Broken Vessel

Hunter's Journal


Shattered corpse, reanimated by infected parasites.

'' The shape of this creature... I have seen something like it before. More than once, perhaps. It looks like the bugs of Hallownest, but not quite the same. Where did these empty little wanderers come from?''

Attacks
The Broken Vessel has a moveset similar to the Hollow Knight's. It can dash then swing its nail, similar to the Dash Slash nail art. It can also jump to move quickly throughout the arena, and sometimes perform an attack similar to the Descending Dark spell that causes a few orange blobs to fly upwards out of the ground. The Broken Vessel can also start shaking its head, causing a bunch of orange blobs to fly out in random directions. An Infected Balloon can spawn from time to time, although they aren't much trouble since they die in one hit. The Broken Vessel can also rapidly swing its nail, alternating left and right.

Tactics
The Broken Vessel's attacks can be hard to dodge. Quick Focus is HIGHLY recommended for this battle, Mark of Pride or Longnail can help and Spore Shroom is perfect to get rid of the orange blobs while healing as well as dealing extra damage to the boss.

Using the Descending Dark spell during its most powerful attack (when it shakes its head and the blob comes out) will deal a lot of damage to it and prevent the player from taking damage at the same moment. When it's stunned, if you don't need to heal, charge Great Slash (if you have it) and start the following phase either with that or the Descending Dark spell.

Joni's Blessing is NOT reccomended, unless you're going for a face-tank strategy.

Upgrading your Nail and gathering more Mask Shards can be helpful if you're stuck on this boss.



Lost Kin
After the battle, if you have the Dream Nail and re-enter the arena, you can strike the Broken Vessel's corpse with the Dream Nail to fight the Lost Kin, a stronger version of the Broken Vessel. Be warned, the Lost Kin, like the Failed Champion and Soul Tyrant, will spam its attacks near constantly. The Infected Balloons will also spawn one after another. It's recommended to get rid of these as they can hit you when you're not paying attention or when you're focusing soul, and they provide free soul charge. The Defender's Crest can also be useful since it will kill any approaching balloon instantly. Spore Shroom and Quick Focus can achieve a similar effect.

Defeating the Lost Kin is worth 400 Essence, more than any other dream boss.

Tactics
Mostly the same as the Broken Vessel, only face-tank strategies won't work.

Stay close to it, always, but never too close. When it performs the attack that resembles the Desolate Dive, with the six ascending blobs, jump and move to the left/right slightly just enough to dodge its fall, so you won't take damage while ending in a convenient position to attack. Keep an eye on your surroundings during the fight, as the Infected Balloons spawn constantly during the battle. And don't forget to keep an eye on the Lost Kin itself, as it's quite fast. Don't forget that there is no problem in leaving and coming back when you're stronger.

Trivia

 * The Broken Vessel bears resemblance to the Hollow Knight, it also has the same screech as the Hollow Knight. This implies the Broken Vessel is indeed a Vessel like the Hollow Knights.
 * Upon defeat, The Broken Vessel will reach out to the player before dying, and after defeating its Dream version, the Lost Kin, its ghost will bow down its head to the player before being absorbed.
 * Because it is mainly controlled by the infection, the Broken Vessel foreshadows what happens to the Hollow Knight in the normal/Sealed Siblings endings.