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- Nyleth’s Attack Patterns
Your task to find the Old Hearts has begun, and with it, you’re faced with some incredibly tough challenges. Hollow Knight: Silksong doesn’t pull any punches; that’s safe to say. But some fights are easier than others, if you know what you’re doing.
In a secret entrance that splits off from the Grand Gate, you’ll find two bosses that will seriously test the abilities you’ve honed so far. One is Seth, who blocks your path to the heart, and the other is Nyleth, who exists only in memory.
While neither is easy, Nyleth certainly has the trickier mechanics. So let’s see what this big flower has in store for us and how to take her down.
How to Get There
I’ll quickly go over the method for getting to this boss if you haven’t found her already. This area is blacked out on the map, and some may think she’s in the blasted steps, which is incorrect.
First up, head over to the Choral Chambers Ventrica Station, and then descend to the Grand Gate. Head to the bottom of the scale platform to where that previous lift was and then use your Silk Soar to go up through the ceiling. There’s a little path that will take you to the elevator shaft.
When in the vertical shaft, about halfway down the left wall, there will be a breakable entrance. Head inside and break the vines below to open up the area to the main chamber. Head down through the little flower maze, and it will lead up to a long corridor leading west. Take down Seth, and you will gain access to Nyleth.
Make sure you activate the bench to the right of the elevator shaft. It costs 15 Rosaries, but only for the first time.
Fight Preparation
Memory Tips
There are a few things that are certainly worth mentioning before you head into this fight. This is a memory fight, one where you fight the boss in a version of the past. This means that you can use as many red tools as you want, and you don’t have to re-craft them when you wake up. Take this into account when sorting out your tools. Thankfully, there’s basically no runback, so feel free to be aggressive.
However, things like the fractured mask won’t repair upon waking up, so unless it’s your first try, you won’t be able to use it without first returning to a bench. Seeing as though this fight doesn’t last very long, you might want to focus on aggressive tools instead of things that prolong the fight, like the Multibinder or Reserve Bind.
Crest Usage
This fight is all about learning and perfecting your pogo technique. As for the entire second phase, there will be spikes on the walls and on the ground, preventing you from landing. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but one that I enjoyed quite a lot.
Considering this, I recommend you use a crest that has a vertical downslash, like the Crest of the Wandereror Reaper. These are far easier to use and don’t require as much manoeuvring in midair like the Hunter or Beast Crest. However, this is a personal choice; some prefer the diagonal attack.
Tool suggestions
In addition, try to use tools that work on their own without your input, seeing as though you won’t have time to aim. I went for a pseudo-summoning build. What worked best here was the Cogfly with the Pollip Pouch. These poisoned beauties work on their own, flying around doing damage while you focus on dodging.
In addition, you might want to head to the Wisp Thicket and pick up the Wispfire Lantern. This is a blue tool that uses your silk to summon fiery wisps that auto-target your enemies. Both of these allow me to do extra damage with basically 0 input from me.
Pick up the Longclaw if you’re having trouble pogoing properly. This will give you more reach for easier downwards attacks. And finally, the Ascendant’s Grip yellow tool is crucial here.
Nyleth’s Attack Patterns
Phase 1
(The full Nyleth fight is displayed in the video above.)
From what I can see, it seems like this boss has quite a bit less health than others (though this might just be because you can hit her a lot faster). This is probably because you’re stuck gripping a wall for most of the encounter, making the arena as much of an enemy of the boss itself.
As I mentioned before, get comfortable spending extended amounts of time in the air and get used to pogoing on top of enemies. You should have perfected this in your time in the Hunter’s March. If you happen to fall on the spikes, a temporary platform will spawn to get you back in the fight.
In addition, a good strategy in this fight is just to dash in for a few quick shots and then back out to the other wall. Using your clawline to close the gap and clawline back will hasten the fight and help you avoid her ridiculously massive AoE attack. Here are the main moves Nyleth uses.
Attack Name | Description | How To Avoid |
|---|---|---|
Orbs of Thorn | 3 thorns rise from the ground and float in the air for a second before falling back down. | Avoid the plume of smoke that shows where they are going. If you want, you can hit the thorns towards Nyleth for some free damage at range. |
Pollen Blast | Nyleth will use this all the time, and it’s tough to avoid. You will notice a large circle of yellow begin to form around her, which will explode, dealing damage. | Your best bet is to either dash or clawline to the opposite side of the room as soon as you see the yellow. |
Flower Dash | Nyleth will lower her head, charge up and then dash to the other wall, dealing damage if you’re in the way. | As soon as you see that head go down, immediately double jump with your cloak and head to the wall she came from. Spikes will spawn on whatever wall she is on. |
Blade Slash | Nyleth will crouch for a second and then flail her head, causing large blades to surge through the air. | This is tough, the dodge, seeing as though you don’t have much time to react, and you need to be close to hit her. Try to dash back as soon as you see her lower her head. |
For most of Phase 1, you can stand next to her and just wail on her, dodging when necessary. Phase 2 is when it gets tricky.
Phase 2
Once this next phase begins, the platforms you’ve been standing on will disappear completely, forcing you to cling to the wall for the entirety of the rest of the fight. This is why the Ascendant’s grip is crucial.
Now, this is when you need to start pogoing. What’s nice is that the arena opens up a bit, so when she uses her Pollen Blast attack, you can avoid it by floating in the small area above her head instead of heading to the opposite wall.
This phase doesn’t really change the fight that much, apart from the fact that, naturally, she’s quite a bit faster and more aggressive than before. However, you don’t need to match that aggression. Play safe and stay away from her, to hang on the wall if you need a breather! She’s a lot more deadly when you’re right on top of her.
Her Orbs of Thorn attack now spawns 5 thorns instead of 3. Also, she may use her Flower Dash twice in rapid succession.
There is 1 new attack to look out for here:
Attack Name | Description | How To Avoid |
|---|---|---|
Pollen Projectiles | Nyleth will begin to spit out yellow blobs of pollen across the whole stage. | These have pretty big gaps between them, so stay on the opposite wall and shuffle up and down where needed. |
Apart from that, phase 2 is really quick, and if you use the “summoner” build that I displayed above, you can have this entire fight down in a little more than 1 minute. Finish up the fight, and then grab the Pollen Heart that is presented to you.
Congratulations! That’s one heart crossed off the list. But be aware, Nyleth is probably the easiest out of the 3 Heart bosses. The next two are where the fun really begins!
Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Released
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September 4, 2025
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
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Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
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Team Cherry
- Engine
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Unity
- Franchise
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Hollow Knight
