Category:Bosses (Hollow Knight)

Hollow Knight

Silksong

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For information on the Godmaster versions of Bosses, see Hall of Gods.

A Boss is a type of enemy in Hollow Knight that typically has higher health or deals more damage than the standard enemies in the same area. A boss may have to defeated to access an area, acquire an item, complete a quest, or further the main story of the game.

Upon encountering a boss, its name usually appears on screen alongside the music changing to a battle theme.

Including every variation, there are 47 bosses in the game (this includes Zote, who cannot damage the Knight). This number excludes two fake-out "bosses", which appear to be bosses initially but are either revealed to be harmless or are defeated instantly. A few bosses make secondary appearances in the Colosseum of Fools.

Nearly every boss fight in the game can be found in the Hall of Gods where there are three additional versions: the Attuned version, which resembles the original fight, the Ascended version, which deals double damage, and the Radiant version, where all damage causes immediate death. Some bosses have alternate arenas on the Ascended and Radiant difficulties, and these alternate arenas are used in the Pantheon of Hallownest.

Bosses

Broken Vessel	Brooding Mawlek	Brothers Oro & Mato	The Collector
Crystal Guardian	Dung Defender	False Knight	Flukemarm
God Tamer	Great Nailsage Sly	Grimm	Gruz Mother
Hive Knight	Hollow Knight	Hornet Protector	Mantis Lords
Massive Moss Charger	Nosk	Oblobbles	Paintmaster Sheo
Radiance	Soul Master	Soul Warrior	Traitor Lord
Uumuu	Vengefly King	Watcher Knight	Zote

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Warrior Dreams

Warrior Dreams are the lingering memories of particularly strong bugs.^[1] They are similar to Spirits in that the Knight can only challenge them once they have acquired the Dream Nail. Warrior Dreams reward a large amount of Essence when defeated.

The Warrior's Grave Pin is available from Iselda for  180 after acquiring the Dream Nail, revealing the location of all Warrior Dreams on any purchased Maps, provided the Knight has discovered their location prior to doing so.

If a Warrior Dream is Dream Nailed before starting the fight, the fight begins automatically. Dream Nailing them after the fight collects the Essence without dialogue. The Dream Nail does not have an effect when used during the fight.

Elder Hu	Galien	Gorb	Markoth
Marmu	No Eyes	Xero

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Boss Variants

Some bosses have alternate variants that are more challenging than the original fight. A few can be fought by Dream Nailing the corpse of the original boss; these dream bosses award a large amount of Essence upon defeat. Some can be found throughout Hallownest after their original fight. The remaining variants can be found in Godhome.

Absolute Radiance	Enraged Guardian	Failed Champion	Grey Prince Zote
Hornet Sentinel	Lost Kin	Nightmare King	Pure Vessel
Sisters of Battle	Soul Tyrant	White Defender	Winged Nosk

A fight against a "Dream Boss" (Failed Champion, Grey Prince Zote, Lost Kin, Nightmare King Grimm, Soul Tyrant and White Defender) occurs within the Dream Realm, meaning the Knight does not die during a dream boss battle. The Knight simply wakes up next to the entry point upon death. This means:

• A Shade is not left behind.
• The SOUL meter remains intact, but is emptied.
• No Geo is lost.
• Fragile Charms sold by Leg Eater do not break.
• Steel Soul runs do not end.

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Fake-Out Bosses

These "bosses", despite having intro sequences with title cards or a battle theme, are not fought and have no purpose beyond being a joke or a surprise.

The Hunter	Tiso

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Trivia

• A reward for the 7th tier of backers during the game's Kickstarter campaign was designing a Warrior Dream:

"Ancient Hero: Appear in-game as an epic warrior-spirit! Help us create the appearance and dialogue for your spirit counterpart: Tell the Hollow Knight of your great deeds, then challenge him to battle!"

• A reward for the third to last tier in the Kickstarter campaign allowed backers to create their own bosses. It is mentioned in the Kickstarter campaign that three people pledged to this tier. Two of them are God Tamer and Steel Assassin Sharpe, with the third being an upcoming boss in Hollow Knight: Silksong.
  • Three bosses from the "create your own dungeon" reward tier are also upcoming in Silksong.
• The Pantheon of the Master can be unlocked without defeating False Knight if he was skipped by breaking the left wall after his first Rage attack.
• The Pantheon of the Knight can be unlocked without defeating dream bosses, as completing the original fight will count towards the lock. However, the dream bosses remain unavailable in the Hall of Gods.
• God Tamer, Grey Prince Zote, Nightmare King Grimm, and Vengefly King do not need to be defeated to unlock the Pantheons.
  • Grey Prince Zote will be absent from the Pantheons if Zote was left to die in Greenpath or if he was not defeated in Bretta's basement.

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References

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