Silksong Lace (The Cradle) boss strategy

The fight against Lace in The Cradle will be your second duel with the fencing bug in Silksong, and your third encounter with her. While your Deep Docks fight against her won't have been too bad, that was merely an introduction, and Lace is much tougher (and much faster) by the time you reach The Cradle in Silksong.

If you're hoping for some assistance with taking her down, here's how to beat Lace in The Cradle in Silksong.

Silksong Lace (The Cradle) boss strategy

You'll only be able to challenge Lace to a fight in The Cradle after defeating the Cogwork Dancers and learning the Threefold Melody, which means completing various challenges in Cogwork Core, Whispering Vaults, and High Halls respectively.

Once that's done with, you can return to the Cogwork Dancers arena and play the Threefold Melody, finally granting you access to the elevator that'll take you to The Cradle.

A word of forewarning first though! After watching the cutscene and riding the elevator up to The Cradle, you'll be immediately dropped off in Lace's arena and the fight will begin. Any attempts after this will see you instantly dropped off at The Cradle, so make sure you're prepared once you step into the elevator.

It's worth noting that initially, Lace's moveset during this fight is quite similar to when you will have fought her back in Deep Docks. That said, she is significantly faster this time around, and has made some pretty grand improvements to her moveset that will catch you off guard.

Before we talk about Lace's moveset however, there are a few things you should consider doing before this fight (unless you're feeling particularly confident). These are as follows:

• Collect all three Needle upgrades available in Act 2.
• Collect all 16 Mask Shards available in Act 2 (allowing you to have ten Masks in total).
• Collect all 18 Spool Fragments (allowing you to have lots of Silk to use).
• Collect all three Silk Hearts (allowing you to regenerate more Silk).
• Collect all four Tool Pouches (which increase how many Tools you can carry).
• Collect all four Crafting Kits (which increase the power of your Tools).

Of course, the above list is entirely optional and you can go into the fight against Lace at whatever point you please. Though, if you find yourself having a particularly tough time with it, the suggestions noted above are what you can go and do in the meantime to make the fight much easier. At a minimum, I definitely recommend collecting the three Needle upgrades, and a couple of extra Mask Shards; these go a long way!

Now, onto the fight itself! Lace's moveset in The Cradle is as follows, with more attacks being introduced as she enters new phases:

• Dive Attack (All Phases): Lace braces her needle behind her before jumping diagonally into the air and then diagonally lunging back down at Hornet after a short delay. You can dash beneath her – away from the direction she is lunging in – to avoid this, and you can also dash back to land a hit or two on her before she launches a follow-up attack.
• Triple Slash (All Phases): Lace holds her needle horizontally in front of her before charging at Hornet and slashing three times in quick succession. When she gears up for this attack, jump behind her and hit her once she is finishing/has finished the attack. If you happen to hit her while she is dishing out the third slash, it is also likely that you will parry her. Note that if you're near her, she may launch slashing attacks without holding her needle in front of her first.
• Block/Parry (All Phases): Lace holds her needle vertically in front of her and it flashes, meaning she is prepared to parry Hornet's attacks. If you hit her while she is in this state, she will immediately launch a Flurry Attack (see below).
• Flurry Attack (All Phases): Lace launches a devastating flurry attack at Hornet with her needle that can stun Hornet in place while dealing damage. She can launch this attack horizontally, or may dive into the air and launch it downwards, diagonally. Your best bet is dashing away from this attack or jumping above Lace to avoid it, and also not parrying her where possible (though it can be hard not to do this if you're trying to attack her as much as possible).
• AoE Circle Trail (Phase 2): During Phase 2 of the fight, Lace uses the same attacks but can now leave a trail of explosive circles behind her – often when she is using her Dive Attack – that Hornet will need to steer clear of, while also avoiding whatever attack she is launching next.
• AoE Circle Attack (Phase 3): During Phase 3 of the fight, Lace uses her AoE Circle Attack from the final phase of her Deep Docks fight. This time, however, she will always launch two circles in quick succession. You want to steer clear of their pathing until the attack is over.

Lace's fight has three phases, with each phase introducing a new attack. You'll know when she is entering a new phase as she does a guttural scream. It's also likely, but not guaranteed, that she will launch whatever the new attack for that phase is. On top of that, it appears she gets faster as the fight goes on, and is capable of chaining more of her attacks together quickly.

Ultimately, as the fight progresses, there is simply no room to breathe: Lace is constantly attacking, and you will need to constantly be dodging while also attempting to land attacks safely. During her first phase, this isn't too bad at all, but as she enters her second phase and beyond, things quickly become overwhelming. It's okay though! With enough upgrades and the right Tools, you'll find yourself getting into the rhythm of this fight much sooner than you think.

It also might be tempting to climb the walls of the arena to seek some safety or a breather, but unfortunately, Lace will follow you onto the walls and attempt to attack you with slashes or her AoE Circle attacks. So all in all, it's much safer to stay on the ground of the arena for this attack.

That said, I do recommend being airborne whenever you Bind (as most of Lace's attacks are completed at ground-level), or saving healing for whenever you manage to stun Lace. Even then, it can still be tricky to find the right opportunity to heal, and that's where Tools come into this fight.

Lace (The Cradle) Recommended Tools and Items

The first Tool I recommend for this fight is the Warding Bell, which prevents you from taking damage if you get hit while Binding. That said, there's plenty of other useful Blue Tools that you might want to take into the fight with you rather than the Warding Bell, and you should definitely be making use of offensive Red Tools during this fight if you want to deal more damage.

Tools and other abilities I recommend for beating Lace in Silksong's The Cradle are as follows:

• Reaper Crest: I may be biased, but the Reaper Crest is among the best Crests in Silksong. It allows you to generate additional Silk from attacking after binding, and has a downwards pogo that I find much easier to use than the Hunter Crest's diagonal pogo.
• Fractured Mask: This Blue Tool essentially acts as an extra life. Rather than your final Mask being depleted and the fight ending, this Fractured Mask is destroyed first. It'll reset after resting at a bench.
• Weavelight: This Blue Tool increases the speed of Silk regeneration, giving you more opportunities to heal or launch Silk Skills.
• Warding Bell: This Blue Tool will prevent you from taking damage if you're hit while Binding.
• Pollip Pouch: This Blue Tool imbues your offensive tools with poison.
• Magnetite Dice: This Yellow Tool increases your luck, and will occasionally prevent you from taking any damage from an attack. It is a lifesaver, quite literally.
• Memory Crystal: Upon taking damage, a shadow of Hornet is left behind by this Blue Tool. When Hornet hits this shadow or Lace comes into contact with it, it explodes, dealing damage to nearby enemies. Given Lace is often attacking while on the ground level of the arena, she comes into contact with these regularly and often (if you're taking damage that is).
• Flintslate: This Red Tool turns Hornet's Needle into a fire-imbued weapon upon use, dealing additional damage. When paired with the Pollip Pouch, imbues Hornet's Needle with poison instead.
• Cogfly: This Red Tool summons Cogfly enemies to fight for you, and they'll also deal poison damage when paired with the Pollip Pouch. They're great for getting some extra damage in without needing to be close to Lace, but can be distracting.

To ultimately beat Lace in The Cradle, you're forced to keep up the pace with her. It's certainly overwhelming but as is the case for most Silksong fights, practice (and patience) makes perfect. Make good use of your dashes, Faydown Cloak, and don't neglect Clawline as a tactic for dodging an attack in a pinch (but also don't use Clawline too much given it depletes your Silk).

On top of that, don't forget that if you are having trouble with her, there's no doubt plenty more upgrades or Tools to go about finding in Pharloom which will make the fight that little bit easier to tackle. There's also optional bosses such as the Disgraced Chef Lugoli, Broodmother and the Second Sentinel that you can try taking down if you need a breather!

That's all for Lace in The Cradle! Next, it's time for Silksong's final boss.

For more on Hollow Knight: Silksong, take a look at our Silksong walkthrough.