Rank
Fight
Why it hurts
10
Last Judge
Act 1 skill check with fire and a brutal runback
9
Groal the Great
Waterborne poison frog with pendulum problems
8
Savage Beastfly (second)
Optional, add-heavy, attention-splitting
7
Widow
Fast silk traps and unpredictable bells
6
Phantom
Lace but meaner, faster, and less fair
5
The First Sinner
Needle hell and exploding AoEs
4
High Halls Arena
Eleven waves of pure endurance
3
Moorwing
Flying orb patterns from a bad dream
2
Sister Splinter (pre-patch)
Two-mask claws and Shellwood lockdown
1
Skarrgard
Early-game wall with a lesson
10. Last Judge Is a Mid-Game Skill Check
The Last Judge is not the hardest boss in a vacuum, but she is the hardest boss when you are still learning. She is the final boss of Act 1, and she exists to make sure you have actually learned Silksong's mechanics. Her attacks are diverse. Phase 2 sets the arena on fire, literally engulfing you in flames. When you finally win, her weapon explodes and gets one last hit in. And the runback is miserable; I lost my cocoon more than once before I even reached her. Fighting her is like trying to fold a fitted sheet during a house fire.
9. Groal the Great Is Too Big to Dodge
Groal is a waterborne frog boss in Bilewater, and he ruins an area that already ruined my day. You have limited time to hit him when he pokes his head above the water. He uses poison projectiles and a foul breath attack that pulls you inward. He bullies you into corners with his bloated body, summons adds, and his arena has swinging pendulums and poison pools. It is a geometry problem where all the angles are poisonous.
8. Savage Beastfly's Second Appearance Is Shockingly Hard
The first Savage Beastfly fight in Far Fields is relatively easy. The second one, in the already frustrating Hunter's March, is an optional boss at the Chapel of the Beast. You do not have to fight it again, but if you do, you are in for a challenge. Phase 1 uses floating slam attacks that leave it vulnerable. Phase 2 summons a number of annoying adds that exist only to distract you, splitting your attention between multiple moving targets until you lose track of the real threat. I lost that thread more than once.
7. Widow Has Quickly Become an Icon
Widow has become one of Silksong's beloved bosses for her unique design, silk-based moveset, and difficulty. You face her about halfway through Bellhart. Like Hornet, she summons silk to ensnare you and occasionally drops large metal bells on your head. The issue is phase 2, when her bell drops become less predictable and her base attacks get faster and harder to dodge. She is quick and unpredictable, and you need to heal, but you also need silk and space. That tension is the whole fight.
6. Phantom Makes Bilewater Even Worse
If you thought your first bout with Lace was difficult, wait until you fight Phantom. The two bosses share a lot: they can parry your attacks, dash across the battlefield, and perform devastating AoEs. But Phantom is tougher. They are faster and significantly less predictable. You are always too late to dodge their projectile throws, just a little too close to jump over their dash attacks. Phantom covers the entire battlefield, leaving you no safe space to cower until it is your turn to strike. Beating them unlocks Cross Stitch, an extended AoE that deals several attacks worth of damage. While in the Cross Stitch animation, you automatically parry incoming attacks. Great ability, brutal exam.
5. The First Sinner Is Impossibly Fast
Located in the hostile Slab prison, the First Sinner is among the fastest bosses in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Its main attack drops a series of massive needles on you, peppering the battlefield and leaving few safe spaces. You have to read its tell carefully and dodge in the right direction. Phase 1 also has a more generic melee combo. Phase 2 speeds up its attack patterns and unlocks a new attack, spawning exploding circle AoEs throughout the arena. This fight is all about positioning, and the boss gives you little time to get into place. It moves like a rumor in a small town: everywhere at once and impossible to pin down.
4. The High Halls Arena Is an Unrelenting Gauntlet
It is not technically a boss fight, but the High Halls arena fight deserves its spot. Arena fights are basically boss fights in multi-wave form, and this one has among the most waves in both Silksong and the original Hollow Knight: eleven consecutive phases. Just when you think you have reached the end, another wave arrives to break your streak. The constantly changing strategies and sheer length make it easy to make a deadly mistake. It is like being asked to solve a Rubik's cube while someone keeps swapping the stickers.
3. Moorwing Is Tough, But Cheese-able
Moorwing is widely considered one of the hardest boss fights in Silksong as a whole. It is another massive flying boss, and its attacks are big, bold, and difficult to dodge. It dives straight into you, slashes with its claws, and shoots deadly glowing orbs. The orbs follow strange, evolving patterns: a single bowling-ball-like trajectory along the ground, then double orbs, then a bizarre double-circling-back pattern that requires two dodges in quick succession. You can make the battle easier by recruiting Garmond and Zaza, or by attacking from above its arena where it cannot reach you. I am not above cheese.
2. Sister Splinter Was Powerful Pre-Patch
Sister Splinter was one of the first casualties of Silksong nerfs brought about by post-release patches. Her original version in the 1.0 release was incredibly difficult, to the point that many players complained in reviews. She had powerful claw attacks that dealt two masks' worth of damage each hit, a vine attack that limited your safe space, and the ability to summon Splinterbarks as adds. She was a formidable foe who left many players stuck in Shellwood. If you get past her, you unlock Cling Grip, a wall jump ability you need for remote areas. Post-patch she is more manageable, but veterans remember the original wall.
1. Skarrgard Causes New Players Trouble
Skarrgard is not even really a boss. He is a miniboss at best, without an official title drop or a proper arena. If you faced him in the late game, you would not find him that hard. He moves swiftly, and his attacks have big hitboxes, but he telegraphs his moves well and is easy enough to dodge with a full arsenal. The issue is placement. Skarrgard appears early enough to pose an impossible obstacle for most players. If you have not unlocked the dodge ability, you will get caught in his attacks over and over. He is intended to teach new players that sometimes it is better to level up and come back later than to stubbornly throw yourself at the same boss again. That lesson is more important than any single victory.
So that is my list. Silksong humbles you again and again, but that is exactly why beating these fights feels so good. If you are stuck in 2026, take a break, upgrade, and come back. The game will still be there, waiting to humble you.
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