Hollow Knight |OT| Cute Insects That Just Want to Burrow Into Your Heart | Now on Switch

LegendofLex said:

47 hrs, 2 min
107% completion
Accessed all three endings

Spoiler

Finished the Path of Pain

This is my favorite game in the last 20 years. I'm feeling better about it than I did about BotW. It also feels way more replayable because of its format and simple gameplay structure. Most of the truly insanely difficult stuff is totally optional, and I managed to get to 100+% completion without ever consulting a guide or map, which I rarely have the patience for these days.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It is interesting the parallels I'm seeing between this and BotW. You've got your surprisingly open game structure, you're plopped into the world with very little direction, the actual gameplay mechanics are very fun and satisfying, there are layers upon layers of hidden game mechanics for you to find out on your own, things like that.

It's funny that these two games released literally weeks apart and are probably two of the best games of the last decade or two.

skittzo0413 said:

It is interesting the parallels I'm seeing between this and BotW. You've got your surprisingly open game structure, you're plopped into the world with very little direction, the actual gameplay mechanics are very fun and satisfying, there are layers upon layers of hidden game mechanics for you to find out on your own, things like that.

It's funny that these two games released literally weeks apart and are probably two of the best games of the last decade or two.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

.

Two of the best games of this gen. Only Bloodborne comes close, imo.

Beat last night,wasn't so hard,but I don't mastered the boss fight like I did with ,I took a lot of damage :/

Creamium said:

My favorite parts here are the skips and the Watcher fight. Using a shade to pogo up is so clever, you can probably do more sequence breaks with that. I also loved crystal dashing just above poison water. Watcher fight without any upgrades (besides shaman stone) and he makes it look easy.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

That shade skip on crossroads is no longer possible, as the area is walled off until you get there from the other side.

There's a bunch of changes that should make speedrunning slower with that "Lifeblood" patch, like how it's no longer possible to open the item inventory while falling to drastically increase your fall speed.

NediarPT88 said:

Mantis Lords tip:

Spoiler: Hidden lifeblood cocoon

Two extra masks of life.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the tip as I'm currently fighting them.
This is 5 extra masks of life than what I'm currently trying with.
Does the lifeblood masks add up with the 2 I get from life charm on the bench?
Is this after getting into the arena?

Mezoly said:

Thanks for the tip as I'm currently fighting them.
This is 5 extra masks of life than what I'm currently trying with.
Does the lifeblood masks add up with the 2 I get from life charm on the bench?
Is this after getting into the arena?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yeah you'll get the two extra blue masks when destroying the cocoon, no matter what you have equipped.

It's on the top left part of the area where you fight the Mantis (you can see them in the lower right part of the image).

NediarPT88 said:

Yeah you'll get the two extra blue masks when destroying the cocoon, no matter what you have equipped.

It's on the top left part of the area where you fight the Mantis (you can see them in the lower right part of the image).

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Ooo I didn't even notice them. Thanks!

skittzo0413 said:

It is interesting the parallels I'm seeing between this and BotW. You've got your surprisingly open game structure, you're plopped into the world with very little direction, the actual gameplay mechanics are very fun and satisfying, there are layers upon layers of hidden game mechanics for you to find out on your own, things like that.

It's funny that these two games released literally weeks apart and are probably two of the best games of the last decade or two.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

What's fascinating about this game is it provides a lot of the stuff I felt BotW was missing:

- Better maze-like dungeon design
- Good balance between non-linear exploration and the trickle of new abilities that let you explore in new ways
- Lots of enemy and boss variety

Meanwhile, I'd say it's also missing a lot of the stuff that makes BotW revolutionary:

- Vast field-type areas that you can freely move between, that offer wide intervisibility, and that allow you to climb and jump off of almost everything
- Multiple solutions to most problems
- Lots of nuanced environmental interactions

I'm fairly happy with how bosses and checkpoints work in this game and there's no way to design tough enemies without some frustration (but also a more rewarding success).

That said, what I would criticize is how tough it can be to read some enemies and have the battle be over before you even gained any new info. Against the tougher bosses you have to know the patterns and when you only last 15 seconds then yeh, it gets frustrating real quick even if it's a 'mere' 30s walk back.

Because of that my recommendation to anyone going up against a tough boss is to equip maximum defensive charms and play like that, too, and just try to learn all those patterns. If you don't have any hope yet to beat the boss then you might as well do that.

I gave up on the Watcher Knights earlier in the game, and spent at least ten hours or so exploring, finding new charms, more grubs and pursuing the other (two) masks instead.

Came back to them for the first time after throwing in the towel during the numerous first attempts, only to defeat them on my first go!

Sharp Shadow + Dashmaster + Quick Slash + Mark of Pride

I just stayed as close to them as possible, hit the Watcher Knight that was closest to me several times, then shadow shade/cloak through them.

Using the Dashmaster charm adds 1.5 damage and gets you out of danger quicker and safer. I only healed once, and I stayed mostly in the middle of the arena too.

Funnily enough, I didn't feel joyous when I defeated them because I had fought and downed so many bosses since that the feeling was mutual.

Onwards to the Hollow Knight!

NaDannMaGoGo said:

That shade skip on crossroads is no longer possible, as the area is walled off until you get there from the other side.

There's a bunch of changes that should make speedrunning slower with that "Lifeblood" patch, like how it's no longer possible to open the item inventory while falling to drastically increase your fall speed.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yeah it's supposed to be a 'non glitch' run but that inventory trick is still one I'd say. I watched the glitched gdq run and I don't like runs like that, when too much time is spent fiddling in the menus to break the game and make it less fun to watch.

LegendofLex said:

What's fascinating about this game is it provides a lot of the stuff I felt BotW was missing:

- Better maze-like dungeon design
- Good balance between non-linear exploration and the trickle of new abilities that let you explore in new ways
- Lots of enemy and boss variety

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It's elements like that which make me love a game like HK so much more than BotW. The open world nature of BotW, with the lack of enemy variety, just stops being fun for me after a while.

Where does one get the nail upgrade the NPC informs you about before the I got a pretty good handle on the fight itself I think it's just just it takes so long lol.

I finally beat Zote the Mighty lol. His attack pattern was annoying me. I just need to learn to be more patient instead of trying to get as many hits in as quick as possible.

fluffydelusions said:

Where does one get the nail upgrade the NPC informs you about before the

Spoiler

mantis fight?

I got a pretty good handle on the fight itself I think it's just just it takes so long lol.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

If you've got the wall jump, head towards the horned statue on you map. The one in the Fungal Wastes. That'll put you in the right direction.

Brian Damage said:

If you've got the wall jump, head towards the horned statue on you map. The one in the Fungal Wastes. That'll put you in the right direction.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

alright thanks gonna check it out.

fluffydelusions said:

Where does one get the nail upgrade the NPC informs you about before the

Spoiler

mantis fight?

I got a pretty good handle on the fight itself I think it's just just it takes so long lol.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

It may be near a certain city, follow the post signs with a picture of a city displayed.

fluffydelusions said:

Where does one get the nail upgrade the NPC informs you about before the

Spoiler

mantis fight?

I got a pretty good handle on the fight itself I think it's just just it takes so long lol.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I love that fight so much, one of my favorites.

And... hat to replay it quite often now thanks to my way, way, way too careless Steel Mode runs >_< But yeh, that one is so much fun once you've figured it out.

As for those upgrades:

It's within the location Hornet escaped to, for which you need the wall jump.

alright


that shits just not possible

Duffking said:

alright

Spoiler

nightmare king grimm

that shits just not possible

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

What attacks are you having problems with?

Weiss said:

What attacks are you having problems with?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

None specifically, just takes a long time to kill, no real opportunities to heal, everything hits me for 2 damage and so I just inevitably run out of health.

Duffking said:

None specifically, just takes a long time to kill, no real opportunities to heal, everything hits me for 2 damage and so I just inevitably run out of health.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Just defeated the


And the credits rolled and the game ended. Pretty clear that's not the real ending. Do I have a ton to do in order to reach the actual ending?

Paraside said:

Just defeated the

Spoiler: End/late game spoilers

Hollow Knight

And the credits rolled and the game ended. Pretty clear that's not the real ending. Do I have a ton to do in order to reach the actual ending?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

What have you already done?

To get the real ending...

byDoS said:

What have you already done?

To get the real ending...

Spoiler

1. Collect 1800 essences and give them to Seer in order to awaken you Dream Nail.

2. Visit the White Lady at Queen's Garden, after battle the Traitor Lord. She'll give you the first half of the King Soul (it's a charm).

3. Head to Ancient Basin and use your Dream Nail on the Knight Armor near the Hidden Station (far east). Complete the White Palace to get the seconf half of the King Soul.

4. With the charm completed, go straight to the Abyss. By reaching the ground, a secret passage will open starting the "Birthplace" segment.

5. Get the Void Heart and go to Crossroads Infected fight The Hollow Knight. At the end of the battle, Hornet will help you holding THK down. Just hit him with your Dream Nail to access The Radiance.

6. Defeat The Radience in order to get the real ending.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

What the sweet shit

Just rescued a bug but he wasn't very thankful lol.
The second area is stunning. So much lush greenery. And the music... Just amazing. Difficulty has increased somewhat as well. Game is certainly meeting the high expectations i had in it.

Had to cheese Traitor Lord I just couldn't do it. And when I looked for tips I discovered they actually made it way fuckin harder then it was originally, Jesus Christ.

Team Cherry are masochists.

i actually didn't have issues with traitor lord, but for some reason i did with that fucking hive knight


this cheeseball right here

( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDhGdyMnjXk )

Man I ignored spells for too long. The fully upgraded attacks wreck bosses.

After way too many failed attempts at Watcher Knight I went with a spell charm build (Extra soul on Nail hits, Soul on incoming damage, reduce spell cost, increase spell damage and Weavers for Soul gains at a distance).

Then I went into the fight and just spammed my black fireball. Got it done first try. I didn't even know you could fire them so quick one after another. Between that and being able to dash through them without damage, this was waaaay easier than my early game frustrating attempts.

Doctoglethorpe said:

Had to cheese Traitor Lord I just couldn't do it. And when I looked for tips I discovered they actually made it way fuckin harder then it was originally, Jesus Christ.

Team Cherry are masochists.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

How did you cheese it? This fight is pure shit. Not the fight itself so much as the spikes that fuck you up on the way back. Using sharp shadow makes you go farther than before so I fly off the platforms. I hate those damn spikes!!!!

The key to Traitor Lord is to stay close to him. Once I realised that, it was smooth sailing.

For the Watcher Knights, once I put on Fury of the Fallen with my Quick Slash, I just went ham and beat them first try with that combo

Psychotron said:

How did you cheese it? This fight is pure shit. Not the fight itself so much as the spikes that fuck you up on the way back. Using sharp shadow makes you go farther than before so I fly off the platforms. I hate those damn spikes!!!!

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Only sharp shadow + dashmaster increases your distance. I just left dashmaster off for the fight since it doesn't speed up shade cloak's cooldown time.

I just finished and am now making way through It certainly lives up to its name... My thumbs hurt. :(

Is the location of the Grimm Troupe DLC telegraphed anywhere (including outside the game)? It's one of the few things I had to look up, noticing breakable walls is not my forté. It seems odd they would release DLC and not tell people where it is.

Currently at 100% completion and trying to beat


who is a right pain. Might skip for now and play the Grimm subplot.

NediarPT88 said:

Mantis Lords tip:

Spoiler: Hidden lifeblood cocoon

Two extra masks of life.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Ummm.. I was going to fight them but I'm not even close to this many masks. I think I have 6. Still do-able? Where are these guys located?

R8ER34 said:

Ummm.. I was going to fight them but I'm not even close to this many masks. I think I have 6. Still do-able? Where are these guys located?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I've died a lot in this game, but I defeated Mantis Lords on my first try with 5 masks (and one nail upgrade). YMMV since everyone struggles with different things, but it's certainly doable. They're located in

JaredG said:

Only sharp shadow + dashmaster increases your distance. I just left dashmaster off for the fight since it doesn't speed up shade cloak's cooldown time.
:(

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Not true. I'm not using dash master and tested it. You dash much farther with sharp shadow.

Iolo said:

Is the location of the Grimm Troupe DLC telegraphed anywhere (including outside the game)? It's one of the few things I had to look up, noticing breakable walls is not my forté. It seems odd they would release DLC and not tell people where it is.

Currently at 100% completion and trying to beat

Spoiler

the 4th incarnation of Grey Prince Zote

who is a right pain. Might skip for now and play the Grimm subplot.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

No.

You find it

Defeated the Crystal Guardian and Dung Defender!

Channel5News said:

Defeated the Crystal Guardian and Dung Defender!

Spoiler: Reward spoilers

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Thanks, I had a good laugh, especially the second pic

I wish you could just fast travel between benches and not have to unlock the giant bug thingy. Feels like there is not enough fast travel points but I've only just beaten the mantis kings so probably not far enough in to judge yet. My biggest annoyance is having to trudge back through everything if I have to go see an npc or whatever.

I think I have to give up on this game at the final fucking boss. I don't have what it takes to do this. The randomness of the attacks and the damage that they do...I just can't counter it. Out of 30 or so attempts, I made it to the next phase a total of 3 times and was quickly defeated.

I hate the constant random attack spam. Feels just like the Watcher Knights to me. You can't predict shit. Too much luck involved.

Edit: well fuck me. I did it!!!

R8ER34 said:

Ummm.. I was going to fight them but I'm not even close to this many masks. I think I have 6. Still do-able? Where are these guys located?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

JaredG said:

I've died a lot in this game, but I defeated Mantis Lords on my first try with 5 masks (and one nail upgrade). YMMV since everyone struggles with different things, but it's certainly doable. They're located in

Spoiler

Fungal Wastes.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yeah ignore the white masks in that image, you are not supposed to have that many when facing them since Mantis Lords are a optional early game boss. They are doable without any kind of upgrades.

That image is from the wiki.

Finally got around to beating Watcher Knight after like 12 hours of exploring and doing other stuff after not being able to beat it originally.

It's really not that hard of a fight if you come prepared. Fully upgraded nail + Flukenest + Spell Weaver + Magic Damage Increase charm, takes out the knights pretty quickly. I didnt even need the chandelier trick.

Man, fuck the . I feel like this is more luck at this point. I mean I know what to do, but sometimes I'm just in a terrible position and can't escape damage. It sucks. Not a huge fan of this boss.

Psychotron said:

How did you cheese it? This fight is pure shit. Not the fight itself so much as the spikes that fuck you up on the way back. Using sharp shadow makes you go farther than before so I fly off the platforms. I hate those damn spikes!!!!

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

You can find it on YouTube, it basically you just stay up in the top right corner using mantis jump and let the weaver and womb pets fight him for you. You still ha e to dodge an occasional attack so it still took me like 3 tries that way, but it beats doing it 20+ times the legit way.

?oe?oe said:

The key to Traitor Lord is to stay close to him. Once I realised that, it was smooth sailing.

For the Watcher Knights, once I put on Fury of the Fallen with my Quick Slash, I just went ham and beat them first try with that combo

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I tried to be good at dashing through his attacks and keeping close but I wasn't good enough. His attacks doing double damage and giving you almost no chance to heal just totally broke me. There's like no room for error in that fight.

i'm just a measly little hollow knight in a world full of bugs.

Psychotron said:

How did you cheese it? This fight is pure shit. Not the fight itself so much as the spikes that fuck you up on the way back. Using sharp shadow makes you go farther than before so I fly off the platforms. I hate those damn spikes!!!!

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Considering that Traitor Lord is a late game boss you can easily have 900 essence by that point, saving you the trip.

JaredG said:

Only sharp shadow + dashmaster increases your distance. I just left dashmaster off for the fight since it doesn't speed up shade cloak's cooldown time.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

That combo only increases the sharp shadow damage.

I wish that sharp shadow by itself had the normal dash distance.

Bad ending get, at 96%. In White Palace now, pulling hair out.

Not sure when I want to call it quits and end it. I doubt I have it in me to get everything. Narrative hasn't grabbed me so I'm just checking off lists now it seems.

I've been avoiding this thread because of spoilers, but I just beat the final boss tonight. I knew I didn't find everything but was pretty surprised that I only had 61% complete. Immediately after beating the boss I went and found two large areas that I had missed. Then I came back here and started reading and there is clearly lots that I haven't seen yet. What a great game that is just loaded with content if you go looking for it.

Am I crazy or are some of Watcher Knight's attacks literally unavoidable?