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So you’ve ascended the final elevator in Hollow Knight: Silksong, bested Lace once again, and now you stand before Grand Mother Silk herself, in all her woven glory. But are you truly prepared for this battle? It will certainly test your skills.
This is… unless you’ve done a good amount of exploring beforehand. In fact, for most Hollow Knight players, this is going to be a very simple fight, akin to that of the first Radiance, which was my first hint that it might not be the final ending of the game.
But in any case, Grand Mother Silk still has a few attacks that may catch you unawares, so let’s take a look and learn how best to take this lady down.
Fight Preparation
As long as you go in with a decent amount of masks and some needle upgrades, this fight won’t take you long at all. In fact, I thought it was easier than the Swarm fight in the Forum, or even the match against Lace.
Of course, if you’re bee-lining the main plot of the game without exploring optional side areas, this fight may prove far more challenging.
Physical Attacks
Firstly, I would recommend that you get the best needle possible. For me, I had 3 upgrades: The initial upgrade from beating the Widow back in Bellhart, a Pale Oil found in the Citadel, and then the other Pale Oil gained from completing the Great Taste of Pharloom Wish.
This, paired with the Crest of the Wanderer, meant I could attack extremely fast without sacrificing any damage. Learn how to attack multiple times mid-jump, and you’ll have a much easier time here.
Yellow And Blue Tools
The tools that you choose are going to make this fight go from mildly difficult to an absolute breeze.
Yellow Tools really don’t matter much here; the only important one that I always keep on is the Weighted Belt, so I can attack in place more reliably, without being pushed back.
Some useful Blue Tools you might want to consider are the Fractured Mask, which allows you to survive an attack that may kill you. It basically gives you an extra mask and a bit of death protection.
In addition, you may want the Injector Band for faster healing or even the Reserve Bind if you need some extra healing. My favourite blue tool is the Pollip pouch, which empowers our next most important weapon.
Red Tools
In terms of Red Tools, you have a lot of great options, but for me, none beats the Cogfly. You can throw a cogfly up in the air and have it do some serious damage to the boss while you focus on dodging. Now, when you pair this with the Pollip pouch, your Cogfly inflicts poison as well!
I specifically use this with all 4 Crafting kit upgrades to make my Cogflies do as much damage as possible, and as you will see in the fight video, they are ridiculously effective.
If you don’t fancy using the cogflies, try out a Flea Brew for quicker attacks, the Flintslate for more Firepower, or even the Voltvessel to catch the boss while she’s still.
The Run Back
Luckily, you have a really easy run back here. Foremost, make sure you’ve opened the shortcut at the top of the right vertical shaft, which opens up into the main chamber. Next, you just need to jump up the platforms provided, climb up the far left wall and head onto the long boss platform.
I timed this, and from the bench in the Terminus, you can reach the boss in anywhere from 30–35 seconds, which is pretty generous considering some of the other boss runbacks previously encountered.
Grand Mother Silk’s Attacks
Phase 1
The one thing you really need to do during this boss is keep your eyes on her pins at all times. She has 6 of them, and they’re going to be active for basically the whole fight. Always be looking for gaps where you can dash through and spend as much time in the air as possible.
You’re going to be attacking the boss’s stomach for this fight, which means you’re either going to be swiping up or side-slashing in midair. Your Clawline ability is your friend here. Use it to cross the arena, or to dash through pins and get a few hits while the boss is still.
|
Attack Name |
Description |
How To Avoid |
|---|---|---|
|
Six Pin Skewer |
Grand Mother Silk’s pins will glow and then try to hit you from the side or above. This can happen in either order, side first or top first. |
It’s your job to look for the gap between the pins and dash or float through. The horizontal pins are trickier to dodge, but you’ll get the hang of it very quickly. |
|
Sweeping Slash |
The boss will drift to the side, brandish her claws, and then sweep across the stage while the pins fall from above. |
The easiest way to dodge this is just by staying right at the edge of the arena. You can also jump over, but be wary of the pins above you. |
|
Thread the Needle |
One of this boss’s most dangerous attacks comes in the form of a full-screen crisscross of silken threads. If you get caught by one of those threads, Grand Mother Silk will trap you and deal a hefty 3 masks of damage! |
Simply look for the gaps and stand still while the attack happens. You may need to jump and hang in the air for a proper dodge. |
Phase 2
Once you deal enough damage, Grand Mother Silk will fall beneath the stage and pull down a bunch of rocks from the ceiling. Dash to the side first and then dash back to the centre of the arena as more rocks fall.
This is generally when I use my tools, as I know I’m halfway through. Throw up 2 Cogflies before she screams for some free damage during the transition. This phase isn’t really that different from the first, apart from the fact that her attacks come a lot quicker and there are a couple of new moves to watch out for.
She may use her Thread the Needle attack as soon as the phase transition ends, so beware.
|
Attack Name |
Description |
How To Avoid |
|---|---|---|
|
Ground Spikes |
When you see threads of silk coming down from the ceiling, the boss will pull up those spiky platforms that you were platforming on previously. |
There will be gaps on the ground, but just pogo off of the spikes or dash across when she moves. Being comfortable being in the air constantly is a real blessing here. |
|
Rock Slide |
Another thing that may happen when you see the silk coming down is that Grand Mother Silk will pull down more rocks from above, just like in the phase transition. |
Just don’t stand still and constantly be moving. You’ll see this attack coming way before it even happens. |
And with that, Grand Mother Silk will fall. Use your binding ability to consume her and watch the final cutscene play. Well done! You’ve beaten Hollow Knight: Silksong!
Or have you?
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Author: 360 Technology Group
