How to beat Phantom Ganon in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

By James On May 14, 2023

Phantom Ganon is a mini-boss that you encounter everywhere The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

As you explore Hyrule, you’ll come across Gloom Hands, a group of enemies crawling out of a gloomy puddle on the floor. Once you defeat them, you may feel a sense of relief that you’ve cleared the world of evil, but soon you’ll see a new red health bar appear on your screen with the words “Phantom Ganon” above it.

Phantom Ganon might seem a little scary, but if you follow our tips you can take down Phantom Ganon with ease – and if you want more of their useful drops, discover their locations.

How to prepare for Phantom Ganon in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

There are three different types of Phantom Ganon, each with their own weapon: sword, spear and mace. Sword may be the first one you encounter, especially if you’ve traveled through the Lost Woods and arrived in Korok Forest.

Each Phantom Ganon has its own unique attacks and rewards, but the preparation is the same for all of them.

Here are some suggestions on what to do after beating the Gloom Hands phase of the battle to prepare for Phantom Ganon:

The Phantom Ganon battle will test your shielding, dodging and parrying skills. After successfully shielding, dodging, or parrying, you can land a few hits or a Flurry Rush to deal a decent chunk of damage.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

In our playthrough, we fought Phantom Ganon with an eight-defense armor set with six hearts, and each hit would kill us in one hit or take away a great deal of our health.

If that’s not enough and you have to go off to prepare further, consider increasing your maximum hearts from shrines elsewhere (or moving stamina to hearts with a quick respect) and/or buying some of the best armor sets.

If you’re not the best at dodging or parrying, hold “ZL” to keep your shield up and block all of its incoming damage. Since each of the Phantom Ganons holds a different weapon, their attacks will vary and you’ll need to know how to block or dodge them.

How to beat every type of Phantom Ganon in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

In addition to the best practices above, here is specific advice for all three types of Phantom Ganon you may encounter:

Sword Phantom Ganon strategy, rewards

Sword Phantom Ganon has three different attacks:

Ganon raises his sword to the right and swings it at Link
Ganon charges at Link and swings his sword
Ganon crosses his sword across his body and then unleashes a spin attack, dealing damage twice

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

The first two attacks can be blocked with your shield up, but the spin attack will break through your shield. When Phantom Ganon brings his sword to the left side of his body, fall back and get ready to avoid the spider attack altogether.

Once you defeat Sword Phantom Ganon, he will drop a gloom sword, The Bow of the Demon Kingand a few dark lumps.

Spear Phantom Ganon strategy, rewards

Spear Phantom Ganon has two different attacks:

Ganon prepares his spear and thrusts forward
Ganon charges at Link with his spear

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

We recommend staying close to Phantom Ganon and firing in a circle around him as he prepares to attack. As long as you keep moving around Phantom Ganon you should be able to dodge both attacks as he has no sweeping attacks. After he misses, go in for a few hits and then back out to avoid getting gloomy. If you’re having trouble dodging his attacks by shooting, hold up your shield to nullify his damage.

Once you defeat Spear Phantom Ganon you will receive a gloomy spear, The Bow of the Demon Kingand a few dark lumps.

Club Phantom Ganon strategy, rewards

Club Phantom Ganon has three different attacks:

Ganon places his bat on his shoulder and leaps into the air, crushing the ground as he comes down
Ganon brings his bat to his side and cleaves the area in front of him
Ganon kicks ahead of him

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Club Phantom Ganon’s combat depends on your block and distance, the distance between you and your enemy. As Phantom Ganon leaps into the air, you’ll want to get some distance from his landing point to avoid taking damage. If you can, you should try to do a backflip, hold “ZL” and jump back just before he’s about to hit the ground to start a quick rush. Club Phantom Ganon’s other two attacks can be blocked with your shield, so don’t be too greedy and keep that shield up!

Once Club Phantom Ganon is defeated, you will receive a gloomy club, The Bow of the Demon Kingand a few dark lumps.