You can take devilites on, but it takes more thought than the average mob. The key to confronting them as is to recognize that:

1) Their attacks are ready on a timer. After they burn an attack they are vulnerable for a little while. Higher tier devilites have a shorter timer between attacks.
2) They don't auto-attack when their attack is ready. Instead they wait for an opening before attacking.
3) They tend to "panic" and jump backwards when their attack is ready.
4) They will frequently attack when you drop your shield.

To confront a devilite as a swordsman, raise your shield as soon as you see them. If you block their attack rush in and kill them. If they don't attack then wait for a second, drop your shield, then quickly re-raise it. If they still don't attack then wait about a second and repeat. Eventually they'll burn their attack. Then you can rush in and kill them. If you take too long to kill them back off and repeat the process.

As a gunner your best bet is to employ the shoot and scoot and hope the devilites don't get lucky.

As a bomber your best bet is to spam crystal bombs everywhere, move around randomly, and hope that you have more luck then the devilites do.

Of course, taking on devilite groups is madness.

You might consider picking up a blaster handgun (or one of the elemental/status effect alchemers) if you anticipate doing levels with devilites. I'm not sure if you're usually in a party, but if you're solo it's actually a decently safe way to deal with them. It will work just fine with your current armor/shield as well.

Video example: http://youtu.be/vUV0xsEFfNU

You could also try running with a fire/freezing haze bomb instead of the blaster, although you're still vulnerable to being beaned by stuff when charging. It's got a fast charge time which is nice. With the freezing one, it will root them in place so you can sneak up from the back and place another bomb or swipe em with your sword. With the fire they'll just keep getting set on fire as you run away. The only downside is if you hit a fire/freezing level with the same type bomb. Then they're useless.

If you are going to bomb devilites, use a freeze bomb so they get stuck facing away from you and can't keep throwing, that'll reduce the damage you take. UV CTR high would be ideal, so that you can then have CTR Maximum with just one piece of demo gear and wear something that will provide shadow defense, but the shadow defense is important even if you can't afford the UV. Also, Dark City is some of the hardest levels in the game, even for devilites. It's tricky in T2 and horrific in T3. Still, the right answer to T2 devilites is more likely to be some 4* from the flourish or snarble barb lines.

Charge up a bomb, lay it near them, then fall back with your shield up. If you stay in their range, they'll stay put trying to target you. Kasplam.

Something I have come to learn is that Devilites have less intelligence then bullets, greater then scouts, but still less then drunk demoman.

I occasionally use my needle shot, its the piercing upgrade from the autogun (regretted making it, but hey, it looked cool) and there are plenty of times where I have seen devilites chain dodge (since they dodge every time they sense a projectile) into my bullets.

Hell, I can aim between devilites (not aiming at them in particular), fire, and typically have a good chance that at least one of them will dodge in such a way they take half, or the full burst of shots to the face. Even if they are behind me, they seem to magically dodge in such a way that it will bring them closer to my firing arc, only to dodge again into it. Either I have strange luck with devilites, or they are cousins to Scouts addicted to Bonk. Who think they are immune to bullets.

Was funny when using the autogun and its charge special while doing this, grabs the first devilite to "dodge" into it and kill them off.

With the sword though, try to face them while going in a circle, like with any other mob, they try to throw at your current location so they tend to miss. Go in for a 2 hit combo, then get back to moving.

Since no one here actually explained how shields work, let me do that real quick.

Yes, your defenses from your armor and helm are not combined with your shield's defenses. Your armor's defenses protect you when you get hit, and your shield's defenses protect your shield (and thus, you) when your shield gets hit. Your shield has a life bar, just like you do, and it takes less damage when hit by the damage types it has defenses against. Thus a Skelly Shield should in theory serve you better against Devilites than a Plate Shield, because it has Shadow Defense. I say "in theory" however because in Tier 2, every attack is still split with half Normal Damage. So Shields with higher Normal Defense (like a Plate Shield) may still resist longer than other shields. You may have to experiment some on your own here.

As for dealing with Devilites? Here's some tips:

- Having projectiles coming in from every direction is a fast track to being killed. As much as possible, keep all of the Devilites in front of you. I use a Magnus line gun when fighting Devilites, so I keep backing away from them when I can to ensure they stay in front of me. If all of the projectiles are coming from the same direction, it's easier to keep track of them and block (or dodge) them.

- Keep your shield up as much as possible. Don't full attack if there are lots of Devilites about. Lower your shield just long enough to swing or shoot once, and shield again. Simultaneously, keep moving! Standing in place is just an invitation to be pelted repeatedly. Shield, swing, shield, move. If your shield is taking a beating, pick up and move! By running around for a bit and not attacking at all, you should be able to avoid attacks long enough for your shield to regain its strength without taking damage. Devilites don't lead their targets, so if you're moving at full speed, a projectile thrown at you should arrive where you were a moment before, and not hit you.

- Be smart. If there are any terrain advantages to hide behind, use them. If there are blocks separating groups of Devilites, keep them separated and fight them piecemeal.

The ultimate shield for dealing with Devilites- Crest of Almire. Not only does it have equally split high normal/shadow, it blocks shock from Devil-IT. Personally, I'm holding off on Infernal levels until I put together a 5* set of shadow gear. Kats are almost as bad, but at least they have plenty of wind-up to their attacks and are easier to predict. I just don't find Devilites fun, so I don't play those levels in T3.

im actually happy when i see a cute little devilite... even with my 4* wise owlite and 4* flamberge they are easy. just hold your shield up and walk right up to one, poke your flamberge, do a little quarter turn, repeat

my main question for all you guys complaining about lightning speed chairs is this: why are you in the position to be hit in the first place? they give you PLENTY of warning, showing the purple attack icon, so just shuffle to the right of left? now gremlins using their spin attack, THAT is something to be scared of, almost no warning at all, always gets me :(

another thing: you can cancel their attack with any type of hit (even non-ending combos) and they cant dodge while moving. get an argent peacemaker and circle them, if you constantly move around them they will NEVER hit you. now if youre dumb enough to fight two "groups" at once (one in the middle of your little circle and a few outside) then thats your problem.

ive never actually equipped a bomb even, but i assume you could charge while circling them and still beat them, but idk.

best method is to just shiled and poke with any sword but obviusly a piercing one would work better

I was lurking around looking for threads as to why I suck at Tier 2 when I stumbled on this one. I just cleared for Tier 2 a coupla days ago with Wolver Cap and Armor, Defender and Owlite Shield, a Calibur and Brandish, and a Firotech Alchemizer. I've also got recipes for Skelly Suit and Skelly Shield but hadn't crafted them. Big mistake lol.

I partied once or twice then decided to solo to see how to adjust my play style to Tier 2 levels. I always did pretty well in kiting and timing attacks in Tier 1 so I was confident. Entered a Devilite/Kat/Pit Boss Gate. Got my ass handed to me! Died several times until the revive cost was 80CE and I decided to call it quits.

I agree with most of you: a shadow resistance shield and armor would help, so I'm going to do that soon and equip them for devilite runs. I'm also going to invest in a magnus and Antigua once I get enough JK runs done to buy it from Brinks.

One other thing I noticed (for swordsmen, has been mentioned before): this ain't Tier 1 no more :P. With the devilites, you can only safely go for 2 hits before shielding again. With all the flying chairs and crap, it's not safe to go for the 3 hit combo with Calibur or Brandish; the cool-down after the 3rd strike is simply too dangerous.

Personally, I disagree with the comment about devilites telegraphing their attacks and being easy to avoid. Note: I've been facing devilites in close spaces where dodging room is limited and you can't just run away in one direction spraying them with bullets. add hacking and slashing and exploding party members to the mix (making it harder to keep track of them and the devilites) and I'd want to jab a fork in my eye. I find the fact that the throw attack is super fast PLUS their charging and throwing while off-screen or on the edge of your screen to be the main hindrance. You could be cornering one pit boss and wailing on him then get smacked by a chair from some devilite on the other end. Hard to concentrate on swinging while watching all corners of the screen. Same goes for gunning or bombing IMO. With 3 or 4 on screen, you're bound to run into a flying chair at some point (I tried the run and gun start w/ an alchemizer and cried a bit). This is in cramped rooms of course; if I had the option of outrunning them and shooting behind me, then that woulda been better, but alas that was not the case. Even while shielding very carefully, you're bound to eat an attack or two (or five :P).

@Tipiak: YES. lag + devilites = I want to kill myself