Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: How To Defeat Phantom Ganon 1
Image: Nintendo Life

At the end of Hyrule Castle, after chasing after who we thought was Princess Zelda, Link and his companions are met with a nasty surprise. This is the boss of the end of the Crisis at Hyrule Castle Main Quest.

In the chamber where we once fought Calamity Ganon, Phantom Ganon awaits. And not just one Phantom Ganon, either. This is a tough fight, so be prepared. Tears of the Kingdom has definitely ramped things up.

It should go without saying, as with all our other endgame guides, there are spoilers throughout, so be warned.

Here's how to defeat Phantom Ganon in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: How To Defeat Phantom Ganon

How to prepare for Phantom Ganon

There's one big thing to consider when fighting Phantom Ganon — gloom damage. If you're not good ad dodging attacks, then you absolutely need to prepare a lot of sunny food, which will restore gloom damage. That means cooking with sundelions. Find out what kind of dishes you can make by heading to our Recipe List.

You can also wear gloom-resistant armour like the Depths Armour Set, which you can buy from Poe Statues unlocked in the A Call from the Depths Side Adventure. If you have any Dark Clumps, cook with those for gloom-resistance too.

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: How To Defeat Phantom Ganon 2
Image: Nintendo Life

How to defeat Phantom Ganon

Phase 1

The aim here is to take out all three of the Ganons. The best way to do this is with Flurry Rushes. All of Ganon's attacks are fairly well-telegraphed. He will either bend down and charge towards you, swipe towards you three times, or slash around him when he's close to you.

Focus on one at a time by locking onto one, and leave your allies to attack the others. Watch, wait, and time your dodge perfectly to get a Flurry Rush and some free hits in. If you're not great with dodging, you can stop Ganon from charging at you by firing an arrow at his face.

Another way you can deal damage is by using a shield parry. Time this perfectly and you'll open up the Phantoms for a few hits. Essentially, this is a fight about patience and about staying healthy.

These enemies can also drop powerful weapons — the Gloom Sword is a particularly amazing weapon, but with one caveat: it deals gloom damage to the wielder. Equip it at your own risk, because you can't recover the gloom hearts without food or until this boss is down.

Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: How To Defeat Phantom Ganon 5
Image: Nintendo Life

Phase 2

If you didn't think three Phantom Ganons were enough, how does five sound to you?

All of their attacks are the same, but there's an added danger. One of the five will teleport to the back of the room and start spreading gloom across the floor. It spreads at a pretty rapid rate, meaning you'll lose a lot of hearts if you don't stop it. And stop it you can.

Aim your bow and arrow at the static Phantom Ganon's head, and if it stuns him, he'll stop. You'll need to keep an eye out for this throughout the second phase. Otherwise, focus on the Ganons one at a time and take them out as you did before. Keep your health topped up and your gloom damage healed.

Once you've defeated Phantom Ganon, you'll get a cutscene where more powerful monsters are summoned across Hyrule. You'll then be able to leave the castle and return to Lookout Landing to complete Crisis at Hyrule Castle. But things aren't over yet as you'll need to take on the Secret of the Ring Ruins Quest.


Once you've defeated this boss, you're onto the final stretch of the game. Check out our boss hub for a collection of all of the bosses and powerful enemies in Tears of the Kingdom. Otherwise, head on over to our full Zelda: TOTK walkthrough for more tips and tricks.