way Julius uses it is probably the
most interesting, though: where the other whip users can only swing at what's
in front of them (and in Jonathan's case, what's diagonally under him), Julius
can swing at what's in front of him, above him, and even what's underneath him.
The fact that his whip has added length means he can kill monsters through
walls before other characters can even get into the same room as them. It also
means that he doesn't have to put himself in danger to deal damage. As
mentioned before, he can also utilize Shanoa's Magnes Points. One final
note: in Harmony of Despair, the Vampire Killer's attack power grows as you
level up your subweapons. For Julius, the base attack power without any
stat-boosting gear caps at 68.

-------------------
4.1---Magnes Points
-------------------

  These are of fairly limited use. The few paths available through Magnes
Points usually have a high ledge at the top, requiring momentum that only
Magnes can give. That being said, there are still some routes you can take,
such as the top floor in the large room with three levels in Chapter 2, the
left and right sides of the map in Chapter 5, and the path in Chapter 9
directly after you exit the first long hallway on the ground floor. There is a
special technique you need to use to be able to take the last two shortcuts
known as Magnes Jumping. To Magnes Jump, whip up at a Magnes Point, jump after
you get launched upwards, whip down at the Magnes Point for an extra boost,
jump again, then whip up at the next Magnes Point. Repeat the process until
you've made it up. Note that you should be using the special ability button
instead of the attack button for this. This video shows the process in greater
detail:

http://tinyurl.com/3ebmy2u

-------------------
4.2---Wall Whipping
-------------------

Being able to whip through walls is a great asset to Julius. It allows him to
remove potential threats before he even sets foot in the same room as them.
This can be a great boon for players who are fond of using Berserker Mail.
Every level in the game allows for wall whipping if you're creative enough.
Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 10 are probably the best levels in the game for learning
the basics of wall whipping for the sheer number of opportunities they provide.
Here are some examples to get you started:

Chapter 2: Basically, the entire lower right quarter of the level is a
training ground for you. There are Yoricks, Man-eating Plants, and Moldy
Corpses scattered throughout the rooms here for you. This is also a great place
to get a feel for how far the Vampire Killer can go through walls.

Chapter 3: Ascending either side of the level will give you plenty of chances
to kill enemies through platforms. If you're quick enough, you may be able to
snag more than one kill in a single double-jump!

Chapter 10: The area immediately after fighting Queen Medusa gives several
chances to whip the R. Skeletons on the platforms above. The hallway with the
R. Skele-Dragons that leads to R. The Creature allows you to whip R. Skeletons
and R. Hunchbacks through the floor. The entire section between R. The Creature
and R. Grim Reaper gives plenty of chances to kill enemies through the floor.

===============================================================================
===============================================================================

----------------
5.0---Subweapons
----------------

  Julius, while not having as many subweapons to choose from as Jonathan, only
has to level up half as many to reach his full potential. The subweapons are
as follows:

Knife - You begin the game with this. The Knife can't be found in chests or
dropped by enemies. The one you have is the only one you're going to get. The
Knife moves in a straight line until it hits an enemy or a wall. If you have a
long, straight path filled with enemies (like the beginning of Chapter 4) then
feel free to spam until they're all dead. Just be wary of how quickly the MP
cost builds up.

Axe - Axe Armors drop these. This will likely be the first new subweapon you
find. The Axe is thrown in an arc to hit enemies directly above you. Using the
Axe as Julius is kind of a moot point. You can already whip straight up for
free. Why would you want to waste MP on this?

Holy Water - You can find this in purple chests on Chapters 4 and 6 on both
difficulties. Throw down a bottle of holy water that burns anything in front
of it. This is a passable subweapon at best. The damage dealt isn't
particularly noteworthy. It costs as much MP to use as a Bible or Cross with
none of the area coverage. Level this up, then put it in storage forever.
Side note: don't be fooled into thinking the flame can hit flying enemies.
It might look like it can, but they have to either be on the ground or at
least really close to it.

Cross - You can find this in purple chests on Chapters 5 and 6 on both
difficulties. My personal favorite of the original subweapons. It packs a
bigger punch than the Knife, penetrates enemies, covers a lot of ground once it
is leveled up, and has holy element. Don't leave home without it.

Ricochet Rock - Lerajies drop these. You know, the annoying guys with the
rifles? The Ricochet Rock bounces off of walls and into enemies. If the Rock
itself were just a bit larger, I could see myself using this. As it stands,
however, you're spending valuable MP on a very small projectile that will
probably go around its target instead of through it.

Bible - You can find this in purple chests on Chapter 2 on both difficulties.
When used, the Bible moves in a spiral dealing damage to any enemies it passes
through. This is more useful to other whip users than to Julius, mostly because
it can go through walls. That's not to say Julius can't use it to snag enemies
that are just out of his reach, though. Side note: this is a godsend in rooms
with Medusa Heads. Your teammates will thank you for throwing down two or
three of these.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The weapons listed above are the ones Julius needs to level up to make the |
| Vampire Killer stronger. The ones below are added by DLC. Leveling them up |
| will not increase Julius's attack power at all.                            |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------
5.1---DLC Subweapons
--------------------

*Download Chapter 10 and there will be a new category in the shop
called "Hunter Skills". Whip users can purchase the retro dagger for 80,000
gold and the retro axe for 120,000 gold.*

Javelin - You can find this in purple chests on Chapter 8 on both difficulties.
The Javelin is thrown in an arc straight ahead and sticks in the ground for
a short amount of time. Maybe it's just me, but I really don't see the use in
the Javelin. Okay damage, okay cost, and okay range. Overall, just okay.

R. Dagger - Purchase this from the shop. The Knife's older brother who smokes
and has tattoos. Costs less MP and does more damage at the cost of range and
speed. The range is still respectable, but nothing spectacular. It really
comes down to personal preference.

R. Axe - Purchase this from the shop. Throw axes in an arc directly above you.
When leveled up, you can throw more than one axe at once. I still can't see the
point of using any kind of axe as Julius. The extra area coverage compared to
the vanilla Axe is nice, but still not enough to justify taking a slot.

R. Boomerang - You can find this in purple chests on Chapter 10 Hard. Throw a
small cross in front of you. The R. Boomerang does as much damage as swinging
the whip, hits multiple times, and costs less MP than the normal Cross at the
cost of speed and area coverage. There really isn't a good reason not to use
this. In fact, why not use this AND the Cross together?

R. Fire Bomb - You can find this in purple chests on Chapter 10 Hard. Throw
down a bottle of holy water that burns anything standing in it. This is what
the Holy Water should have been in the first place. It doesn't move ahead of
the enemy. It hits for incredible amounts of damage. It's cheaper than the
regular Holy Water. Like with the R. Boomerang, you really don't have any
reason not to use this.

Note: I'm not going to cover grinding techniques here because that's universal
for most of the characters in the game. Here's a link to a guide in case you
wanted it:

http://tinyurl.com/3dmddtm

-----------------------------
5.2---Subweapon Damage Tables
-----------------------------

Listed here are damage tables for every subweapon available to Julius, either
through the main game or through DLC. I will also list the physical changes the
subweapons go through as they level up.  No stat-boosting gear was worn during
testing. All tests were conducted on Zombies in Chapter 1 Normal.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |  5* |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9**|
Knife         |-------|---|---|---|---|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
              |Damage |006|008|012|015|018x2|022x2|024x2|027x2|030x3|

*At this level, you will throw two knives instead of one.
**At this level, you will throw three knives instead of two.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5*| 6 | 7 | 8 |9**|
Axe           |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |011|019|028|036|045|053|062|070|079|

*At this level, the axe will change from a wood axe to a double-sided battleaxe.
**At this level, the axe will change from a double-sided battleaxe to a larger
and much more ornate-looking battleaxe.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9*|
Cross         |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |013|020|028|036|044|051|059|067|074|

*At this level, the cross will double in size and look much more detailed.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9*|
Bible         |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |010|016|021|027|032|038|043|049|055|

*At this level, the bible will become much thicker.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Ricochet Rock |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |008|015|022|027|034|040|047|053|060|

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Holy Water    |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |012|019|026|033|040|047|054|061|068|

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9*|
Javelin       |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |016|025|034|044|053|061|070|080|089|

*At this level, the Javelin will change from a trident to a spear. The coloring
of the handle will also change from purple & gold to red & gold.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |  5* |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9**|
R. Dagger     |-------|---|---|---|---|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
              |Damage |008|013|017|022|027x2|031x2|036x2|040x2|045x3|

*At this level, you will throw two daggers instead of one.
**At this level, you will throw three daggers instead of two.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5*| 6 | 7 | 8 |9**|
R. Axe        |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |013|020|028|036|044|051|059|067|075|

*At this level, you will throw two axes instead of one.
**At this level, you will throw three axes instead of two.
***Through testing on Menace, I have discovered that the extra axes don't
actually add extra hits like the Knife and R. Dagger do. They are strictly
for area coverage.

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
R. Fire Bomb  |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |015|023|031|040|048|056|064|073|081|

              |Level  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
R. Boomerang  |-------|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
              |Damage |016|025|034|044|052|061|070|080|089|

One final note here: Holy Water and R. Fire Bomb will hit more times in a
single use as they are leveled up. I didn't list those because the subweapons
don't actually undergo any major physical changes like the others.

===============================================================================
===============================================================================

------------------
6.0---Martial Arts
------------------

  Julius only has two martial arts to choose from: Uppercut and Omnia Vanitas.
Those of you who have played Aria of Sorrow should remember Omnia Vanitas: it's
the move where he glides along the ground and avoids all damage. Well, it's
back and it's exactly as you remember it. It is, bar none, the best dodging
move in the game. It covers the most distance, makes you invincible longer than
the other dodge moves, and only costs 5MP to use. You can find this in chests
in Chapters 5 through 11.

  And the Uppercut? Ehh, not so much. The problem with Julius's uppercut is
that Konami messed up big time with the hitbox on it. See, Jonathan and Richter
can use their uppercut to hit enemies in front of them. Julius has an
uppercut that's nearly vertical. You have to come up right under an enemy to
reliably hit them with it, and that's a big no-no in Hard mode. Worse still if
you're wearing Berserker Mail. Something's going to die if you try to pull that
off, and you'd better pray it's not you. On the upside, you can usually do
twice as much damage with an uppercut as you would with a whip swing, and
you can follow up the uppercut with a whip swing as you're falling to the
ground. You can find this in chests around Chapter 4.

---------------------
6.1---Omnia Canceling
---------------------

  Omnia Canceling is a technique where Julius uses Omnia Vanitas very quickly
to cover large amounts of ground fast, similar to Richter's Slide Kick. To
Omnia Cancel, begin your Omnia Vanitas. When you start to slow down, swing
your whip. The whip-swinging will end what's left of the Omnia Vanitas
animation. As soon as you swing your whip, backdash. The backdash will, in
turn, cancel the whipping animation. As you're backdashing, begin another Omnia
Vanitas. Repeat until you're at your destination. Be aware that prolonged Omnia
Canceling is very taxing on your MP bar and it's not very reliable for dodging
enemies. This is strictly for quick movement. With practice, you'll eventually
be able to use Omnia Vanitas multiple times per second.

================================================================================
================================================================================

------------------
7.0---Dual Crushes
------------------

  Here is a complete list of the Dual Crushes available to Julius.

Holy Cross: (Crush with Jonathan, Richter, or another Julius.) Summons giant
crucifixes that deal holy damage to enemies. This absolutely dominates Legion
and Beelzebub if you and your partner position yourselves correctly.

Blood Cross: (Crush with Soma or Alucard.) Summons a giant red cross that
does heavy damage to enemies and returns a small amount of health to the users.
This is almost as good as Holy Cross against Legion and Beelzebub.

Thunder Cross: (Crush with Shanoa, Yoko, or Charlotte. Julius must initiate
the crush.) Summons X-shaped electricity that covers a huge area.

Phlegethon: (Crush with Charlotte. Charlotte must initiate the crush.) Summons
fire that covers the floor and walls.

Cocytus: (Crush with Shanoa. Shanoa must initiate the crush.) Summons an ice
storm that deals heavy damage to enemies. The ice will fly to whichever side
Julius is standing on when Shanoa initiates the Dual Crush.

Thor's Hammer: (Crush with Yoko. Yoko must initiate the crush.) Summons bolts
of electricity that deal heavy damage to enemies. This works the same as
Cocytus, meaning that it will go to whichever side Julius is standing on when
Yoko initiates the crush.

Aura Blast: (Crush with Maria, Simon, or Fuma.) Summons a web of energy that
covers a huge area. Dracula's final form uses this as an attack.

================================================================================
================================================================================

---------------------
8.0---Boss Strategies
---------------------

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Note: this section of the guide assumes that you're playing on Hard Mode. If |
| you're playing on Normal Mode, there are some attacks listed here that will  |
| either be simplified or removed completely.                                  |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Gergoth: The real problem here isn't Gergoth, but rather all of its flunkies
that you'll have to deal with once it breaks through the floor and falls. Either
deal with them beforehand or hope there's enough space left to whip them without
taking damage. When Gergoth rushes at you, go to the corner and duck. When it
tries to suck you in and bite you, run the opposite direction. When it uses the
horizontal laser beam, just duck. When it uses the diagonal laser beam, move
under its mouth and duck. When it slides at you on its stomach, jump kick
off of its back or use Omnia Vanitas. Occasionally, Gergoth will duck for a
few seconds. Gergoth will shoot out a web of its own intestines at you if you're
still in front of it when it stands back up. Jump kick off of its back while
it's ducking. Easy.
--
Puppet Master: Puppet Master has two attacks: spewing dolls from its mouth that
will inflict curse status if they hit you, and putting a mannequin in an iron
maiden then switching your position with the mannequin's. The iron maiden will
either deal heavy damage or flat-out kill you if you don't destroy the
mannequin. There's a trick to how the mannequin works, though: if you're
invincible when the iron maiden closes on the mannequin, you won't have your
position switched with it. Use Omnia Vanitas as soon as the mannequin stops
moving and you won't have any problems. Be warned, however, that your
teammates will be put in the iron maiden in your place if you're playing
multiplayer. Omnia Vanitas should be your last resort in that case. Side note:
the Puppet Master will move around the level to different iron maidens if you
haven't sealed them off with the crates conveniently located next to them. Make
sure you take care of that before you start the fight.
--
Menace: Menace looks tough, but it might as well be a giant kitten for how
harmless it is. Menace has four attacks: stepping on you, jumping on you, trying
to kick you, and spawning blobs with teeth. The thing is, Menace is even easier
to read than Gergoth. You always have ample time to avoid Menace's attacks
because of how long it takes to telegraph them. Menace has three weak points on
its body: one on its knee, one on its chest, and one in its mouth. You shouldn't
have any problems hitting the knee thanks to your handy-dandy 8-way whip. To
hit the weak point on Menace's chest, go back to the left side of the stage.
Climb the ledges until you reach an area with no wall on the right side. It
should be right under the extendable yellow platform. From here, you can throw
knives at Menace's chest and hit the weak point on it.
--
Brauner: Brauner is the first real challenge you should face. He has three
types of attacks: Blood Art Technique, summoning, and flying around inside a
painting. There are three versions of the Blood Art Technique: two lines (one
above you and one below you), a greater than/less than sign, or an X. All three
of them are easily dodged and cleaned up with the Vampire Killer. He can also
summon three different types of monsters: a pack of Cyclops heads, two flying
statues that will curse you, or two giant green pinwheel monsters that will
poison you. All three are easily dodged with Omnia Vanitas. If you don't have
the MP available for Omnia Vanitas, this will be much trickier. To dodge the
statues, double jump over the first and try to find the space between it and
the second statue. To dodge the pinwheels, find an open space as they get
closer and slidekick through when you get the chance. If he summons the Cyclops
heads, just whip them away like you would with any other flying enemy. For his
final attack, he will merge with a painting and fly around the room in it. I've
never been able to get a good read on exactly where he will go when he does
this, so I just use Omnia Vanitas whenever he gets too close.
--
Death: Death is my most hated boss. It's not because I don't know how to fight
him. It's not that I can't dodge his attacks. It's because Death constantly
spawns sickles around the room, often right where I'm standing. It gets even
worse in online play because he starts teleporting around due to lag. Other than
the random sickle-spawning, Death has six attacks. He can jump in the air and
bring his scythe down on your head very quickly, he can charge along the ground
and swing his scythe at you, he can summon three pairs of crescent blades that
go after you, he can spawn a barrage of sickles from his hand, he can summon red
skulls that orbit around him, and he can fly in an arc while spawning sickles
underneath him. You can neutralize both of his sickle attacks with the Vampire
Killer and Omnia Vanitas through the rest of his attacks. Ignore the Magnes
Points in the boss room. There's nothing to be done with them except for
launching yourself over his charge attack.
--
Dracula 1st Form: Whenever he appears, jump over him and start whipping him from
behind. I guess the Lord of Darkness, AKA the Scourge of Humanity, AKA the
King of the Night, has gotten stiff from sitting down so long, because he won't
even turn around to face you once you're behind him. If you can't get behind
him, he has three attacks for you. If you've ever played a Castlevania game
before, you know what's coming. If you haven't, here they are. Hellfire: Dracula
lifts his cape behind him and shoots a row of fireballs at you. Jump over this,
destroy the fireballs, or use Omnia Vanitas. Dark Inferno: Dracula lifts his
cape in front of him and shoots larger, darker fireballs at you alternating high
and low. Jump over them and duck them, but DO NOT USE OMNIA VANITAS. You might
dodge two or three fireballs doing that, but you'll be eating a fireball as soon
as the animation ends. Fire Pillars: he'll summon fire that goes from the ground
to the ceiling. Just step away from the fire and beat on Dracula until he
teleports away.
--
Dracula 2nd Form: Dracula will transform into a monster once you've done enough
damage to him. This form has four attacks. Monster Dracula can use a laser beam
similar to Gergoth's, send spirits after you to curse you similar to how
Dullahan does, shoot a fireball at the ground that creates a wave of fire
similar to a Final Guard's, and jump across the room spreading poison under
himself. To dodge the laser, run to the opposite corner of the room and double
jump as soon as he fires it. To dodge the spirits, run to the opposite corner,
double jump, kick down, and slide. To dodge the wave of fire, simply double
jump over it. Dracula will announce his jump by flexing his arms. To dodge the
jump, run to the corner he's facing and stand there until Dracula lands. Simple.
--
Dracula Final Form: This form may look imposing, but it's a lot easier to kill
than it looks. Julius's whip is actually long enough to be able to hit Dracula
from outside of his hands, so you'll have a leg up on dodging most of his
attacks. This form of Dracula has seven attacks. One changes depending on the
difficulty you're playing on. Dracula can swipe at you with his hands, use
Aura Blast, use an enlarged version of Demonic Meggido, attempt to Charm a
teammate that is using a female character, summon rainbow-colored triangles that
deal a lot of damage, bring up pillars of fire that chase you around the room,
bring up pillars of fire and bolts of electricity (hard difficulty only), or
drop a fireball that creates two fire waves (normal difficulty only). Aura Blast
might be a problem, just because Julius is slightly larger than other characters
when crouched, and so even if you put yourself in the right position you can
still get hit by it. You can either try using Omnia Vanitas as soon as the
energy starts traveling down the web, or you can get directly underneath
Dracula's body where it's safe. To dodge Demonic Meggido, stand in the corners.
On Hard difficulty, there will be pillars of fire in the corners, so you will
have to wait for them to disperse before you can get in there. For Charm, try to
predict where the gap in the hearts will be and duck in a spot where you can
take advantage of that gap. If you're not confident about being able to predict
that, use Omnia Vanitas. The rainbow triangles might just be his most annoying
attack. To dodge them, pick a corner to stand in. As they come toward you, jump
over them, jumpkick past them, duck under them, whatever you have to do to make
sure they don't touch you. They will either kill you on contact or take away a
huge chunk of your life bar. The flame pillars that chase you can be easily
dodged by sliding around the room. For the fire+electricity combo attack, just
get between two pillars of fire and duck. Side notes: it's possible to hit
Dracula with Julius's uppercut. Either get between his heads or stand next to
one of them.

------------------------------------------------------------
The bosses listed above are available through the base game.
The following are available through DLC.
------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------
8.1---DLC Boss Strategies
-------------------------

Astarte: Astarte is a fairly simple boss to defeat. She will attempt to
Charm you, shoot a tornado out of her staff at you, jump backwards while
shooting Delta Spark out of her staff, or attack you with her cape. The
cape and tornado can both be jumped over, while the Delta Spark just needs a
single backdash. The Charm attack isn't hard to dodge, but we all make mistakes
sometimes. She will announce it with a "Come hither!" Either Omnia Vanitas
through the attack as it comes at you, jumpkick off of Astarte's head as soon
as the hearts appear so they miss you completely, or stand close to Astarte and
double-jump over the hearts when they appear.
--
Legion: Not really much to say about Legion. Strip his shell with your whip,
Cross, Bible, Ricochet Rock, or what have you. Just make sure you're not
standing under him, or else he'll rain bodies on you. When his shell is removed,
stand to the right of him, jump, and whip diagonally at him. This keeps you out
of the way of his laser attack and gives you some leeway for his fire attack.
To dodge the fire attack, just ascend the platforms as the fire gets closer to
you and descend them once the fire changes direction. Or, if you're feeling
adventurous, you can try Omnia Canceling through the fire. If you can position
yourself correctly, it's possible to Uppercut Legion's core.
--
Beelzebub: Beelzebub is a boss you'll want to fight with your screen zoomed
out. Click RS/R3 if you didn't know how to do that. The reason you want your
screen zoomed out is so you can keep track of his flies. This isn't a
particularly difficult fight, but the flies can surprise you if you aren't
prepared for them. First, kill all of the flies orbiting around Beelzebub.
When they're gone, bring out your favorite area-clearing subweapon and start
taking Beelzebub apart. Or, if you have a fellow whip user/Soma/Alucard on
your team, get underneath Beelzebub and use Holy Cross/Blood Cross. He can't
attack you directly, nor can he move away from your attacks. When the flies
come, stand on the right side of Beelzebub on the ledge closest to the ground
that's also closest to Beelzebub. That's seriously the bulk of the fight. The
flies will go over and under that particular ledge, but they will almost never
go through it. Occasionally Beelzebub will send out flies in groups to attack
all of the ledges, either starting from the top of the room or the bottom.
When he does this, drop to the ground and Omnia Vanitas through the flies or
jump through the gap between the two groups. That's really all that needs to be
said about this fight. Side note: skeletons can still be hit by the flies even
if they're standing on the ledge. I don't know why this happens. The best way
to circumvent that is to duck.
--
R. Phantom Bat: Phantom Bat will fly towards you, occasionally shooting out
fireballs. Just whip it until it dies. If you think Phantom Bat will die in
the next one or two attacks, you can try to finish it off with an Uppercut.
Just be prepared for the consequences if you turn out to be wrong.
--
R. Queen Medusa: Queen Medusa will fly towards you, shooting out snakes
every couple of seconds. Keep your distance and use the R. Boomerang against
her while clearing out the snakes with the Vampire Killer or R. Fire Bomb.
--
R. Mummy Man: The Mummy Men have a very simple pattern they follow, consisting
of sending out three snakes after you, walking forward a little bit, and firing
three more snakes out at you. R. Fire Bombs should be your weapon of choice
here, supplemented by the Vampire Killer. R. Boomerangs are also a good choice
for this fight.
--
R. The Creature: The Creature doesn't really do anything other than lurch
around his boss room. The Hunchback will jump around and shoot fireballs at
you, but you can temporarily disable it by damaging it. The Creature will
charge at you sometimes, but this poor excuse for an attack can be easily jumped
over. Side note: R. The Creature can drop Berserker Mail if you're lucky. If
you don't feel like grinding Chapter 5 for it, this is an excellent alternative.
--
R. Grim Reaper: R. Grim Reaper is the most difficult of the Chapter 10 miniboss
brigade, not that that statement means anything. They're all about as menacing
as a limbless baby. Grim Reaper will jump around his room and spawn 8-bit
sickles out of thin air. When you're not busy uppercutting him through a
platform, you should be throwing R. Boomerangs and R. Fire Bombs at him.
Really, the only annoying part of this fight is how confined Grim Reaper's room
is. There isn't a lot of space to dodge the sickles, so you should be clearing
out the room with the Vampire Killer and with Bibles whenever you get a chance.
Side note: R. Grim Reaper can drop Death's Robe if you're lucky. This is an
excellent alternative to grinding Chapter 5 for it. However, by this point in
the game, better armors should already be available to you.
--
R. The Count 1st form: The first form has two attacks. The first attack is to
send out very fast waves of fireballs. You can avoid this by doing a very short
hop the moment he opens his cape. The second attack isn't really an attack, but
I'm counting it as one since I've seen so many players get killed by it. If
The Count teleports and there are players behind him when he reappears, there's
a chance that he will move backwards very quickly. This is to deter people who
think they can fight him the same way as Dracula. Overall, fairly simple.
--
R. The Count 2nd form: This fight is actually pretty easy. The Count can
charge at you, send out fireballs in a spiral pattern, or jump at you. When he
charges, just double jump and whip down at him as he passes. When he sends out
the fireballs, get away from him and jump/duck through any gaps you find. His
jumping shouldn't even be an issue because of how far away you can be while
whipping.
--
Oxocutioner: Your whip is long enough to breach his swords, so waiting for an
opening won't be an issue here. When he sends out his swords, duck/jump them
and throw a R. Fire Bomb at his feet. The Oxocutioner moves so slowly that even
if it gets out of the fire bomb's range, it won't matter because the fire bomb
will have already done a lot of damage to it.
--
Decapiclops: You're going to be using subweapons a lot here. The reason I try
to do as little whipping as possible here is because Decapiclops's projectiles
can cover a lot of ground if it isn't killed before any of the other bosses,
and I want to be able to Omnia Vanitas out of danger at a moment's notice. When
Decapiclops starts moving along the ceiling, drop what you're doing and get out
of the way. It will start dropping skulls on you. Omnia Vanitas into the
direction that Decapiclops is coming from and throw a Cross at Decapiclops as
it passes. R. Boomerang, Cross, and R. Dagger are the best things to use
for this fight.
--
Chimyriad: As with Decapiclops, you're going to be using subweapons a lot here.
If you get backed into a corner, Chimyriad will destroy you. By using subweapons
you can ensure that you'll still be doing damage even while dodging attacks. If
Chimyriad puts its back against a wall and it's touching the ground, get ready
to jump. Like with R. The Count, you can whip down at it as it goes past. If
Chimyriad presses its back against the wall and it's elevated off the ground,
then you're in luck. Omnia Vanitas behind Chimyriad and start uppercutting it.
You should be able to take off a ridiculous amount of health from Chimyriad, if
not outright kill it.
--
Ryukotsuki 1st Form: Ryukotsuki will jump, shoot fireballs, and teleport. That's
all he does. Crouch and whip him whenever he shoots fireballs, or throw a
R. Fire Bomb at him and dodge. Repeat until he dies.
--
Ryukotsuki 2nd Form: Before he finishes materializing, throw a R. Fire Bomb at
him. His shield will block most subweapons you throw at him, so it's better
to take advantage of them while you can. All Ryukotsuki can do in this form is
throw knives at you alternating high and low. Jump/duck the knives and whip him
until he goes down.
--
Ryukotsuki Final Form: Ryukotsuki has six attacks at his disposal this time. He
can shoot three fireballs that can't be destroyed until they bounce off a wall,
he can shoot a wave of very small fireballs that are easily destroyed with a
diagonal whip swing, he can punch you, he can summon the souls of Chimyriad
or Decapiclops to shoot fireballs at you, or he can summon Oxocutioner to drop
swords on you. Treat the summons the same way you would treat the actual
minibosses, but bear in mind that when Oxocutioner is summoned, Ryukotsuki will
shoot out fireballs as well. Now, you may have noticed that you can't damage
Ryukotsuki at all. The way that works is that Ryukotsuki is invincible until he
tries to punch you. At that point, you have a three to four second window to get
in there and attack the orb. Also, Ryukotsuki is guaranteed to try to punch you
after he performs a summon. Side note: if somebody enters the boss room and ends
up behind Ryukotsuki, he will shoot fireballs behind him until the player is
either dead or has moved back in front of him.

================================================================================
================================================================================

----------------------
9.0---Online Etiquette
----------------------

At its core, this game is all about cooperation. The only aspect of this game
that is even remotely competitive is the scoring system. Any actions you take
should help a teammate, even if that teammate is being obnoxious and
ridiculing you for it. Leave the competitive mindset behind, and your team will
be much better off for it. That being said, here are some general tips for
making the most of your online experience:

1. Bring health potions. I know you haven't made any mistakes, but that doesn't
mean other people haven't. When a health potion is used, any teammates close
to you will receive the effect as well. That means you could potentially save
your teammates from death, making your job easier and keeping them happy.

2. Don't ignore blue chests. Too often have I played with people that insisted
going for the Water of Life was unnecessary and was just wasting time, only to
watch them be killed by something they didn't see coming and having to spend
the rest of the level trailing behind their teammates.

3. Dying is acceptable, but don't blame it on anybody but yourself. You'll make
yourself look like an idiot and will probably get mocked by the other players,
or worse: get kicked.

4. Using voice commands is fine, but don't spam or be a dick with them. If a
teammate dies and you're there to see it, say "sorry" instead of "good work".
If you're the only player left alive at the end of the chapter
and you're standing in front of the boss chest, don't sit there spamming
"all yours" or "good work". Nobody likes a player who's full of themselves.

5. Julius and Fuma are probably the best projectile-removers in the game. Your
teammates will appreciate you clearing out the clutter for them, be it Death's
sickles, Ryukotsuki's fireballs, or Ukoback fires, even if they don't say it.

6. If you're not dying, you're not trying! Making mistakes is a natural part of</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
the game for absolutely everybody. The best way to gauge skill is to see how
many mistakes you make when you play. Play single player and save a replay of
yourself whenever you have a bad run. Watch that replay and try to figure out
exactly what you're doing wrong. Experience is a great teacher, but failure is
even greater!

7. While making mistakes is acceptable in multiplayer, going in completely
blind is just asking for trouble. If you're having problems with a level,
consider downloading a replay of one of the top 10 runs from that level off of
the leaderboards. It could give you ideas on how to dodge attacks or run the
level more efficiently.

================================================================================
================================================================================

----------------
10.0---Fun Facts
----------------

-Every whip user can hit enemies behind them as they begin swinging the Vampire
Killer. That backswing can be incredibly useful if you time it correctly.

-Julius and Richter recover almost instantly from falls.

-Julius and Yoko have the fastest slide recovery in the game. Combine this with
Slide Boots for best results.

-In Chapter 10, you can uppercut enemies through the floor as long as the floor
is sufficiently thin.

-In Chapter 6, you can uppercut one of the Final Guards through the floor.

-If you change your Julius's color, his beard changes color too.

-Other players can jumpkick off of Julius and Jonathan while they're
uppercutting.

-You can hold down the attack button to manually control Julius's whip.
For some reason, this doesn't work if you hold RB.

-Other players can jumpkick off of Julius while he is hanging from a Magnes
Point if he appears to them as an Axe Armor. This doesn't work in the PS3
version because Julius is included with the game itself.

-Julius can jumpkick immediately after using an Uppercut. This is incredibly
useful against Dracula's final form and R. Grim Reaper, as it allows you to
spam Uppercuts for ridiculous amounts of damage.

================================================================================
================================================================================

------------------------------
11.0---Shoutouts/Contributions
------------------------------

-DonkeyOfDestiny writes: "You can use short hops and
downward whips to attack things above/behind you a bit faster."

-DonkeyOfDestiny also writes: "Ryukotsuki also summons a single sword when
he punches."

-DonkeyOfDestiny writes again: "You can jumpkick off of the balls that
Ryukotsuki fires off 3 at a time before their first ricochet without taking
damage. This is most helpful when he has you backed up all the way to the door
where there is less room to dodge."

-Hoobajabba writes: "As soon as he (R. The Count) pops to second form, toss like
5 retro boomerangs away from him, then duck right at his feet facing away and
back whip him till you have to dodge the fireballs. All the crosses fly
backwards through him and your whip hits him the whole time, it's killer. It's a
little harder to hit with the back crosses as the fight progresses but you
should still be able to repeat it each fireball phase. And as far as when to
uppercut him with j man, as he tackles you uppercut through him, and after
every tackle he always jumps, so you hit him again with an uppercut right
through his body as he lands on you then jump kick off his head."

-Yoko_Pwno writes: "Astarte's Delta Spark can be dodged with a crouch, easier
than backdashing."

-Yoko_Pwno also writes: "Also, The Count's second form charge attack is an easy
chance to score uppercuts, it gives a few frames of invincibility, also is
helpful for uppercutting through the pinwheel attack, if you wait till its right
above your head then uppercut through it, for people who have trouble finding
the holes ;)"

-Shoutout to Hoobajabba for being one of my first Castlevania buddies and for
helping me test some things during the writing of this guide

-Shoutout to Xul Lux for wearing Julius's pee-stained coat with pride, helping
me gather subweapons and cash for the subweapon damage tables, providing
positive reinforcement, and for suggesting I add a section on Omnia Vanitas
challenges (I won't)

-Shoutout to Rose of Zeal for survival grinding with me for an ungodly amount
of time

-Shoutout to http://patorjk.com/software/taag/ for their free ASCII
art generator

-Shoutout to the Castlevania Wiki for stat checks

-Shoutout to caffeine for keeping me awake while I wrote this

-Shoutout to Jesus for taking one for the team

-Shoutout to Facebook for killing what little faith I had left in people

-Shoutout to Miniova from AlternateHarmony for agreeing to fill me in on any
differences between the Xbox 360 version of Julius and the PS3 version. So far
he hasn't found any, but it's the thought that counts.

-Shoutout to Konami for creating Julius

-Shoutout to you for taking the time to peruse my guide

================================================================================
================================================================================

--------------
12.0---Updates
--------------

1.0 - Finished the guide and posted it to GameFAQs.

1.1 - Added to Shoutouts/Contributions.

1.2 - Made minor edits to Dracula 2nd Form, Dracula Final Form, Oxocutioner,
Ryukotsuki Final Form strategies. Moved Preface under Table of Contents.
Put borders around section headers. Added R. Phantom Bat, R. Queen Medusa,
R. Mummy Man, R. The Creature, and R. Grim Reaper to DLC Boss Strategies.
Added to Fun Facts. Corrected price for R. Dagger in DLC Subweapons.

1.3 - Made a minor edit in DLC Subweapons. Added Subweapon Damage Tables.
Made a note in Table of Contents. Made minor edits to Dracula Final Form,
Legion, Beelzebub, R. Grim Reaper strategies. Made minor edits in Martial Arts.
Added Wall Whipping. Added to Shoutouts/Contributions. Made minor edits to
Dual Crushes. Fixed the ASCII.

1.4 - Added Glossary. Added to Shoutouts/Contributions. Added to Boss
Strategies.

1.5 - Made additions to practically every section in the guide.

================================================================================
================================================================================

------------
13.0---Legal
------------

Sites that currently have my permission to host this guide:
---
www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com
www.supercheats.com
---
If you want to host my guide on your website, contact me at
romertremor@gmail.com. Violators will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.

================================================================================
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