- Hardest Boss In Hollow Knight
- Hollow Knight All Dream Bosses
- Hollow Knight Easiest Dream Boss
- Dream Fights Hollow Knight
Allowing players to explore a fallen bug kingdom, Hollow Knight is a metroidvania game where players can fight difficult bosses and collect several charms. One of the more infamous unmarked quests in the game involves transporting a pale flower from one side of the map to the other. The Knight sits on a bench in Dirtmouth with friends! The Town Almost Forgotten. Bosses are unique enemies in Hollow Knight with typically higher health or deal more damage than the standard creatures in the same area. The Knight may have to defeat a Boss to access a new area, acquire an item, complete a quest, or simply further the main story of the game. When the Knight encounters a Boss, their name will appear on-screen, and the music will change into a battle theme.
Okay, so first – there are people who think that if you’re playing Steel Soul at all, it’s legitimate to pause just before you lose a boss fight, and quit the game to get to a bench. I’m not going to judge them. What I am going to say is that that’s the worst imaginable experience with playing SS. As for why? The run makes things exciting again! Knowing that you can lose everything gives the battles you’re least sure of heart-pounding excitement. It’s an experience you can’t get through normal play.
Beyond that, the benchquit style makes getting an ancillary achievement – Speed Completion – a pain in the♥♥♥♥♥- it shouldn’t be. I casually played through my SS run, and finished at 89% with a comfortable 4 hour margin to get those last 11% of completion to get SC. The “trick” here, was that not needing to walk back to the bossroom over and over again from a bench made even my totally non-optimized playthough fast enough for that to be easy.
Ah, and, for whatever reason, Steel Heart, which is the achievement you get for having a Steel Soul run at 100% or higher is a rare achievement. Again, it shouldn’t be.
The world in Hollow Knight isn’t really lethal. Not if you keep you head, play things safe, and … atually, there is no third part.
If you’re reading this guide, I hope that you’ll forswear the save-quit method. If you won’t, then you really don’t need this guide. If you’re using save-quit, then just quit at two masks for 1-mask bosses, or 3/4 masks for 2-mask bosses, and your success at Steel Soul is all but guaranteed just from that. Nothing I say below will help you more than that advice, because that advice is enough to turn SS into a normal playthrough in terms of completion difficulty.
What Can You DO, Through?
Some challenge content in the game is content that’s isn’t harder in SS runs, because permadeath doesn’t meaningfully change it.
These are the things that SS runs make exciting, by demanding your excellence:
- Beating Hollow Knight
- Beating the Radiance
- The Colisseum of Fools
- White Palace without Cheese-Charms
- Path of Pain without Cheese-Charms
Some of these will vary depending on your level of experience coming into this, some or all of these might end up boring anyway, but in general, if you’re part of the audience for this guide, hopefully, at least sum of it will be challenging enough to stay fun.
As for why Godmaster content is absent from the list, sadly, dying in Godhome will never end your SS run. So there’s no special meaning in, for example, beating Absrad on SS. Team Cherry missed an opportunity to give us some heart-pounding excitement, here.
Basic Setup
If you don’t have Godhome unlocked on your normal save – if, for that matter, you don’t have a normal save – go get one and beat every boss but the Radiance (and, perhaps, NKG), then unlock Godhome. If you’re not aware of it, Godhome is in the Royal Waterways. You will need a Simple Key, and the Dream Nail.
Once you’re in Godhome, in the lowest part of it, there are a bunch of arenas where you can challenge every boss in the game as many times as you like. If, during your SS run, you even have cause to doubt that a boss you’re intending to fight is one you can overcome? Use Godhome to practice. This is no more illegitimate than the old way that people practiced, which was by playing normal mode over and over and over again. If some oldschool♥♥♥♥♥♥gives you♥♥♥♥♥♥about it, ignore them, they’re salty that getting good is no longer pointlessly hard.
With Godhome set up, you’re ready for a successful Steel Soul run.
Playstyle!
The first thing that you have to keep in mind is that spells are a lie. Yes, even when fighting Primal Aspids – the things don’t actually shoot at where you are, but where you will be, so dodge only a few pixels, and the attack will always miss unless you screwed up the timing, and god into its face.
But, okay, more seriously, there are 3 types of enemy in the game. Short range aggro, long-distance aggro, and mobile hazards. Mobile hazards are enemies that crawl on a set path and which don’t really react to your presence. Don’t walk into them. Short range aggro are enemies that will react to your presence in a moribund way – you basic husks, guards, rich bugs, ground-mantises, etc. Engaging these guys usually isn’t a problem, because you can usually bug out and heal if the going gets tough.
Long distance aggo is bad news. These guys are predominantly flyers, but a lot of the mobs in Deepnest also qualify. For these enemies, getting them offscreen means they’ll follow you, get back onscreen, and keep on ruining your day. Most of them have a short initial aggro range – you need to get close to them before they’ll begin trying to ruin you day. Only three long-distance mobs don’t do this – the two things that hide in dead husks in Deepnest, and grub mimics. As far as I can tell, thoseenemies are aware of you from anywhere on the map, just like a boss.
For Long distance aggro bugs, try, if at all possible, to attract one at a time if they’re anything you have problems with. Especially Primal Aspids – the trick for dodging can fail, when you’re dealing with more than one, and typically does fail once you’re dealing with between three and four. Any more than that, and you should run to a different room.
Now, returning to the top of this section? Health is god, and soul is its messiah. Do not, under any circumstances other than an absolute last-ditch effort to salvage the run, spend soul for spells when you could spend it to heal. And, even when your masks are full, give yourself a 2-mask margin for healing. Things can go bad, fast. Once you have a Soul Vessel or two, you can spend soul more freely – once you have three, you should save a full half of your soul at any given time for healing purposes, unless healing is completely pointless – generally, that means during a bossfight, where safe-windows last long enough to restore 2 masks, where staggers take mnore than six hits. In that case, you should only save up 2 masks.
You’ll have noticed that the advice I’m giving more-or-less forces you to adopt a nail focused playstyle, and yes that’s precisely correct. Nail focused is the way to go in SS, because it ensures that you’re fueling your healing ability with every attack.
Beyond this – nail arts. Nail arts are great when your fighting an enemy that forces you to measure their pace, like a mantis petra or a primal aspid. They’re also a great way to hurt a boss during a stagger. However, not all nail arts are made equal. Particularly, the zelda-reference nail art is the wrong answer in any given situation. I link I’ve seen the thing used productively once, by a speedrunner, who was also using both Fragile Strength and Fury of the Fallen. This use was in Godhome, and wouldn’t be possible in the normal game, because you can’t get the zelda-reference attack without killing Hornet in greenpath, who is the boss it’s especially good against.
The reason why the Zelda Reference attack is bad is because it locks you into it in a way to other Nail Arts don’t. Environmentally, this is often OK, in the sense that you probably won’t end up dying because of it It’s still worse that a normal attack, though: you lose your ability to dodge! On the other hand, bosses will typically walk into the attack and give you damage. Something you’ll notice as your skill increases is that you’ll go from trying to do a lot of damage really fast to trying to do a lot of damage really fast in ways that won’t lead to you losing health. Ultimately, the zelda-reference attack is the former trend personified. Avoid it.
Dash Slash and Charge Slash are both better, and both of those are still situational. They’re not to be used casually! If you have a choice between hitting a boss three times and hitting them with a Nail Art, hit them three times. It will do more or the same damage, and reward you with more Soul, to either heal with, or with which to use a zero-charge spell.
Speaking of spells – there’s also a hierarchy of usefulness for those. The No-Direction spells which fire a bullet are the least useful, but the safest. Down-Direction spells are the absolute best spells overall – they hit twice, and give you tasty invinicbility frames! In fact, the invincibility frames they give you last a little after the spell, and you can do anything you want during them. It’s a short window, but it’s better than the Shade Cloak for that reason. Up-Direction spells are the best damage-dealers. They hit four times if the boss doesn’t get out – and generally, only dream-bosses or very fast-moving ones will – but they leave you totally vulnerable. If you have a bright idea for using Up-Direction spells to make a bossfight short, test those ideas in Godhome, because a lot of them are bad ideas: I’ve had them, too!
Up-Direction spells are better than the Zelda Reference attack for one huge reason – bosses and enemies cannot just walk into you to punish you for it. This is why they are not disfavoured.
Charm Build
… however, there’s more than one way to worship. One of your focuses in the early game should be getting the Fragile series, because in a steel soul run, they are just as good as the Unbreakable series – dream bosses won’t shatter them, and everything else is a game-over. if you’re going to neglect a Fragile charm, neglect greed – Confessor Jiji is replaced by an NPC who buys rancid eggs, so getting Geo is easier in a SS run.
Your top tier charms are going to be nail-focused. Minion builds don’t really do enough damage to be worth it. Top-tier charms are (in no particular order) Grubsong, Fragile Heart, Fragile Strength, Quickslash, Longnail, Mark of Pride, Quick Focus, and Nailmaster’s Pride (this one, however, is the least useful). Lifeblood charms are situationally useful – never, ever use them during random, unstructured exploration, or during a bossfight in which you routinely lose more than 1 full set of masks. Soul Catcher… maybe? Everything else? Not worth the slots that a top-tier charm would otherwise occupy. Use them if you have slots that are open, but no top-tier charms to put there. Two things I would advise against are Thorns of Agony and Sharp Shadow. Thorns adds a (small) random recoil after it punishes enemies for hitting you, which can ♥♥♥♥ up platforming. Sharp Shadow will♥♥♥♥ up platforming, and I’ve confirmed that every boss that it’s useful against, with the exception of Flukemarm, can still be dashed through with vanilla shade-cloak with tight, precise timing and staying close to the boss.
My working build is QN, LN, MoP, and FS. Prior to entering Godhome, US was replaced with QF, and LN with either GS, NMP, or SC. Ealier in the run, I focused more on the Fragile series.
Mark of Pride is the most essential charm, I think. It extends your nail’s hitbox to be two player-body-widths in frontal attacks, and one in vertical. The nice thing about this is that it’s often the case that when a boss has parriable attacks, this allows you to both parry and hit them. In the field, if gives you a much larger margin of safety to dodge and flee.
Strategy
…but how does that apply to strategy? Well, it’s basically me saying that you should take your damn time and explore. Mask fragments. Vessel containers. Rescuing grubs so you can buy cool♥♥♥♥♥♥with Grubfather’s blood money! Bosses can get you cool♥♥♥♥♥♥ and often the coolest♥♥♥♥♥♥ but before going for that♥♥♥♥♥♥ focus on mildly cool♥♥♥♥♥♥instead! I mean, really. Strip the areas you can go to bare. If you play the game safely, the environment won’t kill you – note that being out of soul with a missing mask in an area where you can’t get soul back is not safe!. It’s really, really not safe. You have one life, don’t take unnecessary risks.
And beyond even that, there’s precisely no shame in being over-levelled. If you want to do a challenge run, that’s your business. This guide, though, is written for people going for the achievements for the first time. There’s no shame in collecting every advantage you can accumulate: It’s there for the taking for a reason.
Just remember. Keep you heath as high as possible, always, even if it means retreating. When you can heal one mask safely, heal one mask. Don’t wait to build up enough soul for three. Heal, heal, heal, and the world won’t kill you. Train with Ascended bosses in Godhome on another save, and the bosses won’t kill you either. Steel Soul on the first try is exciting, doable, and extremely fun if you treat it with the respect and calculation it demands of you.
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Hollow Knight is full of customization options with the best anti-boss charm to suit your playing style. With a lot of charm, however, the forest hunters become much lighter, so you won’t be overwhelmed when you explore the vast artistic landscape.
You can take over the Speed Runner building at any time, consisting of Grubsong, Unbreakable Heart, a sign of pride, Long Nail and Quick Slash to get you through the game quickly and efficiently.
The total number of amulets is 45, and the capacity to store 40 amulets at a time can be enormous. However, there are many ways to succeed in Empty Knight, and we have XX best charms in Empty Knight for Fighter Bosses to help you combine options according to your playing style.
High speed motor force
Often the most common meeting for those who want to beat the game as soon as possible, there are many reasons why this accumulation of charm works well. Since many of these amulets will also be usable in other constructions, this is an excellent starting point.
Grubsong – With this talisman you can get a soul if you suffer damage. The soul is a precious resource, and in this building it is often used to restore health between the boss’s battles. Combined with the following charm, this will undoubtedly help you to survive for a long time.
Broken Heart – This charm is supported by a variety of designs because of their general usefulness. Here you have a charm that increases the health of the owner and makes you much more durable. This version of the charm is also unbreakable for a bonus.
Mark of Pride – Our first battle spell also offers many advantages because of its always positive effects. Thanks to this charm, the reach of the user’s nails is significantly increased. This makes it easier for you to meet the boss and keep a safe distance.
Long nail – As a sign of pride, this pendant extends the length of the user’s nails. You will notice a difference when merging, as this is often the favorite style of players who mainly use their nails to fight.
Quick Slash – The last part of the Speedranner assembly is probably the most useful because it greatly increases the speed of the nail attacks. With faster attacks, you can do more damage in less time, making this spell amazing for nail hunters.
Lead Flutes
Despite its dubious name, this theatre stands for a lot of fun and, in addition to a unique playing style, also brings a more effective charm. This building is ideal for bosses because it has a large damage area, making it ideal for many bosses who don’t move around much.
This test focuses on a combination of Flukenest and Defender’s Crest and is based on the support of Unbreakable Heart and Soul Eater. Since you are already familiar with Unbreakable Heart, we will address the issue of additional support before focusing on the damage to the combo.
Soul devourer – This spell has an effect that greatly increases the number of souls you receive when you touch your opponent’s nails. This gives you easy access to the soul you need to continue your combined attack.
Luckiest – This spell turns your vengeful mind attack spell into a large collection of dangerous child worms. Then you can throw it at your enemies to hurt them.
Hardest Boss In Hollow Knight
Defender’s Crest – Here your character will constantly radiate what the game lovingly called the heroic scent. The emitted odour will cause permanent damage to enemies within their range.
Through the combination of Flukenest and Defender’s Crest your volatile worms also spread a scent. After an explosion, your random bursts and clouds can take up almost a third of the screen, causing continuous damage.
This combination works well with enemies and slow moving teleporters because they often teleport directly into your long cloud.
Armoured projectile
This body brings a lot of new charm and always keeps a sign of pride useful. Other charms normally included in this building are Sporn Shrum, Grimmshild, Dream Window and Shape Un.
Players who use this building have the advantage that they don’t have to fight nearby, because it allows them to adopt a defensive style of play. Mark of Pride will help you preserve your soul with damaged nails, while other stimuli are activated.
Grimmshild – The main damage of the offensive on this building is caused by this strong charm. Their character is followed by a non-directed fixed tower in the form of a sinister shield. It will do you considerable damage.
Spore Shroom – This spell allows you to create a cloud of conflict when you are focused on the soul. The result is a constant source of damage that occurs every time you begin to heal – a great way to do extra damage while you’re still alive.
Form Unn – An extra stimulus for extra benefit in concentrating the soul. Each time this spell is activated, you will be reduced in size so you can dodge attacks and quickly recover between damages.
Dreamshield is one of the best protection and charm instruments in the game. With Dreamseld, your character gets a shield that constantly revolves around them, biting into both defense and attack. Any enemy hitting the shield suffers damage, while the shield effectively reduces the damage caused by projectiles.
Thanks to a dynamic combination of offensive and defensive skills, this construction makes it easy to make progress in the game. This building is best suited for patterns that shoot with many or small shells and are usually difficult to hit.
Eternal stability
This design focuses on improving your healing and protection capabilities, so you can fight long and difficult battles without too much effort. Here we have mixed a new charm with the ones already mentioned. Typical combinations are Quick Focus, Deep Focus, Baldur shell, Tail Storm and Protective Comb.
Quick Focus is the perfect incentive to heal the point of impact of the mask faster. This allows you to shorten the healing time, so that you don’t get caught in an attack if you try to heal from the previous one. It works exceptionally well in combination with the following charm.
Depth of field – If you are equipped with this amulet, you can treat two impact point masks instead of one at a time. By using this spell alone, you have more time to concentrate on your healing. You can combine this with a precise focus to heal two masks in a little less time than is normally needed to repair a mask.
Hollow Knight All Dream Bosses
Baldur Shell – The use of this amulet allows you to improve your defensive skills during the game. Its effect means that you will suffer less damage if you focus on the soul.
If you combine all the pleasures of this building, you will be extremely resistant and make a decent mess if you move around and take care of yourself. It’s hard to make a mistake with this construction, because a high survival rate should help you face the toughest bosses in the game.
Beating other big bosses Charms
While these constructions are enough to guide you through the game, there are many other options you need to explore to make the right adjustments to your style of play. Try to experiment with this spell and kill any boss that gets in your way.
Shaman Stone – the ultimate spell for any spell construction is an excellent option, especially if your character is first and foremost a wizard. Unlike many hack and slash games, the style of spells in Hollow Knight is superior to the art of sword nails. The equipment of the Shaman Stone gives you considerable strength for the spells you cast.
Hollow Knight Easiest Dream Boss
Slingshot Spell – Although not as useful for a wizard as the Shaman’s Stone, this spell is very useful for anyone who uses a wizard on Playstation because it reduces the cost of the soul to cast a spell. There’s no better price choice when it comes to spells.
The glory of the horseshoe – One of the best charms of the game, this charm is often found in all scrum constructions. This effectively reduces the loading time of any nail art you learn from the nail masters you meet during the game. This is surprising for effective combat, as most skills take a considerable amount of time to recharge.
Unbreakable Strength is a spell that takes melee combat to a higher level by giving a 50% damage bonus on the nails, even in its weakened state. We don’t even have to worry about this fragile form collapsing into sleepy battles. However, this does not lead to more nail damage.
Conclusion
Dream Fights Hollow Knight
With these 19 spells in your arsenal, you should have no problem beating the toughest bosses of the game in style after a little practice. But there’s still a lot of fun to try, so try experimenting and you’ll find lots of fun ways to play Void Knight.