Pure Vessel

"Chosen vessel, raised and trained to prime form. "Deepest silence in holy shell, Given nail and named a Knight, Bound by chain and egg and spell, Hear Our plea! Reveal thy Light!""

- Prayer to the Vessel

The Pure Vessel is a quest boss in Hollow Knight introduced in Godmaster. They are the prime version of the Hollow Knight, unaffected by the Infection. They sit at the top of the Pantheon of the Knight.

Behaviour and Tactics
The Pure Vessel has a similar moveset to the Hollow Knight boss fight, albeit with different speeds and some changes and additions. They have the following abilities:


 * Soul Daggers: Pure Vessel moves to either side of the arena, faces the Knight, and raises their hand. The hand glows white while they summon seven daggers that shoot towards the Knight in straight lines along an arc. The daggers are summoned sequentially: the first one firing at an angle towards the floor, and the last one firing straight up.
 * Triple Slash: Pure Vessel slashes with their nail three times. Each slash of their nail moves them forward, covering about 1/3 of the arena in total. The slashes cover enough space that they can damage the Knight even if they are not directly in front of Pure Vessel.
 * Soul Pillars: Pure Vessel either leaps or teleports into the air above where the Knight was and then slams into the ground, causing pillars of Soul to jut up from the floor of the arena. These pillars are equally spaced, allowing some safety between them, and they span the entire arena.
 * Lunge: Pure Vessel draws their nail up and lunges along the ground towards the Knight. This lunge covers about 50% of the arena.
 * Parry: Pure Vessel takes up a defensive stance with their nail. If the Knight damages them after their nail shines, they take no damage from the hit and instead respond by shifting forward slightly and slashing with their nail. The parry lasts 0.5 seconds.
 * Focus: Pure Vessel begins focusing Soul in a fashion similar to the Knight. However, unlike the Knight, Pure Vessel surrounds themself with a circular aura that eventually explodes. Shortly after, six smaller auras appear randomly throughout the arena. Then these smaller auras explode in rapid succession in the order in which they appeared. Pure Vessel begins another attack as the final small explosion occurs. They start using this attack when they reach 66% of max HP.
 * Void Tendrils: Pure Vessel opens their cloak, revealing several flailing void tendrils, including two larger ones. About three quarters of a second later, the two larger tendrils lash out across about 60% of the arena. The lashing continues for about three quarters of a second. They start using this attack when they reach 33% of max HP.
 * Jump: When the Knight remains off the ground for too long, Pure Vessel launches themself at the Knight's location, dealing contact damage.
 * Teleport: Pure Vessel teleports within the arena to prepare for an attack or dodge the Knight.
 * Backstep: Pure Vessel quickly backsteps away from the Knight if they get too close; they then perform another attack.

Pure Vessel's fight is a quick-paced fight. Pure Vessel chains attacks together without moving between them, backsteps between attacks, or teleport between attacks. It is recommended to practice enough to recognize Pure Vessel's attacks quickly and be equally quick with reactions.

Some options for handling the Triple Slash and Lunge attacks: jumping over it, shadow dashing through it, or casting Descending Dark. Jumping over the Triple Slash requires either a well-timed Nail bounce or double jump (thanks to Monarch Wings) to avoid the second slash. Once the Knight is past Pure Vessel, there can be an opportunity to damage them again before they attack again.

Once Pure Vessel is above the Knight for the Soul Pillars attack, getting out of the way is most important, which can even mean using Descending Dark. The Knight then needs to put themself in between the Pillars, potentially by Nail-bouncing on Pure Vessel. There is time to damage Pure Vessel while waiting for the Pillars to disappear.

The safest option when Pure Vessel gets into the Parry stance is to not attack them. The Knight can alternatively trigger the riposte and handle it with a well-timed shadow dash.

When Pure Vessel prepares their Soul Daggers attack, there are telegraphed lines of travel showing the Knight the safe gaps between the Soul Daggers. The Knight can stay far away and cast Shade Soul or they can get in close and deal damage.

When Pure Vessel begins Focusing, the Knight can stay far away and cast Shade Soul, stay close and get in some quick Nail damage before the explosion, or time Descending Dark to avoid the explosion. The first aura becomes dangerous shortly after the rocks float. After the initial explosion, it is important to deal damage while remaining safe from the follow-up explosions, which deal damage when they flash.

For Void Tendrils, it is most important to get out of the way, whether that is getting out of range, getting above, or getting behind Pure Vessel. When out of range, casting Shade Soul is a good option. When above, Nail-bouncing on Pure Vessel and/or casting Descending Dark is viable. Once behind, the Knight can do whatever they want while the attack occurs.

The Abyss Shriek Spell is most viable when Pure Vessel is staggered due to how long it takes to cast. Even then, Pure Vessel could exit stagger into a Parry and Abyss Shriek could trigger the riposte, so be aware. Another good opportunity for the Abyss Shriek presents if, given the Soul Pillars attack is coming, the Knight manages to position themselves at one of the gaps right next to the Pure Vessel. Another good option to exploit that position would be to repeatedly up-slash Pure Vessel, using specifically up-slash to avoid being knocked back into a nearby pillar.

The safest time to heal is when Pure Vessel is staggered. Without Charms, the Knight can heal 1 Mask safely or maybe 2 if they start healing as soon as Pure Vessel is staggered. The Knight can heal 1 Mask at other times as well: during the Soul Pillars attack if they start healing before the Pillars form and Pure Vessel takes a moment before attacking again; when Pure Vessel Focuses (or 2 Masks if a smaller explosion does not spawn on the Knight); during the Soul Daggers attack if the Knight is already in a safe position; during a Parry if the Knight predicts it; and when the Knight is out of range of the Void Tendrils attack.

Quick Focus helps but generally does not provide enough time to get another Mask during these no-Charm moments but does grant more time to safely react to Pure Vessel. The Knight can heal a third Mask when Pure Vessel is staggered. Adding Shape of Unn to Quick Focus grants the Knight enough maneuverability to safely heal 1 or more Masks during all of these moments.

Trivia

 * The Pure Vessel was shown through the trailer of Godmaster to be fully armoured, however, this armour is only displayed for a couple of seconds at the beginning of the Pure Vessel fight before being ripped off.
 * Pure Vessel, along with the Hollow Knight, is the only boss whose title appears at the top of the screen.
 * Unlike the Hollow Knight, Pure Vessel's pre-battle cry is silent.
 * In the release, Pure Vessel cannot be Dream Nailed, but has the following cut Dream Nail dialogue:
 * Do not think...
 * Do not speak...
 * Do not hope...
 * Do not...
 * ...
 * When asked about why they removed this Dream Nail dialogue, Team Cherry said that they "never added it". However, it was in the game when playtesters tested Godmaster before it was released.
 * When Pure Vessel teleports, their Shade briefly appears, similarly to how the Knight's Shade appears when using upgraded Spells.