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To beat Widow in Bellhart, attack during her silk-pulling pauses, then follow the golden threads to find a safe gap before the bells fall. Dash under her diagonal dive and jump over the ground rush. When the fight speeds up, prioritize dodging over squeezing in extra hits, and use a safe opening to heal.
How to read Widow’s attacks
Falling bells
Widow pauses to pull silk before bells drop vertically or diagonally. The bright golden threads mark the bells’ paths. Use the pause to land a few hits, then move out of the marked lanes before impact. A bell may bounce after hitting the ground, so wait until it is safely past before moving through its path. PC Gamer and the Hollow Knight Wiki both describe the bounce.
Diagonal dive and ground rush
When Widow appears above you and dives diagonally, dash beneath her as she descends. After she lands, jump over the quick ground-level rush. You can try a downward strike for a pogo hit if the timing feels reliable, but getting clear of the rush is more important.
Jumping straight up as Widow passes can also create a brief chance to heal. Later in the fight, she may rush across the ground without a preceding dive, so watch her movement and be ready to jump when she closes in. PC Gamer details these variations.
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Floor debris
When Widow runs across the arena and places hazards that erupt from the floor, use the warning and eruption to get airborne or cling to a wall. She waits for the hazards to clear before resuming her attack, making this a useful window to heal in midair. This opening is described in the GameFAQs walkthrough and the Hollow Knight Wiki.
What changes as the fight gets faster
Denser bell patterns
As the fight escalates, bells arrive in faster, denser patterns. Keep reading the golden threads and move toward a visible gap rather than jumping without checking where the bells will travel. Account for rebounds before crossing a lane.
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Fast charges and the final assault
When Widow flashes her claws before a fast charge, the safer response is to reposition or jump over her. A precisely timed needle parry is another option, but it carries more risk than simply avoiding the charge. Be especially cautious if she retreats: a charge may follow, leaving little time to react if you stay close. In the final, faster assault, openings are shorter, so prioritize survival and use ranged tools when close-range attacks are difficult to fit in. The Hollow Knight Wiki and PC Gamer describe these later attacks.
When to heal and how to manage resources
Spend silk to heal when Widow is committed to an attack and you have a clear pause—not simply because she is nearby. The floor-debris pattern can provide an airborne healing opportunity; jumping as she passes during a dive may also create a brief window. Save ranged tools for the faster attacks, when approaching for close-range damage is less safe.
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No particular item or loadout is required, according to PC Gamer. Treat any setup you see in a walkthrough as an optional approach, not a prerequisite. The practical trade-off is between taking safer opportunities to heal and spending resources or risking close-range hits for more damage.
Why guides use different phase numbers
Walkthroughs divide the fight differently. PC Gamer calls the faster portion after Widow’s fake-out phase two; the Hollow Knight Wiki and GameFAQs describe a bell-pattern escalation and a later fast phase separately. It is more useful to track what Widow is doing than to rely on a phase number: first come the more readable bells, dive and floor hazards; then denser bell patterns; and, after the fake defeat, a faster assault with fewer recovery moments. Hit counts and health thresholds vary among walkthroughs, so there is no universal number you need to reach before a transition.
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- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
What defeating Widow gives you
Defeating Widow grants Needolin and frees Bellhart from the Haunting, according to the Hollow Knight Wiki and GameFAQs.
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