Bosses

The hardest fight in Hollow Knight. The Radiance at full power, locked behind the Pantheon of Hallownest. Pure rhythm and pattern memorisation.

A failed sibling of the Knight, animated by the Infection. Awkward and lurching, with telegraphed slams and a final burst phase. Rewards the double jump.

A hidden mawlek matron lurking beneath the Forgotten Crossroads. Slow but heavy-hitting. Easy to bait into ceiling attacks if you stay near the walls.

Godhome reunion of the estranged nail masters Oro and Mato, fighting as a duo. Their attacks alternate and overlap, forcing the player to track two threats at once.

A miner mutated by the crystal vein in Crystal Peak. Mostly stationary and built around dodging a long charged beam attack.

The cheerful guardian of the Royal Waterways. Burrows through dung and pops up beneath the player, making vertical awareness critical.

A teacher-turned-Dream-Warrior in the Resting Grounds. Predictable dash-and-slam patterns; the difficulty is keeping a steady rhythm.

A more aggressive return of the Crystal Guardian after collecting the Crystal Heart. Adds vertical movement and a faster, longer beam pattern.

Dream Nail variant of the False Knight. Same moveset, much higher HP and reaction speed. Found via the False Knight's corpse.

First major boss of Hollow Knight. Guards the way deeper into the Forgotten Crossroads. Has an armoured phase and a vulnerable maggot phase.

A massive, immobile fluke that births swarms of smaller flukes. The fight is entirely about clearing adds while landing hits on the matriarch.

A spectral reaper in a Deepnest graveyard. The signature attack is a massive scythe that loops back, forcing the player to track its path while dodging.

Final fight of the Trial of the Fool. A duo: a robed Tamer and a giant rolling beast. The beast is the real threat; the Tamer is fragile if isolated.

A floating, self-styled deity from the Howling Cliffs. The easiest of the seven Dream Warriors. Stays stationary while telegraphing geometric attack patterns.

Godhome ascension of the old nail master Sly. Uses every nail art from the player's kit against them, with a second phase that drops his cloak for max aggression.

Bretta's dream version of Zote, the love of her life rendered as an unstoppable champion. Reachable via Bretta's house in Dirtmouth after the Colosseum.

An overgrown Gruzzer that hovers and dive-bombs the player. Spawns a swarm of smaller Gruzzers on defeat. Often the player's first proper boss.

Added by the Hidden Dreams content update. Fast and aggressive with stab-tracking attacks. Rewards the Hiveblood charm.

The first encounter with Hornet, fought at the heart of Greenpath. A fast, aggressive duel that introduces dash and needle-throw patterns.

The second, much harder Hornet duel. Adds aerial dives and a new silk-barb attack on top of the Greenpath moveset. Granting passage to the Abyss.

Dream Nail variant of the Broken Vessel. Much faster pattern with constant balloon spawns. One of the highest essence rewards in the game.

An optional but iconic fight. Defeating them earns the respect of the Mantis Tribe and unlocks passage deeper into Hallownest.

Often considered the hardest Dream Warrior. Found at the top of Kingdom's Edge. Combines vertical platforming, spike rain, and an orbiting shield that blocks attacks.

A small Dream Warrior in Queen's Gardens. Bouncing curl pattern is predictable but the arena is cramped, so positioning matters more than reflexes.

A hidden Moss Charger of enormous size buried in Greenpath's overgrowth. Stays underground until provoked and only emerges to charge in a straight line.

Final boss of the Grimm Troupe DLC. A faster, deadlier echo of the Troupe Master with new crow-dive and balloon phases. Considered one of the hardest fights in the game.

A blinded, grieving Dream Warrior at the Stone Sanctuary in Greenpath. Stationary, but the swarms of spirits fill the arena quickly.

A horrifying shape-shifter that imitates the Knight to lure the player into a trap in Deepnest. Mostly mobile, with attacks that punish careless movement.

Godhome ascension of the painter Sheo. Sweeping brush attacks coat the arena in paint that becomes part of the hitbox. Slow telegraphs, heavy damage.

The Hollow Knight as it was meant to be: silent, perfect, unbroken. The fifth Pantheon's final fight. Tighter timings and no infection animations to telegraph attacks.

The Godhome ascended form of the Mantis Lords. All three sisters attack at once with no pacing breaks, with new dive patterns layered on top of the base fight.

Head of the Soul Sanctum. A two-phase fight that rewards the Desolate Dive spell. Once finished, his soul lingers and can be challenged again as Soul Tyrant.

Dream variant of the Soul Master, fought in the same arena. Both phases are faster and orb patterns are denser.

An apprentice of the Soul Sanctum guarding the path to the Soul Master. Telegraphed but fast, and the first introduction to soul-based attacks.

A strange, grinning collector hoarding jars filled with Hallownest's creatures. Found at the top of the Tower of Love. Beating him gives you the Collector's Map.

The default final boss. Slow telegraphs, three escalating phases, and an emotional gut-punch as the Vessel begins striking itself to release the Infection.

The true final boss, reached via the Awoken Dream Nail inside the Hollow Knight fight. Long, vertical, and brutal — Hornet's binding shows up mid-fight.

Leader of the Mantis Traitors who broke with the Mantis Tribe. Huge hitbox, slow telegraphs, but enormous damage. Pogoing the slam is the cleanest tell.

Centrepiece of the Grimm Troupe DLC. A theatrical, fire-heavy fight with sweeping cape dashes and pillar patterns. First step toward Nightmare King Grimm.

A massive jellyfish in Monomon's Archive. Immune to direct hits — you must trigger nearby Uomas to explode against its shield. Less a fight and more a puzzle.

An oversized Vengefly that calls smaller kin to swarm the player. Encountered above the entrance to Greenpath in a hidden ledge fight.

Six elite knights of Lurien the Watcher. They drop from above and engage in escalating numbers, eventually three at once. HP is per knight.

Dream variant of the Dung Defender, reachable via his nap spot after the fight. Adds spike geysers and rapid ball storms. Repeatable for diminishing essence.

A Godhome-only variant of Nosk that hangs from the ceiling and divebombs from above. Only fightable inside the Hall of Gods or the higher Pantheons.

A Dream Warrior fought in the Resting Grounds graveyard. The whole fight is about reading the orbits of six homing nails while staying mobile.

Comic relief turned arena combatant. Appears as a fight in the Trial of the Warrior, after a brief pre-fight monologue.

An early boss of Silksong set in Mosshome. Introduces the player to crest-tool combos and area-control bosses.