In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Widow is a spidery villain who has ensnared the villagers of Bellhart in her web, and it’s up to you to free them.
This boss fight comes shortly after your encounter with Sister Splinter, so some players may already be exhausted from dealing with the previous fight to be tossed into another so soon.
If that is the case, be sure to take a break and get some rest, then when you are ready, come back here and learn how to defeat Widow in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
All Widow Attacks in Hollow Knight: Silksong
Most of Widow’s attacks in Hollow Knight: Silksong deal with throwing around bells at you, which can be quite annoying, but it’s her blade attack that you will want to watch out for. Here are her attacks.
Blade Attack
Widow will crawl through the air towards you before striking down and slashing a blade in front of her. If you get hit by the blade, she will combo two points of health off of you. In the final phase of the fight, she will forego the aerial approach, instead just rushing at you with the blade.
Bell Throw
The boss will pull on web threads to make bells drop from the ceiling or throw them diagonally at you. Avoid the dust and threads that appear from the ceiling and watch out for the bells after they bounce.
When she is pulling on the threads, it is the best time to attack her.
Bell Upheaval
When you see Widow scurrying across the ground and throwing up strands of web, she is pulling up a bunch of bells that act like spikes. To avoid, jump over her as she passes, then cling grip onto the wall until you can safely touch the floor again.
Bell Drop
When she appears and screams, she is calling in a large group of bells to drop from the ceiling. Like the bell throw attack, dodge out of the way of the dust and threads.
Widow Weaknesses in Hollow Knight: Silksong
Unfortunately, the Widow fight in Hollow Knight: Silksong does not really have a cheese method. To overcome this boss, you are going to have to recognize her attack patterns and use your reactions and instincts to dodge incoming attacks and strike when she is open.
In the first phase, Widow will cycle between the blade attack, bell throw, and bell upheaval attacks. While you may be able to get a hit or two when she passes by with the blade and upheaval attacks, we found it was much better to just avoid her and take that time to heal or gather yourself.
When she begins throwing her bell, this is when you should attack for a couple of strikes. Just be sure to watch out for where the bells are coming from. If they are coming in diagonally, you can time your strike to hit the bell away, but you’re much better off just avoiding it, because you don’t gain much of anything from hitting the bell at her.
Second Phase
The second phase of the Widow fight in Hollow Knight: Silksong starts with the boss calling in a bell drop. This is another opportunity where you can get a hit or two in on her, but be sure you are jumping out of the way of the incoming bells if she is in them.
Outside of the bell drop addition, this phase is very similar to the first. Continue dodging when she scurries across the floor and only striking when she is throwing bells around. Eventually, you will knock her down, she will scream like she is dying, and everything will go silent. Be ready, because the fight is not over!
Third Phase
After playing the first two phases a dozen times or so, you should have a good idea of how to attack Widow in Hollow Knight: Silksong. She telegraphs her attacks so you can easily read them as they are coming in. That changes with the third phase because she is about to combine constant bell throws and drops with her blade attack.
Throughout the rest of the fight, the blade attack is your number one priority for dodging. While bells still do one damage, the blade does two, and now she will no longer be starting it from the air. She will just crouch down and run at you, swinging her blades, giving you only a split-second to react and jump out of the way.
With everything being thrown at you, things are going to be hectic and overstimulating. We found that the best process for us was to keep our eyes on Widow the entire time and use our peripheral vision to dodge bells. If you need to, give yourself some space as she is throwing in bells, and watch for when she crouches to start her blade attack. Again, it’s only a split-second reaction to avoid that damage, so get used to watching her mannerisms. Sometimes, you can tell she’s about to do it because she moves forward or backward a little, but not all of the time.
Eventually, after dealing enough damage to her, Widow will be defeated, and you will gain the Needolin ability. Congratulations on overcoming a tough fight! Now you can go see what is left of Bellhart.
Did this fight help at all with defeating Widow in Hollow Knight: Silksong? Let us know in the comments or on the Insider Gaming forum.
If you are tired of getting hit while trying to heal, check out how to get the Warding Bell, and if you are ready to take on the hardest challenge, learn how to do the Steel Soul cheat code.
John has been covering the game industry since 2017, covering all kinds of games and topics in that timespan. He loves his Nintendo games and enjoys achievement hunting as well.…
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