Steelrising boss guide: How to find and defeat Unstable Lancer

Steelrising is finally available for players to experience. Developer Spiders' fresh new take on the souls-like genre has been making headlines due to its unique narrative and exciting combat system. The game's plot involves an intriguing mix of steampunk and history, letting players loose in the shoes of Aegis, a mysterious automaton, during the iconic French Revolution.

While the story is really compelling, Steelrising's main highlight is its combat and boss battles. Much like any good Dark Souls-inspired game, this title features a good selection of bosses to go up against. And similar to most enemies in the game, they are uniquely designed automatons that have gone rogue.

One such unique and truly memorable automaton in Steelrising is the Unstable Lancer, which serves as the game's first mini-boss. This guide covers the location where players can encounter the menacing machine and how they can easily defeat it without much hassle.

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Where to find Unstable Lancer in Steelrising

Steelrising's level design is very similar to FromSoftware's Dark Souls titles, with huge levels that connect to one another via several shortcuts and are separated by bosses that stand guard at the end of each zone. Players are free to explore every nook and cranny of these sprawling and gorgeously detailed levels at their own pace, finding lore details, secret items, and even mini-bosses to fight.

The Unstable Lancer can be found in the game's very first area called The Gardens.

• Right after interacting with the first Vestal, which is this game's checkpoint system, players will need to fight a small of automatons.
• Defeating them will clear the way to the first module that players can find: Grade 1 Longevity.
• After receiving the module, players can proceed to the next area and prepare to battle the Unstable Lancer.

One thing players should note, though, is that the Unstable Lancer's arena is filled with hidden automatons that might get activated if players stray too far into certain sections of the place while fighting the boss. This can increase the difficulty of the battle tenfold. It is thus recommended that they stick close to the Unstable Lancer.

Even though the mini-boss looks quite lanky with long and thin legs, it packs quite a punch with its spear attacks that are capable of dishing out massive damage from an impressive range. Every attack of the automaton has a proper telegraph that players can read in order to dodge or punish with their own counterattacks.

Here are all the attacks the boss is capable of:

Spear Thrust

The Unstable Lancer will extend its spear’s range and try to attack the player with the weapon. Gamers should note that there are essentially two variations of this attack. The first one is long-ranged, while the second is a move that seemingly comes from above, akin to pike fishing.

The Unstable Lancer telegraphs its thrusting move with around a second-long draw of the spear before striking gamers with speed. Ideally, players should dodge it to the boss' left to avoid these attacks; dashing behind or away from the Lancer also works.

Jump Back

The Unstable Lancer can jump backward and follow it up with a fast attack. To avoid getting hit with the jump move, players can dodge it to the boss’ side as soon as it lands.

Swipe

The mini-boss can occasionally combine its Spear thrust move with a swipe attack. This combo is telegraphed with the automaton's spear arm going to its side. To avoid this attack, players need to quickly dash or dodge behind the Unstable Lancer before it lands.

Apart from these few moves, the Unstable Lancer does not have any other special attacks, making it fairly manageable once players get the timings down.

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How to defeat the Unstable Lancer in Steelrising

Defeating the Unstable Lancer boss is a fairly straightforward affair of dodging its spear attacks and attacking whenever there's an opening. Since this is the first boss encounter in the game, players will not have more than a few items and a starter-level weapon, which necessitates effective use of its special attack to defeat the boss.

Here are a few tips for each class in Steelrising that should help players defeat the Unstable Lancer without much hassle:

• Choosing the Dancer or Bodyguard class is a good idea since both these classes come with a shield that players can use to defend themselves against the spear thrusts of the Lancer. The shield can also be used to parry incoming attacks, although timing it is quite tricky.

• The Soldier class is also a good option as it provides ample opportunities to dish out damage to the boss from a distance using the Gribeauval Halberd.
• The Alchemist class, on the other hand, can use the Hephaestus Batons to inflict frost on the Unstable Lancer, freezing it. This will allow players to deal massive damage using charged heavy attacks. Gamers using the Alchemist class should also focus on dodging since stacking frost on the boss will require quite a few hits from the baton.

The Unstable Lancer is a fairly easy fight once players get the hang of Steelrising's combat system and understand the abilities of the class and weapons they are using.

There is also a very cheesy tactic for players that are struggling with the Unstable Lancer boss, which can feel like cheating. This is to retreat from the battle if when overwhelmed by the boss. Since there is no mist or barricade blocking the arena, players can easily retreat, heal, and return to the fight without the boss having regenerated its health.

This method also allows players to bait the Lancer into coming out of its battle arena, prompting it to retreat mid-way, which leaves it open to damage for a few seconds. This approach might get patched soon since it essentially breaks the first and probably a very important boss fight in the game. However, until the developers fix the exploit, it leaves an easy way for players to defeat the Unstable Lancer in Steelrising.

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Steelrising offers prominent figures from history

Throughout the story in Steelrising, players will have to face several rogue automatons in order to aid the revolution against the King. Interestingly, they will also come face-to-face with some of history's most well-known personalities. As gamers make their way through the politically charged narrative of the title, they will encounter figures like Robespierre, Lafayette, and Marie-Antoinette,