Hollow Knight

Your first Charm - you'll get this very early. The easiest sources are Sly's or Salubra's shops once you reach them, or charms found out in the world (Wayward Compass, Gathering Swarm). Equip charms at any bench using your notches. See Enchanted and Blessed for the collection milestones.

The False Knight in the Forgotten Crossroads - your first proper boss. He swings a huge hammer and slams the ground; when he over-swings and topples over, the maggot piloting the armour bursts out of the head - that's your window, pound the exposed head. Three rounds of it, with falling rubble between. Keep moving to dodge the slams and heal in the gaps. His harder dream form later gives Strength.

Hornet's first duel, in Greenpath. She dashes across the arena, throws her needle on a thread and leaps with an aerial spin. Dodge the needle throws, close in right after her dash, and don't get greedy between hits. Beating her lets you claim the Mothwing Cloak (dash) from the room beyond, so she sits squarely on the main path. The rematch is Proof of Resolve.

Open half of Hallownest's Stag Stations. Stations are fast-travel stops you unlock by finding and activating them; once open, ride the Last Stag between any two. Just sit at each station you come across as you explore. See Hope for all of them plus the hidden Stag Nest.

Your first extra Mask - 4 Mask Shards. Shards are dotted around Hallownest: Sly's and Iselda's shops, hidden spots, boss and Grubfather rewards. Collect any 4 and a new mask fills in, adding a hit to your health. See Masked for all 16.

The Soul Master in the Soul Sanctum (City of Tears). He teleports around, flings SOUL orbs and dive-bombs from above - punish him when he lands from a dive. Watch for the fake death: after his first bar he smashes through the floor and you drop into a more aggressive second phase. Beating him grants Desolate Dive. His dream form is Mortality.

The Mantis Lords in the Mantis Village - a gorgeous, readable duel and a proper skill check. You face one Lord first, then two at once. They dash across the arena, slam down with their nail-legs and throw quick lunges; it's all spacing and patience - dodge the telegraphed dash, land one or two hits, reset. No adds, no gimmicks, just clean fundamentals. Winning earns the mantises' respect and opens the route deeper into the kingdom.

3 Vessel Fragments - one extra Soul Vessel, so you can hold more SOUL for spells and healing. Fragments come from exploration, the shops and rewards; three fills a vessel. See Worldsoul for all 9.

The Dung Defender, buried in the Royal Waterways below the City of Tears. A cheerful old knight who dives in and out of the muck and lobs arcing dung balls around the room. Watch where he'll surface, dodge the projectiles, and hit him when he pops up. Good-natured and not too tough. His far nastier dream version, White Defender, is Memory.

The Broken Vessel in the Ancient Basin - a frantic, flailing sibling-vessel riddled with orange Infection. It leaps and lunges erratically and drops infection pustules, so stay mobile and punish it after its jumps. Beating it grants the Monarch Wings (double jump), which opens up huge swathes of the map - effectively a progression gate. Its dream form, the Lost Kin, is Peace.

Own half of Hallownest's Charms. There are 45 in total, so you need around 23. They come from bosses, hidden spots, the Salubra/Sly/Leg Eater shops, Grubfather rewards and quests - just keep exploring and buying and you'll cross half without trying. See Blessed for the full set.

Rescue half of Hallownest's 46 Grubs (so 23). Grubs are trapped in glass jars all over the map - smash a jar and the grub scuttles home to the Grubfather in the Forgotten Crossroads, who rewards you (geo, then charms and items) as your count climbs. Just break every jar you come across. See Metamorphosis for the full set.

The third Dreamer, required to reach the Hollow Knight. Herrah the Beast rests in the Beast's Den, deep in Deepnest; you need the Dream Nail to claim her, and reaching her means picking your way through Deepnest's dark, spider-infested tunnels to her chamber, then Dream Nailing her to lift the seal. With all three Dreamers gone (Teacher, Watcher), the Black Egg Temple opens.

Collect 600 Essence in total. Essence comes from Dream Nailing the glowing Whispering Roots dotted around Hallownest, plus the Warrior Dreams (Dream Nail the ghost warriors - Xero, Gorb, Marmu, No Eyes, Elder Hu and friends) and dream bosses. The Seer in the Resting Grounds rewards you at essence milestones; 600 is an early one. The Dream Wielder charm nets a little extra per hit. See Awakening and Ascension.

The Hornet rematch, out at the far reaches of Kingdom's Edge. Same core moves as Test of Resolve but faster and with new tricks - a longer dash, aerial needle throws and a spike-trap phase where she barbs the floor. Reach (Long Nail) and Quick Slash help; punish her thread reel-back and the recovery after her dashes. Winning is a step on the road to the King's Brand and, eventually, the Abyss and Void.

The first Colosseum of Fools trial (Trial of the Warrior), reached in Kingdom's Edge. Waves of fairly basic enemies in an arena - not too rough. Keep moving, use Cyclone Slash or Great Slash to clear crowds, and heal in the lulls between waves. Clearing it pays out geo and opens the next trial. See Conqueror and Fool. If you saved Zote, he also turns up here for Rivalry.

One of the three Dreamers - you must remove all three to open the way to the Hollow Knight. Monomon rests in the Teacher's Archives (Fog Canyon). To reach her dream you first beat Uumuu, the jellyfish, which you can only hurt by striking it while it's near the charged Uoma - Quirrel helps by breaking the pillars. Then Dream Nail Monomon to lift her seal. Straight after, Quirrel goes to the Blue Lake for Witness - don't miss him. See Watcher and Beast for the other two Dreamers.

One of the three Dreamers, required to reach the Hollow Knight. Lurien lives atop the Watcher's Spire in the City of Tears; to get to his dream you fight the Watcher Knights - a pack of rolling, slamming armoured knights that arrive in escalating numbers (up to six at once). Vertical spacing, Shade Soul and Descending Dark help thin them out. Then Dream Nail Lurien. Pairs with Teacher and Beast.

Acquire a map for every mappable area. Cornifer the mapmaker hides in each region, humming to himself - follow the sound, buy that area's map from him, and thereafter Iselda in Dirtmouth sells pins and updates. You need his map for every zone (Deepnest and Kingdom's Edge are the ones people forget). Buy Cornifer's map in each area and this ticks over. Feeds into Completion.

Open every Stag Station and then discover the hidden Stag Nest. Unlock all the stations around the map - a few are easy to miss (Distant Village in Deepnest, the Hidden Station, King's Station, Queen's Station) - and once they're all open a "Stag Nest" destination appears in the Last Stag's travel menu. Ride there to discover the Stag's old home and this pops. Full-completion collectible.

The second Colosseum trial (Trial of the Conqueror) - a real step up, with tougher enemies, mini-boss packs (Great Hoppers, Oblobbles, armoured soldiers) and far less breathing room. Bring a solid nail, useful charms (Quick Slash, Unbreakable Strength, Grubberfly's Elegy) and patience. Follows Warrior, precedes Fool.

The Traitor Lord, deep in the Queen's Gardens - one of the hardest "normal" bosses. He's big, fast and hits like a truck: wide sweeping nail slashes and a rage state at low health. Reach helps (Long Nail or Mark of Pride), as does Quick Slash - bait his lunges, dash clear, and land your hits on the recovery. His room is opened via the Traitor's Child questline (Cloth in Deepnest). Tied into the Grey Mourner's story, Solace.

Defeat the Collector in the Tower of Love, in the far east of the City of Tears. First grab the Love Key from a corpse in the south-east of the Queen's Gardens, which unlocks the tower door. The Collector is a lanky hoarder who leaps around the room dropping jars full of the bugs and grubs he's caught - clear the enemies that spill out and punish him after his jumps. Beating him frees several grubs and marks any you've missed on the map, so it helps toward Metamorphosis.

Beat Zote in the Colosseum. During the Trial of the Warrior (Warrior), Zote shows up as an opponent - just defeat him there. Requires Zote alive, so it's mutually exclusive with Neglect. He's a pushover; the only real requirement is having saved him earlier so he turns up at all.

The dream version of the Broken Vessel (Release) - Dream Nail its body in the Ancient Basin after beating it. Much faster and more precise than the base fight, and it now spawns balloon-like infection adds that drift toward you. Clear the adds (Shade Soul or a well-timed nail) and punish the Kin between its lunges. A proper test of your dodging.

Reach 1800 Essence total and the Seer upgrades your Dream Nail into the Awoken Dream Nail - needed to enter certain dreams, including the endgame content. Keep clearing Whispering Roots and Warrior Dream ghosts across the map. See Attunement and Ascension for the other thresholds.

Rescue all 46 Grubs. Smash every grub jar across Hallownest and they return to the Grubfather, who pays out escalating rewards up to the final one at 46. A big collectible sweep - a grub-location map helps for the last few stragglers, since Deepnest and the outer areas hide the awkward ones. Feeds into Completion and Pure Completion.

Obtain the Void Heart charm. Assemble the Kingsoul charm (the two King's Soul halves from the Queen in the Queen's Gardens and the Pale King in the White Palace), then reach the Abyss at the bottom of the Ancient Basin - its sealed door needs the King's Brand from Kingdom's Edge (Proof of Resolve's region). Take the Shade Cloak there, then with Kingsoul equipped use the Awoken Dream Nail at the abyssal birthplace to unite the void, upgrading Kingsoul into Void Heart. Grab The Hollow Knight first - once you hold Void Heart you can't get that ending. This is the gate to Sealed Siblings and Dream No More.

Spend a final moment with Quirrel. After you help defeat Monomon the Teacher (Teacher), Quirrel makes his way to the Blue Lake (below the Resting Grounds). Go and sit with him there for a quiet farewell. This is a genuine one-off: once you leave the area and come back he's gone for good, so head to the Blue Lake soon after Monomon rather than putting it off.

The dream version of the False Knight (Falsehood) - Dream Nail his corpse in the Forgotten Crossroads arena after you've beaten him. He hits harder and faster, adds a jump-slam shockwave and a rage phase where his head spews infection. Same core idea - punish the exposed head after he topples - but bring more health and a decent nail. A real difficulty step up from the original.

All 9 Vessel Fragments (three extra Soul Vessels). A completion collectible scattered across Hallownest and its shops - nine fragments in total. Feeds into Completion and Pure Completion.

Defeat Troupe Leader Grimm. Kick off the Grimm Troupe questline by lighting the Nightmare Lantern in Dirtmouth (once the troupe has arrived), then feed Grimmchild by collecting Flames - defeat the Grimmkin Novices scattered across three areas. Grimm then challenges you in his tent: a spectacular, fiery boss who teleports, dashes behind a pufferfish flare, throws fire bats and rains spikes. Learn his teleport tells and punish after the dash. This is the fork point - afterwards you go for either Ritual or Banishment.

The base ending. With all three Dreamers gone, enter the Black Egg Temple and fight the Hollow Knight - a tragic, hard-hitting sibling that slashes, dashes and, at low health, stabs itself and bursts with infection. Dream Nail it when it stuns itself for bonus damage. Beating it without the Void Heart charm gives this ending, where you take its place as the Vessel. Get this before claiming Void - once you hold Void Heart, Hornet always interrupts and you'll get Sealed Siblings / Dream No More instead.

The dream version of the Soul Master (Illumination) - Dream Nail his remains in the Soul Sanctum after beating him. A far more aggressive rerun: faster teleports, denser SOUL-orb barrages and a brutal second phase with a near screen-filling orb storm. Stay calm, punish his dives, and don't panic-heal in the orb rain. One of the nastier dream bosses.

Grey Prince Zote - the dream-boss version of Zote, fought in Bretta's dream. Rescue Bretta (Fungal Wastes) so she returns to Dirtmouth, rescue Zote both times so she idolises him, then Dream Nail her sleeping body in her basement to trigger the fight. Requires Zote alive - so this is mutually exclusive with Neglect. He's clumsy but hard-hitting: belly-flops, rolls and summons little Zoteling adds. Punish his slow recoveries. He scales up each time you beat him, but the achievement wants just the one win.

Slay the Nailsmith. After you've bought the final nail upgrade from him (the Pure Nail), return to the Nailsmith and, when he despairingly asks you to end him, strike him down. He dies content and this pops. Mutually exclusive with Happy Couple - sparing him gives that one instead, so pick one per save and do the other on a second file.

Collect all 45 Charms, then buy Salubra's Blessing - the special charm she only offers once you own every other one. A full-completion hunt: charms are bought, found, won from bosses and handed out for quest/Grub rewards. A few are DLC-gated - notably Grimmchild from the Grimm Troupe questline (see Grand Performance / Ritual) and Carefree Melody if you Banishment instead. Grab the lot, then visit Salubra for the blessing. Contributes to Pure Completion.

Bring peace to the Grey Mourner. She lives in the Resting Grounds and asks you to carry a Delicate Flower to a grave in the Queen's Gardens. The catch: taking any damage - a hit, a hazard, even resting at a bench or riding a Stag - shatters the flower, and you have to fetch a fresh one from her. So plan a clean, careful route from her to the grave (near where you fight Execution) with no combat and no benches. Deliver it intact and this pops. Fiddly, but not combat-hard.

Collect 2400 Essence total - the Seer's final threshold. Reach it and she thanks you, hands over her last reward and ascends, leaving the Resting Grounds. That means clearing essentially every Whispering Root and Warrior Dream in the game, so it's the bulk of the essence grind. Dream Wielder and a planned route through the roots make it less of a slog. Contributes to Pure Completion.

All 16 Mask Shards, giving you four extra masks (max health of 9). A completion collectible - shards come from the shops (Sly, Iselda), hidden around the map, and as Grubfather/quest rewards. Grab all 16. Feeds into Completion and Pure Completion.

The true ending. With Void Heart equipped, get the Hollow Knight low enough that Hornet binds it (as in Sealed Siblings), then Dream Nail the Hollow Knight to enter its mind and fight the Radiance - the real source of the Infection. A tough multi-phase finale: sword-beam barrages, spike floors and a final platforming climb through the light. Beat it and consume the light for the game's true ending. Needs only Void Heart - no Godmaster progress required.

The second ending. Fight the Hollow Knight with the Void Heart charm (Void) equipped. Partway through, Hornet arrives and binds it - keep attacking until it falls and you take its place with Hornet sealing you in. If you'd rather have the true ending, don't finish it here - Dream Nail it instead for Dream No More. You can reload before the Black Egg to grab both this and The Hollow Knight on separate attempts.

The Trial of the Fool - the third and hardest Colosseum trial, and one of the toughest challenges in the base game. Long, punishing waves: spike-arena phases, Winged Zotelings, Lesser Mawlek packs, Oblobbles and a Zote finish. Expect plenty of attempts - learn the wave order, play defensively, and lean on charms (Quick Slash, Baldur Shell/Shape of Unn, Grubberfly's Elegy). A proper grind of a fight; don't be disheartened by the death count.

Reach 100% game completion and finish the game. The percentage comes from your abilities, spells, nail upgrades, charms, mask shards, vessel fragments, Dream Nail, Stag stations and the main bosses. Grab the collectibles (Masked, Worldsoul, Blessed, Metamorphosis, Cartographer) and clear the bosses, then finish via any ending. Your completion % shows on the save file and at benches. See Pure Completion for the full 112%.

The dream version of the Dung Defender (Honour) - Dream Nail him in his arena in the Royal Waterways after you've beaten the Dung Defender. Same cheerful diving and dung-throwing, but everything is faster and denser, with a dung-tornado and burrowing charges. Read his surfacing tells and punish on the way up. He scales up on repeat wins (five clears for a Mask Shard), but the achievement only needs the first.

Defeat Nightmare King Grimm. After beating Grand Performance and collecting the last round of Grimmkin flames, return to the tent to face the Nightmare King - a far faster, harder version with fireball walls, a triple-dash and a vicious second phase. One of the toughest bosses in the game; expect to learn it over many attempts. Mutually exclusive with Banishment - completing the Ritual keeps Grimmchild and locks out banishing, so do that on a separate save.

Complete the Pantheon of the Master - the first of Godhome's boss rushes (ten bosses back-to-back, no benches, only Lifeblood/soul to carry you between fights). The easiest pantheon, mostly earlier-game bosses. Access Godhome by Dream Nailing the Godseeker (freed in Deepnest's Junk Pit after you drain it). First of five - see Inspiration, Focus, Soul & Shade and Embrace the Void.

Complete the Pantheon of the Artist - the second Godhome boss rush, a step up from Brotherhood with tougher mid-game bosses in sequence. Same rules: no benches, manage your health and SOUL across the whole run. A solid charm loadout and patience carry it.

Spare the Nailsmith. After buying the final upgrade (the Pure Nail), when he asks you to end him, instead walk away and leave the room. He later turns up alongside Sheo the Nailmaster, having found a new calling as a painter - talk to them for the pop. Mutually exclusive with Purity (killing him), so save one for a second file.

Complete the Pantheon of the Sage - the third Godhome boss rush, harder again, stringing together the likes of the Soul Tyrant, the dream warriors and the tougher DLC bosses. This is the last of the first three; clearing all three unlocks Godseeker Mode and opens the way to Soul & Shade.

Fill in every entry in the Hunter's Journal - one record per creature type in the game. You log a creature by killing enough of them (Dream Nailing an enemy also reveals its journal note). This means encountering and killing at least one of every enemy across every area, including the rare and DLC foes, so it's a long, thorough bestiary sweep - use a checklist for the awkward ones (certain Deepnest, White Palace and Colosseum-only enemies). Completing it earns you True Hunter.

Banish the Grimm Troupe. Instead of completing the ritual, after Grand Performance seek out Brumm (the troupe's accordion player) and help him extinguish the Nightmare Lantern, sending the troupe away for good. This removes the Grimmchild charm and gives you Carefree Melody in its place. Mutually exclusive with Ritual - you can't fight the Nightmare King on the same save, so do that on a second file.

Complete Mister Mushroom's questline - he's the "Herald". The wandering Mister Mushroom pops up at a set of specific spots across Hallownest (Fungal Wastes, Howling Cliffs, Kingdom's Edge, Queen's Gardens, Deepnest, the Ancient Basin and more); visit and speak with him at each in the right order. It's part of the Godmaster update and the final steps open up once you've reached a main ending. Talk to him at the last location and he passes on - you get a "To Be Continued" screen and this achievement. Follow a location/order checklist, as it's easy to do out of sequence.

Receive the Hunter's Mark from the Hunter. As you fill in the Hunter's Journal (Keen Hunter) by killing each creature type, the Hunter - found in his cave in Greenpath - grows more impressed; complete the journal and he hands over the Hunter's Mark. Effectively the reward for finishing the bestiary, so the two come together.

Leave Zote to die in Greenpath. Early on you find Zote pinned by the Vengefly King - simply leave him to it (don't kill the Vengefly King) and he dies, popping this. Mutually exclusive: a dead Zote locks you out of Rivalry and Dark Romance on that save, so if you want those, do this one on a separate file.

Complete the Pantheon of the Knight - the fourth Godhome boss rush and a monster: forty bosses in a row, essentially every boss in the game including the ascended/harder variants, with no benches. A serious endurance and skill test - a strong, consistent loadout (Quick Slash, Shaman Stone or Shape of Unn, Grubberfly's Elegy) and clean, patient play are essential. Clearing it opens the final Embrace the Void.

The big one: 112% completion, then finish the game. Everything that counts toward Completion plus the extra percentage from the dream and DLC content - the dream bosses, the Colosseum trials, the Grimm questline, the Godmaster pantheons (Embrace the Void) and the White Palace. The mutually-exclusive achievements don't affect the percentage, so 112% is reachable on a single save (you don't need both Nailsmith or both Zote outcomes for the %). The full-completion capstone.

Finish the game (any ending) in under 10 hours of file time. Comfortable if you head fairly directly for the three Dreamers and the Black Egg without 100%-ing everything. A knowledgeable normal run often lands under 10 hours anyway, so many people get this without trying. See Speedrun 2 for the tighter target.

Reach 100% completion and finish the game in under 20 hours of in-game time. The timer is the save file's playtime, so it's about efficiency rather than twitch speed - know a collectibles route, don't dawdle, and cut out aimless backtracking. Very doable on a focused second playthrough once you know the map. Combines nicely with Speedrun 1.

Ascend the Pantheon of Hallownest - the fifth and final Godhome boss rush, and the single hardest thing in the game. Over forty bosses back to back, culminating in new fights (Pure Vessel, the Nightmare King) and finally the Absolute Radiance. Beat the Absolute Radiance at the peak for the game's ultimate ending and this achievement. The very top of the mountain - expect it to take a very long time and many, many runs. (Optionally delivering a Delicate Flower to the Godseeker first changes the ending cutscene but grants the same achievement.)

Finish the game in under 5 hours of file time - the tighter speed target. You'll want a planned route straight for the required abilities and Dreamers, skipping optional content, and ideally some knowledge of movement shortcuts. Best tackled on a dedicated run once you know the game well. Also earns Speedrun 1 along the way.

Finish the game in Steel Soul mode - permadeath. Start a new save in Steel Soul (unlocked once you've completed the game at least once), where a single death ends the run for good, and reach any ending. Play cautiously, bench regularly and skip needless fights. Just reaching an ending is enough here; the 100% version is Steel Heart.

Reach 100% completion and finish the game, all in permadeath Steel Soul mode - one of the most demanding achievements in the game, since a single death wipes the entire run. Everything from Completion on a no-deaths file. Most people attempt it only after mastering the game normally: play very safe, avoid the riskiest optional bosses where you can (only the 100%-required content is needed, not the full 112%), and take your time. Pairs with Steel Soul.