Board 8 > Hollow Knight is a pretty fun game so far

(+) Yeah! (+)

there's an extra area called the "path of pain" and I could have sworn I was on it, but nope, just the normal route they actually expect people to do. It's crazy how far removed from the rest of the game the palace is.

Path of Pain was so much fun

White Palace in general rules! Brilliantly designed, I thought, and nothing wrong with some variety when the game does already have some precise platforming, just in tidbits. Plus, it's for the true ending (well...) and you can get the regular ending without it

I don't know why I'm taking Guiga's post into account here when he's just a ball of negativity in every topic he enters. That guy must be fun at parties.

_Blur_ posted...

White Palace in general rules! Brilliantly designed, I thought, and nothing wrong with some variety when the game does already have some precise platforming, just in tidbits. Plus, it's for the true ending (well...) and you can get the regular ending without it

I don't know why I'm taking Guiga's post into account here when he's just a ball of negativity in every topic he enters. That guy must be fun at parties.

yeah it was awesome!! I stumbled across Path of Pain and knew it was for me. Died to the bosses at the end 3 times before I got them the 4th lol

using the collector's map I went on a Grub Hunt. I have only 2 left. One looks like it's under King's Station (but it's probably up from something under King's Station?) and one is in this giant beehive I've discovered, but I cannot figure out how to get into it! So that's my current mystery.

The nailsmith wanted me to strike him down with the Pure Nail and I'm like, no way man you don't need to die! but i tried to read his thoughts with the Dream Nail and... he had none. So like, his soul wasn't there anymore, anyway. So I did it.

I thought white palace was great!

masterplum posted...

I thought white palace was great!

it was soooo good! That scene at the end of Path of Pain was very sweet too. The platforming through the rest of the palace was so easy by comparison I was just doing goofy tricks to cut corners for fun lol

RoseChevalier posted...

The nailsmith wanted me to strike him down with the Pure Nail and I'm like, no way man you don't need to die! but i tried to read his thoughts with the Dream Nail and... he had none. So like, his soul wasn't there anymore, anyway. So I did it.

That's...interesting. You get an achievement either way, but he turns up elsewhere if you don't kill him, so I wouldn't have presumed he had no soul. Maybe that was an artistic flourish or maybe an oversight.

yeah he goes to live with the painter if you spare him

Without searching the thread, I don't recall Rose saying they'd even been to that spot yet.

i haven't mentioned everything I've done, cause if someone is watching while I'm streaming I am less inclined to update here.

I did meet the painter and learned an attack from her

I didn't have any grand revelation overnight or in the shower about how to get into that beehive so maybe next time I play I'll actually head back to the colosseum and try the trial of the fool again. After that I'm... not sure where else to even look for more stuff, so maybe I'll go take on the Hollow Knight again

RoseChevalier posted...

I didn't have any grand revelation overnight or in the shower about how to get into that beehive

I also was in this situation and thought it was kind of dumb. I think its worth spoiling but if you don't want to know don't look

That entrance is a completely different room from the main entrance and doesn't connect at all.

masterplum posted...

I also was in this situation and thought it was kind of dumb. I think its worth spoiling but if you don't want to know don't look

That entrance is a completely different room from the main entrance and doesn't connect at all.

i'm saying I found the grub that's in the little enclosed room you access from above, I just can't figure out how to get into the beehive itself

man, i really need to take a break with the fgo event starting today but I have been thinking about hollow knight literally all day at work

RoseChevalier posted...

I have been thinking about hollow knight literally all day at work

I've been there

masterplum posted...

I also was in this situation and thought it was kind of dumb. I think its worth spoiling but if you don't want to know don't look

That entrance is a completely different room from the main entrance and doesn't connect at all.

It's not dumb. In fact, it's trivial to reveal by accident if you're a spell user. The hard part is that it's not anywhere near the other obvious place to look because that's a one-way exit. But the grub room is just there to show you that the hive exists so you know to look for it.

alright so i played two hours

I knew I couldn't get into the hive from the right, so I went to the left and sure enough I found an entrance before too long. It was a pretty cool area! Then, with 1 grub left, I re-explored everything around there until I found a path to the right of Isma's grove that I never took. So all grubs get!

So then I remembered a friend hinted (while I was feeling really lost and asked for a hint) I hadn't found everything in the howling cliffs. So I went exploring! I found the last nail master and finally learned my 3rd skill, and then found the spooky torch that summoned the circus. So I fought a few of these circus guys and that's gonna be it for tonight.

What's left? I'm missing 3 mask shards I guess, so there's definitely stuff I've missed. And I'm guessing I'm missing a couple charm notches too.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/966247438757281802/1051848532233031740/image.png

I forget how many Dreams you need to collect for the last Seer visit but I'm at 2261 so I gotta be close. But... unless I've missed another boss somewhere, I'm not sure where to get it.

Good news! You have absolute loads of content in the form of the Godmaster stuff that was the final update to this game. And I mean...my hour count more than doubled from where I was at finishing 100% of everything else, but the exploration goodness is mostly over. Just how much Hollow Knight kept giving really blew me away, I just hope you enjoy and have gotten real good at this game's combat! And have fun with NKG! That acronym means nothing to you right now, but it will.

I'm gonna mostly keep this vague because Hollow Knight is a game where it's awesome to stumble upon stuff, but for Godmaster, I think it's worth at least giving a sense of direction (like your friend did with the Nightmare Troupe). So go back to the Royal Waterways and explore a bit.

i should probably go back and do the 3rd round at the colosseum too

although I feel like I should take the time to get the hang of this whirlwind slash since I learned it soooo late in the game. It's not part of my reflexes yet.

TBF, I never use the nail arts. And I mostly fight with the nail rather than spells.

yeah I almost never use spells. I didn't even know what the up-B spell *was* until my friend pointed out it can kill the crystal crawly dudes that are otherwise invulnerable

RoseChevalier posted...

i should probably go back and do the 3rd round at the colosseum too

although I feel like I should take the time to get the hang of this whirlwind slash since I learned it soooo late in the game. It's not part of my reflexes yet.

Not that useful except in very specific bosses. There's one I can think of you haven't faced yet it's really good for, but generally you can ignore the nail arts. Sad because they seem cool, but are mostly useless in combat. They take too long and this game is too reflex based.

Spells are a different story. They're incredibly useful but you really need the proper charms equipped to make the most of them. Gotta have a totally different build. I love them but it's a style of combat that takes a little getting used to for sure. Though probably not as much as you think!

the charge slash is super great for dealing with those damn primal aspids in one hit though!

but yeah against bosses I don't use it as much

I used Charge Slash quite a bit, with the badge that speeds up the charge

only had 40 min to play today, but I had a duel with Grimm that was a lot of fun. It really did feel like a dance!

the 3rd round of flames to hunt down are in the most annoying places on the map lol. Back to the hives, back to the spider cave, the hard to find place in fungal waste... yeah, tomorrow

Yeah the flame gathering is maybe my least favorite part of HK. Even on a replay when I tried to start it early and do it as I went, it sucked.

at least I have so many one way paths opened up to make it easier to travel places

Oh man is it almost NKG time

Hype

okay, huge updates

So first I started collecting Grimm Troupe flames. But one guy was like, hey help me interrupt the ritual. Well you know me, I'm all about breaking cycles and stopping rituals, so yeah let's proceed down this story path instead and see what happens...!

...

oh, it just literally cancels the whole circus quest

okay

I was frustrated so I decided to go fight and beat the Hollow Knight. Took 2 or 3 tries. Fun fight. Definitely didn't expect him to stab himself!

Anyway roll credits, done with the game!!!

..................

so with that done, I went back to the royal waterways. I'd heard there was something there, so I focused my search on the area in the map where something could actually fit, and I was quickly rewarded with the junk pit. Hopped into Godhome and ohhhhh boy this is gonna be the end of me huh

While I was in the sewers I also went over and fought the White Defender. Took me quite a few tries, but like many bosses, when I was on "the run" I barely got hit at all.

By going through the godhome stuff I did see I had missed the Brooding Mawlek from WAY back in the game. Whoops! So I went back and QUICKLY killed that.

So then I wasn't sure what to do, and my friend reminded me there was a door I saw earlier that had the same mark as the King's Crest or whatever it was called. Right! Totally forgot! So then I ended up in the Abyss, and FINALLY GOT THE SHADE CLOAK. Okay sure there are only like 5 of those shadow barriers in the entire game, and one of them is pointless because you find the long way around (and get the map) long before. But still! The iframes are great.

So checking out those shadow barriers I'd marked earlier, most are just items but the Queen's Garden leads to a fun fight (RIP Cloth)

And I finally got the other half of the white mask. Had to unequip Long Nail, which has been a permanent fixture from the start, but hey infinite regenerating soul? Can't pass that up.

This mask thing says it opens the way to a birthplace, and Hornet in the Abyss said that was my birthplace, so I headed back. Explored around and found a weird egg thing... went inside and, boom, Void Heart. Now the enemy shades don't bother me, and all it cost was my amazing regenerating soul charm :(

That's about where I am now. There are 4 charms left, 2 mask shards, 1 colosseum round...

There's a door in the abyss with blue butterflies outside so presumably you need to go back with temp HP. How much? idk

Oh

Well thats a bummer

RoseChevalier posted...

There's a door in the abyss with blue butterflies outside so presumably you need to go back with temp HP. How much? idk

15

You're really plowing through everything. Only a few things left I can think of. Mostly just clean-up now. And then the speedrun achievements and steel soul mode. =)

masterplum posted...

Oh

Well thats a bummer

Agreed! NKG

still shows up in the final Pantheon no matter what right?

_Blur_ posted...

Agreed! NKG

still shows up in the final Pantheon no matter what right?

Having to go through it to get there sounds hellish

azuarc posted...

You're really plowing through everything.

it does help that with the map *mostly* explored, the other stuff only has so many places it can be hiding!

but yeah I hit 102% completion last night lol

RoseChevalier posted...

So first I started collecting Grimm Troupe flames. But one guy was like, hey help me interrupt the ritual. Well you know me, I'm all about breaking cycles and stopping rituals, so yeah let's proceed down this story path instead and see what happens...!

...

oh, it just literally cancels the whole circus quest

okay

I did the same thing

It was very anticlimactic

VintageGin posted...

I did the same thing

It was very anticlimactic

I'll have to play a second time anyway cause there are some mutually exclusive decisions, right? Gotta spare the Nailmaster guy, for example.

Might try one of the speedrun achievements for the 2nd playthrough, I guess.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/966247438757281802/1052891921179213824/image.png

do you really have to collect all the blue masks from the entire game... and make it back without getting hit...

RoseChevalier posted...

do you really have to collect all the blue masks from the entire game... and make it back without getting hit...

Joni's Blessing is your friend here

okay!! With Joni's Blessing and the other charm I did get that. And also scooped up the last few other charms I was missing. Then I grabbed a mask shard that was plainly obvious I'd overlooked, and finally tackled the flower quest... ugh

first try was a failure. So i carefully chose some charms. If it's 1 hit = failure then fragile strength is fine, and let's just Overcharm too! So I was using the ranged beam thing. Turns out that made all the difference and I got it my 2nd try.

Also went back and rescued Zote, then fought him in the colosseum (poor guy...) and then fought the dream version (fun fight! but oh god re-doing it he gets stronger FAST)

just tidying up some odds and ends now

stopping for the night at 108%. Beat the colosseum FINALLY. Also grabbed the last charm notch... whoops.

I'm not entirely sure what the final percentage points are? do I need to complete the hunter log? does Godhome count toward the %? Surely I don't have to *complete* Godhome though...

after that, what, do I just go fight the Hollow Knight again and maybe something different will happen this time?

112% is the most you can get. Parts of Godhome count, but you can hit 112% without beating the final pantheon.

RoseChevalier posted...

do I need to complete the hunter log?

nope, you do need to beat all the bosses though

I'm still wondering if Rose has fought Nosk yet. Like the Mawlek, it's a pretty missable fight, even if you get the grub that's right there. Then again, not everything's being mentioned, like the Crystal Guardian and Flukemarm, which had to have been found. Just most things. (Those spoilers are probably unnecessary since it's just a name.)

TBH, use the remaining achievements as an idea of what's still missing. You sound like you know you're done with mask shards, and I imagine that's why.

yeah pretty sure I've beaten all the bosses now outside the Grimm rematch that would probably have been coming. I'll try Godhome tonight

achievement-wise it looks like... I gotta leave Zote to die next time? (Doesn't that lock you out of the Grey Prince fight?) plus the speedruns, the steel soul stuff, the hunters stuff, and 100% completion. Plus 10 hidden ones.

Completed the Hunter's Journal and got the mark! aaaand... it didn't increase my percentage. Still at 108

what could be left...

was doing well in the pantheons until Nosk, so I practiced until I could beat him on Radiant. Then I kept going and ran facefirst into super-Zote... god, I have to practice against ZOTE? A fate worse than death

(not to be confused with the infinite Zote challenge, which is hell itself)

okay so I can beat Zote almost no problem now but I got smacked down by Sly

(actually we killed each other at the same time...)

went and practiced him a few times and got the hang of his spin attack in his second form. Let's go again!

Sly ended a lot of my runs. I can beat him pretty consistently as long as I'm patient but I still hate that little guy

alright, final pantheon unlocked but I gotta sleep.

111%