I started looking into some "early kills" that some people have been getting on phantom. If phantom is low enough finishing the "phase change", you can do a LATE silk spear kill them before they do any other attack (2nd clip). This was a bit annoying cs its a gamble, but then @Nebula found out (1st clip) that you can just double slash them and it makes it same speed, doesnt require silk, and its not a gamble since you can hit them inmediately after if they dont die there. There is no reason to do this, if I see someone NOT doing this I WILL FIND YOU, this is faster EVEN if you dont instantly kill them
Phantom dive is free dmg if you pogo dash it, just make sure not to pogo into the direct middle or you won't dash out in time to avoid getting hit Edit: Phantom's hitbox window is 3 frames, nail slash is 6 frames, and pogo lasts 8 frames, so this is the best and most lenient strat to punish the slam. You also have more time to react because you don't need to be out of the pillar to punish.
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Nebula
You can farm 8 hits off these guys before phantom for free to have enough for a heal before the fight, or just be topped off for some spears. No bench necessary
If you don't need the bench, flea brew can help you make it in time for this steam cycle, saving 4s. It's possible even without the last mantle cancel dash, but it helps, so it's worth creating a cue for it. It's pretty tight, but you can always wait it out if you feel like you missed it. You might also find that flea brew makes the later climb part easier
When Phantom does his dive attack, he actually has a few frames of vulnerability very early in the landing animation where you can deal damage. You can see his hitbox in blue in the video (its basically the entire column). There is a fairly long period after this where he isn't damageable so be wary of that.
With the current any% loadout silk spear feels pretty consistent for hitting this. Needle can also work, its probably worth it to try fitting some in during the phase change when he spams a bunch of these in a row.
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