Boss database

Every Boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong

All 34 boss encounters in Silksong — 14 in Act 1, 10 in Act 2 and 10 in Act 3, including 8 rematch and variant fights. Rows follow the recommended fight order, with each boss linked to a full guide: location, key attacks, strategy and rewards.

16 of them are story-required; the rest are optional duels worth rosaries, lore and tools. Not sure where a fight lives? Every boss page links straight into the interactive map.

Open boss markers on the map27 regions · updated 2026-08-30

Act 1 — The Lowlands

Act 1

From the Moss Grotto to the Blasted Steps: Hornet's climb out of the lowlands ends at the Last Judge and the gates of the Citadel.

#	Boss	Region	Must fight?	Difficulty	Rewards
01	Moss Mother	Moss Grotto	Story	easy	Rosaries
02	Bell Beast	The Marrow	Story	trivial	Unlocks the Bellway fast-travel system, Rosaries
03	Lumble the Lucky	The Marrow	Optional	easy	Rosaries
04	Skull Tyrant	The Marrow	Optional	moderate	Large rosary payout
05	Lace	Deep Docks	Story	moderate	Rosaries, Story progression
06	Savage Beastfly	Hunter's March	Story	hard	Path through Hunter's March, Rosaries
07	Fourth Chorus	Far Fields	Story	moderate	Story progression, Rosaries
08	Sister Splinter	Shellwood	Story	moderate	Rosaries, Story progression
09	Shrine Guardian Seth	Shellwood	Optional	moderate	Seth can be befriended after defeat, Lore
10	Great Conchflies	Blasted Steps	Optional	moderate	Rosaries
11	Widow	Bellhart	Story	hard	Needolin (story-critical instrument)
12	Moorwing	Greymoor	Optional	hard	Lore, Set-piece completion with Garmond & Zaza
13	Last Judge	Blasted Steps	Story	hard	Act 2 access
14	↳ Phantom Variant of Last Judge	Bilewater	Optional	hard	Unique Phantom reward

Act 2 — The Citadel

Act 2

Inside the Citadel the fights climb the spire — from the Cogwork Dancers in the Choral Chambers to Grand Mother Silk at the Cradle.

#	Boss	Region	Must fight?	Difficulty	Rewards
15	↳ Moss Mothers Variant of Moss Mother	Moss Grotto	Optional	moderate	Rosaries
16	Cogwork Dancers	Choral Chambers	Story	moderate	Architect's Melody progression, Story progression
17	Forebrothers Signis & Gron	Unconfirmed	Optional	moderate	Materials, Rosaries
18	Groal the Great	Bilewater	Story	hard	Story progression
19	↳ Savage Beastfly (Rematch) Variant of Savage Beastfly	Bilewater	Optional	hard	Rosaries
20	↳ Lace (Rematch) Variant of Lace	High Halls	Story	hard	Conductor's Melody access
21	Trobbio	Whispering Vaults	Optional	hard	Claw Mirror, Secret lore
22	First Sinner	Sinner's Road	Story	hard	Story progression
23	Voltvyrm	Cogwork Core	Story	hard	Architect's Melody access
24	Grand Mother Silk	The Cradle	Story	brutal	Act 2 ending (initial ending)

Act 3 — The Void Endgame

Act 3

Void-touched Pharloom reopens old arenas for rematches and hides the true final confrontation with Lost Lace.

#	Boss	Region	Must fight?	Difficulty	Rewards
25	Clover Dancers	Verdania	Story	hard	Story progression
26	Nyleth	Verdania	Optional	hard	Unique reward, Lore
27	Skarrsinger Karmelita	Unconfirmed	Optional	hard	Unique reward
28	Pinstress	Blasted Steps	Optional	hard	Rosaries, Lore
29	Giant Flea	Unconfirmed	Optional	moderate	Flea Caravan completion reward
30	↳ Unravelled Trobbio Variant of Trobbio	Whispering Vaults	Optional	hard	Unique tool, Lore
31	↳ Last Judge (Rematch) Variant of Last Judge	Blasted Steps	Optional	hard	Rosaries
32	↳ Great Conchflies (Rematch) Variant of Great Conchflies	Blasted Steps	Optional	moderate	Rosaries
33	↳ Shrine Guardian Seth (Act 3 Rematch) Variant of Shrine Guardian Seth	Shellwood	Optional	hard	Lore
34	Lost Lace	The Underside	Story	brutal	True ending

Silksong bosses ranked by difficulty

The same fights, ordered from brutal to trivial — the quick answer for "which Silksong bosses are hardest" and a planning tool for tool and crest loadouts.

Silksong bosses FAQ

How many bosses are in Hollow Knight: Silksong?

By our count Silksong ships 34 verifiable boss encounters: 14 in Act 1, 10 in Act 2 and 10 in Act 3 — 8 of them rematches or variants of earlier fights. Community sources count differently because rematch fights inflate the total: MapGenie lists 46 boss entries, our in-depth Silksong FAQ cites 47, and thesilksongmap.com ships 41 boss pages. Treat 40+ as the realistic total; the 34 records here are the fights we can stand behind name by name.

Which bosses do you have to beat to finish Silksong?

16 of the 34 fights are story-required. Act 1 demands Moss Mother, Bell Beast, Lace, Savage Beastfly, Fourth Chorus, Sister Splinter, Widow and the Last Judge; Act 2 adds the Cogwork Dancers, Groal the Great, the Lace rematch, First Sinner, Voltvyrm and Grand Mother Silk; Act 3 requires the Clover Dancers and Lost Lace. Everything else is optional — worth fighting, never forced.

Who is the final boss in Silksong?

Lost Lace is the true final boss, fought in The Underside at the bottom of Act 3's descent for the true ending. Before that, Grand Mother Silk closes Act 2 at the Cradle with the game's initial ending, and the Last Judge gates the end of Act 1.

What is the hardest boss in Silksong?

The dataset rates two fights brutal: Grand Mother Silk, the multi-phase Act 2 finale with scarce healing windows, and Lost Lace, the true final exam that remixes the original Lace duel in the Void. Behind them sit a long tier of hard fights — the Last Judge, Groal the Great, Savage Beastfly and the Widow among them.