Best Early Charms To Get In Hollow Knight

Summary

• Fragile Strength is a must-buy with a 50% damage boost for nail attacks.
• Quick Slash offers 54% attack speed boost in Kingdom’s Edge.
• Shaman Stone increases spell damage and AoE for only 220 Geo.

The wait for the follow-up to Team Cherry’s 2017 Metroidvania Hollow Knight gets longer every day. While Silksong is likely still some ways away, there’s never been a better time for new players to go back and find out just why fans anticipate the sequel so highly. The 2018 Voidheart edition of the game includes all the post-launch DLC, giving players a huge Metroidvania map to uncover that’s filled with secrets, new abilities, and boss encounters.

But new players should be warned, Hollow Knight is not an easy game. Later stages, especially, can demand some precise platforming, fighting, and careful use of movement skills. It can help a lot to know what items to seek out to get stronger. Charms are like passive buffs that players can equip for their character, and having the right ones can help in a variety of situations.

Charms are either found in the environment or purchased from NPC vendors. Some are easy to obtain, and others that involve a bit more work. These charms are all obtainable early on and will give new players an edge if they seek them out, though this topic will also mention a couple that appear a little later but are still worth finding as soon as the player has access.

1

Fragile/Unbreakable Strength

Must-Have Damage Bonus

• Geo Cost: 600/480
• Notches: 3
• Location: Fungal Wastes (Leg Eater NPC vendor)
• Effect: 50% more attack damage with the nail

Fragile strength is easy to obtain, and offers one of the best passive bonuses in the game, giving the player an additional 50% damage with their nail attacks. The NPC Leg Eater has a cave that’s close to the entrance to Fungal Wastes from the Forgotten Crossroads. Players can buy the charm from him for 600 Geo, or 480 if they have the Defender’s Crest equipped.

The fragile charm will break if the player dies with it equipped, but Leg Eater can repair it for a cost. Much later on, the charm can be upgraded to Unbreakable Strength, which will no longer break if the player dies.

2

Quick Slash

Attack Speed Boost

• Geo Cost: None
• Notches: 3
• Location: Kingdom’s Edge (Below Nailmaster Oro’s hut)
• Effect: 54% more attack speed with the nail

Quick Slash isn’t the easiest charm to obtain early, as players will need to travel to the easternmost part of the map, Kingdom’s Edge. They’ll also need the Desolate Dive skill to break through the floor and get to this charm, which means Soul Master must be defeated in the Soul Sanctum.

Quick Slash is worth seeking out, though, as its 54% attack speed bonus offers amazing synergy with a number of other charms. To find it, players need to break the floor near the training dummy to the east of Nailmaster Oro’s hut, then follow the passage around to the corpse of an ancient Nailmaster.

3

Shaman Stone

Magic Magnifier

• Geo Cost: 220
• Notches: 3
• Location: Forgotten Crossroads (Charm Lover Salubra NPC vendor)
• Effect: 33% more spell damage, larger spell AoE

Charm Lover Salubra is a vital NPC that any new player should seek out as soon as possible. Fortunately, she resides in the Forgotten Crossroads, one of the first areas players visit. Getting to her shop will require either the Mothwing Cloak (double jump) or the Mantis Claw (wall jump), but these powers are among the first that players will unlock.

Once players have access, the Shaman Stone is a great charm to buy, as it increases both the damage and the size of players’ magic spells.

4

Longnail/Mark of Pride

Bigger Reach

• Geo Cost: 300
• Notches: 2
• Location: Forgotten Crossroads (Charm Lover Salubra NPC vendor)
• Effect: Larger attack radius with the nail

Longnail is also available from Charm Lover Salubra and is another must-have early charm. This charm increases the size of the player’s nail attacks, giving them more reach with a wider hitbox. This can help players stay out of enemy attack range and avoid contact damage from enemies.

Later on, this charm can be replaced by Mark of Pride, which extends the attack range even further, but players will have to defeat the Mantis Lords to access the area with it.

5

Steady Body

Stand Your Ground

• Geo Cost: 120
• Notches: 1
• Location: Forgotten Crossroads (Charm Lover Salubra NPC vendor)
• Effect: No knockback (self) when attacking with the nail

Steady Body likely won’t be the first charm players buy from Charm Lover Salubra, but this unassuming, low-cost charm shouldn’t be ignored. The effect of this charm means that players no longer get knocked back when striking an enemy. New players will quickly notice that striking an enemy with the nail causes them to bounce back slightly.

This can make consecutive attacks difficult. Steady Body lets players stand in one spot while attacking, making multiple hits easier to achieve. That means the charm pairs well with others like Quick Slash and Strength to get maximum attack damage.

6

Quick Focus

Fast Healing

• Geo Cost: 800
• Notches: 3
• Location: Forgotten Crossroads (Charm Lover Salubra NPC vendor)
• Effect: Double casting speed for focus healing

Quick Focus is the most costly charm that Charm Lover Salubra sells, but it’s worth saving up the Geo for players who want to be able to heal in pressure situations. Quick Focus doubles the speed of healing with focus, which gives the player many more windows to heal in boss fights and tough gauntlets like the Colosseum of Fools. This charm combines well with other defensive charms like Stalwart Shell, Shape of Un, and Deep Focus later on, so it’s worth buying early.

7

Soul Catcher/Soul Eater

Increased Soul Generation

• Geo Cost: None
• Notches: 2
• Location: Ancestral Mound
• Effect: More soul is generated when hitting enemies with the nail

After beating the False Knight in the Forgotten Crossroads, players can access the Ancestral Mound from the left of his arena. Defeat the Elder Baldur in the Ancestral Mound and players can proceed through to collect the Soul Catcher charm. This charm generates more soul when the player hits an enemy with their nail. Since soul is used for both offensive magic and healing, this is a very useful charm to have early.

Later on, once players have the Desolate Dive and can access the Resting Grounds, this can be replaced by Soul Eater for a greater effect, though this version costs 4 notches to equip.

8

Spell Twister

Cheaper Spells

• Geo Cost: None
• Notches: 2
• Location: Soul Sanctum
• Effect: Lowered spellcasting costs (33 soul reduced to 24)

Before entering the Soul Master’s boss arena in the Soul Sanctum, players can find a secret room above them. Traveling to the top of this area past a few enemies, players can find the Spell Twister, which will be very useful for anyone who wants to focus on magic use.

Spell Twister reduces the soul cost of all magic spells. The reduction is about a third of the cost, so it’s significant. Spell Twister, Shaman Stone, and Soul Catcher are the basic charm combo for anyone who wants to focus on spell casting.

9

Fury Of The Fallen

High Risk, High Reward Charm

• Geo Cost: None
• Notches: 2
• Location: King’s Pass
• Effect: Large attack damage bonus with the nail (and nail arts) on low life

Fury of the Fallen is a powerful charm that’s sneakily hidden in the very first area of the game, the King’s Pass. In the first cavern, players will encounter a spike pit that seems too large to cross. Players can come back later with the Mothwing Cloak or Mantis Claw. However, using the nail to pogo (strike downward to bounce off the spikes) across the spikes is possible right from the start.

This charm doubles the player’s damage, but only once they have only one life mask left. It’s a risky charm to use, but combined with the Strength charm, the damage bonus at 1 mask is a huge 162.5%.