Demon's Souls PS3

[Darwock]

Seriously? What weapon and tactics were you using? I did it with a short sword and turpentine, but club weapons overpower shields and rapier/spears lets you block and attack at the same time.. both could be worth a shot? Also holding your weapon in two hands (with the triangle button) reduces the bounce back impact you get from striking his shields.

You can take as long as you need and it moves slowly so as long as you have crescent moon grass it shouldn't be that hard.

[Brad]

I can't be arsed to trapse through the level hoping someone drops grass and turps just to allow me one go at defeating him. All my swords are knackered apart from my rapier and my leather shield blocks nothing. Hitting phalanx on an exposed gooey bit with fireballs may or may not take his health down. He shoves those spears through stone pillars and there's no pause button so if im doing ok and my sick daughter comes downstairs then i basically have to abandon the attempt.

It's a shame but I stopped having fun. My guy cannot hold a decent shield. No one ever drops spice. I have too many other games i want to play.

Edit: I can't admit defeat on the first boss! I will try with a different class.

[J0e Musashi]

Screw this. Cannot defeat Phalanx. Game abandoned. I don't have time for games that are this hard.

Lol. ?25 shipped?

[Darwock]

Just checking but you know you can repair your weapons and armour right? Running away works as long as you don't run in a straight line, and if you are really behind a pillar you won't get hit (watch out for stray blobs though, they might still have an angle on you)

[Brad]

How do you repair stuff? Do i need souls? Can i repair things that are actually broken or only ones that are 'worn'? What does the red arrow pointing downward on top of me weapon icon mean?

Does this sound a viable strategy then:

Get my main weapon fixed somehow
get some souls to go and buy a load of turps
get grass so i can stay alive longer
get some firebombs maybe?
Buy some spice? Can i do that?

Then i can go in armed with lots of fire based stuff and basically destroy all his little helpers.

[Darwock]

You need souls yeah, but you can repair something in any condition - talk to Blacksmith Boldwin in the Nexus. That icon means your weapon is screwed and won't be doing decent damage - no wonder you struggled.

Fire bombs are great cos they hit lots of them at once, but they are pretty rare drops, most of the ones you had were probably treasure pick-ups . Not essential so don't worry about farming them if you don't want to.

On my first attempt at Phalanx I literally stood next to it hacking away and just spammed my way through with crescent grass to keep my health up, I really wouldn't recommend doing that, but I mention it just to show you it's possible. If you keep a cool head you have nothing to fear from it. Once the little phalanxes are gone it has nothing that can hurt you, so don't panic.. if you have exposed one side then try to stay on that side for safety.

[Brad]

Cheers. What's a treasure pick up? Can I not buy bombs?

[Darwock]

I mean the glowing items you see on dead bodies throughout the level - I know there are at least two of those that give you 5 firebombs for a total of 10, but once you have picked them up you won't get them again.

I can't remember if the dregling vendor sells firebombs or not, he might do.

OH - this is important! - if you are going to go back into that area, be aware of the NPC knight (Ostrava) - if you saved him already he will still be there, but all the enemies will have respawned and could easily kill him without your help, keeping him alive is worth doing - however if he dies make sure you pick up the item he drops. I hope you know who I'm talking about... if you saved Ostrava you probably also got the thief's ring, that will help you a lot in the Phalanx battle!

[Brad]

I don't remember saving anybody! Certainly got no Thief's ring!
I've picked up treasure though, like a jade comb thing.
I think I'll start from scratch as it sounds like I've really ballsed this up. How can I have missed this NPC? I've been everywhere I think.

[NemesiS]

Screw this. Cannot defeat Phalanx. Game abandoned. I don't have time for games that are this hard.

Ok FSW, i'll tell how i did it. He really is simple, honest.

->Open Spoiler<-

Just enter the Phalanx lair and chuck about 3-4 fire bombs onto him straight away (but you really don't need to). It just takes the health of the Mini's down that are attached to him. Because there are lots it looks harder than it is. When you have done that, just keep your shield up (imperative) and keep circle straffing round him going in to attack. Just keep your eye out for gaps of minis around him and attack there. I usually waited unitl after i had just repelled an attack from him before going in.

Try and get rid of the minis first and you will breeze it. Every time you go in to attack just make sure that you are behind the minis as your attack will be effective. You will probably be attacking a few at once. Be patient and don't rush and you will beat him in about 5-10 mins. Once all minis are gone, he has no counter. Use the long sword and shield as the swords arc will catch many enemies at once. When you are low on health (25%) backup to a corner and heal.

I hope you know who I'm talking about... if you saved Ostrava you probably also got the thief's ring, that will help you a lot in the Phalanx battle!

Yes this does so its worth saving him. Just make sure you clear all the ground area before helping him if you haven't already done so.

[NemesiS]

I don't remember saving anybody! Certainly got no Thief's ring!
I've picked up treasure though, like a jade comb thing.
I think I'll start from scratch as it sounds like I've really ballsed this up. How can I have missed this NPC? I've been everywhere I think.

He's after the first fog past blue eyes. Down the stairs and you will see him stood on a platform below you in a gold suit in between the stairs and the rampart where the vendor is.

[Darwock]

Yep, and to get the thief's ring you can hop over a section of the wall and drop onto the platform he is standing on, it's behind him. The thief's ring makes the difference between EVERY mini phalanx in the room targetting you, or only the ones that are closest to you.

[Brad]

He's after the first fog past blue eyes. Down the stairs and you will see him stood on a platform below you in a gold suit in between the stairs and the rampart where the vendor is.

I think I just slaughtered him on sight lol! I'll check later.

Thanks for the tips guys. I really don't want to give up on this if I can help it.
Gotta love this place

EDIT Hop over a wall? WTF!?

[NemesiS]

EDIT Hop over a wall? WTF!?

Not really a spoiler so; down the steps after where first fog was and you can jump over the wall to a platform below where the dude was/is stood. Its not really sign posted and i never knew you could do it until i read on here.

[Darwock]

Every time I went past that section someone had left an in-game message letting people know it was possible... did you play offline?