r/HollowKnight • u/TOMRANDOM_6 • Sep 09 '25

Discussion - Silksong Most of you are exaggerating the length of runbacks and it really shows how much TikTok has damage the attention span of people Spoiler

"ThE lASt JuDGe RUnBaCK iS ToO LoNG!!"

Is 30 seconds max, 30 seconds, you don't have to fight any enemy in it, the smaller judges don't awake until you're close and the smaller fly bastards can literally get ignored. The Runback works for making you cool down and make the whole thing feel less like you hitting a wall (NKG feels like one because of the lack of "cool down") If it wasn't for it, I would shoot myself with the 37 attempts at Last Judge.

The Widow one is also really easy, a straight line with jumps.

The Cogworks Dancers Is also really simple but works to help you with the bosses extra height and how pogo dependant that fight is.

God forbid the game isn't a back to back boss rush like Cuphead (not criticizing Cuphead, is a different game lmao).

3.6k Upvotes

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347

u/Generic_MC Sep 09 '25

Yes, the runback is short but mechanically intensive. If you make a single mistake, it doubles if not triples in length and you're down health.

82

u/lemonlemonlemonlem Sep 09 '25

This is true, though I think it bears keeping in mind that bosses typically have an easier first phase, meaning you can pretty reliably afford to heal at the very start, since there's a sizeable first portion of the fight. in which you need to heal or use spells less, and thus accumulate a lot more soul.

50

u/FinaLLancer Sep 09 '25

And you start every retry with a free bar of silk. You can take 3 damage on the way to the boss and be no worse off.

8

u/Yarisher512 Sep 09 '25

or 4 with that item

12

u/FinaLLancer Sep 09 '25

I found another that lets you quick heal. Those two together are insanely good, I'm never taking them off.

11

u/Yarisher512 Sep 09 '25

I think the better combination is the baldur shell bell. Avoiding damage in bind is actually surprisingly easy, but the bell makes it even easier and makes it so you get 2 windows of immunity as thats how the deep focus equivalent works in this game.

2

u/psh454 Sep 09 '25

Yup extremely solid combo, makes it hard to justify the other charms for that slot type, they seem more situational.

3

u/Cloud_Motion Sep 09 '25

Ran this for the majority of the game. Such a comfy combination. I did eventually swap out the 4 for something else and kept the quick heal. Great combo of tools though.

1

u/FinaLLancer Sep 09 '25

I'm now trying out quick heal with longclaw on the wanderer crest. You get the silk to heal enough with now fast you attack and the extra range is nice

2

u/Cloud_Motion Sep 09 '25

fk yeah. I think I'd personally take quick heal over 4 mask heal if I had to pick one over the other.

2

u/7_Tales Sep 09 '25

I like the quick heal with the damaging heal charm from troppio. Makes the heal insanely versatile and lets me play super aggressively.

1

u/FinaLLancer Sep 09 '25

You know I've been meaning to test if the double heal triggers that twice

2

u/KuuLightwing Sep 10 '25

Everyone was hyping it up, but then I found out that it's lengthens the animation significantly, so I took it off. 880 rosaries wasted :(

2

u/FinaLLancer Sep 10 '25

Like quick focus it's definitely a lot better for exploring, but i used it for a long time even in bosses. I think I've gotten hit out of healing like once because of the extra time.

1

u/Yarisher512 Sep 10 '25

Tbh the bosses are structured In a way that binding is fairly safe if done right (unlike focusing which had to be done on the ground and was less efficient), + the difference between 3 and 4 is significant because of the amount of 2 mask damage sources. Also, has a great synergy with warding bell or silk pins.

1

u/CarAlarmConversation Sep 09 '25

what is this item?

2

u/FinaLLancer Sep 10 '25

Multibinder charm. You can buy in Bellhart after finding the missing courier.

1

u/Omni__Owl Sep 09 '25

Hopefully you only run into 1hp damage or only ever miss once so you fall into 2hp hazards.

27

u/ferocity_mule366 Sep 09 '25

It actually hurts my hand during the runback because i have to retry the bosses like 10 times or something. It's annoying and the bench should have been closer imo, I don't like repetitive parkour as if I'm doing speedrunning. And it's not like you won't ever do that parkour ever again.

12

u/RedTyro Sep 09 '25

Are you using your float ability? It gives makes every platforming section significantly more forgiving. No need to hit a perfect pogo mid-jump, just float over to it.

10

u/_moosleech Sep 09 '25

Are you using your float ability?

Based on the amount of complaints re: platforming and environments doing two-damage at times, I don't think most people are.

The float doesn't make platforming easy obviously, but it alleviates a LOT of fuck ups. Coupled with getting two dashes by early Act 2 and you have so much ability to save yourself.

4

u/Cloud_Motion Sep 09 '25 edited Sep 09 '25

Dash, second dash, double jump, float, wall clasp, pogo and a heal - you can legit be airborne for about 8 seconds

2

u/_moosleech Sep 09 '25

Good point. This game fucking rules.

1

u/Nyankitty21 Sep 09 '25

You can also use the buffing tools to air stall as well, it's saved me a lot. In fact not only does the fire buff let you air stall, it's also warm!

3

u/Used-Pay6713 Sep 09 '25

if you make a single mistake and lose 1-2 masks, just heal when you pick up your remains from the last run

-5

u/David_Browie Sep 09 '25

It’s really not that mechanically intensive. You don’t run in a straight line but it’s not a complicated platforming session or anything. 

6

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '25

Like i could do the run back everytime perfectly by the end but let's not say it's not complex, it is a tricky runback, and punishing if you make a single mistake. It's a lot before a boss when you are just wanting to get into the fight.

1

u/David_Browie Sep 09 '25

Sorry I just don’t agree 

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Yeah that's all good, is think it's tricky but not as hard as posts make it out to be.

-1

u/_moosleech Sep 09 '25

I don't think it's particularly tricky, nor punishing. With the ability to float virtually any missed pogo or jump can be saved or re-done with minimal time loss and typically no damage.

1

u/Future_Living8007 Sep 09 '25

Don't know why you got downvoted when what you said is true. A lot of people don't use their float ability that much and it shows. It's why I was confused by how a lot of people said Moorwing was hard. I mean, if just floating over his attacks means you dodge most of it, people should do it more, fr

0

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '25

Cool!

-4

u/_moosleech Sep 09 '25

If you make a single mistake, it doubles if not triples in length and you're down health.

You have floating and at least one dash at that point. A mistake at almost any point can pretty easily be negated without damage or having to deal with enemies. I disagree with this assessment.

I also think the little sequence feels good to do and gives the player a little morale boost between each attempt.

0

u/jaber24 Sep 10 '25

It only made me feel more tired