Gengar Guide: Builds and Best Items | Pokemon UNITE

The best guide on how to play Gengar in Pokemon UNITE for Nintendo Switch and Mobile. Check here for the best builds, Held and Battle items, movesets, as well as the latest nerfs, buffs, counters, matchups, and more!

Gengar Latest Nerfs & Buffs (9/22)

Version 1.2.1.3 Patch Note Updates (9/22)

Gengar Move Changes (September 22)
Lick	• Fixed a bug that occurred when opposing Pokemon are pulled toward the user. • Fixed a bug affecting this move's timing.

Gengar Basic Info

Gengar
	Tier Rating: Role: Speedster Attack Type: Melee Damage Type: Special Difficulty: Expert Cost: 10000 / 575
"Gengar, a Pokémon that lurks in the shadows, is a master of surprise attacks."

Pokemon Unite Tier List

Gengar Best Lanes

Top	Jungle	Bottom

Tips & Strategies for Every Lane

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
✔︎ Status inducing moves ✔︎ Good range despite being a melee attacker ✔︎ Good damage bursts	✖︎ Fragile ✖︎ Can only shine mid to late game

Best Builds for Gengar

Builds
Burst Build	Assist Build
Damage Over Time Build

Burst Build

Moveset	Held Items
Sludge Bomb Hex	Wise Glasses Choice Specs Buddy Barrier
Battle Item
Fluffy Tail

This build takes advantage of Gengar's near endless Hex and Sludge Bomb combo. While classified as a Speedster, Gengar can function more as an Attacker with this build and is an excellent during one-on-one fights that focuses on finishing off opponents as quickly as possible.

Assist Build

Moveset	Held Items
Shadow Ball Dream Eater	Wise Glasses Choice Specs Buddy Barrier
Battle Item
Eject Button

This build trades Hex's burst damage combo for safer damage output during a teamfight . While Hex does an insane amount of damage in a huge burst, it does open up Gengar to a lot of counterattacks. This build focuses on the safer route by ensuring your teammates can assist you in finishing off those afflicted with Shadow Ball and Dream Eater.

Damage Over Time Build

Moveset	Held Items
Sludge Bomb Dream Eater	Wise Glasses Choice Specs Buddy Barrier
Battle Item
X Attack

This build maximizes the Poison effect that Sludge Bomb inflicts on its targets by putting them to Sleep via Dream Eater. This makes Gengar into a semi-support, semi-attacker and with the right timing can disrupt even the tankiest enemies.

Gengar Best Items & Moveset

Best Held Items

Item	Description
Sp. Atk. Specs	When the Pokemon scores a goal, its Sp. Attack increases by (8/12/16).
Wise Glasses	Increases Sp Attack by (3/5/7)%.
Choice Specs	Increases the damage of moves by a minimum of (40/50/60) when they hit. The higher the Pokemon's SP. Atk. the more the damage is increased

Gengar's stats across the board aren't as great as most Attackers but makes up for it by having some decent combos up its sleeve that can burst down opponents. Equipping Wise Glasses and Shell Bell will help boost the damage up.

Being a Speedster, scoring does come a little easier than most which allows it to use Sp. Atk. Specs to its full potential.

Held Item Tier List: Best Items to Equip

Best Battle Items

Item	Description
Eject Button	Makes your Pokemon move quickly in the specified direction.
Fluffy Tail	Prevents wild Pokemon from acting and increases their damage taken by 1.5 times.

Depending on your playstyle, Fluffy Tail and Eject Button will be your best friend. For the more offense-oriented players, Fluffy Tail will help you get to higher levels faster, giving you faster access to your deadlier combos. If you're the more careful type, Eject Button can get you in or out of nasty fights.

Best Moveset

Move	Description
Hex	Gengar disappears then teleports and repeats at the target location. When Gengar reappears they deal damage to Pokemon in a small area around the location. If the enemy Pokemon is affected by debuff, this skill damage is increased and cooldown is reduced. Upgrade: Increased damage.
Sludge Bomb	Throws a dirty sludge at the target location. When the attacks hits, inflicts poison to all enemy Pokemon hit. Upgrade: Increases the duration of the poison debuff.

While Shadow Ball and Dream Eater do tend to do higher damage, Hex and Sludge Bomb's heavy burst and chase potential can take down even the toughest of enemies on its own.

Which Moveset Do You Think is Best For Gengar?

Let us know why in the comments!

How to Play Gengar

Gengar excels at chipping away at opponents from range before teleporting in to finish the job. Prioritize those positioned at the back line as much as possible to easily swing the clash to your team's favor.

Farm Wild Pokemon in Early Game

In the early stages, it is crucial to hunt down Wild Pokemon to get Gengar's more advanced moves. If you can cooperate with your friends via voice chat, then Level 5 will be sufficient enough for fights with your teammates. If you're solo, going as high as Level 7 unlocks Hex allowing Gengar to be an attacking force.

Help Lanes Push

Once you get Sludge Bomb, you may begin assisting top or bottom lanes. However, choose the lane that will give you an advantage in numbers (3 vs 2), otherwise, Gengar will fall prey to team attacks. If there is no distinct advantage, continue hunting Wild Pokemon.

Score Goals when the Opportunity Arises

If you happen to go to a lane with a numerical advantage, use that to get a quick goal once all enemies are defeated. Getting quick early goals is also a good way of earning EXP and leveling up.

Hunt Solo Targets

Once fully evolved, Gengar can begin hunting down solitary enemies and create a favorable situation for the team. At Level 13, you unlock Hex+, which allows you to burst down most enemies 1-on-1 with the Sludge Bomb-Hex combo.

Use Unite Move to Teleport to or Away from Opponent's Goal

Gengar's Unite Move makes it disappear once and when ZR is pressed again, it unleashes a ranged attack. However, Gengar's regular moves in itself has high enough power that you can let go of the Unite Move for attacking purposes.

Instead, you may use it to teleport yourself to the final goal area to score huge points especially when you have defeated Zapdos. Also, when in a pinch, you may use your Unite Move to escape difficult situations, such as making a quick escape after scoring a goal.

Gengar Combos

Sludge Hex Burst Combo

Sludge Hex Burst Combo
► ~
Sludge Bomb ► Hex ~
This combo penalizes anyone that has Debuffs. Hex's countdown timer is reduced for every successful hit on an enemy with a Debuff. With this combo, even when Gengar is in a team without debuffing skills, it can apply the debuff on its own via Sludge Bomb. After that, hit the enemy with Hex again and again as its cooldown has been drastically reduced to the point that you can basically use it every second.

Hex Nerfed

Note that in the recent 1.1.1.4 Patch, Hex's damage has been decreased so take extra precaution when using this particular combo. Hit an opponent with Sludge Bomb then use Hex twice and then quickly get out of the way unless you are sure you can finish off the opponent.

Dream Eater Combos

Multi-Strike Combo
► ► or
Shadow Ball ► Dream Eater ► Shadow Ball or Phantom Ambush
This combo uses both debuffing skills of Gengar in a row to setup an insane damaging follow up with Phantom Ambush. This can affect two targets at once if Shadow Ball and Dream Eater hits two different targets. Otherwise, this is a severely punishing move for one target.

High-Burst Combo
► ► ► ► ►
Shadow Ball ► Dream Eater ► Shadow Ball or Phantom Ambush
This combo makes use of Gengar's boosted attack to maximize the mechanic from Dream Eater. Initiate with Dream Eater and Shadow Ball. Get in range for a boosted attack, then cast Dream Eater again to teleport you to your target, granting you another boosted attack. Perform the second boosted attack, then finish with another Shadow Ball.

Matchups & Counters for Gengar

Gengar Matchups

✘ : Counter | = : Even | ✓ : Advantageous
1. The chart is based on our own experience playing Gengar.
2. Pokemon within each tier are unordered
3. Any Pokemon not shown here are still under investigation.

Counter With Recovery Moves

Gengar struggles with those that can interrupt his dreaded Hex-Sludge Bomb combo or those that hinder the damage it can cause.

Best Counters

Pokemon	Explanation
Blissey	Rating: ★★★★★ Blissey can counter Sludge Bomb and Dream Eater with Safeguard, negating all of its combos completely. Further, it can heal the damage Gengar can cause.
Slowbro	Rating: ★★★★ Slowbro's Telekinesis instantly takes out Gengar out of the fight, making him an easy target for its teammates. Most of the damage Gengar's inflicts Slowbro can easily endure as well.
Wigglytuff	Rating: ★★★★ Getting close to Wigglytuff exposes Gengar to its passive ability and with its revamped defenses, Gengar will simply find it difficult to eliminate Wigglytuff on its own and allow Wigglytuff some time to set up its own combos.

Even Matchups

Even matchups are always a matter of skill, luck and timing. Here are some tips to help push Gengar ahead against other Pokemon on equal footing.

Focus On Pokemon with High Burst Damage

Pokemon with High Burst Damage

Gengar's Hex-Sludge Bomb combo gives him high burst damage. However, this combo puts him in the range of other burst melee attackers. Focusing on them first will allow you to safely take out the rest of the opponents' Pokemon.

Engage/Disengage with Unite Move

As mentioned earlier, Gengar's Unite move Phantom Ambush allows it to escape a great distance. This can be used to escape difficult fights especially against Defenders but can be used conversely as well to initiate fights and whittle down their HP quickly before making Gengar use its combos once more.

Best Matchups for Gengar

Pokemon with little to no defenses and mobility to speak off are easy pickings for Gengar.

Pokemon	Explanation
Pikachu	Pikachu's great range will definitely be a threat to Gengar but once the effects are over, Gengar can make short work of this electric Pokemon with a few bursts of Hex.
Gardevoir	Similar to Pikachu, Gengar does have enough defenses to survive a few of Gardevoir's hits. After that, Gengar can just burst Gardevoir down.
Eldegoss	Eldegoss has little to no offense to bring down Gengar. While it has healing, it cannot cancel out Gengar's combos like Blissey can.
Cinderace	Cinderace has tremendous damage but offers little to no resistance to Gengar's attacks. A single burst from Gengar's Sludge Bomb-Hex combo will bring Cinderace down.
Alolan Ninetales	Alolan Ninetales has little to no mobility skills to speak of to escape Gengar's combos. Its skills also take a lot of time to set up before it can bring Gengar down.

Best Teammates for Gengar

Pokemon	Explanation
Crustle	Trap enemies with Rock Tomb
	The best counter to Gengar's amazing Sludge Bomb-Hex Combo is to escape Gengar's range. However, with Crustle's Rock Tomb, that is essentially rendered useless (save for teleporting moves and Eject Button) allowing Gengar to maximize the damage from this combo.
Pikachu	Has excellent stun moves for deadly setups
	Same thing with Crustle, Pikachu's stun moves allows Gengar to beat out the opponents before they could even attempt to escape. And with Gengar and Pikachu's insane damage output, it will almost ensure an enemy KO.
Gardevoir	Moonblast-Psyshock combo is extremely deadly
	Similar to Pikachu, Moonblast OR Fairy Singularity basically locks opponents in place, allowing Gengar to abuse its Sludge Bomb-Hex combo to its maximum output.

Looking for teammates to synergize with you? Head over to our Friend Request Board to find other trainers to join you in your grind or just to hang out with!

Friend Request Board

Gengar Moves

Move Slot 1 (R)

Will-O-Wisp (Lv. 1 or 3)	Move Type: Ranged Damage Type: Special Cooldown: 5s Total Damage: 525 (Lv. 3)
Shoots 3 fireballs. When a fireball hits, it deals damage and inflicts burn.
Sludge Bomb (Lv. 5) Upgrade Lv. 11	Move Type: Area Damage Type: Special Cooldown: 8s Total Damage: 390 (Lv. 5) / 1023 (Lv. 15)
Throws a dirty sludge at the target location. When the attacks hits, inflicts poison to all enemy Pokemon hit. Upgrade: Increases the duration of the poison debuff.
Shadow Ball (Lv. 5) Upgrade Lv. 11	Move Type: Ranged Damage Type: Special Cooldown: 4.5s Total Damage: 1032 (Lv. 5) / 2200 (Lv. 15)
Throws a ball of shadow that goes through terrain. If the attack hits, it slows down and decreases their Sp. Defense. Upgrade: The damage dealt increases.

Move Slot 2 (ZR)

Lick (Lv. 1 or 3)	Move Type: Area Damage Type: Special Cooldown: 7s Total Damage: 233 (Lv. 3)
Gengar sticks out its tongue and attacks pulling enemies towards them.
Hex (Lv. 7) Upgrade Lv. 13	Move Type: Dash Damage Type: Special Cooldown: 7.5s Total Damage: 444 (Lv. 7) / 1173 (Lv. 15)
Gengar disappears then teleports and repeats at the target location. When Gengar reappears they deal damage to Pokemon in a small area around the location. If the enemy Pokemon is affected by debuff, this skill damage is increased and cooldown is reduced. Upgrade: Increased damage.
Dream Eater (Lv. 7) Upgrade Lv. 13	Move Type: Ranged Damage Type: Status Cooldown: 8s
Fires a projectile that puts enemy Pokemon to sleep on hit, and allows Gengar to use the Move again. If Gengar is in range and uses the Move again after hitting it, Gengar teleports behind the Pokemon and deals damage while restoring their own HP. Will also reduce the cooldown of Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb. Upgrade: Increases the damage dealt and HP restored.

Unite Moves (ZL)

Phantom Ambush (Lv. 9)	Move Type: Dash Damage Type: Special Cooldown: 134s Total Damage: 50% of enemy HP (Lv. 9) / 50% of enemy HP (Lv. 15)
Teleports a short distance and then becomes invisible, gaining increased Movement Speed. When used again, Gengar will go out of invisibility and scare nearby opponents, damaging and slowing them.

Standard Attack

Standard Attack	Becomes a boosted attack with every third attack, lunging at an opposing Pokemon and dealing damage.

Ability (Passive)

Levitate	When not in battle, Gengar's Movement Speed increases.

Gengar Stats & Evolutions

Gengar Evolutions

1st Evolution	2nd Evolution	Final Evolution
Gastly (Lv. 1)	Haunter (Lv. 5)	Gengar (Lv. 9)

Gengar Stats

Level	HP	Defense	Special Defense	Attack Damage
1	3472	52	38	167
2	3526	55	40	170
3	3590	59	43	173
4	3667	63	46	177
5	3947	79	57	192
6	4059	85	62	198
7	4193	92	67	205
8	4354	101	74	213
9	4921	133	97	243
10	5152	146	106	255
11	5430	161	117	270
12	5763	179	131	288
13	6162	201	147	209
14	6641	228	166	334
15	7216	260	189	364

Attack Damage is the damage of the Basic Attack as tested against the Training Dummy.

Gengar In-Game Stats Listing

Offense	Endurance	Mobility	Scoring	Support

Gengar Skins (Holowear)

Holowear
Space Style Season 2 Battle Pass Reward

All Pokemon Skins (Holowear)

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

List of All Pokemon and Builds

Top 5 Master Rank Picks & Win Rate

▼ All data based on Master Rank Top 100

Pokemon	Tier	Most Played	Average Win	Best Lane
Lucario		18%	79%	Bot
Snorlax		15%	79%	Top
Greninja		13%	79%	Jungle
Eldegoss		12%	79%	Bot
Cramorant		10%	79%	Top

Master Rank: Top Ranked Win Rates

Pokemon by Role

All Pokemon Roles
Attackers		All-Rounders		Defenders
Speedsters			Supporters

All Pokemon Guides and Builds

Pokemon Roster
Pikachu	Charizard	Snorlax	Crustle
Greninja	Eldegoss	Talonflame	Lucario
Venusaur	Mr. Mime	Slowbro	Absol
Machamp	Wigglytuff	Alolan Ninetales	Cramorant
Gengar	Garchomp	Cinderace	Zeraora
Gardevoir	Blissey	Blastoise	Mamoswine
Sylveon	-	-	-

Pokemon by Characteristics

Attack Type
Melee Pokemon	Ranged Pokemon
Physical Pokemon	Special Pokemon
Stat Rankings
HP Ranking	Defense Ranking
Sp. Def. Ranking	Basic Attack Ranking