How to beat Trobbio in Silksong

Trobbio is one of Silksong's best boss fights. Taking place at The Stage in the Whispering Vaults, this fight provides both challenge and spectacle, with Trobbio providing the performance of a lifetime before you – Hornet – put him in his place. This is also one of Silksong's mandatory boss fights, as you must beat Trobbio to be able to acquire the Vaultkeeper's Melody.

To help you out with doing just that, here's exactly how to beat Trobbio in Silksong.

How to beat Trobbio in Silksong

You'll first get a sneak peak at Trobbio's arena while exploring Choral Chambers, but it's only once you've explored much of what the Whispering Vaults have to offer that you get the opportunity to actually fight the performer.

The fight against Trobbio is a lot. He makes an explosive entrance, and from there on out, you'll be avoiding projectiles, explosive fireworks, and the whirlwinds that the speedy Trobbio dishes out.

As well as that though, your main qualm with the Trobbio fight is actually finding ample opportunity to attack him. So much time is spent dodging his attacks and keeping your distance from his devastating whirlwinds, and during all of that, Trobbio is constantly moving. He regularly disappears into the floor to reemerge in style, or alternatively will fly away from Hornet's attacks, making whittling down his HP quite the task.

As is the case with most of Silksong's toughest fights, it's important to remain patient and calm during this fight, and to not get too greedy. One extra hit on Trobbio could easily see you caught out by one of his whirlwinds and losing two Masks of health, and losing your patience will quickly see you caught out by Trobbio and his projectiles. Take your time, prioritise learning Trobbio's attacks and dodging them first and foremost, and then start to swipe at him between his attacks but only once or twice each time!

Trobbio’s moveset is as follows:

• Wings: Throughout the fight, Trobbio will grow a small pair of wings and use this to fly around the upper-half of the arena. He can quickly land and/or dish out attacks while aerial, so always keep a careful eye on what he's doing.
• Whirlwind: Trobbio turns into a Whirlwind that will move, quickly, to the opposite side of the arena before then dishing out two projectile Whirlwinds from either side of him. These will go horizontal at first, before then going diagonal into the air, so I do not recommend trying to jump over them. Instead, jump or Clawline over Trobbio as he dishes out this attack and stick to the opposite side of the arena to him. By doing this, his projectile Whirlwinds will miss you completely, and you can then quickly dash to and attack Trobbio or use Silkspear/a projectile Tool to attack.
• Fireworks: Trobbio dives up into the air – his wings visible – and summons multiple Fireworks around the arena. These are sparkling circles that appear and then explode after a short delay. All you need to do is make sure you're not inside of one, and ideally keep your distance from Trobbio in case he dishes out his Whirlwind attack during this move, as the Fireworks can make it difficult to see what's happening on-screen.
• Bouncing Balls: As a true circus performer, Trobbio has three juggling balls that he can summon. These balls will bounce off a nearby surface before stopping in the area and releasing steam from either side – horizontally or vertically – and this steam damages Hornet. Steer clear of their path and in a pinch, you can hit them out of the way if need be.
• Pyrotechnics: As Trobbio enters his second phase, he introduces Pyrotechnics to the fight. At regular intervals – typically when Trobbio is beneath the floor – he produces multiple Pyrotechnics from the ground. You will need to stand between these and wait for them to conclude to avoid them from damaging you.

While Trobbio's attacks themselves seem pretty easily handled, with most of them merely being a case of waiting for them to conclude, Trobbio can chain these attacks together and dish them out in quick succession. This means that while he has Fireworks around the arena, he can use his Whirlwind attack simultaneously. Similarly, he can use his Whirlwind attack multiple times in a row, immediately after dishing out Bouncing Balls, and more. This is what I was getting at when I said Trobbio's fight is a lot during the start of this guide; there's often so much going on that it can be hard to keep a track of things or remain patient, but with enough practice, you'll get it!

One thing to note is that Trobbio often goes beneath the floorboards during this fight, and they will move in the direction he is moving in. When they stop, Trobbio is either about to dish out three Bouncing Balls from beneath the floor, or will reemerge himself. Similarly, Trobbio's Whirlwind attack will always start while he is on the floor of The Stage, but his Firework and Bouncing Ball attacks can be dished out by him whether he is on the floor, inside of the floor, or aerial.

You need to constantly have your wits about you during this fight ultimately, as Trobbio isn't quite as predictable as bosses like Widow or The Last Judge.

Given that much of this fight is spent avoiding Trobbio's attacks and trying to find some opportunity to land an attack, I highly recommend using Tools to the best of your ability here, and even seeking out the Architect's Crest for this fight so you can use even more Tools (and craft them using Silk).

Trobbio Recommended Tools and Items

Tools and other abilities I recommend for beating Trobbio in Silksong are as follows:

• Architect's Crest: This Crest from the Underworks allows you to equip three Tools at a time, and use Silk to craft more Tools on the go (instead of Bone Shards). The downside is that its moveset is not the best, but that doesn't really matter if you're spamming Tools!
• Thread Storm and/or Silkspear: Thread Storm is a great ability for dealing multiple instances of damage quickly and from a distance, but I found that Trobbio would have often flown off or disappeared into the floor as soon as I used it. Silkspear, on the other hand, can be very safely used from across the arena to deal some damage to Trobbio.
• Cogfly: Perhaps my favourite Red Tool that happens to be found in High Halls, the Cogfly is well worth the detour. This summons multiple Cogfly enemies who fight for you, and they can make light work of fights at times. They ensure you're always dealing damage even if you aren't hitting the boss yourself.
• Pollip Pouch: This Blue Tool can be acquired from Moss Grove and allows you to apply the Poison status ailment to your offensive Red Tools, making them deal even more damage. It's been a go-to throughout Silksong for me personally.
• Curveclaw: The Curveclaw is a Red Tool that boomerangs through the air and deals exceptional damage to whomever it comes into contact with, which is particularly useful for flying enemies. In this case, it's good to sling at Trobbio whenever he is aerial.
• Throwing Ring: Shakra's weapon! This Red Tool fires out a projectile disc that bounces off any surfaces it touches, meaning it can damage enemies multiple times. While not as powerful as the Curveclaw, this Tool is great if you want more projectiles to fire off at Trobbio while he is flying.
• Flea Brew: While I don't necessarily recommend using the Flea Pouch on its own, it's great when combined with the Pollip Pouch, as it causes you to produce a poisonous cloud that will damage Trobbio for simply being near you. Ideal given that Trobbio is constantly moving and it's hard to land a hit on him, but again, it can be quite difficult to stay near him in the first place.
• Cogwork Wheel: This Red Tool dishes out a sawblade along the floor that repeatedly slices into any enemies it comes into contact with, and can be good for using against Trobbio while he is on the ground. That said, like Thread Storm, you won't necessarily get to maximise its damage output as Trobbio is constantly on the move.
• Fractured Mask: This Blue Tool essentially acts as a free extra Mask, but it can only be used once during a fight. Whenever you're left with one Mask of health, this Tool will be destroyed first, giving you a second chance at living. It'll be repaired whenever you rest at a Bench.
• Magnetite Dice: A Blue Tool that's all about RNG, these lucky dice have a chance to save you from taking damage from an attack. Of course, it's entirely random, but you'll find that this Tool comes in clutch a lot more than you'd expect.
• Memory Crystal: A personal favourite Blue Tool found in Mount Fay, the Memory Crystal leaves behind a crystal shadow of Hornet whenever you are attacked. Once Trobbio hits the shadow – or you hit it while he is nearby – it'll burst into a bunch of crystallised spikes that deal damage.

If you are using Tools during the fight against Trobbio, it's also worth seeking out all Crafting Kit upgrades and Tool Pouch upgrades. These increase the damage of your Tools and the amount of them that you can carry respectively. Don't forget that you should have at least two Needle upgrades from Pinmaster Plinney in Bellhart by this point too; you can get also have three Needle upgrades prior to this fight if you don't mind some exploring!

As previously mentioned, this fight is hard enough to complete using only Hornet's Needle and Silk Skills, so I can't recommend enough that you make use of Tools if you haven't already. If Trobbio is dishing out explosives and projectiles while running away from you at every opportunity, then you should certainly try the same!

Good luck beating Trobbio in Silksong! Upon defeat, you'll receive the Claw Mirror Blue Tool from his body, and then be able to go ahead and learn the Vaultkeeper's Melody finally.

For more on Hollow Knight: Silksong, take a look at our list of all bosses, where to find all lost Fleas, and how to get all Silk Hearts.