Hornet

Hunter's Journal


''Skilled protector of Hallownest's ruins. Wields a needle and thread.''



''I have seen this nimble little creature. I thought her prey and pounced at her, but with a flash she stabbed me with her flying stinger and darted away. Could she be... a Hunter?''



First Encounter, Greenpath
When traveling through the area, she will appear several time, but will quickly dash away. When approached at the end of the zone, she is standing by the body of another bug and comments that she can sense something awakening within Hallownest, and that she knows the nature of the player character, and because of that, cannot allow what the player is going to do to take place, which starts her boss fight.

Attacks
Hornet has 4 base attacks:
 * Impaler: Charges forward with her needle in front of her.
 * Needle Dive: Jumps in the air before aiming at the player and rushing downwards.
 * Thread Flurry: Jumps into the air and unleashes an area-of-effect attack centered on herself, using her thread to slice into anything around her.
 * Sting Shot: Throws her needle forward, then pulls it back. The range of this attack is slightly smaller than the width of the battlefield. The needle can damage the player on the way back.

Tactics
Wait until she moves in with an Impaler attacks and get a few hits in to charge SOUL. Then, when she moves out of range of the player, hit her with Vengeful Spirit. At this point in the game, Vengeful Spirit does 3 times as much damage as the Nail, and is easier to land.

After taking about a fifth of her health, she will kneel on the ground to recover. This happens four times throughout the fight. Use this time to either heal if needed or hit her with Vengeful Spirit, as the next attack you do will cause her to immediately recover.

The best moments to heal during battle are during her Sting Shot attack, which is telegraphed due to her always walking to one edge of the area before using, and her Thread Flurry attack, which has a fairly long animation and cooldown.

The player can perform a downward slash if they mistimed their jump over the needle, allowing them to bounce off of it. Upon defeat in Greenpath, she flees and the corpse she was standing by drops the Mothwing Cloak, which allows the player to dash.



Second Encounter, City of Tears
Hornet will appear briefly outside the Fungal Wastes entrance to the City of Tears. Once the player reaches the statue of The Hollow Knight, she will appear again and tell the player to seek "the grave in ash" if they wish to seek a role in Hallownest's perpetuation.

Third Encounter, Kingdom's Edge
The player must go to a far east area of Kingdom's Edge which requires the Monarch Wings to reach. Upon meeting Hornet here, she will challenge the player to one more battle to prove that they are worthy to see the truth about Hallownest.

Attacks
She has the same attacks as her previous fight in addition to two others:

- Parry: Holds her needle in a defensive stance, blocking any incoming attack. If struck twice while she is defending, she will giggle before unleashing a wide-range counter slash.

- Weave: Uses her thread to suspend spiked balls in midair. The spikes deal contact damage, and will remain until the player attacks them with their Nail.

Tactics
Use tactics similar to the first encounter, though now the player will most likely have many more moves to use. Dashing over her as she lunges is a typically safe move, and using Desolate Dive/Descending Dark will prevent the player from taking damage while it is being cast.

Having Quick Focus and/or Soul Catcher/Soul Eater is useful as it will allow the player more opportunities to charge SOUL for an attack or to heal up.

Using Nail Arts is effective due to the fact that Hornet rarely stays in one place long enough to get more than one or two standard Nail strikes in.

After defeating her, the player is allowed enter the Cast-Off Shell and mark themselves with the King's Brand, allowing entrance into The Abyss. However, once the player has interacted with the King's Brand, the shell collapses, and Hornet rescues them.



Fourth Encounter, The Abyss
After defeating her in Kingdom's Edge, going to Ancient Basin, and obtaining the Shade Cloak upgrade, she will appear at the top of the area, telling the player that there are two choices ahead of them: to prolong the world's stasis, or face the source of the plague.



Fifth Encounter, Deepnest
If the player wins against her in Kingdom's Edge and acquires the King's Brand before facing Herrah the Beast, she will appear after the player has undone Herrah's seal. Unlike other instances, she does not offer advice or clues, but is simply there to mourn the passing of her mother.



Final Encounter, Final Boss
If the player has acquired the Void Heart, Hornet appears outside the Temple of the Black Egg, telling the player that they cannot follow them inside, but will help if the opportunity presents itself.

In the final battle, if the Void Heart is equipped, Hornet restrains the Hollow Knight after it has taken enough damage, allowing the player to either strike it with the Dream Nail or continue to attack it.

If the player chooses to attack, Hornet is thrown to the floor, unconscious, and the battle continues. Upon victory, she is sealed inside The Black Egg along with the player character and her mask appears as a seal on the entrance.

If the player uses the Dream Nail and defeats The Radiance, Hornet awakes and finds the player character's broken mask on the ground, implying that they died in the final struggle.



Trivia
"'Quick with her deadly needle, relentless in battle, Hornet is exploring Hallownest to find the answer to a riddle that has plagued her. She has so far resisted the infection, but will still cut you down if you stand in her path."
 * Hornet was revealed in one of the Kickstarter updates:

"You may catch glimpses of Hornet during your exploration of Hallownest, although she always seems to be one or two steps ahead of you. If you do manage to catch up with her, be wary! Her needle can cut a bug down from thirty yards.'"


 * One of the Kickstarter goals was for Hornet to receive her own DLC in a later update, this goal was reached. Her DLC will involve her fighting an Assassin Bug several times as a backer boss character.


 * Hornet is the child of Herrah the Beast, though whether or not she is biologically her daughter is unclear. Herrah traded her allegiance (she previously did not accept the White King) and took on the role of a Dreamer in exchange for a child.

"Hornet herself says that she shares the source of her power with the player character, though she lacks the emptiness which makes them a suitable vessel."