Phalanx

**Phalanx** is an optional boss in *Phoenotopia: Awakening*. It is a colossal mechanical bird residing in the tower atop Pristine City, accessible only after all the Heart Rubies and Energy Gems have been collected. There is no measurable reward in defeating Phalanx besides the badge "Light Wings".

## Background

The Phalanxes were part of a series of giant weapons developed during the Great War, and were the most powerful until being made obsolete by the Phoenixes weapons. Afterwards, one Phoenix who advocated for the Phalanxes kept one as pet and named it "Bi Fang", which supposedly means "Guardian of the Phoenix".

Centuries ago, one Phalanx has made its home on the roof of the Phalanx Tower atop Pristine City. This Phalanx might be the same aforementioned "Bi Fang", hinted both by its name in the credit sequence and the gatekeeper Golem. It seems to be currently fulfilling its duty in protecting the SPHERE since the Phoenixes are still resting underneath.

Once thought to be undefeatable, no one is allowed to get close to the Phalanx under normal circumstances. That said, after Gail has pumped up her health rating and energy rating as high as possible, the gatekeeper Golem has allowed her passage. Upon defeated, the Phalanx would also resurrected after a while, allowing to be challenged yet again.

## Bart's Comment

Woah! That's a Phalanx! They're legendary weapons from the Great War! Purportedly, even just one can decimate an entire country. My combat data says the Phalanx doesn't have any weaknesses... Prepare for a LONG fight!

## Behaviour

At the beginning of the fight, a number of missiles would rain from above, where both the explosion and shrapnels can deal damage. Afterwards, the Phalanx would cycle between a number of attacks indicated by the colour of its core. At first, it will only perform either the purple or red attack, then more types of attacks as its health decreases. These "colour-based" attacks are as follows:

* Purple: 3 round bullets that chase its target
* Red: Barrage of arrow-shaped bullets that travels straight
* Green: 3 square bullets that locks on before traveling straight
* Blue: Ball of energy that deals damage with both the explosion and shrapnels
* Yellow: Orbital shields that block projectiles and inflict Paralysis on contact

Once every few minutes, Phalanx would fire laser beams in the 4 diagonals and rotate them in either clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, and may change direction during the brief pause mid-way. After this attack, Phalanx would immediately summon a black hole that sucks in Gail and all the platforms, which are then relocated to a different configuration and need to be hit again to activate. There is a 1 in 3 chance that a second set of laser beams would be fired right after, but there will never be a third.

In the middle between two laser beam phases, Phalanx would fly off-screen and spawn a wave of spinning feathers from either a single or all four directions depending on its remaining health. Afterwards, it would drop down a giant bug nest that spawns 4 Dartiads and many web traps similar to those from Ariadne. If a nest is spawned after the previous feather phase, Phalanx will instead attack with the missile rain and vice versa.

## Strategy

### Preparation

Since Phalanx is most likely the toughest and the last boss to be faced in the game, players are advised to make all the preparation necessary. Expect the longest fight thus far, for the amount of health Phalanx has is incomparable to other foes.

For Equipment, Techniques, and Songs, you should have obtained at least the following, if not all upgrades:

* Life Ring - For mitigating the damage received during the long fight
* GEO Jacket and Troll's Guard - (similar to above)
* Double Crossbow - For a consistent damage output
* Night Star, Whirlwind, and Berserker Band - (see "melee approach" below)

As for Consumable Items, below are the best candidates in terms of their costs and/or potencies:

* Jellyfly Oil - To counter one of Phalanx's attacks
* Elastic Pellet - To counter one of Phalanx's attacks
* Nutri-Meal - Free and unlimited from the printer in E.D.E.N
* Crispy Golden Egg - Most compact in terms of healing-per-stack
* Honey Brew - Longest duration of energy Boosting Effect besides Super Shroom
* Elixir - Fully heals Gail and provides both Boosting Effects at once
* Super Shroom - (same as above, duration is longer)

### Dodging the attacks

The missile rain can be tricky to avoid since the spawn location of each missile is seemingly random. Use Ukemi to immediately regain control after being tossed up, then perhaps stay at a higher level to avoid the explosion near the lower level. Using the Rocket Boots may help to dodge further by simply moving away from the center of the arena until the proyectiles cease to exist, as the explosive missiles only rain down in the solid area of the arena.

Most "colour-based" attacks can be intercepted with the likes of Double Crossbow, or dodged by simply walking to the side. Staying near ground level is also advisable, both to keep distance from Phalanx's attacks for easier countering, and to dispel homing attacks (such as purple) leveraging the ground's solid collision.

The laser beams are very damaging and have tight dodging windows, so setting up all the necessary platforms as quickly as possible is highly recommended instead of waiting until the attack commences. As a side note, there exists an exploit that allows for effortlessly dodging by first taking damage intentionally before staying near the middle of the intertwined part of the beams where the hitbox is absent.

While the black hole attack itself is unavoidable, damage from this can again be completely nullified with Ukemi like with other attacks that toss Gail around.

The spinning feathers are hard to avoid similar to the raining missiles as well, and will not trigger Gail's immunity frames, racking up damage quickly if the player is not careful. It is advised to set up all the platforms before this attack begins.

When the bug nest is dropped, removing the Dartiads would be a top priority if players want to focus on attacking as soon as possible. Like in Mul Caves, Dartiads can be defeated in a single hit with most end-game Tools or Rocket Boots. Prepare Jellyfly Oil to counter the web traps.

### Attacking (ranged approach)

Attacking with Double Crossbow while staying at the ground level is one of the most popular strategies. The main benefits include keeping a safer distance between Gail and Phalanx's attacks, as well as the ability to counter incoming projectiles with relatively more reaction time.

### Attacking (melee approach)

The idea is to perform Whirlwind in rapid succession with Berserker Band, best with Night Star equipped and the power Boosting Effect applied. While the damage output is very impressive, players are advised to pay closer attention to Gail's health.

### Attacking (Liag's approach)

*(This feature is exclusive to the Steam version)*

By switching the game to the official Liag build, the powered up Treble Shot allows for shooting 3 explosive pellets at once to deal massive damage. The biggest hazard of this method is the removal of a huge portion of the challenge and satisfaction in completing it.

## Trivia

* The master of Phalanx "Bi Fang" might be Zophiel herself, since the character portrait of Light Wings has the similar appearance to the Zophiel Statues found around the world.
* Prior to version 1.0.9, Phalanx can be seen in the credit sequence regardless if it has been defeated yet. Its image would now be replaced with a black silhouette if not.
* Phalanx was a term practically used to describe a military formation in Ancient Greek warfare according to Wikipedia.
* Phalanx can be considered the "Superboss" of the game, as it is the strongest boss enemy any player will encounter, along with being completely optional and requires careful preparation, as it can decimate even fully-upgraded players.

## Gallery

Full image of PhalanxPosture before firing rain missiles

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss\_(video\_games)#Superboss