Markoth

Markoth is a Warrior Dream boss in Hollow Knight.

Lore
Markoth was the only moth to carry a weapon besides Thistlewind. This undefeated warrior grew disgruntled from the world and the kingdom of Hallownest, rejecting them. He went to Kingdom's Edge to seclude himself and meditate, hoping to uncover a truth long forgotten. Markoth fought any who would threaten him, regardless of their reasons. He eventually died, his remains never to be found in a lone cave of Kingdom's Edge.

Hollow Knight
Markoth's ghost appears above its corpse after acquiring the Dream Nail. It sees the Knight as yet another meddling warrior and dares them to draw their Nail. After his first ever defeat, Markoth notices the presence of his own corpse besides him, long forgotten. He claims that nothing ever had hold over him until the Knight. The ghost then realises their Void nature before shattering in 250 Essence to be collected by the dream Nail.

Behaviour and Tactics
Markoth has two abilities in addition to being able to teleport:


 * Dreamshield Summon: Markoth will spawn a glowing shield that constantly orbits around him, blocking attacks and dealing contact damage. At 50% hp he will summon another shield that orbits directly opposite of the previous one.
 * Nail Barrage: Creates a Nail that aims in The Knight's direction for a moment before flying forward. He will send a Nail every 1-2 seconds. At 50% hp his attack rate will increase to sending a nail every 0.75-1.25 seconds.
 * Shield Cyclone: Markoth Spins his shield in an increasingly wider radius before retracting it. The second shield summoned at 50% hp will not be affected in this attack and stay orbiting around him normally.

Healing during his Nail Summon is quite difficult, as the Nails pass through the environment. Keep moving, and get attacks in whenever the opportunity arises. The nails stop homing in as soon as they begin to move, and combined with their somewhat slow travel speed, this makes them relatively easy to dodge.

Shape of Unn is incredibly helpful, as it allows the player to dodge the Nail Summon attack while healing.

Wall-sliding with the Mantis Claw and attacking with Vengeful Spirit or Shade Soul is a good tactic as Markoth moves relatively slowly and has a large hitbox.

His Shield Cyclone attack is the best time to heal, as the shield has limited range. Alternatively, dash into the circle when it widens and Markoth will be completely open to attacks until the shield retracts.

Location
In order to reach the location, the Shade Cloak is needed to bypass the Shade Gate standing before Markoth's room.

Trivia

 * The shield that Markoth uses is strikingly similar to the shield the player gains from the Dreamshield charm.