Ghostrunner 2 – how to beat the Dismantler in the Danse Macabre level

The Ghostrunner 2 Dismantler boss shows up in the final third of the game to test the wits and skills of players. In true Ghostrunner tradition, a single hit from Madhu’s alternate form is enough to kill Jack and aside from the boss itself other enemies pop up to spice things up, making this a tough tussle to win.

If you’re getting a little too familiar with the death screen, you’ll find everything you need to know to beat the Dismantler in the Danse Macabre level in Ghostrunner 2 below. We also have guides covering the best ultimates and best upgrade chips to equip to make the fight a little easier.

How to beat the Dismantler in Ghostrunner 2

The first thing to note when fighting the Dismantler are the three health bars: red, green, and blue. Each one represents a phase of sorts, and luckily, depleting them far enough triggers a checkpoint so you’re not booted back to the start of the fight if you do die. This being Ghostrunner 2, you’ll likely die quite a lot before besting the Dismantler.

Red health bar phase 1

To get through this initial phase concentrate on blocking and parrying. The Dismantler will jump around then unleash either a well-telegraphed swipe of his scythe or a dash towards Jack. Parry both of these to whittle down the boss’ health. The Dismantler occassinaly switches it up and leaps to the other side of the arena and starts firing off missiles. We also had instances where the close-up swiping continued. If that happens keep parrying until you trigger the next phase.

If they do leap, dodge the projectiles by avoiding the red flashing circle markings on the ground and make your way over to the boss using the grappling hooks above. Get in as close as you can and unleash a few swipes. The Dismantler has a blue AOE attack at this stage that will push you back, but keep getting in close. The key here is to avoid the machine gun fire by dashing away, then moving in close. Repeat until the red health bar depletes to about a third. Here, you’ll unlock the fight’s first checkpoint.

Green health bar phase 2

The Dismantler will leap again and enter a sort of cocoon, spawning standard enemies throughout the arena and a green totem. Enemies are positioned and tethered to the totem, protecting it. Kill them then attack the totem a few times to destroy it. 

Red health bar phase 3

After you destroy the totem, the Dismantler will leave the cocoon and unleash the same missile barrage as before. Avoid the red markings to make it through. Close the gap to the boss, swipe when you can, and avoid the machine gun fire attack by dashing like you did before.

Green health bar phase 4

The Dismantler will cocoon again, spawning two totems this time. Kill the enemies grouped around each one then destroy the totems. Each totem has more enemies (typically four or five), including ranged and melee types. During this phase, the Dismantler regenerates red health so it’s worth taking down the totems as fast as possible.

Red health bar phase 5

Leaving the green cocoon, the Dismantler will jump to Jack and follow the same attack pattern as the first phase. Parry then attack to chew through the red health bar and trigger the next phase.

Green health bar phase 6

The green totems return, except there are three this time and more enemies. Repeat the same process as above, taking out the grouped enemies then slashing the totems to destroy them. Again, speed helps here to keep the Dismantler’s red health bar from regenerating too much. Destroy all the totem to completely deplete the green health bar.

Blue health bar phase 7

The Dismantler leaves his cocoon and jumps to the other side of the arena. They’ll then unleash the same missile barrage as before. Get close, avoid the machine gun fire, and attack until you get through the blue health bar. You’ll get a checkpoint here.

Red health bar phase 8 – final phase

The final phase is identical to the first, third, and fifth phase. Aim for well-timed parries to quickly deplete the Dismantler’s red health bar and finish off the fight.

And with that, you’ll have beaten Madhu and the Dismantler. For more help staying alive in Dharma, check out our tips and tricks beginner’s guide, how to get more motherboard memory in Ghostrunner 2, and how to solve orange and purple icon puzzle in the Mindgames level. For our thoughts on Ghostrunner 2, check out our review. We also have a complete Ghostrunner 2 level list if you want to know how many you have left to play through.