Hollow Knight Silksong Bell Beast guide

How do you beat the Bell Beast in Silksong? As a metroidvania, Silksong is full of challenges and, of course, troublesome bosses. With some 40-plus to defeat in total - don't worry, some are optional - you may need some help with a few. That's where we come in.

Of all the Silksong bosses, we love Bell Beast the most. She's harmless, really. Well, she's not, but the lovable critter is friendly, as you'll come to find once you've survived her battle. Her fight is a fairly easy one to survive, but you must learn her movements first. Here's where to find the Silksong Bell Beast in the metroidvania game, and how best to defeat her.

Where to find Bell Beast

The Bell Beast is located in The Marrow, to the top left of the map, and must be reached via Mosshome, the northeast part of the Mosslands. Once unlocked, the area can then also be accessed from Bone Bottom by scaling The Marrow from the southwest.

Once you've defeated the Bell Beast, this area becomes the first Silksong fast travel station, as the Bell Beast herself becomes your faithful mount across Pharmloom. Using items purchased from Shakra, the map merchant, you'll be able to mark these stations for future use.

How to defeat the Silksong Bell Beast

The Bell Beast has three behaviors to learn: a jump, a run, and a yell that drops bells onto the battlefield. Over two phases, the best tactic is to dodge, attacking the Bell Beast when it stops at either end of the arena. You'll deal more damage with your Silkspear or Dive attack, but she can be defeated with normal attacks alone.

During the first phase of the fight, the Bell Beast comes up from either side of the area, shown in advance by a cloud of dust. Stay in the middle when you see this, and the Beast will either dive over your head or land on the ground. In the latter case, prepare to jump over it as it darts across the floor. When it jumps, head towards its landing side and get a few attacks in before it burrows back underground.

You'll soon notice that the Bell Beast makes a different sound depending on whether it runs or jumps across the stage. Listen out for the difference to prepare for each attack earlier.

Occasionally, the dust cloud appears in the middle of the arena, at which point you should move to one side. The Beast comes straight up at this point, bringing two bells with it. Watch where they fall and jump over them as they roll to either side of the area.

The end of the first phase is marked by the Bell Beast coming up in the middle again and screaming, at which point you can land another two or three hits. Briefly afterwards, bells drop from the sky. Watch for rays of light to mark their location, and avoid them as they each bounce once. If you stay at one end of the arena, you'll only need to dodge one falling bell.

The second half of the fight is much the same as the first. The only difference to be aware of is that now, when the beast comes up in the middle, an additional third bell will drop from the sky, so be prepared to dodge the extra, as well.

As mentioned above, with the Silksong Bell Beast defeated, you'll be able to use the adventure game's fast travel system. We feel pretty guilty for attacking her, to be honest, she's an angel. As you travel around the Pharloom map, you'll also want to save your Silksong progress using benches, and resting also heals Hornet's wounds.