Great Nailsage Sly

"Legendary sage of the nail arts and, recently, merchant of some success. "Sagely God of the cunning and bold, Sharpen Our nails and show Us the odds, O greatest of masters, We wish to behold, That one still greater, the God of Gods!""

- Prayer to the Sage

The Great Nailsage Sly is a quest boss in Hollow Knight introduced in Godmaster. He sits at the top of the Pantheon of the Sage in Godhome.

Behaviour and Tactics
Great Nailsage Sly is the final boss of the Pantheon of the Sage, the third of five pantheons. He is significantly more agile than most of the other bosses in the game and can be a great challenge in terms of melee. Healing will also be a challenge as Sly moves and attacks incredibly quickly, leaving little to no time to recover even with Quick Focus on, so it is advised to heal only when Sly is stunned or transitioning to phase 2.

Nail jumping on him during the Cyclone Slash attack is a difficult, but effective way to dodge this attack, however, it is recommended for the player to simply keep their distance.

For the Frenzy attack, he is very briefly vulnerable after the spin. It is recommended to dash away once he does the spin and strike at him once after the spin. While waiting for Sly to strike it is also viable to charge up a Nail Art, and using Great Slash or Dash Slash at the moment Sly finishes spinning. Repeat this enough times, and the fight will be over. His large nail and small hitbox, combined with his high speed in this phase, make him a very hard boss to hit, so Mark of Pride and Longnail are extremely useful.

Trivia

 * In the Nintendo Switch reveal trailer, Sly's arena had a more light yellow background like Paintmaster Sheo and Brothers Oro &amp; Mato, opposed to the darker background the arena has in the final version.
 * Sly seems to be using the Nailmaster's Glory during the battle, as his Nail Arts only take half of a second to charge, unlike the Nailmasters who take about 2 seconds to charge. Sly himself is also the one who grants the charm in the main game.

Великий гуру гвоздей Слай Gran Maestro d'Aculeo Sly