How to beat Phrygius the Trovemaster

Phrygius the Trovemaster is one of the most dangerous and frequently encountered bosses in the Grim Forest. While his base attacks are manageable, his Goldplated mechanic creates extreme burst damage that can instantly wipe unprepared teams. This guide breaks down how his kit works, why teams fail, and how to reliably survive and score well against him.

This is not a “kill the boss” fight. Like Chimera or Demon Lord-style encounters, you have up to 30 of Phrygius’ turns to deal as much damage as possible before the fight ends automatically.

Phrygius’ defining mechanic is Goldplated, and understanding it is the difference between winning and getting deleted.

He applies 5 layers of Goldplated, each layer equal to 10% of his Max HP. While the layers are up, incoming damage is applied to the layers first. When you destroy a layer, two important things happen: Phrygius takes a chunk of damage equal to the value of that layer (this is one of the main ways you score damage), and your team also takes a burst of damage as a “splash” effect. In practice, that team-wide splash is what kills runs—especially if you break multiple layers quickly with big hits or ally attacks.

Phrygius also gains Turn Meter when layers are destroyed, which can cause him to take back-to-back turns and outrun your debuff/skill timings.

A key detail from testing: damage you deal to the Goldplated layers doesn’t count toward your score. You score by either:

• Damaging his actual HP when the plates are gone.
• Destroying plates triggers the chunk of damage that does register.

This is why Max HP hitters and strong “plate shredders” feel so good here—they accelerate the only damage that matters.

His A1 (Mine! Mine! Mine!) is an AoE that has a good chance to steal a random buff from each champion. This shapes team-building: if you rely on powerful buffs like Block Damage, you must assume he may steal them unless you protect them.

His A2 (Can’t Catch Me!) is an AoE that applies Decrease SPD and Decrease ATK, and also steals Turn Meter. The debuffs can wreck your rotation and the Turn Meter steal makes him cycle faster than you want, but the raw damage from A2 is not the main killer compared to Goldplated explosions.

He also scales as the fight goes on, gaining more speed over time, and when his plates are down, he can start evading more frequently. In short: the longer the fight, the more he pushes tempo—so you want a plan that stays stable for the full 30 turns.

Most failed runs happen because players bring “normal” damage + normal healing and assume they can recover. You usually can’t. You need a damage-negation window to break plates safely.

Unkillable is the most forgiving solution. It lets you intentionally break multiple plates during the Unkillable window without your team dying to the splash damage. The nice part is that if Phrygius steals Unkillable, it doesn’t really matter—he can’t be killed anyway, and his survival doesn’t lower your score. The downside is that your team can end up at 1 HP, so you have to follow it with real healing and careful timing so you don’t get clipped when the buff drops.

Block Damage is also excellent, but higher risk. If it stays on your team, it cleanly blanks the explosion damage and lets you play aggressively. The problem is his A1 can steal buffs; if he steals Block Damage at the wrong moment, the run can collapse. This is where protection tools become extremely valuable.

A strong practical rhythm is: set up your safety buff (Unkillable/Block Damage), break plates hard for a short burst, then “cool off” and heal back up while you wait for the next safe window.

Because plate damage doesn’t behave like normal damage, Leech is unreliable here. Damage absorbed by the plates doesn’t properly feed your sustain, so leech-based teams can feel like they’re doing a lot but still can’t stay alive.

What works well is direct healing and Continuous Heal. Continuous Heal is especially comfortable because even if Phrygius steals it, you don’t care—his healing doesn’t reduce your score, and you still got value from it while it was on your team. A revive option is also very strong in longer attempts, because a single plate chain can wipe multiple champions.

If you bring important buffs, assume he’s going to try to take them. You have three realistic answers.

First is Block Buffs, which stops him from benefiting even if he removes buffs from you. Second is using Protection sets (or other buff-protection effects) to reduce how often your critical buffs are successfully stolen. Third is simply running a more “buff-light” comp so his steals don’t matter.

In most cases, the best approach is to protect only the buffs that keep you alive (Unkillable/Block Damage) and accept that everything else may get yoinked.

Damage amplifiers like Decrease DEF, Weaken, and ally-attack style burst absolutely help your score, but they’re also how you accidentally break two or three plates at once and explode your whole team. If you aren’t running consistent Unkillable/Block Damage coverage, you should tone down the burst and focus on controlled plate breaks while sustaining through the splash.

If you are running reliable coverage, you can lean into damage much harder and chase high scores, because your “danger moment” is now protected.

The early-month value is mostly Grim Forest XP, because Squad Level boosts make the entire month easier. The good news is you can refight Phrygius freely without spending energy, so you’re never “locked in.” If you’re struggling at first, it’s completely reasonable to grab what you can, level up through the forest, pick up better curios and bonuses, then come back later and improve your score.

If you’re wiping, it’s almost always because you’re breaking plates without protection. Build around a repeatable “safe burst” window (Unkillable or Block Damage), use real healing (not leech), and either block/protect your key buffs or keep your buff count low. Do that, and Phrygius turns from a run-ender into a consistent farm boss.