Hollow Knight

The Hollow Knight is the Vessel that sealed away the Infection. It is one of two final bosses of the game.

Upon breaking the seals on the temple by destroying the three Dreamers, the player is allowed entrance in order to fight this boss. To begin the fight, the player must break the four chains holding the Hollow Knight.

Behaviour and Tactics
The Hollow Knight fight happens over 4 Phases. Each Phase is marked by the Hollow Knight standing still, turning their head skyward and roaring. This roar stuns The Knight. The fight changes with each phase.

In Phase 1, the Hollow Knight has three attacks: Triple Slash, Lunge, and Parry. The attacks come regularly. The Hollow Knight will back dash, teleport, and leap around the arena between attacks.

In Phase 2 of the fight, the Hollow Knight gains two more attacks (Rainbow and Diving Flame Pillar) and the Hollow Knight moves and attacks with greater frequency.

In Phase 3, the Hollow Knight begins stabbing themselves. The Hollow Knight gains two more attacks (Explosion and Bouncing Balloon) but they also slow down: rarely leaping or teleporting and their attacks come less often.

In Phase 4, the Hollow Knight can barely move. They don't teleport or leap anymore; they can hardly swing their Nail; and they only use two different attacks: the Bouncing Balloon and Desperate Attack.

The main weakness of the Hollow Knight is that they are vulnerable to attacks from above. During a Lunge or Triple Slash, jump above their head and Nail bounce a few times while they finish the attack. If they try to Parry, dash away before they counter-attack.

There are safe zones amongst the blobs during the Rainbow and Explosion Attacks so pay attention and move into safe zones. Dashing can often overshoot a safe zone, so walking is usually the safer option.

During the Bouncing Balloon Attack, the Hollow Knight will attempt to home in on the player. They will have trouble tracking if the player constantly changes direction. Dodge the first slam, then dash under it when it rises for a new slam, then reverse again after it comes down and repeat.

During the Diving Flame Pillar Attack, the pillars will briefly charge on the floor before erupting, showing where it's safe to stand. When the Hollow Knight jumps and readies their Nail, start looking for a safe zone immediately after dodging the downward strike.

The Hollow Knight's teleport will usually position them far away from the player, so using Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul during this time is useful to get hits in before they charge another attack. Moving too far from the Hollow Knight makes it more likely they'll teleport close to the player, so be careful running away to heal.

Under normal circumstances, the Hollow Knight is immune to the Dream Nail and will not grant any SOUL on a successful hit.

Depending on the player's progress, one of the three endings will play out after the fight. After the ending, the player will spawn at the last Bench rested at.

When The Hollow Knight stabs themselves with their Nail, it is a great time to heal, allowing for at least two hit points to be healed without charms.

Phase 2
The Hollow Knight gains these attacks in addition to the attacks of Phase 1. The Hollow Knight attacks and moves more frequently.

Phase 3
The Hollow Knight gains these attacks in addition to the attacks from Phases 1 and 2. The Hollow Knight attacks and moves less frequently and begins stabbing itself.

Phase 4
Depending on the player's progress, the fight will be interrupted by Hornet, allowing player to access its mind with the Dream Nail and fight The Radiance, otherwise the fight will continue as normal. During the fourth phase of the battle, the Hollow Knight loses all other attacks except the Bouncing Balloon Attack and gains one new attack.

Trivia

 * It is unknown as to why the Hollow Knight begins to stab itself halfway through the fight. It could be trying to help the player by attempting to kill itself, or it could be trying to further increase its strength by opening up the Infection more, in an act of desperation. It could also be going mad and trying to destroy the Infection that's slowly taking it over.
 * It is explained through NPC dialogue that the Hollow Knight could not contain the Infection due to an unnoticed flaw which caused it to not be "completely hollow."
 * It is implied that, in the first ending ("The Hollow Knight"), this will also happen to the player - they also failed to become completely hollow, and eventually the Infection will leak through once again.
 * In the Sealed Siblings ending, the player is noted by the White Lady to have become truly hollow due to acquiring the Void Heart, and thus able to fully contain the Infection. Whether this is actually true or another assumption that could be proven wrong remains unknown.
 * During the scene in The Abyss, before the player receives the Void Heart, a Vessel similar looking to The Knight is shown exiting the Abyss with the The Pale King. Judging by the shape of its horns and colour of its cloak, it seems that it's the same Hollow Knight fought in the Black Egg Temple. It also looks at The Knight before following the Pale King out. This also could hint towards the original not being completely hollow, as it displayed some form of sympathy or sadness.
 * It is unknown if the Hollow Knight has a second arm, as it performs most of its actions with just one arm, and never show a second arm during the battle. Its Shade, however, appears to have both arms.
 * During the ending sequence of The Radiance fight, the Hollow Knight's shade appears and opens up a weak point on her head, allowing the player to land the finishing blows.
 * The Hollow Knight has cut Dream Nail dialogue which are the following:
 * ...Kill...
 * ...Shall blaze free...
 * ...This Vessel, broken...fails...
 * ...Dawn...Shall break...
 * ...No mind, the usurper...Only strength...
 * ...Kill the usurper...Our light it would suffocate...
 * ...Father?...

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