Every Boss in Hollow Knight Ranked Easiest to Hardest

With Hollow Knight: Silksong only a day away, many have been revisiting Hollow Knight to conquer its challenges once again and prepare for the long-awaited sequel. Across the base game and its DLCs, Hollow Knight has many boss encounters, each with its own mechanics and reputation within the community. Some are trivial, some are fun spectacles to enjoy on repeat playthroughs, and others are some of the most frustrating boss encounters in modern indie games.

• Location — The Royal Waterways
• HP — 350
• Reward — Flukenest

A hidden boss in Hollow Knight, Flukemarm is considered by many to be the easiest boss in the game. It spawns slow-moving minions and has no direct attacks. If you have multiple Nail upgrades or strong spells, you can one-shot the minions and pogo on top of the Flukemarm for an easy win.

• Location — Greenpath
• HP — 100
• Reward — 300 Geo

Massive Moss Charger is a mini-boss in Greenpath that has a straightforward attack: a charge forward and a ground slam. Its charge is easy to dodge, but it isn’t much more difficult than Flukemarm; it just has an actual attack.

• Location — Greenpath
• HP — 55
• Reward — 65 Geo

The Vengefly King is a mini-boss you run into early. You find it chewing on the NPC Zote, and you can choose to save him or not. The actual fight itself is a glorified version of the normal vengeflies you’d have fought on the way to this boss fight. Vengefly King may be large, but it’s slow.

• Location — Forgotten Crossroads
• HP — 355
• Reward — 200 Geo

False Knight is the game’s first “real” boss and is designed to be a player’s first major combat test. He’s very slow, and his attacks are highly telegraphed. He teaches the player the importance of dodging enemy attacks and then punishing them on the rebound. It’s expected for players to be bested by him at least once while they learn how he moves in relation to their character, but once you’ve beaten him once, you’ll probably never struggle with him again.

• Location — Forgotten Crossroads
• HP — 90
• Reward — 50 Geo

Gruz’s mother is similar to False Knight because it is another early boss meant to test movement and a player’s adaptability. Gruz Mother’s move set is extremely limited, but it can catch you off guard with its unpredictable bounce attack. You’re probably more likely to die at Gruz Mother than any of the previous entries on the list, but once you’re used to its one powerful attack, you won’t struggle anymore.

• Location — The Dream
• HP — 200/320/416/500/570 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 150 Essence

Marmu is for sure the easiest of the Warrior Dream bosses. It rolls and bounces around its arena in a simple and recognizable manner. Many of the Warrior Dream bosses are simple, but Marmu is the simplest, as you can defeat it by simply standing in a corner and slashing repeatedly.

• Location — The Dream
• HP — 200/320/416/500/570 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 100 Essence

Gorb is the same as Marmu before it, another extremely simple Warrior Dream fight. Gorb’s attacks are so slow and repetitive that this “fight” is more just a test to make sure you’re paying attention.

• Location — The Dream
• HP — 250/420/550/600/650 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 100 Essence

Another Warrior Dream battle known in the community for its low difficulty, Elder Hu’s primary attack is summoning rings of blades from the ground, but they are incredibly easy to avoid by just getting out of their projected path. Not only is this boss easy to defeat, but it’s also easy to defeat without taking any damage.

• Location — The Dream
• HP — 200/320/416/500/570 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 100 Essence

Xero’s similar to the previous Dream bosses, but the difference is that Xero can actually catch you off guard with his flying sword attack. Learning this fight requires you to learn how to dodge the swords from some unconventional angles, but once you do, you shouldn’t have any issues due to Xero’s low damage and limited move set.

• Location — The City of Tears
• HP — 385
• Reward — Desolate Dive spell and 380 Geo

The City of Tears as a whole can be intimidating on your first playthrough, and Soul Master is no different. This fight is similar to the False Knight with its heavily telegraphed dive attacks and slow energy orbs, and just like False Knight, once you’ve seen its attacks a few times, it becomes a lot easier to deal with.

• Location — Royal Waterways
• HP — 700/750/800/850/900 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — Defender’s Crest

Upon the first attempt, Dung Defender can be a bit frustrating, but patience is key. His attacks are fairly simple to predict, and by the time you happen across him in Royal Waterways, you should have some decent movement and spell options. Many fans consider this one of the more fun fights in the game, but as a player, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t struggle a tiny bit with the fight initially.

• Location — Royal Waterways
• HP — 680
• Reward — Pale Ore

Nosk is more of a spectacle fight than an actual challenge. Nosk is intended to overwhelm and scare the player more than truly challenge them. His attack pattern is highly telegraphed, but he is just fast, making the fight all about reaction and knowledge. Once you figure out the safe spots in Nosk’s arena, the fight becomes a bit more straightforward.

• Location — Crystal Peak
• HP — 280
• Reward — 385 Geo

Crystal Guardian is, by all means, a simple fight, but it is tricky, as it might not be completely clear to new players how to deal with its laser beam attack. He is also found guarding a bench, so on your first few attempts to challenge him, it isn’t uncommon to arrive at the fight already damaged.

• Location — Crystal Peak
• HP — 450/450/500/550/600 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 550 Geo and a Mask Shard

Upon returning to Crystal Peak, you’ll fight an enraged version of the previous Crystal Guardian fight. The fight is pretty much the same except its attacks deal twice as much damage, and the dodging windows are a bit tighter. Before fighting this enraged Crystal Guardian, you have to fight the normal Crystal Guardian phase first, really testing if you’ve mastered this encounter.

• Location — Forgotten Crossroads
• HP — 300
• Reward — Mask Shard

Brooding Mawlek is optional, but it can be a nightmare for new players who encounter him early in their playthrough. Its moveset is erratic, and it’s overwhelming to have to focus on avoiding so many things while also finding short windows to deal damage. With experience, the fight actually isn’t that bad, but if fought at the beginning of the game, it can be a tough challenge.

• Location — Ancient Basin
• HP — 525
• Reward — Monarch Wings

When compared to other late-game bosses, Broken Vessel is actually on the easier side; however, it definitely still has some moves that can catch even a veteran player off guard if they are not paying attention. This fight is mostly a knowledge check, and if you’re aware of how to dodge the attacks, you realize the lack of skill required.

• Location — Teacher’s Archives
• HP — 300
• Reward — N/A

The battle against Uumuu revolves around exhibiting one of Hollow Knight‘s most important virtues: patience. Uumuu floats around the arena, doing very limited lightning attacks that are easy to dodge. What kills players is a lack of patience, and they take more damage than necessary just out of boredom, since you can only attack the boss when the NPC Quirrel intervenes to make it vulnerable.

• Location — Soul Sanctum
• HP — 180
• Reward — 200 Geo

Soul Warrior may only be a mini-boss, but any boss that can teleport can easily get the drop on you. You come across these mini bosses a few times throughout Hollow Knight, but the first time you face one, it’s easy to see why it’s placed so high up. With experience, Soul Warrior’s attacks become easier to deal with, and luckily, it doesn’t have much health.

• Location — The Dream
• HP — 230/368/479/570/640 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 200 Essence

While Galien is more mobile than other Dream bosses, such as Gorb or Marmu, he still follows the same simple formula. Galien drifts around his arena with a large scythe orbiting him. Technically, he’s a bit more involved than the easier Dream Warriors, but not by much.

• Location — Tower of Love
• HP — 750/750/750/800/850 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — The Collector’s Map and 3 Grubs

The Collector isn’t hard, but more so tedious. How brutal this fight is depends on your chosen build. A powered-up Nail or AoE spells trivialize the fight. The Collector jumps around and releases standard enemies from jars. With decent upgrades, you can easily defeat the adds in one hit, leaving the only true challenge is chasing the Collector.

• Location — Greenpath
• HP — 200/320/416/500/570 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 200 Essence

No Eyes is one of the more unnerving fights in Hollow Knight, like Nosk. It is dark in her arena, and the sound of her sobs is chilling. The boss drifts around her arena, spawning ghosts that deal damage upon contact with the player. The difficulty of this fight comes down to how well you keep up with No Eyes in the darkness.

• Location — Greenpath
• HP — 225
• Reward — Mothwing Cloak

The first time you fight the deuteragonist Hornet in Hollow Knight, it isn’t uncommon to struggle. She’s the first fight that is actively meant to gatekeep you from content. She is faster than the bosses you’d have fought up until that point, and her early placement makes her one of the hardest bosses that become easier on repeat playthroughs.

• Location — Mantis Village
• HP — 530
• Reward — Mark of Pride, Hallownest Seal, 620 Geo, and a Bench checkpoint

The Mantis Lord fight is a fan favorite and is my personal favorite boss fight in the entirety of Hollow Knight. The Mantis Lords attack one at a time, but in a way that the fight almost feels like a rhythm game. It’s a pure reflex test that is the perfect midpoint when ranking the bosses from easiest to hardest.

• Location — Soul Sanctum
• HP — 1250
• Reward — 300 Essence

The Dream variant of Soul Master is a much tougher fight in all senses of the word. Soul Tyrant is faster and hits harder, but while it is stronger than Soul Master, the player should be as well. Upgrades such as the Monarch Wings can help a player deal with the teleporting orbs and fake-out dives of Soul Tyrant, and there is plenty of downtime for healing.

• Location — Royal Waterways
• HP — 1600
• Reward — 300 Essence

The Dream variant of Dung Defender is essentially the same, except for a new spike attack and increased health. This attack pretty much requires the Shadow Dash upgrade to avoid. Once you learn that new spike attack and how to avoid it, the fight becomes just an extended version of the original Dung Defender fight.

• Location — The Hive
• HP — 800/800/800/850/920 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — Hiveblood

Hive Knight is an optional boss that is quick and aggressive in combat. Many players consider Hive Knight to be difficult, but the difficulty of facing him depends on when you decide to engage him. Most players will encounter him after obtaining the Shade Cloak upgrade, along with a few additional masks to absorb damage. This makes the fight challenging but doable; however, the earlier you fight him, the harder the fight becomes.

• Location — The Colosseum
• HP — 1050
• Reward — Trial of the Fool rewards

God Tamer is the final boss of the Colosseum’s Trial of the Fool. While many veteran Hollow Knight players know how to cheese this fight, it will be a challenge for a first-time player. The real challenge is that you must face it after a gauntlet of other battles, but if you stay cautious and patient, this duo will fall all the same. The Tamer attacks with spears, and the Beast lunges at you, but both can be juggled with patience.

• Location — The Kingdom’s Edge
• HP — 700
• Reward — King’s Brand

The second Hornet fight is arguably one of the most challenging battles in Hollow Knight. While her moveset is similar to her initial fight, she gains new attacks, hits harder, and is much more aggressive. The fight tests the player’s ability to adapt to Hornet as well as avoid arena hazards.

• Location — Dirtmouth
• HP — 800/800/800/930/1000 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — Charm Notch and Grimmchild Lv3

Grimm is a fast-paced duel with flashy attacks, making him incredibly tricky on your first playthrough. While his attacks can be hard to read, they are well telegraphed, and after a few attempts, his patterns will be revealed. Once you learn the pattern, he isn’t too bad, but getting to that point is a bit more demanding.

• Location — Godmaster DLC
• HP — 2100
• Reward — N/A

The Oro & Mato boss fight doesn’t seem very difficult at first, but many players find themselves losing due to underestimating the brothers. There are a few tried-and-true strategies to trivialize the fight, such as manipulating their AI into behaving in certain ways due to spacing. However, first you must learn exactly how their swings and dashes coordinate with each other, and managing two enemies at once is difficult.

• Location — Godmaster DLC
• HP — 950
• Reward — N/A

While Sheo has less than half the health of Oro and Mato, his attacks trouble more players because his AI can’t be abused. He uses a variety of paint-based attacks that cover large areas, and he seemingly attacks at random.

• Location — Watcher’s Spire
• HP — 1320/1320/1320/1440/1560 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 655 Geo

The Watcher Knights boss fight is a 6-on-1 boss gauntlet that is notorious among Hollow Knight fans. The fight is supposed to involve two knights fighting in sync with each other, but if they desynchronize, the fight can get out of hand quickly. Many consider it one of the most challenging fights in the base game, and completing the fight with minimal upgrades increases the difficulty even further.

• Location — The Colosseum
• HP — 560-620
• Reward — Trial of the Conqueror Rewards

At the end of the Trial of the Conqueror in the Colosseum, you fight two of these giant flying bugs. Dealing with two of these enemies can be a nightmare as their projectiles test your movement and mastery of your evasive skills. Once you kill the first one, the fight dips in difficulty, but many fans consider the Oblobbles a sudden spike in challenge.

• Location — Ancient Basin
• HP — 1200
• Reward — 400 Essence

Many Hollow Knight fans consider the Lost Kin to be the most challenging fight before reaching the true final battles. The dream variant of Broken Vessel, Lost Kin is much faster and more aggressive. Not only do players have to deal with the fight, but they also have to avoid constant infection blobs that chase them around the arena.

• Location — Godmaster DLC
• HP — 750
• Reward — N/A

Granting wings to Nosk is one of the many ways Team Cherry elevated a frustrating fight to downright irritating. Its new swooping attack has a deceptive hitbox that can even catch Hollow Knight veterans off guard. This iteration of Nosk is just as unpredictable, and unless you have sharp focus and good movement, Winged Nosk can be a struggle.

• Location — Queen’s Gardens
• HP — 800
• Reward — N/A

Traitor Lord is infamous in the community for the massive amount of damage it deals. The Traitor Lord deploys scythe attacks that deal 2 Masks of damage per hit and can easily kill a player with just a few mistakes. Before the DLC boss fights, many agreed that Traitor Lord is one of the hardest fights in the game, but now, the harder DLC fights have taken their place at the top.

• Location — Hidden Dreams DLC
• HP — 1200-1500
• Reward — 300 Essence

Grey Prince Zote is a strange boss fight in a game filled with strange boss fights. Many players consider this fight their least favorite because it gets stronger every time they defeat it. His attacks are unpredictable and zany, but he is optional even if you want to fight him once instead of the full 10 times needed for the Golden Zote Statue.

• Location — Godmaster DLC
• HP — 1050
• Reward — N/A

Sly is tiny but incredibly fast. Some veterans consider him comparable to some of the hardest fights in the game. He uses dashes, spins, and even his own nail art. He is a downright unrelenting force with combos and aggression, but luckily, he is optional.

• Location — Forgotten Crossroads
• HP — 1260
• Reward — 300 Essence

The dream variant of False Knight, upon first glance, is out of place this high up in the list. However, not only is the False Knight’s damage doubled in his Failed Champion form, but he is shockingly much faster and moves erratically, making it easy to catch a player off guard. Also, since this is a dream variant fight, you don’t gain any soul when hitting him, reducing your healing options. A prime example of just how a few changes can turn one of the easiest bosses into one of the hardest.

• Location — Godmaster DLC
• HP — 2750
• Reward — N/A

The Sisters of Battle is an upgraded Mantis Lords boss fight where you must fight all three sisters at the same time. This fight is essentially the same as the Mantis Lords’, but the spectacle has been dialed up to eleven, with you now having to memorize an even faster version of a decently paced pattern from earlier in the game. While it isn’t uncommon to die in this rematch, once you master it, it becomes much simpler and one of the best fights in the game.

• Location — Forgotten Crossroads
• HP — 1700
• Reward — N/A

The final boss fight in Hollow Knight tests you on everything you have learned throughout your playthrough, like a great final boss should. Before the DLC was added, Radiance was for sure the hardest boss fight in all of Hollow Knight, with her many full-screen attacks. Unfortunately, you also have to fight the Hollow Knight every time you want to attempt the Radiance, adding another layer of stress.

• Location — Kingdom’s Edge
• HP — 250/400/520/624/705 (Depending on your Nail upgrades)
• Reward — 250 Essence

While most of the Warrior Dream fights are easy, Markoth is not only the hardest Warrior Dream fight but also one of the hardest boss fights in the game. Typically, Markoth isn’t that bad, but if you choose to face Markoth in the Pantheon of Hallownest, you’ll quickly see why the Steam community would rather not talk about this fight. Specifically in his pantheon arena, there is no floor, so you have to move and dodge his seemingly endless attacks consistently.

• Location — Dirtmouth
• HP — 1500
• Reward — Grimmchild Lv4

Similar to the Sisters of Battle and Mantis Lord fights, this is an upgraded version of an earlier boss fight; in this case, Troupe Master Grimm. This fight is incredibly fast and punishing, and even set to an intense soundtrack, further instilling the sense that it’s all a deadly dance. Before the Godmaster DLC, Nightmare King Grimm was almost unanimously voted by the community as the hardest boss in the game. Unlike many other fights on this list, this fight has no gimmicks; it is all up to your skill as a player.

• Location — Godmaster DLC
• HP — 1600
• Reward — N/A

The Pure Vessel is the dream variant of the Hollow Knight that can be fought in the Godmaster DLC. The boss is incredibly fast and has a dangerous moveset of triple hit combos, teleportation, and AoE attacks. What makes Pure Vessel so formidable is that there isn’t really any opportunity to heal, so when you face off against the Pure Vessel, you should be prepared to be on the offensive.

• Location — Godmaster DLC
• HP — 2181
• Reward — N/A

The hardest boss in Hollow Knight is, without a doubt, Absolute Radiance. The original Radiance boss fight was already one of the hardest challenges a Hollow Knight player can experience, but Team Cherry completely enhanced her attacks in the Absolute Radiance fight: more blades to dodge, denser and more complex bullet patterns, and a challenging final platforming section. Not only are these attacks difficult to deal with, but during the Pantheon, you must first fight through dozens of other bosses, and then be sharp enough to contend with Absolute Radiance. While Absolute Radiance is more consistent than some of the other entries on this list, the stamina and precision needed to defeat her stamp the fight as the most difficult Hollow Knight boss.