Every Boss Fight In Hollow Knight Ranked From Least To Most Difficult (2024)

Never has a game so cute been quite as punishing as Hollow Knight. At least with Souls games, you know the moment you enter the gritty, twisted world what you're getting into, but Hollow Knight walks the tightrope between cozy and carnage seamlessly. And this is most clear to see when you come face to face with the many bosses within Hallownest.

Hollow Knight houses some truly special boss battles, each with their own nuances, quirks, and frustrations. But we want to answer once and for all, which of these bosses offers the sternest test. This will be a bumper list, so strap in!

34 Vengefly King

There isn't much to say about the Vengefly King, really. They get some brownie points for giving Zote a hard time and offering a little comedic moment. But as a boss, they are just a big Vengefly that swoops from left to right. If you found this hard, then I dread to think how you got on with the rest of the bosses on this list.

33 Gruz Mother

Gruz Mother is another boss who makes you think, 'Is this really worthy of being a named boss?'

They have a rather intimidating pinball attack where they cannon off the walls of the arena, but you can just take a step back and let that all play out in safety. A little bit harder than Vengefly King, but still 0.1 on the Hollow Knight hardness Richter scale.

32 False Knight

I would say that False Knight, just barely, earns the status of 'named Hollow Knight boss.' This is the first real challenging encounter the game has to offer, and it forces the player to learn attack patterns, wait for windows to strike, and serves as the first mandatory hurdle to overcome to get to Greenpath. It's kind of like the Asylum Demon in Dark Souls. Initially terrifying, but laughably easy in hindsight.

31 Massive Moss Charger

We are moving up the difficulty scale at a glacial pace here, but I have to cover all bases here like the consummate professional I am. The Massive Moss Charger is just a juiced up version of the standard variants you will find in Greenpath.

Most of the difficulty in this fight comes from the fact that their choice of either a low charge or jumping attack is quite hard to read, but provided you give yourself a second to react accordingly, this one is a walk in the park.

30 Dung Defender

As much as I love Dung Defender as a character, and could listen all day to their 'Doma Doma Doma' chant, their fight really isn't all that tough. Dung Defender has a few clever attacks, like the attack where he dives into and out of the ground, and his triple poop ball attack.

But the fact of the matter is, even if you do make an error, there are so many opportunities to hit him, get SOUL, and heal in a safe space. He gets a ten for pageantry and charisma but a much lesser score for actual battle strategy.

29 Uumuu

Considering Uumuu is one of the three Dreamers needed to unlock the Black Egg Temple, you would expect a battle of some magnitude. But what it boils down to is a room with several platforms that you will need to use to avoid electric shock attacks, and periodically, Quirrel will pop in to attack Uumuu and make them vulnerable.

Rinse and repeat, and the job is done. It's laughably easy, not one bit as fun as a fight, and if you have Isma's Tear, there isn't even the jeopardy of falling to your doom if you platform poorly. All in all, a real letdown deserving of this low rank.

28 Flukemarm

I will concede that if you don't have your nail upgraded, Flukemarm can be a real test, as his minions will overwhelm you. But if you have spent some Pale Ore upgrading your weapon, you can deal with them in one hit, freeing you up to take out the big maggoty monster in the middle of the room, which doesn't have all that much health to begin with.

The charm you get makes this a fight well worth seeking out for spell users, but as a fight, it's one that'll be over before you know it.

27 Crystal Guardian

The reason Crystal Guardian finds themselves down so long is two-pronged. One being that they are not all that tough to beat, as their Laser attacks are pretty one-note.

Then secondly, if you have access to the Defenders Crest Charm, you can simply stand beside the bench they are sitting on, and they will eventually die without you having to engage in battle at all. But whether you fight them or cheese the fight, they won't give you much trouble either way.

26 Enraged Guardian

The second Crystal Guardian fight is essentially more of the same when compared to the fight above. The key difference is that this Enraged Guardian hits for two masks. This means you need to ensure you really know how to stay away from those lasers. But that doesn't mean play with caution, because, in this frenetic fight, that'll get you killed.

But all in all, it's just a slightly more dynamic version of the fight with the first guardian, in which you'll be harder punished for mistakes. Oh, and you can't just use Defender's Crest to skip this one, sorry.

25 Brooding Mawlek

We are right on the precipice of what I would consider intermediate Hollow Knight Bosses, and I believe Brooding Mawlek earns that label more through frustrating attacks than anything else.

The fight is one of the first listed that really forces players to dodge projectiles with precision, and when they use their attack that covers half the battlefield, you need to be on your toes, ready to jump, dodge, and nail jump on their head to safety. It's an intermediate boss because mindless running, jumping, and slashing just won't cut it here. And this, my little Knight's, is where the bosses start forcing you to use strategy.

24 Hive Knight

If we were ranking based on the journey to the boss, then Hive Knight would be a lot higher, but when you actually get to Hive Knight, they aren't all that tricky as a boss. All of their attacks are clearly telegraphed, their projectiles are quite easy to stay out of range from.

Especially having endured the rooms leading to their lair, and if you have the Shade Cloak, it's doubtful they will even lay a finger on you. It's a fight you shouldn't underestimate, as it's no cakewalk, but it's not even in the conversation when it comes to Hollow Knight's hardest bosses.

23 The Collector

This may seem a little harsh, and depending on when you face The Collector, I would be inclined to agree. But here's the thing, due to the rather secretive nature of The Collector, it will probably be one of the last things you do within the game outside Godhome, which means you'll have a fully upgraded nail. And with said upgraded nail, this fight is nothing special.

The jeopardy comes from the fodder enemies that spawn around you as The Collector hops around, but with a high-powered nail, they go down in one hit. So, if you focus on taking them out as they appear, this fight becomes quite trivial. His jumps can be a little erratic too, but overall, it's a fight that's more of a novelty than anything else.

22 Hornet (Greenpath)

Ah, Hornet. The subject of Hollow Knight Silksong, and the first boss you'll face that will have you screaming expletives and tossing controllers at walls. Hornet is a real rite of passage in Hollow Knight. A boss that forces you to master all your basic controls and movement mechanics before the game blesses you with the power to dash.

Hornet is agile, has a variety of attacks that are all quite hard to read, and because you have no dash, this fight feels like you're trying to run through treacle. If you can clear this fight, however, you'll feel like you can take on anyone.

21 Winged Nosk

While I may have given The Vengefly King the wooden spoon on this list, I have to give props to Team Cherry for actually making that fight format reasonably challenging by tweaking it in the form of Godhome's Winged Nosk fight. This fight follows that same format of swooping attacks from left to right; only the minions are infection ghosts that hunt you down, and Winged Nosk will drop infection balls on the little platform, limiting the spaces you can safely land between swoops.

It's a fight that forces you to become adept at well-timed nail jumps and gives you no time to heal, unlike the Vengefly King fight, so there isn't much room for errors. But even with that in mind, by the time you get to Godhome, careful platforming, nail jumps, and fast reactions will be second nature to you. So while it is a step up, it's still pretty middle of the road where difficulty is concerned.

20 Soul Master

At the top of Soul Sanctum, you'll find Soul Master, which is, in terms of design, one of my favorite fights in the game. Soul Master is a juiced-up hybrid of a Soul Twister and a Soul Warrior, and will come at you with a variety of quick charge attacks, fiery projectiles, and will teleport around the place, making them tough to attack consistently.

This one is all about keeping as close as possible to them without taking damage as a result and requires quick movement, an ability to think ahead, and self-preservation as there aren't a lot of moments to heal. It's a tricky fight, but equally, it's at the beginning of the game for a reason.

19 Nosk

Finding Nosk is a pretty surreal and creepy experience, as he morphs from a clone of the Knight into a terrifying spider creature. They are fast, have a number of very frustrating attacks, and regularly disappear, forcing you to dodge the raining infection with no means of reply.

If you try and fight them Honorably, this is a really tricky fight, but this one actually has a cheese/gimmick that makes the fight much easier. If you use either side of his raised area in the middle of the arena, you can avoid all physical attacks, and that only leaves the infection as a potential hazard. Even with that in mind, it's still one that will test your battle acumen, but thanks to that evasion strategy, it's far from the devastatingly hard fight it could have been.

18 Paintmaster Sheo

Up next, we have Paintmaster Sheo, the solo fight concerning the Nailmasters. This one is all about avoiding Sheo's paint projectiles and using space effectively. They offer a range of physical and projectile attacks, which means it's best to run in, get a few hits in, and then get to a safe distance again, allowing you to focus on avoiding the falling paint.

The only exception is the yellow paint stab attack, which is fast, and has a huge range. However, as long as you exercise patience and don't get too greedy during this fight, it's actually a pretty routine one, and seeing as it's an end-game battle only available via the Pantheons of Godhome, you'll have faced worse. Much, much worse.

17 Brothers Oro and Mato

As is the case with most boss battles, more than one enemy to contend with usually spells trouble, and Oro and Mato prove that point. The fight is manageable initially as you'll only have to battle Oro, who uses Great Slashes and fast dash slashes. However, when you beat Oro in the first phase, Mato drops in, and you have two identical bosses to contend with.

There isn't much time to heal here, as they are pretty relentless. So the key here is to try and keep them both on screen to see the cues as they happen, as they move pretty fast, and the cues really do help. They tend to take turns attacking, swapping in and out, so provided you can get into a rhythm, you should be able to make it out of this one alive.

16 Hornet (Kingdom's Edge)

Get angry if you want, but I'm going to say it. Hornet II isn't as hard as everyone makes her out to be. She's not easy, don't get me wrong, but in principle, she is just the fight from Greenpath with some added extras. She moves a little faster, has some parry moves so you can't spam attacks, and in the latter stages of the fight she spawns hazards around the arena to box you in.

However, the trade-off is that by this point, you'll likely have a dash, double jump, improved nail, extra charms, and more. This means this Hornet fight shouldn't take more than a few tries. It's a very reactionary fight, and that's perhaps what can hold a few players back, as strategy will only get you so far. But all in all, if you've soaked up all the lessons Hollow Knight has taught you, Hornet should go down easy.

15 White Defender

Dream Bosses, by their very nature, are tough bosses, as they are heightened versions of existing bosses. But at the end of the day, the difficulty is going to be relative to the boss they are modeled on. So, in the case of Dung Defender's dream variant, White Defender, it's a tougher fight, but it's still a fight against Dung Defender.

He has more health, the number of projectiles is increased, the speed of attacks is heightened, and he also has a few new moves, like a diving spike wave attack. This all makes it a tougher challenge than before, but even still, due to the abundance of moments where you can heal in relative safety, this fight is limited by the overall initial design.