A mod which overhauls the knight's gameplay to match a certain eldest son of Sparda.
Alternatively titled, "I can't believe nobody has made a Vergil mod yet".
(I'm not an animator, so please excuse some shaky animations.)
This mod will likely not work with other game overhaul mods or charm mods. The main incompatibilities are:
Potentially some charm mods, especially Charm Changer.
Custom Knight (Custom animations means the skins will flicker whenever you use a move).
This mod can have a strong learning curve if you just hop in, so starting a new save file on classic mode is recommended to ease yourself into the changes. It's your life, though.
There are a few large changes to the way the game is played that you should know before you begin.
The Knight is now equipped with three familiar weapons: Mirage Edge, Yamato, and Beowulf. To switch between these weapons, cast a spell holding no directional input. A side effect of this is that you are now required to input a horizontal direction to cast your fireball - or what would have been your fireball.
Each of these weapons has their own moveset and playstyle, replacing the nail arts and spells the Knight previously wielded. Some even have a unique gimmick. Play around a bit, and find their strengths to master combat.
The Style Meter has been added to augment your combat approach. Now, all of your damage is based on your Style Rank. You gain a multiplier to damage depending on this rank, starting at 20% of your original damage at D rank - up to 140% of your damage at SSS.
You gain Style from using a variety of attacks in combat. All attacks count as a seperate strike including all of your moves and the downwards, upwards, horizontal and wall slash.
If you keep spamming the same move, your style meter will stop increasing when you hit that move. Vary the strikes to gain maximum meter.
You will lose 2 Style ranks upon getting hit.
The Concentration bar will be just below your health bar. It is increased through hitting basic attacks with your nail, and offers a flat multiplier up to 1.3x depending on how full it is.
Your Concentration bar will deplete fully if you get hit.
In order to use your Super Moves (replacing the Howling Wraiths or Abyss Shriek), you must have level 2 Concentration. There is a visual notch on the bar showing where you reach that level.
You will find that your ability to heal through focus is gone. Instead, focusing will increase your Vessel Trigger gauge (located just under the far right of the Concentration Meter).
When your gauge is full, you can focus to enter Vessel Trigger. In this state, you will gain a 1.3x damage buff and you will slowly regenerate your health so long as you are in the state. You can deactivate the Trigger early by focusing once more while it is active.
To use your Super Moves, you must either be in Vessel Trigger or your gauge must be full.
In case you were wondering the names of these moves, here they are:
Yamato
Fireball -> Combo C
Dive -> Aerial Cleave
Scream -> Judgement Cut End (Super)
Great Slash -> Judgement Cut
Dash Slash -> Unchanged
Cyclone Slash -> Upper Slash
Beowulf
Fireball -> Lunar Phase
Dive -> Starfall
Scream -> Hell On Earth (Super)
Great Slash -> Strong Punch
Dash Slash -> Dash Punch
Cyclone Slash -> Beast Uppercut/Rising Dragon
Mirage Edge
Fireball -> Blistering Swords
Dive -> Spiral Swords
Scream -> Deep Stinger
Great Slash -> Drive
Dash Slash -> Over Drive
Cyclone Slash -> Round Trip
Why is my damage so low?
Your style and concentration meter are likely not high. These mechanics have a very low valleys but extremely high peaks. Focus on getting hit less and using a variety of moves to maximise your damage.
That's all I've got so far.