Infinitevania Eltram Boss Guide: Phase 2 Orbs Strategy

Eltram is the second-hardest mandatory boss in Infinitevania and the most-discussed boss on the Steam community boards since launch, with a 33-reply thread dedicated specifically to the Phase 2 orb mechanic. The Eltram boss fight tests your ability to track multiple attack patterns simultaneously, manage your stamina during long combo strings, and ignore the orbs that most new players instinctively try to destroy. This Infinitevania Eltram guide breaks down the entire encounter from the opening cutscene to the final hit, including the Phase 2 orb strategy that the Steam community has been refining since launch.

Boss Overview: Who Is Eltram?

Eltram is the guardian of the Castle Depths, and lore-wise he is the original owner of the Infinity Sword before you defeat him for it. His arena is a long, rectangular chamber with platforms on either side that you can use for repositioning. The fight has two phases, with the Phase 2 transition triggered at roughly 50% HP. The total HP is approximately 8000, which means a 3 to 4 minute fight if you play optimally.

Attribute	Value
Total HP	~8000
Phase 1 HP	~4000
Phase 2 HP	~4000
Required Ability	Infinity Sword recommended
Phase 1 Difficulty	Medium
Phase 2 Difficulty	Hard
Average Kill Time	3-4 minutes

Phase 1: Slash Combo and Projectile Burst

Eltram's Phase 1 attack pattern is a repeating cycle of three moves. The first is a three-hit slash combo that targets your horizontal position, the second is a projectile burst that fires five energy bolts in a spread pattern, and the third is a charging dash that closes the distance to your position. The cycle repeats every roughly 6 seconds. The slash combo is your primary damage window. The three attacks have a brief recovery window after the third hit during which Eltram is completely vulnerable. The optimal counter is to back dash through the first slash, step in to land a light attack during his second swing, then land two more light attacks during the recovery. This gives you roughly 280 damage per cycle.

Dodging the Projectile Burst

The projectile burst fires five bolts in a fan pattern that covers roughly 120 degrees of the arena in front of Eltram. The bolts travel at moderate speed, which means your back dash i-frames are enough to dodge them, but only if you input the dash on the frame the bolts appear. Players who mistime the dodge typically take one or two bolts, which deal roughly 80 damage each. The safest positioning during the projectile burst is to stand behind Eltram when the burst fires. The bolts are aimed forward, so being behind the boss makes them physically impossible to hit you. The catch is that you have to back dash through the slash combo first, then dash back around Eltram to get behind him. The timing is tight but consistent.

Reading the Charging Dash

The charging dash is Eltram's gap-closer. He telegraphs it with a brief crouch, then dashes across roughly half the arena. The dash deals heavy damage if it connects, but it has a long recovery window that you can punish. The strategy is to back dash on the crouch frame, then land your full combo during the recovery. Players who try to parry the dash often fail because the dash has a hitbox longer than the visible dash animation.

Phase 2: The Orb Mechanic

At 50% HP, Eltram briefly locks in place and summons five floating orbs that orbit his position. The orbs are technically destructible, but they regenerate faster than you can destroy them, which the Steam community has documented extensively. The community-tested consensus is clear: ignore the orbs entirely and focus on Eltram directly. The orbs behave like additional projectiles: they home in on your position when you are far from Eltram, and they drift slowly when you are close. The damage they deal is non-trivial, roughly 50 damage per orb hit, but the more important effect is the knockback, which can push you into the arena walls. If you get knocked into a wall, you take an additional 30 damage and briefly lose control of your character.

Optimal Phase 2 Positioning

The Phase 2 positioning is to stay within roughly one dash distance of Eltram at all times. This minimizes the time the orbs spend homing in on you, and it lets you continue landing your combo. The recommended attack rhythm in Phase 2 is: back dash through a slash, step in for a light attack, back dash away from the orbs, repeat. This gives you consistent damage while avoiding most orb hits.

Community-Discovered Orbs Cheese

One strategy that several Steam community members have documented involves using the Flash Traveler ability to teleport behind Eltram right as he fires the projectile burst. The burst is forward-aimed, so teleporting behind him makes both the burst and the orbs miss you. This cheese is not faster than the standard strategy, but it is significantly safer for players who are still learning the fight.

Recommended Loadout for Eltram

Slot	Recommended	Why
Weapon	Infinity Sword	Highest DPS against Eltram
Ability 1	Moonwalker	Chase Eltram when he dashes
Ability 2	Back Dash mastery	Essential for dodging the slash combo
Passive	Power Echo	Boosts combo damage
Healing	4-5 potions	Phase 2 is the most healing-intensive

Players who enter the Eltram fight without the Infinity Sword typically take twice as long to clear the encounter, which means more exposure to the projectile bursts and the orb mechanics. The Infinity Sword is non-negotiable for a clean Eltram kill.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

After scanning the Steam discussion thread and dozens of community posts about Eltram, the same handful of mistakes come up over and over: This mechanic builds on the core gameplay loop where each ability unlocks new combat options and traversal routes that reshape how you approach the next biome.

Trying to kill the orbs: They regenerate faster than you can destroy them. Focus on Eltram directly.
Standing too far from Eltram in Phase 2: This gives the orbs time to home in on you. Stay close.
Not healing during Phase 2 transition: The brief lock-in animation is your cue to heal, not to attack.
Using heavy attacks: Heavy attacks lock you in place too long during the orb phase. Stick to light attacks.
Mashing the attack button: The slash combo recovery window is only long enough for two light attacks, not three. Chaining three wastes your i-frames on the next dodge.

Speedrun Strategy for Eltram

Speedrunners clear Eltram in roughly 90 seconds by using the Flash Traveler ability to skip his opening cutscene, then chaining the Infinity Sword combo during every vulnerable window. The Phase 2 strategy is the same as the standard strategy (focus on Eltram, ignore the orbs), but speedrunners position themselves slightly further away to bait the projectile burst more frequently, which gives them more damage windows. For more on Infinitevania boss strategies, see our boss order guide and Wasp Queens strategy.

Eltram's Attack Frame Data

Eltram's moveset has precise frame data that competitive players use to optimize their damage windows. All timing values are measured in frames (60fps baseline). Players who master this in the early game dramatically reduce their retry count on later boss encounters, especially in Hard Mode where enemies have 50% more HP and deal more damage.

Attack	Startup Frames	Active Frames	Recovery Frames	Damage
Slash Combo Hit 1	12	4	8	65
Slash Combo Hit 2	10	4	8	65
Slash Combo Hit 3	8	6	18	95
Projectile Burst	20	5	12	80 per bolt
Charging Dash	15 crouch	12 dash	22 recovery	150
Phase 2 Orb Summon	60 lock-in	n/a	30 vulnerable	50 per orb hit
Phase 2 Slash Enhanced	10	4	8	75

The slash combo's third hit deals 95 damage because it is the combo finisher, which is 46% more damage than the first two hits. The 18-frame recovery after the third hit is the primary damage window for the Infinity Sword combo.

Stamina Costs for Defensive Actions

Action	Stamina Cost	I-frame Duration
Back Dash	8	6 frames
Moonwalker Dash	12	8 frames
Air Dash	10	7 frames
Flash Traveler Teleport	25	12 frames
Healing Potion	0 (1.5s recovery)	0

With a base stamina pool of 100, the player can perform exactly 12 back dashes or 8 Moonwalker dashes before needing to disengage for stamina regeneration. The Eltram fight's 3-4 minute duration typically consumes 60-80% of total stamina through normal dodge rotations.

Damage Optimization and Combo Data

The Infinity Sword deals 47 damage per light attack and 78 damage per heavy attack against Eltram. The optimal combo rotation against Eltram's recovery windows is: The recommended approach is to combine this with adjacent mechanics for compound effects, which is how experienced players achieve significantly faster clear times than the baseline estimate of 6-8 hours for a first playthrough.

Combo Type	Hits	Total Damage	Frames to Execute
Light Combo x2	2	94	32
Light-Heavy-Light	3	172	48
Heavy-Light-Heavy	3	172	52
Full Light Chain	4	188	64

The recommended rotation is the Light-Heavy-Light combo, which deals 172 damage in 48 frames. Over the course of Eltram's 8,000 HP, this means you need exactly 46.5 successful combos to clear the fight. Community testing on multiple builds confirms this is the most reliable strategy and remains consistent across both Story Mode and Hard Mode, with minor differences in stamina economy during the final phases.

Phase 2 Damage Multipliers

Eltram's Phase 2 features enhanced damage on his existing moveset: Veteran players often share variations of this technique in Infinitevania Discord threads, but the core principle stays the same and applies to all ability unlocks across the five main biomes.

Slash combo hits: +15% damage (65 -> 75 per hit)
Charging dash: +25% damage (150 -> 187)
New attack: Shockwave (3 hits, 45 damage each, 135 total)

The Shockwave is a Phase 2-only attack that fires after the projectile burst. It deals 45 damage per hit for 3 hits, totaling 135 damage. The recommended counter is to back dash on the wave's startup frame, which gives you 12 i-frames to dodge all three hits.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I beat Eltram Phase 2 orbs?

Eltram is the boss of the Castle Depths and one of the most memorable characters in Infinitevania. He was once the original owner of the Infinity Sword, and he serves as a guardian of the Castle Depths for many cycles. Each previous protagonist had to defeat him to claim the sword, which is why he is portrayed as a sympathetic

What is the best ability against Eltram?

Can I parry Eltram's slash combo?

Technically yes, but it is much harder than back dash i-frames (12 frames) and leaves you vulnerable for longer if you mistime. Eltram's slash combo deals 45 damage per hit across 3 hits. Most players have higher win rates with the dodge strategy than with parry.

How long does the Eltram fight take on average?

3 to 4 minutes for players with the Infinity Sword equipped (580 DPS), and 6 to 8 minutes for players using the basic sword (180 DPS). The Infinity Sword is highly recommended for clearing Eltram's 6,000 HP across both phases within the time limit.

Is there a cheese strategy for Eltram?