Grey Prince Zote

"Figment of an obsessed mind. Lacks grace but becomes stronger with every defeat. "My love, any creature who could bear to be away from you, who would willingly leave you behind or say unkind things to you... Pah! Lowly maggots, not worthy of standing in your glorious shadow!" She felt her cold body grow warm, a sensation she had almost forgotten..."

- 'The Grey Prince' Chapter 112

Grey Prince Zote is a hidden boss in Hollow Knight. It is the overpowered dream variant of Zote the Mighty fueled by Bretta's delusions of him.

Behaviour and Tactics


He can be fought up to a maximum number of ten times from the statue, but each successive time he will obtain more health (Max. 4 fights to 1500), and his attacks deal more damage with consecutive fights: 1 mask on the first 3 fights, 2 masks on the 4th fight, and one additional mask each fight after that (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 for fights 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively).

He grants 300 Essence on the first victory and none after each subsequent victory.

This section will focus on strategies that work against the 10th version of Grey Prince Zote since any strategies that work against him will also work on earlier versions.

There are some safe times to heal, particularly when Grey Prince Zote is staggered or during the Zoteling and Ghost Attacks (depending on how close Grey Prince Zote is for the attacks). However, healing is not a great tactic past Grey Prince Zote 8 because healing 6+ damage requires a lot of time and/or many opportunities to heal. Charms like Quick Focus, Deep Focus, and Shape of Unn can be most helpful.

It is important to defeat Grey Prince Zote as quickly as possible because the longer the fight draws on, the more difficult it can become to evade all of his attacks. For damage output, Nail-based Charms work very well; Fragile Strength/ Unbreakable Strength, Quick Slash and Mark of Pride/Longnail are helpful. Spells are a valid strategy too. Desolate Dive/Descending Dark is a great spell for its damage and invincibility frames. Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul is also useful, especially for damaging Zote and his Zotelings at the same time. It is recommended to have Shade Soul and Descending Dark for this fight. And to maximize Spell efficacy and damage, bring the charms Spell Twister and Shaman Stone, respectively. A lot of damage can be dealt to Zote when he's spitting Zotelings during the Zoteling Attack, when he's summoning Volatile Zotelings during the Ghost Attack, and during the Flail Attack.

The Shade Cloak is very useful for dodging a lot of Grey Prince Zote's (and his Zotelings) attacks. The Monarch Wings are useful for avoiding the shockwaves and navigating the sometimes crowded airspace of the arena.

A challenging but viable tactic is to combine Grubberfly's Elegy, Quick Slash, Fragile/Unbreakable Strength, and Fury of the Fallen to maximize Nail damage and range even at 1 hp.

As with the other Dream Bosses, the Knight does not die when they lose all their health during this battle, but simply wakes up next to the statue. This means that Fragile Strength and Fragile Heart can be used continually without breaking.

Location
To access the boss, the player must have saved both Bretta and Zote and have defeated him in the Colosseum of Fools. The player also needs to have the Monarch Wings in order for the basement to open. The fight starts by striking the statue in Bretta's basement with the Dream Nail.

Trivia

 * Each time Grey Prince Zote is defeated, one additional candle around his statue will light up, to a max of 4. After the 10th victory, the statue will also turn gold.
 * Bretta will clap in the background every time the Knight takes damage and all the Zotes look scared whenever Grey Prince Zote is Staggered.
 * Prior to the Lifeblood Update, the Zote statue had 10 candles and turned gold only after 10 victories. It is unknown why this was reduced to 4 candles, but it was likely to mark when Bretta will depart Dirtmouth.


 * Bretta's Dream Nail dialogue will change the 1st and 3rd times Grey Prince Zote is defeated.
 * After the 4th victory, Bretta leaves Dirtmouth entirely and is nowhere to be found in the entirety of Hallownest again in-game.


 * Each time he is defeated, he earns a new adjective listed, stacking on top of the other titles:
 * (level 9) Invincible,
 * (level 8) Fearless,
 * (level 7) Sensual,
 * (level 6) Mysterious,
 * (level 5) Enchanting,
 * (level 4) Vigorous,
 * (level 3) Diligent, Overwhelming,
 * (level 2) Gorgeous, Passionate,
 * (level 1) Terrifying, Beautiful, Powerful, Grey Prince Zote


 * Some of the attacks Grey Prince Zote uses are similar to some of Zote's "attacks" in his fight against the Knight in the Colosseum of Fools. The Flail, Trip and Leap are specifically referenced in the battle in stronger forms.

Серый принц Зот Príncipe Gris Zote Grigio Principe Zote