Brothers Oro & Mato

"Brothers of the nail, trained in combat by the Great Nailsage. "Gods by toil and nail bound, Brothers sworn to guard the weak, Masters of the sacred ground, Help Us find the God We seek!""

- Prayer to the Masters

The Nailmaster Brothers Oro & Mato are a dual quest boss in Hollow Knight introduced in Godmaster. They sit at the top of the Pantheon of the Master in Godhome.

Behaviour and Tactics
Phase 1 Nailmaster Oro uses the following attacks:
 * Double Slash: Oro swings his nail twice. The first slash is a backhand swipe, and the second slash is an overhead swipe (much like the Watcher Knight's but with more range). He moves about a full body's width forward with the first slash and only about half that with the second.
 * Jump Slash: Oro leaps towards the Knight's location, stopping in midair briefly before dropping straight down with his nail swiping down. He targets the Knight with this attack before leaving the ground which can result in him jumping backwards. His leading foot and his nail always extends beyond the Knight's previous position when slashing downwards.
 * Dash Slash: Oro performs his signature Nail Art: the Dash Slash. His Dash Slash covers the entire breadth of the arena with Oro himself covering about 75% of the arena, and the slash covering the rest. Oro telegraphs his Dash Slash when he quickly leaps up and out of view for a moment before landing at either end of the arena. If Oro is already on one end of the arena, he does not perform this jump. Oro takes nearly 1.5 seconds to charge up this attack.
 * Roll back: Oro rolls backwards to reposition or dodge.
 * Jump back: Oro jumps back, to reposition or to dodge.

Phase 2 Nailmaster Mato joins Oro in the fight, and they use the following attacks:


 * Alternating Strikes: When the Knight is on either side of the arena, the Brothers alternate between the Double Slash and Jump Slash attacks; with a Brother performing one attack then backing off allowing the other brother to perform an attack in quick succession. This series of moves is interrupted if the Knight moves in between the two Brothers. If 4-6 consecutive combo strikes occur without interruption one of the Brothers performs his signature Nail Art.
 * Twin Combo Attack: When the Knight is between the Brothers, they use either a Double Slash or a Jump Slash attack together (can be both or either), facing each other.
 * Barricade: One of the Brothers holds up his nail in a defensive position while the other is using his Nail Art. Striking a Brother who is using this defensive position does not hurt him, and also causes him to retaliate with a Double Slash or a Jump Slash.

Nailmaster Mato uses the same attacks as Oro but replaces the Dash Slash with his own Nail Art:


 * Cyclone Slash: Mato performs his signature Nail Art: the Cyclone Slash. This Cyclone Slash carries Mato high into the air, where, after he is done spinning, Mato comes down just like during a Jump Slash. Mato moves towards the Knight as he spins. He determines which direction he is going to move before he starts spinning. Mato spins for a little more than 1.5 seconds. Mato telegraphs his Cyclone Slash when he quickly leaps up and out of view for a moment before landing at the centre of the arena. If Mato is already near the centre of the arena (or if he's fighting alone), he simply begins charging. Mato also takes nearly 1.5 seconds to charge up his attack.

Brothers Oro and Mato are the final bosses of the Pantheon of the Master, the first of five Pantheons in Godhome. Oro appears alone at the start of the battle, and once he takes 500 damage, Nailmaster Mato fights alongside him. If either of the Brothers are defeated before the other, the one left keeps fighting. Oro fights normally. Mato no longer jumps before a Cyclone Slash. In this "third" Phase the Knight can Dream Nail whichever Brother is sitting down and gain SOUL from them.

There is little difference between the Brothers Oro and Mato beyond their signature Nail Arts. However, Mato's cooldown after doing an attack is 1 second shorter than Oro's, meaning Mato can recover slightly faster to perform another attack leaving less open punish time. This difference is most noticeable when facing them one on one.

Sometimes one Brother stands idle while the other is attacking or preparing to attack. This leaves them open to attack without any response from them. So for a quicker fight, it's best to take advantage of these opportunities.

There are opportunities to heal in every Phase of this fight, even without Charms. The Knight can heal a Mask after Shadow-dashing through or staying out of range of a Double Slash, after reaching safety during a Jump Slash, and during the charge-up of a Dash Slash (the timing is tight for those last two scenarios without Charms). It's possible to heal a couple of Masks while Mato charges and performs his Cyclone Slash. These opportunities to safely heal without Charms tend to rely on only one Brother attacking at a time, except during a simultaneous Double Slash or Jump Slash.

For the most opportunities to safely heal, combine the Shape of Unn and Quick Focus Charms. This allows safe healing during any attack except a Dash Slash. Quick Focus alone allows for healing multiple Masks during the Charmless healing moments mentioned above.

The Double Slash can be deceptive in its reach. The Shade Cloak and Sharp Shadow Charm are very helpful in mitigating this attack. Oro or Mato sometimes perform a series of short hops to close the distance to the Knight before doing a Double Slash. In the event of a simultaneous Double Slash, jumping and dashing over one brother to get out safely might be necessary because the attack can be done when one or both Brothers are unusually far from the Knight. Nail-bouncing on Oro or Mato while they do a Double Slash can keep the Knight safe as well.

When a Jump Slash is starting, remain in place until Oro or Mato actually leaves the ground. They set their landing spot before they jump, so damage them even while they begin the attack. It is better to dash towards the attacking brother to avoid his Jump Slash because of how he lands: his leading foot strikes where the Knight was (approximately) which means there is less to dodge going towards him rather than away. It is good to follow his jump, striking him with the Nail. Or hit him with the Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek Spell. In the event of a simultaneous Jump Slash, choose left or right and mitigate it the same way as with a single Jump Slash.

The Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul Spell has many uses in this fight. It can be cast when both Brothers are on the ground, even when one of them is charging his Nail Art or when safely out of range of a Double Slash. Desolate Dive/Descending Dark can be used in response to most of Oro and Mato's attacks. Use it when they are coming down from a Jump Slash for maximum damage.

Oro and Mato can be damaged when they are charging up their Nail Arts. Nail-bouncing on them is the safest option but also less offensive. It is best to jump over Oro's Dash Slash when he executes it. It is safest to give Mato a wide berth when he is charging up a Cyclone Slash. It is possible to Nail-bounce on him throughout the majority of his Cyclone Slash.

Trivia

 * Despite the bad blood of Oro and Mato's relationship according to the Dream Nail dialogue whilst in their Nailmaster huts, both decide to fight alongside each other in the Pantheon without conflict.
 * Team Cherry originally intended each Nailmaster to be fought individually in order to learn their corresponding nail techniques.
 * Due to a coding mistake, Oro's Dash Slash attack can be parried with any source of damage with a hit direction, including Spells, Crystal Heart, and Sharp Shadow, rather than only Nail strikes.