Brooding Mawlek

The Brooding Mawlek is a hidden boss in Hollow Knight as well as a Colosseum of Fools mini-boss. It requires to be beaten once to unlock its Journal entry.

Hollow Knight
One lone Brooding Mawlek can be found off-road in the Forgotten Crossroads, far from its living brethren in the Ancient Basin. It sits amidst fossilized remains of its kin and calling for them to breed. This wild beast was driven mad both by its loneliness and the Infection which started covering its body with bulbs. It attacks the Knight as soon as they enter its room by jumping from the background. Upon defeat, the Infection bursts out of the Mawlek, making it explode.

Another one can be fought alone during one of the waves of the Trial of the Fool at the Colosseum. This Mawlek presents the same infection state.

At the beginning of its fight in the Pantheon of Hallownest, Tiso will appear instead as if entering a Trial. He will then be crushed by the Brooding Mawlek falling, which then engages the fight against the Knight.

Behaviour and Tactics
The Brooding Mawlek uses the following attacks:


 * Slash: Brooding Mawlek will use either of its claws to perform a downward slash towards the Knight. It only uses this attack if the Knight gets too close and will use it in conjunction with the spit attack.
 * Spit: Brooding Mawlek will spit blobs of infection in parabolic arcs at regular intervals while skittering slowly across the ground. These blobs fly towards whichever side of the arena the Knight happens to be standing on. This attack can happen in conjunction with the Slash Attack. Brooding Mawlek spits 3-4 times before either performing a Leap or a Vomit.
 * Leap: Brooding Mawlek will leap to the Knight's location, landing where the Knight was at the beginning of its leap. Then, it will immediately follow that leap with a jump back to the original position of where it spawned, even if it is battled in an arena with no middle platform.
 * Vomit: Brooding Mawlek will shoot a multitude of blobs of infection in a parabolic arc simultaneously. These blobs fly towards whichever side of the arena the Knight happens to be standing on at the time. Brooding Mawlek will stand idle until all the blobs have made contact with the ground.

Without reach enhancement Charms, the Brooding Mawlek may retaliate when hit. A solid strategy is to hit it a few times and move away quickly when it raises its claw. It's also possible to jump over and downstrike it to get to the other side.

To dodge the Brooding Mawlek's leap, the player needs to run quickly in whichever direction they have space to move. This is also an opportunity to hit the Brooding Mawlek, which cannot spit or slash while in the air.

If the player has managed to obtain the Baldur Shell charm and Nail Art: Cyclone Slash, it is possible to chip away at the Brooding Mawlek's health with the edge of Cyclone Slash and use the SOUL gained from the attack to heal safely inside Baldur Shell. While using Baldur Shell, the Knight can also enter into the body of the Brooding Mawlek without taking damage, allowing them to heal while it attacks.

When the Brooding Mawlek uses the Vomit attack, it is possible to safely dash over them with the Mothwing Cloak before the acid comes down. There are also some small safe spots in between the projectiles.

If the player has the charm, Sharp Shadow, it can be used to dash through the Brooding Mawlek and deal damage.

Mark of Pride or Longnail makes it easier to damage the boss when it performs the slash attack while avoiding damage.

Another Brooding Mawlek is fought as part of the Trial of the Fool in the Colosseum of Fools in a very tight area where dodging their attacks is much more difficult.



Location
The Brooding Mawlek in the Forgotten Crossroads is found beyond a wall jump section in a blocked room to the left of the vertical shaft filled with Gruzzers and Tiktiks.

Despite being "inaccessible" at the beginning, it is possible to reach by nail-jumping on the spikes with downward strikes, although it is recommended to have obtained the Mantis Claw instead.

Another Brooding Mawlek can be fought in the Colosseum of Fools as part of the Trial of the Fool.

Trivia

 * The Brooding Mawlek was the second mini-boss revealed in a Kickstarter update as an optional boss.
 * The Brooding Mawlek found in the Trial of the Fool is somewhat smaller and thinner than the one in Forgotten Crossroads. It has no behavioural differences.
 * This may be due to the size constraints of having a roof in the Colosseum.

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