Cuphead – How to Beat the Devil (Final Boss)

How to beat the Devil (boss) from Cuphead.

Other Cuphead Guides:

• 100% Achievement Guide.
• How to Beat Cagney Carnation.
• How to Beat Ribby and Croaks.
• How to Beat Beppi the Clown.
• How to Beat Goopy Le Grande.
• How to Beat Djimmi the Great.
• How to Beat Dr. Kahl’s Robot.
• How to Beat King Dice.

Tips Before Fighting

Сrеdit gоеs to TETRO

Before fighting the Devil, I recommend getting either the P.sugar, heart or twin heart charm. Each one helps. Also, I recommend using the second Super Art. It helps a lot on the final phase if you suck at avoiding the poker chips (like myself). Finally, I recommend using the spread weapon. Since you can only hit the eyes of the Devil in his final 3 phases.

Phase One

Phase one is probably the hardest in this battle. With the right charms and shots, the rest of the battle isn’t really a threat. The Devil has many attacks in this phase, and little Demons are constantly running at the bottom of the screen.

For the Devil’s snake attack, run to the edge of the screen. If there’s a demon coming, duck under one of the humps in his neck.

For the goat attack, jump up and dash to the side, or use an ex attack, as it will keep you in the air for a while. You used to be able to duck under this attack, but that has been removed as of v1.1.3.

For the spider attack, just dash away when you see the head coming down. Try to hit it as often as you can.
Besides his animal attacks, the Devil can also use his staff, which can summon 3 different attacks.

One makes 4 bubble like objects that will bounce all over the screen. To survive these, parry the pink one so that you have less to dodge, then stick to the middle and go to the sides when necessary.

Another one makes a spinning square of fire with a pink fireball in the middle. To survive this, parry the one in the centre, then dash through the square whenever you need to.

The final staff attack creates a circle of fire. To survive this, I would usually go to the edge of the screen and jump over each fireball as they come. Try and parry the pink one. This isn’t the best method for this attack, you may still get hit. If you have a better method, please tell me in the comments.

The Devil will use these attacks randomly in phase one. Eventually, you’ll be able to see him pulling his mouth open forcing an angry smile. When he does this, stay away from the centre of the screen otherwise, he will land on you. After he does this, a hole will appear that leads to the final 3 phases. There is a glitch where you can end the battle by attacking him through a hidden hitbox. I’m not sure if 1.1.3 removed this, but even if they didn’t, this guide is teaching you how to do it legitimately. With that said, go down the hole, then we’re onto phase two, three and four.

Phase Two

In phase two, the only place you can hit the Devil is his eyes, so standing in the middle platform and shooting upwards won’t do much unless you’re using the spread weapon. The Devil has less attacks in this phase, and all of them are pretty easy to dodge. One attack summons an axe, which goes in loops around the screen. To dodge it, go to the platform on the far right or left, then when the axe has completed one loop, go inwards one platform so you don’t get hit on the next loop.

The second attack spawns a pink bomb that has a massive explosion. Parry it as soon as it comes out. If you fail to parry it after a few seconds of it’s release, run away from the bomb to lower the risk of being hit.
These are the only two attacks that the Devil himself has, but there are still blue poker chips that come down onto platforms one at a time.

Phase Three

In phase three, the Devil removes the far right and left platforms, then he places in two purple creatures. Kill each purple creature so that you can focus on the main threat, the dreaded blue birds.

These will come down as a spinning razor blade and try to hit you. Wen one comes down, all you need to do is duck. If the purple creatures come back, kill them instantly, unless you’re busy with the birds. Make sure to also avoid the poker chips that come down.

Final Phase

In the final phase, you only have the centre platform and the Devil starts to cry. All the more reason to use the spread weapon. This is also where our second Super Art comes in. Before the first poker chip comes in, use your super and keep firing. This means you don’t have to worry about the poker chips or the Devil’s tears. By the time your super runs out, he should be finished as this phase is really short.