Behemoths are lesser demons that appear in Devil May Cry 5.
Description
The Behemoth is a creature resembling a two-legged alligator/crocodile with an oversized head. When it initially appears, it is haphazardly covered in a variety of chains and metal plates around its jaws, which are secured to a large wooden device on its tail. Once these are destroyed, the Behemoth will open its mouth and unfurl two enormous slug-like tongues with small feet at their tips.
Behavior
Behemoth is a type of demon known for its cannibalistic tendencies and is loathed and feared by its kin. To this end, the denizens of the Underworld secure these creatures in heavy restraints that render them unable to open their gaping maw.
While restrained, a Behemoth will lumber around aimlessly and only lash out clumsily at things that stray too close to its head. However, once the restraints come off, the beast will charge around attacking anything foolish enough to get in its way.
File
- Nico's Enemy Report - Behemoth
- Every now and again you get a demon so absorbed with gluttony and power that it starts cannibalizin' its own demon kin.
- See how other demons have chained up this thing's mouth? It's good to know that even the demons are afraid of becoming chow.
- With the restraints in place, this big boy'll just stumble around lookin' sorry for hisself. Not too dangerous.
- Bust the chains off, though, and it'll go hog wild, eatin' everything in sight. If it chomps a few bad guys, all the better. Just don't come cryin' to me when it nips your buns.
Strategy
Behemoths are initially covered in a layer of restraints which hold their mouth shut and act as armor. In their restrained state they are quite slow and ungainly, attacking with fairly weak headbutts or a more powerful attack where they lift up the front of their body and then slam it down. They can also kick to their sides and more rarely will slam their tail to hit an opponent behind them.
Once the armor is broken, there is a fairly long animation of the Behemoth unfurling its two tongues, during which it cannot attack. Once this is concluded, however, the Behemoth becomes much more dangerous, flailing from side to side with its tongues or performing a charging attack where it runs around slamming into anything that gets in its way. Behemoths will target demons as well as player characters with this attack, and other types of demon will attack the Behemoth if it is closer to them in this state. On higher difficulties Behemoths gain a very dangerous attack where they run around the arena for a prolonged period while simultaneously flailing their tongues, covering a very large area either side of their head.
However, once their mouths are exposed, they also act as a weakpoint that takes double damage from attacks when aimed at properly in front, which can be beneficial after staggering a Behemoth to leave it exposed to further assaults. Furthermore, Behemoths may also be able to help the player thin out crowds of other enemies through continuous friendly fire, provided they can stay safely away from the possible chaos that ensues.
Behemoths can also burrow into the ground, using a similar animation to a Red Empusa trying to retreat, but will come back up after a while which can inflict damage. They seem to only do this when they still have their armor, and will track around the player's current location.
They are extremely tough and best dealt with quickly using high-damage attacks such as Dante's Real Impact. They can be attacked with Nero's Buster Arm or Buster, but only after their armor is destroyed and they take enough damage to briefly stun/stagger them. They have no real anti-air moves, so attacking them from above is a fairly safe method of dealing with them. While difficult, they can be staggered by properly deflecting their charge with their mouth exposed with an attack, giving the player ample time to attack their weakpoint at their leisure before they get back up, as well as allow Nero to Buster them.
Under normal circumstances their armor must be destroyed before they can receive damage, but piercing attacks will damage the creature itself. Dante's Sin Devil Trigger move "The Luce" seems to disregard the armor entirely and only damage the creature itself, which can be very useful in softening the creature up so it is alive for less time in its freed state. Vergil's Judgment Cuts and/or Perfect Cut chains also seem to do the same as well, as well as being able to break off a Behemoth's armor sooner which can be good or bad depending on the scenario.
V has a special finishing move for Behemoths where he gets up on the creature's back and rides it. In this state the player can control the Behemoth, with the movement stick causing it to flail its tongues left or right and damage nearby enemies. To have V actually finish the creature, the player needs to hit the jump button. He will not perform this finisher if the Behemoth is the last enemy present, and will sometimes use one of his stock finishers instead if the Behemoth is badly positioned.
Appearances in Other Media
TEPPEN
The Behemoth was added to TEPPEN with its "The Devils Awaken" expansion. It is featured in one unit card.
Background/Etymology
Behemoth is a powerful beast from Jewish mythology, described in the Jewish and Christian Bible in Job 40:15-24, alongside the sea monster Leviathan. Scholars largely agree the verses describe a real animal, most likely an elephant or hippopotamus. In Jewish Apocrypha such as the Book of Enoch, it is described as one of God's first creations and the ruler of the land.
Trivia
- Memorial photo caption – “Pet trashcan?”
