First Sinner

First Sinner
Location	The Slab
Combat Values
Health	1300
Damage Modifiers	1.75    1.25    1.1    1    1
Reward	Rune Rage
Journal Kills	1
Miscellaneous
Gender	Female
Voice	Lauren Koopowitz
Theme	Widow (Phase 1) Widow 2nd Phase (Phase 2)

Ancient Weaver condemned for a transgression lost to time.

---

This one's husk held a masterful talent, to weave Silk into blazing runes. Throughout my life, I have seen runes woven for many tasks. Was she the first to hone such skills?

First Sinner is a boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Defeating and binding her grants Hornet her skill, the Rune Rage.

Background

First Sinner was a Weaver. She was found guilty of the sin of apostasy, becoming the first penitent to be imprisoned in the Slab. First Sinner's punishment was constriction. She appears to have died in captivity but was denied absolution by the Citadel. First Sinner knew the truth about the Weavers' creation and how Grand Mother Silk had lied to them.

Hornet wonders if First Sinner may have been the first to discover how to weave runes using Silk.

In-game Events

First Sinner's burial spire is found in the lower area of the Slab. It is accessible after obtaining the Key of Apostate through a hidden path in the ceiling in the room with a chest right of the Bench near the Bellway Station. Hornet must break four Silk runes attached to her cell in order to enter. Once inside the cell, Hornet finds a Weaver body that she can Bind, but before she can complete the Bind, she is pulled into a memory sequence, and the corpse reanimates as First Sinner. This memory functions similarly to memories entered with Elegy of the Deep, but with a few key differences.

Upon her defeat, First Sinner will reappear floating in the centre of her prison. Hornet gets a prompt to accept and Bind the Weaver's power. Upon accepting, Hornet is sent into a memory filled with shadowy Pharlids. At the end of a platforming section a memory lies on the ground, which when collected Hornet will see a vision of a Pharlid being transformed into First Sinner by a strand of Silk. After completing this sequence, Hornet obtains the Rune Rage Silk Skill.

Behaviour and Tactics

‎ ‎

Most attack names used by the wiki are non-canon.

Phase 1

During Phase 1, First Sinner has the following attacks:

• Needle Weaving: First Sinner channels for a brief moment which pulls up Needles from the background and positions them in the air, before launching them in the following patterns:
  • 2 needles diagonally downwards in opposing directions centred on where Hornet was, creating a cross shape.
  • 5 needles vertically downwards, spaced evenly apart.
  • 3 needles diagonally downwards, angled slightly left or right depending on Hornet's position.
  • 2 needles horizontally across the entire arena, spaced vertically with a gap in the centre.
  • First Sinner can, on occasion, send out 2 of the above patterns with a single channel, layering them together. This begins after she reaches 1105 HP and continues into Phase 2.
• Frenzied Charge: First Sinner charges across the length of the arena towards Hornet while slashing her claws in front of herself.
• Aerial Lunge: First Sinner teleports into the air near Hornet and performs 2 quick slashes diagonally downwards in Hornet's direction. She can also perform this attack by leaping into the air following a Skitter.
• Bind: First Sinner channels Silk for about 2 seconds before healing herself for 130 HP. This ability can be interrupted by damaging her while she is channelling. She gains this attack after reaching 1105 HP.
• Teleport: First Sinner teleports to a random location in the arena between attacks.
• Skitter: First Sinner skitters to reposition for an attack – she skitters away from Hornet if she is too close to her, or skitters towards Hornet if she is too far away from her.

Phase 2

After reaching 650 HP, First Sinner fakes a defeat by teleporting out of view before reappearing and shouting, marking the start of Phase 2. During this phase, First Sinner performs her attacks at a much faster pace, and she gains an attack:

• Rune Rage: First Sinner rises into the air and weaves 12 circles of blazing Silk randomly throughout the arena, covering roughly half of the space. After a short moment, these circles successively explode into runes in the order in which they appeared.

All of First Sinner's attacks deal , with her Frenzied Charge dealing + if Hornet is caught in a swing.

---

Stagger Values
Description: First Sinner collapses against the ground.
Hits: 13

---

Notes and strategies:

• Dying in First Sinner's memory places Hornet outside her cell, without replenishing used Tools, and does not end Steel Soul Mode.
• In all phases, First Sinner only deals contact damage. This means if damage is inevitable, Hornet can avoid taking from an attack by initiating contact with First Sinner.
• First Sinner's ability to rapidly retreat and reposition makes chaining Needle attacks together significantly harder. Rely primarily on hit-and-run tactics as well as running attacks to deal damage, and if using a Crest that provides an upwards bounce after a running attack, use it to either Needle bounce for more damage or reposition and dodge incoming attacks.
  • First Sinner always teleports twice before launching an attack. Her attack preparation animation is often the best time to get a hit in.
• The Clawline is extremely effective for this fight, as it not only lets Hornet cross large distances while striking at the same time, but also launches her into the air, making it easier to dodge First Sinner's horizontal needle attacks. It is especially useful during the Bind move to prevent First Sinner from healing lost damage.
• A ranged attack like Silkspear, Silkshot, Straight Pin, or Threefold Pin comes in handy in interrupting First Sinner's Bind should Hornet find herself on the other side of the arena.

Dialogue

General Before attempting to bind Half-spawn of a distant land... Within this cage I have waited... Let my strength be bound to yours... Reclaim the future of our accursed kingdom... Needolin dialogue before the fight ...Faded... ...Forgotten... ...First... ...Our Silk... Our rage... ...Wait, and hate... ...Wait, and die... Needolin dialogue during the fight I did not wane! I did not forget! Sustained by fury! Cursed by Silk! Cursed with Silk! Cursed to know... The sin... the truth... After the fight ...She called us daughters... Called us divine... She lied...

Location

First Sinner can be found in the lower area of the Slab accessible after obtaining the Key of Apostate, behind a locked door that can be opened with Key of Heretic.

• 

  Location of the First Sinner in the Slab

---

Gallery

• 

  Weaving outfit

• 

  Idle

• 

  Needle Weaving (Two crossed needles)

• 

  Needle Weaving (Five vertical needles)

• 

  Needle Weaving (Three diagonal needles)

• 

  Needle Weaving (Two horizontal needles)

• 

  Frenzied Charge

• 

  Aerial Lunge

• 

  Bind

• 

  Teleport

• 

  Skitter

• 

  Rune Rage

• 

  Staggered

• 

  About to be bound

• 

  Being bound

• 

  First Sinner as a Pharlid being evolved (first phase)

• 

  First Sinner being evolved (second phase)

• 

  First Sinner being evolved (third phase)

• 

  First Sinner being evolved (final phase)

• 

  The lock on First Sinner's cell

• 

  First Sinner's corpse

• 

  First Sinner's arena during battle

• 

  Concept sketches

Achievements

	{S} Heretic
	Defeat First Sinner 15G

Trivia

• Binding First Sinner to start her fight does not count as the binding of an ability – as such, Hornet will not heal to full and will not gain any Silk.
• First Sinner and Widow use the same battle theme and share the same voice.
• First Sinner is not stunned by the Needolin; her dialogue appears without stopping combat to sing.

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning/Explanation
Brazilian Portuguese	Primeira Pecadora	First Sinner
French	Péché Originel	Original Sin
German	Ursünderin	Original Sinner
Italian	Prima Peccatrice	First Sinner
Japanese	最初の罪に問われし者 Saisho no tsumi ni towa reshi mono	First Accused of Sin
Korean	첫 번째 죄인 Cheot beonjjae joein	First Sinner or First Prisoner
Russian	Первая грешница Pervaja grešnica	First Sinner
Simplified Chinese	原初罪者 Yuánchū zuì zhě?	Original Sinner
Spanish	Pecadora Original	Original Sinner
Internal name	FIRST_WEAVER

---