Chang Hong Boss Guide: Thunder Lancer & Thunder Spear

Who Is Chang Hong, the Thunder Lancer?

Chang Hong is one of the Order’s Envoys and one of Soul’s oldest friends, which is exactly why his boss fight hurts. His Gallery of the Archives entry — filed under Masters in Pangzhen’s Town of Death chapter — opens with his philosophy: “The entanglements of the Wulin should be settled in the way of the Wulin.” Mid-quest, during The Heart’s Trail, that philosophy puts him between you and the deeper streets of Pangzhen with a long spear and, later, a very angry horse.

The Archives text tells you everything about the fight’s tone. Chang Hong calls forth his beloved horse, and “with a flick of his spear, wind and clouds stir, and lightning answers.” Even in defeat he is relieved — the Soul he knows is still in there, “his spirit undiminished.” He slings his spear across his back and rides off into the thunder. Expect a duel, not an execution.

Where the Chang Hong Fight Starts

Track The Heart’s Trail gold quest through Pangzhen toward the Ancestral Shrine Square bell. The arena is the backstreet square just past it; your respawn point if you fall is that same bell. PCGamesN’s boss list places Chang Hong at number 28 of 61, in the stretch of Pangzhen that also contains the Lion Dance Hall route — so if you just cleared Blaze and the South Gate Bridge area, you are close.

Phase 1: Chang Hong, the Thunder Spear

The first health bar reads Chang Hong, the Thunder Spear, with 78,750 HP on foot. This phase teaches you his spear rhythm before the horse arrives:

• Lightning call — he plants himself and raises the spear as sparks gather at his feet, then a bolt drops on the lit circle. Move sideways out of the marking; the bolt is fast but the telegraph is generous.
• Charged sweep — after a wide sword-to-spear swipe, electricity races along the ground toward you. Dodge through the line, not away from it; the current travels in a straight band.
• Skyward spin — when he spins and leaps into the sky, a red-flash attack is coming. Ghoststep through it and punish the landing.
• Thrust strings — his basic spear combos end in a heavy thrust. Parry the final hit to crack his posture.

Stay patient. Phase one is about learning which animations end in lightning and which end in steel.

Phase 2: Chang Hong, the Thunder Lancer

Deplete the first bar and a cutscene plays: rain hammers the square, and Chang Hong returns on an armoured horse. The name bar now reads Chang Hong, the Thunder Lancer — 87,500 HP, and a completely different fight. Community Hellwalker-difficulty captures stress that this is where the duel becomes a rhythm test:

• Circling charge — he rides wide around the arena and then cuts in with the lance. Keep him on screen and dodge the moment the horse’s head dips.
• Leaping horse slam — horse and rider launch together. The landing shockwave carries lightning; Ghoststep the red flash as hooves leave the ground.
• Lance sweep — a broad horizontal cut that sends a wave of electricity skimming across the wet ground. Jump or sidestep it, then close in while he recovers.
• Rearing red attack — when the horse lifts its front hooves, a red-flash strike follows. Perfect-dodge it: the punish window is one of the best in the fight.
• Mounted grabs — if you linger at the horse’s shoulder he will seize you. Fight at spear-tip range or behind the mount, never beside it.

AllThingsHow’s fight capture confirms a mercy: if you die in phase two, you respawn directly in the rain as the Thunder Lancer — the phase one cutscene never replays.

Chang Hong’s Stats on a First Playthrough

Per the wikily database, on Cycle 0 at Level 14 Chang Hong has 87,500 HP with 106.26 Attack and 6,692.25 Sha-Chi on Wayfarer difficulty. On Pathbreaker, Hellwalker, and 66 Days his Attack climbs to 151.8 and his Sha-Chi pool doubles to 13,384.5. Plan for a longer phase two on higher difficulties — the horse covers ground fast enough that greedy combo extensions get punished.

Rewards: Thunder Spear and the Flesh Lily Finale

Victory drops the Thunder Spear Phantom Edge, a Martial weapon with 450 starting Damage and 360 Status Effects. Game8’s weapon page details the kit: repeated activations unleash up to three strikes of Thunderclap Spear Art that inflict Paralysis, plus aerial thrusts, a Reverse Thrust parry-counter, and the Thunder Descends dive finisher. Its Soul Tempering material is the Thunder Core, worked through Myst once Chapter 4 unlocks the feature — see our full Thunder Spear guide for the build.

Chang Hong also stands guard over a quieter moment. His arena sits beside the house where The Heart’s Trail and the Flesh Lily tale converge: after the duel, Soul uses the kept Twin Flesh Lily to save Yu’er’s father. Beat Chang Hong, then finish the delivery before you move on — the tale has a cutoff later in the chapter.

Tips for the Chang Hong Fight

1. Learn the lightning band first. Both phases send current along the ground; once you read the swipe-to-electricity timing, half his kit whiffs.
2. Punish the rear. The horse turns slowly; stay at its flanks and rear, never the head.
3. Save Sha-Chi for phase two. The mounted bar is bigger and the arena is wetter — Power Surge combos during his slam recovery end the fight fastest.
4. Restock before the square. The Ancestral Shrine Square bell is one doorway away; there is no reason to enter the duel short on bells or healing.