The only way i managed to kill him on NG+ was when i got him stuck on the rocks ( a little ledge covered in snow). I poisened him and luckily got him low enough to be able to finish him there. Try to stick to the right side of the rocks, but don't do it to early as he can free himself when he dodges attacks such as arrows und spells. Unfortunately you cant upload pictures here, otherwise i would show you the exact spot..

Literally tried all of these suggestions and neither worked for my 20 dex uchigatana build. What DID work though was so stupid easy that I can't believe it actually did: equip theifs ring, lure the skeleton in the beginning towards you with an arrow and kill him first. Then run passed all the skeletons until he loses aggro. Once he's loses aggro start clearing out the skeletons on hill up until the bridge where the archers are. Then, seriously, just lure him towards the first edge, roll away from the edge so his back is towards it, then poke him with a estoc until he falls off. Refresh area and the hiltless will be where he usually spawns

Suggestion for anyone having trouble with the black phantom Satsuki, this is what I did in NG with a meat cleaver and compound longbow level 80 str/dex build. Enter the area from the Adjudicator's stone and clear out the area behind him. This shouldn't take you too long, wear the thief's ring and attack all the skeletons from behind. Stop well before the archway where he stands with his back to you, go back and up into the area where the crescent falchion +1 is/was, kill that strong enemy guarding it. Soften him up by hitting him from up there with arrows to the back his head, after each he will turn and aggro for a moment. Move back because even with the thief ring on once he's aggro'd he'll start running around in circles trying to reach you if you're too close to that ledge, and you want him to head back to his neutral position. When he settles back under under archway, shoot again, move back, wait, repeat. Don't get him under half his health or he'll heal, but once he's got like 50%-60% health left, jump down, walk up and backstab. Equip anything that empowers this backstab but keep the thief ring on to ensure he doesn't turn around on you. Now he should be low on health and you only have to worry about getting in one or two hits more. Uing the meat cleaver I just pancaked him a couple times before he could get up and attack, which is just a matter of timing.

My mage build in NG just warped in front of him with the thief ring on and used soul ray a couple times followed by firestorm. It's harder for melee builds. I haven't tried him in NG+ yet, but I'll see if I can repeat it.

+5 DBS sprint at him and use R1 before hes close and anticipate the attack. then just R2 his *** into the dirt

Soul Level 100 NG+1 - Had to whittle him down with poison cloud. There is a little rock to the side where you can cloud on him after he aggros. Then with graverobbers ring he will deaggro. Normal I wanted to keep at it with parries and patience. But after dying quite a few times when I shouldnt have been hit coz I was on the side ... I really couldn't take it anymore. A bit scared to meet him again in NG+2 and higher.

For those struggling with him like me there is one easy way to get him which worked for me on the first try: get rid of the skeleton first and then lure satsuki. Once he starts coming for you throw soul remains to any wall close to you. He will allways go for the remains so after that lock onto him and backstab him. Unlock and throw another soul remain asap and repeat until he dies but make sure to give him no time to heal once he is low on health. I got him with 4 backstabs on ng+ and he could not heal even once. Also theres a video on Youtube by someone using this strat on all named Black Phantoms so it still works for all of them i guess.

Anyone looking to beat him quickly & easily in NG, this is what I did: First, upgrade a dagger (I used the Secret Dagger) to at least +2 in the Fatal path. Bring that along as well as the Morion Blade, the Magic Sword "Makoto," the Clever Cat's Ring and the Graverobber's Ring. Also be sure to have the Poison Mist spell attuned and take a catalyst of your choice. Start at the 4-2 archstone and work your way back to behind the archway where BP Satsuki is standing. Equip the two rings I mentioned, then kill the silver skeleton standing next to Satsuki (via ranged attack or by aggroing him to come to you), to be safe. Get close enough to hit Satsuki with the Poison Mist spell from behind, then wait for it to finish reducing his health by 900 HP. (This is just over half of his total HP, but he will not heal yet.) While you're waiting, equip the "Makoto" to reduce your HP until the Clever Rat's Ring is activated, then switch to the +2 Fatal dagger in your right hand and the Morion Blade in your left hand. Carefully sneak up behind him and backstab him with the dagger - the combined extra damage from the ring, the Morion Blade & the Fatal upgrade on the dagger is enough to kill him with one hit this way.

My first time playing, I had no idea how world tendency worked. I ended up pure black on Shrine of Storms when the only Archstone I had available to me was the first. Satsuki seemed completely impossible to defeat, and I ended up restarting the whole game.

Today I followed some advice I got here after I had deliberately gone pure black to grind bladestones. Starting at the 4-2 Archstone, I worked my way back, clearing the path until I was on the ledge overlooking Satsuki - where the first Black Skeleton had been. I peppered him with arrows to the point just before he would heal. He relocated to the foot of the foot of the stairs, so I just him and his until he calmed down.

Once his health was down, I snuck up on him, two-handed my Uchigatana, opened with a strong attack, then kept hitting him. He dodged a couple of times, hit me once - taking 95% of my health - but I managed to finish him before he could swing again or heal up.

Now the only question is, should I bother with Hiltless or stick with my twin sharp Uchis?

This dude does not spawn as a back phantom if you already killed him as a regular dude

Just run to the nearest ledge after the archway. He'll come to strike and if you fall, he'll follow most of the times. Loot the sword after your respawn.