Hollow Knight: Complete Guide

A spoiler-light guide to Hollow Knight. It covers the controls and core systems, a recommended route through Hallownest, charm builds, boss tips, the endings, missables, and the free DLC content (The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, Godmaster).

Researched September 2026 — current as of patch 1.5.12620 (March 27, 2026). Hollow Knight is a finished game; the sequel Hollow Knight: Silksong released September 4, 2025. Check the linked sources if something differs.

2026 patches: Team Cherry updated Hollow Knight twice in 2026. 1.5.12459 (February 5) added 21:9 and 16:10 support, made the game pause in inventory menus, moved to the Unity Input System for broader controller support, added dithering to reduce colour banding, fixed a City of Tears grub-room softlock, and tweaked Grey Prince Zote and Salubra's Blessing. 1.5.12620 (March 27) added Traditional Chinese and fixed a batch of small bugs, including Radiance's orb hitbox and the Mantis Traitors taking damage while underground.

Quick Start

• Buy the map from Cornifer, and buy the Quill and compass from Iselda in Dirtmouth. The map only updates when you sit at a bench.
• Rest at benches often. Benches are checkpoints and the only place you can change charms.
• When you die, you leave a Shade holding all your Geo. Go back and kill it to recover the Geo. Die again first and that Geo is lost.
• Focus to heal. Hold the Focus button to spend Soul and restore one mask. You gain Soul by hitting enemies with your nail.
• Upgrade your nail at the Nailsmith in the City of Tears (it needs Geo and Pale Ore). This is the biggest damage upgrade in the game.
• Explore in any order. The world is open. If an area feels too hard, come back later.
• Break walls and look for secret paths. There are many breakable walls, especially at dead ends.
• Rescue the Grubs (46 total). The Grubfather in the Forgotten Crossroads gives Geo, charms and Mask Shards.
• Look for Mask Shards and Vessel Fragments. Four Mask Shards make one extra mask, and three Vessel Fragments make one extra Soul vessel.

Controls (defaults)

Action | Keyboard | Controller (Xbox)

Move | Arrow keys | Left stick

Jump | Z | A

Attack (nail) | X | X

Focus / Cast | A | B

Dash | C | RT

Super Dash | S | LT

Dream Nail | D | Y

Quick Cast | F | RB

Inventory | I | Back/View

Quick Map | Tab | LB

You can rebind everything under Options → Keyboard / Controller. Since patch 1.5.12459 there's also an option to use the original input system (Options → Controller → Advanced Settings).

Core Systems

Health, Soul and healing

• Masks are your health. You start with 5, and you can reach 9 with Mask Shards.
• Soul is the white meter. Nail hits fill it. Spend it on Focus (heal) or Spells.
• Healing takes time. Only focus when you're safe.

Spells

Spell | Upgrade | Location

Vengeful Spirit | Shade Soul | Ancestral Mound (Forgotten Crossroads); Soul Sanctum

Desolate Dive | Descending Dark | Soul Sanctum (defeat the Soul Master); Crystal Peak

Howling Wraiths | Abyss Shriek | Overgrown Mound (Fog Canyon); the Abyss

Spells deal a lot of damage and are how many players beat tough bosses. The Shaman Stone charm boosts spell damage.

Movement abilities (in rough order)

• Mothwing Cloak (dash): Greenpath, after Hornet.
• Mantis Claw (wall jump): Mantis Village.
• Crystal Heart (super dash): Crystal Peak.
• Monarch Wings (double jump): Ancient Basin.
• Isma's Tear (walk through acid): Royal Waterways.
• Shade Cloak (dash through enemies): the Abyss.
• Dream Nail: Resting Grounds (Seer). Needed for the true endings and many secrets.

Recommended Route (spoiler-light)

• Forgotten Crossroads: False Knight, then Brooding Mawlek (optional).
• Greenpath: Hornet (Protector) fight, then Mothwing Cloak.
• Fungal Wastes: Mantis Claw in Mantis Village. Beating the Mantis Lords is optional but gives the Mark of Pride.
• City of Tears: Soul Sanctum and the Soul Master (you get Desolate Dive). The Nailsmith is here.
• Crystal Peak: Crystal Heart and the Crystal Guardian.
• Resting Grounds: Dream Nail from the Seer.
• Royal Waterways and Ancient Basin: the Dung Defender and Isma's Tear in the Waterways, then Monarch Wings after the Broken Vessel.
• Kingdom's Edge and Deepnest: Hornet (Sentinel), who guards the King's Brand, then the dreamer Herrah the Beast in Deepnest.
• Three Dreamers (Monomon, Lurien, Herrah) with the Dream Nail. Then open the Black Egg Temple.
• The Abyss: the Shade Cloak, and (once you have the King's Brand) the Void Heart, which you need for the better endings.

Key Charms and Builds

You start with 3 notches. Buy more from Salubra, rescue grubs, and find others around the world (up to 11).

Charm | Notches | Why

Wayward Compass | 1 | Shows your position on the map. Great early

Gathering Swarm | 1 | Collects Geo for you

Soul Catcher / Soul Eater | 2 / 4 | More Soul per hit

Shaman Stone | 3 | Much stronger spells

Spell Twister | 2 | Cheaper spells

Quick Slash | 3 | Faster nail attacks

Mark of Pride | 3 | Longer nail range

Unbreakable Strength | 3 | +50% nail damage (fragile version breaks on death)

Quick Focus | 3 | Faster healing

Dashmaster | 2 | Shorter dash cooldown and downward dash

Sharp Shadow | 2 | Damage while dashing through enemies (needs Shade Cloak)

Grubsong | 1 | Gain Soul when you take damage

Sample builds

• Nail build: Unbreakable Strength + Quick Slash + Mark of Pride. High, reliable damage.
• Spell build: Shaman Stone + Spell Twister + Soul Catcher/Eater. Blast bosses with Shade Soul and Abyss Shriek.
• Beginner safety build: Quick Focus + Grubsong + Soul Catcher.

Overcharming: you can equip one charm beyond your notch limit, but you take double damage. Use it only for experiments.

Boss Tips (major bosses)

• False Knight: attack the head when he falls down. Stay out of the way of his mace.
• Hornet (both fights): learn her dash and thread attacks. Punish her when she lands.
• Mantis Lords: fight one, then two at once. Stay aggressive between their attacks.
• Soul Master: chase him down. Hit him when he's stationary casting orbs.
• Broken Vessel: watch for its jump slam. Keep moving.
• Dung Defender: dodge the dung balls and attack when he stops.
• Watcher Knights: six knights, two at a time. Charm up for damage.
• The Hollow Knight: the main ending boss. Learn its dash and slam. Using the Dream Nail on it during the fight is the route to the better ending.
• Grimm and Nightmare King Grimm (The Grimm Troupe): fast, aggressive, dance-like fights. Learn his patterns.
• Radiance (after completing the requirements): the true final boss.

Endings (spoiler-light)

• Ending 1 (Hollow Knight): defeat the Hollow Knight without the Void Heart charm.
• Ending 2 (Sealed Siblings): get the Void Heart from the Abyss, then defeat the Hollow Knight.
• Ending 3 (Dream No More): with Void Heart, use the Dream Nail on the Hollow Knight during the fight and defeat the Radiance.
• Godmaster endings: complete the Pantheon of Hallownest (and more) for extra endings.

DLC (all free)

• Hidden Dreams: Dream bosses (White Defender, Grey Prince Zote) and the Stag Nest.
• The Grimm Troupe: light the Nightmare Lantern, collect flames, and fight Grimm and Nightmare King Grimm. Adds the Grimmchild companion and new charms.
• Lifeblood: adds the Hive Knight boss and the Kingdom's Edge Hive expansion, plus a big balance and performance pass across the whole game.
• Godmaster: the Godhome with Pantheons (boss rush) and new bosses. The five Pantheons are the game's hardest challenges.

Missables

• Grubfather rewards: as of patch 1.5.68, uncollected rewards are no longer missable.
• Grimm Troupe choice: you can banish the Troupe (with Brumm) instead of fighting Nightmare King Grimm. That locks you out of the Grimm fights and charms on that save. Since 1.5.68, the Grimm chest reward stays on the ground if you banish him without collecting it.
• Delicate Flower quest: deliver the flower from the Grey Mourner (Resting Grounds) to the Traitor's Grave in the Queen's Gardens without taking damage.
• Some NPC quest lines (Cloth, Tiso, Quirrel) have limited windows. Talk to them repeatedly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not buying the map or Quill. Hallownest is huge.
• Hoarding Geo. Spend it at Sly, Iselda and Salubra before you go somewhere dangerous.
• Ignoring nail upgrades. Without them, later areas take much longer.
• Healing in the middle of fights. Find safe windows.
• Forgetting to break walls. Many secrets and shortcuts hide behind them.
• Charging into the Abyss or Godhome too early.

Advanced Tips

• Pogo: attack downward on enemies and spikes to bounce. It's needed for platforming challenges like the White Palace and the Path of Pain.
• Dream Nail enemies to gain Soul and read their thoughts.
• Descending Dark makes you invulnerable during its impact. Use it to dodge through attacks.
• Steel Soul mode: permadeath. Only try it after you've finished the game.
• Speedrun community: Any% runs use tricks like dash cancels. There's a big community on speedrun.com.
• Hunter's Journal: kill enough of each enemy type to complete the Hunter's Mark.

FAQ

Is Hollow Knight still being updated in 2026? Yes, with small updates. The latest is patch 1.5.12620 (March 27, 2026), which added Traditional Chinese and fixed bugs.

Where do I find the map? Buy it from Cornifer in each area. You'll hear him humming. Buy the Quill from Iselda in Dirtmouth.

What's the best charm? It depends on your build. Quick Slash, Unbreakable Strength and Shaman Stone are among the strongest.

How long does it take to beat Hollow Knight? About 30–40 hours for a first playthrough, and much longer for full completion with Godmaster.

Do I need to play Hollow Knight before Silksong? It's not required, but recommended. Silksong follows Hornet in a new kingdom.

Where are Hollow Knight saves stored? Windows: %USERPROFILE%/AppData/LocalLow/Team Cherry/Hollow Knight (Steam Cloud syncs across Windows, macOS and Linux since August 2022).

Sources

• Patch 1.5.12620, Steam, Mar 27 2026
• Patch 1.5.12459, Steam, Feb 5 2026
• Update notes for v1.5.68.11808, Steam, Jun 7 2021
• Cross-platform Cloud Saves, Steam, Aug 11 2022
• Steam store page