Seth is the Shrine Guardian (also known as Shrine Guardian Seth), a boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong you encounter in Grand Gate in Pharloom’s Shellwood region. He is built like an ant knight, armed with a sharp pin and a clanging cymbal shield protecting an ancient shrine. Story-wise, he’s chosen by “The Voice,” but outside the game, Seth was designed by and named after Seth Goldman, a young fan who passed away in 2019. Team Cherry introduced Seth in Silksong as both a boss and a character you’ll meet again later.
How to Find Seth in Hollow Knight: Silksong
From the southern Underworks bench in Shellwood, move west through the tangle of webs and silkmite patrols. You’ll need your dash, Double Jump, and wall-cling basics unlocked. At the bottom of the chamber, check the left side to see a cracked wall. Hit the wall with a charged Needle strike to break it.
The broken wall reveals part of the Grand Gate’s vertical shaft. Slide or wall-jump down, but don’t belly-flop; spikes line the lower stretches, so descend with care. Halfway down, there’s another fake barrier. Smash through it to reveal a side passage heading left. Follow that corridor and you’ll enter Seth’s domain, where you accept the challenge to start the combat.
How to Beat Seth in Silksong
Seth is not a “tank ‘n spank” fight. This boss fights like a duelist who had way too much caffeine. He’s not bulky, but he is relentless and most of the battle is to keep Hornet calm while he tries to out-speed you.
When the fight starts, he’ll use his grounded cymbal toss. The shield flies forward in a flat arc, then he blinks across the room to reclaim it. Sidestep the throw, wait for him to warp to it, and strike him while he’s in recovery frames. He’ll also mix in short rushes with his pin to jab you, so dash past him and attack his back before he resets.
Once he has taken a few hits, Seth adds a diagonal cymbal toss from mid-air to his attack list. Impatient players will be caught in this, the safe response is not to chase him. Stay grounded, watch the angle, and slip underneath. He’ll land right in range for a free counter. Later, he starts using chaining attacks with shield toss into a lunge, or back-to-back rushes with no breathing room. In this case, don’t swing early — survive the string, then punish the tail end. If you flail mid-combo, he’ll smash you down.
Tools for Seth boss fight:
- Upgraded Needle: The base upgrade is mandatory because without it, your damage output drags the fight into attrition.
- Silk Hearts: Carry at least one as Seth’s quick hits punish greedy heals, so you’ll need the buffer.
- Patience: The most important “tool.” If you stand just outside his lunge range, he commits first and that’s your attack window.
Defeating Seth drops the Shellwood Shrine Key and a chunk of Geo. More importantly, it triggers his traveling-NPC storyline.
Silksong Seth Locations After the Fight
Seth’s defeat in Shellwood isn’t the end of your time with him. After that first duel, he appears across Pharloom multiple times. Each arrival has a link to his Guardian’s Memento questline, so if you want the full payoff, you’ll need to find him at all locations.
But before you find Seth to collect his memento, you first need to complete The Old Hearts main quest in Act 3 and collect all 30 Fleas during Esctasy of the End quest; these are must requirements to get Guardian’s Memento.
- Greymoor: For it, you must have already beaten Seth in Shellwood and collected at least two Silk Hearts. You can see him near the main caravan entrance in Greymoor by moving along the caravan area’s left paths. It is the same location where you first meet Shakra and purchase Greymoor map from him. Seth acknowledges your victory and challenges you to chase his “high scores” across Pharloom, which starts his side quest.
- Shellwood (Again): Once you’ve spoken to him in Greymoor, he appears again in Shellwood around some hanging flowers, near the Underworks’ looping pathways. He doesn’t fight you again, but he does drop hints about upcoming minigames.
- Grand Gate (Maybe): Some players report he spawns near the chamber with giant see-saw platforms outside the Citadel entrance. Others find he skips this and goes straight to Fleatopia. We checked the area but didn’t find him, then moved to meet him at Fleatopia. It can also be a game bug or some RNG factor, so don’t panic if you miss him at the gate.
- Fleatopia: You can find him near the shamans who run the festival events near Putrified Ducts at Festival of the Flea. Seth throws down the gauntlet, you must beat his scores in all three Flea Festival minigames.
You can’t cheese these with Silk Skills or Tools, so choose your best Crest and prepare for hair-pulling retries.
Once you finally topple Seth’s minigame scores, he rewards you with the Guardian’s Memento — one of the eight total mementos in Silksong. It’s displayed back at Hornet’s Bellhome, and completing it is required for true endgame completionists in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
