Show the Phalanx boss who’s really the boss.
In this guide, we’ll break down the Phalanx boss fight in Demon’s Souls Remake. This boss is the true first boss you’ll encounter, not counting the Vanguard Demon seen in the tutorial level. As far as bosses go, the Phalanx is a total pushover and will go down easy, as long as you’re prepared.
There’s a little difference between Demon’s Souls and the remake. Previously the fire buff for your weapons was called Turpentine, but in the remake, it is referred to as Pine Resin. Don’t confuse this for Golden Pine Resin. That’s a lighting buff.
Interestingly enough, this boss implores a tactic used by the Romans, stretching out shields while poking anyone foolish enough to approach by stabbing them with spears. The same goes here, get to close, and you’ll be stabbed.
Melee Tactic
For melee-based classes, you only have one recourse, charging in headfirst. However, to make the fight a bit easier, make sure you have as many firebombs as you can carry. Barring that, having some pine resin to buff your weapon with fire also works wonders.
Once the fight starts, toss firebombs and strike anything that moves. You can either take out all the smaller Hoplites that surround the boss and break off of it. Or you can hammer the boss. Either way works. Just be sure to use fire to make this fight trivial. If you run out of fire attacks, you can maneuver behind the smaller Hoplites and hit them on the fleshy rear to kill them faster.
Ranged Tactic
Ranged have an easier fight when going against the Phalanx. Just like melee, firebombs will work amazingly. Royalty and Magicians can pelt it from afar, but the Magicians have the edge thanks to having fire-based magic. If you have some pine resins, you can also buff your weapons (not wands/catalysts) to do fire damage as well.
Once defeated, the Phalanx will drop the Lead Demon soul, that you can claim for souls or creating the Scraping Spear. This weapon is pretty handy for dealing with invaders or invading unsuspecting players.
Be sure to check out our other guides for Demon’s Souls Remake here.
