Phalanx is the first boss you face in Demon’s Souls, and it can put up a pretty tough fight if you don’t know what you’re doing. Encountered after opening the Gate of Boletaria, Phalanx is a massive blob-like beast protected by shields and spears. The shields will prevent you from doing a lot of damage through normal methods, and the spears will force you to keep your distance. It’s a tricky fight before you know what to do, but we’ve got your back with these handy tips and tricks below. Here’s how to beat the Phalanx boss in Demon’s Souls.
How to Beat Phalanx
Phalanx’s squishy body is protected by blobs wielding shields and spears, so you’re going to have to take these out to make the boss vulnerable to your attacks. These blobs will split off of the main body throughout the fight, so try and take them on one at a time and you’ll slowly but surely create an opening for yourself. Their shields mitigate frontal damage, so try and strike them from behind. The same goes for Phalanx itself. Try hitting the squishy core when it’s exposed, hitting the shields won’t do much damage.
Phalanx is also weak to fire, so toss Firebombs at it if you have some left over. There are Firebombs scattered throughout the level leading up to this boss fight and there isn’t much reason to use them until now, so you probably have a few sitting in your inventory that you could use. Firebombs deal splash damage, so try to hit as many blobs as you can with one throw. Aim for Phalanx itself and you’ll be sure to burn off a few attached blobs. If you have access to magic, you can cast Soul Arrow to make quick work of this fight as the blobs’ shields do not resist magic damage.
Once you take out enough blobs, Phalanx’s soft core will be exposed. You don’t have to kill all the blobs, but you will have to defeat enough to create an opening so you can reach Phalanx’s squishy insides with your sword. Once it’s exposed, Phalanx takes quite a bit of damage and should go down fairly easily. Watch out for any blobs that may sneak up on you. If they group up on you, you might not be able to roll to safety.
After defeating Phalanx, you will receive 1270 Souls and one Lead Demon’s Soul. You’ll also earn the trophy “Phalanx’s Trophy.” An Archstone will spawn in the now safe boss arena, and you can use it to travel back to the Nexus and meet the Maiden in Black.
Demon’s Souls is available now exclusively on PlayStation 5.
