Post by Iron Blue Arremer on Feb 14, 2011 11:30:23 GMT -5
Introduction
Jonathan Morris is one of the two main characters in Portrait of Ruin. He is the son of John Morris (the main character of Bloodlines), and has a very troubled relationship with his father, whom is dead. Together with Charlotte Aulin, he tries to stop Brauner from resurrecting Dracula's castle and to unlock the hidden power of the Vampire Killer.
In Harmony of Despair, Jonathan is the only whip user who is not DLC. While he might not be able to use all the weapons he used to have in Portrait of Ruin (swords, spears, etc.), he still has access to the Vampire Killer and a plethora of sub weapons, with 6 of them being absolutely exclusive to him.
Abilities
General Overview
Jonathan is on of the more mobile characters. While he does not have access to magnets or skulls, he still is able to get around several obstacles, mostly due to his amazing Sonic Strike and a certain aspect of it to which I will come later. Jonathan is able to back dash, slide kick and jump kick. When holding Up on the control stick, he will strike an air guitar and/or humping pose after a second.
Jonathan's Vampire Killer
Jonathan is the only whip user in the base game, but interestingly, is carrying pretty much the worst whip in the entire game. He has the least attack power, length and speed with it. However, he can whip diagonally downward when in mid-air, thus utilizing his whip a bit better than Richter and Simon. There's not much else to Jonathan's version of the Vampire Killer, though... In terms of subweapon speed, Julius and Simon both are faster, but he is quicker than Richter in tossing them out.
Subweapons
Jonathan has access to the entire arsenal of sub weapons, including the 6 the other Belmonts can use, but also his own unique ones. He also has access to all 5 of the DLC subweapons. He starts out with 1 copy of the Knife, which he cannot acquire more copies of. Every other subweapon he, like every other whipper, needs to find in stages. I will provide you with their locations.
Aside from getting stronger with each level, several subweapons will change their visual appearance if they level up, with a maximum of 3 possible variations.
Form 1: Level 1-4
Form 2: Level 5-8
Form 3: Level 9
Knife
Cost: 6 MP.
Location: Starter (1 copy)
Form 1: 1 knife | Form 2: 2 knives | Form 3: 3 knives
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
Also dubbed "the dagger", the Knife is a very easy to understand weapon. Jonathan throws a knife that flies straight forward until it hits an obstacle. It has infinite range. It deals very little damage and you will find better subweapons soon. Some people like to use it due to its comparably high speed and the ability to backdashcancel it.
Axe
Cost: 12 MP.
Location: Drops from Axe Knight enemy
Form 1: Small handaxe | Form 2: Round battleaxe | Form 3: Big crested battleaxe
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The axe is probably one of the first, if not the first subweapon you will find. When using it, Jonathan tosses an axe in an upward arc. It will drop down when reaching its peak. The Axe is a handy subweapon, since it allows to cover space above the user, but it is easily cancelled out by many other projectiles and obstacles and is a bit difficult to aim with. The Axe also is able to hit multiple times, thus making it fairly useful against bigger targets above you.
Ricochet Rock
Cost: 12 MP
Location: Drops from Lerajie enemies
Form 1: A small bullet with a blue "tail" | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
One of the "newer" subweapons, using the Ricochet Rock will throw out a small projectile in a diagonally downward angle. It will bounce off of solid obstacles and pierce through enemies. It will disappear after some time or hitting the walls a certain amount of times. It's not specifically useful in most situations due to being hard to hit with and dealing comparably low damage, but if you are in a small room where the projectile has little or no room to escape (Brauner's room, for instance), it can be absolutely devastating.
Bible
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 2 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: Small brown book | Form 2: n/a Form 3: Huge red and gold book
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Bible is a very interesting subweapon that might be difficult to work with, but can pay off pretty well. When using it, it will start spiraling in a circle motion, drawing bigger and bigger circles until it disappears after some time. There is nothing that can stop the Bible from moving, not even walls or impenetrable shields. The book deals considerable damage of Holy type. Most people use it as a form of shielding themselves (like in Medusa Head rooms), or to hit enemies through walls, ceilings or shields (Final Guards, for instance). Due to its multi-hit property, it can hit bigger targets quite a bit, however, its speed and weird pattern make it a bit more difficult to use. You should definitely give it a try, though.
Holy Water
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 4 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: Blue flames moving across the ground | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a (flames are bigger? not sure)
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
Ah yes, the Holy Water, one of the very first subweapons in the Belmonts' arsenal. When using it, Jonathan tosses a small vial that will shatter on the ground, producing a blue flame that crawls across the floor until hitting a wall or its duration is over. It does not work on most "drop-through platforms". The bottle itself is non-damaging, only the flames do damage of Holy type. Several people consider Holy Water to be not specifically good, but it actually deals quite a lot of damage on more stationary enemies, and can definitely aid while whipping at your enemies.
Cross
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 5 Boss, Chapter 6 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: A small blue shiny cross| Form 2: n/a | Form 3: The cross becomes very big
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Cross, the last and arguably one of the most powerful subweapons the whippers have access to. Jonathan throws a cross-shaped boomerang that will go straight forward for a bit, stick in mid-air for a second and then will fly back to where it originated from. It is able to hit not only while flying, but also while it stops, where it is able to hit multiple times. It deals a LOT of damage even with only one hit due to its Holy properties, and it is immensely useful.
Paper Airplane
Cost: 5 MP.
Location: Drops from Fleaman enemies.
Form 1: Empty plane | Form 2: 1 stick figure on top of it | Form 3: 2 stick figures on top of it
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
Jonathan tosses out an aircraft made of paper - in higher levels stick figures will start riding on it - that first does a loop de loop and then will fly in a straight line and slowly descend until hitting the floor or an obstacle. The Paper Airplane is an alright subweapon to start out with, but soon you will find stuff that's simply better. It deals surprising damage considering it's made out of paper and so cheap. However, its very similar to the knife, just that it can hit only once (whereas the knife has up to 3 projectiles). You can try it out, but I recommend using other subs. Don't forget to max it out, nevertheless.
Grenade
Cost: 12 MP.
Location: Drops from The Creature enemies
Form 1: A green hand grenade | Form 2: Bigger blast radius | Form 3: A silver stick grenade with bigger blast radius
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Grenade is a very weird subweapon. Jonathan throws out the explosive which bounces if hitting the ground or a wall. After a little while, it explodes. The size of the explosion depends on the level. The sub deals quite a bit of damage and is able to hit multiple times - if your enemy is standing right inside of the blast, you have guaranteed 3 hits. It's a bit difficult to time and aim and most people don't bother using it, but I'd recommend giving it at least a try. Also, this one is a bitch to max out, but definitely worth it.
Boomerang
Cost: 10 MP.
Location: Drops from Gurkha Master enemies, Chapter 2 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: A blue boomerang | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: A huge orange banana
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation or slow Backdashcancel
Throws out a boomerang the travels forward a bit, then turns around and returns, all while doing a hard to describe arced path. This subweapon is fast and has good range. It deals less damage than the Cross, hits less times and can be a bit hard to aim unless maxed out. Most Jonathan players prefer the Cross over the Boomerang, but due to its size, speed and range, it has some merits of using it. If you prefer to use the Cross, stick with that instead, it makes little sense to use both of them at the same time.
Wrecking Ball
Cost: 12 MP.
Location: Chapter 3 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: Steel ball on a chain | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: The steel ball grows bigger and has spikes
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel or using Wrecking Ball-specific techniques.
Using the Wrecking Ball will have Jonathan yell "Showtime", then he will swing a big iron ball on a chain above his head. He will do this until you either release the button or he gets hit. It will not continuously drain MP, only the initial 12 MP to start it up are consumed. The Wrecking Ball deals quite some nice damage over time, and is comparably safe in some situations. However, it does turn Jonathan into a sitting duck, so keep that in mind when using it. Many people consider this his best subweapon, but to be frank, I never saw that much use for it. Definitely give it a try and see if you like it. If you don't, move on after maxing it.
Regarding leveling the Wrecking Ball:
Skip this section in italics if you wanna read about the other subweapons
Wrecking Ball is a special case because there are several things you can go for with that one in order to level it. The weapon requires only the use of 12 MP only once, and as long as you hold the button and not get hit, Jonathan will swing the chain. So there are 2 better solutions than using the general setup with Astral Ring.
Solution 1 works best if your Jonathan is not levelled up yet, and if you equip low-INT gear. For this, you don't use Survival at all. Instead, you go to Single player and then Chapter 1 Hard. Equip the Wrecking Ball and make a few steps forward and turn around so that if Jonathan swings the chain, the ball will hit the Zombies in the corridor, but the guys won't bump into Jonathan. Then put some duct tape onto your button or find some other way to hold down the button and leave the thing running for 30 minutes. The fun thing is that Zombies will recover their health if they slide back
into the ground. And Wrecking Ball will not power up until you break off the current swinging and restart it. So you will have a Level 1 Wrecking Ball still attacking the Zombies even if the weapon is already of a higher level. This results in the guys surviving and recovering their health. Obviously, this will only work once, so definitely use 2 Master Rings for this.
After that round, you will go for Solution 2, which goes back to Survival. Equip another Master Ring instead of the Astral Ring and put a few High Mind Ups into your item slot instead of leaving it empty. Then use the Wrecking Ball until Gergoth is about to damage you, then restart Wrecking Ball when you're placed again. Since it only takes 15 MP once, you will not constantly lose MP except when restarting Wrecking Ball, and 2 Master Rings will obviously speed up the levelling process quite a bit.
Kunai
Cost: 10 MP.
Location: Chapter 4 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: 3 knives | Form 2: 4 knives | Form 3: 5 knives
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
The Kunai is essentially Jonathan's version of the Contra spreadgun, throwing out 3-5 blades that spread out and will fly infinitely until hitting an obstacle or enemy. One blade alone deals puny damage, but at point blank range, 5 of these suckers deal quite a bit of damage, so you might wanna try 'em out. I personally don't like them that much, but their area coverage is very nice for defensive purposes, and their backdashcancelability is quite nice to say the least. Give em try and see if you like em.
Shuriken
Cost: 10 MP.
Location: Chapter 5 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: 3 stars | Form 2: 4 stars | Form 3: 5 big fancy stars
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
Jonathan yells "How's this?!" and throws a few ninja stars that will fly diagonally down. They are invisible while doing that, and will only appear as soon as they touch an obstacle (enemy, wall, ground). This is hands down Jonathan's best subweapon. It's fast, rather cheap, deals a ton of damage if more than 1 or 2 of the stars hit and is easy as pie to use as soon as you got used to its arc (and that's not that difficult). Even on Hard, Shuriken one-hit-kills pretty much every standard enemy while you are approaching them. A nice bonus is that, if said enemy walks over a star that's sticking in the ground, they'll recieve the damage. Unfortunately, they stick there for only a short time, but it's still a pretty neat feature.
DLC Subweapons
Javelin
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Chapter 8 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: A purple spear (Slogra's to be exact) | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: A huge red spear
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
Jonathan tosses a spear forward, the projectile having a slight upward arc. It will stick in the ground for a few moments before disappearing. The spear has, otherwise when falling down, infinite range until hitting a wall or the ground. The Javelin is able to hit multiple times when falling, and up to 3 times while sticking in the ground. Only the blade of the spear is actually able to damage, not the pole. It's a handy weapon since you can hit enemies from afar even multiple times. However, where it really shines Legion and Beelzebub, which are pretty much exactly shaped to fit the Javelin's arc, making them great targets for using it, at least until they broke apart.
R. Dagger
Cost: 4 MP
Location: Shop after purchasing Chapter 10 DLC
Form 1: 1 dagger | Form 2: 2 daggers | Form 3: 3 daggers
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdash Cancel
Here we have the actual dagger, even in 8-Bit for that matter. It works exactly like the Knife, just with a few differences. It has only limited range, is slower but deals more damage. Not to mention it's a bit cheaper. The R. Dagger is clearly superior over the Knife.
R. Axe
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Shop after purchasing Chapter 10 DLC
Form 1: 1 axe | Form 2: 2 axes | Form 3: 3 axes
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The R. Axe works fairly similar to the actual Axe in terms of its arc. However, there is one major difference - instead of tossing one big axe, R. Axe throws out up to 3 axes that spread after reaching the arc's peak. Thus this allows you to cover more area and deal more damage for a cheaper price. R. Axe is clearly superior to it's standard counterpart.
R. Fire Bomb
Cost: 12 MP
Location: Chapter 10 Boss (Normal), purple/Boss (Hard)
Form 1: vial bursting into 8-Bit flames | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Retro version of the Holy Water, the R. Fire Bomb, is obviously again very similar to its counterpart. However, the differences between the two are quite noticeable aside from the cost. First, the thrown bottle projectile deals actual damage. The damage is a bit higher. And where the Holy Water's flame moves across the floor, the R. Fire Bomb's flame will, although moving a bit, pretty much stay in the general area, hitting the same target multiple times. It's kinda like a burst. The weapon is incredibly useful and in most situations clearly superior to Holy Water.
R. Boomerang
Cost: 12 MP
Location: Chapter 10 Boss (Normal), purple/Boss (Hard)
Form 1: a tiny 8-Bit Cross | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
Do not mistake this sub with Jonathan's Boomerang; it actually is the Retro version of the Cross! Again, this works fairly similar to its standard version. It just is far smaller, deals a TON more damage and its pattern is a bit more weird - it goes forward only a tiny bit, but covers a huge distance when flying back. Personally, I prefer the standard Cross over this, but it can be quite useful unless you catch it on its way back.
Martial Arts
Martial Arts are techniques your character can perform as soon as you recieve a copy of them. You don't need to equip them, but rather have to put in a certain button combination which you can check in the "Martial Arts" section on the Main Menu.
Martial Arts do not level up - one copy is enough - and they do not improve your character's stats.
Guard
Cost: 0 MP
Location: Starter
Upon pressing RB, Jonathan rises his arms in front of him, sometimes yelling "Do your worst!". In this stance, he will take only half the damage if hit. It will also cancel all of his momentum, so if you are jumping forward and use the Guard, he will drop down like a rock. Not specifically useful, but it IS a nice feature to have, so try to use it if you know you're gonna get hit.
Uppercut
Cost: 5 MP
Location: Chapter 4 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
As the name hints, Jonathan jumps upward with his fist held up, his whole arm being on fire. He deals quite a bit of damage with this and unlike the Uppercuts of the 2 Belmonts utilizing it, Jonathan's hitbox is far bigger, hitting enemies next to it as well. Thus, he is able to use this to his advantage far better than the 2 Belmonts. He can cancel his uppercut into using the whip, making his damage output quite good, only downside being him comparably close to the enemy. So most of the time, you'll want to use this against bosses who remain stationary most of the time. The only notable thing about it is probably that the height of his uppercut is not as high as those of the 2 Belmonts. So no Final Guard styling action with Jonathan, sadly.
Danger Knee
Cost: 5 MP
Location: Chapter 2 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Upon using this technique, Jonathan jumps forward with his knee stretched out. If he touches an enemy, they will take quite some damage and Jonathan bumps off of them. The Danger Knee also gives Jonathan a few invincibility frames, allowing him to pass through a few attacks. Quite useful due to its easy input, so try utilizing it.
Forward Roll
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Chapter 3 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Jonathan rolls forward... I guess? Yea, he does. Well, this little baby is maybe not offensively useful, but as long as Jonathan is doing his cute little roll, he has invincibility frames. He can use this to pass through attacks and enemies (such as Dullahan or Final Guard). Otherwise, this has little uses, the input is not as easily put in as Danger Knee or Sonic Strike, so eh.
Sonic Strike
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 5 and 6 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Jonathan does a little pose and then teleports forward a short distance, becoming invisible and invincible for the distance from disappearing to appearing again. Sonic Strike is probably the most useful of Jonathan's martial arts aside from the Uppercut. The invincibility frames are quite nice and using it to pass through enemies is, as well - they will take damage unlike with the Forward Roll. Try using it. The most important part is in its own section, though...
Sonic Jump
Jonathan has a small little glitch with Sonic Strike that has been dubbed Sonic Jump. When standing right next to a ledge and putting in Sonic Strike's command, Jonathan will start up Sonic Strike, but instead of dashing the set distance, he will actually instead jump with huge momentum gained from the martial art. And you even can double jump with it! You will be able to cross big gaps with this. Here you have a video showcasing this.
Recommended Setups
Since there's so many possible setups with the whip users, I will give you a run-down on the most important pieces.
Simon's set (Plate, Sandals, Bandanna, Cloak):
Mainly powers up STR and HP, as well as good DEF and defensive stats.
Retro set (Armor, Helm, Boots, Cloak - Chapter 10 exclusive):
Pretty much outclasses Simon's set in everything but HP, and some defensive stats. Retro Boots have the speed of Mercury Boots.
Fuma's set (Armor, Helm, Greaves - Chapter 11 exclusive):
Is more geared towards INT and MP, as well as its regeneration. Fuma's Greaves have the speed of Winged Boots.
Good equipment to use outside of these:
Head: Royal Crown (INT, Fuma's Helm is better)
Chest: Death's Robe (INT, Fuma's Armor is better), Berserker Mail, Ancient Armor
Legs: Sonic Boots, Winged Boots, Spiked Boots (epic spin kick damage, use them as much as possible!)
Back: Bishamon Raiment (MP regeneration), Assassin's Cape (STR), Paludamentum (MP, only use if you don't have Bishamon Raiment), Blue Cape (INT)
Accessory: Chaos Ring (MP reg), Miser Ring (ATK), Artemisian/Apollonian Ring (INT and STR) - secondary are Sunstone/Moonstone (INT) and Megingiord (STR)
Progressing Jonathan
Jonathan levels up his abilities through usage like most of the characters. His attack power for both subweapons and whip will power up through leveling his subweapons. Contrary to popular belief, Jonathan will NOT get stronger when leveling the DLC subweapons. These have no influence on his stats, and are independent from the "base" subs. Note that Jonathan needs to level all 12 subweapons found in the base game, both the Belmont ones and his exclusives.
A very good way to ease up the progress is to get all the subs to level 8 before going on to 9.
Jonathan Morris is one of the two main characters in Portrait of Ruin. He is the son of John Morris (the main character of Bloodlines), and has a very troubled relationship with his father, whom is dead. Together with Charlotte Aulin, he tries to stop Brauner from resurrecting Dracula's castle and to unlock the hidden power of the Vampire Killer.
In Harmony of Despair, Jonathan is the only whip user who is not DLC. While he might not be able to use all the weapons he used to have in Portrait of Ruin (swords, spears, etc.), he still has access to the Vampire Killer and a plethora of sub weapons, with 6 of them being absolutely exclusive to him.
Abilities
General Overview
Jonathan is on of the more mobile characters. While he does not have access to magnets or skulls, he still is able to get around several obstacles, mostly due to his amazing Sonic Strike and a certain aspect of it to which I will come later. Jonathan is able to back dash, slide kick and jump kick. When holding Up on the control stick, he will strike an air guitar and/or humping pose after a second.
Jonathan's Vampire Killer
Jonathan is the only whip user in the base game, but interestingly, is carrying pretty much the worst whip in the entire game. He has the least attack power, length and speed with it. However, he can whip diagonally downward when in mid-air, thus utilizing his whip a bit better than Richter and Simon. There's not much else to Jonathan's version of the Vampire Killer, though... In terms of subweapon speed, Julius and Simon both are faster, but he is quicker than Richter in tossing them out.
Subweapons
Jonathan has access to the entire arsenal of sub weapons, including the 6 the other Belmonts can use, but also his own unique ones. He also has access to all 5 of the DLC subweapons. He starts out with 1 copy of the Knife, which he cannot acquire more copies of. Every other subweapon he, like every other whipper, needs to find in stages. I will provide you with their locations.
Aside from getting stronger with each level, several subweapons will change their visual appearance if they level up, with a maximum of 3 possible variations.
Form 1: Level 1-4
Form 2: Level 5-8
Form 3: Level 9
Knife
Cost: 6 MP.
Location: Starter (1 copy)
Form 1: 1 knife | Form 2: 2 knives | Form 3: 3 knives
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
Also dubbed "the dagger", the Knife is a very easy to understand weapon. Jonathan throws a knife that flies straight forward until it hits an obstacle. It has infinite range. It deals very little damage and you will find better subweapons soon. Some people like to use it due to its comparably high speed and the ability to backdashcancel it.
Axe
Cost: 12 MP.
Location: Drops from Axe Knight enemy
Form 1: Small handaxe | Form 2: Round battleaxe | Form 3: Big crested battleaxe
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The axe is probably one of the first, if not the first subweapon you will find. When using it, Jonathan tosses an axe in an upward arc. It will drop down when reaching its peak. The Axe is a handy subweapon, since it allows to cover space above the user, but it is easily cancelled out by many other projectiles and obstacles and is a bit difficult to aim with. The Axe also is able to hit multiple times, thus making it fairly useful against bigger targets above you.
Ricochet Rock
Cost: 12 MP
Location: Drops from Lerajie enemies
Form 1: A small bullet with a blue "tail" | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
One of the "newer" subweapons, using the Ricochet Rock will throw out a small projectile in a diagonally downward angle. It will bounce off of solid obstacles and pierce through enemies. It will disappear after some time or hitting the walls a certain amount of times. It's not specifically useful in most situations due to being hard to hit with and dealing comparably low damage, but if you are in a small room where the projectile has little or no room to escape (Brauner's room, for instance), it can be absolutely devastating.
Bible
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 2 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: Small brown book | Form 2: n/a Form 3: Huge red and gold book
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Bible is a very interesting subweapon that might be difficult to work with, but can pay off pretty well. When using it, it will start spiraling in a circle motion, drawing bigger and bigger circles until it disappears after some time. There is nothing that can stop the Bible from moving, not even walls or impenetrable shields. The book deals considerable damage of Holy type. Most people use it as a form of shielding themselves (like in Medusa Head rooms), or to hit enemies through walls, ceilings or shields (Final Guards, for instance). Due to its multi-hit property, it can hit bigger targets quite a bit, however, its speed and weird pattern make it a bit more difficult to use. You should definitely give it a try, though.
Holy Water
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 4 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: Blue flames moving across the ground | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a (flames are bigger? not sure)
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
Ah yes, the Holy Water, one of the very first subweapons in the Belmonts' arsenal. When using it, Jonathan tosses a small vial that will shatter on the ground, producing a blue flame that crawls across the floor until hitting a wall or its duration is over. It does not work on most "drop-through platforms". The bottle itself is non-damaging, only the flames do damage of Holy type. Several people consider Holy Water to be not specifically good, but it actually deals quite a lot of damage on more stationary enemies, and can definitely aid while whipping at your enemies.
Cross
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 5 Boss, Chapter 6 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: A small blue shiny cross| Form 2: n/a | Form 3: The cross becomes very big
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Cross, the last and arguably one of the most powerful subweapons the whippers have access to. Jonathan throws a cross-shaped boomerang that will go straight forward for a bit, stick in mid-air for a second and then will fly back to where it originated from. It is able to hit not only while flying, but also while it stops, where it is able to hit multiple times. It deals a LOT of damage even with only one hit due to its Holy properties, and it is immensely useful.
Paper Airplane
Cost: 5 MP.
Location: Drops from Fleaman enemies.
Form 1: Empty plane | Form 2: 1 stick figure on top of it | Form 3: 2 stick figures on top of it
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
Jonathan tosses out an aircraft made of paper - in higher levels stick figures will start riding on it - that first does a loop de loop and then will fly in a straight line and slowly descend until hitting the floor or an obstacle. The Paper Airplane is an alright subweapon to start out with, but soon you will find stuff that's simply better. It deals surprising damage considering it's made out of paper and so cheap. However, its very similar to the knife, just that it can hit only once (whereas the knife has up to 3 projectiles). You can try it out, but I recommend using other subs. Don't forget to max it out, nevertheless.
Grenade
Cost: 12 MP.
Location: Drops from The Creature enemies
Form 1: A green hand grenade | Form 2: Bigger blast radius | Form 3: A silver stick grenade with bigger blast radius
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Grenade is a very weird subweapon. Jonathan throws out the explosive which bounces if hitting the ground or a wall. After a little while, it explodes. The size of the explosion depends on the level. The sub deals quite a bit of damage and is able to hit multiple times - if your enemy is standing right inside of the blast, you have guaranteed 3 hits. It's a bit difficult to time and aim and most people don't bother using it, but I'd recommend giving it at least a try. Also, this one is a bitch to max out, but definitely worth it.
Boomerang
Cost: 10 MP.
Location: Drops from Gurkha Master enemies, Chapter 2 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: A blue boomerang | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: A huge orange banana
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation or slow Backdashcancel
Throws out a boomerang the travels forward a bit, then turns around and returns, all while doing a hard to describe arced path. This subweapon is fast and has good range. It deals less damage than the Cross, hits less times and can be a bit hard to aim unless maxed out. Most Jonathan players prefer the Cross over the Boomerang, but due to its size, speed and range, it has some merits of using it. If you prefer to use the Cross, stick with that instead, it makes little sense to use both of them at the same time.
Wrecking Ball
Cost: 12 MP.
Location: Chapter 3 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: Steel ball on a chain | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: The steel ball grows bigger and has spikes
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel or using Wrecking Ball-specific techniques.
Using the Wrecking Ball will have Jonathan yell "Showtime", then he will swing a big iron ball on a chain above his head. He will do this until you either release the button or he gets hit. It will not continuously drain MP, only the initial 12 MP to start it up are consumed. The Wrecking Ball deals quite some nice damage over time, and is comparably safe in some situations. However, it does turn Jonathan into a sitting duck, so keep that in mind when using it. Many people consider this his best subweapon, but to be frank, I never saw that much use for it. Definitely give it a try and see if you like it. If you don't, move on after maxing it.
Regarding leveling the Wrecking Ball:
Skip this section in italics if you wanna read about the other subweapons
Wrecking Ball is a special case because there are several things you can go for with that one in order to level it. The weapon requires only the use of 12 MP only once, and as long as you hold the button and not get hit, Jonathan will swing the chain. So there are 2 better solutions than using the general setup with Astral Ring.
Solution 1 works best if your Jonathan is not levelled up yet, and if you equip low-INT gear. For this, you don't use Survival at all. Instead, you go to Single player and then Chapter 1 Hard. Equip the Wrecking Ball and make a few steps forward and turn around so that if Jonathan swings the chain, the ball will hit the Zombies in the corridor, but the guys won't bump into Jonathan. Then put some duct tape onto your button or find some other way to hold down the button and leave the thing running for 30 minutes. The fun thing is that Zombies will recover their health if they slide back
into the ground. And Wrecking Ball will not power up until you break off the current swinging and restart it. So you will have a Level 1 Wrecking Ball still attacking the Zombies even if the weapon is already of a higher level. This results in the guys surviving and recovering their health. Obviously, this will only work once, so definitely use 2 Master Rings for this.
After that round, you will go for Solution 2, which goes back to Survival. Equip another Master Ring instead of the Astral Ring and put a few High Mind Ups into your item slot instead of leaving it empty. Then use the Wrecking Ball until Gergoth is about to damage you, then restart Wrecking Ball when you're placed again. Since it only takes 15 MP once, you will not constantly lose MP except when restarting Wrecking Ball, and 2 Master Rings will obviously speed up the levelling process quite a bit.
Kunai
Cost: 10 MP.
Location: Chapter 4 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: 3 knives | Form 2: 4 knives | Form 3: 5 knives
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
The Kunai is essentially Jonathan's version of the Contra spreadgun, throwing out 3-5 blades that spread out and will fly infinitely until hitting an obstacle or enemy. One blade alone deals puny damage, but at point blank range, 5 of these suckers deal quite a bit of damage, so you might wanna try 'em out. I personally don't like them that much, but their area coverage is very nice for defensive purposes, and their backdashcancelability is quite nice to say the least. Give em try and see if you like em.
Shuriken
Cost: 10 MP.
Location: Chapter 5 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: 3 stars | Form 2: 4 stars | Form 3: 5 big fancy stars
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdashcancel
Jonathan yells "How's this?!" and throws a few ninja stars that will fly diagonally down. They are invisible while doing that, and will only appear as soon as they touch an obstacle (enemy, wall, ground). This is hands down Jonathan's best subweapon. It's fast, rather cheap, deals a ton of damage if more than 1 or 2 of the stars hit and is easy as pie to use as soon as you got used to its arc (and that's not that difficult). Even on Hard, Shuriken one-hit-kills pretty much every standard enemy while you are approaching them. A nice bonus is that, if said enemy walks over a star that's sticking in the ground, they'll recieve the damage. Unfortunately, they stick there for only a short time, but it's still a pretty neat feature.
DLC Subweapons
Javelin
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Chapter 8 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Form 1: A purple spear (Slogra's to be exact) | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: A huge red spear
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
Jonathan tosses a spear forward, the projectile having a slight upward arc. It will stick in the ground for a few moments before disappearing. The spear has, otherwise when falling down, infinite range until hitting a wall or the ground. The Javelin is able to hit multiple times when falling, and up to 3 times while sticking in the ground. Only the blade of the spear is actually able to damage, not the pole. It's a handy weapon since you can hit enemies from afar even multiple times. However, where it really shines Legion and Beelzebub, which are pretty much exactly shaped to fit the Javelin's arc, making them great targets for using it, at least until they broke apart.
R. Dagger
Cost: 4 MP
Location: Shop after purchasing Chapter 10 DLC
Form 1: 1 dagger | Form 2: 2 daggers | Form 3: 3 daggers
Recommended Form of Leveling: Backdash Cancel
Here we have the actual dagger, even in 8-Bit for that matter. It works exactly like the Knife, just with a few differences. It has only limited range, is slower but deals more damage. Not to mention it's a bit cheaper. The R. Dagger is clearly superior over the Knife.
R. Axe
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Shop after purchasing Chapter 10 DLC
Form 1: 1 axe | Form 2: 2 axes | Form 3: 3 axes
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The R. Axe works fairly similar to the actual Axe in terms of its arc. However, there is one major difference - instead of tossing one big axe, R. Axe throws out up to 3 axes that spread after reaching the arc's peak. Thus this allows you to cover more area and deal more damage for a cheaper price. R. Axe is clearly superior to it's standard counterpart.
R. Fire Bomb
Cost: 12 MP
Location: Chapter 10 Boss (Normal), purple/Boss (Hard)
Form 1: vial bursting into 8-Bit flames | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
The Retro version of the Holy Water, the R. Fire Bomb, is obviously again very similar to its counterpart. However, the differences between the two are quite noticeable aside from the cost. First, the thrown bottle projectile deals actual damage. The damage is a bit higher. And where the Holy Water's flame moves across the floor, the R. Fire Bomb's flame will, although moving a bit, pretty much stay in the general area, hitting the same target multiple times. It's kinda like a burst. The weapon is incredibly useful and in most situations clearly superior to Holy Water.
R. Boomerang
Cost: 12 MP
Location: Chapter 10 Boss (Normal), purple/Boss (Hard)
Form 1: a tiny 8-Bit Cross | Form 2: n/a | Form 3: n/a
Recommended Form of Leveling: Slot-Rotation
Do not mistake this sub with Jonathan's Boomerang; it actually is the Retro version of the Cross! Again, this works fairly similar to its standard version. It just is far smaller, deals a TON more damage and its pattern is a bit more weird - it goes forward only a tiny bit, but covers a huge distance when flying back. Personally, I prefer the standard Cross over this, but it can be quite useful unless you catch it on its way back.
Martial Arts
Martial Arts are techniques your character can perform as soon as you recieve a copy of them. You don't need to equip them, but rather have to put in a certain button combination which you can check in the "Martial Arts" section on the Main Menu.
Martial Arts do not level up - one copy is enough - and they do not improve your character's stats.
Guard
Cost: 0 MP
Location: Starter
Upon pressing RB, Jonathan rises his arms in front of him, sometimes yelling "Do your worst!". In this stance, he will take only half the damage if hit. It will also cancel all of his momentum, so if you are jumping forward and use the Guard, he will drop down like a rock. Not specifically useful, but it IS a nice feature to have, so try to use it if you know you're gonna get hit.
Uppercut
Cost: 5 MP
Location: Chapter 4 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
As the name hints, Jonathan jumps upward with his fist held up, his whole arm being on fire. He deals quite a bit of damage with this and unlike the Uppercuts of the 2 Belmonts utilizing it, Jonathan's hitbox is far bigger, hitting enemies next to it as well. Thus, he is able to use this to his advantage far better than the 2 Belmonts. He can cancel his uppercut into using the whip, making his damage output quite good, only downside being him comparably close to the enemy. So most of the time, you'll want to use this against bosses who remain stationary most of the time. The only notable thing about it is probably that the height of his uppercut is not as high as those of the 2 Belmonts. So no Final Guard styling action with Jonathan, sadly.
Danger Knee
Cost: 5 MP
Location: Chapter 2 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Upon using this technique, Jonathan jumps forward with his knee stretched out. If he touches an enemy, they will take quite some damage and Jonathan bumps off of them. The Danger Knee also gives Jonathan a few invincibility frames, allowing him to pass through a few attacks. Quite useful due to its easy input, so try utilizing it.
Forward Roll
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Chapter 3 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Jonathan rolls forward... I guess? Yea, he does. Well, this little baby is maybe not offensively useful, but as long as Jonathan is doing his cute little roll, he has invincibility frames. He can use this to pass through attacks and enemies (such as Dullahan or Final Guard). Otherwise, this has little uses, the input is not as easily put in as Danger Knee or Sonic Strike, so eh.
Sonic Strike
Cost: 15 MP
Location: Chapter 5 and 6 green/blue/purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Jonathan does a little pose and then teleports forward a short distance, becoming invisible and invincible for the distance from disappearing to appearing again. Sonic Strike is probably the most useful of Jonathan's martial arts aside from the Uppercut. The invincibility frames are quite nice and using it to pass through enemies is, as well - they will take damage unlike with the Forward Roll. Try using it. The most important part is in its own section, though...
Sonic Jump
Jonathan has a small little glitch with Sonic Strike that has been dubbed Sonic Jump. When standing right next to a ledge and putting in Sonic Strike's command, Jonathan will start up Sonic Strike, but instead of dashing the set distance, he will actually instead jump with huge momentum gained from the martial art. And you even can double jump with it! You will be able to cross big gaps with this. Here you have a video showcasing this.
Recommended Setups
Since there's so many possible setups with the whip users, I will give you a run-down on the most important pieces.
Simon's set (Plate, Sandals, Bandanna, Cloak):
Mainly powers up STR and HP, as well as good DEF and defensive stats.
Retro set (Armor, Helm, Boots, Cloak - Chapter 10 exclusive):
Pretty much outclasses Simon's set in everything but HP, and some defensive stats. Retro Boots have the speed of Mercury Boots.
Fuma's set (Armor, Helm, Greaves - Chapter 11 exclusive):
Is more geared towards INT and MP, as well as its regeneration. Fuma's Greaves have the speed of Winged Boots.
Good equipment to use outside of these:
Head: Royal Crown (INT, Fuma's Helm is better)
Chest: Death's Robe (INT, Fuma's Armor is better), Berserker Mail, Ancient Armor
Legs: Sonic Boots, Winged Boots, Spiked Boots (epic spin kick damage, use them as much as possible!)
Back: Bishamon Raiment (MP regeneration), Assassin's Cape (STR), Paludamentum (MP, only use if you don't have Bishamon Raiment), Blue Cape (INT)
Accessory: Chaos Ring (MP reg), Miser Ring (ATK), Artemisian/Apollonian Ring (INT and STR) - secondary are Sunstone/Moonstone (INT) and Megingiord (STR)
Progressing Jonathan
Jonathan levels up his abilities through usage like most of the characters. His attack power for both subweapons and whip will power up through leveling his subweapons. Contrary to popular belief, Jonathan will NOT get stronger when leveling the DLC subweapons. These have no influence on his stats, and are independent from the "base" subs. Note that Jonathan needs to level all 12 subweapons found in the base game, both the Belmont ones and his exclusives.
A very good way to ease up the progress is to get all the subs to level 8 before going on to 9.
