Both locating the Phantom boss and battling it are two of the difficult tasks in Hollow Knight: Silksong. But the end reward makes the entire journey worth the hassle. Beating Phatnom Boss fight unlocks a move that will make the game more fun and exciting to play. So here is a guide on how to find and defeat the Phatnom Boss in Silksong.
How to Reach the Phantom Secret Boss in Silksong
We have to pass the Mist area located in Bilewater to gain access to a new area, ‘Exhaust Organ‘, where we will get to battle with the Phantom boss in Silksong.
How To Cross the Mist Area in Silksong
The trick here is to follow the path charted out by the glowing fairies. Start from the Bench located south of Bilewater, next to the Bellway Station. (You can get to Bilewater by taking the route from Sinner’s Road). From the Bellway Station, head left until you arrive at the Mist area. This area is shrouded in fog; navigating the right path requires observation and patience. Going through the level randomly will always put you back at the beginning of the Mist area. Think of it as a riddle you must solve to get through the area.
Here you will encounter two types of creatures: one is a white ghost, and the other is a group of glowing fairies. You must avoid the ghosts at all costs. While you can kill them with the Needle, it requires multiple hits to put them down. Normally, you will find the ghosts flying in the air. If you can’t land a hit on them while jumping, then you fall into the Mist at the bottom, which will send you back to the first section of Mist.
Interact with the glowing fairies, and they will start moving to the exit door in the area. Follow them to get out of the stage to the next one in the Mist. You must repeat the same action on all Mist stages to get to the end. Not all areas inside the Mist will be the same; sometimes you will see ghosts blocking your path. We highly suggest that you hit them once to make them move and follow the fairies instead of trying to kill them.
After a while, you will find yourself crossing the poisonous swamp and finding an entrance in the middle of the platform. When you go through the entrance, it will take you to a new area, Exhaust Organ.
Getting to the Phantom Boss
When you enter the Exhaust Organ map, head right until you arrive at the open area. If you climb up and head left, you will find a Bench. We highly recommend you sit on the Bench so you will skip the Mist section if you fail at defeating the Phantom on your first try. Since the boss is notoriously difficult, sitting on the Bench will be a wise idea. Now get to the open area and head right.
You will come across a narrow hole with steam coming out of the bottom. Here, climb on the walls to move up while avoiding getting caught by the steam. You will encounter two steam jump sections until you finally reach the safe area. Here, the head left and broke the cell to create a shortcut to the open area, which will act as a shortcut to the Bench spot. So if you die to the Phantom, you can take the shortcut from the Bench to the boss area, skipping the entirety of the steam section. Now, head up, you can also follow the organ music to get to the boss arena.
The Phantom Boss Guide in Silksong
Once you enter the Phantom’s room, you will get hit with the steam release. It is basically a strong gust of air. A gush of air will start coming out of the ceiling, targeting your location. But you will see a small smoke trail before the air comes at full force. It’s best to dash out of the way, or you will lose two masks simply by coming in contact with the air. Let’s look at all the boss movesets, the ones to avoid, and the ones best used to punish the boss with our choicest attacks.
Needle Throws
The Phantom will fly in the air and throw Needles in your direction. Simply dash away from the Needle spot, but stay close to the Phantom to land a hit, as she will always come back to the Needle spot to pick the weapon up. She will also throw the Needle while on the ground, aiming in your direction. Here, you need to jump and land a downward slash at the boss.
Needle Combo
Phantom will do a 3-step Needle combo on the ground, which is avoidable by jumping over her or dashing away from her attacks. Sometimes Phantom will perform the 3-step combo after she blocks your melee attack. If that does happen, quickly move out of the way to avoid getting hit. If you stay closer to the Phantom, she will perform the combo, so it’s better to stay out of the way to make her trigger the Needle Throw attack, which has a breathing room that you can use to damage or heal.
Second Phase
The second phase carries all the attacks from the first phase phase with the inclusion of AoE Lightning beam.
AoE Lightning Beam:
The second phase will kick off with the Phantom striking the ground, releasing a beam of light around her. Don’t get caught, as you will see the markers around her. When she pulls off the attack, just don’t be around the AoE marker. This one is fairly easy to dodge, as the Phantom will disappear from the combat arena before the attack. You will then see a white shiny spot in the ground; it’s your cue to move far away from the spot. While you can attack once the attack is over, it does give you a fair amount of time to heal up.
After a while, she will let out a scream, and then she will do multiple AoE Lightning Beam strikes. Here, avoid them as quickly as possible. Don’t try ot attack or heal in the middle of the attack sequence.
Tips to Defeat the Phantom Boss
Her major attacks will be the Needle Throws; she will throw a Needle in your location most of the time, besides the AoE Lightning Beam attack. Always focus on getting out of the Needle location and dealing a hit either by jumping over the Needle and landing a blow when she reaches to pick up the Needle or backing away, dealing damage to the side.
If you are planning to heal up, then Needle Throws and the AoE Lightning Beam give you enough time to cast Bind. Make sure to do it just at the right moment, the boss executes either the Needle Throw or the Beam attack. Avoid healing when the boss stops attacking, as it always follows up with a new attack.
The battle will end with a parry button shown on the HUD. Pressing the button will end the battle, and you will get the reward.
Cross Stitch: Basically serves as a parry move in the game, as your Needle will be able to deflect enemy attacks and strike back after the deflection. A pretty useful skill to have in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
