The Hollow Knight - Hollow Knight Guide - IGN (2024)

This page includes the IGN wiki guide on the Hollow Knight boss encounter. For information on other sections of our wiki guide, be sure to check out our Walkthrough page.

To learn how to obtain the various Collectibles Hollow Knight has to offer, visit our pages on Charms, Spells, Mask Shards, and more.

The Hollow Knight boss encounter is the final boss encounter in Hollow Knight. The Hollow Knight can be found in the Black Egg Temple in the Infected Crossroads after defeating the three Dreamers and absorbing their essence, breaking the seals.

After resting at the final Bench, head right into the next area and you’ll be locked in an arena with the Hollow Knight. Slash at the chains to release them and the final boss battle will begin.

RECOMMENDED CHARMS: Quick Focus, Mark of Unn, Longnail, Mark of Pride, Quick Slash, Soul Eater, Nailmaster’s Glory, Grubsong, Stalwart Shell, Spore Shroom

The Hollow Knight is a boss with multiple phases, relatively quick movements, and a wide array of attacks and techniques, each with considerable reach. Due to their infected nature, however, they do have some weaknesses which can be exploited to make the fight easier.

The first attack used by The Hollow Knight is a triple slash attack. The Hollow Knight will advance as they make each attack, and their Nail is quite long, so the advancing attack will cover around ¼ of the arena. Because the boss does not attack upwards, you can easily counter this attack by jumping above the Hollow Knight and Nail Jumping on their head until they vanish and begin the next attack.

The second attack used by The Hollow Knight is an advancing dash attack. During this attack, the Hollow Knight will wield their Nail like a spear and quickly lunge forward across around ¼ of the arena. Counter this attack like the triple slash and jump over the attack, then Nail Jump on the boss’ head until they disappear to begin the next attack.

The next attack isn’t an attack at all, if you play your cards right. During the fight the Hollow Knight will adopt a defensive parrying stance and hold their Nail above their head with the tip of the Nail pointed diagonally towards the ground. During this time, attacking the boss will result in a wide, sweeping counter-attack, so avoid attacking and use this opportunity to heal if you have the Quick Focus Charm equipped.

After dealing enough damage to the Hollow Knight, they will scream as they did at the beginning of the fight, and Phase Two will begin. At this time the boss will gain new, more desperate attacks, which cover a larger part of the screen.

The Hollow Knight will still use the triple slash, dash, and parry attacks, so maintain your strategy for countering those attacks while keeping an eye open for new attacks.

The first new attack the Hollow Knight will use during Phase Two is a volley of orange acid. The Hollow Knight’s cloak will open, revealing globs of orange goo. The boss will shoot the orbs in arcing paths across the screen, starting low to the ground, then rising higher and higher as the attack continues. Use the Shade Cloak to dash through the first orb, then attack while the boss lobs acid over your head.

The second attack the Hollow Knight will use during Phase Two is a two stage ground slam attack. The boss will leap into the air, then slam down on the ground, causing the ground to erupt in damaging spikes of infectious energy at set intervals across the screen.

There will be a short window where the location of the spikes will be revealed, so position yourself between them to avoid taking damage. If you are quick enough, you can heal during this time using Quick Focus. You can also cast Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul if you are careful, but these spells do cause some recoil, so be careful not to damage yourself.

During Phase Three, the Hollow Knight will grow increasingly mad with infection, and will gain several new attacks, but will stop using the dash attack and parry from Phase One.

At the beginning of Phase Three, the Hollow Knight will impale themselves on their own Nail several times. Use this opportunity to heal any damage leftover from Phase One and Two and prepare for the new Phase Three attacks.

The first new Phase Three attack the Hollow Knight will use is a bouncing attack. The boss will float into the air, target the Knight’s current location, and fly towards the ground, bouncing off the ground and attacking again for a short while.

Dash back and forth to avoid the attack, and counter with Vengeful Spirit, Howling Wraiths, or Nail attacks. Note that attacking with Howling Spirit will not stop the Hollow Knight from striking you, so make sure you have sidestepped the attack zone before casting.

The second new Phase Three attack used by the Hollow Knight is an arena-wide acid lobbing attack. The boss will float into the air and open their cloak to reveal globs of orange acid, which will then stream out across the arena.

Avoid dashing at this time unless it will get you to a clear area, instead focus on standing in a single area and stepping slightly from side to side to avoid the acid.

From time to time, the boss will attempt to use the same triple slash from Phase One, but may grow tired and fall to the ground after the first slash. Use this opportunity to counter-attack or heal.

Stay patient, focus on avoiding damage and keeping your health topped off, and soon the Hollow Knight will collapse and victory will be yours.