Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition
63 Achievements
1,000
60-80h
PC
Xbox One
Xbox Series
Embrace the Void
Ascend the Pantheon of Hallownest and take your place at its peak Details for this achievement will be revealed once unlocked
50
0.53%
How to unlock the Embrace the Void achievement in Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition - Definitive Guide
LifeExpectancy
TrueAchievements
TrueAchievements
If you are like me and are fed up with banging your head against a brick wall for this, there is an invincibility glitch that still works as of this writing.
To do this, you must "get memory" (basically store a charged up super dash while still being able to move) and release it when activating dream gate to break the dream gate's animation right as your character disappears.
To do it you need super dash (charge dash), and dream gate. You can only create memory once per reload of your save so if you don't successfully do the glitch, quit out to the menu then reload your save to try again.
To do the glitch I switched my charge dash from the default
to 
. That means I moved my jump button from A to LT. By default the quick map button is 
.
Once you load your save, step off the bench. Do not open inventory (to be safe, don't press anything other than the glitch buttons). Once you are ready, what you want to do is double tap quick map (). Between the two taps of the double tap, you need to press AND HOLD your charge dash ( for me which is why I switched it off of the left trigger, because I had a habit of releasing it rather than holding it since my fingers were thinking of double tap on LB not tap and hold).
So it looks like this with charge dash on the A button: tap, press and hold , tap . (Under default controls it would be LB, tap and hold LT, LB.) This should be done very quickly. If done correct, you will still be holding , thus have a charge dash ready for release, but be able to move around freely. While still holding to retain your charge dash, press and hold up on the left stick and 
to activate your dream nail dream gate ability. Be ready to release to charge dash the INSTANT your character disappears, before the dream gate successfully teleports you. If the screen goes white, you waited too long. If it doesn't, find an enemy and see if they damage you on impact. If not, congratulations you are invincible and ready to kick the pantheon's butt! If the screen didn't turn white but you aren't invincible, you released the charge dash too soon in the dreamgate animation. To try again, you will need to quit out to the main menu, reload your save, and re-establish your 'memory' charge dash again via the , hold , sequence again.
If you search Youtube for "Hollow Knight invincibility glitch" there is a 2 or 3 minute video that shows this glitch and explains it, although the explanation might sound a little confusing. I tried to make it as easy to understand as possible here.
If you successfully gain invincibility, it will last until you quit out of the game. You can go through pantheons, roam around the map, rest at benches and swap out charms, fix your controls back to default or your preference, etc so long as you don't quit out of the game.
One note: when fighting bosses with no floor, especially the 2nd and 3rd stages of Absolute Radiance, you can fall ofd the map bottom and be unable to get back up. I am unsure if this can fully occur for the lower bosses, as I always managed to save the fall before it was too late on them. But on Radiance stage 3 I fell off the bottom and fell through the stage 2 loading point to a black area, then through that to the previous fighting area. I couldnt climb back up. The platforms were there in the black area but I couldnt see to jump to them. I just fell off the bottom of the map completely and waited a few seconds. Eventually the game warped me back to the stage 3 fighting area so I could continue. Keep that in mind. If you fall, just keep falling and it *should* pull you back.
To do this, you must "get memory" (basically store a charged up super dash while still being able to move) and release it when activating dream gate to break the dream gate's animation right as your character disappears.
To do it you need super dash (charge dash), and dream gate. You can only create memory once per reload of your save so if you don't successfully do the glitch, quit out to the menu then reload your save to try again.
To do the glitch I switched my charge dash from the default
to . That means I moved my jump button from A to LT. By default the quick map button is .Once you load your save, step off the bench. Do not open inventory (to be safe, don't press anything other than the glitch buttons). Once you are ready, what you want to do is double tap quick map (
). Between the two taps of the double tap, you need to press AND HOLD your charge dash ( for me which is why I switched it off of the left trigger, because I had a habit of releasing it rather than holding it since my fingers were thinking of double tap on LB not tap and hold).So it looks like this with charge dash on the A button: tap
, press and hold , tap . (Under default controls it would be LB, tap and hold LT, LB.) This should be done very quickly. If done correct, you will still be holding , thus have a charge dash ready for release, but be able to move around freely. While still holding to retain your charge dash, press and hold up on the left stick and to activate your dream nail dream gate ability. Be ready to release to charge dash the INSTANT your character disappears, before the dream gate successfully teleports you. If the screen goes white, you waited too long. If it doesn't, find an enemy and see if they damage you on impact. If not, congratulations you are invincible and ready to kick the pantheon's butt! If the screen didn't turn white but you aren't invincible, you released the charge dash too soon in the dreamgate animation. To try again, you will need to quit out to the main menu, reload your save, and re-establish your 'memory' charge dash again via the , hold , sequence again.If you search Youtube for "Hollow Knight invincibility glitch" there is a 2 or 3 minute video that shows this glitch and explains it, although the explanation might sound a little confusing. I tried to make it as easy to understand as possible here.
If you successfully gain invincibility, it will last until you quit out of the game. You can go through pantheons, roam around the map, rest at benches and swap out charms, fix your controls back to default or your preference, etc so long as you don't quit out of the game.
One note: when fighting bosses with no floor, especially the 2nd and 3rd stages of Absolute Radiance, you can fall ofd the map bottom and be unable to get back up. I am unsure if this can fully occur for the lower bosses, as I always managed to save the fall before it was too late on them. But on Radiance stage 3 I fell off the bottom and fell through the stage 2 loading point to a black area, then through that to the previous fighting area. I couldnt climb back up. The platforms were there in the black area but I couldnt see to jump to them. I just fell off the bottom of the map completely and waited a few seconds. Eventually the game warped me back to the stage 3 fighting area so I could continue. Keep that in mind. If you fall, just keep falling and it *should* pull you back.
30 Comments
Pride? Idk. Steel Soul isn’t that bad anyway so that might be it.
Also I may as well add my take on this as well. For context I did this legit (back-to-back actually). Personally I am not against exploitation of the glitch to beat P5 on its own (there is an ending plus a variant of that locked behind this after all), but for people that are using this to unlock this achievement, I don’t get it. Yes, I know it’s hypocritical to say that given that I cheesed One Life, but I have three counterpoints for that.
1. That is at least twice as long.
2. Most of your deaths in One Life are going to be instant (and because of that makes One Life pretty frustrating imo); here you’re dying in 3 hits (if they are all double damage - which is rare - and cause you to fall into the abyss or spikes) minimum, usually the full 9.
3. You’re basically doing One Life segmented with the cheese, this glitch makes P5 basically free.
Also I only died and used the cheese 4 times (plus one quit out in Horu), 2 of which were because of something dumb that I shouldn’t have had happen, so it’s not like I had to obsessively spam it or anything.
Achievements are meant to be achievements. If you’re unlocking them with such cheesy methods, it kinda defeats the point. If it was a bullshit one like the One Life clear I’d get it but this isn’t, it’s just difficult (artificially so to an extent admittedly given that around 80% of this Pantheon is a slaughter but I digress).
Also I may as well add my take on this as well. For context I did this legit (back-to-back actually). Personally I am not against exploitation of the glitch to beat P5 on its own (there is an ending plus a variant of that locked behind this after all), but for people that are using this to unlock this achievement, I don’t get it. Yes, I know it’s hypocritical to say that given that I cheesed One Life, but I have three counterpoints for that.
1. That is at least twice as long.
2. Most of your deaths in One Life are going to be instant (and because of that makes One Life pretty frustrating imo); here you’re dying in 3 hits (if they are all double damage - which is rare - and cause you to fall into the abyss or spikes) minimum, usually the full 9.
3. You’re basically doing One Life segmented with the cheese, this glitch makes P5 basically free.
Also I only died and used the cheese 4 times (plus one quit out in Horu), 2 of which were because of something dumb that I shouldn’t have had happen, so it’s not like I had to obsessively spam it or anything.
Achievements are meant to be achievements. If you’re unlocking them with such cheesy methods, it kinda defeats the point. If it was a bullshit one like the One Life clear I’d get it but this isn’t, it’s just difficult (artificially so to an extent admittedly given that around 80% of this Pantheon is a slaughter but I digress).
By ChiflaGoodluck on 22 May 2023 08:29
I'll comment on this as I don't mind saying that I used the method posted by LifeExpectancy. Thanks for posting the guide man.
Still worked as of 26th July. It can be a little tricky - I had some cool advice:
1. I changed the Crystal heart ability to A rather than LT for the same reason LifeExpectancy did (hard to double tap LB and also hold LT in between those taps)
2. Make sure you have a Dream Gate down somewhere already by holding down on the thumb stick and holding Y.
3. I’d do the Crystal heart ability/map trick so that I can move around while still charging up the Crystal heart dash.
4. While still holding down A, I’d get close to a door that would take me to another screen. Make sure that it’s all flat surface to that door. If you drop down even a little bit, it will automatically spend your Crystal heart dash.
5. Still holding A, also press up on the thumb stick and hold Y. You’ll start to charge up teleporting to the Dream Gate. There is a moment where the Knight will turn pure white before disappearing completely, it is at that EXACT moment he turns white that Id finally release the A button and dash into the door that would bring me to a new screen.
6. Once the next screen is loaded up, you just have to test if you take damage or not. If the screen is completely white, it means you dashed too late. If you still take damage, you dashed too early. In both cases, you’ll have to quit out to the main menu and then load back in to try again
Really great game - I just used this trick to get through the Pantheon as that was an absolute pain in the ass.
Full props to those who did it legit as that's impressive!
Still worked as of 26th July. It can be a little tricky - I had some cool advice:
1. I changed the Crystal heart ability to A rather than LT for the same reason LifeExpectancy did (hard to double tap LB and also hold LT in between those taps)
2. Make sure you have a Dream Gate down somewhere already by holding down on the thumb stick and holding Y.
3. I’d do the Crystal heart ability/map trick so that I can move around while still charging up the Crystal heart dash.
4. While still holding down A, I’d get close to a door that would take me to another screen. Make sure that it’s all flat surface to that door. If you drop down even a little bit, it will automatically spend your Crystal heart dash.
5. Still holding A, also press up on the thumb stick and hold Y. You’ll start to charge up teleporting to the Dream Gate. There is a moment where the Knight will turn pure white before disappearing completely, it is at that EXACT moment he turns white that Id finally release the A button and dash into the door that would bring me to a new screen.
6. Once the next screen is loaded up, you just have to test if you take damage or not. If the screen is completely white, it means you dashed too late. If you still take damage, you dashed too early. In both cases, you’ll have to quit out to the main menu and then load back in to try again
Really great game - I just used this trick to get through the Pantheon as that was an absolute pain in the ass.
Full props to those who did it legit as that's impressive!
By bennjjee on 01 Aug 2019 16:57
Sold1er187xx
TrueAchievements
TrueAchievements
I've finally conquered the Pantheon of Hallownest. This was definitely one of the hardest challenge I've ever done when it comes to Video Games and I'm really proud that I got this Achievement.
As already been said, this Achievement is the hardest Achievement in the game by far. Everyone who love challenges, can go ahead with this one.
Note: Pure Vessel and Absolute Radiance are much faster and stronger compared to the ones in the Black Egg from the campaign. So don't try to practice there! When you reached a certain Boss in the Pantheons, they will be unlocked in the Hall of Gods and can be practiced there.
Here's my run if you'd like to watch it:
Charms I used on my victory run = Fragile Heart, Fragile Strenght, Mark of Pride, Nailmaster's Glory
-----
Location:
First of all, Godhome is a "Boss rush" place. You will fight all Bosses from the game through all the Pantheons.
To enter the "Godhome" where all the Pantheons will be, it requires the Dream Nail. The Dream Nail is acquired in the Resting Grounds by inspecting the Dreamer Statues. Doing so will send the player into a dream where they will receive the Dream Nail from a Moth (story progress).
The Godhome location can be found in the Royal Waterways as shown in the screenshot
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There you will find this "God" in the left-down corner as shown in the screenshot above. By hitting him with the Dream Nail, you will enter the "Godhome" where all the Pantheons will be.
-----
There are 5 Pantheons in the Godhome:
1. Pantheon of Master
2. Pantheon of the Artist
3. Pantheon of the Sage
4. Pantheon of the Knight
5. Pantheon of the Hallownest
Pantheon of Hallownest is the 5th and final Pantheon in the Godhome and the ultimate challenge. To unlock Pantheon of the Hallownest, you need to complete ALL1-4 Pantheons first before you can access the last one.
-----
Pantheon of the Hallownest:
This Pantheon is literally a run from Pantheon 1 to Pantheon 4 in just one run and no continues. Plus there are 3 extra bosses which aren't included in the 1-4 Pantheons and also 2 new boss forms. (Sitting on a bench won't save your progress. If you'll quit, you'll be automatically in the Godhome again. So don't try to quit when you're attempting this one!)
According to Hollow Knight Wiki Page, all bosses are at Ascended difficulty.
Ascended means increased Health, sometimes new Hazards in the Arena, double damage or the boss having different more challenging attacks.
The Pantheon of Hallownest contains 42 bosses:
1. 2x Vengefly King
2. Gruz Mother
3. False Knight
4. Massive Moss Charger
5. Hornet
6. Resting Spot ---> (The Godseeker)
7. Gorb
8. Dung Defender
9. Soul Warrior
10. Brooding Mawlek
11. Brothers Oro & Mato
12. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
13. Xero
14. Crystal Guardian
15. Soul Master
16. 2x Oblobble
17. Sisters of Battle (new Form of the Mantis - new battle)
18. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
19. Marmu
20. Flukemarm
21. Broken Vessel
22. Galien
23. Paintmaster Sheo
24. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
25. Hive Knight
26. Elder Hu
27. The Collector
28. God Tamer
29. Troupe Master Grimm
30. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
31. Resting Spot ---> (The Godseeker)
32. 6x Watcher Knight
33. Uumuu
34. Winged Nosk (new form - new battle)
35. Great Nailsage Sly
36. Hornet (Sentinel)
37. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
38. Enraged Guardian
39. Lost Kin
40. No Eyes
41. Traitor Lord
42. White Defender
43. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
44. Resting Spot ---> (The Godseeker)
45. Soul Tyrant
46. Markoth
47. Grey Prince Zote (watch important note on the bottom of this guide)
48. Failed Champion
49. Nightmare King Grimm (only in Pantheon of Hallownest)
50. Resting Spot - (Bench)
51. Resting Spot - (The Godseeker)
52. Pure Vessel (only in Pantheon of Hallownest)
53. Absolute Radiance (only in Pantheon of Hallownest)
The absolute pain starts after 46. Markoth. Don't be fooled by Markoth, because he is faster as usual and the Arena is open so you can easily fall down. Very annoying!
The main Problem will be between 47. Grey Prince Zote and 49. Nightmare King Grimm.
If you are out of Souls and with low HPs after Markoth, it will be hard to beat Grey Prince Zote if you don't master him already. You can easily lose against him, so make sure you practice enough against Grey Prince Zote until you feel confident.
After beating Grey Prince Zote, you will face Failed Champion. He double damages plus you gain almost NO SOUL in this fight. So when you get hurt too much in this battle, you can only heal yourself with maximum 2 HPs from what you get of souls by Failed Champion. Don't forget that Nightmare King Grimm is your next Boss after Failed Champion. So make sure you have enough HPs while beating Failed Champion and just don't get hit! Practice him in the Hall of Gods if necessary!
-----
Short summary about what I wanted to explain:
46. Markoth
- Very annoying because of open Arena / make sure to have full HP in the end
Tip: while he's rotating his Dreamshield you can heal yourself (2-3HP's) if you have a certain distance where he won't reach you with his Dreamshield.
(video will be uploaded soon)
47. Grey Prince Zote
-If you practiced him enough, you shouldn't have any problems with him. Just make sure to have full HP's at the end and have some souls left. Because you will gain almost nothing from the next boss battle = Failed Champion)
Tip: Always watch out for these "inflatable flying exploding" things. They do double damage(-2HP) so better stay in a spot where they won't hurt you. Also good to know = after he's dead, you can Heal yourself 5 TIMES before the next battle starts! So better hurry with healing when you gave him your last hit!
(video will be uploaded soon)
48. Failed Champion
- Does double damage (-2HP) and you gain Soul only when he's laying on the Floor and you have to hit his head - by just hitting his armor you won't get anything
Tip: His pattern is actually very easy to understand. If he jumps away from you, the next attack will be usually (!)this "wave" attack. If he jumps at you, you can actually "shadow floating" under him through. Make sure not to lose too many HPs because your next boss battle will be NKG.
You can watch my video for the best way to defeat Failed Champion:
49. Nightmare King Grimm
- Does double damage (-2HP) and can kill you very easily if you are too careless for a few seconds. His pattern are very easy to understand and actually easy dodgeable. Just watch out for his thorns! They are the most difficult ones to dodge and can easily hit you. You can just watch my video and skip to NKG for the easiest way to defeat him (in my view).
If you didn't lose too much HP from the Failed Champion before, you should get through.
Tip: There's not much to say. Just watch out for his thorns and always take your opportunity when you can hit him in a safe way. He will transform himself 2 times in the fight into those black bats after you've hit him for certain times. Between this time, you can heal yourself 2-3 times. So take these opportunities as long as you can! (if necessary)
If you are having problems beating Nightmare King Grimm, watch my Video for an easy way to beat him.
50. Resting Spot ---> Bench
- Finally a spot to fill your HPs, Souls and to change your Charms. Only 2 bosses are awaiting you. It depends on you what kind of Charms you want to use. When I practiced Absolute Radiance, the best Charms were Fragile Heart, Fragile Strenght, HIVEBLOOD (for Absolute Radiance) and Long Nail. But on my real run I never used Hiveblood. So it's up to you what you'd like to use.
51. Resting Spot ---> Godspeeker
- Last conversation with Godspeeker
52. Pure Vessel
- Does double damage (-2HP) and is quiet fast. Just don't get too nervous. He can kill you very easily in a short time if you are too careless for a few seconds. So stay focused and concentrated. I failed 2 times against him because of my nervousness after reaching him. Also watch out when he throws spikes at you (just shadow dodge them) or when he's jumping at you.
Tip: Practice him, practice him and practice him in the Hall of Gods until you feel confident attempting him in the Pantheon. There are some healing opportunities. But the safe opportunity is when he's kneeling for a few seconds (only 1 HP possible safely).
You can use ALL of your SOULS without worring not to have HP left for the Absolute Radiance. No matter how much HP you will have after beating him; your HPs will be automatically refilled after beating him for the Final Battle against Absolute Radiance. So just use them as long as you can (if necessary).
Just watch my video if you are curious for "my" best way on Radiant Difficulty.
53. Absolute Radiance
- In my opinion Absolute Radiance is the most difficult Boss of this Pantheon. She is very fast, does double damage and has LOTS of HPs. She has 3 phases (in the black egg it's only 2) and she is much faster, has much more HP and is definitely stronger compared to the Absolute Radiance from the Black Egg. When I practiced her in the Hall of Gods and was using the Charm HIVEBLOOD, I acutally never had problems. It depends on you which way the best is for you. Be creative and try different Charms when you practice her. Sometimes with different Charms it's easier for you. Without trying it out you won't know it. When you'll reach her for the first time, you will be probably absolutely destroyed by her. But at least you will unlock her in the Hall of Gods and can practice her. (She'll be behind the gate in the top right corner of the Hall of Gods).
Tip: In Phase 1, you can use your spell Abyss Shriek once without having too little Souls left for the Phase 2. After using 1 Abyss Shriek on her in Phase 1, your Souls will be just in time full when you're done with Phase 1. Then you have full Soul left to either heal yourself completely (6 HPs - you have enough time) or to continue and use your soul for Phase 2.
In Phase 2 don't go too much for her. I usually stayed on the middle platform and always waited until she got close enough and then I attacked her with all of my Abyss Shriek and hits I had. Of course it depends on the situation. Just practice her and find your best way!
After Phase 2, you have to climb all the way up while she's shooting "laser" at you.
When you reached the top, she will only throw light balls at you which you can easily dodge. After a few hits, she'll be dead
(video will be uploaded soon)
-----
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you let Zote die in the Greenpath, it will skip the Grey Prince Zote boss fight in the Pantheons! That would make this Achievement much easier if you don't have to fight Grey Prince Zote. Since I never had any problems fighting him, there was no difference to me anyway. So I fought him normally.
On the Steam Version of Hollow Knight, you were still able to unlock the Achievement by skipping Grey Prince Zote. For the Xbox Version it's not yet confirmed.
-----
Just never give up and keep attempting this Achievement. It took me quiet awhile and then suddenly on my WORST attempt, I finally did it. Unfortunately only the last 4 bosses will be your problem. And to get there, it will take you somewhat between 30-45 minutes. If you fail, you have to start all over again. So this Achievement is very time consuming. But if you love this game just the way I do, then you'll gonna get this Achievement one day.
To give you some motivation; here's a screenshot when she had only 1-2 hits left and I died.
As you can see; she is already in the middle of Phase 3 which means that she has something between 1-3 hits left. Because of my carelessness, I died 2 hits away before the goal - and that was probably the best run I've ever had. But then I cleared this Pantheon on my worst run I've ever had. So as you can see, just because you're having a bad run doesn't mean you won't made it.
So I hope this motivates you to stick with it and keep trying it
English is not my native language - so post something in the comments below if something is unclear.
As already been said, this Achievement is the hardest Achievement in the game by far. Everyone who love challenges, can go ahead with this one.
Note: Pure Vessel and Absolute Radiance are much faster and stronger compared to the ones in the Black Egg from the campaign. So don't try to practice there! When you reached a certain Boss in the Pantheons, they will be unlocked in the Hall of Gods and can be practiced there.
Here's my run if you'd like to watch it:
Charms I used on my victory run = Fragile Heart, Fragile Strenght, Mark of Pride, Nailmaster's Glory
-----
Location:
First of all, Godhome is a "Boss rush" place. You will fight all Bosses from the game through all the Pantheons.
To enter the "Godhome" where all the Pantheons will be, it requires the Dream Nail. The Dream Nail is acquired in the Resting Grounds by inspecting the Dreamer Statues. Doing so will send the player into a dream where they will receive the Dream Nail from a Moth (story progress).
-----
-----
There are 5 Pantheons in the Godhome:
1. Pantheon of Master
2. Pantheon of the Artist
3. Pantheon of the Sage
4. Pantheon of the Knight
5. Pantheon of the Hallownest
Pantheon of Hallownest is the 5th and final Pantheon in the Godhome and the ultimate challenge. To unlock Pantheon of the Hallownest, you need to complete ALL1-4 Pantheons first before you can access the last one.
-----
Pantheon of the Hallownest:
This Pantheon is literally a run from Pantheon 1 to Pantheon 4 in just one run and no continues. Plus there are 3 extra bosses which aren't included in the 1-4 Pantheons and also 2 new boss forms. (Sitting on a bench won't save your progress. If you'll quit, you'll be automatically in the Godhome again. So don't try to quit when you're attempting this one!)
According to Hollow Knight Wiki Page, all bosses are at Ascended difficulty.
Ascended means increased Health, sometimes new Hazards in the Arena, double damage or the boss having different more challenging attacks.
The Pantheon of Hallownest contains 42 bosses:
1. 2x Vengefly King
2. Gruz Mother
3. False Knight
4. Massive Moss Charger
5. Hornet
6. Resting Spot ---> (The Godseeker)
7. Gorb
8. Dung Defender
9. Soul Warrior
10. Brooding Mawlek
11. Brothers Oro & Mato
12. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
13. Xero
14. Crystal Guardian
15. Soul Master
16. 2x Oblobble
17. Sisters of Battle (new Form of the Mantis - new battle)
18. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
19. Marmu
20. Flukemarm
21. Broken Vessel
22. Galien
23. Paintmaster Sheo
24. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
25. Hive Knight
26. Elder Hu
27. The Collector
28. God Tamer
29. Troupe Master Grimm
30. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
31. Resting Spot ---> (The Godseeker)
32. 6x Watcher Knight
33. Uumuu
34. Winged Nosk (new form - new battle)
35. Great Nailsage Sly
36. Hornet (Sentinel)
37. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
38. Enraged Guardian
39. Lost Kin
40. No Eyes
41. Traitor Lord
42. White Defender
43. Resting Spot ---> (Bench)
44. Resting Spot ---> (The Godseeker)
45. Soul Tyrant
46. Markoth
47. Grey Prince Zote (watch important note on the bottom of this guide)
48. Failed Champion
49. Nightmare King Grimm (only in Pantheon of Hallownest)
50. Resting Spot - (Bench)
51. Resting Spot - (The Godseeker)
52. Pure Vessel (only in Pantheon of Hallownest)
53. Absolute Radiance (only in Pantheon of Hallownest)
The absolute pain starts after 46. Markoth. Don't be fooled by Markoth, because he is faster as usual and the Arena is open so you can easily fall down. Very annoying!
The main Problem will be between 47. Grey Prince Zote and 49. Nightmare King Grimm.
If you are out of Souls and with low HPs after Markoth, it will be hard to beat Grey Prince Zote if you don't master him already. You can easily lose against him, so make sure you practice enough against Grey Prince Zote until you feel confident.
After beating Grey Prince Zote, you will face Failed Champion. He double damages plus you gain almost NO SOUL in this fight. So when you get hurt too much in this battle, you can only heal yourself with maximum 2 HPs from what you get of souls by Failed Champion. Don't forget that Nightmare King Grimm is your next Boss after Failed Champion. So make sure you have enough HPs while beating Failed Champion and just don't get hit! Practice him in the Hall of Gods if necessary!
-----
Short summary about what I wanted to explain:
46. Markoth
- Very annoying because of open Arena / make sure to have full HP in the end
Tip: while he's rotating his Dreamshield you can heal yourself (2-3HP's) if you have a certain distance where he won't reach you with his Dreamshield.
(video will be uploaded soon)
47. Grey Prince Zote
-If you practiced him enough, you shouldn't have any problems with him. Just make sure to have full HP's at the end and have some souls left. Because you will gain almost nothing from the next boss battle = Failed Champion)
Tip: Always watch out for these "inflatable flying exploding" things. They do double damage(-2HP) so better stay in a spot where they won't hurt you. Also good to know = after he's dead, you can Heal yourself 5 TIMES before the next battle starts! So better hurry with healing when you gave him your last hit!
(video will be uploaded soon)
48. Failed Champion
- Does double damage (-2HP) and you gain Soul only when he's laying on the Floor and you have to hit his head - by just hitting his armor you won't get anything
Tip: His pattern is actually very easy to understand. If he jumps away from you, the next attack will be usually (!)this "wave" attack. If he jumps at you, you can actually "shadow floating" under him through. Make sure not to lose too many HPs because your next boss battle will be NKG.
You can watch my video for the best way to defeat Failed Champion:
(WARNING: Sound gets BAD after 23 sec so better TURN it DOWN or OFF. I already apologize for the issue)
49. Nightmare King Grimm
- Does double damage (-2HP) and can kill you very easily if you are too careless for a few seconds. His pattern are very easy to understand and actually easy dodgeable. Just watch out for his thorns! They are the most difficult ones to dodge and can easily hit you. You can just watch my video and skip to NKG for the easiest way to defeat him (in my view).
If you didn't lose too much HP from the Failed Champion before, you should get through.
Tip: There's not much to say. Just watch out for his thorns and always take your opportunity when you can hit him in a safe way. He will transform himself 2 times in the fight into those black bats after you've hit him for certain times. Between this time, you can heal yourself 2-3 times. So take these opportunities as long as you can! (if necessary)
If you are having problems beating Nightmare King Grimm, watch my Video for an easy way to beat him.
Radiant Difficulty, No Damage
50. Resting Spot ---> Bench
- Finally a spot to fill your HPs, Souls and to change your Charms. Only 2 bosses are awaiting you. It depends on you what kind of Charms you want to use. When I practiced Absolute Radiance, the best Charms were Fragile Heart, Fragile Strenght, HIVEBLOOD (for Absolute Radiance) and Long Nail. But on my real run I never used Hiveblood. So it's up to you what you'd like to use.
51. Resting Spot ---> Godspeeker
- Last conversation with Godspeeker
52. Pure Vessel
- Does double damage (-2HP) and is quiet fast. Just don't get too nervous. He can kill you very easily in a short time if you are too careless for a few seconds. So stay focused and concentrated. I failed 2 times against him because of my nervousness after reaching him. Also watch out when he throws spikes at you (just shadow dodge them) or when he's jumping at you.
Tip: Practice him, practice him and practice him in the Hall of Gods until you feel confident attempting him in the Pantheon. There are some healing opportunities. But the safe opportunity is when he's kneeling for a few seconds (only 1 HP possible safely).
You can use ALL of your SOULS without worring not to have HP left for the Absolute Radiance. No matter how much HP you will have after beating him; your HPs will be automatically refilled after beating him for the Final Battle against Absolute Radiance. So just use them as long as you can (if necessary).
Just watch my video if you are curious for "my" best way on Radiant Difficulty.
Radiant Difficulty - Hall of Gods
53. Absolute Radiance
- In my opinion Absolute Radiance is the most difficult Boss of this Pantheon. She is very fast, does double damage and has LOTS of HPs. She has 3 phases (in the black egg it's only 2) and she is much faster, has much more HP and is definitely stronger compared to the Absolute Radiance from the Black Egg. When I practiced her in the Hall of Gods and was using the Charm HIVEBLOOD, I acutally never had problems. It depends on you which way the best is for you. Be creative and try different Charms when you practice her. Sometimes with different Charms it's easier for you. Without trying it out you won't know it. When you'll reach her for the first time, you will be probably absolutely destroyed by her. But at least you will unlock her in the Hall of Gods and can practice her. (She'll be behind the gate in the top right corner of the Hall of Gods).
Tip: In Phase 1, you can use your spell Abyss Shriek once without having too little Souls left for the Phase 2. After using 1 Abyss Shriek on her in Phase 1, your Souls will be just in time full when you're done with Phase 1. Then you have full Soul left to either heal yourself completely (6 HPs - you have enough time) or to continue and use your soul for Phase 2.
In Phase 2 don't go too much for her. I usually stayed on the middle platform and always waited until she got close enough and then I attacked her with all of my Abyss Shriek and hits I had. Of course it depends on the situation. Just practice her and find your best way!
After Phase 2, you have to climb all the way up while she's shooting "laser" at you.
When you reached the top, she will only throw light balls at you which you can easily dodge. After a few hits, she'll be dead
(video will be uploaded soon)
-----
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If you let Zote die in the Greenpath, it will skip the Grey Prince Zote boss fight in the Pantheons! That would make this Achievement much easier if you don't have to fight Grey Prince Zote. Since I never had any problems fighting him, there was no difference to me anyway. So I fought him normally.
On the Steam Version of Hollow Knight, you were still able to unlock the Achievement by skipping Grey Prince Zote. For the Xbox Version it's not yet confirmed.
-----
Just never give up and keep attempting this Achievement. It took me quiet awhile and then suddenly on my WORST attempt, I finally did it. Unfortunately only the last 4 bosses will be your problem. And to get there, it will take you somewhat between 30-45 minutes. If you fail, you have to start all over again. So this Achievement is very time consuming. But if you love this game just the way I do, then you'll gonna get this Achievement one day.
To give you some motivation; here's a screenshot when she had only 1-2 hits left and I died.
As you can see; she is already in the middle of Phase 3 which means that she has something between 1-3 hits left. Because of my carelessness, I died 2 hits away before the goal - and that was probably the best run I've ever had. But then I cleared this Pantheon on my worst run I've ever had. So as you can see, just because you're having a bad run doesn't mean you won't made it.
So I hope this motivates you to stick with it and keep trying it
English is not my native language - so post something in the comments below if something is unclear.
26 Comments
I beat this game a while ago but here are my 2 cents on the last 3 bosses: NGK is actually very telegraphed and therefore very doable without taking damage or taking one or 2 hits. There are many videos on youtube that show you how to beat it without taking damage and the many strategies around him.
Pure Vessel requires practice. A lot. His skills are, again, very telegraphed but you have to either dash through them or jump over them. Both ways work but you need some practice to get the timing right. I suggest getting to him on the Warrior pantheon and then, after the inevitable first defeat, go train on him.
Absolute Radiance seems hard, but of the 4 stages the second one was the hardest, by far. After getting to her and opening her training mode try to get very good at stage one. It's not the hardest one and it allows for some health recovery if you lose it (you can recover 6 HP after defeating it if you're quick enough). The seconds stage is, in my opinion the hardest. She has the same moves (with the exception of spikes) but you have to dodge on platforms. My suggestion is something akin to Awoo solution: have patience and don't go after her, wait for her to get to you. Her homing missiles are not very hard to dodge (they explode on contact with a platform), the side spiked are easily dodgeable and the beams and swords explosion are more RNG based than anything. The 3rd form is another one that can be frustating. As you climb those plataforms she will try to predict your next step and shoot a beam on your next location. Use this to your advantage doing long jumps and pretending to jump to a different direction, it worked really well for me. Her last form is easier than the rest but, again, you won't be able to recover health so if you have very low health it's a tense fight. Someone suggested that you try to pog onto her head making projectiles disappear but even standing on a platform and waiting for one of the bombs to get closeand dodging it works too, but you'll need patience. The whole fight is about patience more than skills, IMHO. In the run where I conquered her I took 1 hit in phase 1, one in phase 2 and that was it.
Pure Vessel requires practice. A lot. His skills are, again, very telegraphed but you have to either dash through them or jump over them. Both ways work but you need some practice to get the timing right. I suggest getting to him on the Warrior pantheon and then, after the inevitable first defeat, go train on him.
Absolute Radiance seems hard, but of the 4 stages the second one was the hardest, by far. After getting to her and opening her training mode try to get very good at stage one. It's not the hardest one and it allows for some health recovery if you lose it (you can recover 6 HP after defeating it if you're quick enough). The seconds stage is, in my opinion the hardest. She has the same moves (with the exception of spikes) but you have to dodge on platforms. My suggestion is something akin to Awoo solution: have patience and don't go after her, wait for her to get to you. Her homing missiles are not very hard to dodge (they explode on contact with a platform), the side spiked are easily dodgeable and the beams and swords explosion are more RNG based than anything. The 3rd form is another one that can be frustating. As you climb those plataforms she will try to predict your next step and shoot a beam on your next location. Use this to your advantage doing long jumps and pretending to jump to a different direction, it worked really well for me. Her last form is easier than the rest but, again, you won't be able to recover health so if you have very low health it's a tense fight. Someone suggested that you try to pog onto her head making projectiles disappear but even standing on a platform and waiting for one of the bombs to get closeand dodging it works too, but you'll need patience. The whole fight is about patience more than skills, IMHO. In the run where I conquered her I took 1 hit in phase 1, one in phase 2 and that was it.
By Anubseth on 05 Dec 2018 19:42
Did my first Hallownest run today and got all the way to Radiance... got annihilated as expected, but felt good about it overall. Sisters of Battle threw me off and was probably the closest I came to dying before Radiance 
Time to practice the hell out of this bitch.
Time to practice the hell out of this bitch.
By Awoo on 13 Oct 2018 22:14
LxVaiN
TrueAchievements
TrueAchievements
Since you got to this point in the game i think you know what you are going to try and have a basic understanding of most bosses so i will try to keep this guide as short as possible. If there are problems with specific bosses though i can add a detailed guide on how to beat these with this build.
My method is unconventional but very efffective in getting you to the last part of the boss rush fairly easily. But as soon as you reach Grey Prince Zote the only thing that helps you is your own skill and practice.
Charms:
- Grubberfly’s Elegy: This is the key component of this build. It allows you to kill bosses from distance while preventing damage on your own character. It gives you much more room for errors. It also annihilates some bosses like Lost Kin, who gets stunned so often because of this. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you have to beat every boss with ranged attacks. Your nail itself still does more damage and you don’t get any soul by hitting the bosses with the projectiles so use your nail if you have the opportunity or don’t feel like the additional range is useful in this particular fight!
- Fragile/Unbreakable Strength: Synergizes with Grubberfly‘s Elegy so your ranged attacks do 76% naildamage and obviously improves the damage of your nail itself to 150%. It doesn’t break if you die, so it doesn’t matter which version of the charm you use.
- Quick Slash: This is the reason this build works. It lets you shoot the projectiles so fast that it compromises the lower damage they have.
- Sprintmaster: This charm is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED because it lets you „dodge“ many attacks and projectiles much more easily. And i don’t mean you dash away, but getting in the right position quickly. The best example for its good use is the fight against Absolute Radiance.
- Steady Body: I got one free notch left and i noticed during my runs, that i got hit by a boss or fell down because i got knocked back and didn’t react in time so this makes each of my hits more predictable. This one is the only charm you could safely change if you really want.
Bosses:
Although this build makes the boss rush much easier (in my opinion), there are still bosses you absolutely need to practice. Here is a list of some quick notes/tips for some of them. I will also add the difficulty level i would recommend you beat first before trying to ascend the pantheon. If you did beat a boss on a higher difficulty it’s obviously even better.
General Tip: Some bosses like Elder Hu or even Absolute Radiance just float around above you. Instead of jumping and slashing you can stay on the ground and shoot upwards. Since you have Quick Slash the overall damage output should be higher.
You should also use spells if you see a good use. But keep most of your souls for healing.
False Knight/ Failed Champion: For those who don’t know. As soon as you get him down get close to him as fast as possible and dreamnail him twice to get a lot of soul. Then hit him twice with the normal nail before he stands up again. After you beat him you can still dreamnail his armor a couple times to completely fill your soul vessels.
Sisters of Battle: (Recommended level of pratice: Ascended)
This fight is fast and can lower your HP massively if you don’t know how to dodge their attacks properly. Forget about Grubberfly’s Elegy and use your nail instead. You can use Abyss Shriek and a quick dash to the side afterwards when they hang on the wall for a damage burst.
Broken Vessel/Lost Kin: Like I said this boss is one of the easiest with this build. Just spam your projectiles like crazy and don’t forget about dodging and this should be a breeze.
The Collector: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
The minions he spawn’s have priority. Try to hit them directly with your nail for a one-hit kill unless the boss would hit you in trying to do so.
God Tamer: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
Focus on the beast. If you kill him the God Tamer will surrender. When he spits his acid on the ground try to be right behind the first pool of acid so you can still hit him with your ranged attacks.
Watcher Knights: (Recommended level of practice: Attuned/ Ascended)
This fight is fairly easy with this build but you should minimize the damage you take on this fight so just practice him a bit on Attuned or beat him once on Ascended. This should be enough.
Troupe Master Grimm: (Recommended level of practice Radiant)
If you need soul you can dreamnail him at the start before he starts attacking you. When he does the thorns from the groung get in a gap thats close enough that you can spam your ranged attack for some free damage.
Sly: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
Like Sisters of Battle this fight can cost you a lot of HP if you don’t know how to dodge his attacks. After each of his attacks get 2-3 hits in and back up immediatly. For his second phase stay in the middle and wait until he flys towards you. Dash away and use your ranged attack. Rince and repeat. (I did use my old method in the video which is more risky so i recommend using the tactic written here)
No Eyes: (Recommended level of practice: Radiant)
It’s not a hard fight, but you absolutely need to know how to move in his arena. When you get hit it can snowball out of control if you lose focus. You have the advantage of being able to fight from a distance. Also feel free to use your spells to end this fight as quickly as possible.
Enraged Guardian + Traitor Lord + Failed Champion + Nightmare King Grimm + Pure Vessel: (Recommended level of practice: Radiant)
I know some of them are brutal but since they do double damage you absolutely don’t want to get hit by them. If you beat them on that difficulty you get hit way less during the fight in the pantheon.
Grey Prince Zote: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended or Radiant)
He doesn’t hit as hard as his 10x form outside of godhome but he has all his abilities. Some find him easy, some find him brutal. It's up to you how much practice you put into this fight but since he’s one of the last fights i wouldn’t take the risk of not being prepared.
The other guide written by Sold1er187xx states that you can skip him by let him die in the base game.
Markoth: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
This fight is easier with this build then it would be otherwise. Markoth isn’t as aggressive as other bosses so take your time! Try to stay in a position where he isn’t too close, so his shield doesn’t hit you, but close enough that you can hit him with your projectiles. Dodge his attacks and get a few hits in when you see an opening. You can attack him during his shieldspin but you should be careful and don’t get greedy because once you lose your ranged attack this gets much harder.
Absolute Radiance: (Recommended level of practice: AT LEAST a few times on Attuned so you can dodge his attacks)
I know this fight is a pain, but you really need to practice him and find the few situations where you can heal.
A few more tips:
- With this build you can stay on the ground and shoot upwards in phase 1-3 (where there‘s still ground) which makes them a bit easier
- In phase 1 and 2 you can dodge the orb attack by dashing towards them IF it doesn’t spawn close to the ground. This will make them fly over you and crash on the ground.
- Use your dash to get through the gaps in the horizontal nail walls. Don’t just jump through them.
- In phase 4 (no ground) i personally like being at the lower platforms. I find it easier to dodge the attacks, especially the orbs. I rarely jump higher to get some soul or finish this phase. This one is the hardest phase in my opinion.
- In phase 5 (where you have to jump higher and higher) always jump away from the platforms and dash back towards the next one. This will make him shoot in the air more often instead of the platform directly.
- In phase 6 (last phase with the 2 platforms) be very careful with your jumps. Try to lead the orbs out of screen by jumping towards the edge and THEN hit the boss if it’s in range.
If there is any boss you have problems with, that is not mentioned here, you should practice him until you beat him on Ascended.
Final words:
You can make it a bit easier if you beat some of the first 4 pantheons with bindings. If you got 8 bindings you can open the door on the lowest level in godhome to dreamnail a blue orb. This will get you a lifeblood cocoon next to the benches inside the pantheons. The more bindings you manage to get through the pantheons, the more blue masks you will end up getting from the cocoons. I personally got the minimum 8 so i get at least 3 blue masks. With blue masks you can get hit without losing the ranged attack ability because it only counts the white masks.
Also after beating Nightmare King Grimm there is a bench, where you can switch your charms if you don’t want to use this build for the last two fights. This makes this method much more viable, because you can use it to just get to the endboss quickly.
I will link my run with this build here so you can use the timestamps to check a boss you may have problems with.
Good luck my fellow Knights! I really hope this helps.
My method is unconventional but very efffective in getting you to the last part of the boss rush fairly easily. But as soon as you reach Grey Prince Zote the only thing that helps you is your own skill and practice.
Charms:
- Grubberfly’s Elegy: This is the key component of this build. It allows you to kill bosses from distance while preventing damage on your own character. It gives you much more room for errors. It also annihilates some bosses like Lost Kin, who gets stunned so often because of this. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you have to beat every boss with ranged attacks. Your nail itself still does more damage and you don’t get any soul by hitting the bosses with the projectiles so use your nail if you have the opportunity or don’t feel like the additional range is useful in this particular fight!
- Fragile/Unbreakable Strength: Synergizes with Grubberfly‘s Elegy so your ranged attacks do 76% naildamage and obviously improves the damage of your nail itself to 150%. It doesn’t break if you die, so it doesn’t matter which version of the charm you use.
- Quick Slash: This is the reason this build works. It lets you shoot the projectiles so fast that it compromises the lower damage they have.
- Sprintmaster: This charm is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED because it lets you „dodge“ many attacks and projectiles much more easily. And i don’t mean you dash away, but getting in the right position quickly. The best example for its good use is the fight against Absolute Radiance.
- Steady Body: I got one free notch left and i noticed during my runs, that i got hit by a boss or fell down because i got knocked back and didn’t react in time so this makes each of my hits more predictable. This one is the only charm you could safely change if you really want.
Bosses:
Although this build makes the boss rush much easier (in my opinion), there are still bosses you absolutely need to practice. Here is a list of some quick notes/tips for some of them. I will also add the difficulty level i would recommend you beat first before trying to ascend the pantheon. If you did beat a boss on a higher difficulty it’s obviously even better.
General Tip: Some bosses like Elder Hu or even Absolute Radiance just float around above you. Instead of jumping and slashing you can stay on the ground and shoot upwards. Since you have Quick Slash the overall damage output should be higher.
You should also use spells if you see a good use. But keep most of your souls for healing.
False Knight/ Failed Champion: For those who don’t know. As soon as you get him down get close to him as fast as possible and dreamnail him twice to get a lot of soul. Then hit him twice with the normal nail before he stands up again. After you beat him you can still dreamnail his armor a couple times to completely fill your soul vessels.
Sisters of Battle: (Recommended level of pratice: Ascended)
This fight is fast and can lower your HP massively if you don’t know how to dodge their attacks properly. Forget about Grubberfly’s Elegy and use your nail instead. You can use Abyss Shriek and a quick dash to the side afterwards when they hang on the wall for a damage burst.
Broken Vessel/Lost Kin: Like I said this boss is one of the easiest with this build. Just spam your projectiles like crazy and don’t forget about dodging and this should be a breeze.
The Collector: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
The minions he spawn’s have priority. Try to hit them directly with your nail for a one-hit kill unless the boss would hit you in trying to do so.
God Tamer: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
Focus on the beast. If you kill him the God Tamer will surrender. When he spits his acid on the ground try to be right behind the first pool of acid so you can still hit him with your ranged attacks.
Watcher Knights: (Recommended level of practice: Attuned/ Ascended)
This fight is fairly easy with this build but you should minimize the damage you take on this fight so just practice him a bit on Attuned or beat him once on Ascended. This should be enough.
Troupe Master Grimm: (Recommended level of practice Radiant)
If you need soul you can dreamnail him at the start before he starts attacking you. When he does the thorns from the groung get in a gap thats close enough that you can spam your ranged attack for some free damage.
Sly: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
Like Sisters of Battle this fight can cost you a lot of HP if you don’t know how to dodge his attacks. After each of his attacks get 2-3 hits in and back up immediatly. For his second phase stay in the middle and wait until he flys towards you. Dash away and use your ranged attack. Rince and repeat. (I did use my old method in the video which is more risky so i recommend using the tactic written here)
No Eyes: (Recommended level of practice: Radiant)
It’s not a hard fight, but you absolutely need to know how to move in his arena. When you get hit it can snowball out of control if you lose focus. You have the advantage of being able to fight from a distance. Also feel free to use your spells to end this fight as quickly as possible.
Enraged Guardian + Traitor Lord + Failed Champion + Nightmare King Grimm + Pure Vessel: (Recommended level of practice: Radiant)
I know some of them are brutal but since they do double damage you absolutely don’t want to get hit by them. If you beat them on that difficulty you get hit way less during the fight in the pantheon.
Grey Prince Zote: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended or Radiant)
He doesn’t hit as hard as his 10x form outside of godhome but he has all his abilities. Some find him easy, some find him brutal. It's up to you how much practice you put into this fight but since he’s one of the last fights i wouldn’t take the risk of not being prepared.
The other guide written by Sold1er187xx states that you can skip him by let him die in the base game.
Markoth: (Recommended level of practice: Ascended)
This fight is easier with this build then it would be otherwise. Markoth isn’t as aggressive as other bosses so take your time! Try to stay in a position where he isn’t too close, so his shield doesn’t hit you, but close enough that you can hit him with your projectiles. Dodge his attacks and get a few hits in when you see an opening. You can attack him during his shieldspin but you should be careful and don’t get greedy because once you lose your ranged attack this gets much harder.
Absolute Radiance: (Recommended level of practice: AT LEAST a few times on Attuned so you can dodge his attacks)
I know this fight is a pain, but you really need to practice him and find the few situations where you can heal.
A few more tips:
- With this build you can stay on the ground and shoot upwards in phase 1-3 (where there‘s still ground) which makes them a bit easier
- In phase 1 and 2 you can dodge the orb attack by dashing towards them IF it doesn’t spawn close to the ground. This will make them fly over you and crash on the ground.
- Use your dash to get through the gaps in the horizontal nail walls. Don’t just jump through them.
- In phase 4 (no ground) i personally like being at the lower platforms. I find it easier to dodge the attacks, especially the orbs. I rarely jump higher to get some soul or finish this phase. This one is the hardest phase in my opinion.
- In phase 5 (where you have to jump higher and higher) always jump away from the platforms and dash back towards the next one. This will make him shoot in the air more often instead of the platform directly.
- In phase 6 (last phase with the 2 platforms) be very careful with your jumps. Try to lead the orbs out of screen by jumping towards the edge and THEN hit the boss if it’s in range.
If there is any boss you have problems with, that is not mentioned here, you should practice him until you beat him on Ascended.
Final words:
You can make it a bit easier if you beat some of the first 4 pantheons with bindings. If you got 8 bindings you can open the door on the lowest level in godhome to dreamnail a blue orb. This will get you a lifeblood cocoon next to the benches inside the pantheons. The more bindings you manage to get through the pantheons, the more blue masks you will end up getting from the cocoons. I personally got the minimum 8 so i get at least 3 blue masks. With blue masks you can get hit without losing the ranged attack ability because it only counts the white masks.
Also after beating Nightmare King Grimm there is a bench, where you can switch your charms if you don’t want to use this build for the last two fights. This makes this method much more viable, because you can use it to just get to the endboss quickly.
I will link my run with this build here so you can use the timestamps to check a boss you may have problems with.
Good luck my fellow Knights! I really hope this helps.
2 Comments
I didn't completely use your build or tips, but your idea for Gruberfly helped me a ton in finishing this one. For the last leg (Soul Tyrant, Markoth, Zote, Failed Champion, and NKG), the Gruberfly charm made all the difference in helping me complete this section reliably and finally finish it. Markoth had been really a huge stumbling block for me for a while.
By RadicalSniper99 on 10 Jun 2019 01:13
I'm glad to hear about that. Congrats! :)
By LxVaiN on 10 Jun 2019 06:50
RadicalSniper99
TrueAchievements
TrueAchievements
The other solutions really are quite good, but I figured the more options people present for charms the better off everyone else is. I will say some things about the bosses and include my own video as well for reference.
Charms
My charm setup is more focused on attacks with the nail. While I can and sometimes use spells, my focus was more on nail slashes. My setup reflects that:
Setup 1
1) Sharp Shadow
2) Fragile/Unbreakable Strength
3) Mark of Pride
4) Quickslash
Setup 2
1) Fragile Strength
2) Quickslash
3) Gruberyfly's Elegy
4) Longnail
Setup 1 I use for probably 90% of the run. I switch to Setup 2 for only the sequence of the following bosses:
1) Soul Tyrant
2) Markoth
3) Zote
4) Failed Champion
5) Nightmare King Grimm
My reasoning here is all about Markoth. I honestly struggled with Markoth. When I was able to beat Nightmare King Grimm and Pure Vessel roughly every time, he was still a boss that would be a 50/50 for me. I saw mention of Gruberyfly and found a way to incorporate it into my build to make it a lot better. This leads to another suggestion/idea, but is far from mandatory.
Bindings
While not a popular mechanic, I actually did some of the binding runs of Pantheons. It's less known, but if you complete Pantheon runs with 8 bindings there is a door next to the Boss Hall which opens to reveal a blue ball. Hitting it with your Dream Nail will add the blue mask bugs to each bench along the Pantheon run. It's not a huge addition, but I knew it would help me at two critical moments.
1) Soul Tyrant/Markoth - My Soul Tyrant is pretty good. I can get through it generally taking only a hit or 2. As such, having the 3 blue masks meant I was getting through the fight with 1 or 2 spare blue masks. These extra hits meant I had the projectile slash for longer in the Markoth fight even if I took a random hit.
2) Pure Vessel - While my Vessel fight is really strong now, it was a little less so. The extra hit granted by the masks became a minor insurance policy. Not as necessary looking back, but it was a minor crutch at first.
In terms of the 8 bindings I earned, I did it for the first two Pantheons only. I did each of the bindings one at a time (never multiple - might have been able to, but I kept it safe). By the time you're doing Pantheon 5, the first 2 should be child's play and doing a binding run on them should be doable. Take your time with it and you'll have a decent shot. Doing the runs for Pantheon 3 might have been a decent idea for a 4th blue mask at each bench, but I found some of the more restrictive bindings became real troubling at that point.
Boss Tips
Everybody seems to have tips for bosses. I'll just talk about a few that I noticed for some of the more annoying ones that I didn't notice elsewhere:
Great Nailsage Sly
While not a major difficulty spike, I know Sly was a boss I was just skirting by until I really knew what I was doing. His fight really boils down to knowing his VERY limited move set. In Phases 1 and 2, his basic moves are:
1) Two ground slashes followed by a jumping spin slash
2) Jump slash followed by a half circle overhead swing
Knowing these are the two basic options, you only have to wait for him to finish those slashes before moving in for an attack. His charged moves are a lot better telegraphed so just make sure to get out of the way before he releases.
In Phase 3 (his Yoda phase), it is much easier than it first appears. What you want to do is not chase him while he dashes around. Wait his crazy jumps and then when he begins to dash towards you with a spin splash, dash away and then return to hit him once or twice. It's a slow process, but very safe and will give you more health for your rematch with Hornet.
White Defender
I really don't have a lot for this one, but I want to mention that Quick Slash really helps here. Being able to rip into him can save you time and health. It turned that fight into one I could consistently finish rather than struggling or dying.
Markoth
If going with the Gruberfly setup, keep your distance and take your time. Wait for your shots to hit him with the attack. Focus more on dodging the spirit swords so you can continue using the ranged attack. If you do this, you'll be able to conserve soul more to heal if you take a shot. With a strong Soul Tyrant, you can enter this fight with or 6 soul charges available. With blue masks, it might be a full 6 charges.
Grey Prince Zote
Similar to Sly, knowing what Zote does is the key to winning. He appears very random, but it's actually really consistent. I'd recommend trying to shadow dash through him when he changes directions (which can be very random) to help avoid damage. Make sure to slash repeatedly when he spawns the explosion balloons and the mini Zote enemies. He leaves himself very open during this attack.
Nightmare King Grimm
The fight has been compared usually to a dance between you and NKG. Honestly, I completely agree. I find that waiting this fight out and only attacking during very specific attacks works best. Here's a breakdown of the attacks and my general play. Keep in mind you'll have to get used to his quick tempo and recognizing his tells for attacks to make this fight consistent.
- Positioning: Stick towards the center! NKG's uppercut attack is really easy to avoid if your positioned more in the middle of the platform. You of course will have to move away from it, but trying to return to there will limit your exposure.
- Fire Pillars: NKG will usually be far away from you to start this move. Walk slowly over during the first couple and then try to be right under or next to him as he does his 4th and final pillar. You should easily get 2 or 3 slashes in.
- Dive Kick: Just up and over. While it is possible to get a down slash, I found it risky as his body seems to have a large hit box that can rise to hit you during his movement.
- Dash + Uppercut: For this attack, dash away from him and then move back towards after he rises. The safest spot for his falling fireballs here is almost right under him. Those balls seemed to be the easiest to dodge rather than running away from the center point. I still took a hit or two on this move due to bad positioning, but this made it a lot more consistent.
- Puff Ball/Bullet Hell: Nothing much here. Just dodge a dodge some more. Keep to the sides, but try to move in a little towards the center. Being able to control your jump height should keep you safe and land quick to dodge the next one.
- Bat Cloak: This attack will be the other chance to score hits mostly. When he opens his cloak, wait for him to send the first wave and the start of the second. Jump and dash through the middle here. You can get through both sets and then score a couple of hits.
- Ground Spikes: Not much to say here. Observe where they begin to be and then move to be between them. I always found myself doing a slight hop to position, but that's because I found myself always a little jump when I saw something come out of the ground. Being towards the center is better for this attack. The sides of the platform appear to block out the spikes more than they show.
- Note: The Cloak and Uppercut attacks have similar starts and can be rough to notice the difference. Keep your distance before making your advance. Grimm can and will move in weird ways if you get too close to him while he is on the ground.
- Health/Phases: While Grimm's patterns don't change, he has tells for how much health he has left. He enters the Puff phase and Bat splits at roughly specific times.
Puff - 75%, 50%, and 25% health remaining
Bat Split - 33% and 66% health remaining (heal yourself here for two masks each time)
Pure Vessel
For PV, this really is a question of keeping calm. Recognize his moves and let the moments come to you. Once again, here are the attacks and strategies:
- Dash: His dash will have him just point his sword forward. I preferred to do a shadow dash through him. Many players like jumping above here and doing a pogo hit, but I preferred the dash (I had Sharp Shadow equipped so it also counted for a hit). He can go into this attack without teleporting, but as soon I started to notice that, it tripped me up less.
- Ground Slashes: He'll prep a wind up before beginning a series of strikes. The key here is to shadow dash right as he is about to begin his slashes. Too early and the back swing will likely connect with you. I had this happen a lot. It takes time to learn the exact moment to pull this off. Jumping can also work. The pogo will be harder as his goes above his head and will be more likely to hit you.
- Blade Projectiles: Some people jump dash through, I just dash on the ground. Waiting a moment and then dashing through should keep you safe and then able to get a few hits in up close.
- Slame with Blade Pillars: He'll jump up and slam down. You'll then see slivers of light where blades will rise out of the ground. The spacing away from him will be the same each time. You can get a few hits here.
- Counter: He'll pose that he's ready for an attack and waiting for you. Try to avoid hitting him (it can be awkward and difficult to recognize at first). If you do, you'll need to dash through him probably. Unfortunately, dashing and not take damage is wildly inconsistent. It became a 50/50 gamble on whether or not I safely got through.
- Exploding Orbs: He'll have an explosive orb around him followed by a bunch of mini ones around the arena. The mini ones are randomly placed. While I recommend dashing in towards him and getting a bunch of slashes in, it can be dangerous if an orb appears right on him.
- Void Tendrils: He'll appear far away from you and reveal a bunch of tendrils. After a couple seconds, they will extend out and hit everywhere roughly from the ground to his head. You'll need to jump over to avoid. I usually landed at his rear to get a few more hits.
In general, aim for a hit or two at a time. The 3rd hit is when I most commonly had him counter and hit me.
Absolute Radiance
I won't add much here, but I want to point out the thing that gave me the most help. BE PROACTIVE IN DODGING! What this means is confronting the attacks that are coming your way first. AR's attacks can come quickly so if you wait till the last moment to dodge you can easily get surprised by the next attack. While this doesn't make the fight "easy", it did help me get more consistent.
For a video of the run, check here:
The completion run starts at 1 hour 10 minutes.
Charms
My charm setup is more focused on attacks with the nail. While I can and sometimes use spells, my focus was more on nail slashes. My setup reflects that:
Setup 1
1) Sharp Shadow
2) Fragile/Unbreakable Strength
3) Mark of Pride
4) Quickslash
Setup 2
1) Fragile Strength
2) Quickslash
3) Gruberyfly's Elegy
4) Longnail
Setup 1 I use for probably 90% of the run. I switch to Setup 2 for only the sequence of the following bosses:
1) Soul Tyrant
2) Markoth
3) Zote
4) Failed Champion
5) Nightmare King Grimm
My reasoning here is all about Markoth. I honestly struggled with Markoth. When I was able to beat Nightmare King Grimm and Pure Vessel roughly every time, he was still a boss that would be a 50/50 for me. I saw mention of Gruberyfly and found a way to incorporate it into my build to make it a lot better. This leads to another suggestion/idea, but is far from mandatory.
Bindings
While not a popular mechanic, I actually did some of the binding runs of Pantheons. It's less known, but if you complete Pantheon runs with 8 bindings there is a door next to the Boss Hall which opens to reveal a blue ball. Hitting it with your Dream Nail will add the blue mask bugs to each bench along the Pantheon run. It's not a huge addition, but I knew it would help me at two critical moments.
1) Soul Tyrant/Markoth - My Soul Tyrant is pretty good. I can get through it generally taking only a hit or 2. As such, having the 3 blue masks meant I was getting through the fight with 1 or 2 spare blue masks. These extra hits meant I had the projectile slash for longer in the Markoth fight even if I took a random hit.
2) Pure Vessel - While my Vessel fight is really strong now, it was a little less so. The extra hit granted by the masks became a minor insurance policy. Not as necessary looking back, but it was a minor crutch at first.
In terms of the 8 bindings I earned, I did it for the first two Pantheons only. I did each of the bindings one at a time (never multiple - might have been able to, but I kept it safe). By the time you're doing Pantheon 5, the first 2 should be child's play and doing a binding run on them should be doable. Take your time with it and you'll have a decent shot. Doing the runs for Pantheon 3 might have been a decent idea for a 4th blue mask at each bench, but I found some of the more restrictive bindings became real troubling at that point.
Boss Tips
Everybody seems to have tips for bosses. I'll just talk about a few that I noticed for some of the more annoying ones that I didn't notice elsewhere:
Great Nailsage Sly
While not a major difficulty spike, I know Sly was a boss I was just skirting by until I really knew what I was doing. His fight really boils down to knowing his VERY limited move set. In Phases 1 and 2, his basic moves are:
1) Two ground slashes followed by a jumping spin slash
2) Jump slash followed by a half circle overhead swing
Knowing these are the two basic options, you only have to wait for him to finish those slashes before moving in for an attack. His charged moves are a lot better telegraphed so just make sure to get out of the way before he releases.
In Phase 3 (his Yoda phase), it is much easier than it first appears. What you want to do is not chase him while he dashes around. Wait his crazy jumps and then when he begins to dash towards you with a spin splash, dash away and then return to hit him once or twice. It's a slow process, but very safe and will give you more health for your rematch with Hornet.
White Defender
I really don't have a lot for this one, but I want to mention that Quick Slash really helps here. Being able to rip into him can save you time and health. It turned that fight into one I could consistently finish rather than struggling or dying.
Markoth
If going with the Gruberfly setup, keep your distance and take your time. Wait for your shots to hit him with the attack. Focus more on dodging the spirit swords so you can continue using the ranged attack. If you do this, you'll be able to conserve soul more to heal if you take a shot. With a strong Soul Tyrant, you can enter this fight with or 6 soul charges available. With blue masks, it might be a full 6 charges.
Grey Prince Zote
Similar to Sly, knowing what Zote does is the key to winning. He appears very random, but it's actually really consistent. I'd recommend trying to shadow dash through him when he changes directions (which can be very random) to help avoid damage. Make sure to slash repeatedly when he spawns the explosion balloons and the mini Zote enemies. He leaves himself very open during this attack.
Nightmare King Grimm
The fight has been compared usually to a dance between you and NKG. Honestly, I completely agree. I find that waiting this fight out and only attacking during very specific attacks works best. Here's a breakdown of the attacks and my general play. Keep in mind you'll have to get used to his quick tempo and recognizing his tells for attacks to make this fight consistent.
- Positioning: Stick towards the center! NKG's uppercut attack is really easy to avoid if your positioned more in the middle of the platform. You of course will have to move away from it, but trying to return to there will limit your exposure.
- Fire Pillars: NKG will usually be far away from you to start this move. Walk slowly over during the first couple and then try to be right under or next to him as he does his 4th and final pillar. You should easily get 2 or 3 slashes in.
- Dive Kick: Just up and over. While it is possible to get a down slash, I found it risky as his body seems to have a large hit box that can rise to hit you during his movement.
- Dash + Uppercut: For this attack, dash away from him and then move back towards after he rises. The safest spot for his falling fireballs here is almost right under him. Those balls seemed to be the easiest to dodge rather than running away from the center point. I still took a hit or two on this move due to bad positioning, but this made it a lot more consistent.
- Puff Ball/Bullet Hell: Nothing much here. Just dodge a dodge some more. Keep to the sides, but try to move in a little towards the center. Being able to control your jump height should keep you safe and land quick to dodge the next one.
- Bat Cloak: This attack will be the other chance to score hits mostly. When he opens his cloak, wait for him to send the first wave and the start of the second. Jump and dash through the middle here. You can get through both sets and then score a couple of hits.
- Ground Spikes: Not much to say here. Observe where they begin to be and then move to be between them. I always found myself doing a slight hop to position, but that's because I found myself always a little jump when I saw something come out of the ground. Being towards the center is better for this attack. The sides of the platform appear to block out the spikes more than they show.
- Note: The Cloak and Uppercut attacks have similar starts and can be rough to notice the difference. Keep your distance before making your advance. Grimm can and will move in weird ways if you get too close to him while he is on the ground.
- Health/Phases: While Grimm's patterns don't change, he has tells for how much health he has left. He enters the Puff phase and Bat splits at roughly specific times.
Puff - 75%, 50%, and 25% health remaining
Bat Split - 33% and 66% health remaining (heal yourself here for two masks each time)
Pure Vessel
For PV, this really is a question of keeping calm. Recognize his moves and let the moments come to you. Once again, here are the attacks and strategies:
- Dash: His dash will have him just point his sword forward. I preferred to do a shadow dash through him. Many players like jumping above here and doing a pogo hit, but I preferred the dash (I had Sharp Shadow equipped so it also counted for a hit). He can go into this attack without teleporting, but as soon I started to notice that, it tripped me up less.
- Ground Slashes: He'll prep a wind up before beginning a series of strikes. The key here is to shadow dash right as he is about to begin his slashes. Too early and the back swing will likely connect with you. I had this happen a lot. It takes time to learn the exact moment to pull this off. Jumping can also work. The pogo will be harder as his goes above his head and will be more likely to hit you.
- Blade Projectiles: Some people jump dash through, I just dash on the ground. Waiting a moment and then dashing through should keep you safe and then able to get a few hits in up close.
- Slame with Blade Pillars: He'll jump up and slam down. You'll then see slivers of light where blades will rise out of the ground. The spacing away from him will be the same each time. You can get a few hits here.
- Counter: He'll pose that he's ready for an attack and waiting for you. Try to avoid hitting him (it can be awkward and difficult to recognize at first). If you do, you'll need to dash through him probably. Unfortunately, dashing and not take damage is wildly inconsistent. It became a 50/50 gamble on whether or not I safely got through.
- Exploding Orbs: He'll have an explosive orb around him followed by a bunch of mini ones around the arena. The mini ones are randomly placed. While I recommend dashing in towards him and getting a bunch of slashes in, it can be dangerous if an orb appears right on him.
- Void Tendrils: He'll appear far away from you and reveal a bunch of tendrils. After a couple seconds, they will extend out and hit everywhere roughly from the ground to his head. You'll need to jump over to avoid. I usually landed at his rear to get a few more hits.
In general, aim for a hit or two at a time. The 3rd hit is when I most commonly had him counter and hit me.
Absolute Radiance
I won't add much here, but I want to point out the thing that gave me the most help. BE PROACTIVE IN DODGING! What this means is confronting the attacks that are coming your way first. AR's attacks can come quickly so if you wait till the last moment to dodge you can easily get surprised by the next attack. While this doesn't make the fight "easy", it did help me get more consistent.
For a video of the run, check here:
The completion run starts at 1 hour 10 minutes.
Enflame Hydra
TrueAchievements
TrueAchievements
Hey there, all the descriptions of patterns are very nice so I thought I just give a quick guide for a different charm combo that I find to be very forgiving.
I went with this defense build.
Shape of Unn
Quick focus
Deep focus
Grubsong
Thorns of agony
A successful run of the 5th pantheon always comes down to practice. And my build ain't quick but it allows you to get away with being damaged a lot.
The shape of Unn charm creates healing opportunities that you would not have otherwise. For example a vertical Speer thrust of mantis lords gets avoided while healing cause your character is smaller. Or you can heal under the bat's of Grimm. Etc
It also helps in reducing the souls needed to fully heal back up.
For further reference here is my run
Who knows... Practicing with this build you might even find healing opportunities that I haven't thus far
Good luck to everyone :) and if there are questions just ask in the comments
I went with this defense build.
Shape of Unn
Quick focus
Deep focus
Grubsong
Thorns of agony
A successful run of the 5th pantheon always comes down to practice. And my build ain't quick but it allows you to get away with being damaged a lot.
The shape of Unn charm creates healing opportunities that you would not have otherwise. For example a vertical Speer thrust of mantis lords gets avoided while healing cause your character is smaller. Or you can heal under the bat's of Grimm. Etc
It also helps in reducing the souls needed to fully heal back up.
For further reference here is my run
Who knows... Practicing with this build you might even find healing opportunities that I haven't thus far
Good luck to everyone :) and if there are questions just ask in the comments
DeathExpectancy
TrueTrophies
TrueTrophies
If you are like me and are fed up with banging your head against a brick wall for this, there is an invincibility glitch that still works as of the latest update. To do this, you must "get memory" (basically store a charged up super dash while still being able to move) and release it when activating dream gate to break the dream gate's animation right as your character disappears.
To do it you need super dash (charge dash), and dream gate. You can only create memory once per reload of your save so if you don't successfully do the glitch, quit out to the menu then reload your save to try again.
To do the glitch I switched my charge dash from the default [cn_LT] to [cn_A]. That means I moved my jump button from A to LT. By default the quick map button is [cn_LB].
Once you load your save, step off the bench. Do not open inventory (to be safe, don't press anything other than the glitch buttons). Once you are ready, what you want to do is double tap quick map ([cn_LB]). Between the two taps of the double tap, you need to press AND HOLD your charge dash ([cn_A] for me which is why I switched it off of the left trigger, because I had a habit of releasing it rather than holding it since my fingers were thinking of double tap on LB not tap and hold).
So it looks like this with charge dash on the A button: tap [cn_LB], press and hold [cn_A], tap [cn_LB]. This should be done very quickly. If done correct, you will still be holding [cn_A], thus have a charge dash ready for release, but be able to move around freely. While still holding [cn_A] to retain your charge dash, press and hold up on the left stick and [cn_Y] to activate your dream nail dream gate ability. Be ready to release [cn_A] to charge dash the INSTANT your character disappears, before the dream gate successfully teleports you. If the screen goes white, you waited too long. If it doesn't, find an enemy and see if they damage you on impact. If not, congratulations you are invincible and ready to kick the pantheon's butt! If the screen didn't turn white but you aren't invincible, you released the charge dash too soon in the dreamgate animation. To try again, you will need to quit out to the main menu, reload your save, and re-establish your 'memory' charge dash again via the [cn_LB], hold [cn_A], [cn_LB] sequence again.
I will try and put up a video or at least an Xbox clip of this soon, but if you search Youtube for "Hollow Knight invincibility glitch" there is a 2 or 3 minute video that shows this glitch and explains it, although the explanation might sound a little confusing. I tried to make it as easy to understand as possible here.
If you successfully gain invincibility, it will last until you quit out of the game. You can go through pantheons, roam around the map, rest at benches and swap out charms, fix your controls back to default or your preference, etc so long as you don't quit out of the game.
To do it you need super dash (charge dash), and dream gate. You can only create memory once per reload of your save so if you don't successfully do the glitch, quit out to the menu then reload your save to try again.
To do the glitch I switched my charge dash from the default [cn_LT] to [cn_A]. That means I moved my jump button from A to LT. By default the quick map button is [cn_LB].
Once you load your save, step off the bench. Do not open inventory (to be safe, don't press anything other than the glitch buttons). Once you are ready, what you want to do is double tap quick map ([cn_LB]). Between the two taps of the double tap, you need to press AND HOLD your charge dash ([cn_A] for me which is why I switched it off of the left trigger, because I had a habit of releasing it rather than holding it since my fingers were thinking of double tap on LB not tap and hold).
So it looks like this with charge dash on the A button: tap [cn_LB], press and hold [cn_A], tap [cn_LB]. This should be done very quickly. If done correct, you will still be holding [cn_A], thus have a charge dash ready for release, but be able to move around freely. While still holding [cn_A] to retain your charge dash, press and hold up on the left stick and [cn_Y] to activate your dream nail dream gate ability. Be ready to release [cn_A] to charge dash the INSTANT your character disappears, before the dream gate successfully teleports you. If the screen goes white, you waited too long. If it doesn't, find an enemy and see if they damage you on impact. If not, congratulations you are invincible and ready to kick the pantheon's butt! If the screen didn't turn white but you aren't invincible, you released the charge dash too soon in the dreamgate animation. To try again, you will need to quit out to the main menu, reload your save, and re-establish your 'memory' charge dash again via the [cn_LB], hold [cn_A], [cn_LB] sequence again.
I will try and put up a video or at least an Xbox clip of this soon, but if you search Youtube for "Hollow Knight invincibility glitch" there is a 2 or 3 minute video that shows this glitch and explains it, although the explanation might sound a little confusing. I tried to make it as easy to understand as possible here.
If you successfully gain invincibility, it will last until you quit out of the game. You can go through pantheons, roam around the map, rest at benches and swap out charms, fix your controls back to default or your preference, etc so long as you don't quit out of the game.
