False Knight

Hunter's Journal
 

''A maggot driven mad by a strange force. Inhabits a stolen armoured shell.   ''

''Weak creatures love to steal the strength of others. Their lives are brief and fearful, and they yearn to have the power to dominate those who have dominated them.''

False Knight
The False Knight possesses a variety of attacks:
 * Jump Slam: Jumps into the air and slams down with its mace.
 * Body Slam: Jumps into the air towards the player, dealing contact damage.
 * Shockwave Slam: Winds up and slams the ground with its mace, creating a shockwave that moves forward. This also causes rocks to fall from the ceiling.
 * Rage: After enough damage is dealt to the armour, the False Knight will fall down and reveal the maggot inside the armor. When the Maggot takes enough damage, the False Knight will rise back up, jump to the center of the room, and slam the ground with its mace back and forth several times, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling.

Tactics
The best bet at fighting the False Knight is to keep moving, attacking the armour when possible. When the Maggot pops out, heal if necessary then get in as much damage as possible. When the shockwaves appear, simply jump over them.

It is important to note that attacking the armor does not award SOUL, so players should conserve their SOUL meter if they need to heal, or use Grubsong to regain SOUL when struck.

If healing is needed, the safest opportunity is to wait until the Knight goes into a Rage and then heal up in a corner of the room before the rocks begin to fall.

Keep the exit on the left under control, after a certain point it will become breakable, granting the player the chance to flee, get the Vengeful Spirit spell, and proceed through the game as much as desired and come back later to get the City Crest.

After exposing the Maggot's head three times, the Failed Champion will perform one more Rage attack before breaking the floor, falling to the level below and revealing the Maggot. Attack the Maggot enough times and it will die, ending the fight.

Failed Champion
After acquiring the Dream Nail, the player can return to the area where the False Knight was fought. In a room above the destroyed arena are two living Maggots mourning over the corpse of the Maggot that was in the armor of the False Knight. Striking the corpse with the Dream Nail will send the player to an arena where they will fight the Failed Champion.

Attacks
The Failed Champion possesses the same attacks as the False Knight, however it will spam its attacks near constantly and each attack does 2 masks of damage rather than 1 (as with the Lost Kin and Soul Tyrant). In addition, rocks will fall during every attack and the Shockwave Slam is much taller. It gives 300 Essence when it is defeated.

Tactics
Since hitting the armour doesn't give any SOUL, it is suggested to use Joni's Blessing and an oppressive strategy. Fragile charms work well as they don't break when dying in Dream fights. Quick Slash and Steady Body, Spore Shroom are effective as well.

The Desolate Dive/Descending Dark spell is effective as it hits twice and the invincibility frames allow the player to dodge mace strikes while casting.

His jumps are wide and provide room to be dashed under. This will create an opening to attack him from behind and dodge his smashing attacks. This is more effective with Shade Cloak equipped.

Another reliable opening to attack is when he jumps backwards, as this jump never lands with smashing attack.

During one of the Champion's Rage moments is the best time to use Descending Dark as the player can then flee without taking damage.

Never try to heal during normal attacks, unless using Quick Focus or Shape of Unn, as the False Knight closes distances very quickly.

Dream Wielder shines in this boss battle. While it is almost impossible to gather enough SOUL from the Failed Champion to heal reliably through conventional means, when it falls, there is time to Dream Nail him three times before attacking. Then, while the Champion is Raging in the middle of the room, heal with Quick Focus.

Trivia

 * The armour the Maggot stole actually belongs to Hegemol, one of the legendary Great Knights (mentioned by Nailmaster Sheo).
 * The reason the Maggot took the armour was to protect its fellow Maggots, not because of the infection plaguing Hallownest.

Dream Nail Dialogue

 * "I'm braver than all of you!"
 * "This great shell...It belongs to me!"
 * Failed Champion: "I'm finally strong!"
 * Failed Champion: "I'm the strongest now!"
 * On its weapon: "Free at last!"