Saros wastes no time making you feel unwelcome. Before you've had a proper chance to settle into its bullet-hell rhythm, the game throws Consort at you as a tutorial boss fight that is, by design, meant to kill you. Most players die here and move on. But the fight is actually beatable, and there's a free Halcyon waiting on the other side for anyone willing to put in the work. Here's exactly how to do it.
Can you actually beat Consort in Saros?
Yes, you can. The fight is designed to be punishing and most players will die on their first attempt, but Consort is a legitimate boss encounter with a winnable outcome. The catch is that dying locks you out of a retry on the same save file. Saros doesn't give you a second chance through normal means, so you need a workaround if you already lost the fight.
Consort's arena pillar layout
How to retry the Consort fight after dying
The solution is entirely within the game itself. No PlayStation system settings required. Here's the process:
- Open the Game Slots option from within Saros.
- Create a new save file.
- Once you're in the new file, delete the old one.
- Play through the tutorial on the new file and attempt Consort again.
- If you die again, repeat the process with another new slot.
This lets you keep cycling attempts without losing progress permanently. The tutorial itself can be sprinted through without fighting any enemies, since those early enemies drop nothing useful and will only drain your health before the boss.
What attacks does Consort use?
Consort cycles through several distinct projectile patterns. Understanding each one is the difference between surviving and getting overwhelmed.
The trickiest part is that Consort can layer attacks. While blue orbs are still active, a second wave of either yellow or red projectiles can arrive. Yellow projectiles are safe to dash through. Red nova projectiles are not. Dashing into a red projectile deals damage, so when both types appear simultaneously, read the pattern carefully and move through gaps rather than dashing blindly.
How to beat Consort
The arena contains multiple pillars spread across the space, and these are your best defensive tool throughout the encounter. They block incoming red and yellow projectiles and create safe angles for you to peek out and land shots on Consort without exposing yourself to the full barrage.
The pillar strategy has one significant weakness. When Consort throws the expanding yellow rings on the ground, the pillars will obstruct your sightlines and make it harder to judge the ring's spread. The moment that attack begins, step away from the pillars entirely. You need open space and a clear view to time your jump correctly.
To summarize the core approach:
- Use pillars as cover against blue, yellow, and red projectiles.
- Peek out from behind pillars to shoot Consort.
- When yellow ring attacks start, move away from both Consort and the pillars.
- Jump to clear the rings and use the Soltari Shield if blue orbs arrive simultaneously.
- For the three stationary orb beams, reposition so you're not in the vertical beam path.
What do you get for beating Consort?
After the fight, walk forward and you'll find a Halcyon. These are resources tied to Armor Alterations in the Matrix, which functions as Saros's skill tree. Several upgrades in the Matrix are locked behind Halcyon specifically, and while you'll collect more as the game progresses, getting one for free at the very start gives you a small but real advantage in your early build.
That's the full reward. Nothing else changes in the game's story or progression. If you're not interested in the early Halcyon, the fight isn't worth the time investment. But for players who want every resource edge possible, it's a worthwhile optional challenge.
Is Consort worth fighting at all?
Honestly, it depends on how you're approaching the game. If you died on your first attempt and don't want to cycle through save files just for one resource, skipping Consort is a perfectly reasonable call. The fight is an optional challenge that Housemarque built into the tutorial specifically to test players early, and dying is the intended outcome for most.
For more boss guides and tips across Saros and other games, browse the latest guides on GAMES.GG.