The Devil Horns: the reward for beating Dead Space 3 on Classic New Game+

The Devil Horns are the most powerful weapon in Dead Space 3, unlocked after completing the game on Classic Mode in New Game+. They are the sequel's version of the Hand Cannon: a mostly one-shot kill weapon with "Bang!" as its main function and "Pew Pew!" as its alt-fire, built this time around a heavy metal joke rather than a foam sports hand.

How do you get the Devil Horns?#

The weapon sits behind two complete runs of the game, which is a heavier ask than the Hand Cannon's single Hard Core clear in Dead Space 2. Beat the main campaign, then start New Game+ with the difficulty set to Classic, and finish that run. The Devil Horns are waiting at the end of it.

Ammunition and upgrades#

The obvious difference from its predecessor is that the Devil Horns are not infinite. Without magazine circuit upgrades the weapon holds 392 rounds, rising to a maximum of 982 with four +3 magazine circuits fitted, and a full reload eats five Universal Ammunition magazines. In practice the power and the magazine size cover for that: a New Game+ run on Impossible difficulty can be completed without ever reloading if the player fires carefully and carries the four upgrades.

The weapon can be modified. The alt-fire can be added or dropped, and circuits can be fitted once unlocked with Tungsten. None of it matters much, because the stats are already visually maxed out. Increasing reload speed or firing speed are the only adjustments that register at all. The lower attachment, the Palm and Pinky, shows up as "Heavy Metal Attitude" in the weapon name when viewed at the Bench.

Disassembly is a trap. Once taken apart the weapon cannot be rebuilt, because there is no upper tool available to craft and the same problem applies to the Pinky on the lower tool. Making a custom blueprint first is the way to avoid losing it by accident.

What survives it?#

Two enemies can walk away from a hit, and both belong to Dead Space 3's later bestiary rather than the standard Necromorph roster. An Enhanced Fodder can survive a single shot, taking enough damage to split up and show its tentacles, though this does not happen every time. An Alien Necromorph on Impossible will also occasionally survive a shot to the head.

The spread is narrower than the Hand Cannon's, which had an area of effect roughly the size of a Ripper blade in Dead Space 2. Spamming shots is the usual answer to anything at range.

Restrictions and faults#

The Devil Horns cannot be used in Pure Survival or Hard Core mode without a hack or a glitch. When John Carver uses them he shouts in Isaac's voice, since the "BANG BANG" and "PEW PEW PEW" lines were only ever recorded by Gunner Wright.

There are two known faults. The weapon can vanish from a player's inventory outright, and the only known way to get it back is completing Classic mode again. Rarely, starting a new game while the Devil Horns are in inventory leaves Isaac holding an invisible weapon until he fires or switches. Shooting the explosive sack of a dead Exploder makes the sack simply vanish with no explosion at all.