Charlotte DeBel
White Queen of KMC
Most of Dante’s powers are not fully explored in the games, and the true extent of each power is generally unknown. Dante is naturally gifted with superhuman strength and speed, and he has incredible endurance stemming from his uncanny regeneration ability. Dante's wounds heal almost instantly. In fact, his flesh begins to seal as soon as it is cleaved, making it nearly impossible to dismember him. He has demonstrated this ability on several occasions. For example, when his hand had been pierced by a sword, Dante was able to pull and twist his hand around until he was holding the sword's blade, without losing any fingers. Dante's brother Vergil, who possesses the same ability, was clearly sliced in half in their final battle, and yet managed to remain whole. Dante has survived gunshots to the head and stomach, multiple stab wounds from scythe blades, being smashed into the ground by a heavy demon, being impaled by a sword (on more than one occasion), and various other acts of grievous bodily harm that would have been fatal to a human. However, Dante's ability to regenerate does not mean that he is totally invincible. He can be worn down by continuous attacks, and when he is tired and/or consistently/badly wounded, his ability to regenerate slows down significantly, leaving him easily susceptible to damage (for example, after his lengthy, tiring battle with Vergil, a single stab wound was enough to floor him). If he is exhausted and beaten, Dante can be killed by virtually anything that is fatal to a normal human.
In addition to his natural abilities, Dante has a plethora of combat skills and techniques; so many in fact that in DMC3 his move list had to be divided into specific "styles" due to RAM issues and the difficulty of putting everything into a single controller (could also be a representation of Dante still learning and developing his various skills). He is apparently an accomplished martial artist, as he shows several impressive hand-to-hand attacks during the opening cutscene that can be attributed to various fighting styles. His great, sometimes excessive acrobatic abilities and Trickster style could be a form of ninjutsu. His Royal Guard stance and the philosophy behind it (redirection of energy, using the enemy's attacks against them) is likely a demonic adaptation of the Aikido style of martial arts. Most significantly, when fighting with Beowulf's Gauntlets and Greaves, Dante's stance and techniques seem to be a personalized Jeet Kune Do fighting system, with influences from western boxing in the straight punches and uppercuts, while the ax and side kicks appear to be Taekwondo. Vergil uses an identical stance and shares some of Dante's moves when equipping Beowulf, and seems eager to fight Dante with the gauntlets only a few minutes after acquiring them; thus, one can hypothesize that if Dante was taught Jeet Kune Do, it was done so alongside his older brother, who modified his own style with a emphasis on aerial kicks rather than Dante's preference for punches.
Aside from hand to hand combat, Dante is incredibly skilled with a variety of melee weapons such as the broadsword, katana, nunchaku, and dual scimitars, among many others. It is unknown if Dante actually received traditional training on these weapons, in which case his superhuman abilities and natural knack for battle would have allowed him to master each one at a much faster rate than normal; or if his demon lineage can somehow allow Dante to instantly master any weapon he comes across and use it to its full extent with no prior experience. Either way, Dante does indeed have a very unique and adaptive fighting style, and he often makes use of his powers and skills in very inventive ways. This is evident in DMC3, were he seemed to enjoy playing around with his abilities, and using them in totally over the top, sometimes even silly, ways. The special moves associated with each weapon, however, are not Dante's, but that of his equipment. Dante uses “devil arms”, weapons that either were once demons themselves, are charged with demonic powers, or contain a demon. Dante had to earn these, either by defeating the demon, or enduring a test, as generally in order to use a devil arm, you must first prove yourself worthy to the demonic presence in the weapon. Dante's demonic blood means that he can not only wield these weapons, but he can also access and channel their powers. When using them, he can be granted a selection of new skills.
Unlike his more traditionalist brother Vergil, Dante has a distinct affinity for firearms, particularly those with a high rate of fire or a satisfyingly loud report (he has used a sawed-off shotgun, a rocket propelled grenade, and an anti-tank rifle, etc.). In fact, the only weapons he has been seen to use in all his game appearances are his handguns Ebony and Ivory. Dante never appears in gameplay or cutscenes to need to reload any firearm he uses. It's explained by theory that Dante creates ammo for his weaponry from his own demonic energy, which allows him to regulate power of shots and fire shots as strong as he wishes- from shots that give bursts of speed to his sword or snooker balls to basically energy beams used during famous Jackpot move when he channles all his demonic energy in his guns.
Dante's charging ability can be used not only on guns/swords. In anime Dante charges his bike with demonic energy, giving it an extra burst of speed.
Dante's signature power is, most likely, his ability to assume a demonic form (called a "devil trigger," or DT). When Dante activates his Devil Trigger, he is considerably more powerful. He is stronger and faster, takes much less damage, and even recovers lost health. Dante usually requires a devil arm to DT, channeling the demonic essence in the weapon through him using his demonic blood. This means that depending on the weapon he is using, the DT will look different, and have different powers, reflective of the devil arm itself (Devil triggering with electricity-based weapons, for example, gives him ability to fly and fire lightning bolts at his opponents). However by DMC2, Dante has obtained a "universal" DT, and can access it without the use of devil arms. This has yet to be fully explained, although it could be assumed that this form is Dante's own DT, since it does not depend on outside influence such as a devil arm (although its abilities can be enhanced and/or altered with magical amulets). Dante can only stay in this form for a short time, as it costs him considerable demonic power, and is rather draining. Also in DMC2, Dante has what appears to be a "desperation devil trigger". When his health is dangerously low, Dante is able to assume a new demon form which closely resembles that of his father Sparda (high demonic form or Sparda/Super Sparda form). This form is ridiculously powerful, but extremely short-lived. When Dante's DT gauge empties, he returns to normal. Dante demonstrated the ability to assume this form in the final battle of DMC1 (although at that time he required the aid of the Sparda sword) as well.