Scirvir, the Wanderer Black Phantom | Demons Souls Wiki

Melee

Block and Counter

• This is a straight melee approach, punishing Scirvir with multiple hits. Scirvir deals powerful Fire damage, using Fireball, Ignite and Fire Spray. To reduce damage dealt, bring along the following: A shield that blocks well both Physical/Fire damage, such as the Large Brushwood Shield, Tower Shield, or Purple Flame Shield. Use gear which has high Fire resistance, including the Ring of Flame Resistance, Armor Sets including Brushwood, Ancient King's (Male only), or Binded (Female only). The Dragon Bone Smasher also has Fire resistance properties when upgraded. Other options include the Water Veil, or Anti-Magic Field which will disable his casting abilities for 60 seconds.
• Black Phantom Scirvir will cast Regeneration when he sees you, but you can interrupt this with the Thief's Ring. When you approach him, back-stab him before he can cast Regeneration. Your next goal is to drain his Magic points. Start by luring Scirvir away from his idle spot in the back. Since dodging is a key component of this fight, this area is not exactly sufficient for doing so. Once Scirvir is out in a more open spot you should dodge his magic more effectively. Move side to side, but be cautious of changing directions just as he casts. His Fireball deal a lot of damage, and drain a lot of stamina when trying to block them. Using gear/items with high Fire resistance and high Vitality, you should be able to endure one unblocked shot, and maintain a decent blocking capacity. His Fire Spray deals less damage, traveling both faster and casts quicker than his Fireball. Continue to strafe, moving side to side. Use your surroundings to your advantage. There is a wooden post to the right of his location that should be helpful when trying to heal. Continue dodging Scirvir until he's out of Magic points; always be cautious, he may still have some points left to cast Fire Spray. Scirvir always resorts to full melee when he's out of Magic points. Things get easier once he's depleted his Magic points. Block and counter Scirvir when he staggers. Blocking is important, as he hits hard with his sword. Using a more powerful weapon capable of Knockdown may speed up the process. Continue until dead.

Meat Cleaver Strategy

• Equip Meat Cleaver in your right hand. In your off-hand slot, equip a Talisman Of God, as well as any shield that absorbs 100% Physical damage. For the most efficient movement, equip a lighter armor set, or mix and match pieces. Armor is not as important here. For spells, you'll need to use Warding. Equip Eternal Warrior's Ring in one slot, and a ring of your choosing in the other.
• After landing on the platform, proceed forward towards him without hesitation. Seeing your approach, he'll most likely start casting Regeneration; to avoid the casting, proceed to knock him down. Once he's standing, block with your shield (he almost always will attack, but be cautious of his fire spell). If you're dying because of his fire spell, switch to the Large Brushwood Shield. This shield absorbs both 100% Physical/Fire damage. After blocking, he will stagger backwards; hit him with a normal swing (R1), knocking him down again. Immediately following a connected hit, switch to your Talisman Of God and cast Warding. After casting the Miracle, continue with another hit. This will again knock him down. However, if your timing is off and you're hit, Warding helps protect you from certain death.
• Timing is a key element to this strategy. It may take some time to learn it. Being successful in Demon's Souls is as much about patience as it is about mastering the systems.

Dagger Strategy

• All characters can equip a Dagger. Equip an armor set with a penalty of 3 or less (see Armor Sets). Keep an eye on your stamina regeneration. Cornering Scirvir is essential here. Coincidently there is a corner just for that (to the right, at the end of the cave). Once cornered, he will either swing at you or attempt to heal. In either case, your Dagger can stun him before he succeeds. Depending on your stats, relevant to the Dagger, the time this strategy will take varies. It almost always works *once Scivir is cornered*.

Melee - Soul Remains

• Prior to approaching Scirvir, equip your strongest weapon and the Graverobber's Ring; this will allow you to move in close and begin. Throw a Soul Remains at the wall, he will then cast a fire spell or attack it with his sword. Walk down the left of the tunnel. Now aim a Soul Remains towards the back wall. He will follow and cast/attack. Now take this chance to sneak up and hit him hard. When the combo is finished, throw another Soul Remains so he switches targets. Rinse and repeat.

Backstab - Soul Remains

• Bring about 20 Soul Remains and equip the Thief's Ring or Graverobber's Ring. After landing, target him and throw Soul Remains at him. As will other enemies, he will attack the glowing remains, allowing you to approach and successfully execute 1-2 back-stabs. After the Soul Remains disappear, continue to throw more. No healing items necessary, and Soul Remains cost only 500 souls. Acquire them from Patches, the Hyena in the Nexus.

Backstab - Bow

• Drop to the platform that is on the same level as Scirvir. (If you're facing his cave, it's along the left wall.) Equip the Thief's ring or Graverobber's Ring and start firing arrows to draw him out; stop firing when he's fully outside. From there, he should turn around and head back into the cave. Rush in and back stab him just as he's reaching his idle point. Retreat back to the platform. Continue these steps until dead.
• Note: When using arrows frequently, he may dodge to the side and return to his idle spot. Shoot one arrow, wait 4-5 steps and shoot another. After he turns around, sprint up and back-stab. When his health gets low enough he may resort to shooting fireballs at the back of the cave, dodging his way towards the cave opening. He will return to his idle spot; continue this tactic, saving arrows in the process.

Ranged

Bow Strategy

• Equip your best Bow and drop onto the last platform before his location. Try staying at the far-left end of the platform, positioning yourself away from the obstructing pillar. The Thief's Ring is optional here, which will decrease his movements. Using the Clever Rat's Ring and/or the Morion Blade, helps to speed up the process. Launch a few arrows until he gets close enough and then stop until he starts falling back to his original position. If you see him cast Regeneration, start launching arrows so that you can stun him or he will heal. Continue until he is dead.
• If he gets within lock-on range, he's easier to hit and will not roll in lock-on range. Note that if you are on the left of the planks, facing the cave, and he is at the end of the platform just below (the closest he can get to you), locking on and attacking you with his fire spell is possible. To avoid this, fall back slightly; just enough so that you can lock-on, but he cannot.

Kunai Strategy (Poison)

• Buy at least 10 Kunai from the Blige in Shrine of Storms or Adjudicator Archstone. Cast Cloak or equip the Thief Ring, proceed to targeting range of Scirvir and hit him with two Kunai, the second one will interrupt his regeneration spell and also activate the poison. Direct damage will display, as will a sound effect within the game. This is your confirmation that he's been poisoned. Run and hide without leaving the platform and wait for the poison to wear off - damage numbers will stop ticking down. Reapply the poison a second time, hide and wait it out again. Scirvir will be near death and after attempting to apply poison a third time he will attempt to chain cast heal (instead of regen), and if successful will undo much of the damage previously done during the first two poison applications. You can reapply the poison two additional times (five in total) and the final application should kill him.

Magic

Poison Cloud/Death Cloud

• Another easy strategy is to use either Poison Cloud/Death Cloud spell on him. With the Thief's Ring equipped (or the Graverobber's Ring, if he's a Black Phantom), walk toward him until you are just inside lock-on range. You should be able to cast your spells without drawing his attention.

Soulsucker

• The following is required: Soulsucker, Graverobber's Ring, below 50% equip burden (remove armor if needed). Get to the landing that you can find Scirvir on. Now, make sure your Wooden Catalyst or Silver Catalyst is equipped; when ready sprint towards him until you're in range and let Soulsucker do the rest. He will try to cast a spell giving you enough time to cast successfully. There you go, both an easy kill and double the souls.

Fatal Fall

• Once he has fallen and you acquire his souls, just load profile, revisit, or make your way down to the bottom to claim the Talisman of Beasts.
  Sometimes he survives, landing on a lower ledge. Reload profile and he will be back at his idle spot.
  Note: Killing Black Phantom Scirvir with a fatal fall does not change your Character Tendency.

Pressure Strategy

• Drop down and lure him towards the edge. Scirvir rolls when pressured, similar to Satsuki, so pressuring him with melee will often result in him rolling over the edge.
• Alternatively, lure him out and then drop onto the platform to the right of his cave. If you stand just right, you can put the wooden posts between you and his fire, and he'll eventually run out of Magic points. You can't get back up, but once Scirvir switches to melee mode he occasionally rolls, and this close to the edge he may go right off.

Knockdown Strategy

• This strategy will require you to equip an extra large weapon with knockdown, such as the Great Axe, Meat Cleaver or Stormruler. To start, run straight through the tunnel and down to his location using the shortcut. When you drop down, castAnti-Magic Field (for those that can). Slowly lure him towards the edge. Run towards him, and position yourself away from the cliff facing it. You want him to be between you and the cliff's edge. If you have Anti-Magic Field, his casting abilities will be disabled for 60 seconds following the casting. This gives you a chance to hit him with R1, knocking him down and sliding him backwards. Continue to hit with R1, which eventually pushes him off the cliff. This method should only take 3-4 hits to succeed.
• Alternatively, you can cast Firestorm or God's Wrath for the same knockdown effect