Hollow Knight: Best Order For Bosses (2024)

One of the key aspects of progress in any Metroidvania is the boss battles. Although these battles are often not very linear given the nature of this genre, completing them often shows you just how powerful the protagonists have become, and Hollow Knight is an especially good example.

With so many adversaries spread across the land, there's no set order for you to encounter them, as every playthrough is different. However, it's good to have an idea of what boss is best to knock out before others, and that's exactly what this guide will help you do.

Updated February 7, 2024, by Sean Murray: There are a lot of bosses in Hollow Knight. If you're looking for the best order to approach them, this guide has you covered. We've updated this guide with fresh formatting and more breakout tips to make fighting each boss a little easier. We've also given this guide more links to other helpful Hollow Knight topics.

The False Knight

The False Knight is perhaps the easiest boss in all of Hollow Knight, and the first many are likely to encounter. While additional abilities like dashing and spells will make this fight much easier to tackle, this boss is simple enough to be conquered without them.

The False Knight attacks by slamming his massive mallet into the ground to create shockwaves, which can be jumped over. The swings are slow at first, so landing a couple of hits after dodging and walking away is the best way to rack up damage.

You can mark the transition between the phases of the fight by the number of times he slams his weapon wildly into the ground, causing rocks to fall around him. In the second phase, a massive swing will cause rocks to fall as well as shockwaves, and in the final phase, all swings will.

Gruz Mother

The Gruz can be found blocking the gate that leads to an abandoned village area. While it's possible to have the Vengeful Spirit spell and the Mothwing Cloak before fighting the Gruz Mother, it is recommended that you fight her beforehand as these items are not needed to defeat her and this battle unlocks the second half of the area for exploration.

The fight involves the Gruz Mother charging at the Knight directly, bouncing off the ceiling to move across the room, and flying around. Your best bet is to simply hit her as much as possible and move away as fast as you can when she attacks. The bouncing can be avoided by moving back and forth to her with your nail and is also the best opportunity to heal.

Vengefly King

The first time you'll be able to encounter a Vengefly King is rather early, as you make your way to Greenpath for the first time. Killing this Vengefly King is completely optional, and whether you do will alter certain aspects of the game, namely achievements you can unlock, as well as your completion of the Hunter's Journal.

Luckily, this battle is rather easy as well, as the Vengefly King only has two attacks: a charge attack and a summoning call. He will either charge at the Knight and drag his jaw across the floor to deal damage or summon Vengefly enemies to assist him.

The best strategy is to jump and pogo off his body to deal damage when he charges, then kill the enemies as soon as possible.

Hornet Protector

The first fight against Hornet takes place shortly after you enter Greenpath for the first time. Defeating her allows you to progress through the western half of the area as well as earning yourself the Mothwing Cloak, which gives you the ability to dash.

The best strategy is to jump over and under her lunge attacks and gain SOUL from nail hits. You should have Vengeful Spirit at this point, so use that from a distance for extra damage and heal out of range of her Throw and Gossamer Swarm attacks.

Massive Moss Charger

The Massive Moss Charger can be encountered along the Pilgrim's Way, which leads to the Fog Canyon. It should be noted that beating this boss is not required to progress through the area, and it is more of an enemy encounter.

Its only two attacks are Charge, where it charges at you, and Belly Flop or Jump, where it jumps out of the ground and tries to fall on you.

Mantis Lords

Defeating the Mantis Lords will grant you access to the lower eastern section of the Deepnest, but it is recommended that you do not venture through Deepnest without first purchasing the Lumafly Lantern.

In the beginning, you will only fight one Mantis Lord who has three main attacks. Once she is defeated, the other two will attack you at the same time with the same attacks.

It is recommended that you stay in place and only move when you see either of the Mantis Lords coming toward youor if you have to avoid both boomerangs, which can be done by simply bouncing off them with your Nail (or double jumping if you have that ability).

Soul Warrior

There are two Soul Warriors that you will encounter in the Soul Sanctum. The first one protects the main entrance to the upper level of the Soul Sanctum, and the second requires you to have the Elegant Key in order to access it.

Both battles will always begin with the Soul Warrior teleporting above the Knight and doing a downward slash. His main attacks include said downward slash, a dashing slash, and firing an orb of soul energy that homes in on you.

The second Soul Warrior also summons up to 24 Folly enemies to assist it. Make sure to get a few hits in after the first downward slash and jump over the dash slashes to land hits from behind or with a down pogo. Additionally, the homing attack is easier to dodge since it is on the ground.

Soul Master

The Soul Master is the final battle of the Soul Sanctum and is encountered in the upper part of the area. The main difficulty with this boss lies in the subtle differences in how the Soul Master telegraphs attacks. He also teleports around the arena frequently.

The best strategy is to not move around too much and pay attention to the Soul Master at all times. There is a second phase where he slams frequently into the ground and floats in place while conjuring orbs from all across the area. Make sure to heal before starting this phase.

Dung Defender

The Dung Defender can be found right before the entrance to Isma's Grove where the Isma's Tear item can be found. He must be defeated to gain access to Isma's Grove, as well as to obtain the Defender's Crest Charm.

The Dung Defender mainly attacks by tossing balls of dunginto the air that can bounce all over the arena, either one or multiple, and sometimes along with himself. He can also burrow underground and swim toward the Knight, then burst forth to send smaller balls that shatter on impact. He'll let out a roar at half-health to signal a chain of burst attacks.

Broken Vessel

Next, we have the Broken Vessel. This boss must be defeated in order to receive the Monarch Wings ability.

Because the Broken Vessel moves a lot and is difficult to get close to, keep your distance and make sure to use Spells in combination with your nail attacks.

Crystal Guardian / Enraged Guardian

At your first encounter, the Crystal Guardian will be sitting on a bench. The only way to sit on the bench yourself is to defeat him, and afterward, he will jump to the room above and become the Enraged Guardian.

This room cannot be accessed until you get the Monarch Wings, which can only be done by defeating the Broken Vessel. You can return to this room at any time after receiving this item, and defeating the Enraged Guardian rewards a Mask Shard.

Both forms attack by charging and firing a laser beam from their hands that shoots in one direction, summoning multiple lasers from the ceiling, and hopping around. The Enraged Guardian is simply faster and stronger.

Brooding Mawlek

To the left of the vertical shaft in the Forgotten Crossroads that is filled with Gruzzers and Tiktiks, there is a blocked room that requires the Mantis Claw to get over. Inside this room, you can find the Brooding Mawlek. Another is found in the Colosseum of Fools.

The Brooding Mawlek constantly spits up blobs of Infection in an arc as it moves across the arena, occasionally spitting out a massive rain of blobs that fall on whatever side of the field the Knight is on.

A good strategy is to get in a few hits, then walk away to avoid the blobs, and jump/pogo over the Brooding Mawlekduring its blob rain attack. Another reason to move away after each hit is to avoid its claw that slashes at you if you get too close.

Flukemarm

The Flukemarm can only be reached by accessing a secret area in the Royal Waterways with the Desolate Dive/Descending Dark spell, to the southeast. She is the mother of all Flukes in the area and defeating her rewards you with the Flukenest Charm.

Her only attack involves spawning Flukes from any of the openings in her body. They appear at regular intervals and there can only be up to six on the screen at a time.

The two best tactics are to focus on the Flukes to collect SOUL from them, then damage the Flukemarm with spells, or simply hit the Flukemarm between spawns and pogo right above to damage both her and any Flukes that come towards you. How exactly you approach her depends on your current arsenal.

Traitor Lord

The Traitor Lord is only accessible through the use of the Shade Cloak ability. If Cloth was rescued before this battle, she will assist you; if she was not and you defeat the Traitor Lord first, she can be found in Dirtmouth.

The Traitor Lord will frequently jump and dive diagonally toward you, dash toward you while swiping its massive claws, and perform either the Dancing Glaive or the Ground Pound attack. The Dancing Glaive fires two spinning orange blades across the arena towards the Knight, while the Ground Pound creates Giant shockwaves on either side.

The Collector

The Collector is the boss of the Tower of Love, an area that can only be accessed from a locked door in the Kingdom's Edge area. The door can be opened by obtaining the Love Key from the Queen's Gardens. Defeating the Collector will grant you the Grub Map, which shows the location of every Grub you have yet to find.

The Collector will be constantly hopping around the arena, forcing you to keep up with him until he jumps onto the ceiling and drops several jarscontaining different enemies, including Venegeflies, Buldurs, and Aspid Hunters.

Hornet Sentinel

Hornet Sentinel is the second form of the character Hornet that you have to face. She is encountered right before the chamber that leads to the Cast-Off Shell, where the King's Brand is found. The King's Brand is necessary for accessing The Abyss, a late-game area central to the story.

Hornet Sentinel is essentially the same as Hornet Protector in terms of her attacks and pattern, aside from a few differences. She is much faster than before and has two new skills in her arsenal: Parry and Spike. Parry has her put up her nail and immediately counter when hit, while Spike allows her to summon several spike balls that stay suspended in the air.

Oblobbles

The Oblobbles are the final bosses of the Trial of the Conquerer, the second trial in the Colosseum of Fools at the top of Kingdom's Edge. Defeating them rewards you with Pale Ore, up to 2,024 Geo, and the Conquerer achievement.

The Oblobbles only attack by floating around the arena and occasionally firing a series of Infection blobs from all the holes in their bodies. These blobs can be dodged fairly easily if you simply keep your distance, so it is very easy to get a few good hits before backing off to a corner to heal/avoid the blobs. A good idea is to hit one, then the other, and keep the number of hits equal between them.

Watcher Knights

The Watcher Knights guard the entrance to the chamber of the Dreamer Lurien the Watcher. When the Knight defeats the first one, two more will appear and attack at the same time. There are a total of six.

Their only two attacks include swinging their large nail when the Knight is close, and either rolling or bouncing towards them when the Knight is further away. Try to avoid being cornered by or being in-between two Knights at once, and make sure to jump over their attacks to land hits and keep your distance. Spells are also incredibly helpful, especially if you can damage two at once.

Nosk

Nosk can be found within the walls of Deepnest, directly west of the Hot Springs Chamber and past a breakable wall that leads through a series of tunnels. Either the Monarch Wings or the Crystal Heart ability is needed for access. Defeating it rewards a piece of Pale Ore.

Nosk primarily attacks by charging towards you, leaping up to three times across the arena platform, spewing large blobs of Infection from both sides of its body in a parabolic arc, and jumping onto the ceiling to rain down blobs of Infection in a line.

The charge attack can mostly be dodged by standing on the lower edges of the middle platform and jumping, and the blobs can mostly be avoided with careful maneuvering.

Uumuu

Defeating Uumuu is necessary for gaining access to the chamber of Monomon the Teacher, one of the three Dreamers. Uumuu primarily attacks with one of two lightning-based attacks.

It can create several small bursts of electrical energy all across the battlefield, which can mostly be avoided by standing on the bottommost platforms and confusing a trail of electricity that follows you around the arena for six seconds.

Its body is completely invincible from any form of attack up until Quirrel shows up to assist you. From there, attack it as much as possible with your nail and as many Spells as you can get out, though make sure to keep some SOUL for healing if you accidentally fall into the acid while avoiding its attacks.

Hive Knight

The Hive Knight is a knight who served Hive Queen Vespa, and battles you to defend her honor. Defeating him allows you to obtain the Hiveblood Charm.

His lunge attack covers over half the arena, and he constantly does a leaping somersault into the air. His other attacks include teleporting and appearing behind you to slash, releasing a swarm of Hivelings from his mouth that persists even while he is attacking, and releasing three spike balls that fire stingers all across the arena.

The Hive Knight is incredibly fast and forces you to stay on your toes for most of the fight, but his attacks can be avoided with the proper timing and Charm setup. The Shade Cloak is also your best friend in this fight.

God Tamer

The God Tamer is the final boss of theTrial of the Fool in the Colosseum of Fools. Defeating them allows you to get up to 3,024 Geo as well as the Fool achievement.

The Beast will only do two things: roll at you if you are substantially far away, and spew a series of Infection blobs at the Knight from across the arena. The God Tamer will only leap into the air and swing her nail down at you. Again, focus on the Beast most of the time.

Try to keep your distance to force it to roll at you, which you can either dash through with Shade Cloak or pogo off of. Clinging to the wall is a good way to avoid its Infection blobs if it is not too close, just not for too long.

Hollow Knight

The Hollow Knight is the "final" boss of the game's main story, only encountered after defeating all three Dreamers and returning to the Temple of the Black Egg. Defeating them rewards you with different endings, depending on the outcome.

The battle itself is split into three phases. In the first, they can only attack with a lunge that covers half the arena, a triple-slash that can either be jumped over or dashed through (with the Shade Cloak) and a parry. At 750 health, the Hollow Knight will start attacking with rising pillars of Infection and a barrage of Infection blobs.

At 400 HP, they will lose lunge and triple slash and will attack by shooting blobs of Infection from the air, bouncing across the arena, and stabbing themselves. The fight is soon interrupted by Hornet, who gives you the option of whether to kill the Hollow Knight or use the Dream Nail on them.

The Radiance

The true final boss of Hollow Knight is the Radiance. She can only be fought if you Dream Nail the Hollow Knight when Hornet gives you an opening. She is the leader of the Moth Tribe and an ancient enemy of the Void and, subsequently, the Knight and the other Vessels. Defeating her is definitely not easy, but there are many ways to go about it.

This is a long and difficult fight, so we recommend checking out our guide to defeating the Radiance.