How to beat the Bell Beast in Hollow Knight: Silksong

The Bell Beast is a step up in difficulty from the first boss, so knowing how to beat it is key.

As possibly the second boss you encounter in Hollow Knight: Silksong, the Bell Beast is a major step up from the first such enemy you fought. It’s faster, has a wider array of attacks, and hits twice as hard, to name only a bit. Here’s how to beat it.

How to beat the Bell Beast boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong

The Bell Beast has more than double the attacks as the Moth Mother and all of them deal two points (masks) of damage instead of one. If you haven’t upgraded your health upon fighting it (which is likely), that makes the fight a three-hit failure. Knowing when to heal is thus as important as knowing how to deal with the boss’s attacks.

Let’s get into those now:

All Bell Beast attacks in Silksong

The Bell Beast fight has three phases, and each intensifies the fight in new ways. In phase one, the Beast only has two attacks. After dealing enough damage, you'll need to deal with a third. Then the final phase adds hazards rather than attacks.

Ground charge

The Bell Beast creates a small dust cloud where it will appear, pops out of the ground, and charges along the floor. Jump over it and do a down attack for a free hit.

Jumping slam

Here, the Bell Beast creates a larger dust cloud and lets out a battle cry, then bursts from the ground and jumps across the arena. You need to walk underneath the boss about half the length of the room to fully avoid taking damage, but the Beast pauses for a moment before going back beneath the floor. Use that time to get up to four hits in.

Double bell toss

The only new attack in phase two sees the Bell Beast create a dust cloud in the center of the room, then it pops directly up, tossing two large bells in either direction. Touching a bell deals two damage, so move toward whichever arena wall is closest, then jump over the bell as it rolls toward you. Note that the Bell Beast can use this attack twice in a row.

Final phase transition

Once you deal enough damage, the Bell Beast will pop out of the floor and scream, causing multiple bells to fall from the ceiling. Watch for the dust trails to see where they’ll be coming from before they fall. Your best bet for avoiding them, I found, was to go to either end of the arena and jump over the few that make it your way.

In the third and final phase, the Bell Beast doesn’t gain any new attacks, but both its jumping slam and bell toss cause the arena to violently shake. After either attack, a third bell will drop from the ceiling at a random point, possibly comboing you for four or more damage if you’re positioning is poor.

You’ll therefore need to juggle not only avoiding the boss’s attacks and dealing but also the additional falling bells. I’ll admit, I died a few times by losing track of a falling bell, and while it’s a little frustrating, the Bell Beast fight is satisfying enough to master that it wasn’t a huge deal.

For much more on Hollow Knight: Silksong, check out our dedicated game page.