yeah, you get ingredients from breaking stuff. there's 3 colors-- red, yellow, green. you use them to make health potions (green herbs), something that raises your strength, and another that raises your defense, I think. the last two are temporary.
I'm starting to get my ass seriously kicked, so I've been grinding to get all the techniques and stuff. A lot of the regular enemies are like bosses from other games...agni and rudra are regular enemies in this.
Play other games while you're waiting for this because nothing else will ever be fun again. It's basically DMC4, if Kamiya had made it. DMC4 actually feels like more of a spin-off in retrospect compared to this game. And of course, the Bayonetta/Jeanne scenes are totally dante and virgil.