Lost Kin

The Lost Kin is an optional boss in Hollow Knight. It is a Dream variant of the Broken Vessel, faster and tougher than its physical counterpart. It can be accessed when returning to the Broken Vessel's arena and using the Dream Nail on their husk.

Behaviour and Tactics
The Lost Kin shares the same basic attacks as the Broken Vessel but at a much faster pace. Notable changes are:
 * Balloon: This attack now happens at much quicker intervals (2-3 seconds). There is a maximum of 6 balloons that can be alive at once and this attack will only occur after the Lost Kin has reached 1150 hp.
 * Cascade: The Lost Kin no longer uses this attack.
 * Slam: When the Lost Kin hits the ground, six blobs of infection now fly out as opposed to four.

Dealing with the Infected Balloons can be the trickiest part of the fight as they can prevent healing at the rate that they spawn. Unnecessary damage can also be taken when trying to dodge the Lost Kin's attacks and colliding with them.

Defender's Crest offers the best barrier around the player which can be used to heal. Other area of effect charms like Thorns of Agony and Spore Shroom can also be very useful to take out groups of Infected Balloons. Baldur Shell, when combined with Thorns of Agony, is also very helpful in this role. Shape of Unn combined with Quick Focus allows the player to dodge the Infected Balloons. This approach can be more useful in the setting of the Pantheons, where the Lost Kin isn't fought in isolation, as it is generally more useful against other bosses than Defender's Crest.

As with the Broken Vessel, it is recommended to stay low to the ground as Lost Kin jumps around a lot. The only reason that would warrant jumping would be to avoid the slash attack.

Like the Broken Vessel, Lost Kin takes knock-back from attacks. As such, Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul is useful against them as well, especially when combined with Shaman Stone.

The Lost Kin also staggers very easily meaning that using Quick Slash can easily knock them down and allow for a moment to heal.



Location
The Broken Vessel to be Dream Nailed can be found where it was first defeated, near the far left corner of the Ancient Basin, guarding the Monarch Wings upgrade.

Trivia

 * The arena where the Lost Kin is fought in Godhome is the same as the Broken Vessel's. The difference however is that the Infection's presence is replaced with vines and roots.