Hollow Knight ► 5 ADVANCED Combat Tips

Hollow Knight is free this November if you have a PS Plus membership, and since we're over halfway through the month and most people who've picked up I'm assuming have completed their first run, let's go through some more advanced combat tips, movement tricks, and other things the average player might want to improve on.

This footage does have MAJOR gameplay spoilers, and I've put this in the actual video itself as well. Please do not watch until you've completed the game in its entirety.

MUSIC USED ► Official Hollow Knight Soundtrack by Christopher Larkin

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Playlists:

Thank you for your time...
...and for 250k subs, jesus christ.

[Rusty._]

Enemy Compendium:

Also 8:11 I highlighted the wrong charms, fuck's sake.

[cooldudemcgee]

Tip 1: Hit bad guys.
Tip 2: Don’t get hit by bad guys.
Tip 3: Keep your controller charged.

[GoodKnightNintendo]

“None of the tips are correct or guaranteed to help you out”
Listen, Rusty. If I’m going to fail at this game I’m going to do it the right way. By implementing these tips.

[borisrebic]

I'd like to add 'be patient' to the list.
If your ass is being handed to you on a silver platter, calm down, observe where the next attack is coming from and act accordingly. Make sure you can dodge properly before dealing damage to the boss because in a slugfest where you trade hit for hit, you almost always lose.
Most bosses will come to you, trying to beat you to a pulp themselves and that is when you strike, just make sure you dodge as well.

[ashishishwar]

something that a lot of newcomers to the game arent aware of is that wayward compass excels in combat usage. you find yourself using it more in boss fights than any other charm and is CRIMINALLY underrated for its one charm notch cost. MUST. HAVE.

[DollyGuadalupe]

"Your next new obsession."
I got this game for my boyfriend. I ended up being the hardcore Hollow Knight fan out of the two of us. ROFL. I ended up finishing the game first, too. He still hasn't. I have over 175 hours clocked into this game, and he has 6 hours. To newcomers: RUSTY does indeed mean this... Your next new obsession. Welcome to the Hollow Knight fandom. Once you're in, you're hooked.

[TheMaplestrip]

Learning to just casually step out of the way in order to dodge an attack is definitely vital. It's not even about precise movement; you just get much much better insight in how to defeat a boss if your own movement isn't too erratic, and you don't want to need to worry about attacks that aren't anywhere near you. The further away you move from one attack, the more likely it becomes that you get hit by another you weren't even really looking at.

[sillysillygoose]

as a speedruner and a ps4 owner this makes me really happy

[inkygrimmananas]

Rusty in a nutshell: Boss rankings and Boss tips

[Ucceah]

one thing on charms: dont get hung up on sticking to that one "perfect" build. some combos are super situational or require a very specific playstyle, but acan be devastating.
case in point: defenders crest + spore shroom + shape of unn + deep focus + grubsong + starward shell.
your primary attack is the HUGE cloud of stench you release while healing 2 masks of damage. augmented by facetanking damage for free gas, staying mobile while healing, and the fact that the invinciblity after a hit pasts longer, that it takes you to focus again.

PS: the AoD cloud lingers 4.1s, doing propably 70 damage in total. and the clouds stack!

[HollowReality]

Rusty: to any of you with a PS plus membership you are getting this game free this month!

Me: I'm 4 different soul abilities ahead of you.

[drakath]

8:00 if you're someone who enjoys projectiles but doesn't enjoy spell builds, may I recommend the following (very late game charm build only really good for the pantheons) Grubberfly charm build:

Quick slash, Longnail/Sharp Shadow, Grubberfly's Elegy, Lifeblood Core. The Grubberfly charm isn't deactivated by taking damage with Lifeblood masks, so the core can give you access to three points of damage in leeway before you reach the next cocoon or bench. (In the case of the pantheons, both! You could start each checkpoint with at least 5 masks of leeway early on with no repercussions. I personally dont have the 11th notch, so I use Lifeblood heart. It works equally well though!)


Long story short this charm build turns you into Megaman for 2-3 hits before you can't take any more damage or risk having to focus, while still giving you some non Grubberfly utility after the fact with either sharp shadow to dodge more stuff reliably with shade cloak, or longnail to revert to a slightly weaker nail charm build.

[callumfootitt]

WTF

Thought this was only a calming ambience channel

I'm kidding but it's been a long time

[randomdogma]

3 years later... that intro is adorable

[bach_dud]

hollow knight combat do be pretty epic

[whatthewhatthe]

My tip:
Never underestimate the utility of nail arts. While it is mid game the great slash is one of the most addictive and useful moves in the knight’s arsenal which gives a 2.5x damage hit, has the length of MoP and two long nails, and keeps you in air. The cyclone slash while often forgotten deals up to .75 hits 7 times (x5.25 ndmg)a massive amount able to kill all basic colosseum enemies that the great slash can’t deal with on top of having the length of one long nail. Mashing swaps fast fall to slow fall, increases deploy time and hence more attacks. Dash slash is honestly kinda garbage other than basic but narrow spacing (x2.5 ndmg)

Nail Master Glory will double the speed of recharge for the cost of only one charm notch.

Cons:
You can’t dash during an attack
You can’t cancel an attack
Dash slash exists
Shields counter it excluding markoth
resets after a spell
*Can’t pogo during charge or animation*
Strength does not apply to nail arts

Pros
Destroys most flying enemies in one great slash
Is useful for half of the bosses
Counters markoth and radiance
Out reaches sly’s phase 2 attack
Is only 800 geo for all of the needed things
NMG is cheap
Colosseum becomes a joke
Helps with teleporting enemies like soul tyrant, markoth, no eyes, NKG, and Hornet Prot
Slows down time with great slash
Is super flashy
Using an art resets aerial moves
It pairs well with the passive build as it is cheap and lets you deal consistent 52.5 damage bursts while your minions cover for you.

Edit if you crystal dash through a loading zone then charge a nail art there is a small visual glitch that shows a ring

[fangthefabulous]

I wish I knew that Brooding Mawlek tip sooner, died thrice trying to show off to a friend lol

[yahazek]

Having beaten the game 112% AND being almost done with all bosses on radiant, I will ABSOLUTELY watch the video. I just love your content Rusty.

[eadbert]

what i can also recommend is the "i can't really play the game but i want to see all the content" charm build (and i still failed to get past 110%)
i used to be a nail-charm guy, but for the pantheons (especially when soul-bound) i took quick+deep focus and shape of unn. depending on who i fight i add longnail/sharp shadow/soul catcher
you can always heal, almost no matter what the enemies are doing, and you heal a lot

[zethekobold]

“Your next new obsession”
me who 100%ed the game in 3 days and got the platinum trophy: you have no idea how right you were