Demon’s Souls is now available in a gorgeous remake on PlayStation 5. We love the souls series, and returning to Boletaria is a joy, for the most part. Of course, there is the frustration that comes with facing these bosses anew, and remembering why this game is so hard. In this guide, we’re going to cover how to defeat Phalanx. This is the first boss you’ll face in the game. Get ready.
Persevere
The Phalanx, and all bosses in this game, came along before FromSoftware decided to give their bosses multiple phases. As such, this boss only has one phase to deal with, and it’s not especially challenging. At least, not compared to the later bosses you’ll be facing.
The first thing you should know is that this boss is pretty weak against fire-based attacks. As such, you can throw fire bombs at it and deal huge chunks of damage. This is a great strategy, because getting close will see you impaled on its many spears. However, there aren’t enough fire bombs in the game up to this point to allow you to kill it with just them, so you will need to get in there and attack it.
This boss is surrounded by Hoplites, exactly 35 of them. That means you’ll need to take them out before killing the boss. However, they’ll regenerate over time, meaning you need to continuously deal with them. The Phalanx will also heal after a period of not being attacked. Keep up your attacks so that it doesn’t heal.
Persist
Whatever form your attacks take, keep the pressure on. Kill the Hoplites and deal damage. It’s important not to let the boss get a rest, or it’ll start to heal.
The giant blob will try to corner you. Don’t let it. When it does, it’ll launch the Hoplites out, and they’ll flank you. This results in spears going in everywhere, and it can kill you easily. As I mentioned before, kill all the Hoplites as you go, and you won’t have such an issue with them.
Watch out for Hoplites breaking away and coming after you. This can happen when the boss is feeling particularly strong. If you keep the number of Hoplites down though, you’ll be fine for the most part.
The final tip we have is to attack those Hoplites from behind or the side. Their giant shields will resist physical damage, so your sword and bow won’t do anything against them. Magic builds will fare better, but really you need to be trying to take them out whatever way you can.
You can tease the Hoplites into following you and moving away from the boss. If you then run around them you can kill a few of them off, and get some damage in against the boss. Rinse and repeat this and you should deal with them all in no time.
Lore
The boss is named after a defensive tactic of the same name. It was used by the Greeks, mostly the Spartans, and involves the forming of a wall that soldiers can’t get past. The soldiers then thrust their spears through gaps between the shields to take down wave after wave of enemies. The wall could also then be manoeuvred to deflect incoming arrow fire.