Godmaster's Guide to Slaying Bosses

For those who aspire to fill out the Hollow Knight: Godmaster pantheons and kill all the bosses on Radiant difficulty. You poor souls.

Hollow Knight 101

Welcome to the craptastic guide to murdering Hollow Knight bosses. Ready to slash, stab, spin, flap, blast, pound, scream, and dash through the 'pantheon' of hallownest? You'd better be.



Let's talk terms, though. Because I'm going to say a bunch of stuff over and over, and I want you to know what I mean when i use those terms.

• Stab. Easy peasy. You press the attack button, you swing your nail. Things that are hit by the nail tend to die. Though it might take a few dozen hits.
  
• Pogo. Jump and slash downward, hit an enemy, and you'll go up a bit. Moving on.
  
• Dash. Also easy. You press the dash button, you dash. You can usually dash only left or right, but you can also dash downward if you have the dashmaster charm.
  
• Nail Arts. Cyclone Slash, Dash Slash, and Great Slash. Lot of slashes. Hold the attack button until you hear a noise, and then release to do a great slash. Up/down to do a cyclone slash (and keep pressing attack to keep spinning longer). Dash and release to do a dash slash. They can come in handy, especially if you have Nailmaster's Glory equipped. Notably, they DON'T stack with the Strength charm!
  
• Soul. Soul is basically your magic meter. You get more Soul by stabbing things. Why do I capitalize the word Soul? Because I want to. You can use Soul for...
  
• Focus. Press the magic button and hold it down till you convert some Soul into another health mask. You can focus faster with Quick Focus, focus harder with Deep Focus, and move while you focus with Shape of Unn.
  
• Spirit Attack. Press the magic button and you'll use a projectile attack, costing you some Soul. There are two flavors- Vengeful Spirit and Shade Soul. You can upgrade Vengeful Spirit to Shade Soul by using the Ornate Key in Soul Sanctum. That's a different guide. The Spirit attack can hit multiple times against a large target, or one moving away from you. It works best on a target that is ALMOST offscreen, as this has the highest chance of landing a multi-hit.
  
• Slam Attack. Press down and the magic button, preferably in midair, and you'll slam into the ground after a brief windup. It, too, will cost some Soul. It comes in two varieties- the Desolate Dive and the Descending Dark. You can upgrade to the Descending Dark by visiting the Crystalline Mound at the edge of Crystal Peak. Notably, Descending Dark will give you a bunch of invincibility time and hits up to three times- once going down, once on impact (HUGE hitbox), and once in the backblast (goes largely upward).
  
• Shriek Attack. Press up and the magic button and you'll let out a huge hitbox of screamy stuff that'll knock back enemies. Guess what, it costs Soul. It comes in two kinds- Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek. You can find Howling Wraiths in a hut on the edges of the Queen's Gardens, and Abyss Shriek by shrieking into the screamy part of the abyss. It has four hits, so it can deal ridiculous damage to bosses.
  
• Shadow Dash. Or shade cloak. It's a dash, but with invincibility frames! You can snag it in the Abyss. It's pretty much the best thing ever.
  
• Dream Nail. Hold the dream nail button to charge up a slow attack that will read minds. It'll also give you some Soul. If you use the Dream Wielder charm, you'll get twice as much Soul and to the slash faster. Handy on some bosses!
  
• Double Jump. Duh. You get your doublejump back if you pogo off an enemy, touch the ground, or jump off a wall. Notably, before you gain velocity, you actually do a small dip first. DOUBLE JUMP IN ADVANCE.
  
• Crystal Dash. Hold the crystal dash button on a wall or floor, charge on up, and then release to go flying. This is practically worthless in most boss fights, but, eh, it might come in handy sometime.

Also, when I say 'Longnail', i don't necessarily mean Longnail. Mark of Pride does the same thing, just better. Equipping both will make your nail EVEN LONGER.

I also have a habit of focusing on nail stuff. That's just my playstyle. If you find another set of charms that works for you, feel free to share.

Godseeking

First step of fighting all these jolly fellows is getting yourself into Godhome. And the first step of THAT is to make your way to the Royal Waterways. In order to access the Junk Heap, you need to break a hidden ceiling bit in the room below the bench.


This is the room and map position you need to be in, but the indicator is a bit misleading. Once you drop down from above, you need to head right, drop down, and swing back around to the left into a hidden alcove with an explodey bat in it.


And you should get to a place that looks like this.


That ceiling needs a-smashin'. Break on through and you'll be in a room that is a maze of horizontal pipes filled with Fluke things that will try their level best to crush you! Hooray!

Make your way through there until you find the actual Junk Pit. Dive on in, boyo! And when you swim to the other side of the pool, you'll find a bunch of abandoned treasure chests and this charming fellow.



It's locked with a Simple Key. But you can throw down a Dream Nail warp point here and return whenever, because it's a lot easier to get out of the junk heap than in. There's an exit path over the top of the Junk Heap that'll exit you out near the Nailsmith's workshop. And, in that path, you can jump into a pool and swim off the right side of the screen to find the Fluke Hermit.

Anyway, if you're short on keys, you can get one from sly, one from the room in the City of Tears with a whispering root, and one in the Ancient Basin around the Mawlurk dens. If you've already got all those, swing by the Colosseum of Fools and make your way under the arena to the back half of the place, and smack down the wall to find the Pale Lurker, who you can blatantly murder for her key.

Once you've unlocked the casket and let the Godseeker out, you can then whack her with the Dream Nail to enter into Godhome. Hooray!


That glowy thing to the left is the exit of Godhome. Head on over to the right in order to find the actual stuff that you care about.


At this little crossroads, you can go up to access a bench and shuffle your charms. Go straight ahead and you'll find several 'pantheon' doors, which will put you in a Boss Rush of varying difficulty, culminating in a Godseeker-only boss which will almost certainly kill you on your first attempt. But all is not lost!


At the end, here, there's a path up and down. Up will lead to the bench again. Down, and you'll get to the individual bosses area, and a Lifeblood door.


Left door is the Lifeblood door. I'll get into that later, but suffice it to say it's going to stay locked for a while.

The right door is the Hall of the Gods. From here, you can see statues of all the bosses in the game- not quite including the endbosses. Instead of The Hollow Knight and The Radiance, you get Pure Vessel and Absolute Radiance. So don't feel the need to beat the endbosses to unlock them.

Anyway, in the entryway to the Hall of the Gods, you can see the listing of all the bosses you've unlocked so far.



I've marked the entries unlockable in Godhome's pantheons with a letter for the corresponding pantheon. Generally speaking, the unlock is the boss of the pantheon, except in the case of the final and hardest Pantheon- The Pantheon of Hallownest, which has THREE new bosses for you to fight.

Also, yes, I totally HAVE completed Absolute Radiance on the hardest difficulty, it was super easy and not a completely infuriating fight, and i totally did not put a crappy MSpaint copy of the highest-difficulty symbol over the empty slot, nope. Thanks for asking.

Oh. One last thing.

There's a hidden area in the Hall of the Gods, with a breakable ceiling that isn't marked. There's a hidden goody in there.


Great things, or should I say mighty things, await. Now, without further ado, let's get to some Godmastering mechanics.

Godmastery 101

So, before we get into Godmastering in earnest, let's cover some basic mechanics of Godhome.

Godhome is divided into the Pantheons and the Hall of Gods. Each Pantheon consists of a gauntlet of bosses all fought consecutively, with a break halfway through with a hot spring and bench so that you can rest and recover before continuing. The last fight of each Pantheon is invariably a Godmaster-exclusive boss that will probably kill you the first time you fight it. But, when you reach that fight, win or lose, you will unlock that boss in the Hall of Gods. But let's not talk about that now.

There are three pantheons that are available from the start, provided you've fought all the bosses in each pantheon, save for its final one. They are the Pantheon of the Master, the Pantheon of the Artist, and the Pantheon of the Sage. Beat all three, and you'll unlock the Pantheon of the Knight. And once you beat THAT, a switch above the knight's pantheon will unlock, allowing you to climb further up Godhome, smash through some hidden walls, and face the Pantheon of Hallownest, also known as ALL THE BOSSES IN THE ENTIRE GAME. Beat THAT, and you'll unlock new endings to the game. Go you!

Pantheons all have Bindings that you can toggle on and off. There are four bindings- Nail, Shell, Charms, and Soul. Each of these will make the fights more difficult. But what do they actually do?



The Nail binding will cut the power of your nail by about 1/3. With a Pure Nail, that does 21 damage on a hit, the binding will bring your power down to 13 damage on a hit. This is a fairly low-impact binding, and can be counteracted by Gitting Gud.



The Shell binding will set your base health to 4. All other health masks will be converted into pretty, but worthless, golden masks. Note that this only modifies your BASE health. You can still get bonus health through Lifeblood (see below), or by equipping the Fragile/unbreakable Heart Charm. This is a medium-impact binding, and can be counteracted by Charms and the lifeblood switch. If you've got the Charm binding on, too... Hoo boy, you're in for a ride.



The Charm binding is pretty straightforward, but devastating. It removes all of your equipped charms, and prevents you from putting them back on until you leave the Pantheon. Simple, right? Except that charms are how you customize your character. Which means that with this Binding on, your magic is bog standard, your nail is slow and has short reach, healing is inefficient and takes forever, and you'll never have enough Soul. The only thing it DOESN'T do is modify your movement- but gods help you if you're used to using Dashmaster and Sprintmaster. This is a high-impact binding, and can be counteracted by Gitting Gud.



The Soul Binding is not what it first seems. It doesn't remove your soul meter, it just sets an extremely low cap on it.



See that big ornate shell? That means you get a maximum of one full Soul charge. Exactly enough to use a single spell. Any extra is wasted, and your Soul vessels won't save you here. Best strategy here is to fill your Soul meter, launch whatever spell, and immediately resume filling. This is a medium-impact binding, and can be counteracted to some extent by the Deep Focus Charm and an emphasis on nail fighting.

So, that's the bindings. But what's the point of them? Well, remember that Lifeblood door next to the Hall of the Gods?



Yep, this guy. For each Pantheon you complete with a Binding, you get a notch filled on the Lifeblood door. It is NOT necessary to have all the bindings on at once to get the notches! But once you get eight notches, the door will open, revealing a Lifeblood switch. Smack it, and the hot spring rest areas of each Pantheon will get a Lifeblood Coccoon. At 8 notches, the coccoon will contain 3 lifeseeds. At 12, it'll contain 4 lifeseeds. And at 16, it'll contain 5 lifeseeds. Handy! And practically a must-have if you're going into the Hallownest pantheon with bindings on. It's the only mercy you'll get.

But anyway, let's talk Hall of the Gods.

The Hall of the Gods is a big old hall containing each and every boss you've unlocked thus far. Some bosses are variants on the original, and can be switched between their variants by hitting a mechanical switch (for bosses fought twice in reality) or dream nailing a little dreamcatcher (for dream bosses). You WILL NOT have a complete selection when you get into the Hall the first time. You'll need to unlock them from the various Pantheons.

Each boss in the Hall of the Gods will have a little difficulty selector when you challenge them. Attuned and Ascended are available by default. Beat Ascended, and you'll unlock Radiant difficulty.



Attuned difficulty is bog-standard. You fight the boss exactly as you did in the original game. No clever tricks here.



Ascended difficulty is trickier. The boss does double damage, but more importantly, the bosses may also get a health boost or change their arena. It's a bigger challenge than attuned difficulty, and makes previously-trivial bosses a lot harder to deal with. Looking at you, Gorb.



Radiant difficulty is 'one hit kill' difficulty. No amount of health will save you. YOU DED. Additionally, the changes from Ascended difficulty are still in effect! Hold on to your butt and be prepared to restart. A LOT.

--

So, let's talk builds. Each boss has a set of charms that will enhance your chance of success, but more generally, you can tailor your builds to the difficulty of the fight. So pay attention, here.

Attuned and Ascended battles can be damage races, or hit and run battles. Deep Focus and Shape of Unn are good picks for surviving these battles but... here's the rub. I personally recommend making a setup for Radiant difficulty, and then using that build for all three difficulties. Why? Because it makes a nice difficulty curve so that you can mark your progress and refine your strategy rather than remaking it for each fight.

I also recommend not healing in mid-fight. It's often more efficient to just die. Harsh? Yes. But each fight takes about a minute and a half. Your time is valuable, and healing WON'T make the fight easier- it'll just make it longer.

As part of this, i recommend going for power over endurance. Fragile Strength is near-universally useful in these fights, as is Quick Slash. And don't worry about being overcharmed. On Radiant difficulty especially, being overcharmed does not matter. Just save your biggest charm for the last slot, and bam, free charm!

Speaking of which... Did you keep that Kingsoul around? Might be handy.

But anyway, there's a flipside to this happy state of affairs. Health not mattering on Radiant difficulty also means that charms that boost health, or trigger on taking damage, now do nothing. Here's a handy list of charms that no longer matter:

• Stalwart Shell
  
• Grubsong
  
• Fragile/unbreakable heart
  
• Fury of the Fallen
  
• Thorns of Agony
  
• Baldur's Shell (kinda)
  
• Quick Focus
  
• Deep Focus
  
• ALL of the lifeblood charms
  
• Hiveblood
  
• Spore Shroom (kinda)
  
• Shape of Unn (kinda)

Fun, right? Well, let's get to bosses.

Gruz Mother

Slumbering God of Fertility.

Health: 650/945

Gruz Mother is the first and simplest of the bosses. She's got a big old hitbox, predictable attacks, and no projectiles to speak of. She's also, technically, skippable. You know, if you're determined.

Attacks:

• Targeted Slam: Gruz mother winds up, then flies straight toward the knight.
  
• Slam Jam: Gruz mother slams into the floor and ceiling, in a steadily advancing line, bouncing off a wall if she gets to one.

Strategy: Smack her a few times and watch out for her targeted slam. If you need to heal, shadowdash through her while she's slam jamming and heal up while she's distracted. That's pretty much all there is to it.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash.

Ascended changes: 33% health boost, and spiked holes in the arena. Dash wisely.

Vengefly King

Vicious God of Territories.

Health: 450/430(right) + 700(left)

The second of the bosses, and sadly, NOT the simplest. The big guy here has just two attacks, but is tricky to hit when not rushing at you. Vengefly is also skippable if you let Zote get eaten, but appears in the Colosseum of Fools, too.

Attacks:

• Royal Rampage: King boy winds up, and then sweeps down and across the stage, coming up after he hits the end of the platform.
  
• Imperial Edict: Sir Vengefly winds up, then roars, summoning anywhere from 0 to 2 regular vengeflies, appearing above the sides of the platform.

Strategy: When king-o charges, jump and slash downward for an easy hit. Kill the minions as soon as they spawn. If he roars, use the opportunity to shoot a Vengeful Spirit into his face. If you've got the Soul for it, you can also do a slam attack as he goes by for more damage. If you're REALLY ambitious, follow him as he charges and pogo up with him as he flies up- he'll be confined at the top of the screen, but you won't. Time your slashes and get a bunch of hits in! On ascended and above, lay on the slams- they'll kill the vengefly minions easy, and the slam has excellent range. AVOID using your shriek spell- it does a lot of damage, but Mister King loves to punish it with a sudden charge!

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Grimmchild, Weaversong.

Ascended changes: A second vengefly king appears on the right! He has about 2/3 of the health of the original, and has the same moveset. The second, weaker Vengefly King always appears above the first. Kill him first.

Broodling Mawlek

Lonely God of The Nest.

Health: 1050/1050

Broodling Mawlek is an optional boss you can find in the Forgotten Crossroads. He's got a fairly simple attack pattern, but recovering can be tricky.

Attacks:

• Walk'n'spit: Broody will meander about his little stage, shooting poorly-aimed infection bullets at you.
  
• Personal Space Slash: While using Walk'n'spit, Broody will raise and swipe his vestigial claw-arms if you get close. Can be parried.
  
• Super Spit: Broody will charge up, then spit a wave of infection bullets at your side of the stage. Dash through him, or jump and pogo over him, and you'll be fine.
  
• Stomp Thwomp: Broody will suddenly leap to your current position, pause for about half a second, then leap back to the center of the stage.

Strategy: Because Broody wanders back and forth, you can step in, get about 2 slashes in, and then retreat before his Personal Space Slash. His walk'n'spit will often be off-target, but don't rely on it. The best time to attack is during his Super Spit attack. I recommend jumping on him and doing a Slam attack for a three hit combo and lots of damage.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Shaman Stone. Sharp Shadow and Dashmaster work pretty well, too.

Ascended changes: The platform in the center of the stage vanishes, allowing Broody to walk right over you. Dash through him if he gets too close for comfort.

False Knight

Angry God of The Downtrodden.

Health: 260*3/560*3

False Knight is the first REAL boss of Hollow Knight, but, he is actually optional. After his first Tantrum attack, you can attack the wall above the gate on the left, smash through it, and leave False Knight alive. But anyway- False Knight is a slow and lumbering brute, but the key gimmick to his fight is that you won't gain any Soul by attacking him until you knock him down. Then you're given time to recover and stab him in his maggot face. Make liberal use of the Dream Nail if you can.

Attacks:

• Shockwave Smash: Knighty Whitey winds up and smacks the floor in front of him, sending slow-moving and shallow shockwave out.
  
• Super Leap: Falsey Walsey hops into the air to a point up to 50% of the stage away. He does this because he can't actually run.
  
• Leapsmash: Walsey Whitey leaps into the air toward the player, ending in a fairly short-ranged mace slam. This slam does NOT send out a shockwave. Dash underneath him and stab his butt.
  
• Tantrum: Falsey Knighty leaps to center stage, winds up, and slams the ground all around him. This sends infected barrels falling from the ceiling. Smack 'em into him for extra damage, or shoot spells into his face.

Strategy: Don't be afraid of his shockwave smash- the height of the hitbox is shorter than you'd think. When he's knocked down, Dream Nail him for extra Soul. If you're in a pantheon, keep dreamnailing that armor while he's dying- it'll keep giving Soul the whole time! Notably, after his first knockdown, he'll grunt every time he's about to do a Slam attack, and every Slam will make infected barrels rain down from the ceiling. Last but not least- after he gets up from his knockdown, that's an ideal time to spam your Shriek spell. It does stupid high damage, and there's little to no chance of you getting hit in retaliation until he starts his Tantrum.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Dream Wielder, Weaversong, Grimmchild, Flukenest.

Ascended changes: 100% health boost between knockdowns.

Failed Champion

Baleful God of Regrets.

Health: 300*3/600*3

You thought this was False Knight? Nope, it's Failed Champion. Completely different! In that he's faster and hits harder. That's... about it. If you missed the Failed Champion, he's hiding above the False Knight boss room in a hidden alcove. Follow the sound of crying and look for a crumbling wall.

Attacks:

• Shockwave Smash: Champy Whampy winds up briefly and smacks the floor in front of him, sending fast-moving and steep shockwave out. You can still jump over it without dashing or doublejumping!
  
• Super Leap: Faily Waily quickly hops into the air to a point up to 50% of the stage away. He does this because he can't actually run.
  
• Leapsmash: Waily Whampey quickly leaps into the air toward the player, ending in a fairly short-ranged mace slam. This slam does NOT send out a shockwave. Dash underneath him and stab his butt.
  
• Tantrum: Faily Champy leaps to center stage, winds up, and slams the ground all around him. This sends infected barrels falling from the ceiling. Smack 'em into him for extra damage, or shoot spells into his face.

Strategy: Wow, he is a LOT faster than before. Still, if you know his pattern, you can handle him easy enough. You won't get as many opportunities to whale on him unless he's gearing up for a tantrum- this can trick you into thinking that his second and third knockdowns have a lot less health. They don't. He's just super easy to hit while he's gearing up for it. A key part of the fight is recognizing where he's going to land after his attacks. Listen for a grunt while he's jumping- that means he's headed straight for you! If you get the chance to use a nail art, cyclone slash will COMPLETELY ruin his day. Just cut it off before he smacks you. And Abyss Shriek is STILL amazing.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Dream Wielder, Weaversong, Grimmchild, Flukenest, Nailmaster's glory.

Ascended changes: 100% health boost between knockdowns.

Hornet Protector

God Protector of a Fading Land.

Health: 900/1250

Hornet, our baby girl, is a mysterious rebel child who don't need no parental figures. Her attacks mostly consist of dashing, throwing her needle around, jumping while doing both of those things. Oh, and screaming. Lots of martial arts screaming.

Attacks:

• SHAAH!: Hornet dashes about 45% of the stage toward her target. She can do this while jumping, in which case she'll go until she hits something.
  
• HEDALE!: Hornet throws her needle across about 70% of the stage, then brings it back to her. She's actually super vulnerable to a smash attack while she's doing this, because she doesn't take knockback.
  
• EDIILO!: Hornet winds up, then whips her nail around her in a circle, creating a damage zone. She can do this at the end of a jump, right before she hits the ground.
  
• Huhah!: Hornet hops backwards, taking herelf out of the player's range.
  
• Zih!: Hornet jumps. Yes, this is an attack, she can land on you. It's also why you don't pogo her.
  
• Huh!?: After about 10 hits, Hornet gets winded and catches her breath for a few moments. Not actually an attack. You can focus twice in this time, if you need to.

Strategy: Be close, but not too close. If she makes a martial arts noise, back off and jump- she can't hit you in the air unless she jumps, too. Your Spirit attack will smack her pretty hard, so use that if you get some distance. Don't worry about wasting Soul- you'll get plenty of it as you smack her going past on her dash attacks.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Shaman Stone, Sharp Shadow.

Ascended changes: 40% health boost.

Hornet Sentinel

God Protector of a Fading Land.

Health: 800/1200

You thought this was regular Hornet? No. This is Advanced Hornet. She's way faster, more aggressive, and has a new trick up her sleeve. Just you try to stand off to the side and Focus- she'll be stabbing you in the face before you know it. Wait, why does she have LESS health than her Protector version? Oh well, I'm not complaining. Hornet Sentinal is a skippable boss, technically, and is found out in Kingdom's Edge guarding the corpse of the Great Wyrm.

Attacks:

• SHAAH!: Hornet dashes about 65% of the stage toward her target. She can do this while jumping, in which case she'll go until she hits something.
  
• HEDALE!: Hornet throws her needle across about 75% of the stage, then brings it back to her. She's actually super vulnerable to a smash attack while she's doing this, because she doesn't take knockback.
  
• EDIILO!: Hornet winds up, then whips her nail around her in a circle, creating a damage zone. She can do this at the end of a jump, right before she hits the ground.
  
• <TINK>: Hornet holds her needle up to parry an attack. Hit her, and she'll retaliate with a wide swipe. Hope you got your shade cloak ready, son.
  
• <SWISHING NOISES>: Hornet throws her needle into the background, and hangs up some little tripwires that produce spikes after a moment. You can knock them down with a nail strike, but not magic. She will only use this attack at 50% health or less.
  
• Huhah!: Hornet hops backwards, taking herself out of the player's range.
  
• Zih!: Hornet jumps. Yes, this is an attack, she crash into you. It's also why you don't pogo her. WATCH OUT, because she can use EDIILO! with no windup at the bottom of her jump! Move away!
  
• Huh!?: After about 13 hits, Hornet gets winded and catches her breath for a few moments. Not actually an attack. You can focus twice in this time, if you need to.

Strategy: Be close, but not too close. If she makes a martial arts noise, back off and jump- she can't hit you in the air unless she jumps too. She's WAY faster, so don't assume she can't hit you even if she's most of the way across the stage. And most of all- watch out for her jump! EDIILO! can be launched with practically no windup, and she will do it A LOT.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Shaman Stone, Sharp Shadow.

Ascended changes: 50% health boost.

Massive Moss Charger

Pathetic God of Scrubs Restless God of Those Who Band Together

Health: 480/850

A fearsome and formidable hahahaha no. This boss is easily the simplest to cheese to death.

Attacks:

• Democratic Action: Mossman charges forward toward the player. It's still vulnerable to knockback, which leads to Shenanigans. Jump over it if you can't cheese it.
  
• Together We Fall: Mossboi leaps up from a side of the stage and attempts to crush the player. This is its only dangerous attack. Just move toward where it appears and you'll be fine.

Strategy: Put on the charms listed below, press the attack button repeatedly, and win.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Grubberfly's Elegy, Heavy Blow.

Ascended changes: 70% health increase.

Flukemarm

Alluring God of Motherhood.

Health: 500/900

It's a giant worm-thing that babbles incoherently while sending its toothy minions after you. Ew. It's also ultimate proof that the defining feature of Flukes is their inability to ever shut up, ever. Flukemarm is an optional boss found in the Royal Waterways, in a hidden area near all the lil' babby flukes.

Attacks:

• Miracle of Life: Flukemarm spawns two flying flukes. There are four spawn areas on the Flukemarm, and they'll emit a trail of infected particles before a fluke comes flying out.

Strategy: Jump and attack, because no platform is close enough to stand still and hit the marm. Take care of the spawned flukes as they come, or they'll overwhelm you. The spin slash and shriek attack will both utterly SHRED her health, but might leave you vulnerable to flukes coming to chew on you. My advice is to alternate between the two, using spin slash charges to deal with spawned flukes (they go down in one hit to any spin slash attack). You can also use Grubberfly's Elegy to get some ranged stuff going for you, but again, watch for flukes coming in from odd angles.

Charms recommended: Strength, Nailmaster's Glory, Soul Eater, Longnail, Shaman Stone, Grubberfly's Elegy.

Ascended changes: 80% health increase, and the spawned flukes have enough health to withstand one nail strike even with the Strength charm equipped.

Mantis Lords

Noble Sister Gods of Combat.

Health: 400(350*2)/500(600*2)

A trio of sisters skilled in the art of kung fu teleporting. Thankfully, this actually means they'll be in range of your attacks pretty much all the time. Don't be intimidated, and hit 'em as they go by. When you defeat the first, the other two will attack you both at once!

Attacks:

• Charging Thrust: The mantis sister appears at one end of the stage and charges across after a short delay. You can sneak about 2 hits in, 3 if you're quick.
  
• Sword in The Stone: The mantis sister appears above the player and channels her inner Link, thrusting downward and a little forward. You can sneak about 2 hits in, 3 if you time it well.
  
• Boomerang Blade: What next, a hookshot? The mantis sister clings to a wall and throws a spinning blade in either a long arc or a short arc. If you're hiding on the wall, this is the only attack she'll use. She's also super vulnerable to the Shriek spell while doing this.
  
• Double Spinny Whirlybird: Both sisters use Boomerang Blade at once. Stand in center stage if they're going on a short arc, or at the edge of the stage and jump if they're on a long arc.

Strategy: If you're cautious, wait for the sisters to use their boomerang blades to attack. If you're A MANLY BADASS, you can sneak in a bunch of attacks during every phase, whittling them down to nothing in no time. DO NOT FEAR. BE A BADASS.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail.

Ascended changes: 25% health increase (stage 1), 70% health increase (stage 2).

Sisters of Battle

Revered Gods of a Proud Tribe.

Health: 500(750*3)/600(950*3)

You think this is the same as the Mantis Lords fight? WRONG! You now face not one, not two, but THREE angry mantises at once! It's just a mercy their weapons aren't long enough to actually do, like, anything. You will need to be VERY cautious in this fight, and don't take the same risks you did with just the two! Sisters of Battle are found in the Pantheon of Hallownest.

Attacks:

• Charging Thrust: A mantis sister appears at one end of the stage and charges across after a short delay. You can sneak about 2 hits in, 3 if you're quick. DON'T BE GREEDY during stage 2!
  
• Sword in The Stone: A mantis sister appears above the player and channels her inner Link, thrusting downward and a little forward. You can sneak about 2 hits in, 3 if you time it well. DON'T BE GREEDY during stage 2, seriously! YOU WILL DIE.
  
• Boomerang Blade: What next, a hookshot? The mantis sister clings to a wall and throws a spinning blade in either a long arc or a short arc. If you're hiding on the wall, this is the only attack she'll use. DO NOT use the shriek attack, you will get stabbed!
  
• Triple Spinny Whirlybird: Two sisters use Boomerang Blade at once. After a second, the third sister will then do a Sword in the stone attack. My recommendation is to stand near the edge to start with, then jump over the boomerangs as they return.
  
• Cross-Slash: Two sisters appear on opposite sides of the stage, then charge toward each other. A second later, the third does a Sword in the stone attack. They can do this attack EVEN WHEN YOU'RE IN THE AREA WHERE THEY APPEAR. Do not hang around there!

Strategy: Keep moving at all times. Sneak in attacks if you can, dodge frantically if you can't. Wall kick to get your dash and doublejump back. Stay on the ground as little as possible. Watch for the third sister- she's ALWAYS coming when you let your guard down! If you're at the edge of the stage, your best bet is usually to use the pound spell- it gives you valuable invulnerability times.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater.

Ascended changes: 20% health increase (stage 1), 25% health increase (stage 2).

Oblobble

Lover Gods of Faith and Devotion.

Health: 450*2(+150)/750*2(+0)

That's a mouthful. Oblobbles appear in pairs at the Colosseum of Fools, and are thus a skippable boss. Kill one, and the other will get super nettled. In Attuned mode, this immediately gives the second some extra health. In ascended mode, they both just... HAVE extra health. Notably, entering stage 2 does not restore them to full, so wearing them both down is a valid strategy! Oblobbles are optional bosses found in the Colosseum of Fools.

Attacks:

• Argablarg: The obbly pauses in the air and sprays out a bunch of infection bullets in random 4-directional spreads.
  
• WHAAAARAGHGHGLGLBBLBL: The obbly pauses in the air and sprays out A CRAP TON of infection bullets in random 4-directional spreads.

Strategy: Wait for them to stop attacking, dart in, stab once or twice, dart away. Rinse and repeat. Use the shriek attack if you're feeling confident, slam attack if you're feeling nervous, spirit attack if you're on the other side of the stage (WHICH YOU SHOULD BE WHEN THEY'RE ATTACKING). You can also shred them with a Cyclone Slash, if you catch them just after an attack, but beware getting doubleteamed or caught off-guard when they start shooting again.

Charms recommended: Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Grubberfly's Elegy.

Ascended changes: 66% health increase to both obbles. Surviving obbly gets no health boost, though.

Hive Knight

Watchful God of Duty.

Health: 850/1300

A protector of his kin, a stalwart hero of the agezzz! This guy is quick and good at teleporting, and can summon SUPPORT BEES. Beeware! Hive Knight is an optional boss that can be found in the Hive, which is on the road from the Ancient Basin to Kingdom's Edge, behind a breakable wall guarded by minibees.

Attacks:

• Huzzzah!: Hive knight dashes forward across 60% of the screen. Jump!
  
• Zzzip!: Hive knight teleports beside you, then slashes across 5% of the screen. STILL jump!
  
• Honey Trapzzz: The hive knight slams the ground and produces three sticky balls with needles in 'em. After a few seconds, they explode in sequence. Stand almost directly beneath 'em and you'll probably be fine. You can also reposition them with a nail whack, but that usually ends with you being stabbed.
  
• Bee Forcezzz! The hive knight swells up, then vomits a stream of bees into the air! About seven of them will come down from above on curving trajectories. This usually lasts for about two attacks. The bees can be stabbed for extra Soul.
  
• Acrobaticzzz! The hive knight jumps. That's it. Don't pogo him.
  
• Cursezzz!: After about 16 hits, the hive knight is staggered and sits down. You'll have time for about 2 focuses, but this will NOT pause the Bee Forcezzz attack, and Bee Forcezzz cannot be interrupted by Cursezzz if he's still vomiting bees.

Strategy: Jump and slash downward will hit him for both of his melee attacks. Don't worry about getting in close, because all of his attacks are pretty heavily telegraphed. Just keep an eye out for Honey Trapzzz and Bee Forcezzz- be cautious, and use a slam attack if you're feeling nervous.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater.

Ascended changes: 50% health increase.

Broken Vessel

Broken Shell of an Empty God.

Health: 700/1000

A vessel like yourself, plagued by infection and puppeted by the Radiance. It a stabby boi, but more often than not, you'll get smacked by his jumps.

Attacks:

• Dash Slash: Vessel winds up, then charges across about 70% of the stage. Jump and downslash.
  
• Jumpin' Dash Slash: Same thing, cept, it jumps a bit in the air before doing it. Stay on the ground and stab upward!
  
• Hoppin' Mad: Boing. You think jumping isn't dangerous? You will be proven wrong. VERY wrong. Nine times out of ten, you will be hit by this attack.
  
• Choppa Flurry: When you're near it, the vessel will swing its nail around a few times. Just back up and shoot him.
  
• Death Balloon: Summons an infected ballon. Stab it.
  
• Jumpin' Slam: Vessel jumps above the player and then slams down, spawning four infection bullets which then drift upward. Dash away, then come back to stab 'em.
  
• Plague Maraca: The Vessel throws its head back and forth, creating a bunch of infection bullets. Anywhere's as safe as anywhere else, so just wade in and stab 'em when you get a chance. Notably, this move despawns any infected balloons on the screen.
  
• Focus Break: After about 13 hits, the Vessel will be staggered long enough to focus twice.

Strategy: Stick close, but not too close. And WATCH OUT FOR THOSE FREAKING JUMPS. I swear to god. Shoot a spirit attack at him every now and then, or slam if you're feeling pressed.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail.

Ascended changes: 40% health increase.

Lost Kin

Ninja God of Afros Lost God of The Abyss.

Health: 1200/1650

Vessel 2.0. Faster! Not actually stronger! Pretty much just faster! And now with infected balloons! Interestingly, it DOESN'T have his Plague Maraca move (probably because it relies so much on infected balloons). Lost Kin, like all dream bosses, is optional. It can be found by smacking the corpse of the Broken Vessel with the dream nail.

Attacks:

• Dash Slash: Vessel winds up, then charges across about 70% of the stage. Jump and downslash.
  
• Jumpin' Dash Slash: Same thing, cept, it jumps a bit in the air before doing it. Stay on the ground and stab upward!
  
• Hoppin' Mad: Boing. You think jumping isn't dangerous? You will be proven wrong. VERY wrong. Ten times out of nine, you will be hit by this attack.
  
• Choppa Flurry: When you're near it, the vessel will swing its nail around a few times. Just back up and shoot him.
  
• Death Balloon: Summons an infected ballon. All the time. Literally all the time. It never stops.
  
• Jumpin' Slam: Vessel jumps above the player and then slams down, spawning six infection bullets which then drift upward. Dash away, then come back to stab 'em.
  
• Focus Break: After about 10 hits, the Vessel will be staggered long enough to focus twice. It will NOT stop making infected balloons! Pop them before trying to focus!

Strategy: Same as Broken Vessel. Just FASTER. Just keep stabbin', and slam every now and then to pop those balloons. Interestingly, there's also a charm setup that will cheese the Lost Kin out of existence. See below!

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater, Grubberfly's Elegy. Alternatively, you can use Grubsong, Weaversong, Defender's Crest and Glowing Womb to trivialize the fight by hiding in an upper corner and cheesing Kin to death.

Ascended changes: 35% health increase.

Nosk

Everchanging God of the Faceless.

Health: 680/980

Screamy shadowy bug thing. Remember when this guy only had two moves? I do. Now it spits infected stuff everywhere. Nosk is an optional boss found in the bottom of the Deepnest, by doublejumping/Crystal Dashing over some spiky worms.

Attacks:

• Jolly Jog: Nosk runs across 50% of the stage. That's it. Jump and downslash, or slam for some extra damage.
  
• Jaunty Jump: Nosk jumps across up to 50% of the stage. Don't pogo, boyo.
  
• Lump Lob: Nosk makes its way to the center of the stage, then sprays infection blobs everywhere. Dodge it by jumping and dashing toward Nosk, or just use your slam.
  
• Attic Antics: Nosk jumps straight up, and then drops a few infection blobs before letting out a cry and dropping down itself. Just walk in one direction, and if you need to double back, use a shadow dash to dodge falling blobs.

Strategy: Just wait for him to get close. Slash to build up Soul, then fire it off with a Spirit or a Slam. Don't panic if he throws stuff at you. And, on low difficulties, you can hide behind one of the ledge dropoffs to heal up.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone.

Ascended changes: 45% health increase, and the stage becomes flat and level. No hiding for you, boyo!

Winged Nosk

Deceptive God Assuming a Protector's Form.

Health: 750/1050

Screamy shadowy bug thing, now with wings! There's nowhere to hide this time, and he's got minions, too. Winged Nosk is encountered in the Pantheon of Hallownest.

Attacks:

• Flappy Flyby: Nosk descends to the stage level, flaps across, then comes up sharply at the end of the platform. Thankfully they seemed to have tweaked the hitbox on this attack and it's much less likely to get in a cheap hit on you. You can follow Winged Nosk off the edge of the stage to do a pogo combo, but you shouldn't.
  
• Blastin' Balloons: Nosk screams, and summons two infected balloons. If you're too close to their spawn point, they'll wait until you back up to appear. Stab 'em for their juicy Soul, or use them to pogo over the Flappy Fyby.
  
• Lump Lob: Nosk screams, then sprays infection blobs everywhere. Dodge it by jumping and dashing toward Nosk, or just use your slam.
  
• Attic Antics: Nosk flies straight up, and then drops a bunch of infection blobs all at once. There's no good way to dodge this. Just look up, be quick, and pray.

Strategy: Stay about 3/4 of the stage away from Nosk, and wait for it to summon balloons or charge. Take the Soul from a glancing hit, and then use it to slam when it's doing a flyby or fire some spirits when Nosk's flapping around offscreen. Don't try to be clever and pogo it- it'll use Attic Antics and ruin your day. Don't stick near the edges, be patient, and wear it down

Charms recommended: Strength, Longnail, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone.

Ascended changes: 40% health increase.

The Collector

Jackass God of Primal Aspids Joyful God of Protection.

Health: 900/1200

Screamy laughy shadow thing. He hops around like a maniac and releases bugs to fight you. But, try as I might, I just can't hate the guy. He always sounds like he's having fun. Notably, you will not gain any Soul from attacking him- which is really important for the fight. Bring your dream wielder charm! The Collector is an optional boss, and getting to him requires a key that you can find in the area connecting the Queen's Gardens to the Fungal Wastes. You'll have to swim through acid to get there, but if you beat the collector, you get a grub map. Go you.

Attacks:

• Hop, Skip, and Jump: Boing! The collector jumps between 1 and 3 times, about 10% of the stage, before launching one of his other attacks.
  
• Catch and Release: The collector leaps into the ceiling and drops between 1 and 3 jars, each containing an enemy. He will drop more jars, and faster, as his health gets lower.
  
• Mine, All Mine!: Collector jumps to the player's location and lashes out with his arms. He then resumes jumping. If there are too many creatures on the stage, he will use this instead of Catch and Release.
  
• That's No Fun...: After about 14 hits, the collector will be staggered and fall to the ground, dripping Void liquid. You can use the opportunity to focus up to 3 times, if you keep your distance, but all the enemies from Catch and release remain. This is also an ideal time to gain Soul by dream nailing him.

Strategy: Don't be intimidated- get close and stab, and quickly! If you're next to him, he can't jump on you unless he's using his Mine, All Mine! attack. Listen for the audio cue and dash when it's coming. Aside from that, on higher difficulties, it's ESSENTIAL to take down the spawning enemies as quickly as possible. Shaman Stone or a single hit with a Strength-boosted nail will make short work of them, but I recommend Shaman Stone for the range of the Spirit attack. And, for maximum damage, get right up next to the collector and use your Shriek attack- he doesn't take knockback, so it'll DEVASTATE him. And if you have Dream Wielder, use it to get four full units of soul while he's staggered, then follow up with a Shriek!

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Dream Wielder.

Ascended changes: 33% health increase, and the normal bugs are replaced by colosseum armored bugs and primal aspids. The memes... They are too strong.

God Tamer

Gallant God of The Arena.

Health: 750*2/1000*2

A woman and her trilobite. Does that count a god? Well, Godseeker thinks so, so who am I to argue? The name's a misnomer, though. You're ACTUALLY fighting the trilobite. The rider's just there to be annoying. And, according to her dream nail dialogue, she's just a husk anyway. God Tamer is optional, and is the final boss of the Colosseum of Fools.

Attacks:

• Infection Spit: Trilobite rears up and spits four groups of infection bullets across the stage, in a set of intervals. If you stand close to the trilobite, but not close enough to stab it, he won't be able to hit you with it.
  
• Rollout Bounce: Trilobite gears up, and then rolls across the stage, until he hits a wall. Once he hits it, he bounces straight back onto your position, no matter where you are.
  
• I'm Helping!: The rider jumps, and then launches a slash in front of her when she lands. She delays about two seconds before doing it, and she stays in the air for a decent time, so it's not much of a threat. You tried.

Strategy: Time your attacks between the trilobite's. Head in and out as opportunities present, and when it uses a rollout, you can slam to get some extra damage. You can largely ignore the rider, she dies when the trilobite does.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone.

Ascended changes: 33% health increase.

Crystal Guardian

Shining God of Greed.

Health: 650/900

Crystal-headed laserbug. Slow and predictable, but immune to pogoing. Not that you should do that anyway. Crystal guardian is an optional boss from the Crystal Peak, resting on a bench.

Attacks:

• Target Acquired: The guardian charges up a shot, showing a glowing line from him to his target. Most often, you can just jump over it. Doublejump for safety!
  
• Tactical Reposition: Also known as jumping. Don't pogo him. Not that you could anyway.
  
• Air Strike: Mister guardian screams, and summons four lasers from above that leave glowing lines before zapping you. They usually aren't specifically aimed, and sticking around center stage will usually dodge them fine.

Strategy: Don't be afraid to get close and stab him. Stay on the ground until he uses Target Acquired, then jump out of the way. For bonus points, use a slam for extra damage.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Sharp Shadow.

Ascended changes: 40% health increase, and the stage walls grow some spikes at the top.

Enraged Guardian

Overcaffeinated God of Bullet Hell Shining God of Greed.

Health: 650/1250

Crystal-headed laserbug, now with SPEED! The bugger's just flat-out twitchy. Enraged Guardian is optional, and can be found in the crystal peak, in the room directly above the bench where the original crystal guardian was.

Attacks:

• Target Acquired: The guardian charges up a shot, showing a glowing line from him to his target. Most often, you can just jump over it. Doublejump for safety!
  
• Tactical Reposition: Also known as jumping- now even faster.
  
• Air Strike: Mister guardian screams, and summons four lasers from above that leave glowing lines before zapping you. They usually aren't specifically aimed, and sticking around center stage will usually dodge them fine.

Strategy: Same as before. His attacks are faster, and his Air strike will occasionally be used twice in rapid succession, and thus fail to summon the beams. Free hits!

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Sharp Shadow.

Ascended changes: 90% Health increase, and the stage walls grow some spikes at the top.

Uumuu

Zappy God of Jackassery Uncanny God of Knowledge.

Health: 300/400

God I hate Uumuu. Unlike when Quirrel was around, you have to manually pop Uumuu now. Which makes things even more aggravating than before. But hang in there, and you can kill it in three cycles.

Attacks:

• Zap Zone: Uumuu charges up, and then unleashes electricity all across the stage in random areas. Stay up high so you have room to maneuver.
  
• Shock Seeker: Uumuu charges up, and then releases 10 electric shocks on your position. Dodge them by moving around constantly- wall jumping and wall sliding will work well. Be careful with doublejumping.
  
• Ooma Loompa: Uumu charges up (you might see a theme here) and releases a shout which summons two Oomas from the bottom of the screen, to drift toward the top. You need to kite the explosive Ooma cores into Uumuu to pop Uumuu's membrane.

Strategy: Wait out the incredibly aggravating attacks, and use Dream Wielder to gather some Soul at the beginning of the fight. And Uumuu will most often damage you by running into you. The easiest way to pop Uumuu is to wait for one of the Oomas to get horizontal or vertical to Uumuu, then stab it in the direction of Uumuu- just beware the blast. The core will ALWAYS fly straight away from the location of the core in the Ooma- even if you stab its tendrils. And it will always be perfectly horizontal with a side attack, or vertical with a... well, vertical attack. When the membrane is popped, use your nail and your shout to do a lot of damage at once!

Charms recommended: Dream Wielder, Shaman Stone, Soul Eater, Spell Twister, Longnail.

Ascended changes: 33% health increase, and the acid pool at the bottom damages you even with Isma's Tear.

Traitor Lord

Treacherous God of Anger.

Health: 800/1300

Traitor to the mantis lords. Wonder if they're related? Maybe he had insecurity issues from being bested by all his sisters. Anyway, if the Traitor Lord's 'amazing power' was his price for succuming to the infection, I think he should ask for a refund. The Traitor Lord is a skippable boss found in the Queen's Gardens, guarding, appropriately, the queen.

Attacks:

• Mighty Slash: Traitor boy dashes forward and lets off a powerful arm slash. Covers about 20% of the stage. Deals 2 masks of damage.
  
• Jump Strike: Lordy loo jumps straight up, and then attacks diagonally downward, covering about 15% of the stage. Deals 2 masks of damage.
  
• Shock Wave: Traitor loo slams the ground, sending out a shockwave that you can't dodge except by using the shade cloak. Deals 2 masks of damage.
  
• Infected Boomerang: Lordy boy swings his arm, sending 2 boomerangs across the stage, oscillating up and down. One is fast, and the other is slow. The slow one will usually fade away before it reaches the edge of the stage. Deals 1 mask of damage.

Strategy: Keep your distance, and punish the traitor's attacks as they come. Slam for extra damage, and as an emergency measure to dodge Shock Wave. Interestingly, contact damage only deals 1 damage, not 2. If you need to heal, hit the wall and crystal dash across to get some good distance!

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick slash, Longnail.

Ascended changes: 60% health increase.

Grey Prince Zote

False God Conjured by The Lonely.

Health: 1400/1400

Invincible, fearless, sensual, mysterious, enchanting, vigorous, diligent, overwhelming, gorgeous, passionate, terrifying, beautiful powerful, GREY PRINCE ZOTE! The clumsy idiot of ages. Test your sword against his might! Zote is an optional boss, unlocked by saving Zote twice (once in Greenpath and once in the Deepnest), beating the first round of the Colosseum of Fools, and rescuing Bretta from the fungal wastes.

Attacks:

• Life Ender's Assault!: Zote charges up, then rushes toward the player at a blindingly fast speed, swinging his sword. Jump up and pogo him. If you don't have the space, use a slam or a shade dash through him to get some breathing room. DO NOT run away- it won't work!
  
• Life Ender's Fall: Zote charges up for Life Ender's Assault, then falls flat on his face, sending out two short shockwaves.
  
• Leap of Love: Zote springs into the air up to three times. Each time he lands, he sends out a short shockwave. Zote can jump up to 30% of the arena.
  
• Destiny Strike: Zote leaps up into the air, and brings Life Ender down in a mighty blow, creating a tall shockwave ahead of him, and a short one behind. He can juke in midair, so always dash before jumping!
  
• Fall from Heaven: Zote jumps as he might do in a Leap of Love, but vanishes before hitting the ground. He then falls from the ceiling, sending two tall shockwaves across the stage. You can sort of guess where he's coming from based on the audio, but in general, try to keep moving, and jump right as he lands.
  
• Child of Fate: Zote spits out 2-3 zote hoppers or zote flyers. He's wide open as he does this, so stab the crap out of him.
  
• Explosive Glory: Zote raises his sword and lets out a cry, summoning four explozotes. Keep your distance and ignore them, and DON'T hit them if you're not equipped with Longnail or Mark of Pride.
  
• A Dramatic Twist!: After about 19 hits, Zote falls over and and graciously allows the player a moment to recover. Careful though, he can still damage you if you violate his personal space! There's enough time to focus twice, if you're lucky.

Strategy: Keep a distance in case he winds up Life Ender Assault. It's his deadliest attack. Focus on Slam attacks and sneaking in hits, and if he ever starts to move, back up immediately- HE IS FASTER THAN YOU. You can try using spellcasting builds to wear him down, but that is an exercise in futility.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Grubberfly's Elegy, Flukenest, Sprintmaster.

Ascended changes: None. ZOTE IS ALREADY TOO POWERFUL.

Soul Warrior

Overblown God of Minibosses Haunted God of the Sanctum.

Health: 750/1000

Did you like fighting the Soul Warrior in the Soul Sanctum? How about the second time? And don't forget the unforgettable battle in the Colosseum of Fools! Well, if that wasn't enough Soul Warrior for you, he's back for more! Ahh, that silly soul warrior. Seriously though, he doesn't even have a unique death animation. He just kind of falls over and the Godseeker just awkwardly stares at him for a moment before deciding to move on. And aside from all that, he's actually kind of a crappy swordsman.

Attacks:

• Dashing Slash: Souly winds up, then charges and slashes aross about 60% of the stage. And this is the only meaningful time he actually uses his dinky little sword. Just jump and smack him.
  
• Daring Dive: Warry teleports above you, then stomps downward. He even pretends to wave his sword around, despite it not actually mattering at all. Sidestep it and stab him.
  
• Dolorous Dart: Warry Souly focuses, then throws out a soul blob with some minor homing abilities. Jump over it, and it'll make a big telegraphed loop before slamming into the ground.
  
• Dimensional Dervish: Souly teleports, shortly before doing one of his other attacks. He doesn't always do this, but he usually does.

Strategy: Just wade in there and stab him in the face. His attacks are heavily telegraphed, so it's not like he'll do anything surprising. Just mind the follys on higher difficulties and throw in a slam attack every now and then to pop 'em. Seriously, he'd be far more dangerous if he ever just SWUNG HIS FREAKING NAIL. Idiot.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Soul Eater.

Ascended changes: 33% health increase, and Follys start popping up all over the stage.

Soul Master

Covetous God of Soul.

Health: 600(350)/900(600)

Do you like teleporting? How about homing attacks? How about both of those at once? Honestly, though, Soul Master isn't that dangerous. He's pretty slow and telegraphs his moves. The main threat is just how annoying his teleports can be.

Attacks:

• Masterful Shot: Soul Master grunts and fires off a soul projectile from his face. Move toward it and it'll hit the ground and miss.
  
• Marvelous Tackle: Master Soul grunts and charges from one end of the arena to the other. Jump over him and stab him on the way past.
  
• Monumental Smash: Moul Saster grunts and teleports above you, slamming to the ground and creating two short shockwaves a second later. He can juke in midair, so dash first, THEN jump. If you're awesome, you can stab him on the way down.
  
• Magnificent Orbitals: Saster Moul grunts and appears above one end of the stage, and summons four rotating orbs around him before scooting across to the other end of the stage. Then, he disappears, and the orbs fly back across. He's vulnerable during this, so Shriek his butt, and stand centerstage to dodge the returning orbs.
  
• Momentary Respite: Our pudgy bug deflates after taking about nine hits, and then uses his Heavy Breathing special attack. It is ineffective. You can focus about 3 times during this interlude- or, if you just want Mister Maestro to just freaking die, you can use your Shriek attack while he's still winding down to get three solid hits in.
  
• Frantic Smash: Once in stage 2, Soul Master will flip his shift, and start repeatedly slamming the ground somewhere between 4-8 times. There's a half-second delay between appearing and impact, and thankfully, it doesn't produce shockwaves. He can juke during this attack. Dash to avoid it, and if you're AWESOME, sneak a hit in with a jump and a backward stab.
  
• Frenzied Barrage: And the OTHER attack of stage 2. Master Soul sits in a corner looking constipated, summons a bunch of soul projectiles, aaaand that's about it. He switches back to Frantic Smash after about seven of them.

Strategy: Don't follow him. He teleports all the freaking time, so you'll save yourself a lot of trouble and just wait for him to come to you. And remember that the homing soul shots can often be dodged just by walking toward them, or shadowdashing through them, which will despawn them instantly.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Dashmaster, Sprintmaster.

Ascended changes: 50% health increase, 70% health increase during phase 2.

Soul Tyrant

Frenzied God of Mortality.

Health: 900(350)/1200(650)

Soul Master 2: Electric Boogaloo. Much like all the OTHER dream bosses, this is just the original boss with the speed cranked way up. Same general strategies apply. Soul Tyrant is a dreamboss, and therefore optional. He can be found by whacking the Soul Master's corpse with the dream nail.

Attacks:

• Titanic Shot: Soul Tyrant grunts and fires off a soul projectile from his face. Move toward it and it'll hit the ground and miss.
  
• Tremendous Tackle: Tyrant Soul grunts and charges from one end of the arena to the other. Jump over him and stab him on the way past.
  
• Towering Smash: Toul Syrant grunts and teleports above you, slamming to the ground and creating two tall shockwaves a fraction of a second later. He can juke in midair, so dash first, THEN jump. If you're awesome, you can stab him on the way down.
  
• Terrible Orbitals: Syrant Toul grunts and appears above one end of the stage, and summons six rotating orbs around him before scooting across to the other end of the stage. Then, he disappears, and the orbs fly back across. He's vulnerable during this, so Shriek his butt, and stand centerstage to dodge the returning orbs.
  
• Temporary Respite: Our pudgy bug deflates after taking about 20 hits, and then uses his Heavy Breathing special attack. It is ineffective. You can focus about 2 times during this interlude- or, if you just want Tricky Tyro to just freaking die, you can use your Shriek attack while he's still winding down to get three solid hits in.
  
• Cacophanous Smash: Once in stage 2, Soul Tyrant will flip his shift, and start repeatedly slamming the ground somewhere between 4-8 times. There's a quarter-second delay between appearing and impact, and thankfully, it doesn't produce shockwaves. He can juke during this attack. Dash to avoid it and switch directions each time you dodge. And if you're AWESOME, sneak a hit in with a jump and a backward stab.
  
• Crazed Barrage: And the OTHER attack of stage 2. Tyrant Soul sits in a corner looking constipated, summons a bunch of soul projectiles, aaaand that's about it. He switches back to Cacophanous Smash after about twelve of them.

Strategy: Again, just don't follow him. This is going to be a test of your reflexes as much as anything else. When in doubt, dash.

Charms recommended: Strength, Quick Slash, Longnail, Dashmaster, Sprintmaster.

Ascended changes: 33% health increase, 85% health increase during phase 2.

Dung Defender

Kindly God of Bravery and Honour.

Health: 800/1100

Dung Defender, the boss who always sounds as though he's having a good time! It's infectious, really. His strategy is diving around, throwing dung balls, and using his HEROIC ENTHUSIASM to cow his opponents.

Attacks:

• Dung Delivery: Dungboi gathers up balls of dung, and swipes his hand out as he throws. You can sneak in a hit, but be careful to give him his space when he throws. You can use a Slam to get rid of the dungballs.
  
• Crap Cavort: After using Dung Delivery, the Defender himself leaps into the air, bouncing around the stage in ball form. You can juggle him with your nail, or hit him with a Shriek attack, but be careful he doesn't land on you!
  
• Dookie Dip: Dookiedude dives into the ground, only to come up a short distance further on. He can repeat this up to 3 times. Don't stay too close to him or you'll get smacked, but you can pogo him while he continues on!
  
• Poop Piledriver: The Pungent Prince dives underground, and navigates around before pausing and bursting from the ground, sending out four dungballs that do not bounce, but CAN be attacked to move them about. He's also weak to your Shriek attack when he does this, and you can also knock him out of this attack with a slam!
  
• Feces Flight: The Flatulent Fighter takes a quick backstep, away from the player. He will then immediately follow up with another attack.
  
• Glory of Guano!: The Great Gasbag lets out a marvelous shout, dives underground, and then uses Poop Piledriver about five times in a row. You can interrupt this attack with a Slam, but he will resume this attack next time he goes underground.
  
• Enjoyable Excrement: After about 15 hits, the Master of Manure will be knocked down to have a quick laugh. You can focus about 2 times while he's having a giggle, 3 if you're some distance away.

Strategy: Grubberfly's Elegy will DESTROY the noble Defender. The main danger is how you have to time your attacks against him and watch for retaliation, and being able to attack at a range is critical. This will leave you short on Soul, so consider putting on Soul Eater, too.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Grubberfly's Elegy, Soul Eater.

Ascended changes: 35% health boost.

White Defender

Bouncy God of Juggling Kindly God of Bravery and Honour.

Health: 1600/1600

White Defender is a skippable boss you can find hiding beneath the Dung Defender's big old switch. You have to slam the ground underneath the switch platform, and then dream nail the sleeping defender. And unlike the other dream bosses, the White Defender has new attacks and must be handled somewhat differently than the original! Good thing he's still vulnerable to grubberfly cheese and juggling combos.

Attacks:

• Daring Delivery: Whiteboi gathers up balls of dung, and swipes his hand out as he throws. You can sneak in a hit, but be careful to give him his space when he throws. You can use a Slam to get rid of the dungballs. If he throws three dungballs, he will ALWAYS use Corageous Cavort next.
  
• Corageous Cavort: After using Daring Delivery, the Defender himself leaps into the air, bouncing around the stage in ball form. You can juggle him with your nail, or hit him with a shriek attack, but be careful he doesn't land on you! After about 2-3 bounces, he will throw in an extra-powerful Boastful breaker that traverses the entire stage, and THEN follow THAT up with a Proud Piledriver.
  
• Boastful Breaker: The Beatific Battler slams the ground with a great shout, sending waves of power radiating out! Back up or jump to avoid them- there are no safe spots on the ground!
  
• Dashing Dip: Dashingdude dives into the ground, only to come up a significant distance further on (about 40% of the stage. He will only dip once. Don't stay too close to him or you'll get smacked, but you can hit him from behind as he emerges!
  
• Proud Piledriver: The Plucky Prince dives underground, and navigates around before pausing and bursting from the ground, sending out eight dungballs that do not bounce, but CAN be attacked to move them about. He's also weak to your Shriek attack when he does this, but beware of using Nail Arts on him- they will often knock the dungballs into you!
  
• Fearless Flight: The Frolicing Fighter takes a quick backstep, away from the player. He will then immediately follow up with another attack- often Boastful Breaker. DO NOT follow him!
  
• Glory of Gallantry!: At somewhere from 1/2 to 1/3 health, The Great Goofball lets out a marvelous shout, dives underground, and then uses Proud Piledriver about six times in a row. You can't interrupt him this time!

Strategy: Grubberfly's Elegy is nearly essential now. You NEED to be careful around the defender, as not only will he lash out with his Daring delivery, he'll also use his Boastful Breaker to punish you if you get too close! If he backsteps, DON'T follow him! Strike when you can, during his attacks, but always be cautious when he's between attacks! And, as an aside, the spinning slash will deal A BUNCH of damage when he's using Daring Delivery while staying just out of range, so Nailmaster's Glory wouldn't go awry here.

Alternatively, you can equip Dashmaster, Longnail, Quick Slash and Sprintmaster to become a juggler. When he uses Corageous Cavort, just smack upwards repeatedly and keep him in the air as long as possible. it's tricky, but you know what's also tricky? Dodging actual attacks! Try it if you dare.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Grubberfly's Elegy, Nailmaster's Glory, Dashmaster, Sprintmaster.

Ascended changes: NOTHING. He's tough enough as-is.

Watcher Knights

Numerous Gods of Hedgehog Rolls Sentinel Gods of the Spire.

Health: 350(x6)/600(x6)

Ahh, Watcher Knights. So simple in concept, yet so tricky in execution. When fighting the Watcher Knights, you have to face 6 of them in total. One alone at first, then in pairs until you're up against the last. They only have three attacks, but two of the three give them immunity to your nail strikes. It is the most annoying thing. But, let's get down to business, eh?

Attacks:

• Double Slash: The watcher knight winds up, then does a horizontal swipe, and then an overhead swipe. You can duck in and out to sneak hits in, or just jump over him and pogo.
  
• Single Dash: Watchy mcWatcherson rolls up, skids backward for a moment, then charges across the stage. If he impacts the wall, he will rebound anywhere from 1-10% of the stage width. If he tries to start a roll when already up against the wall, he'll bonk into the wall immediately and the roll will fail. He is immune to nail attacks, but NOT spells, during this attack.
  
• Jumping Crash: Knighty mcKnightface springs into the air with practically no warning, starting up a spin that impacts just past where the player is standing, then travels on another 60% of that distance for a second bounce. Once again, immune to nails, but NOT spells. You CANNOT be out of range of this attack.
  
• Back in a Flash: Rarely, a Watcher Knight will decide it doesn't like getting stabbed and do a quick roll-dash away from you. Careful you don't get ambushed by an attack starting from offscreen!

Strategy: It's all about Slam attacks. Dart in to stab them and build up soul, and when they use their rolls, they will get smacked around by your Slam, and pass straight through you. Unless they're already sitting on you when they start a Jumping Crash, they will ALWAYS overshoot and leave you in the clear toward the end. Oh- and if you're cheeky, you can move aside and use a Shriek attack for some damage, too. And the knights are vulnerable to the Dream Nail while doing their spawn roar, so you can use that for some easy Soul if you have Dream Wielder equipped. You can also double-strike them with the Spirit attack if they're rolling away from you, but that usually ends in pain.

Charms recommended: Quick slash, Longnail, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Dream Wielder, Spell Twister.

Ascended changes: 70% health increase.

No Eyes

Dreamborn God of Fear and Relief.

Health: 570/800

Hooray, we're into the dreamborn gods! Nearly there! First up is No Eyes, one of the simplest dream bosses. Her main power is her ability to actually sing worth a damn. No Eyes is an optional boss hidden in a dark temple in Greenpath.

Attacks:

• Lullaby: No Eyes sings her creepy song, creating oscillating masks that traverse the screen much like castevania medusa heads. She'll spawn more of them as she gets low on health. That's it. Notably, you can't dash through them with Shade Cloak, because they're too wide.
  
• PAFF: No Eyes occasionally teleports away after being hit. That's ALSO it. And it's infuriating.

Strategy: Be patient, charge up Nail Arts, and hit her hard and fast. She can PAFF away whenever you hit her, and she'll do it automatically after a few seconds, so don't bother chasing her, like, anywhere. She'll come to you, eventually. Hide at the bottom of the stage if you're feeling pressed, or need to heal, and use a Slam if you're about to get Lullaby'd.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash.

Ascended changes: 40% health boost, and the stage grows a bunch of thorns. Fun on the bun. Don't mess around with the mass of thorns hanging down from the ceiling- its hitbox is bigger than it looks.

Marmu

Dreamborn God of Gardens.

Health: 416/600

It's Marmu! She wants to play! Don't you want to play? Marmu is a dreamborn boss, and therefore optional. She's found in the Queen's Gardens, in one of the numerous spiky maze places.

Attacks:

• <Marmu Noises>: Marmu curls into a ball and heads in your general direction.

Strategy: I know I just blew your mind with how insanely complicated that movelist was, but bear with me here. Now, let's add in another layer of complexity: The best strategy for fighting Marmu... is to not move. At all. Just stand in place and swing your nail whenever she gets close. Add on Heavy Blows for extra oomph, and Longnail for extra reach, and just keep doing that until she dies. Super complicated, right? Oh, and you will usually find it more effective to slash sideways rather than upward. You can use your scream attack if she's above you, but it doesn't always defend you from crushing.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Heavy Blows.

Ascended changes: 50% health boost, and the stage becomes far more confined by thorns. Not that it matters.

Xero

Dreamborn God of Faith and Betrayal.

Health: 650/900

Another dreamborn boss! This one SIGNIFICANTLY harder due to the stage change. Yeah, we've got one other on this list like that. He's no fun either. Anyway, Xero isn't a terribly complicated fight- just a frustrating one. Get in there and get stabbin'! Xero is an optional boss that can be found in the Resting Grounds. He's pretty hard to miss, actually.

Attacks:

• Xero Nail: Xero makes a martial arts noise and sends one of his nails after the player. It travels across about 80% of the stage, making it very hard to outpace, and then turns around and goes back to Xero's current position. Beware the rebound!
  
• Needs More Xero: At 50% health, Xero summons two more nails, and starts using Xero Nail at a faster pace.

Strategy: Name of the game is mobility. Move. Jump. Stab. Move. Jump. Stab. Don't stop moving, and keep an eye on the nails already launched. You might be tempted to use your shriek attack on Xero! DON'T! It will end with you landing only two of the four hits, and him stabbing you in the face. Oh, and good luck focusing during this fight. Try, and you will get a stab.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash.

Ascended changes: 40% health boost, and the stage seperates into three seperate platforms. Dash wisely.

Markoth

Dreamborn God of Meditation and Isolation.

Health: 650/950

Welcome to the most frustrating dreamborn boss! Remember all the problems we had with Xero, and having to constantly dodge nails? This is that, only with an orbital shield thing that is always getting in the way, and the nails can appear IN FRONT of you. UNlike Xero, though, you can blast him with your shriek attack, so that's nice. Markoth is an optional boss fought in the Kingdom's Edge, behind an Abyssal Geyser.

Attacks:

• Dreamshield: Markoth has a shield that orbits around him at all times. It blocks nail strikes and Grubberfly's Elegy beams, but not spells. It will occasionally stop rotating and reverse direction.
  
• Mothwing Nail: Markoth summons a nail at a random location near the player, which winds up for a moment, then flies directly toward the player. After using Dual Worlds, Markoth will summon nails much faster.
  
• Circle of Dreams: Markoth freezes in the air, then sends his orbital shield whizzing around in several fast circles, darting out, then back in again. If he has a second shield, that one will whip around too, but WILL NOT dart out and in, instead staying nice and close to Markoth. If you are far enough away to avoid the spinning shield, this is an ideal time to focus and restore health.
  
• Dual Worlds: At 50% health Markoth summons another shield, and then becomes far more agressive with his Mothwing Nail attack.

Strategy: Be patient. Markoth is often tricky to attack, due to his random drifting, the odd platform, his damned shield, and the even-more-damned Mothwing Nails, but you WILL get the opportunity if you're patient. If you can trap him against a wall and use your Shriek, he'll take stupid high damage- even moreso if you catch him just winding up his Circle of Dreams attack. Get some Soul, back off, then wait for your shot, and repeat. You can also use a well-timed Dash Slash to sneak a hit past his shield, as the hitbox is too long to entirely block.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Grimmchild, Nailmaster's Glory.

Ascended changes: 45% health boost, and there's no floor for the stage. This is vastly more annoying than it sounds.

Galien

Dreamborn God of Heroic Hearts.

Health: 650/1000

Galien is actually one of the easiest dreamborn bosses. He's got a reasonably simple attack pattern, and despite looking rather intimidating, that means he has a huge hitbox to whack on. Go nuts!

Attacks:

• Limb Lacerator: Galien uses his own severed leg to strike at the player. The leg bounces off the ground repeatedly, and has to build up horizontal momentum to hit the player.
  
• Mind Mincer: Galien summons a small bouncing energy disc thing that quasi-randomly bounces around the stage. He summons one at 2/3 health, and another at 1/3 health. They are NOT affected by gravity or momentum, they just randomly bounce around.

Strategy: Be aggressive, and shadowdash through the Limb Lacerator whenever it builds up spead to force it to swing around. Smack Galien to build up soul, then wreck his day with a few shriek attacks. He is SUPER weak to them, and will easily be taken down by them. Just mind that he doesn't get too low to the ground- I've lost more than a few masks because he literally just floated into me. Jerk.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Quick Slash, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone.

Ascended changes: 50% health boost.

Gorb

Dreamborn God of Making Funny Noises Dreamborn God of the Beyond.

Health: 650/1000

Gorb, the great mind, the dreamborn boss with the mentality of a toddler. Gorb has only one attack, but it can be surprisingly annoying. Gorb is an optional boss that can be found in the Howling Cliffs.

Attacks:

• <GORB NOISES>: Gorb summons a circle of dream needles that stall for a brief moment before shooting out in a straight line. At 2/3 and 1/3 hp, he summons another ring each time, offset to the previous one so they go right in the center of the gaps.
  
• PAFF: If pressed, Gorb will teleport away to gain some distance.

Strategy: Gorb's only got one real attack, but he makes good use of it. Combined with an awkward terrain, it makes a frustrating combo. Just be patient, and get used to the needle patterns. Shade cloak in for some quick hits, or stay at a distance and pelt him with spells.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Grimmchild.

Ascended changes: 50% health boost, and the stage is split into three platforms. Here we go dashing again...

Elder Hu

Dreamborn God of Travellers and Sages.

Health: 600/800

It's adorable how the game thinks Elder Hu is a legitimate threat. Having the Shade Cloak completely trivializes his fight. Elder Hu is a dreamborn boss, and is not worth much essence, meaning that he is even more optional than usual. He's hanging out in the Fungal Wastes.

Attacks:

• Bracer Slam: A set of bracers appears in the air above the stage in random locations, then they all slam to the ground.
  
• Wave of Bracers: Elder Hu disappears then summons two waves of bracers at the edges of the stage, rhythmically slamming down in sequence until they reach the center of the stage.

Strategy: Shadow Dash. That's pretty much it. If you get smacked, just wait for his Wave of Bracers, dash through to the edge, and heal up. You COULD try to just dodge, but why would you, honestly?

Charms recommended: Longnail, Quick Slash, Strength.

Ascended changes: 33% health boost.

Oro & Mato

Loyal Brother Gods of the Nail.

Health: 500 (Oro 1), 600 (Oro 2), 1000 (Mato 2)/800 (Oro 1), 1000 (Oro 2), 1000 (Mato 2)

The first of the new bosses you're likely to see! These are Oro and Mato, great nailmasters who were promised as bosses in the Hollow Knight kickstarter. They were NOT bosses. Until today! You face Oro first, and then when you knock him down, you then face both him and his brother! Oro and Mato are the leaders of the Pantheon of the Master.

Attacks:

• Stalwart Slashes: A Nailmaster will wind up and slash twice in a slow rhythm. This is similar to the Watcher Knight double slash, but slower, and with a far longer range. Dodge through, back up, or jump over- you've got options.
  
• Valiant Vault: A Nailmaster charges up, leaps over the current position of the knight, and then falls to the ground and unleashes a wide slash. Notably, the slash is only launched at the BOTTOM of the fall, so if you find yourself against a wall, jump and shadowdash if you can.
  
• Martial Maneuvering: A Nailmaster will perform a hasty backstep, taking them away from the knight and giving them some breathing room.
  
• Dash Slash: An Oro special! Oro will jump to the opposide side of the arena as the knight, charge up, and then dash across, ending in a long slash. Nowhere on the ground is safe during this attack.
  
• Cyclone Slash: A Mato special! Mato will jump to a position somewhat near the knight, charge up, then helicopter upwards and forwards, only to cancel into a Valiant Vault. Your best bet is just to stay away from it, but if that's not an option, wait until he's in the air to duck under and behind him.
  
• Brothers of Battle!: One nailmaster will come forward to do a set of Stalwart Slashes, then use Martial Maneuvers to give some room for his brother. The other nailmaster will then come in to do HIS set of Stalwart Slashes.
  
• Back to Back!: If the Nailmasters have you surrounded, they will both launch Stalwart Slashes or Valiant Vault at the same time. If they slash, jump! if they jump, run!
  
• I'll Hold Him Off!: One Nailmaster raises his guard, blocking nail attacks from the player. The other uses his particular special attack! If the guarding nailmaster is attacked, he will counter with a set of Stalwart Slashes.

Strategy: This fight has a lot more in common with the Watcher Knights than you might think at first. But the key to fighting Oro and Mato is not to give too much ground. Force them to attack you near the center of the stage, use your slam if you're feeling pressed, and make liberal use of spells. If you get pinned near the wall, get away from it as soon as you can- you do NOT want to be there when one of them uses a Valiant Vault, or Mato winds up his Cyclone Slash. If you can keep track of them, double down on Oro before Mato- he has less health come the second phase (at least on attuned), and his dash attack is more dangerous in the long run.

Interestingly, you can Dream Nail either brother even after they have been knocked down, or in the transition time between the first and second stage. Bring Dream Wielder to capitalize on it!

Charms recommended: Longnail, Quick Slash, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Dream Wielder, Grimmchild, Weaversong, Flukenest.

Ascended changes: ~60% health boost (Oro phase 1&2). Mato, on the other hand, gets nothing.

Paintmaster Sheo

Talented God of Artists and Creators.

Health: 950/1450

The second of the Godmaster-exclusive bosses. And, for a 'retired' nailmaster, he's surprisingly capable in combat. He's the master of the Pantheon of the Artist, and doesn't even need a proper nail to ruin your day. Also, his warcry has the added benefit of cleaning off his smock. Handy!

Attacks:

• Azure Splash: Sheo hits the ground with a blue brush, sending three gobs of paint through the air in predictable arcs. Splort, splort splort. Give him room, then dart in once the strike part is done and whack him good.
  
• Merigold Horizon: Sheo charges up, then swings his brush in an arc of yellow paint, covering the entire stage. The graphic is a lie- you CANNOT duck this attack. The only way to avoid it is to jump! If you see Sheo hanging around offscreen, he's probably going to use this and take you by surprise.
  
• Scarlet Blossoms: Sheo jumps up, swings his brush and sends out six red gobs, and then hits the ground shortly after. Dash and give him some room- you want to be between the closest and next-closest paint globs. Don't jump! Just be patient and wait for the attack to end.
  
• Fuschia Festival: Sheo charges up, then slams the ground with a mighty explosion of paint. 5-6 paint globs rain down from the sky a moment later. Give him space while doing this, and just watch out for falling paint after, it's not that bad.
  
• Contemplative Step: Sheo backsteps to get some distance from the player. He will immediately follow this up with an attack, so don't follow him!
  
• Meditation on Beauty: When Sheo takes about 11 hits, he is knocked down, allowing the player to focus twice. Or line up a powerful slam attack on his head.

Strategy: Merigold Horizon is the main threat here. Its absurd range will catch you no matter how far you run. You can dodge it with a perfectly timed Shadow Dash, but it won't always work. And Sheo's hitbox is large enough that you can't dash through him either. Stick close, but not too close, to Sheo so you can always see his next attack. Dash liberally, keep the pressure on. And since his hitbox is so big... The Flukenest charm can deal ridiculous damage to him.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Quick Slash, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Dream Wielder, Grimmchild, Weaversong, Flukenest.

Ascended changes: 50% health boost.

Nailsage Sly

Tiny God of Being Sword Beamed to Death Cunning God of Opportunity.

Health: 800(250)/1200(600)

The third and most frustrating of the new bosses... in my opinion, anyway. This little guy has a tiny hitbox, a huge sword, and entirely too much mobility. Which is why this is one of those fights that you really should just Grubberfly's Elegy cheese. You'll thank me later.

Attacks:

• Price Cut: Sly will do two overhead slashes, and then, if the player is nearby, throw in a jumping spinslash. Sly may be small, but his nail is large, and he moves forward a lot! Don't get complacent, and don't get pinned against the wall. You can sneak in a hit once he lands.
  
• Double Down: Sly will jump over the player and slash downward, and then, if the player is nearby, throw in another overhead slash. You can sneak in a hit once the attack is finished.
  
• Discount Dash: Sly jumps to one end of the stage, charges, then dashes to the other. You can gauge where he'll stop using the background props. He's vulnerable to a hit from behind, but that slash reaches slightly behind him, too. Don't get greedy!
  
• Whirlwind Sale: Sly jumps into the air and charges up, letting off his cyclone slash! He then homes in on the player. DO NOT try to dodge on the ground- climb the walls and pogo off Sly if you need to!
  
• Great Deal: Sly heads straight toward you and charges up a Great Slash! He gets a lot closer to you than usual for it, so I actually end up dodging it by reflex most of the time (DO NOT REMAIN CLOSE TO SLY, EVER). This attack deals double damage.
  
• Back in 10: After about 15 hits, Sly will drop his nail. The player has time to focus twice, thrice if they're greedy. (Amusingly, if he is pushed into his next stage before picking the nail up, it'll remain there for the rest of the fight.)
  
• Everything Must Go!: Sly's only attack in his second phase. He jumps around to random floors, walls, and ceilings, and if he gets near the player, he launches a circular slice that homes in just enough to make you hate it with a fiery passion. He can be hit ONCE after he stops- use a Nail Art if you can.

Strategy: DO NOT BE CLOSE TO SLY. Shadow Dash through his attacks if you're pressed, and always stay close as you can to centerstage, because Sly moves around A LOT. Ranged attacks are your friend here. Don't be ashamed to let your charms do all the work. Sly is TRICKY, and so you should be, too. When he gets to phase 2, DON'T PANIC. Save your Shadow Dash for when he launches his attack. Stay close as you can to about 1/3 the length of the stage, so Sly usually comes at you from a predictable direction, but you have space to fall back. And seriously, you have no business being closer to sly than the maximum range of your Nail.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Quick Slash, Strength, Grubberfly's Elegy, Heavy Blows, Grimmchild, Weaversong, Nailmaster's Glory.

Ascended changes: 50% health boost (phase 1), 240% health boost (phase 2).

Pure Vessel

Mighty God of Nothingness.

Health: 1600/1850

WE'RE IN THE BIG LEAGUES NOW, KIDS. Now, you may think, 'wait, haven't I beaten the Hollow Knight before? Surely this isn't that different'. Well, yes, you have a point. But counterpoint- this is how the usual Hollow Knight boss battle goes.

Try that crap here, and the Pure Vessel will be mailing your battered corpse back to the pale king in a jam jar. There's no infection to weaken the Vessel, no arbitrary pauses for self-impalement, no pathetic lurching around the stage to try and reach you. There's just you, locked in a room with the deadliest ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thing this game can throw at you. No tricks, no jackassery, just nail to nail with a thing that is perfectly designed to stab you in the face very, very hard.

Attacks:

• Slashes: When the Pure Vessel is close to you, it may slash three times, extending in front of him and a little back and above his head. If you time it right, you can parry every hit. Don't, though. Pure Vessel is better at nailfighting than you are. Jump up high, or Shadow Dash through the vessel. DO NOT run away- the Vessel is faster than you, too.
  
• Dash: If Pure Vessel is somewhere nearby, it may ready and launch a Dash Attack. It's FAST. Jump over it.
  
• Projectiles: The Pure Vessel teleports far away, and launches a spread of knives at you. You can see their trails beforehand, but there's usually not enough time to meaningfully dodge. Jump and Shadow Dash through them.
  
• Slam: The Pure Vessel either jumps above you or teleports, pausing in midair to launch a downward strike, which then spawns a set of soulknives from the ground. DON'T hit the Vessel while these are out- the knockback will push you into one of the knives. Jumping will help you avoid the knives, and if you get above the Vessel, you can retaliate with your own Slam.
  
• Parry: If nearby, the Pure Vessel will raise its nail and briefly block incoming nail attacks. If hit during this time, it will retaliate with a vicious counterblow. You can't dodge this by jumping or running away- the only way to not take damage is to Shadow Dash through the Vessel.
  
• Focus: Once at about 2/3 health, the Vessel can Focus, creating a huge sphere of space that will damage you once fully charged. After that, eight smaller spheres will appear randomly around the stage. If perfectly timed, you can Shadow Dash through the large sphere. Don't try- if you see the Vessel focusing, retreat or use a Slam for the invincibility frames!
  
• Tendrils: Once at about 1/3 health, the Vessel can use a Tendril attack, unleashing the Void within to strike across about 60% of the stage. This attack has a huge range, and the Vessel often substitutes it for the Projectile attack. You can dodge by outdistancing it, but your best bet is just to jump and get as close to the Vessel as possible, so that you can counterattack with a Slam.
  
• Knockdown: After about 12 hits, the Vessel will be knocked down BRIEFLY. You can focus ONCE during this time, or use the opportunity to wind up a devestating Slam.

Strategy: First and foremost, do not freak out. The Pure Vessel is fast and agressive, and never walks when it can teleport. But the trick to dodging pretty much all of its attacks is to JUMP, and/or move TOWARD the Vessel. The only real exception to this is Focus, so watch the Vessel carefully for that. Magic will serve you well here, as the Slam can get you out of a lot of sticky situations, and does fantastic damage against the Vessel, too. Just keep calm, and rise to the challenge. Victory will be all the sweeter for it.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Quick Slash, Strength, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone.

Ascended changes: 15% health increase. It's enough.

Grimm

Travelling God of the Troupe.

Health: 1000/1300

Grimm, that marvelous showman, Lord of the Troupe. Why is he so far down the list? Should he be BEFORE the Godmaster-exclusive stuff? Freakin' weird ordering. Anyway, Grimm's not so bad. He teleports around a lot, but once you get used to his attack patterns, you'll be able to take him down no problem. And, interestingly, he's one of the few bosses (alongside Hornet) that is aware of being summoned into Godhome.

Attacks:

• Rising Action: Grimm will teleport near you, take a slash across the ground, then do an uppercut that explodes into five flame projectiles. Jump and slash, you can hit him twice! Stay close to him for the flames- they don't hit right near where he vanishes.
  
• Heads On Stage: Grimm teleports above you, dives diagonally downward, then dashes toward you across the ground. Jump and pogo!
  
• Pyroflash Props: Grimm teleports away from you and fires off three fiery bats. Jump over them and dash towards Grimm! If you dash too early, he'll dart away and fire one bat before continuing.
  
• Foil Ensemble: Grimm teleports some distance away from you, and his cloak stretches into the ground, creating a series of wicked spikes along the ground a second later. A good time to focus, or sneak a Spirit attack in.
  
• Maroon Monologue: At 3/4, 2/4 and 1/4 health, Grimm will teleport to centerstage to launch a series of fireballs everywhere. Stick around the wings and jump/Shadow Dash through any of them coming at you on ground level. Grimm will also use this if you stab him during his introductory bow, but you can also Dream Nail him for some free Soul with no consequences. Grimm is immune to melee attacks during this (not that that would be a good idea), but not to spells. Fire some Spirit attacks if you've got the room!
  
• Fluff Beat: After about 14 hits, Grimm will explode into a swarm of Grimmkin. You can focus 3 times before he reforms, or use the opportunity to nail the big one with glowy eyes to do extra damage. The Shriek works well!

Strategy: This fight is all about reacting to what Grimm is doing. Watch where he appears and how he's posed, and work from there. If you're quick, you can sneak in two attacks with your nail- presuming you have Quick Slash- no matter what he's trying to do. Don't panic, and don't try to focus just because he's offscreen for a moment. Just be observant and careful, and you'll do fine.

Also, if you're extremely cheeky, you can sneak in a hit after he stops bowing, and RIGHT before he teleports away, with no consequences. GREAT SLASH!

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone. (Grimmchild will not work here!)

Ascended changes: 30% health boost.

Nightmare King

God of Nightmares.

Health: 1250/1650

Isn't it weird how Grmm isn't actually mentioned in either his name or title? Well, that's because you're not fighting merely Grimm. No, you're fighting an avatar of the Nightmare Heart. And the Nightmare Heart ain't nothin' to screw with. The strategy is largely the same as the Grimm fight, but his speed is, of course, souped up, and his attacks all have new properties that make them harder to deal with. Oh, and he deals double damage. Fun times incoming.

Attacks:

• Rising Devil: Grimm will teleport near you, take a slash across the ground, then do an uppercut that explodes into five flame projectiles that are rather large. Jump and slash, you can hit him twice! Stay close to him for the flames- they don't hit right near where he vanishes.
  
• Heads Off: Grimm teleports above you, dives diagonally downward, then dashes toward you across the ground, leaving a trail of burning flames. The first trail will disappear by the time he makes his dash. As for yourself- Dash to avoid the dive, then jump and pogo if you can, then dash to avoid the flames.
  
• Hellflash Onslought: Grimm teleports away from you and fires off four fiery bats- two below, two above. Jump halfway between them and dash toward Grimm to land some hits!
  
• Coiled Crush: With no warning, Grimm creates a series of wicked spikes along the ground with only a second's delay. Grimm himself is nowhere to be seen, and there's not enough time to Focus.
  
• Crimson Jet: Grimm appears in midair, and summons four geysers of flame from the floor in sequence under the player. He is vulnerable during this, especially to a Shriek, but be careful- even after the flames stop jetting, they still leave a damaging ember on the ground for a second.
  
• Charnel Cataclysm: At 3/4, 2/4 and 1/4 health, Grimm will teleport to centerstage to launch a series of quick-moving fireballs everywhere. Stick around the wings and jump/Shadow Dash through any of them coming at you on ground level. Grimm is immune to melee attacks during this (not that that would be a good idea), but not to spells. But the fire moves fast enough to nail you even if you attack when it seems clear- be careful.
  
• Rest For The Wicked: After about 12 hits, Grimm will explode into a swarm of Grimmkin. You can focus 2 times before he reforms, or use the opportunity to nail the big one with glowy eyes to do extra damage. You don't have much time, though, so act fast!

Strategy: This time, like last time, it's all about staying on your toes and enduring all the various abuse Grimm throws at you. Not every attack leaves him open, but if you can sneak in a hit here or there, you can save up for a devestating Shriek while he does his Crimson Jet attack. This is also one of the few fights where I actually recommend against using a Slam to avoid damage- Heads Off and Rising Devil, not to mention his other attacks, can still leave something damaging on you even after you avoid the initial strike. Just hang in there and wait for your shot.

Charms recommended: Longnail, Strength, Quick Slash, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone. (Grimmchild will not work here!)

Ascended changes: 30% health boost.

Absolute Radiance

Forbidden God of Unexpectedly Blasting You in the Face Forgotten God of Light.

Health: 2200/2200 (Breakdown: 400, 450, 300, 750, 300)

This is it, kids. The end-all, be-all fight of Godmaster. Absolute Radiance. And, just so we're clear, I totally didn't MSpaint copy a max-rank badge onto the podium because Absolute Radiance's attacks come out of nowhere, or just spawn right on top of you, or clip through platofrms that they should crash into. Anyway, this is one of those knock-down drag-out fights that's all about endurance. And if you succeed, you get a marvelous Godmaster-exclusive cutscene and set of endings (if you completed the pantheon)! Rise to the challenge!

Attacks:

• SEARING SUNS: Radiance spawns 3-4 big yellow orbs that zip toward the player. They can damage you even while spawning. They are the worst. If you can, bait them into impacting the ground by dashing past them.
  
• BLOSSOM OF BLADES: Radiance spawns two consecutive rings of blades from her face, sending them out in a slight spiral. The second wave always lands in the middle of the gaps left by the first. I hate this attack so much, because she WILL use it when you're finally getting some damage in, and you will get stabbed, and probably die.
  
• LIGHT OF A NEW AGE: Radiance focuses, and sends out three waves of beams from her face with about a quarter-second of warning where each will strike. Generally, the beams will strike in the empty space between the previous beams. If you're beneath her when the last beams come out, you can fit in a Shriek attack.
  
• ALL WILL BE ILLUMINATED: Radiance summons a wave of light from one end of the screen to the other. The only way to dodge is to Shadow Dash or Slam and use the invincibility from it to get through. This attack can 'juke' up to twice when it hits roughly center stage, and reappear from the opposite side of the stage. It can't juke when you're on the large field.
  
• HORIZON OF MIGHT: Radiance summons 2-3 waves of swords from one side of the screen, which then travel to the other side of the screen. They move fast enough that you don't HAVE to dash to get through the gaps. It's possible, but tricky, to Shadow Dash through them. You can also lay some hits on Radiance if she's nearby, as she can't use any other attacks while this one proceeds.
  
• DAWN WILL BREAK: Radiance summons 3-4 waves of swords from the top of the stage, which then descend. This is why you don't want to be up in the air too high. Radiance is especially vulnerable during this attack, as you can squeeze between even the closely-grouped swords if you're careful, and launch quite a few Shrieks.
  
• MY LEGIONS WILL RISE: Radiance summons a bed of swords on one side of the stage, which remains for a while before disappearing and reappearing on the other side. There is about a 2-second delay before the swords actually appear. Notably, once the swords are out, you can pogo off them, or use a Slam/Shadow Dash to make them retract (they actually retract on contact, but that's not worth taking a stab to trigger). This is the ONLY attack used by Radiance that only deals one mask of damage.
  
• LIGHT WILL PREVAIL: Radiance fires a single lightbeam at the player with about a quarter-second of warning. Sometimes, she leads the target to catch you as you move. Sometimes she just fires on where you are. If you see the tracer on you, DASH. You can make up the distance later. Radiance exclusively uses this attack during her fifth phase.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. LET'S TALK PHASES.

• Phase 1: 400hp. Radiance uses all her moves save for the last two. She teleports around the stage constantly, to varying heights, but always out of range of the player on the ground.
  
• Phase 2: 450hp. Radiance begins passively using MY LEGIONS WILL RISE to limit the player's movement. She also has an annoying habit of hanging out over her summoned spikes. Just don't panic when the floor gets glowy- you have more time when you think to move away.
  
• Phase 3: 300hp. Radiance teleports to centerstage and uses MY LEGIONS WILL RISE to close off the outer edges of the stage. She then proceeds to use DAWN WILL BREAK exclusively for a time. When you deal enough damage, she will be knocked down and a small sequence will play. You can focus up to 6 times during this!
  
• Phase 4: 750hp. The longest and trickiest phase. After navigating up some platforms to a wide arena, you face Radiance as she teleports repeatedly around the big place. She'll use all but her last two attacks, again, and teleport constantly. Your best strategy is to snipe her from a distance with the Spirit attack and wait for her to get close so you can stab her a few times. The biggest danger is her SEARING SUNS attack, as they blend in with the background, can appear anywhere, and occassionally clip through the freaking platforms instead of impacting. Always save enough for an emergency Slam attack to give yourself some breathing room.
  
• Phase 5: 0hp. Radiance teleports high above and begins using her LIGHT WILL PREVAIL attack until you climb up to face her. This is NOT the last phase! Just watch our for the tracers- her attacks come out wicked fast. And if that wasn't enough, the abyss is coming up from below, putting you on a timer, too. God I hate this fight.
  
• Phase 6: 300hp. Last one. Radiance uses nothing but her SEARING SUNS attack, with somewhat fixed spawn points for the orbs, and teleports around to three positions suspended between two platforms. Don't panic. Dodge the shots, and get up above Radiance to pogo if you can. The Searing Suns will despawn when they get offstage, so doublejumping upward will keep you from getting hit. DO NOT rely on the suns smashing on the platforms, they WILL phase through when you least expect and kill you.

Strategy: Caution is the name of the game. You will need quick reaction times, patience, and so, so much caution. Radiance can use her BLOSSOM OF BLADES attack without warning, so always give her space when she isn't actively launching an attack. Slams will save you from damage. Shrieks will shred her. Just hang in there, don't panic, and watch for the tracers for her beams. Oh, and heal up only when explicitly given time. If you are not sure if you can sneak in a heal, you cannot sneak in a heal. This is one of the very few fights where I actually heavily recommend using Shape of Unn to give yourself some mobility while healing.

Charms recommended: Strength, Soul Eater, Shaman Stone, Grimmchild, Shape of Unn, Deep Focus, Grubberfly's Elegy.

Ascended changes: Nothing, thank the Pale King.

Outro

Are you still here?

Well, I hope you got something interesting out of this guide. My strategies probably aren't universal by any means. If something works for you, tell me about it, and I might throw it in as an option.

Anyway, since we've covered all the Gods, you should be ready for anything the Pantheons can throw at you. I shudder at the thought of trying to fight Absolute Radiance with bindings on... Yeesh.

Just remember. Keep calm, react, and optimize. Failure isn't the end. It just means you'll do better next time.

SPECIAL THANKS: The Hollow Knight Wiki for providing me with information to work with, Myan149 for spellchecking this abomination, and the Hollow Knight subreddit for being upstanding gents who like them some memes. And you, for reading though this tome of a guide.

Oh, and thanks to whoever drew that Hornet 'Git Gud' meme that I crudely doodled over.

Good hunting.

[Numbers]

@chocolatesandgunpowder
I'll try that one out too. It might save someone's butt.

@terrorarian
I swear that the attack data has changed a bit. I remember the tendrils lasting for like a YEAR. Maybe I'm remembering wrong...

[CHARL0TTE#BEBE]

May I recommend the charm with Dreamshield+Dreamwilder for AbsRad? Her SEARING SUNS do protect from being attack from specific position. It can be lucky if you get it, but it's entirely risky if you wish to play safe with Radiant mode + her last segment!

Youtube Link ref.

[terrorarian]

Okay yeah it's only like 2-3 frames not even close to being a reliable way to dodge the attack.

[terrorarian]

I'll do some more attempts and see if it might have just been a bug or lag or something

[Numbers]

Really? I could swear I've been nailed by that attack a whole bunch of times. I'll doublecheck later.

[terrorarian]

Also, the PV void tendril attack hitbox doesn't last for the entire animation. It's only a few frames, but it can be noticable. It mostly happens when there's only 2 tendrils left and 1 of them is retreating into PV's cloak.

[Numbers]

That was my experience, too. I've updated the wording of the guide to reflect that. Thanks a bunch!

[terrorarian]

Clarification: The PV slash attack, when it hits behind, does not do so at ground level, instead hitting behind his head. Still really annoying to get hit by though.

[Numbers]

@terrorarian Hm, I hadn't really noticed the slash hitting behind as much as I'd noticed it hitting above. I suppose I can check that and add it to the guide.
Honestly, I love the fact that the Pure Vessel is such a shakeup. It's amazing how such a simple shift in strategy can go against so much of the previous boss design. it reminds me of Sekiro: "You'll die if you hesitate."

[terrorarian]

My favorite part about this guide is that it tells you to dash into PV. Simply put, for most of the game this isn't a viable option because enemy hitboxes can be annoying as crap (Oro and mato Stalwart slash, looking at you) but with PV it lets you dodge some of his more devastating attacks. Oh, his slash combo also has the ability to hit BEHIND him.