Hollow Knightoffers players a lot to discover in its gargantuan world, with every nook and cranny hiding plenty of secretsabout the mysterious world and charactersthe game expertly introduces them to.It is also a hard game, the kind of game that enjoys pitting the tiny player character, only known as ‘the Knight’ creatures much larger than itself. As for what the Knight has to defend himself, it really only boils down to a simple dodge, the Nail (which looks more like an old-fashioned nail than a modern one), and some magical Charms.
Thankfully,Hollow Knightstill has a lot of freedom in his build,especially with Charms. By altering moves and effects,Charmsprovide vast amounts of player expression and can be very powerful when combined properly.
Updated August 27th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter:Hollow Knight, despite only having really one weapon and a relatively basic combat system, actually has a ton of build variety. And, the vast majority of this build variety comes from the player’s choice of Charms that they use. Charms are like Rings, Amulets, or other equippable gear in any other game, as they’re unique items that The Knight (orHornet in Silksong, hopefully) can equip to gain all sorts of different effects. And, when certain Charms are used together, a lot of synergy can be found between them. In particular, the builds listed below aim to show off some of the strongest Charm combinations in the game and go over what exactly makes these Charm Combos so exceedingly strong.
14Charm Notches
And Where To Find More
First of all, you’ll want to get as many Charm Notches as possible for these Charm build recommendations, there are 11 total in the game, with The Knight starting with 3 by default. Now to get a lot of these, players will need to either purchase them from Salubra after collecting a certain number of Charms, or collect the other ones hidden throughout the map. Additionally, players can also choose to become ‘Overcharmed’ if they so desire, though doing so will increase the amount of damage they take from all sources by an additional 100 percent (AKA they’ll take double damage).
To do this, players will want to equip their least expensive Charms in a way that leaves only a single Charm Notch remaining. Then, they’ll need to try and equip their last (and hopefully most expensive Charm, in terms of Notches needed) 5 times before it’ll actually equip and give them this sort of purplish hue around their HP Masks. It’s a very high-risk, high-reward option that, when optimized well, can really make The Knight feel overpowered. As far as the 8 Charm Notch locations, they can be found at:
Collect 25 Charms in total.
Found in Fungal Wastes
In the room to the left at the bottom of the massively tall room leading into the Fungal Wastes. Dropped by the 2 Shrumal Ogres in this room.
Found in Fog Canyon
Just above the room where Fungal Wastes Notch is found, head into the Fog Canyon and go through a very precarious path of exploding eggs, jellyfish, and more, with the Notch sitting on a platform above the acidic liquid at the end.
Found at the Colosseum of Fools
Complete the 1st Trial of the Warrior.
Assorted Locations
Defeat Grimm, the Troupe Master himself, after completing his series of tasks and fully upgrading the Grimmchild Charm.
Hiveblood
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Passively heals the last unit of health lost after 10 seconds without taking further damage. Added effect of pacifying all enemies inside The Hive.
Joni’s Blessing
Increase Masks by 40 Percent and all Masks become Lifeblood. Also causes Lifeseeds to flock to the player instead of running away from them.
Though it’s not part of the main game, this wouldn’t be aHollow Knight Charm list without mentioning the Path of Pain and Hiveblood. The quality of this DLCis a testament to why it is one of themost beloved Kickstarter games in history. Added as a secret areain the freeGrimm TroupeDLC, the Path of Pain is abrutal platforming challengedesigned to be painfully difficult,even compared to the base game.Hiveblood, however, is a Charm that passively restores one ‘mask’s worth’ of health over the course of 10 seconds, as long as the Knight avoids getting hit again in this small window. Because the Path of Pain has very few enemies to fight, building up Soul to heal is, in most areas, impossible. This is where Hiveblood helps the most.
But this is a Charm combo list, so here are a few builds to help make the Path more inviting. A charm synergy exists betweenHivebloodandJoni’s Blessing,for example, which increases the Knight’s masks (AKA his HP) by 40 percent and changes all his masks to Lifeblood Masks instead. But, in exchange, these Masks are impossible to heal via Soul. Normally Lifeblood cannot be regained and is lost when sitting at a bench or taking enough hits, but the Hiveblood Charm actually regenerates the Lifeblood Masks created by Joni’s Blessing, albeit at half the speed it normally would (20 seconds).
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Spore Shroom
Focus releases a cloud of Spores. Spores on cooldown for 4.25 seconds pass or until the player takes damage. Can understand Mister Mushroom with this equipped as well. Can also read Lore Tablets in the Fungal Wastes.
This next recommendation is one of the rare combos on here that utilizes 4+ Charms without sucking up most of the Charm Notches all at once. Additionally, it’s one of the worst combos to use for raw damage output, as this combo is meant for those who know they’re going to get hit pretty often and would rather bunker down and make the fight last longer (as if the game wasn’t long enough) but win than die quickly and retry.
Basically, it’s a combination that makes it easier for the Knight to regenerate and use Soul as well as punish those who gathered the Soul by hitting him.Spore ShroomandThorns of Agonymake sure that whoever hits the Knight will most likely take some damage too whileQuick FocusandGrubsongallow the Knight to heal through most of the damage he’ll take.
Quick Slash
Increases Nail attack speed (AKA lowers time between swings) by 39 percent.
Shaman Stone
Increases the damage of Spells and the size of Vengeful Spirit & Shade Soul.
Sharp Shadow
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When Dashing through enemies, deal 1x Nail Damage to them. +40 percent Shade Cloak shadow dash length.
Out of all the possible Charm combinations inHollow Knight,this next one has to take the prize for ‘most boringly useful’. There are over 40+ Charmsin this beloved indie game, and most of them modify the Knight’s toolkit or abilities in some noticeable way, so it’s a wonder as to why players still use this combination that basically boils down to stat buffs across the board. The primary reason it’s still used so much is simply because this is a build that covers all bases.
It hasQuick Slashfor attack speed,Unbreakable Strengthfor attack damage,Shaman Stonefor spell damage, andSharp Shadowfor extra damage when dashing through enemies. With all of these equipped, the Knight is just going to deal more damage overall, but that doesn’t make it any more exciting to use or look at, especially compared to the waysome recent Metroidvanias have been looking visually.
Shape of Unn
Turns the Knight into a Snail while they’re using Focus. Can now move while Focusing and are also harder to hit.
Baldur Shell
When using Focus, players will automatically Block up to 4 hits.
As a sort of ‘twist’ on the ‘In For The Long Haul’ combo above, this combination of Charms relies a bit more on keeping the Knight as safe as possible from taking damage any damage at all instead of punishing enemies that do manage to hit him. With these three Charms equipped, the Knight can now move while healing usingShape of Unn, heal faster by channeling Soul quicker withQuick Focus, and has a protective shell thanks toBaldur Shellwhile they’re focusing Soul to heal.
It’s a perfect combination for players who find themselves at a loss for finding just the right time to healduring a hectic boss battle. All that said, this combination has nothing in the way of offensive stat buffs, so it’s a bit more up to the player’s skill compared to other builds.
Carefree Melody
Has a chance to block incoming damage. The chance increases with each hit taken and resets to 0 percent when a hit is blocked by Carefree Melody.
Dreamshield
Creates a floating shield that rotates around the Knight. This shield can block most projectiles and will also deal damage when it touches enemies. When it touches enemies the shield breaks and will then reform two seconds later. When focusing, the shield rotates around the Knight even faster.
For the ultimate tank lover, this combination ofCarefree Melody,Dreamshield, andBaldur Shellis a great choice. To elaborate on how this build works a bit more, it’s pretty centered around Carefree Melody and the ‘block chance’ this Charm steadily builds as the Knight gets hit. Normally, Carefree Melody has about a 10 percent chance to block the next hit when the Knight gets hit once, and that percentage jumps up by another 10-20 percent with every subsequent hit, capping at 90 percent (AKA 7 hits).
However, Baldur’s Shell doesn’t stop this percentage from going up like one might expect it would, so the hits the shell takes for 0 damage actually count towards this percentage, making it so that the Knight usually can block an additional hit after the Shell breaks. Then, on top of all that, Dreamshield works as a way to prevent taking unnecessary little chips to the Baldur Shell from projectiles. With this combo, players can literally just stand there swinging away with their Nail and the opponent can’t do much about it at all, at least for a little while.
Anyone that’s playedHollow Knightfor a least a few hours has most likely used this combination at some point, and that’s especially true for the pros. This combination makes use of both theLongnailand theMark of PrideCharms, both of which increase the length of The Nail individually and this buff stacks when used simultaneously.
They make theShovel Knight-esque pogo bouncing off of enemies (which usually takes some getting used to) a cinch thanks to the increased distance the nail can cover. And, the addition of theQuick SlashCharm on top of everything else also allows the Knight to fight faster and from a safer range during boss battles. The best part about this combination, however, is the fact that it’s attainable rather early on in a playthrough.
Deep Focus
Doubles the amount of Masks healed when using Focus. In exchange, Focus animation is now 65 percent longer.
Taking hits inHollow Knightis a near certainty for everyone (not just beginners) considering how high the time-to-kill is for the average enemy, it’s only a matter of time before the Knight takes a couple of hits of his own. But, that doesn’t have to purely be a negative thing. Hitting enemies always grants Soul after all, and Soul isHollowKnight’s version of an energy gauge used to cast spells and heal. Using theGrubsongCharm, taking damage will grant Soul as well. Obviously, it’s always better to not take damage at all, but Grubsong is a desirable safety net that stacks well with other Charms anyway, so it’s almost always worth having it equipped.
By pairing it withQuick FocusandDeep Focus, the Knight can heal two Masks (AKA HP pips) at a time instead of one. Deep Focus grants double the healing power but half the casting speed in exchange, but Quick Focus speeds it right back up, essentially canceling out the negatives. Adding Grubsong on top of that means that, with some tight gameplay, it’s possible to lose one Mask but then use the Soul generated from that loss to regain two Masks relatively quickly.
Soul Catcher
Increases the amount of Soul gained from hitting enemies with the Nail.
Soul Eater
Greatly increases the amount of Soul gained from hitting enemies with the Nail.
Reduces Soul cost of Spells
Spells inHollow Knightare the only ways to hit enemies at a distance, as the Knight isn’t running around with guns or anything like that. And, for the default Spell that most players rely on early, Vengeful Spirit is the best option. Of course, once that player is more accustomed to using spells, they can start experimenting with other options such as Desolate Dive or Howling Wraiths.
To go for an Archmage-type spellcaster-focused build inHollow Knight, however, players are going to need a lot of Soul capacity and Soul generation. For this, players will need to findSoul Catcher, and then eventually its stronger counterpartSoul Eater, both of which stack their effects of building more Soul generated per Nail hit on enemies. Then, to cap it off, grabbingSpell Twisterallows the Knight to use their overabundance of Soul to cast even more spells than they already could have.
Nailmaster’s Glory
Reduces the amount of time needed to charge Nail Arts by 44 percent. Also unlocks additional interactions with Nailmasters Mato, Oro, Sheo, and Sly while equipped.
Hidden throughout the world of Hallownestalongside all its other environmental secretsare the Nailmasters, kind bugs willing to teach special moves called Nail Arts to the Knight. These attacks are hard-hitting, but tougher to integrate into combat than the simple slash. They need to be charged up and held, barring the player from actually attacking until they release the charge. Nail Arts are time commitments in a high-speed game that trade the high attack speed but low-power default combat style for slower attacks at a higher damage reward. Thankfully, this risk of standing still can be reduced significantly with just one Charm:Nailmaster’s Glory.
Nailmaster’s Glory lowers Nail Art charge time to less than a second, making it easier to slip Cyclone Slash, Dash Slash, or Great Slash into combos. But of course, the combos are the important things here. Players canpair Nailmaster’s Glory with almost anythingand it’ll work pretty well. Though, it should be noted that Nail Arts are not buffed by Nail Damage Charms like Unbreakable Strength, which is exactly why it’s recommended to use spell and Soul-focused Charms on the Knight if the player finds themselves using these Nail Arts more often.
