Before we start, I managed to create this guide because I haven't seen one like this yet. This guide should help all players, no matter if they are beginners or skilled experts, to understand each character's play style.

- Each Character's gameplay basics
- Info about characters

Every playable character in DMC4:SE is unique. For example - Lady is excelent in ranged fights, Vergil can teleport anywhere and Dante has four very different styles. Every character has his or her own unique moves and combos.

Note: Work in Progress

Nero, our protagonist, is a new character to the series who uses only two weapons - the Red Queen and the Blue Rose. Madly in love with Kyrie, he's strong but untrained and easily bested by Dante. He's arguably the simplest character in the series' history, and acts as a sort of entrance character for newcomers, with his Devil Bringer arm acting as a one-button unique mechanic that grabs an enemy for a ton of damage and style. However, even experienced players will enjoy the Exceed system that allows players with good timing to charge up Nero's sword for greater speed and power.

Devil Bringer - Nero's demon hand lets him pull enemies to him for easy combos as well as giving him a powerful throw that will work on even bosses. The arm can also parry a surprising number of projectiles.
Red Queen - Nero's sword and the core of his combos. He can use the "Exceed" move to cover it in propellant, unlocking new, fire-powered, deadlier moves. Exceed will also increase the speed, weight, and damage of non-command sword strikes.
Blue Rose - Nero's dual-action revolver. Offers a deadly charge shot.
Devil Trigger (Yamato) - Nero acquires blue demon aura, the attacks with Yamato and summoned swords in sync with Nero's Queen and Rose. It has start-up invincibility, and he regenerates health the whole time.

The Devil Bringer arm is a great way to end and easily extend combos, while Exceed acts as a difficult-to-master mechanic allowing massive damage in cobos.

Nero is a pretty basic character without a lot of variation. Basic air combos are a good way to start, and once an enemy is knocked back use Snatch (NOT Streak!) to continue the assault. By using Snatch, you open the enemy up to a more varied cambo. If possible, try to finish your combos with Devil Bringer. It does a ton of damage, and it also gives a lot of Style. Using the charge shot is also a very good idea, as it too does obscene damage at maximum level. Other than that the Blue Rose is best used against the shadow enemies or Blitzes.

Nero is also a lot easier when it comes to dodging. In addition to traditional side rolls, Nero has "Table Hopper," a sort of instant dash that lets you dodge at the last second and quickly retaliate.
As it is, try not to Streak too much - it's a great move, but with very little combo potential. Although it does massive damage with three EX gauges, it has a tendency to whiff if your opponent sidesteps or jumps, making the attack very vulnerable. As long as you don't overuse the move and make sure not to whiff, you'll be fine. Also: don't be afraid to use DT invincibility. Although it has a high activation cost, it's probably still worth salvaging your combo rating. It can cancel any move, even Devil Bringer grabs, so it's a great escape option if timed well.

Dante the legendary demon hunter returns as the "muscle" of the game, tougher than Nero both in the story and in gameplay. Dante can be a very complicated character, and has a steep learning curve. Veterans of the series, however, will still be disappointed with his difficulty in crowd control and his reduced weapon variety.

Rebelion - Dante's iconic sword and his main weapon. It's a balanced weapon that can launch and has moderate crown control capabilities. Heavily benefits from Swordmaster.
Gilgamesh - A slow yet strong pair of gauntlets and greaves that are especially good against grounded enemies. Good at doing massive damage to bosses (especially with Swordmaster.)
Lucifer - A sort of wing-type weapon that shoots numerous needles into enemies. They explode on command, after time, or after the maximum number has been thrown out. A very difficult to control weapon, Lucifer is very unpredicatble and has really only one continuous combo. Despite this, it is probably Dante's best sword for hitting multiple enemies.
Ebony and Ivory - Dante's signature handguns. They're decent at shooting enmies that are vulnerable only to ranged (Blitz, Mephisto, Faust) but do very little damage otherwise. A constant charge shot is recommended if you plan to main this gun, as only those can juggle heavy enemies or do real damage.
Coyote A - Shotgun for short distances. Decent damage at point blank, benefits quite a bit from a charge shot but it isn't as necessary as with E&I. Shines with the gunslinger style, having a stinger-type blast and "Fireworks", which knocks away enemies around you.
Pandora - One of the strongest weapons in the series. Works as a rocket launcher, a gatling gun and a megalaser. All of Pandora's attacks take time to activate, and can be risky to use. However, they are incredibly powerful and should be used without hesitation on slower enemies, bosses, or even at very long range. Using gunsliner is highly recommended when finsing Pandora, as its "Disaster gauge" mechanic allows moves assigned to the style button (flash bomb, giant shuriken, MOBILE MISSILE PLATFORM) to gain usability as the traditional range attacks are used more.
Devil Trigger - Donte unleashes his inner Demon, doing boosted damage and regenerating health as the DT gauge drains over time. All gunshots are charged shots, and Pandora gains the ability to be charged. Dante's "towards + melee" (stinger, Kick 13) are also modified to be far more powerful, but their use costs additional DT gauge.

Swordmaster - All of Dante's Devil Arms (excluding Pandora) gain new attacks, most of which are extremely useful in combos. Each level unlocks an additional technique for each sword.
Gunslinger - All of Dante's guns gain new techniques, ranging from a radial spread of shotgun blasts to a string of rapid-fire pistol shots. Pandora is completely overhauled with this style, and can use style attacks to deal massive damage at the cost of disaster gauge. Each level unlocks one additional technique for each gun.
Trickster - Dante can dodge attacks, dash, and even teleport when fully upgraded. Leveling up this style unlocks the aforementioned moves in that order.
Royalguard - Dante can block attacks, and use energy from blocked attacks to lash out for major damage. The more attacks blocked, the stronger the counter. Timing blocks or releases just before an enemy hits amplifies the effect. Leveling up this skill allows Dante to use it while airborne, and even eventually use built up "rage" to become industructible for a time.

Vergil is probably the most developed, and the most difficult, character in the game. Players will have to mentally track concentration gauge, summoned swords, weapon selection, and devil trigger all at the same time. Although epic in the right hands, Vergil isn't recommended without a thorough knowledge of the game and its mechanics.

Yamato - Vergil's famous katana. Fast, with great combo potential and good crowd control through use of rapid slash and Just Frame judgement cut. At max concentration, this sword gains a ridiculous rance increase, with a launcher able to hit an enemy far past the visible tip of the sword.
Beowulf - A carryover from DMC3 and UMVC3, these flash gauntlets are remniscent of DMC4's Gilgamesh. Slow yet strong, these are best used on tank enemies save for lunar phase and starfall, both of which are very powerful in combos. At max concentration, Beowulf gains a third charge level that does ungodly amounts of damage. Use against stunned bosses.
Force Edge - The sword of Sparda is probably the most familiar weapon for players picking up Wergil. It has Stinger, High time, and Helm Breaker - just like Dante. However, it also has strong multi-hitting attacks and has decent, easy combos. Round trip, its charge move, is good for setting up a dimension slash or just dealing damage. At max concentration, Force Edge gains multi-hit properties with one stinger doing three or so smaller hits.
Summoned Swords - Summoned swords are really complicated. They juggle some enemies, can be fired independently, can be embedded to explode after certain moves, can be used as a teleport marker, or can be set up in various configurations using DT. The most important part to remember is their ability to fire independently. During the middle of a combo, Vergil can shoot a sword to interrupt enemy knockback and create new style options. Swords will "embed" after two moves: the three-hit Yamato combo and DT Rapid Slash. After those combos, the enemy will basically explode once Vergil sheaths his sword.
Teleport - Vergil's teleport easily makes him the most mobile character in the game. Once you have a sword stuck in an enemy, pressing shoot again will make Vergil teleport to that enemy - cancelling ANY attack. Anything. In DT, Vergil's dodges are replaced by teleports, and he can even back teleport to the ground from the air. This ability opens up crazy combo opportunities.
Devil Trigger - Vergil is faster, stronger, and all his "towards + melee" moves have new properties. All of his dashes are replaced by teleports, and he gains an air teleport down. Also allows use of a dimension super move at max concentration. Use sparingly if you prefer summoned swords.

Vergil's teleport cancel and summoned swords allow him to be one of the most combo-heavy characters in the game. His concentration gauge makes him more powerful the longer he goes without whiffing an attack or being hit. In the hands of a master, Vergil shines and defines his place in Devil May Cry.

Keep your weapon usage varied, and don't hesitate to throw out charge moves like Judgement Cut or Round Trip. Use teleport canceling to chain from one enemy to another as soon as the first is dead - remember whiffing an attack hurts a lot. If you really need to, activate the sword ring - it'll give some breathing room and let you build some concentration relatively safely. Also, experiment with summoned swords! Hitting an enemy with a sword after an air combo, for example, will cancel their knockback and let you keep punishing them.

Vergil has no air jump. Once in the air his escape options are limited to Helm Breaker, teleport, or DT + Reverse Teleport. Try doing that on reaction (but seriously, this is your best option against bosses.) If an enemy decides to jump at you while you're locked onto another enemy in a air combo, you're free. If a Blitz decides to megalaser you while you're mid-juggle, you're free. If Berial decides do an explosion attack while you're going ham on his face and you don't have DT, YOU'RE FREE. Keep some DT in reserve and try to deal with ranged enemies first.

Lady is a true badass and a generally unique character in Devil May Cry. Not only is she the singular notable human in the entire series, but gameplay-wise her character is focused around using guns and ranged weapons instead of melee attacks. Although she can use Kalina Ann's bayonet to deal some serious damage, one should primarily rely on her gunslinger variant and her deadly charge shots.

Kalina Ann - Lady's signature rocket launcher with a bayonet attatched. Kalina Ann deals devastating damage, and has a very high splash damage range when charged. Despite having long-range and short range capabilities, anything Kalina Ann does comes with a long start-up and recoil. Its melee attacks can be used at any time, but its use should be limited to pushing back enemies or keeping your style rating up while charging another gun.
Handguns - These handguns have a rapid-fire attack ending with a powerful blast, and Lady can even attack two enemies at once while using it. Its charge shot is an explosive hit that explodes after a short time, dealing massive damage.
Shotgun - Lady's shotgun is VERY strong at short range. It's not really worth using this weapon unless you can get close to the enemy, as each blast will knock the opponent back more. At close range, however, this gun does incredible damage. Lady can use a stinger-shotgun blast to get in, and her fully charged shotgun blasts will last for more than one shot with high damage and a large spread.
Wire Shot - Something like Nero's Devil Bringer, but this doesn't bring enemies to you. It just throws them up or down. It feels weak considering everything else Lady offers but it can be good against flying enemies or demons that aren't getting pushed back by bullets.
Burst - Lady throws grenades, causing damage to her suroundings. It's the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card, not only giving her invincibility but instantly murdering everyone around her. Its usefulness comes at a price, however: activating burst uses every grenade stored, so "meter management" isn't an option.

Lady is a gun-based character, with a gunslinger variant assigned to her style button. She has very damaging charge shots, and uses a powerful burst instead of Devil Trigger.

Getting high ranking with Lady isn't so much about being actually stylish and having long combos than it is doing tons of damage. Lady compensates for her low combo potential with being able to kill lesser demons in a few hits. The key to Lady is using gunslinger or the bayonet while charging whatever gun you're using to level three (the handguns especially charge really fast.) Kalina Ann, however, is different and you should really only use it if enemies are far away or if you get swarmed and don't have a shotgun charge. Rockets actually get stronger the farther away the enemy is, and enemies can't punish start-up or recoil if they're far away. However, Kalina Ann also gives access to hysteric, an amazing sort of wall of pain in front of you that will blow enemies away. It has a high start-up lag, but unless you have burst or a shotgun charge this is a good way to clear some space relatively safely. In other situations, it may be easier to use that faster yet not as strong bayonet spin. Try to stay out of the air unless avoiding enemies, since all you have access to there is normal shot (meaning you can't charge.)

Everything Lady does in general is REALLY punishable. All of her gunslinger moves are non-cancelable, and even her normal guns take a while to fire and recover (save the pistol, which does little damage without a charge.) You really want to keep away from enemies, using the rocket jump combined with a charged shot (ideally shotgun) to knock enemies down (remember, rocket jump does damage) while escaping over their heads. If you are fighting at close range, which tends to be forced when enemies just appear, use the shotgun and use melee until you have full charge. Shotgun-stinger is really safe, since it can be cancelled into another gunshot that blows you safely out of danger. Melee is also safe, since the first two hits can be jump-cancelled and her away-melee attack (a grenade throw) is pretty fast. Worst case, simply use Burst to cancel anything with full invincibility.

Trish carries the Sword of Sparda, Bare Knuckles charged with electricity, her Luce & Ombra guns and Pandora ranged weapon. She is fast and agile character, and so her gameplay looks like that.

Bare Knuckles - Fist weapons. Similiar to Gilgamesh, but unlike that, these knuckles grants fast attacks.
Sword of Sparda - Trish's sidearm. She can trow it at enemies, while attacking with knuckles
Luce & Ombra - Her guns. Similiar to Dante's Ebony and Ivory.
Pandora - Multifunctional ranged weapon. Same weapon as Dante has.
Devil Trigger - Trish becomes even faster and deadlier