Hollow Knight: Silksong Guide | How to Beat Phantom Boss

Here's a guide on how to beat the Phantom Boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Game Guide by Ragib Rawnak on Sep 09, 2025

The Phantom is one of the most difficult enemies you'll face in Hollow Knight: Silksong. This secret boss is above Sinner's Road, and to get to it, you have to go through Bilewater, the Mist, and the Exhaust Organ in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The fight has several stages that become increasingly difficult as they progress, and each one requires precise timing, strategic positioning, and careful management of resources.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, Guide, How to Beat Phantom Boss

Preparation and Equipment

For the best results, put on the Hunter Crest before fighting Phantom. This Crest lets you use a stab move that comes in very handy during the fight. When compared to other Crests like the Reaper or Wanderer, the stab attack makes Phantom much easier to fight because it lets you hit her between her attacking patterns in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Phase One: Initial Engagement

Phantom comes into the field from the left side when the fight starts. Do not stand in the clouds when she comes in. Doing so will damage you immediately.

Her primary attack move is to throw her needle with pinpoint accuracy, much like a bullet. She actively watches your every move and tries to catch you in the middle of a move, so you have to be careful about how you bait her attacks.

There isn't much time for her to throw the needle. Phantom stops looking for changes in movement for about thirty seconds before she fires her projectile. Use the stab attack of the Hunter Crest to hit her in the middle of her attacking moves in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

This method works better than pogo jumping because Phantom can predict pogo attacks and block them by jumping up to hit you as you come up. Phantom keeps her distance after throwing her needle. When she jumps into the air and does a downward move, she has the best chance to heal, giving her enough time to do so safely.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, Guide, How to Beat Phantom Boss

Phase Two: Increased Aggression

Phantom starts moving into the second phase when she starts using slam moves. During this time, you should be even more careful because her attack patterns become less predictable. After a Slam Attack, you can still hit her, but timing is crucial in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

During this time, Phantom learns how to cancel her attacks, which makes things more dangerous.

She might start an attack animation that sends you falling, but then stop it, which could make you move into her pat, thinking she'll hit somewhere else.

To escape getting damaged when she attacks from the side, jump off the wall in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Phase Three: Teleportation and Final Patterns

In the last step, teleportation attacks are added, which makes Phantom's location unpredictable. Stay close to the middle of the field to avoid being squished on the sides. It gets harder to tell where she will appear next because she can move, and her slam attacks get stronger.

You have to be constantly alert because of the teleportation mechanic, because you can't tell where she will fall. Whether the angle opens up, keep using the stab attack from the Hunter Crest. If your situation changes for the worse, jump off the wall and start over instead of taking damage in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Healing Strategy

There aren't many opportunities to heal throughout the entire fight. When Phantom jumps into the air to attack from below, it is safer to heal. Do not attempt to heal her when she is close to the ground or when she becomes more aggressive later on in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, Guide, How to Beat Phantom Boss

Rewards

When you beat Phantom, you get Cross Stitch, a Silk Skill that can be used as a defense. With this Skill, you can wrap silk around your needle to block enemy attacks and quickly fight back. The Crest area in the menu system is where you can add Cross Stitch.

As an extra reward, you can get the Choral Chambers map, which shows the Citadel, the Grand Bellway, the Coral Chambers, and the places around them. Once Phantom has been defeated, the map can be bought.

After the fight, a Bench shows up in the area, and a Memory Locket can be found in a secret passageway that you can reach after the battle in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

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