The Skills of Dante

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Character Breakdown: Dante
The Dante Workout
The Skills of Dante
The Flair of Dante

Ever wanted to learn how to face off against multiple foes at the same time?  How to wield a two-handed broadsword effectivley?  What you can do to be the most devilishly stylish person in the room?  Continue on then, dear reader, into The Skills of Dante.

Fighting Multiple Foes

So Dante frequently finds himself in the thick of things, surrounded by demons and hellspawn and other nasty beasties that want to do him harm.  What’s one to do in this sort of situation?  Well, there’s some good real-world tips to use if you find yourself under attack by multiple people without means of escape.  The cool thing is, these strategies carry over into video game combat, as well.

Get Space

The first thing you want is some distance between you and your attackers, if possible.  Obviously, if you’re in an outnumbered situation, you want to run away if you can.  However, if you can’t run away completely, for some reason, you at least want to make some space.  You need to identify your opponents and their threat levels.  Does anyone have a weapon?  Is one person obviously more interested in fighting you than the others?  Do you know one of them is a particularly good fighter?

Stack ’em Up

You do NOT want to be in between people in a fight, ever.  If you can manage it, try to get into some sort of corridor where it’s hard for people to pass around you, but you still have a bit of room to maneuver.  Barring this, keep moving constantly and try to focus your fight on a single person, and keep them between yourself and the other combatants.  Hit and run tactics are good here.  Always try to keep the least skilled/threatening person in front of you, if you can, blocking the others from a frontal assault.  If they try to flank you, then the first person to get to you is your new target, and you use them to block off the others.

Crush Your Enemy

In the first tip, you assessed your enemies.  Do you know one person in the group is the ringleader?  If you can, appeal to their ego and call out a one-on-one fight.  Even if they’re a better fighter than you, it’s still better odds than facing them and three of their buddies.  If they don’t succumb to this, then if you can, crush this person first.  I don’t care what you have to do.  Fight dirty, use your environment, break limbs, but you want to completely demoralize the group to dissuade them from fighting, and having to pick their leader up off the ground in a sobbing mess is a good way to do it.

The bottom line is, and I cannot stress this enough, real life combat is not a game.  Multiple people trying to do harm to you at the same time is not fun or funny.  People die from these situations every single day.   If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation, treat it as an attempt on your life.

Video Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iDlzL7zrNU
Notice how this guy “stacks up” his opponents by continuing to move.  He tries his best to fight only one person at a time, and succeeds(mostly).  He also follows the “Hit and Run” and “Crush Your Enemy” ideas by going for straight knock-out techniques while continuously moving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d3KM_OMOxk
Same ideas, the guy goes full-on from the beginning, which the other two were obviously not expecting.  He didn’t let up, he fought only one guy at a time, and he kept moving and maintaining his distance.

Fighting With a Two-Handed Broadsword

Dante’s sword Rebellion is one of his trademark weapons, and we’re going to talk about how to wield a two-handed claymore effectively.  If you’ve ever had the chance to hold an actual two-handed greatsword in your hand, the first thing you notice is they’re a lot heavier than they look.  Typically wielded by larger warriors, you’re going to have to keep up with Dante’s Workout to be able to wield one effectively.

Something to note is that these swords are typically bashing and stabbing weapons more than cutting weapons.  They’re kept relatively dull (referred to as “tool sharp” or “chisel sharp”) on their edges, enabling someone wearing the typical armored gauntlets of the time to grab the blade for extra leverage in blocking, stabbing, or redirecting maneuvers.  The weight of the sword makes it a great bludgeoning tool, even against those in heavy armor, which is why it saw most of its success in the heavy plate-armor times of European combat.

I will be making a video specifically for the site with two-handed sword combat soon, but in the meantime, here’s a few to get you started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wX-ML28TZA
We’ve featured them before, but I can’t stress how great the Cateraan society is for learning weaponry online.  This is a nice set of ten basic lessons for using a two-hander.  My only complaint is the lack of half-handing the blade (grabbing it for extra leverage), which, as I said, was a rather common practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5PXsznTHbQ
Part one of an eight-part video, this is a great tutorial on the German school of broadsword combat, based on historical fencing manuals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iocF2QmyoGo
This is more of an historical piece, but I like it because it talks about using the whole weapon, not just the blade, as well as mentioning the proficiency as a bludgeoning and stabbing weapon.

Live with Style

Okay, so Dante has a seriously unique style that works for him.  This isn’t too hard when you’ve got an army of artists behind you, and live in a universe where wearing just a red trenchcoat and leather pants is acceptable.  Unfortunately, you probably have neither.  Luckily, there are some simple rules to follow for either gender, going for any look, that help tremendously.

Hygiene
Seriously.  It’s amazing how many people over look this.  Keep yourself clean, inside and out.  Shower every day, brush your teeth, floss, and wear deoderant.  Now, there’s different schools of thought on how often to wash your hair, but please make sure you do so at least a couple of times a week, and condition it while you’re at it.

Grooming
Another great universal.  Find a hair stylist or barber that you like, and see them regularly.  Ask for their advice on what to do with your hair if you aren’t sure, they’re typically more knowledgeable on what looks good with what hair types/head shape/current trends.  Additionally, if you’re a guy, keep your facial hair well kept.  If you have a beard, keep it clean, brush it out, don’t let it get all scraggly.   If you’re going for a specific look, remember to touch up with your razor every morning.

Get Some Nice Clothes
Now, I’m not going to tell you what styles or trends are popular right now, but it’s good to check out a few fashion websites or magazines to take a look at style “essentials.”  If you’re trying to fit into a specific sub-clique, there’s almost always sites or magazines to check out.  Guys, going shopping for clothes isn’t just a “girl thing.”  I know it may feel weird at first, and if you aren’t sure what you’re doing, see if you have any more fashion-savvy friends you can bring along.  Bottom line, buy clothes that fit, that don’t look like crap, and that you keep in good condition.

Smell Good
Smell is actually extremely important when it comes to people’s impressions of you.  Beyond just putting on deoderant every day, you also want to think about a nice perfume or cologne.  Now, you don’t want to just grab the nearest trendy aerosol odor and hose yourself in it.  Take a look at some actual good, higher-end stuff, and apply it sparingly.  You don’t want to smell like you took a bath in it.  Make sure to drag someone along with you to get an opinion at the store, as well, that’s what samples are there for.

Make Time and Space for Your Appearance
Leave yourself an extra fifteen minutes for personal grooming in the morning.  This means you have time to shave, floss properly, apply makeup, style your hair, whatever.  Decide what you’re going to wear the night beforehand, make sure it’s in decent condition (ironed if necessary, hung up, etc.).  Have a dedicated place to store your clothing, so it doesn’t end up bunched up in a drawer.  Remember, how you look and smell is the first impression people get of you, before you even open your mouth.  It’s worth spending some time and space on.

Alrighty, that’s it for today.  Hope you enjoyed this skills post, as I said, I will be following up at some point with a dedicated two-handed sword video, but I hope this was enough for you to sink your teeth into for now.  Tomorrow, we look at Dante’s casual approach to life, conflict, and everything in between, with The Flair of Dante.  Until then, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome.

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace