Phantom Ball Guide
Quick Reference
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Recipe | Ghost + Dark |
| Effect | Curses enemies on hit; cursed enemies take burst damage after receiving additional hits |
| Category | Debuff / Curse |
| Tier | A |
Rating
Phantom is an A-tier evolved ball created from Ghost and Dark. It applies a curse debuff on every hit, and once a cursed enemy has been struck a set number of additional times, the curse detonates for a burst of bonus damage. This delayed-burst mechanic rewards builds that can stack hits quickly.
The key strength of Phantom is its inheritance of Ghost's piercing property — a single throw can curse multiple enemies simultaneously. Combined with Dark's darkness debuff (reducing enemy accuracy), Phantom disrupts enemies on two fronts: it debilitates their offense while building toward an explosive payoff.
Phantom excels on bosses and high-HP elites where the curse has time to detonate repeatedly, and in crowded stages where the pierce can tag entire rows of enemies at once.
How to Obtain
- Recipe: Ghost + Dark
Both Ghost (pierce ball) and Dark (blind/darkness debuff ball) are worthwhile on their own. Commit to crafting Phantom when you want sustained curse stacking rather than individual parent effects.
When to Pick
- Facing high-HP enemies or bosses where you have time to stack curse procs
- Running a multi-hit build that can rapidly trigger the curse detonation
- Stages with dense enemy groups where pierce cursing is highly efficient
- You want a debuff ball that also contributes burst damage
Best Characters
| Character | Synergy | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-hit types | S | Stack curse hits quickly to trigger burst damage frequently |
| Pierce-focused builds | A | Enhanced pierce from Ghost tagging more enemies per throw |
| Debuff stackers | A | Combine darkness + curse for layered enemy debilitation |
Recommended Passives
| Passive | Synergy |
|---|---|
| Curse damage up | Directly increases the burst damage when curse detonates |
| Debuff duration up | Extends curse window, giving more time to stack the trigger hits |
| Hit count acceleration | More hits per second means faster curse detonation |
| Pierce enhancement | Increases how many enemies per throw receive the curse |
| Darkness amplifier | Strengthens the inherited Dark blind effect alongside curse |
Tips
- Target dense groups — Ghost's pierce lets one throw curse an entire row; time shots when enemies are aligned
- Follow up fast — After cursing, pour in hits from other balls to trigger the burst as quickly as possible
- Great for bosses — High-HP targets stay alive long enough to receive multiple curse detonations, making Phantom especially potent in boss fights
- Use terrain — Ghost's wall-ignore property means Phantom can reach enemies behind obstacles
TL;DR
Phantom merges Ghost's pierce with Dark's curse to create a delayed-burst debuff ball. A-tier, strongest against bosses and dense groups. Pairs best with multi-hit builds that can trigger the curse detonation quickly.