How to Defeat Phantom in Hades 2
Too bad the Ghostbusters aren't around.
Hades 2 makes great use of locations from Greek mythology, filling them with enemies that match your surroundings and the overall narrative context. Melinoë’s journey to Olympus takes her through many such locations in the Underworld and on the Surface as well.
While each area has challenging mini-bosses alongside main bosses at their end, some of these encounters are harder to beat than others. The Fields of Mourning have one such encounter against an agile miniboss with unique mechanics.
The Not-So-Friendly Ghost
Melinoë passes through the Fields of Mourning on her way to Tartarus after her spectacular performance against Scylla and the Sirens back in Oceanus. Her path is littered with desolate shades who simply choose not to leave the Fields, choosing instead to continue their lonely existence.
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However, she soon runs into a Phantom, a miniboss that could cause a lot of problems for her if she approaches the fight without a strategy in place. It’s time to learn more about this mysterious enemy and how to deal with it.
How to Defeat Phantom in Hades 2
The Phantom’s biggest trump card against Melinoë is its ability to heal upon damaging her. With many of its attacks built around this mechanic, it’s evident that trying to get up close and personal risks playing into its hands.
However, the Phantom’s attacks come with long wind-ups that make it easy to predict and respond appropriately. Learning its attack patterns and the right way to handle them is as important as bringing the right tools to the fight.
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As far as its attacks are concerned, the Phantom uses its claws to great effect, while its agility can make it difficult to land attacks of your own. For instance, a charged swipe attack from one of its claws is quickly followed up with another swipe for a lot of damage. It can also charge up both arms to launch a very swift attack that is hard to dodge.
But the Phantom’s claws are not the only tool in its arsenal. It can also teleport away from Melinoë if she is either too close or too far from it, limiting her melee and ranged options to a large degree while forcing her to try closing the distance in order to continue attacking it.
Despite the dangers of its claws and agility, the Phantom’s deadliest attack is when it charges up a long-ranged pull attack that dazes Melinoë and drains a large chunk of her health if it lands. What’s worse, any health lost to this attack directly heals the Phantom’s own HP. It can also charge and launch an uppercut and a follow-up attack with the same effect.
Another problem to contend with is the presence of numerous Blight Shades when the fight begins. It can get difficult to avoid the Phantom’s attacks while dealing with them. It can be a good idea to take them out first before you focus on the Phantom.
With a lot of enemies in your way and the Phantom’s agility, the Moonstone Axe is a great choice of weapon for this fight. It hits hard while having the benefits of area-of-effect damage and splash damage from the last hit of its combo. Its Omega Attack makes Melinoë a spinning whirlwind of damage that can be very useful in managing the Shades and their leader.
The Umbral Flames are another great choice as they let you maintain medium range from the Phantom, which is where its arsenal is weakest. You could chip away at its health fairly easily with this weapon while staying away from most of the Phantom’s deadly attacks.
The best time to deal damage to the Phantom is right after it attempts its long-range pull attack. Getting behind it while you dodge out of the way sets it up for some high-damage combos that could end the fight quickly and without too much of a struggle.
With patience and skillful positioning, the Phantom should soon fall to Melinoë, as long as she maintains her distance while using hit-and-run tactics to deal damage to it.
With the Phantom out of the way, Melinoë can continue her adventure and take on harder bosses like Eris and Chronos. For everything else in Hades 2, our guides are sure to have what you need to fulfill your destiny and defeat the Titan of Time.