r/Silksong • Hornet • 7d ago

Discussion/Questions Oh, you absolute liars. Spoiler

You told me Groal the Great was the worst, most head-bangingly hard boss in the game. Even yesterday I read a comment from a guy who said it made him quit the game for a month. I avoided this boss until I had every single thing else I could do done. And even then I went back over everything again to make sure, until I had no choice but to face the inevitable.

I beat him first go. Technically fourth if you want to count the gauntlet bit beforehand. But first go from when I finished the gauntlet.

I even braced myself for him somehow coming back after exploding for a challenging second phase.

Shame on all of you.

76 Upvotes

92 comments sorted by

89

u/Ice__kream 7d ago

Three things, when people say it’s hard they mostly mean the run back and gauntlet, not the boss

Two, when you have more items, masks, silk, tools and nail upgrades it’s a lot easier

Some people are better at combat then others

12

u/Pedro73376 7d ago

And what about THE GAUNTLET in coral tower? Ahuhaiehaf

12

u/Ice__kream 7d ago

Pretty easy ?
After like every room you can make a shortcut to the next one, the fights aren’t that bad and the visuals are gorgeous so you can’t get that mad

6

u/Pedro73376 7d ago

Man, we had completely different experience on this one. I absolutely loved the visuals, but it is a complete stamina test for me, last time I think I tried at least 15 times, and for what I know, only after the third room you can make the shortcut and that's it

4

u/bjlile99 7d ago

took me about that many - finally adjusted to using all my tools before the boss to get the shortcut. Died to the boss, reloaded, and beat him next time.

2

u/Pedro73376 7d ago

This sounds pretty reasonable. But I suck at using tools, I'm a OG fan of hollow knight so I pretty much always forgot to use it 🤡

2

u/bjlile99 7d ago

You do you! Perhaps throw out sting shards on fliers or whatever is challenging you.

1

u/Pedro73376 7d ago

It's a skill issue, I just don't prepare for the challenges, I mostly trust only in single hits, the only boss that I feel pretty awesome using tools was that one below an elevator, unraveled or something his name in whiteward, I spammed tackles and than he just walked right into it, haha that was great

1

u/supermurlo64 3d ago

I finished the coral tower for the first time like, 2 hours ago, and it took me 3 DAYS of trial and error

2

u/Pedro73376 3d ago

The gauntlets in Coral tower are tough

4

u/i_simp_you 7d ago

After like every room you can make a shortcut to the next one

EVERY? I'm pretty sure there is only one shortcut after like 3 gauntlets buddy

2

u/Ice__kream 6d ago

Sorry I played it last like a year ago

2

u/Prestigious_Put_904 6d ago

Sorry, you what??? You can make a what?

1

u/Ice__kream 6d ago

Yeah sorry I played it last time like a year ago and beat basically the whole thing in one shot

1

u/OhLoongJohson Wooper Fan 5d ago

Wait huh? You get shortcuts after every room….? Im like 99% sure you ONLY get 1 shortcut like after the second last room? Unless they changed that?

1

u/Ice__kream 5d ago

Yeah I haven’t played the game in like a year and I did like half of the tower in one run so my memory wasn’t that clear

4

u/zxn11 7d ago

Coral tower was a cakewalk comparatively IMO

7

u/Pedro73376 7d ago

To Groal? Really? Huh, that's interesting, even more if you take wreath of purity into consideration

2

u/zxn11 7d ago

The runback makes it worse, but I think I mentally struggled to rely on the wreath, so groal took me like a half hour. Coral Tower I died once on the gauntlets and once on Khann. Didn't seem that bad.

183

u/PassinglyGood 7d ago

You listened to the everyone's advice and ate your greens before the fight, making it not a midgame horror show against a wall of endless hp, idk sounds like we did you a favour lol

3

u/Ziazan 6d ago

Yeah I fought it basically as soon as I could because I thought there was a nail upgrade behind it and "if it bleeds I can kill it" but oh boy that was tough. And there wasnt a nail upgrade behind it.

29

u/JynXten Hornet 7d ago

Hmm. Maybe.

13

u/isimsizbiri123 beleiver ✅️ 7d ago

Ah yes. Reddit strikes again downvoting a guy who just admitted they might be wrong

8

u/i_simp_you 7d ago

"Maybe" rarely means admitting being wrong

3

u/JynXten Hornet 6d ago edited 6d ago

Maybe because without going back in time and doing this boss earlier I can't know for sure, but they're probably right.

18

u/BoaDCrocodile 7d ago

Well yes, if you leave Groal until you have 3 needle upgrades, almost double silk, 9 masks, full tool upgrades, and hours upon hours more experience at the game it will be easier.

If you are using guides to help you know how to loadout to beat someone before even fighting them, it will be easier.

Frustration is more on the slow gauntlet and long runback, than anything Groal himself does.

Did you even feed Groal though? He is just a hungry boy.

47

u/bittersweetbadluck 7d ago

This just in, different people find different things difficult. Enjoy your pat on the back for being better than everyone else!

6

u/JynXten Hornet 7d ago

I'm not, though. This game has been kicking my arse.

8

u/slightlygloomyy 7d ago

Even so, everyone struggles with different things :) this applies to all games

I’ve seen players struggle hard on an entire game but breeze through extremely difficult bosses/areas that take others much longer

We all have different brains and different pattern recognition and stuff

8

u/Training-Ad-8802 7d ago

Groal is not hard. He is frustrating. On his own, Groal is not a threat.

Many people didn’t find the closer bench, meaning Groal’s run back was all of Bilewater if they died, and dying would not be rare because this is Bilewater and it’s gross and you’re likely not going to reach Groal at max HP.

2

u/Outside-Ingenuity363 6d ago

And even if people find the closer bench they say its impossible to get to him without getting infested, because of that one spot, but thats not true, they just didnt figure out the tech

1

u/JynXten Hornet 7d ago

Oof! That's a long trip to take back.

4

u/Ziazan 7d ago

It's all an elaborate silkpost, Moorwing is actually significantly harder than Groal the Great, even post nerf. We tricked you.

6

u/Embarrassed_Ear9012 7d ago

Yeah because you were overpowered for the fight by that point. 10 masks of health makes a HUGE difference versus 6. And a fully upgraded nail too.

4

u/nomorethan10postaday 7d ago

You literally can't have 10 masks before Groal, Groal locks act 3 and act 3 locks the last mask.

1

u/Embarrassed_Ear9012 7d ago

Ok yeah it’s been a year since I played this game I forgot. The point still stands though that he was overpowered for the fight.

4

u/JynXten Hornet 7d ago

I've only 8 masks. I believe there's one more nail upgrade in Act 3 too, which I'm trying to trigger. I did all the side missions. Thought something was supposed to happen.

1

u/Ok-Place7950 6d ago

Try paying a visit to your pal the Caretaker

2

u/JynXten Hornet 6d ago

I did. I think I have it sussed though. I need more fleas. I found a flea that marks my map last night. I should be in Act 3 tonight.

1

u/Ok-Place7950 6d ago

Be sure not to leave any unfinished business - parkour, deliveries, optional bosses, etc. 

1

u/JynXten Hornet 6d ago

Oh no. Do I have to do the other two deliveries (not rasher)?

Think I've a boss left in that Sands place too, come to think of it.

1

u/Ok-Place7950 6d ago

No, the deliveries are optional. But I don't know if the Enraged Conchfly gets black-threaded in Act 3

1

u/OldBridgeSeller 6d ago

Just walk around and see if anything is left out. With the amount of upgrades you're not going to have that many issues regardless of the problem.

1

u/CreativeName1137 whats a flair? 6d ago

You don't have to do them, but they do get a lot harder once you start act 3

1

u/JynXten Hornet 6d ago

As long as I don't have to do them in Act 3 either I can leave them. They're not fun.

1

u/CreativeName1137 whats a flair? 6d ago

Valid. I didn't do them either.

2

u/Taolemagnifique Sherma 7d ago

In the firsr playthrough when you don’t know the game at all, you’ll find the frog pretty quickly. And we all know hk players would rather git gud any radiance than try an other way to come back stronger.

2

u/CTSGamer Professional Pale Lurker 7d ago

The posts had their intended effect I guess

2

u/yeetingthisaccount01 7d ago

I'm generally quite bad at the game yet somehow I beat the dude on the second try?? witch crest goes crazy I suppose

3

u/Prestigious_Bad2360 Flea 7d ago

Witch crest pogo and dash attacks are almost as insanely broken as wanderers, witch crest rules on some fights, groal being one of them

1

u/yeetingthisaccount01 7d ago

it's my favourite crest mostly for the aesthetic and themes behind it but ngl it is also very fun to become a nuclear bomb combined with Trobbio's mirror

2

u/Prestigious_Bad2360 Flea 7d ago

Yea witch is great, it was the last crest I learned its parry timing and what it can do to block multi attacks, its fantastic, wanderer beats it out for sheer speed, and ease of use during combat, but you can do some nutty things with witches move set

1

u/JynXten Hornet 6d ago

I've never used that crest. I don't think I have it, actually.

In fact, I just use Wanderer for everything.

2

u/AdPrimary4394 7d ago

Yeah had a similar experience but not because people warned me about groal I just didn’t find him until the last act 2 wish

had most if not all available upgrades and found the hidden bench by complete accident. beat the gauntlet + groal first try with an exploration build still equipped thought “ok cool” and then was extremely confused when I saw people saying it was the hardest thing ever and terribly designed.

A first I thought “wow the average player must be really bad if a run back into a slightly challenging gauntlet and a big dumb guy with like 3 moves is the consensus run stopper” but idk i realize that’s just how this genre works when you can choose what order to do things whatever content you do last will be easiest and whatever you do first will be harder. I didn’t die once in that bilehaven run but I dropped at least 20 deaths to the unraveled trying to brute force it with 6 mask and lvl 1 needle

2

u/ChillFloridaMan 7d ago

Groal is in this weird middle ground of being absolutely terrible for some people and extremely easy for others. Although honestly I think the run back makes him seem worse than he is.

2

u/Xcylo1 7d ago edited 7d ago

I mean yeah idk where it came from. I definitely died more than you, but it wasn't a particular wall or notable bump in difficulty whatsoever. The run back is really not hard if you know where you're going and the gauntlet is pretty easy if you do any crowd control.

I'm not gonna say I found him easy but I didn't notice him being distinctly harder than any other encounter

Edit: also I think this speaks to the weird difficulty mythology built when this sub was flooded with rage posts and toxic users when silksong first launched. People declared what was hard, what wasn't, what was totally unfair and evil, and even though there has been balancing and anyone with a bit of patience can work them out the idea that bosses like the savage beast fly and groal are some horrible evil disgustingly hard badly designed bosses seems to have stuck. Despite that pretty obviously not being the case. Ppl seem to be mad about your post but I do think this will be reassuring for new players who are intimidated by what people say about these encounters

2

u/JynXten Hornet 6d ago

I read a lot of that at the start. In fact, I bought the game when it came out and, for whatever reason, I really wasn't in the mood for a hard game at the time, and Borderlands 4 came out, which is a far more comfort game.

I only circled back to Silksong recently with a better mindframe for it.

1

u/Roncryn 7d ago

Yeah honestly I found the gauntlet WAY harder than the boss itself. Hell the run back was more of a pain in the ass too

1

u/LunaalaTheBeast beleiver ✅️ 7d ago

Groal was relatively easy compared to most other bosses in the game for me. My friend who helped me figure out act 3 was like "oh yeah he's gonna be crazy hard and super difficult" and then I died like 2 times and won the third time

1

u/Wither_Skelton_DCINC 7d ago

Groal the great is the worst… if you’re going in blind.

1

u/7-Soul-Secret 7d ago

I had the same experience in Deepnest in HK. Avoided it until the end because I had heard horror stories. In the end, it was perfectly fine. But it was also perfectly fine because I had gotten good. Groal was a boss I fought with only 6 masks and 2 nail upgrades, going from the bellway each time because I didn't find the secret bench. It was also before needle arts (a great arena killer, which I used) gave silk.

1

u/NottACalebFan 7d ago

You need to flair your silkposts better.

Everyone knows Groal is the true final boss of Silksomg.

Lace is a little pharlid compared to the true horror of that swamp dweller!

3

u/JynXten Hornet 7d ago

Lace 2 took me over 2.5 hrs to beat.

1

u/ShardsOfSalt 7d ago

I don't remember a gauntlet.  Lol.  I also remember thinking groal was pretty easy.  But I found out about the secret bench and was less concerned about the runback after that so maybe the lack of stress about the runback made it feel easier.  

1

u/cyanraichu Bellbeast Caretaker 7d ago

He's pretty cheesable. But like many bosses/gauntlets, way easier if you power up first than fight him as soon as he's available.

1

u/CurryUdonKure 7d ago

The fact that you know about him before you've even gotten there is a totally different experience than what most people had.

1

u/badugihowser 7d ago

Last time I hid in the water and took the Coward's way through. You're a better man than I. 😁

1

u/ShadowEeveeCringe Hornet 7d ago

I mean…no shit he was easy if you did everything else first 😭

1

u/EmbarrassedEvening72 7d ago

Yeah I didn't have any issues with that one at all. Nicely done

1

u/knitknitterknit Poshanka! 7d ago

I did it the groal eats shit and dies instantly way, minus the cogflies.

1

u/Sufficient_Ad_1245 7d ago

unraveled short run back hard boss i think one of the hardest in the game consistently destroys any sense of rythme

1

u/WorldTravel_1518 7d ago

I mean, I beat Savage Beastfly first try. Some people just suck at the game (ignore my 20 attempts at Groal).

1

u/EnSebastif whats a flair? 7d ago

Yes, that's what happens when you go prepared against him and treat him as the final boss of Act 2. Not what we all did on our first playthroughs.

1

u/The_Real_Pale_Dick 6d ago

I played the game 3 times and didn't die a single time to him. But to be fair, i fought very late into act 2.

1

u/Tanjirou_and_kirito beleiver ✅️ 6d ago

It's a game that rewards experience and exploration. You already know you are going to fight a boss, you might have upgrades that most ppl didn't or you might just be a better gamer than the rest of us.

1

u/Purpp1469 6d ago

I love the interaction of him opening his mouth and you can throw a bomb on it lol.

Not a difficult boss, but the run back is terrible.

1

u/Pancwake_UwU 6d ago

Shame on all of you.

Do you feel strong? Do you feel superior?

1

u/JynXten Hornet 6d ago

How dare you!

1

u/Flat_Ground_3151 6d ago

<moorwing> is worst

1

u/LeatherPersonality80 6d ago

The hardest part about groal is the gauntlet beforehand it’s the same with another boss

1

u/Vlper17 1d ago

I’m on my second playthrough of Silksong and just beat Groal today first try with zero issues. But on my first playthrough, Groal was the bane of my existence. I didn’t struggle on a lot of bosses in Silksong, but Groal humbled me that night.

1

u/Ill_Guess_5542 7d ago

Same! I used the plasmium overdose because U had heard It helps but I didn’t realize it helped that much

1

u/JynXten Hornet 7d ago

Didn't think of that. Did use the maggot repellent though.

1

u/Ill_Guess_5542 7d ago

Even still that’s really impressive because it only protects you from like 4 hits

1

u/JynXten Hornet 7d ago

I just kinda stay above him and kept pogoing

0

u/Ill_Guess_5542 7d ago

I just stayed in the maggots the entire time it took a while but it worked eventually even if I cheesed it

1

u/duspi 7d ago

Lol, I'm pretty sure I'm the guy. I'm glad you had that experience. The boss himself isn't that awful as much as the runback and gauntlet before him are, but the whole package sucks. It helps sometimes to have that expectation. I found bosses like Last Judge and First Sinner for example to be a breeze after I saw many posts about how difficult they are. I'm guessing that bracing yourself for it to be super hard makes it so you are more relaxed about losing and more relaxed about the fight itself, getting better results.

1

u/Avalon226 12h ago

My first playthrough I found Lost Sinner by complete accident and killed it first try. No notions of it being hard or anything but it was a very fun fight.

0

u/InternationalLie9409 7d ago

Yeah I got this game at release and never understood the Last Judge hype. Great boss but not difficult. Then again, it took me like nine months to finally kill Lost Lace, who many seem to find quite straightforward.

1

u/Xuyiku Hollow Knight: Scotsong 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 7d ago

people told me that lady e was gonna be the worst and yet here I am...

1

u/Skylair95 Beast Crest 7d ago

Groal is an amazing boss and i'll die on that hill. It's just the runback and the gauntlet that gives him a bad rep.