Being constantly praised as one of the best indies ever,Hollow Knightis an immense game. It has tons of areas, bosses, secrets, and, of course, offerstons of ways to play, the latter thanks to itsCharm system: passive benefits that the character can equip through the course of the adventure.
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The game offers up to 45 charms and encourages you to try to find the best combos.There are synergies between some amulets to create a sense of agency and creativity, but it can be overwhelming to find the best set. If you’ve experienced that issue, and you want to know how to maximize the strength of a given build,these are the best charm combos for Hollow Knight.
10Solid Knight
The best attack is an annoying defense
Stalwart Shell
Thorns of Agony
Quick Focus
Spore Shroom
Defender’s Crest
Baldur Shell
Hollow Knight offers a set of charms intended to defend the bearer, and you’re able to use them all at once. In this build, suffering damage is better than avoiding it:Stalwart Shellwill make you invulnerable for longer after taking a hit, at the same time asThorns of Agonydeals damage to the enemies andGrubsonggives you soul.
After that, you may useQuick Focusto heal rapidly (protected byBaldur Shell), whileSpore Shroomemits a toxic cloud that combines with the area of effect damage thatDefender’s Crestshould already be dealing.
It’s a pretty compact defense that is best suited to those who are having trouble getting used to dashing and learning the patterns ofHollow Knightbosses. Or for those who like to attack everything without thinking twice.
9Metroidvania starter pack
Exploration builds are important
Wayward Compass
Dashmaster
Even though some people usually overlook it,Hollow Knight is a game in which exploration is as important as combat. After all, it is known as one of thebest metroidvaniasbut also one of the hardest. You’ll need to keep track of everything you see while being careful not to die and lose your geo after a long run without benches.
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In the scenario that you need equipment to explore Hallownest without worrying,Wayward Compass is the most important charm, as it always follows your position on the map.
Long NailandQuick Focusare useful for fighting at a safer distance, whileGrubsong,Thorns of Agony,andDefender’s Crestwork as your protection. Finally,Dashmasterallows you to dash faster (and downwards) when you need to escape. Everything is covered.
8Farming arc
The geo economy needs more ranchers
Fragile Greed
Fragile Strength
Gathering Swarm
Quick Slash
Whether it is for buying upgrades, maps, notches, or even the charms themselves,geo is king in Hollow Knight. Although it is not a game that forces you to farm artificially,your journey will require a certain amount of money, and sometimes it will be better to have a combination of amulets that are appropriate for the job.
Because the purpose is to repeatedly clean out an area that you’re familiar with,Fragile Greed(for more geo) andFragile Strength(for more damage) are more than useful, since you won’t be in real danger and those two are less likely to break.
Gathering Swarmwill make it easier and less tedious for you as it picks the geo automatically,Dashmasterwill allow you to move faster, andQuick Slashis just there to speed the farm even more, although you could change it for any charm that is more comfortable for you.
7Pokémon Master
A fast and portable zoo
Weaversong
Glowing Womb
Grimmchild
Sprintmaster
Sharp Shadow
There is a niche build in Hollow Knight that more often than not gets overlooked, but it is really fun.It’s commonly called the ‘summoner’ build, and it consists of taking every single charm that invokes minions, putting them together alongside some utility and movement amulets, and, ta-da!, you’ve got yourself a nice and powerful zoo.
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Weaversong,Glowing Womb,andGrimmchildare the keys of this set, as they are the ones that create the companions.Grubsong, once again, is used for having more soul for the summons;Sprintmasteris used for making the Knight run faster while the minions attack, andSharp Shadowis used for taking advantage of the fact that you will be dashing a lot.
It’s certainly unusual, but it gets the objectives done, adds to thereplayability of Hollow Knight, and is hilarious to see.Gathering Swarmis just for cosplay, though.
6Lifeblood Mage
Forget about healing, just spam spells
Joni’s Blessing
Soul Eater
Shaman Stone
If managing your soul is overwhelming, and you just want to center on one of its uses, this is what you need: first, you’re going to attachJoni’s Blessing, a charm that increases your Mask count by 40% but makes you unable to heal.
Second, you’re going to attachSoul Eater, as you will need as much soul as you can get; finally, you’re going to attachShaman Stone, because you need to defeat your opponent by spamming themost powerful spellsyou can before he defeats you (because you can’t heal).
Of course, as with the next build, you need to be experienced with the game, since not being able to recover Masks can be harsh for newcomers who are struggling to avoid attacks.
5Do not try this at home…
Try it outside
Fury of the Fallen
Grubberyfly’s Elegy
Mark of Pride
Fragile/Unbreakable Strength
As you become a better player and progress in the campaign, you will unlock some rare charms likeGrubberfly’s Elegy, which will have you firing beams of white-hot energy from your nail at a distance while at full health, dealing 50% damage per hit.
Fury of the Fallen, instead, increases nail damage by 75% when you have 1 Mask, butthese two have a special interaction that makes them both work when you have 1 Mask.
Simultaneously,Grubberyfly’s ElegyandMark of Pridehave their special feat, which increases the size of the projectiles fromGrubberfly’s Elegyby 35%.
Additionally,Fury of the FallenandUnbreakable Strengthcan be stacked, resulting in a 175% increase in damage with the nail and a 150% increase in damage with the beams. This combination yields a significant and undeniable outcome:ludicrous damage and chaos.
You die from one hit, though, so this is only recommended for veterans.
4Snail Knight
The true, and squishy, maste of the nail
Shape of Unn
Nailmaster’s Glory
Shape of Unnis a fun amulet that transforms you into a snail while using Focus, allowing you to move (faster than normal thanks toQuick Focus) and even to avoid attacks because of the lowered hitbox.
This is a pretty standard nail build withQuick Slash,Long Nail,andNailmaster’s Gloryfor some Nail Arts action.
However,the synergy between the first twois the necessary push for it to be something more interesting,more powerful,and, above all,more consistent.It works with almost every single boss, especially against those with multiple horizontal slashes.
3Balance in All Things
End-game equilibrium
Sometimes, balance is what we need.Not being too invested in nail attacks,not being too invested in spells.
Therefore, accepting every tool that Team Cherry gives you to master the challenges that Hollow Knight proposes comes with usingQuick Slashfor fast attacks (empowered immediately byUnbreakable Strength) and fast soul acquisition (empowered subsequently byShaman Stone), dealing tons of damage in a matter of seconds.
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The addition ofSharp Shadowis handy because, like in other builds, you will be dashing a lot to avoid getting hit as you don’t want to use your soul to heal, but also because it is almost mandatory that you haveShade Cloak(one of thebest abilities in Hollow Knight) for this playstyle.
2The ‘5 Hour Speedrun Achievement’ build
Hollow ‘Knight’?
Soul Catcher
Spell Twister
Dream Wielder
Sometimes, you need less than balance. Being invested in one thing:spells. Not the spammy style, but the conscious style, the elegant form of wizardry.
Shaman Stone, inevitably, is the cornerstone of the build, whileSoulcatcher,Spell Twister,andDream Wieldergrant you maximum efficiency to manage your soul resources without sacrificing the ability to heal if needed.
With this combo, almost every single hit allows you to throw a spell, and, withQuick Slash, you will spend most of your battles with your meter full.It has a high skill ceiling,but is also the build with the most damage output of the entire game.
1Pay to click
The most basic, the most powerful
Sometimes, conversely, melee attacks will be your preference. You can take that nail-swining approach to the very maximum with this build.
In opposition to the previous combo,this one is as basic as it can be:hit hard,hit fast, and hit far. No spells, no Nail Arts, no minions, and no combinations whatsoever— just the rawest way of dealing damage in Hollow Knight.
Even though it is simple,it has historically proven to be the most accessible but also powerful build that Hollow Knight players can try; it deals less damage than its magic counterpart, but it is significantly easier to pull off thanks to its straightforward approach.Quick Focusfor rapid healing is incredibly valuable too.
If you are aiming to achieve 112%, all achievements or simply finish the game,there is no better and less complicated option.
Hollow Knight (Dupe)
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