Hollow Knight: Silksong Boss Guide – Widow

The boss fight against Widow is the first true skill check players will face in Hollow Knight: Silksong. This fast-paced battle pushes your reflexes to the absolute limit, with so much happening on screen that keeping track of everything can quickly get overwhelming.

In this guide, we’ll break down Widow’s location, moveset, strategies, and the rewards you’ll get for defeating her.

For more information about Hollow Knight: Silksong, check out the official website here.

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Widow Location

Widow is the main boss of the Bellhart region, but to access her arena, you first need to unlock the Cling Grip ability from Shellwood.

Once you have it, head to the right side of Sister Splinter’s boss arena and make your way through the narrow, bell-filled tunnels. At the end of this path, you’ll find Widow’s arena.

We’ve marked the exact map location for Widow in the image above. 

Widow Moveset

Widow’s moveset throughout the fight consists of six core attacks that she mixes and matches as the battle goes on.

Bell Drop

Widow periodically drops bells from the ceiling onto the floor. The number of bells can vary, but you can predict where they’ll fall by watching for silk strands on the ceiling.

The bells can bounce once on the ground before breaking. You can also strike them to knock them out of the way, but the timing for it can be tricky. 

In the second and third phases, Widow increases the number of bells she summons at the same time. 

Diagonal Bell Drop

This works the same way as Bell Drop, but instead of falling from the ceiling, the bells fall diagonally from the sides of the arena. Like the normal Bell Drop attack, the number of bells and intensity of this attack ramps up during the later stages of the fight. You’ll also see a silk strand, indicating when and where the bells will hit. 

Ground Charge and Bell Eruption

Widow charges along the ground from one side of the arena to the other, leaving four groups of silk strands behind her.

After a brief pause, bells erupt from each strand’s location. These bells stay in the arena for a short while before disappearing.

Dive and Slash 

Widow hovers in the air briefly, then dives toward your position.

After landing, she immediately charges across the ground while slashing with her sword.

Bell Roar (Second Phase)

When you manage to deal enough damage to the Widow, she adds a new attack to her moveset. She roars while standing still, causing five to six bells to drop from the ceiling. These bells are usually clumped together, so you won’t have any issue dodging them. 

Ground Slash (Final Phase)

In the final phase of the fight, Widow no longer uses Slash and Bell Eruption or Dive and Slash. Instead, her bell-based attacks ramp up in intensity, summoning multiple bells at the same time.

She also starts using a new charge attack, dashing across the ground with a slash, similar to the Dive and Slash but without the dive part.

Widow Strategies

The Widow boss fight is one of the hardest you’ll face up to this point. The battle is fast-paced and requires precise positioning and quick movements to come out on top.

On their own, Widow’s attacks aren’t too difficult to dodge. But since she chains them together, you need to make sure you’re not getting hit by something else while dodging one attack. 

The first phase of the fight is pretty straightforward. Keep your distance and wait for her to use one of her bell drop attacks. Widow usually targets the spot where you’re standing when she channels the move.

As soon as you see the silk strands appear on the screen, dash towards her and hit her one or two times. It’s important not to get too greedy since she usually follows it up with another bell drop. 

For charge attacks, jump and pogo off her to deal some free damage. If she uses Bell Eruption, you can either cling to the side walls to avoid it or jump and float until the bells disappear. Clinging to the walls is generally the safer option.

In the second phase, Widow adds the Bell Roar attack, dropping five to six bells at once. These are easy to avoid by dashing out of the way. If you spot an opening, you can dash toward her during this attack to score a few hits.

The real challenge begins when you trigger the final phase. At a certain point, it’ll seem like the Widow is defeated. However, this marks the start of the most dangerous stage of the battle.

During this phase, the Widow only uses three attacks: the two bell drops and the ground charge. However, the sheer number of bells she summons makes it extremely difficult to move around safely. To make matters worse, she charges you constantly while you’re dodging the falling bells.

When you enter this phase, use all your tools to dish out as much damage as possible from a safe distance. Only use a needle attack when you’re sure you won’t get punished. If your health drops low, focus on recovery instead of trying to get one extra attack on the boss.

This is a true test of endurance, and you need to focus on survival over offense. You should only go for one or two safe pokes if you see an opening for it. If you manage to keep your health up and dodge through all the stuff on the screen, you’ll eventually be able to bring down the boss. 

The following video shows you our attempt at beating Widow:

Rewards for Beating Widow 

Defeating Widow takes you to another dreamlike parkour sequence. At the end of this, you’ll unlock a new Ancestral ability called Needolin. Widow is a mandatory boss that you need to beat to progress through the story of Hollow Knight: Silksong. 

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This concludes our Widow boss guide for Hollow Knight: Silksong. For a complete walkthrough or related guides, be sure to check out our main hub for the game. 

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