Elder Baldur

"Bulky and covered in thick plating. Retracts into itself when attacked. As they age, these creatures become too heavy and lumpy to roll around freely. Instead, they curl up and hide from the world. What do they think of in there, wrapped up inside of themselves? More carefree times perhaps."

Elder Baldurs are enemies in Hollow Knight. They are adult Baldurs with thick armour plating who block pathways. The ones guarding Ancestral Mound and the entrance to Greenpath are not optional and must be defeated in order to progress through the game.

Behaviour and Tactics
Remains stationary, taking no knockback. It can use one of three attacks:
 * Summon Baldur: It occasionally spawns a Baldur. It can't spawn a Baldur if one is already present.
 * Spit Venom: It occasionally spits a blob of venom that lingers on the ground for a small amount of time.
 * Shell Curl: When approached, it curls into a ball that cannot be damaged.

Elder Baldurs can be killed with Spells, such as Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul and Desolate Dive/Descending Dark. The spawned Baldurs can be killed to gather SOUL, which can then be used to cast Spells at the Elder Baldur when it is not curled.

One encounter on the boundary of Greenpath and the Howling Cliffs involves fighting two of them at once. Do not stand in the middle of the room; approach one Elder Baldur until it rolls into a ball and stay there until the other one has died.

Location
There are four of them throughout the game:
 * One in Ancestral Mound
 * One guarding the entrance to Greenpath
 * Two in the Howling Cliffs, inside a "trap chest".

Trivia

 * The Elder Baldur is one of the few enemies that never respawns.
 * If an Elder Baldur is encountered without having acquired the Vengeful Spirit Spell, it does not spawn Baldurs, instead it only spits venom and curls into a ball when approached.
 * The Baldurs summoned by Elder Baldurs do not drop any Geo.
 * Prior to the Voidheart Edition, the Hunter's Journal image for the Elder Baldur showed them with white eyes, even though their eyes during gameplay are orange.
 * Defeating the right Elder Baldur in the Howling Cliffs opens a tunnel filled with corpses of other Elder Baldurs, as well as the Baldur Shell Charm.
 * In addition to Spells, the Knight can use various Charms, including Spore Shroom, Grubberfly's Elegy, Glowing Womb, and Weaversong to defeat Elder Baldurs. Nail Arts also have the range to hit them while uncurled. Additionally Mark of Pride, Longnail, and Dreamshield can be used, but it is very difficult.