The Terrible Tyrant, Skull Tyrant, is the first truly optional boss available in a normal playthrough of Hollow Knight: Silksong. This Wish-boss is hidden craftily in one of the earliest available areas, but you will not be able to fight it, let alone find it, until you have progressed further toward your ultimate goal at the summit of Pharloon: the Citadel.

After acquiring some of the strength Hornet lost on her journey, you can track this beast down into the boney Marrow. Passing many familiar sights, you will get to adventure into parts of the Marrow never before seen. In the dark and forgotten depths of this region, you will have the opportunity to quell the monster that has terrified pilgrims for far too long.

How To Find The Skull Tyrant

Although you can reach this boss's arena as soon as you have obtained the Cling Grip ability, Skull Tyrant is not available to fight until you have accepted its relevant quest: the Terrible Tyrant.

To accept this quest, go to the Wish Board in Bone Bottom.

You can also accept the Volatile Flintbeetles quest at the same time. We recommend doing so, making the most of your trip to the Marrow.

Once the Wish quest is active, use the Bellway to return to the Marrow map area. From the station, the path to the Skull Tyrant is delightfully simple:

  • Go east as far as you can until you reach the room with the Jail and the entrances to Hunter's March and Bellhart.
  • Go south to the room that goes to Deep Docks.
  • Take a left to the room with the cart that can be taken across the lava.
  • Ignore the cart and instead use Cling Grip to jump up to a path you've never been on before.
  • Follow that path upward until the space brightens and you see a brass platform above you.

We recommend ignoring the platform momentarily to take a left, opening a shortcut. In fact, go one step further and go sit on the bench at the Flea Caravan (just in case).

Once you are ready, jump up onto that brass platform and go right until you see a giant skull. To activate the Skull Tyrant fight, you must strike the skull mask once with any attack. We hope you're ready.

If you want to really get the drop on Skull Tyrant, you can set up traps around the arena.

This is one of the few times when the start of combat rests solely on you, giving you plenty of opportunity to be downright devious.

How To Defeat The Skull Tyrant

Attack

Wind-Up Tells And Attack Description

Suggested Counters

Charge

Marching in place (and slightly sliding backwards while doing so), Skull Tyrant charges itself up before rushing forward and bulldozing anything in its path. Occasionally, this boss will turn around and perform a second Charge (without the build-up) in the opposite direction. Even more rarely, he can perform a third Charge.

Jump over and attack after landing.

Jump

Crouching down, the tyrant holds itself in place momentarily before launching itself into the air for a deadly leaping attack. He can perform this twice in quick succession.

Sprint under the jump and turn around for a counterattack.

Boulder Crash

After a brief roar, Skull Tyrant jumps in place. This sends waves of boulders crashing down from the ceiling. Each boulder path is marked by dust debris falling from the ceiling.

Watch for falling debris. If possible, attack. If not, stand in a safe zone and wait for the next attack.

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Unlike other bosses you have faced up to this point, Skull Tyrant is remarkably simple in its moveset. So simple, in fact, that it has only three attacks. What makes Skull Tyrant dangerous is the amount of damage that can quickly be dealt. Regrettably, all of Skull Tyrant's attacks deal two masks of damage.

Skull Tyrant is almost identical to the normal skull brute enemy you have already encountered in the Marrow. The only differences here are that the tyrant can jump and cause falling boulders.

Because there are no phase transitions for this fight, the main goal of this encounter is simply perfecting your counters to the moveset to avoid damage. Skull Tyrant has a large amount of health, meaning this fight can feel like it is dragging on. As a stamina-based fight, the tried-and-true method to defeat Skull Tyrant is to:

  • Heal only during Boulder Crashes when in a safe zone.
  • Don't try anything fancy. Only do what works; do it consistently.
  • Let Skull Tyrant come to you. Don't play aggressively.

Most importantly: stay away from the right corner. The best place to stand is in the arena center where you can react to Skull Tyrant's moves accurately.

The reason you want to stay in the arena center is because of the greatest threat of the tyrant's moveset: the Boulder Crash. While not immediately threatening on its own, this zoning technique greatly hinders movement.

If not careful, this attack can trap you in a corner where compounding damage between boulders and an inescapable attack from the Skull Tyrant can cancel Hornet's life subscription policy.

However, as alluded to above, this dangerous move can also be your greatest ally. Since Skull Tyrant is often locked in his dancing animation, you can often get a full and safe heal when standing in a safe location during the length of this move.

Speaking of movement, Skull Tyrant can fall offthe arena on the left side. However, he can easily jump back on, making pogo-ing off his head from the ledge above a risky and altogether not-worth-it strategy. But if you're still hoping to gimp this boss, you can use that platform that connects to the tunnel system below to your advantage:

  • You can safely heal under the platform.
  • You can bait Skull Tyrant off the arena and then strike from under the platform with traps and Silkspear.

While it is unlikely that you can do the entire fight against Skull Tyrant under the platform, you can knock off a chunk of damage without threat to yourself. If you are of the gimping variety, you might want to give this a go toward the end of your fight (you scoundrels know who you are).

Sometimes, Skull Tyrant has no interest in fighting you here and will leave. Other times, he will be so aggressive that you cannot leave your corner without going so far that you reset the boss.

As with any gimping strategy, you are playing with fire. Doing fights normally tends to be the most consistent option.

As long as you play the long and steady game, you will put an end to the Skull Tyrant. There is no indication that his health is low, so keep at it until he stops moving. Once defeated, you will earn the Crown Fragment. There is no practical use for this item, so turn it in to the Wish Board in Bone Bottom for your prize: a Heavy Rosary Necklace.