How to beat the Hollow Knight Silksong Last Judge

How do you beat the Hollow Knight Silksong Last Judge? If you're struggling to take on the flail-flinging boss of the Citadel approach, we're here with a few choice tips. Like most of the tougher battles dotted around Pharloom, facing this challenge successfully means approaching it with a level head. Let yourself get intimidated by its fast and fancy footwork and you're sure to get squashed.

Last Judge is just one of the Hollow Knight Silksong bosses you'll need to kill to progress through the game. If you need a little help finding your way back after a rough first attempt, check out our Hollow Knight Silksong map to get your bearings. And if you're struggling to make some of the jumps, you might need to learn how to unlock the Dash and Sprint ability first.

Where to find Last Judge

Last Judge is located at the Citadel Gate. From the Cidatel approach, you need to scale the area in a sort of snaking left-to-right sweep, using the Hollow Knight Silksong Wall Climb ability to scale the area and the pogo ability to hop off the dangling chains onto nearby ledges.

You'll encounter a few enemies on the larger platforms on route to this boss. Do your best to avoid combat. It's entirely possible to run the route to this boss without taking damage, but you can mitigate things by seeking out Hollow Knight Silksong Mask Shards to gain some extra health.

Like most Hollow Knight Silksong bosses, beating Last Judge requires recognizing its attack patterns and tells and striking between them. She gives you a brief period to learn these attack patterns before speeding up and adding an extra hot element to each, turning it into a test of patience, focus, and endurance.

After a couple of chants, Last Judge begins her assault. Armed with a flail, her close-range attacks are fast while her ranged strikes are a little slower.

If she backs up a little, she's about to jump up and slam down where you stood. A little shift to the left or right is enough to avoid this, giving you a window of attack. She can also perform a faster close-range jump and slam attack without backing up. The same rule applies.

When she spins the flail close to her body, quickly dash away before it becomes a melee-range spin. If you're too close, she'll perform a quick strike before transitioning to the wider attack.

Once she's taken enough damage (usually after the second stun) Last Judge lets out another chant and ignites her mace, signalling a slight shift in the battle. Each of the aforementioned attacks now has a fiery follow-up effect, which generally equates to additional range. She's also considerably faster.

The mace spin now creates additional circles of smoke that quickly ignite, making only the area a few steps between each ring safe. If she chants before unleashing this move, which should only happen a little later in the battle, prepare to slide in and out of the extra smoke rings to avoid the additional travelling heat.

Meanwhile, the jumping slam creates a slow-moving wave of fire either side of Last Judge after the initial impact. This is easy enough to jump and gives a widow to strike her head and body. The long-range mage toss explodes shortly after touchdown, too, giving a little extra range and can trick you into thinking you're safe.

Last Judge can now also hold her flail behind her. This signals a fast dash you'll have to jump over. Watch the billowing smoke she leaves in her path to avoid the resulting fire plumes.

Given the extra-hot attacks come into play at around the 25% mark, you'll have to endure the extra heat for a good long while. Thankfully, the solution to surviving each attack doesn't really change: you just have to move further or a tad sooner. Manage to keep your composure and you should be able to dispatch her after a couple of tries, ushering Hollow Knight Silksong into its second act.

If you're struggling to find an opening with your current playstyle, seek out the Hollow Knight Silksong crests to switch up Hornet's arsenal and try again.

Wondering how far left you have to go now that you've ended the reign of the Last Judge? Check out our Hollow Knight Silksong length guide. It's a spoiler-free way to check your progress. And if you're wondering when a signature platforming ability comes into play, here's how to Double Jump in Hollow Knight Silksong, too.