By John Hansen

Copyright insider-gaming

The Cogwork Dancers in Hollow Knight: Silksong are a duo boss that needs to be dealt with at the top of the Cog Core.

Hollow Knight: Silksong has all kinds of bosses throughout the game, and these two are definitely unique. The way they move around the arena could almost be considered a deadly dance.

Here is how to take out the Cogwork Dancers in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

All Cogwork Dancers Attacks in Hollow Knight: Silksong

Dash Attack

This is far and away the attack you will deal with the most in this boss fight. Both enemies will dash in a particular direction that is given away by the line of light coming out of their heads.

If the Cogwork Dancer is dashing into the ground, they will do a wider attack around their landing area, so give yourself room to avoid that.

Central Flurry

Now and then, the Cogwork Dancers will both dash into the middle of the arena and unleash a flurry of attacks in a circle. Stay on the outside during this attack.

Full Arena Assault

When both Cogwork Dancers disappear from the arena, a bunch of lines will cover the area. Jump into an unoccupied place and hover there to avoid the incoming attacks on those lines.

As far as attacks go, that’s all the Cogwork Dancers have. The challenge in this fight is keeping an eye on both enemies as they move around the arena.

Cogwork Dancers Weaknesses in Hollow Knight: Silksong

Throughout the Cogwork Dancers fight in Hollow Knight: Silksong, the bosses will attack in only the few ways mentioned above. The dash attack is easily what you will see the most, as they move around the arena. Luckily, this move is telegraphed, so you can see the direction they are about to head in.

First Phase

In the first phase, both enemies move quite slowly, so you should take this time to get used to learning how to avoid their attacks. When they strike down on the ground, be sure to leave a little room to avoid their landing attack, but otherwise, just jump over them or move around in the open space.

Every time they do a dash, they will momentarily pause as they choose the next area to dash to. You can get 2-3 hits on one of them in between each dash, but be careful so you can avoid the next movement. You should be getting plenty of hits in to refill your silk in case you need to heal yourself.

As you are avoiding their dashes, we recommend staying on the ground. We found that the wall cling can often trap you with an incoming dash if they happen to move at the wrong angle.

After a little bit, you may see them attempt a full arena assault attack. Jump up into the spaces between the lines and hover for a moment to avoid the incoming damage.

Second Phase

After dealing enough damage to one of the Cogwork Dancers, they will both jump back into their pedestals and get wound up. When they return, they will both be moving much faster, but still synchronized. You only need to watch out for one new attack. Maintain the same strategy as above, where you attack in between their dashes.

When you see both aim for the center of the arena and a circle appears, run to either side and wait out the incoming flurry attack. Other than that, avoid their attacks, and eventually, you’ll send them both to their pedestals and start the third phase.

Third Phase

The third phase of the Cogwork Dancers fight in Hollow Knight: Silksong is where things get a little complicated. The speed from the previous phase is maintained, but now the dancers will be moving out of sync. Luckily, they will always take turns moving, so when you see one move, you can predict where the other will move because they can never occupy the same space.

Even though they are moving independently, there are times they will try a central flurry or full arena assault. The plan remains the same to avoid the lines and the central area during these attacks. Focus enough damage on one of the Cogwork Dancers and it will eventually die, but we’re not quite done yet.

Fourth Phase

After you defeat one of the Cogwork Dancers in Hollow Knight: Silksong, you still have to finish off the other. Don’t worry too much, though, because the fight actually takes a rather sad turn here.

After a brief break with nothing happening, you will see the remaining Cogwork Dancer get wound up and return to the arena. However, without its partner, the dancer seems to be just going through the motions. It will only do its dash attack around the area, but it’s very delayed now, probably even slower than the first phase. It will even still try a central flurry, but without the slashes.

Dish out all of the damage on the remaining Cogwork Dancer, and it will eventually join its partner in blowing up and finishing the fight.

Did this fight help you overcome the Cogwork Dancers’ performance in Hollow Knight: Silksong? Let us know in the comments or on the Insider Gaming forum.

Want to increase your health? We have the locations of mask shards in the Act 1 area of the game you can return to to make surviving the Citadel a little easier. You can also go do a side quest to fill your tools with poison damage.