How to beat the Hollow Knight Silksong Moorwing

How do you beat the Silksong Moorwing? Greymoor's secret boss is one nasty critter, especially if you go into the fight unprepared. He's fast, boasts a solid mix of melee and ranged attacks, and inflicts double damage with each hit he lands. In short, he's a massive difficulty jump.

Moorwing is one of the toughest Silksong bosses primarily due to how early you encounter him in the indie game. It's even possible to miss him altogether, whether you happen to take a wrong turn on the Silksong map or you're particularly rigorous about handing in quests. Lucky for you, we've got everything you need to find and beat Moorwing in one handy Hollow Knight Silksong guide.

Where to find Moorwing

Moorwing is located in Greymoor, in the very bottom-right corner of the biome on the path that leads to Bellhart.

The door that leads directly to Moorwing is locked when you first get there, but you can get around it by heading up the platforms in this screen and taking the left passage. Head down the platforms and take the bottom passage marked by a sign. Move to the far right and use your Needle to snap the rope holding up the platform at your feet. The Moorwing boss room is to the immediate left.

The chance for you to encounter Moorwing at all depends on whether you've completed The Lost Fleas questline before you visit his location. If you have, the flea caravan will be there instead, and you won't be able to fight him until your next playthrough. Hard luck!

Moorwing is a deadly blend of speed and aggression, so it pays to be patient during this fight. Whenever Hornet comes too close, Moorwing rears back and performs a relentless flurry attack using the blades on his feet. This attack alone can shred through your health in record time, so dash out of the way the moment you see the animation.

This boss also loves to summon several spinning blades at once, which travel horizontally along the ground and then up into a wide circular arc. The trickiest variation of this boomerang projectile occurs when Moorwing looks down and roars, sending two blades out from either side of him, which meet in the middle and then travel outwards along the floor.

While it might be tempting to squeeze in a Silksong diagonal dive attack whenever Moorwing swoops down, it's easy to get caught in the blade he summons immediately afterwards. Instead, you could use this moment to heal in mid-air. Don't forget that the Drifter's Cloak can slow your descent in cases where you might mistime your jump, allowing you to float past his downward swoop unharmed.

You'll temporarily stun Moorwing several times over the course of the fight, knocking him to the floor. This is probably your best opportunity to heal, and we recommend saving up your silk for this purpose rather than Silkspear.

Ultimately, this fight is about choosing your moments wisely and opting for evasion above all else. Despite all his aggression, Moorwing's not the smartest bug in Pharloom, and he can easily become confused if you stand directly under him - just be prepared to dodge behind him when he prepares his foot-knives.

How to recruit allies for Moorwing

Provided you've met Garmond and Zaza in the Half-Way Home, you can recruit them after you lose to Moorwing for the first time. Catch the wind current on the platform to the right of Moorwing's boss room to find them. Speak to Garmond and select 'Yes' when prompted, then head back down and begin the fight. Garmond and Zaza will appear after a few seconds; they can be knocked down, but don't worry - they won't actually be killed.

Moorwing cheese strategy

If you're still having trouble, it's time to break the emergency glass and rely on our Moorwing cheese strategy. Go to the Chapel of the Reaper on the western side of Greymoor and fight through its combat and puzzle challenges to obtain the Reaper Crest. Equip it to alter Hornet's basic attack to an arc slash.

Initiate the boss fight, then turn right back around and take the wind current that leads to Garmond and Zaza. Head to the far left of the platform suspended over the boss fight, and wait for Moorwing to meet you on the other side. From here, you can defeat him easily without ever being in real danger. Will this eventually be patched out? Probably. But for now, it's a guaranteed way to squash this nasty bug.

Now that you know how to beat Moorwing, don't forget to pick up the Silksong Needle upgrade after you've solved Bellhart's woes. We've also got some handy Silksong Rosary farm locations for some easy shop currency, too.