Gaming Hollow Knight - GOAT Metroidvania

amolbhatia50k

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I got to 107% and I'm not very good so I think that's doable for most people. Anything beyond that is for crazy nutters. There skill needed for that last 5% is beyond me I reckon. It's just for challenge sake I think.
I'd probably take 10-15 hours of gameplay (dying) to go from 93/94 to 107 so I'm not really enticed by the thought tbh :lol:

I can just see myself struggling my way through the pantheon and then being unable unable see it through. Heck Grey Zote seems impossible to me. The less about my encounters with Grimme the better!

I'll probably try to wrap up the trials before ending it given I've reached the boss on the last one a few times.
 

Ainu

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I feel I'm done with the game. I'd say I'm an average level player at this one and while it's been such a brilliant experience, not really seeing the point in playing further given I don't bother with trophies/completionist-ism on any game. Any real incentive to play stuff like the hall of gods/grimme ? Mainly the challenge of it right?
Grimm Troupe does have some actual rewards but yeah, the main incentive is just to experience that brilliant second boss fight. The additional charm notch you can pick up by defeating the weaker version of the boss is priceless though. Godhome doesn't give any rewards, unless you count exclusive boss fights as rewards, but in that case you're probably looking for the challenge and joy of fighting them anyway. Even if you're not interested in that, it can still be fun to poke around there and just do some boss fights you might've found fun during the base game.
 

Dirty Schwein

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I'd probably take 10-15 hours of gameplay (dying) to go from 93/94 to 107 so I'm not really enticed by the thought tbh :lol:

I can just see myself struggling my way through the pantheon and then being unable unable see it through. Heck Grey Zote seems impossible to me. The less about my encounters with Grimme the better!

I'll probably try to wrap up the trials before ending it given I've reached the boss on the last one a few times.
The last 5% missing for me are Trial Of Fools (which I think I could have done if I tried) and the 4 pantheons (which I was never going to do as I'm not into boss rush games).
 

Dirty Schwein

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Grimm Troupe does have some actual rewards but yeah, the main incentive is just to experience that brilliant second boss fight. The additional charm notch you can pick up by defeating the weaker version of the boss is priceless though. Godhome doesn't give any rewards, unless you count exclusive boss fights as rewards, but in that case you're probably looking for the challenge and joy of fighting them anyway. Even if you're not interested in that, it can still be fun to poke around there and just do some boss fights you might've found fun during the base game.
That was the hardest boss for me overall.
 

Ainu

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Grimm is a top-3 boss in the game. And for me the best and most enjoyable fight by a long margin.
It's close, but I'd have Pure Vessel and Sisters of Battle above it. Maybe even regular Mantis Lords as a more fun fight, but that just doesn't feel right once you've played Sisters of Battle.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Grimm is a top-3 boss in the game. And for me the best and most enjoyable fight by a long margin.

Edit: Or maybe second after Mantis Lords.
Did you actually manage to do all the pantheons? Using all the boss buffs (I think that's what they are)? Seems an impossible task. It's like Sekiro, adore the game bur there's no way I'm good enough to do the boss rush mode in that.
 

amolbhatia50k

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I
I got to 107% and I'm not very good so I think that's doable for most people. Anything beyond that is for crazy nutters. There skill needed for that last 5% is beyond me I reckon. It's just for challenge sake I think.
I'm now wondering why I'm at a mere 93 per cent.
 

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It's close, but I'd have Pure Vessel and Sisters of Battle above it. Maybe even regular Mantis Lords as a more fun fight, but that just doesn't feel right once you've played Sisters of Battle.
Yeah I edited it. But yeah, can't have finished the game without playing that. The whole construct is fantastic, such a smooth pattern to it. There were times I was soo into it I'd start keeping up with the bgm and get into a proper rhythm.

@amolbhatia50k did you at least get the True Ending and kill The Radiance? Not the most enjoyable fight but largely satisfactory the first time you get the bitch down. :lol:
 

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Did you actually manage to do all the pantheons? Using all the boss buffs (I think that's what they are)? Seems an impossible task. It's like Sekiro, adore the game bur there's no way I'm good enough to do the boss rush mode in that.
Not all, I did 3 and yeah, it's not for everybody. By buffs do you mean bindings? Yeah that's reserved for god gamers like @dumbo . You pretty much have to know each move like the back of your hand to get to that level and never get hit.
 

)_(

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Okay my laptop has no problem running HK and the randomiser with custom knight/debug/bench warp etc installed. I started with the basic settings but think I'll do an everything rando soon, might throw in an enemy rando to spice it up a bit though I'm already dying from silly sh*t more than enough in regular mode.

On my ps4 I've managed to get to p3 even though I said I wouldn't start on the pantheons because I don't really care about boss rushes. Once I've done that I think I'll probably move on though I do want to try sisters of battle, pv and absrad but I think you're able to download a godhome save file somewhere...might just do that cause no way am I getting through p4 especially barely being able to beat tmg let alone nkg. That's one fight I can't be bothered to grind.
I'm now wondering why I'm at a mere 93 per cent.
Missing charms, vessel or mask fragments? Maybe some areas undiscovered? Most boss fights also count as a percent. You've managed to get there quickly though from only just posting about the awoken dream nail and now already finished white palace, and the final-final boss I assume?

Honestly if I'm able to do colo 3 and the first two pantheons anyone can.

@Moby honestly I still go back to beat her up when I'm frustrated with failing at p3. I still have the screenshot from when I first beat her cause that took me absolute ages. Of course at this point I'm wondering why the hell it took me so long in the first place.
 

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@Moby honestly I still go back to beat her up when I'm frustrated with failing at p3. I still have the screenshot from when I first beat her cause that took me absolute ages. Of course at this point I'm wondering why the hell it took me so long in the first place.
Yeah. I did it in one session I think but just kept on panicking on that stupid 4th phase. The orbs absolutely did me in as did the side rain.

Tbf, I never spammed D-Dive in this game and that's probably I've not made it far in the Pantheons. But then, I feel that is cheesing because the i-frames are just ridiculous. I mean fireb0rn and others did Any Radiance only and only because of that spell, otherwise there is no way humanly possibly for anyone to get through 5 seconds of that. It's a very OP spell that makes fights like GPZ completely trivial. I generally using the Shriek a lot, and a fair but of VS. But generally avoid D-Dive unless it is a bit specific like White Defender or something.
 

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Yeah. I did it in one session I think but just kept on panicking on that stupid 4th phase. The orbs absolutely did me in as did the side rain.

Tbf, I never spammed D-Dive in this game and that's probably I've not made it far in the Pantheons. But then, I feel that is cheesing because the i-frames are just ridiculous. I mean fireb0rn and others did Any Radiance only and only because of that spell, otherwise there is no way humanly possibly for anyone to get through 5 seconds of that. It's a very OP spell that makes fights like GPZ completely trivial. I generally using the Shriek a lot, and a fair but of VS. But generally avoid D-Dive unless it is a bit specific like White Defender or something.
In P5, you need all the help you can get! As for Zote, spamming DD is not going to be an option if you arrive with a couple of masks and no soul from making a mess of that fecking no floor Markoth hell.
 

)_(

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Yeah. I did it in one session I think but just kept on panicking on that stupid 4th phase. The orbs absolutely did me in as did the side rain.

Tbf, I never spammed D-Dive in this game and that's probably I've not made it far in the Pantheons. But then, I feel that is cheesing because the i-frames are just ridiculous. I mean fireb0rn and others did Any Radiance only and only because of that spell, otherwise there is no way humanly possibly for anyone to get through 5 seconds of that. It's a very OP spell that makes fights like GPZ completely trivial. I generally using the Shriek a lot, and a fair but of VS. But generally avoid D-Dive unless it is a bit specific like White Defender or something.
Yea, eventually I just learned to be patient d camp out on the middle platform. I'm only now really going after her more actively. I stupidly died several times during the climb, the first time I beat her I went up with 3 masks thinking I wouldn't make it and somehow that made me calm enough to actually beat her :')

Learning to use ddark has been what's saved me, in general learning how to use spells but especially ddark. Tbf the really good players know how to use shriek on bosses like gpz, watchers, etc. and yea what @Ainu said, you'd be lucky to get to gpz with with enough health and soul, but if you're not trying a speedrun then pogo'ing and ddark is the best way to go about beating gpz but it's still not necessarily easy to me with his erratic movement.

My one complaint is that once you're fully upgraded it's hard to beat the bosses again with minimal equipment. I started an any % speedrun and I'm just completely incapable of beating watchers with just nail 0 and vs.

No not room rando yet, that might be taking it too far for now :') Just everything item rando. I now have the most basic settings which leaves things like geo rocks, grubs, dream trees and lore out of the randomisation. Might also try enemy rando just for the jankiness.
 

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Yea, eventually I just learned to be patient d camp out on the middle platform. I'm only now really going after her more actively. I stupidly died several times during the climb, the first time I beat her I went up with 3 masks thinking I wouldn't make it and somehow that made me calm enough to actually beat her :')

Learning to use ddark has been what's saved me, in general learning how to use spells but especially ddark. Tbf the really good players know how to use shriek on bosses like gpz, watchers, etc. and yea what @Ainu said, you'd be lucky to get to gpz with with enough health and soul, but if you're not trying a speedrun then pogo'ing and ddark is the best way to go about beating gpz but it's still not necessarily easy to me with his erratic movement.

My one complaint is that once you're fully upgraded it's hard to beat the bosses again with minimal equipment. I started an any % speedrun and I'm just completely incapable of beating watchers with just nail 0 and vs.

No not room rando yet, that might be taking it too far for now :') Just everything item rando. I now have the most basic settings which leaves things like geo rocks, grubs, dream trees and lore out of the randomisation. Might also try enemy rando just for the jankiness.
Watcher Knights without double jump and shade cloak is no fun, that's tricky for everyone who isn't an experienced speedrunner. Pogoing GPZ? I assume you mean during his sword flail, because all other times his constant and erratic jumping will mess you up. Even during the sword flail I sort of hate it, since you can never predict when he'll fall down.
 

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My one complaint is that once you're fully upgraded it's hard to beat the bosses again with minimal equipment. I started an any % speedrun and I'm just completely incapable of beating watchers with just nail 0 and vs.
Yeah we were discussing that here a few days back, once you have spent ages in Godhome with a maxxed out knight then going back to basics is a pain. You pretty much gotta max out the DPS using nail and spells in perfect tandem and never taking hits.
 

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Watcher Knights without double jump and shade cloak is no fun, that's tricky for everyone who isn't an experienced speedrunner. Pogoing GPZ? I assume you mean during his sword flail, because all other times his constant and erratic jumping will mess you up. Even during the sword flail I sort of hate it, since you can never predict when he'll fall down.
Team Cheery sure love to take the piss all the time.
- Most difficult platforming section in the game that gives you sweet feckall in terms of reward. Oh wait, a cut scene!
- Save an NPC twice in the game only for him to become the worst boss quest to finish.
- No completion or trophy (on PS) for getting the true ending! I can't even brag about having beaten fecking Radiance.
 

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Team Cheery sure love to take the piss all the time.
- Most difficult platforming section in the game that gives you sweet feckall in terms of reward. Oh wait, a cut scene!
- Save an NPC twice in the game only for him to become the worst boss quest to finish.
- No completion or trophy (on PS) for getting the true ending! I can't even brag about having beaten fecking Radiance.
At least there's that sweet trophy for completing P5. ;) :drool:
 

)_(

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@Ainu yea during that phase, the rest of the phases it's just a matter of dodging and trying to get some hits in for soul for ddark if you're a regular person and not a god gamer.
@Moby yea it's a pain. I followed fireb0rn's watchers tutorial but I can barely kill one of them with nail 0 and vs, with some luck I kill one or two before my health runs out. Meanwhile fully upgraded you just absolutely shred through them in no time at all.

I love lore so I appreciate that cutscene but maybe I would feel differently if I actually managed to do pop. I've tried it once but it completely fecks my hands but I'll probably give it a try in the future.

We still have hopefully only a few months left before silksong so there's still some time to do all of it before that takes up all my gaming time but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to p5, radiant hall of gods and pop.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Yeah I edited it. But yeah, can't have finished the game without playing that. The whole construct is fantastic, such a smooth pattern to it. There were times I was soo into it I'd start keeping up with the bgm and get into a proper rhythm.

@amolbhatia50k did you at least get the True Ending and kill The Radiance? Not the most enjoyable fight but largely satisfactory the first time you get the bitch down. :lol:
I just kept hitting HK not realizing you could use the dream nail. Will give this a go.

It's a bit of a shame that my skill level at this is not great as I don't feel like putting the game down soon! But I guess I've covered most of the experience. Will watch some of the rest on YouTube. Oh well, I only have the incredible Outer Wilds to replay along with its highly rated DLC content:D
 

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I just kept hitting HK not realizing you could use the dream nail. Will give this a go.

It's a bit of a shame that my skill level at this is not great as I don't feel like putting the game down soon! But I guess I've covered most of the experience. Will watch some of the rest on YouTube. Oh well, I only have the incredible Outer Wilds to replay along with its highly rated DLC content:D
Yeah fight the Radiance for sure. It's a relatively long fight but you get the good ending.
 

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So I'm on my first rando and my lantern is stuck at the end of white palace... I did just get my awoken dream nail but don't have wings yet so not sure if I want to tackle white palace already or just go around hoping I'll find wings.

@amolbhatia50k Is your map completely filled in? And yea absolutely fight the radiance, it's a much better ending imo and once you get the hang of it it's a pretty fun fight, to me at least.

I've actually been trying to fight absrad cause I managed to download a save file. Tried Sly first, failed but couldn't be bothered then did PV which was just frustrating cause I couldn't even get a rhythm going before unceremoniously dying over and over but I am actually enjoying trying out absrad...unexpectedly.
 

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So I'm on my first rando and my lantern is stuck at the end of white palace... I did just get my awoken dream nail but don't have wings yet so not sure if I want to tackle white palace already or just go around hoping I'll find wings.

@amolbhatia50k Is your map completely filled in? And yea absolutely fight the radiance, it's a much better ending imo and once you get the hang of it it's a pretty fun fight, to me at least.

I've actually been trying to fight absrad cause I managed to download a save file. Tried Sly first, failed but couldn't be bothered then did PV which was just frustrating cause I couldn't even get a rhythm going before unceremoniously dying over and over but I am actually enjoying trying out absrad...unexpectedly.
PV is seriously hard to get a hang of. I rate its learning curve above NKG in difficulty. You can get away with mistakes against NKG, but a single error against PV can escalate extremely quickly. It's also the hardest fight outside of AbsRad for me to get back into if I've been away from the game. Just so fast and relentless.

Enjoy AbsRad, took me 150 attempts for my first win against her. :lol: That's not an exaggeration, seriously.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Do you guys think this has any replay value? Didn't seem to have a NG plus mode but an even harder perma death one instead. Otherwise anyone played it again?
 

amolbhatia50k

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So I realized that I didn't have all the notch and mask shard upgrades and after that managed to finish the third trial in one go
 

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PV is seriously hard to get a hang of. I rate its learning curve above NKG in difficulty. You can get away with mistakes against NKG, but a single error against PV can escalate extremely quickly. It's also the hardest fight outside of AbsRad for me to get back into if I've been away from the game. Just so fast and relentless.

Enjoy AbsRad, took me 150 attempts for my first win against her. :lol: That's not an exaggeration, seriously.
caf wouldn't let me respond earlier so I'm hoping this goes through. But yea that has been my experience with PV though I haven't fought NKG as far as I remember, maybe one or two times, so I can't really compare the two. I feel like the difference between PV and THK is higher than the other bosses that have two versions.

I don't know which try I'm on, maybe I should take note, but did manage to get to the platform phase when I last played it a few days ago. Also managed to make it to the climb during that run miraculously but got sniped a few times on the climb. I can believe it, that it took you 150 times. You have to be a bit lucky too with the rng, sometimes you just get fecked from two sides and there's not much you can do about it unless you're a god gamer with amazing reflexes which I'm clearly not.

@amolbhatia50k I've played it a few times at this point, some (attempted) speedruns, now doing an item randomizer etc. And of course the challenges like the pantheons and path of pain. But this game is pretty popular to replay I think.. or maybe my opinion is skewed by all the hk streamers that are out there.
 

Dirty Schwein

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I think I'm going back in guys.

The Path Of Pain and Trial Of Fools are itches I just need to scratch.

Then the game is complete for me (I have no interest in the pantheons).

Gonna try TOF first.

Any tips?
 

Ainu

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I think I'm going back in guys.

The Path Of Pain and Trial Of Fools are itches I just need to scratch.

Then the game is complete for me (I have no interest in the pantheons).

Gonna try TOF first.

Any tips?
I've actually been going back as well recently! :lol:

The most important things in Trial of the Fool for me are enemy spawn points and being comfortable moving around with charged nail arts. At some point I changed my entire control scheme purely so I could use everything independently: keeping attack charged, jumping and dashing. There's going to be a lengthy no-floor section where you'll need to do a lot of continuous wall jumping and with the default control scheme, I found it incredibly hard to do that reliably while keeping attack charged. So make sure you find something you're comfortable with.

You'll want to be able to quickly finish off enemies with great slash right as they spawn, especially Primal Aspids (feck them!). Nailmaster's Glory is a fantastic charm for just one notch, use it. Unbreakable Strength is a no brainer and I personally always include Quick Slash as well. Some people like to rely on Hiveblood for healing in the no-floor phase, but I personally dislike that strategy. Four notches is too expensive and you're better off killing the enemies as quickly as possible.

My loadout (IIRC, it's been a while):
- Unbreakable Strength: duh. Make sure it's unbreakable and not fragile, we're not in the dream world like the pantheons
- Quick Slash: it's not an absolute must, as you'll be doing a lot of damage with nail arts. Can be replaced by Mark of Pride or Shaman Stone for example, or perhaps even a combination like Soul Catcher/Spell Twister + Dream Wielder
- Quick Focus: the quick heals cannot be underestimated
- Nailmaster's Glory: a must
- Grubsong: you'll be taking damage so getting some soul for healing in return is always good

Obviously this relies on having all available charm notches. If you don't have them, get them. Goes without saying you'll want pure nail and max masks and soul vessels.

After the no-floor section (it will take you a while to reach this point, I'd expect), don't panic. There will be a steady onslaught for a while but at some point, you'll be getting favourable enemy combinations and you'll be able to leave just one slow moving enemy alive. Abuse this situation to dream nail that enemy. Build up full masks and soul ahead of the boss that way. Dream Wielder makes this part easier which is why I've included it as a potential charm replacement, but it's not necessary. Once you reach the boss, if you're having trouble with it (I did initially), you'll be able to practice it in the Hall of Gods.

And that's pretty much all I've got at this point. Practice, memorize the rounds, know when it's safe to heal and try not to lose your mind over the no-floor section.
 

Dirty Schwein

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I've actually been going back as well recently! :lol:

The most important things in Trial of the Fool for me are enemy spawn points and being comfortable moving around with charged nail arts. At some point I changed my entire control scheme purely so I could use everything independently: keeping attack charged, jumping and dashing. There's going to be a lengthy no-floor section where you'll need to do a lot of continuous wall jumping and with the default control scheme, I found it incredibly hard to do that reliably while keeping attack charged. So make sure you find something you're comfortable with.

You'll want to be able to quickly finish off enemies with great slash right as they spawn, especially Primal Aspids (feck them!). Nailmaster's Glory is a fantastic charm for just one notch, use it. Unbreakable Strength is a no brainer and I personally always include Quick Slash as well. Some people like to rely on Hiveblood for healing in the no-floor phase, but I personally dislike that strategy. Four notches is too expensive and you're better off killing the enemies as quickly as possible.

My loadout (IIRC, it's been a while):
- Unbreakable Strength: duh. Make sure it's unbreakable and not fragile, we're not in the dream world like the pantheons
- Quick Slash: it's not an absolute must, as you'll be doing a lot of damage with nail arts. Can be replaced by Mark of Pride or Shaman Stone for example, or perhaps even a combination like Soul Catcher/Spell Twister + Dream Wielder
- Quick Focus: the quick heals cannot be underestimated
- Nailmaster's Glory: a must
- Grubsong: you'll be taking damage so getting some soul for healing in return is always good

Obviously this relies on having all available charm notches. If you don't have them, get them. Goes without saying you'll want pure nail and max masks and soul vessels.

After the no-floor section (it will take you a while to reach this point, I'd expect), don't panic. There will be a steady onslaught for a while but at some point, you'll be getting favourable enemy combinations and you'll be able to leave just one slow moving enemy alive. Abuse this situation to dream nail that enemy. Build up full masks and soul ahead of the boss that way. Dream Wielder makes this part easier which is why I've included it as a potential charm replacement, but it's not necessary. Once you reach the boss, if you're having trouble with it (I did initially), you'll be able to practice it in the Hall of Gods.

And that's pretty much all I've got at this point. Practice, memorize the rounds, know when it's safe to heal and try not to lose your mind over the no-floor section.
Thanks for that mate.

I've played it 3 times since jumping back in and I'm currently getting to Wave 11 consistently (when the Soul Warrior and Soul Twisters gang up on you).

I know the floor-less part will be difficult but I think I can do it with some attempts.

My current setup is something like:

Unbreakable Strength
Nailmasters Glory
Mark Of Pride
Quick Slash
Thorns Of Agony

Or something like the above. I'll have to try a few variations.

Not sure why but I'm playing it on the Switch handheld mode... I obviously like to make things harder for myself!

Why am I doing this to myself :lol: