Tips for the Bosses of Silksong, Part 4 – The Phantom Menace and the Fiery Judgment

Act 1 has two potential endings. The most obvious one is to climb up the Blasted Steps, take out the boss, Last Judge, and open the gates to the Citadel. You could also go through Bilewater, navigate your way through The Mist, and fight Phantom in the Exhaust Organ, which will lead you into the Citadel via what could be described as the back door. Fortunately, beating either of these bosses does not lock you out of fighting the other, so you can do both if you so desire.

Phantom: The Boss Hidden in the Mists

Of the 2 bosses that close out Act 1, this one is less flashy but more intense (in the sense that it’s highly mobile and extremely aggressive). Phantom plays very similarly to Lace, as it has great speed, a big light AoE, and a counterattack.

While you can spend the entire fight dodging and avoiding attacks while fishing for openings, I found that strategic aggression is actually the best option. After Phantom uses one of its gap-closing abilities (Pin Rush, Aerial Pin Rush, or Flurry), you just start wailing on it.

Phantom only does 1 Mask of damage, so you can soak a few hits before having to back off. And, since you were attacking so much, you will most likely have enough Silk to Heal when you back off. Wanderer Crest, Weighted Belt, and Druid’s Eye are a good combo for this strat, though Beast Crest and Flea Brew work too.

Now, you might be wondering about how this aggressive style deals with the counterattack. Well, that comes down to a little bit of exploitation. First, the counterattack is horizontal, meaning you can technically jump up right before the animation starts to avoid it (if you trigger the counterattack with a pogo, you’ll avoid it as well).

Secondly, the counterattack doesn’t go off immediately. There is a split-second window where Phantom pulls back before starting the attack. If you walk into them during this time, you will take 1 Mask of contact damage but, thanks to invulnerability frames, take no damage from the counterattack. Since it does 2 Masks of damage, this technique is more cost-effective.

The best time it Heal is after an Aerial Pin Rush because the recovery time is so long.

Last Judge: An Explosive Finale