How do you beat the Hollow Knight Silksong Last Judge? If you’re struggling to take on the Citadel’s thurible-flinging boss, we can help. Like most of the major boss fights in Pharloom, beating Last Judge requires you to keep a level head – get intimidated by her fancy footwork and you’re sure to get squashed.
Last Judge is one of the main Silksong bosses you need to beat to progress through the Metroidvania game’s story, so there’s no way to avoid it. She’s the next stop after you save Bellhart, so check out our Silksong map to get your bearings. Don’t forget to pick up the Silksong Needle upgrade before you set off to beat this fiery judge.
Where to find Last Judge
Last Judge is located at the Citadel Gate, in the very top-right corner of Blasted Steps.
The fastest way to get there is from the Blasted Steps bench, just next to the Silksong fast travel point. From here, you must run the gauntlet of enemies and platform puzzles that stand between you and Last Judge.
Remember to use your Silksong Wall Climb ability to scale the wall on the far left. Do your best to avoid combat, but don’t be afraid to pogo off the coneflies as you go. Follow our video above, and you should be able to reliably run back in approximately 40 seconds.
It’s entirely possible to run the route without taking damage, but you can mitigate it further by seeking out Silksong Mask Shards to gain some extra health. It’ll definitely help you in the battle against Last Judge, too.
How to beat Last Judge
The Last Judge boss fight is a test of patience, focus, and endurance. It’s the culmination of everything you’ve learned to reach this point, from abilities to muscle memory. Last Judge’s close-range attacks are incredibly fast, whereas her long-range attack can be difficult to read when off-screen. Consequently, we recommend staying in the mid-range for the majority of this fight.
Watch out for when Last Judge backs up a little – this animation telegraphs when she’s about to leap into the air and drive her thurible into the ground at Hornet’s current position. Its hitbox is easily avoided and gives you a window of attack. She often jumps multiple times in a row; try to keep her in the middle of the room, since it’s very easy for her to box you into a corner with nowhere to go once she continues her assault.
Whenever Last Judge lifts her war thurible, quickly dash away before it becomes a melee-range spin. If you’re too close, she performs a quick strike before she transitions to the wider attack. This telegraph is very similar to the one before she throws the thurible towards you instead, so it’s best to remain at a distance either way. You can avoid the thurible when she throws it by sticking close to her side, but be prepared to jump over it when she yanks it back.
Once she’s taken enough damage, Last Judge ignites her thurible for the transition to phase two. Each of the aforementioned attacks now has a fiery follow-up effect, which equates to additional range. She’s also considerably faster, so watch out for those telegraphs.
In this second phase, Last Judge’s thurible spin creates concentric circles of smoke that quickly ignite. Stand in the area between each ring and creep forwards as they billow outwards. This attack gets faster towards the end of the fight, so be prepared to go from side-stepping to dashing out of the way. The long-range thurible toss explodes shortly after touchdown, so make sure you give it a wide berth to avoid the explosion.
The jump-slam ignites the boss room floor immediately after the initial impact; you can avoid it with a simple jump, and take the opportunity to get in a free hit or two. Last Judge also holds her thurible behind her and dashes from one side of the boss room to the other. Jump over her, but take care to avoid the plumes of smoke she leaves behind her which ignite a moment later.
Given Last Judge’s fire attacks come into play about a quarter of the way through the fight, you should prepare to endure the extra heat for a long while. Thankfully, the solution to surviving each of her attacks doesn’t really change – you just have to move faster and further to avoid them.
Keep your composure and you should be able to dispatch her after a couple of tries, ushering Silksong into its second act. If you’re struggling to find an opening with your current playstyle, seek out the best Silksong crests to switch up Hornet’s arsenal and try again.
Now that you’ve beaten Last Judge and made it past the Citadel Gate, keep an eye out for Silksong Pale Oil to improve your damage against harder enemies. If you’re curious how much more you have to go until the credits roll, find out how long Silksong takes to beat for a spoiler-free way to check your progress.
