Phantom Ganon

Maren's Tip

Stock up on Hearty meals before boss fights — a single Hearty Durian dish gives full recovery plus bonus hearts. Don't forget to save!

Description

A spectral manifestation of Ganondorf's power that haunts Hyrule Castle and the Depths. It wields dark copies of the sages' weapons with deadly skill. Phantom Ganon appears after defeating Gloom Hands and at several key story locations.

Weakness

Phantom Ganon's primary weakness is Flurry Rush windows after melee combos, parry openings.

How to Beat Phantom Ganon

1. Phantom Ganon is a recurring boss that appears in multiple locations throughout the game, most notably in Hyrule Castle, beneath the Great Deku Tree, and after defeating Gloom Hands in the Depths.
2. Each encounter is mechanically similar but varies in context and difficulty.
3. Preparation: Phantom Ganon deals heavy Gloom damage that reduces your maximum hearts.
4. Cook Sunny meals (Sundelion-based recipes) to restore lost max hearts during or after the fight.
5. Equip your highest-defense armor set — the Depths armor or any set with high base defense works well.
6. Bring at least fifteen to twenty arrows and your strongest fused melee weapon.
7. Phase 1 — Melee Combat: Phantom Ganon wields dark copies of the Sage weapons and attacks with fast, sweeping combo chains.
8. He typically executes three to four hit combos with his current weapon before pausing briefly.
9. The primary strategy is perfect dodging to trigger Flurry Rush — this provides the highest sustained damage output.
10. Watch for his telegraph animations: a wide horizontal swing is dodgeable with a backflip, while overhead slams require a side hop.
11. Alternatively, you can perfect parry his attacks with your shield, which creates a larger stagger window than Flurry Rush but is harder to time.
12. He teleports frequently after taking damage, reappearing behind or beside you — keep your camera locked on at all times.
13. Phase 2 — Enhanced Aggression: Below half health, Phantom Ganon becomes more erratic.
14. He chains weapon switches mid-combo, making his patterns less predictable.
15. He also fires Gloom projectiles that track your position — strafe constantly to avoid these.
16. The Gloom projectiles leave pools of Gloom on the ground that damage you if you stand in them, gradually shrinking the safe arena space.
17. Continue using Flurry Rush but be more conservative — bait his attacks by staying at medium range and dodge only his committed combos.
18. If fighting in the Depths, be mindful of the Gloom pools already present in the arena from the preceding Gloom Hands encounter.
19. The Sage abilities (if unlocked) can help deal chip damage during his teleportation phases when he is briefly stationary.

Rewards

• Gloom Sword
• Gloom Spear
• Gloom Club
• Dark Clump x10
• Story progression

Associated Temple

Hyrule Castle — Central Hyrule (Floating). Full walkthrough, puzzle solutions, and boss prep.

Shrines in This Region

Collect Lights of Blessing from nearby shrines to unlock additional Heart Containers — essential for surviving this boss fight.

• Jiosin Shrine — Puzzle · Difficulty 2/5
• Jiukoum Shrine — Puzzle · Difficulty 2/5
• Kamizun Shrine — Combat · Difficulty 1/5
• Kisinona Shrine — Puzzle · Difficulty 3/5
• Kyononis Shrine — Puzzle · Difficulty 2/5
• Makasura Shrine — Puzzle · Difficulty 2/5
• View all 152 shrines →

Related Bosses

• Demon King Ganondorf — Story Boss, Beneath Hyrule Castle, HP 5,000, 5/5
• Demon Dragon — Story Boss, Sky (final battle), HP 3,000, 5/5
• Seized Construct — Dungeon Boss, Spirit Temple / Depths, HP 1,500, 4/5
• Flame Gleeok — Overworld Boss, Various (Eldin, Hyrule Field), HP 2,500, 4/5
• King Gleeok — Overworld Boss, Depths / Rare Surface, HP 4,000, 5/5
• Flux Construct I — Overworld Boss, Sky Islands / Depths, HP 800, 2/5

Related Guides

• Weapons Database — Find the best weapons for every boss fight
• Temple Walkthroughs — Complete dungeon guides with boss prep
• Armor Sets — Best armor for boss resistances & defense
• Shrine Walkthroughs — All 152 shrine solutions for max hearts