There are some bosses in Demon’s Souls that absolutely cannot be beaten. Luckily, Maneater isn’t one of them. There’s no trick to this enemy. It’s all about skill and determination. You need to get into the arena and beat it fair and square with the skills you’ve learned throughout the rest of the game. With that said, this guide should help you get the upper hand in all encounters too.
Ground Attacks
The Maneater has a lot of attacks to combat. The first of these is a single-handed pounce. It’ll jump at you and bring one fist down to cause damage. You can dodge it to either side, or block it if you’re good enough.
The boss can also jump and come down with a two-handed pounce. This will cause loads of damage too. It’s best to dodge right out of the way of this one. You can block it, but only if you have a shield with the highest Guard Break Reduction rating.
The third pounce attack is a literal pounce. You’ll see the boss get down on all fours and leap at you. Once again, it’s better to dodge out of the way of this one. If you’ve got the strongest of shields, you might just be able to block it.
Maneater can also emit a sonic wave attack. This will hit you with magical damage if it hits you, but you can avoid it if you step out of the way.
The final ground attack in the arsenal for this boss is the power boost. The boss’ snake tail will bite it and charge it up with increased attack power. As this process happens, you can get a lot of attacks in on the boss. Do so and then avoid it while it’s powered up.
Aerial Attacks
What makes Maneater quite impressive is its range of aerial attacks that complement its ground attacks. The boss can fall onto the player and pound them with two hands. This deals loads of damage, so roll out of the way to avoid it.
The boss can emit a sonic wave while flying, but it’s no different to the ground version.
Finally, the boss can use a Homing Soul Arrow. It fires three Soul Arrows that will track you and deal serious damage. You can prevent this attack from ever happening if you cut off the snake tail.
Tactics
You can use ranged and magic to destroy the boss, but they’re arguably harder than a straight melee build. By getting up close and personal, you can cut off the boss’ tail straight away and prevent power boos and one flying attack. You can also move nimbly around it to avoid attacks.
At range, the boss has plenty of moves to both close the gap and deal damage. You’re totally exposed if you’re too far away. The best way to take it down is by being up in its face and attacking as much as possible.
If you’re struggling with other bosses, check out our guides for the Dragon God, Old King Allant, Flamelurker, The Tower Knight, Penetrator, Phalanx, and Armored Spider.