Hollow Knight - Bosses
The major boss encounters of Hollow Knight, in rough progression order and including the optional dream fights and the Godhome variants. Each entry lists where the fight happens, what it awards and how the fight changes on the higher difficulties introduced by the free content packs.
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of 21 entries
· updated 2026-09-15
| Name | Type | Description | Location | Difficulty | Rewards | Phases | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| False Knight | Story Boss | The first real boss: a husk in stolen armour swinging a mace in slow, telegraphed arcs. | Forgotten Crossroads | Early | City Crest Access to the City of Tears route | 2 | Forgotten Crossroads, above the well |
| Hornet (Greenpath) | Story Boss | The first Hornet duel: a fast, mobile opponent that dashes through the Knight, throws her needle on a thread and leaps off the walls. | Greenpath | Early | Mothwing Cloak Access to the Fungal Wastes route | 1 | Greenpath, past the Lake of Unn |
| Hornet Sentinel | Story Boss | The second Hornet fight, faster and with new spike and thread attacks, guarding the way to the King's Brand and the Abyss. | Kingdom's Edge | Late | King's Brand Access to the Abyss | 2 | Kingdom's Edge, at the Cast-Off Shell |
| Mantis Lords | Story Boss | A three-lord fight that starts as a duel with one mantis and escalates to two at once, then a final phase with all three attacking in sequence. | Mantis Village, Fungal Wastes | Mid | Mantis Claw Respect of the Mantis Tribe | 3 | Mantis Village, Fungal Wastes |
| Soul Master | Story Boss | A levitating sorcerer who teleports, summons homing orbs and slams the ground with shockwaves. | Soul Sanctum, City of Tears | Mid | Desolate Dive Access deeper into the Soul Sanctum | 2 | Soul Sanctum, City of Tears |
| Broken Vessel | Story Boss | A failed Vessel that fights with the Knight's own moveset, including a dash and a jump slam, which makes it the first boss that feels like a mirror. | Ancient Basin | Mid | Monarch Wings Access to the Palace Grounds | 2 | Ancient Basin, below the City of Tears |
| Dung Defender | Optional Boss | A jovial armoured bug who rolls through the arena, burrows and throws dung, all while shouting about honour. | Royal Waterways | Mid | Defender's Crest Access to the Isma's Grove route | 1 | Royal Waterways |
| Crystal Guardian | Optional Boss | A crystal-grown husk that fires lasers and leaps across the arena, fought next to a bench so retries are cheap. | Crystal Peak | Mid | Bench access in Crystal Peak Enraged Guardian encounter | 2 | Crystal Peak, upper mine |
| Watcher Knights | Story Boss | Up to six rolling knights fought in a cramped tower, two at a time, with a chandelier that can be dropped on one before the fight starts. | Watcher's Spire, City of Tears | Late | Lurien the Watcher's seal Dreamer progress | 1 | Watcher's Spire, City of Tears |
| The Collector | Optional Boss | A tall, spindly creature that grabs the Knight, drops jars of Grubs and summons minions. | Tower of Love, City of Tears | Mid | Freed Grubs Access to the Tower of Love's map | 1 | Tower of Love, City of Tears |
| Uumuu | Story Boss | A giant jellyfish that floats above the arena and discharges electricity, fought with Quirrel's help. | Teacher's Archives, Fog Canyon | Mid | Monomon the Teacher's seal Dreamer progress | 1 | Teacher's Archives, Fog Canyon |
| Flukemarm | Optional Boss | An immobile, bloated fluke that spawns continuous fluke minions and hangs from the ceiling of a flooded chamber. | Royal Waterways | Mid | Flukenest charm | 1 | Royal Waterways, hidden pool |
| Traitor Lord | Optional Boss | A large mantis that has embraced the Infection, with a ground dash, a leaping slam and shockwave projectiles. | Queen's Gardens | Late | Access to the Queen's Gardens' inner chambers Cloth's storyline resolution | 1 | Queen's Gardens, past the Mantis Traitor village |
| Nosk | Optional Boss | A shapeshifter that mimics a friendly bug to lure the Knight into a lair, then drops the disguise and attacks from the ceiling and walls. | Deepnest | Mid | Pale Ore Access to the Deepnest upper routes | 1 | Deepnest, hidden lair |
| The Hollow Knight | Final Boss | The sealed Vessel itself, fighting with a huge nail, self-inflicted stabs that release Infection and a final phase where it attacks its own body. | Black Egg Temple | Late | The Hollow Knight ending Access to the Radiance fight with the Void Heart | 3 | Black Egg Temple, after all three Dreamers are broken |
| The Radiance | Final Boss | The source of the Infection, fought in a dream arena of light beams, spikes and summoned minions. | Black Egg Temple (dream) | Very Hard | Dream No More ending Embrace the Void ending | 3 | Dream inside the Black Egg, requires the Void Heart |
| Grey Prince Zote | Dream Boss | Zote as Bretta imagines him: a huge, armoured figure with shockwave slams, falling debris and summoned Zoteling minions. | Dirtmouth (Bretta's dream) | Hard | Zote's respect Higher difficulty tiers up to level 10 | 3 | Bretta's house in Dirtmouth, after rescuing Zote |
| White Defender | Dream Boss | The Dung Defender's memory of his own prime, fought across five increasingly aggressive phases with a rolling attack, dung projectiles and arena hazards. | Royal Waterways (Dung Defender's dream) | Hard | Lore about the Five Great Knights Progressive difficulty tiers | 5 | Dung Defender's dream in the Royal Waterways |
| Nightmare King Grimm | Dream Boss | Grimm's true form, a pure rhythm fight built on teleports, flame pillars, bats and a spike-floor phase. | The Grimm Troupe's tent (dream) | Very Hard | Grimmchild's final form The Grimm Troupe quest conclusion | 3 | The Grimm Troupe quest line, Nightmare Lantern |
| Pure Vessel | Godhome Boss | The Hollow Knight at full strength, with a faster moveset, a triple slash, a dash and a soul-based projectile. | Pantheon of the Knight, Godhome | Very Hard | Pantheon of the Knight completion Access to the Pantheon of Hallownest | 2 | Godhome, Pantheon of the Knight |
| Absolute Radiance | Godhome Boss | The Radiance at Ascended strength, fought at the end of the five-pantheon run with faster beams, more spikes and a much longer third phase. | Pantheon of Hallownest, Godhome | Very Hard | Pantheon of Hallownest ending Godhome completion | 4 | Godhome, Pantheon of Hallownest |
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