Fahad Suleman is an avid fan of fighting games who spends most of his time writing walkthroughs and reviews for cozy indie titles or mashing around in Tekken. If he’s not writing or playing any games, you’ll often find him watching historical videos on YouTube for hours.
Last Judge is the final boss of Act 1 in Hollow Knight: Silksong, guarding the Grand Gate to the Citadel. This challenging boss has 2 main phases (with a brief third transition), uses a thurible weapon with fire attacks, and requires fully upgraded abilities to defeat. This guide covers Last Judge’s complete moveset, location in Blasted Steps, phase strategies, and rewards for defeating this formidable Citadel Guard.
For more information regarding Hollow Knight: Silksong, visit their official website here.
Recommended Before This Fight:
Needle Damage: At least 2 upgrades
Abilities: Drifter’s Cloak, Swift Step, Needolin
Health: 5+ masks recommended
Time to Complete: 10-15 minutes
Table of contents
Last Judge Location
Navigating to the Citadel Gate
The Last Judge is guarding the gate of the Citadel.
Using Needolin and Reaching the Arena
You’ll have to ring the bells in each area to unlock the Citadel’s gate and use the Needolin ability to play a melody.
However, to get there, you’ll have to go through the Blasted Steps, and the run up to the boss is especially challenging as you’ll have to pogo a lot. The enemies on the way are quite challenging as well.
Path to the Boss
Unlocking the Rest Point and Traversing Platforms
In the Blasted Steps area, you’ll have to move up from the central section until you reach a Resting location. You’ll have to spend a few Rosaries to unlock this Rest point. From here, you’ll have to go right.
Keep heading right from the Rest point, jump over the gap, and keep heading right until you enter another section. Dash and jump to the ledge in the sand. There will be a drill bug there; try to jump over it to reach the ledge on further right.
There will be another ledge suspended in the air on the top right corner of the screen. Jump on it and cling and climb the platform on the left. You don’t have to fight against the enemy here; just quickly jump to the platform to the right.
Now, you’ll have to jump and dash to cling to the wall on the left. After clinging to it, go up. Here, you’ll find a bell hanging to your right. Jump and do a jumping attack on the bell, and then quickly dash to your right
Head further right, and you’ll come across a ledge in the sand. There will be a drill bug here. After getting on the ledge, use the Drifter’s Cloak to glide to your right.
Solving Bell and Platform Navigation Sequence
There will be two bells hanging here. Do a jumping attack on the second bell and cling to the wall on the right. There will be one of those tall-shield bugs here, but this one is petrified, and you won’t have to fight against it.
Go left on the platform, do a jumping attack on the hanging bell, and cling to the wall on your left. Go as high up on the wall and then glide to your right to reach the platform.
There’s a hanging bell here. If you feel like you won’t make it through gliding alone, you can attack the hanging bell to get some extra boost to reach the ledge to your right. Keep heading right from there, and you’ll reach the Citadel’s gate, where you’ll fight against the Last Judge.
Last Judge Moveset Overview
Bell Swing, Throw, Slam, and Charge Attacks
The Last Judge doesn’t have that many moves, but all of his attacks get more powerful in the second phase. And you don’t get that many openings to deal damage to the boss.
Make sure you don’t force a few extra hits because the Last Judge is incredibly good at defensive attacks.
The boss will swing his hand as he prepares the attack, and then he will start swinging the bell at a specific range. This range is quite short in the first phase. As soon as you spot its hand, dash away from it to avoid this attack.
Similar to Bell Swing, the Last Judge will throw his hand slightly back as he prepares to throw the bell. Once the bell is thrown, it will fall fairly far away from the boss. After throwing the bell, the boss will pull it back.
The ideal way to avoid this attack is to dash as far away as possible. You can also jump over it, and if you do manage to avoid the initial throw, you’ll have to jump again to avoid the pull.
The boss will jump into the air and slam the bell into the ground. This attack gives you enough time to switch sides with the boss by dashing from under it while he’s in the air.
Phase Changes and Fire Variations
During the second phase, all of the Last Judge‘s attacks will embody flames in one way or the other. As he starts to swing the bell, circular embers will appear on the screen. These embers will catch fire after a short while.
To avoid this attack, you’ll have to get away from the physical bell and watch for a gap in the embers, and stay there for the duration of the attack. Make sure you don’t rush to the boss to attack him because the Last Judge recovers very quickly after using this attack.
In phase two, the Bell Throw attack becomes more dangerous, but it is still relatively easy to avoid compared to his other attacks. The bell will explode in a short radius after it is thrown on the ground.
You can easily avoid it by dashing away when the boss uses this attack. Once the bell is on the ground, stand far away from it so you don’t get caught by the explosion.
Bell Slam in phase two is the weakest link in the Last Judge‘s arsenal. He’ll jump into the air and slam the bell into the ground, which will set fire to the entire arena, originating from the bell’s impact on the ground. The fire lasts only for a second.
Jump in the air right as the bell is about to hit the ground. Use the Drifter’s Cloak for a second, which will allow you to avoid the flames. After that, you can easily get one or two hits on the boss.
Bell Charge is the only new attack that the boss gains in its second phase. It is exceptionally powerful, and you’ll have to do your best to avoid it.
The boss will pull the hand holding the bell back and start charging in your direction while dragging the bell on the ground.
As the boss charges through the arena, smoke will start to rise from the floor at specific distances, which will quickly explode.
You can avoid this attack by jumping over the boss while he’s charging. Use the Drifter’s Cloak and the Swift Step to navigate through the aftermath of explosions.
The Last Judge uses this attack only once during the battle. After you’ve dealt enough damage to the boss in its second phase, the Last Judge will roar, similar to its transition to the second phase. However, this time, the boss will only use this powered-up version of the Bell Swing attack.
In the powered-up version, the boss keeps swinging the bell for a much longer duration than normal. Regardless, you’ll still have to follow the same procedure to avoid the flames. Watch for the embers and stay out of the flames’ way. The boss will start using the regular phase two version of this attack after using this powered-up version once.
Battle Strategy
Difficulty Context:
Last Judge is designed as a skill check before Act 2. Most players find success after 5-10 attempts once they learn the fire patterns in Phase 2.
Dodging Patterns and Counter Opportunities
The Last Judge‘s arena is quite small, and most of his attacks cover a specific range. Try not to get cornered. If you do get cornered and the boss decides to use Bell Swing, you won’t be able to jump over it. Try to slip under the boss to get to the other side near the corners whenever the Last Judge attempts to use the Bell Slam attack.
Second Phase Tips
Staying Mobile During Charge Attacks
Once you get into the Last Judge‘s second phase, you won’t get many opportunities to attack, and you should try to be patient. Rushing in will result in you getting clipped by its ranged attacks. Be patient and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. Keep doing so, and you’ll be able to defeat the boss successfully.
Healing Opportunities
Safe Windows During Bell Attacks
Don’t hesitate to heal if you get hit during the boss battle. The Bell Swing and Bell Throw attacks give you enough time to safely heal yourself without any threat.
Post-Fight Sequence
Escaping the Explosion After Victory
Once you’ve defeated the boss, get away from it as soon and as much as you can. The boss will explode, and if you’re caught in the explosion, you’ll have to redo the entire boss battle.
Rewards For Defeating Last Judge
Unlocking the Citadel and Advancing to Act 2
The Last Judge is the final boss of Act 1, and once you’ve defeated it, you’ll be able to pass through the Grand Gate and enter the Citadel, progressing to Act 2.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many phases does the Last Judge have?
Last Judge has two main combat phases. Phase 1 features standard bell attacks, while Phase 2 adds fire-based attacks when the thurible ignites. There’s also a brief third transition where Last Judge performs a powered-up Bell Swing attack before returning to Phase 2 patterns.
What are the best abilities to have before fighting Last Judge?
You should fully explore Act 1 and upgrade your needle, obtain Drifter’s Cloak for dodging flames, and have Swift Step for mobility. The boss is challenging without these upgrades.
Where is the Last Judge located?
Last Judge guards the Grand Gate in the northeast section of Blasted Steps. You must ring all five Bellshrines and use Needolin to unlock the gate before accessing the boss arena.
What reward do you get for defeating Last Judge?
Defeating Last Judge grants access to the Grand Gate and the Citadel, allowing you to progress to Act 2 of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
This concludes our guide for Last Judge. If you’re looking for help with anything else, head over to our main hub for more walkthroughs and guides of Hollow Knight: Silksong.
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Fahad Suleman is an avid fan of fighting games who spends most of his time writing walkthroughs and reviews for cozy indie titles or mashing around in Tekken. If he’s not writing or playing any games, you’ll often find him watching historical videos on YouTube for hours.
