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What are the Silksong bosses? Pharloom is teeming with bugs of all shapes and sizes, but some are undoubtedly creepier and crawlier than others. Like Hollow Knight before it, Silksong’s combat is deceptively punishing, but we’ve got the boss strategies you need to beat all the main and optional bosses without losing all your Soul masks.
Bosses are a staple of Metroidvania games, and Hollow Knight Silksong has its fair share of challenges for Hornet. According to Team Cherry, there are over 40 bosses to beat across the Silksong map, which isn’t far off from the 47 bosses that appeared in Hollow Knight. On that basis, we reckon Silksong features around 15 main bosses and at least 25 optional bosses.
Here are all the Silksong bosses so far:
- Moss Mother
- Bell Beast
- Lace
- Fourth Chorus
- Moorwing
- Sister Splinter
- Widow
- Skarrgard (optional)
- Phantom (secret)
- Skull Tyrant (optional)
- Skull Tyrant (optional, rematch)
- Savage Beastfly (optional)
- Mossmother (rematch)
- Great Conchflies
- Last Judge
- Cogwork Dancers
- Trobbio
- Second Sentinel (secret)
- Shrine Guardian Seth (optional)
- Sharpe
- Carmelita
- Lace (rematch)
- Grand Mother Silk
- Lost Lace (secret)
Moss Mother
Location: Moss Grotto
Moss Mother is the very first Silksong boss fight, and serves as a gentle skill check for basic platform game mechanics. She tends to hover on either side of the battlefield but remains just within reach of Hornet’s needle at the apex of her jump. Watch out for when she swoops down to attack with her stinger, which you can avoid with a simple jump. She also slams the ceiling, dislodging rocks that rain down from above.
Successive hits can stun Moss Mother, so look out for the spinning halo effect that appears above her head to sneak in a bonus hit or two. In the latter half of the fight, Moss Mother swaps out falling rocks for her own children – so much for gentle parenting. Thankfully, these crawling creatures are easily dispatched with two swift hits of your needle, leaving the battlefield free and clear for you to finish off Moss Mother unimpeded.
Bell Beast
Location: The Marrow
The Bell Beast is trapped in a silk web, but don’t expect her to be grateful once you use your Silkspear to free her. Instead, she decides to take all her frustration out on you. She burrows into the sea of bells that litter the battlefield, bursting out of the ground to rush or leap at Hornet with startling speed.
While the Bell Beast’s moveset is fairly straightforward, her aggression can easily get the better of you, especially once she starts tossing bells around. Thankfully, our Silksong Bell Beast boss strategy guide can make taming this angry little lady a walk in the, er, bells. Upon defeat, the Bell Beast becomes the Silksong fast travel mount, similar to The Last Stag in Hollow Knight.
Lace
Location: Deep Docks
Lace is another skill check boss, but this fight demands that you prove your mastery over the Silksong dash skill. This lithe yet arrogant fencer wields her pin with deadly precision in a sequence of forward thrusts, swipes, and a stationary flurry attack.
Hornet’s encounter with Lace mirrors the Knight’s own encounter with Hornet in Hollow Knight, complete with multiple rematches. Our dedicated Silksong Lace boss strategy guide can help you emerge from this initial encounter unscathed, if not a little singed from the lava on either side of the boss room’s singular platform.
Fourth Chorus
Location: Deep Docks
Fourth Chorus is one of the largest bosses we’ve seen in Hollow Knight, and his multiple limbs demand a defensive approach to beat. You can spot him lying in repose on the way to the Seamstress, but you need to farm Silksong Hokers and receive the Drifter’s Cloak before he springs to life. The only way to inflict damage on Fourth Chorus is by hitting his face, which Hornet can comfortably reach at the apex of her jump.
Like Lace, this boss fight takes place on a platform surrounded by lava, but this one isn’t half as solid. Fourth Chorus spends most of the boss fight driving his multiple limbs into the lava pool, destroying any part of the platform in its path. He also performs a large horizontal swipe across the whole boss room, which often requires a jump-dash to avoid falling into the lava while dodging it.
You can use the Drifter’s Cloak to catch the wind currents on either side of the boss room if there’s no platform available, but this is thankfully a rare occurrence. Further into the fight, Fourth Chorus hits the ceiling, dislodging a flurry of molten rocks. These are easily avoided, but don’t take your eye off the boss – he’ll keep up his usual attack patterns while they fall.
Moorwing
Location: Greymoor
Moorwing is a secret boss that’s all too easy to miss, even if you’ve left no stone in Pharloom unturned. However, that’s about the easiest thing about him; if you do encounter Moorwing, you might wish you hadn’t. This nasty, not-so-little moth is made of knives and spite, and his relentless assault can have you on the backfoot before you even begin.
Between the knives on his feet and his endless boomerang blades, it’s essential to remain on the defensive and carefully weight up every opportunity to deal damage to Moorwing. Our Silksong Moorwing strategies can help you turn the tables, especially if you don’t mind a little cheese with your bugs.
Sister Splinter
Location: Shellwood
Sister Splinter is Shellwood’s area boss, and she can really get under your skin without a good strategy to handle her. Unlike other bosses, she remains suspended from the ceiling throughout the fight, using her massive claws to swipe at Hornet’s position. If left unchecked, she can quickly box you in with a flurry of prickly vines, leaving you unable to escape the swarm of spinning leaf insects she calls to her aid. Thankfully, our Silksong Sister Splinter strategies can cut through all the noise and bring this tricky boss crashing down to earth.
Widow
Location: Bellhart
Widow has Silksong’s Bellhart townsfolk all tied up in her silken web, and she won’t release them without a fight. That’s where Hornet and her trusty Needle comes in. As the next main boss, Widow is a big step up from Fourth Chorus. Her combination of deadly fury swipes and bells constantly raining from the ceiling gives you very little room to breathe, much less hit her. Thankfully, we can help you survive that fatal final phase with our Silksong Widow strategies. There’s no cheese here – just a lot of patience.
Savage Beastfly
Location: Chapel of the Beast
The Savage Beastfly is an optional boss that lurks in Hunter’s March, accessible only via a wind current that Hornet can ride with her Drifter’s Cloak. Much like the smaller flies encountered in Pharloom, the Savage Beastfly charges horizontally at Hornet once it has her in its sights. You can bait it into slamming into the walls at either side of the boss fight to stun it for a split-second, but be aware it can cancel its charge once you get out of the way.
After taking a few hits, it transition into vertical charges, moving to Hornet’s position and slamming its massive body into the floor. You can actually sneak a free hit in during the short pause before it drops, but be ready to dash out of the way the moment you make contact. Watch out for when the Savage Beastfly screams, since this is the only warning you’ll get before smaller enemies drop down from the ceiling.
Last Judge
Location: Citadel Gate
The Last Judge is the final boss of Act 1, and where your muscle memory is truly put to the test. She’s that rare breed of Silksong boss that’s both fast and large, which makes her particularly difficult to beat. She wields a war thurible to deadly effect – tossing, spinning, and dragging it around, and it takes a nimble player to avoid it. In the latter stages of the fight, Last Judge ignites the thurible, filling the boss room with deadly waves of fire. Our Silksong Last Judge strategies can help you master your positioning for this intense boss fight.
Trobbio
Known as the “Master of the Stage, the Brush, and the Voice,” Trobbio is a fame-hungry thespian who roams Pharloom looking for a new audience. Hornet has a front-row seat for his show, as he summons a line of fireworks with an explosive flap of his butterfly wings. Given his lighthearted nature, Trobbio is likely to become an NPC after we defeat him – or at least a recurring boss that’s more of a friendly rival than a deadly foe, much like Grimm in the Hollow Knight DLC.
Seth
Seth is an ancient guardian who claims to have been chosen by the Voice. He’s also fast, imbued with incredible strength and stamina that lets him absorb attacks with his shield, then lunge forward to strike with his pin. This makes him particularly dangerous in close quarters. It’s better to dodge his aggressive assault than try to break his guard; just wait for him to finish his animation before you retaliate, since his pin has enough range to inflict damage from behind. Occasionally, Seth positions himself on one side of Hornet as he leaps into the air and throws his shield at her, then zips to the other side to catch it after it bounces.
Like Trobbio, it appears likely that Seth is an NPC outside of battle, and Hornet might even have a chance to encounter and befriend him in an optional quest. Seth also has a heartfelt backstory outside of Silksong. He’s a fan-created character designed by Seth Goldman, a Hollow Knight fan who passed away several years ago from Ewing Sarcoma. In Goldman’s own words, “[Seth’s] really cool.”
Sharpe
Steel Assassin Sharpe is a bona fide bug hunter, and Hornet is his next target. He has an elongating proboscis that he can use like a whip, flicking it around and ahead of him. This attack animation is surprisingly formidable; not only does it have long range, but it’s also got enough height on the backstroke that it’s not easy to dodge over it. Thankfully, it also has a long wind-up, so you should be able to get out of the way. Ideally, you want to get behind Sharpe while he’s locked in this animation, but this requires you to hop over him as early as possible.
Like Lace, Sharpe is a recurring Silksong boss who will likely have a big role to play in Pharloom’s lore. He’s also brought back-up to help him subdue Hornet, which we expect to appear during their encounters. Notably, one of Sharpe’s companions bears a close resemblance to Steel Soul Jinn, a Dirtmouth merchant with unknown masters. No doubt we’ll uncover the Sharpe’s true motivations as Hornet continues her quest.
Carmelita
Hunter Queen Carmelita is a graceful ant monarch who dances to her own tune, so interrupt it at your peril. She twirls her twin dual-bladed daggers and flips through the air, which makes her difficult to pin down. When she leaps to either side of the stage, a line of sharp spikes erupts from the earth directly ahead of her position, so resist the urge to dash in for a quick hit. It’s not the first time we’ve battled deadly bosses in front of an audience in Hollow Knight, and Hornet’s dance with Carmelita is a performance to remember. Don’t get stage fright.
Now that you’re familiar with the Silksong bosses, prepare for your trek through Pharloom with the Hollow Knight Silksong system requirements. Alternatively, find out why the Silksong diagonal dive attack is causing such consternation in the indie game’s community – you might just discover a way to make these fiendish boss battles even easier.
