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The Pantheons in Hollow Knight are the ultimate endgame content in the classic Metroidvania published by Team Cherry. Released with the Godmaster DLC, the Pantheons serve as the boss rush mode for Hollow Knight, where players can challenge mighty foes they previously encountered during their journey in Hallownest.
A total of five Pantheons exist in Godhome, with each of them ramping up the difficulty by introducing unique variants of existing bosses as well as brand-new boss battles. Completing all five Pantheons takes immense skill and is a true test for the unyielding. With that being said, here are some of the best strategies you can use to reliably complete every Pantheon in Hollow Knight.
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Best Charms For Hollow Knight Pantheons
While there are a lot of potent charms that you can use in Hollow Knight, the Pantheons are very demanding, which makes select charms stand out from the majority. Opting to go for the following charms in your build is imperative for your success in any Pantheon:
- Unbreakable Strength
- Shaman Stone
- Unbreakable Heart
- Mark of Pride
- Quick Slash
- Spell Twister
- Nailmaster’s Glory
Pantheon Of The Master
Listed below, in order, are the enemies and resting area present in the Pantheon of the Master:
- Vengefly King
- Gruz Mother
- False Knight
- Massive Moss Charger
- Hornet (Protector)
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Gorb
- Dung Defender
- Soul Warrior
- Brooding Mawlek
- Brothers Oro And Mato
Tips To Defeat Brothers Oro And Mato
This fight starts off with Oro facing you in a standard duel. After he takes enough damage, Mato joins the fray and makes this an enjoyable 2v1. Here are the best tips to help you deal with the renowned Nailmasters:
- Try to ensure spells, such as Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul, connect on both Oro and Mato to maximize damage output.
- Do not corner yourself into one side of the arena, as this makes it easy for Oro and Mato to chain attacks.
- Punish the Dive Slash and Cyclone Slash by Oro and Mato, respectively, with good usage of Desolate Dive/Descending Dark and Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek
- Try to damage Mato more with your Nail since he has a higher health pool compared to Oro.
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Pantheon Of The Artist
Listed below, in order, are the enemies and resting area present in the Pantheon of the Artist:
- Xero
- Crystal Guardian
- Soul Master
- Oblobbles
- Mantis Lords
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Marmu
- Nosk
- Flukemarm
- Broken Vessel
- Paintmaster Sheo
Tips To Defeat Paintmaster Sheo
Paintmaster Sheo is a very fun boss fight with a diverse yet fair set of moves. He has four attacks that can be differentiated by the color of his paintbrush. His most powerful attack is the Great Slash, where his paintbrush turns pink. Sheo will unleash a powerful slam before blobs of paint fall down from the ceiling.
When his paintbrush turns blue, he follows up with a simple attack that sends out three blobs of paint towards you. The red paintbrush attack will allow Sheo to leap into the air before sending out six blobs of paint downwards. Finally, the yellow paintbrush attack covers most of the arena as it is a horizontal slash. Here are the best ways to counter these attacks and defeat Paintmaster Sheo.
- Paintmaster Sheo will have a distinct white aura before he unleashes his Great Slash. This should give you enough time to dodge away or unleash a Desolate Dive/ Descending Dark if you are close to him.
- The blue paintbrush attack can be dodged by a simple jump and dash. This is one of the best attacks for you to get significant damage to Sheo.
- The red paintbrush attack is the toughest to dodge as the trajectory of the paint blobs can catch you off guard. You can use Desolate Dive/Descending Dark to dodge away if you have enough Soul. If you do not have enough Soul, try to find a safe space in between the blobs before dashing away from Sheo’s follow-up attacks.
- The yellow paintbrush attack is another opportunity for you to deal massive damage to Sheo as it leaves him wide open. Simply jump over the attack and dash towards him to unleash your arsenal.
Pantheon Of The Sage
Listed below, in order, are the enemies and resting area present in the Pantheon of the Sage:
- Hive Knight
- Elder Hu
- The Collector
- God Tamer
- Troupe Master Grimm
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Galien
- Grey Prince Zote (only appears if he is defeated in the base game)
- Uumuu
- Hornet (Sentinel)
- Great Nailsage Sly
Tips To Defeat Troupe Master Grimm
While he is nowhere near the power level of his Nightmare form, Troupe Master Grimm is still a formidable opponent that can punish you for poor positioning and greedy attempts to deal damage.
The key point to take note of in this fight is to play with the tempo Grimm sets rather than forcing the issue. Go with the flow of his attacks and find every opportunity towards the end of his attacks to chip away at his health. Here are some tips to reliably defeat Troupe Master Grimm:
- Grimm’s bat attacks have a fixed pattern that can be easily dodged with proper use of the dash. If you can get close to Grimm while evading the bats, you can land a few hits as he disappears.
- Grimm’s uppercut is one of his most powerful attacks as it can quickly catch you off-guard. The fire trail that rains down can also damage you. The best way to deal with this attack is to pogo on him as he closes the distance with the uppercut before dashing to safety.
- Grimm summons spikes that leave small pockets of respite. This is a great chance for you to heal up as it is impossible to damage Grimm in this attack without the use of a spell or a nail-lengthening charm like Mark of Pride.
- Grimm’s two-pronged dash attack is the one you should try exploiting the most, as you can get two free hits on him. Pogo the vertical dash and unleash a Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul as he exits the arena with the horizontal dash.
- The pufferfish attack is quite annoying but can be easily dodged by paying more attention to the trajectory of the fireballs rather than the Knight. If you are high on health and Soul, you can go under him and unleash a couple of Howling Wraith/Abyss Shriek attacks to chip away at his health.
- Do not attack Grimm during his initial bow before the fight begins. If you do so, he will immediately launch the pufferfish attack, which can cost you some health and initial momentum.
Tips To Defeat Grey Prince Zote
Grey Prince Zote is one of the most annoying bosses in the game due to his erratic nature and huge hitbox, which often leads to you bumping into him by accident. He packs a mean punch and can quickly ruin your momentum with a couple of attacks.
However, he is also very easy to deal with as he has a lot of attacks which leave him wide open for damage. Here is a brief rundown on how to defeat Grey Prince Zote consistently:
- As mentioned earlier, finding a read on Grey Prince Zote’s attacks is frustrating. Therefore, it’s a good option to be on the defensive and wait for his moves rather than being on the offensive.
- Zote has a flail attack where he swings his sword while gliding around the arena, before falling down and creating a shockwave. This is the best attack for you to deal massive damage as you can pogo off his sword and unleash a few Desolate Dive/Descending Dark to mitigate both instances of the attack.
- Zote’s leap slam is akin to Soul Master’s dive attack, where he can readjust in the air once before slamming down. This can, and will, catch you off guard in your initial attempts. Try to dash out of the way and quickly follow up with a Desolate Dive/Descending Dark.
- Zote has another slam attack where he goes high up in the arena before crashing down to unleash massive shockwaves. An important nature of this move is that Zote predicts where you will be rather than where you actually are. Use this to your advantage to deal a lot of damage.
- Zote occasionally spawns Zotelings that can be a big hindrance while you try to evade Zote’s attacks. Focus on clearing them out as soon as possible by hitting them, and Zote, with a Vengeful Spirit/Shade Soul.
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Tips To Defeat Great Nailsage Sly
Great Nailsage Sly is the final boss in the Pantheon of the Sage. As expected of his title, he is a tough boss to deal with. Understanding his moveset and tendencies will take a couple of tries to get used to. Nevertheless, it is one of the best-designed bosses in the game as it is an extremely fun duel that has a reasonable amount of difficulty. Here are specific tips to get the better of Sly in the Pantheon of the Sage:
- Sly’s usual attack is a three-hit combo that takes up a good portion of the arena. Timing your dash to dodge at least one of his attacks in this combo is crucial for surviving and getting damage off on him.
- Sly can also do a jumping slam attack quickly followed by a slash. During this move, it’s best to throw out a spell while dodging away from him instead of being greedy for a few hits.
- Sly can perform all the Nail Arts, unlike Oro, Mato, and Sheo. However, Sly’s variations are powerful and faster. The Great Slash, in particular, deals double damage. Try to dash through the Great Slash while pogoing the Dash Slash and dashing away from the Cyclone Slash
- After taking his health to a certain threshold, Sly starts going on a rampage by dashing around constantly while interweaving spinning attacks. He is quite hard to hit with the Nail in this phase. Therefore, it is best to keep dodging and looking for small windows of opportunity before backing off. As soon as you have enough Soul, unleash a spell as Sly doesn’t have a lot of health in this phase.
Pantheon Of The Knight
Listed below, in order, are the enemies and resting area present in the Pantheon of the Knight:
- Enraged Guardian
- Lost Kin
- No Eyes
- Traitor Lord
- White Defender
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Failed Champion
- Markoth
- Watcher Knights
- Soul Tyrant
- Pure Vessel
Tips To Defeat White Defender
The White Defender is an upgraded version of the Dung Defender, and depicts him in his prime when he served as one of the Five Great Knights of Hallownest. This is essentially a much more durable and powerful Dung Defender fight that can punish you for underestimating him.
However, he shares a lot of moves, except for two new attacks, with the Dung Defender fight. Make sure to use the following tips to have a smooth and enjoyable fight against White Defender:
- All of White Defender’s attacks are much faster than the Dung Defender variant. You will have to react faster to a lot of his moves in order to evade them.
- Unlike the Dung Defender fight, White Defender does not get staggered by Desolate Dive/Descending Dark when he burrows himself, which makes the fight significantly lengthier.
- White Defender’s new attacks include a downward slam after going up in the air, and a normal slam with his hand. Both of these create spikes on either side of the arena which can only be dodged by using Desolate Dive/ Descending Dark or dashing through it.
Tips To Defeat Pure Vessel
Pure Vessel is one of the hardest-hitting bosses in Hollow Knight. It is a much stronger version of the Hollow Knight fight in the base version of the game. It has an almost entirely different arsenal that is significantly harder to react to and dodge consistently.
Every attack of the Pure Vessel also deal double damage, which adds to the difficulty of the fight. Pure Vessel will always keep you on your toes and challenge you to the very end, which is why following the tips mentioned below can prove to be useful in making the difference:
- A common attack that Pure Vessel uses is the daggers that fly in a set direction. This is an easy attack to dodge and leaves the Pure Vessel briefly vulnerable, which is a good opportunity to do some damage.
- Pure Vessel is extremely mobile. Therefore, the primary focus of the fight is to always be on the defensive and look for tiny windows to weave in spells and Nail hits without being too greedy.
- Pure Vessel focuses itself, similar to the Knight, and unleashes several circular blasts throughout the arena. This is the best chance for you to deal massive damage with your spells as you can safely get out of its focus range.
- Pure Vessel also does a leaping slam attack that creates pillars. This is a tough attack to read as you will have to dodge the slam while keeping yourself in a spot where the pillars don’t hit. Your main focus here is to dodge and get to safety rather than trying to damage it.
- Pure Vessel does a void tendril attack towards the end of the fight. This serves as a sign that you are close to defeating the boss. Therefore, it’s best to remain calm and patient once you see this simple attack that can be dodged by double jumping.
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Pantheon Of Hallownest
Listed below, in order, are the enemies and resting areas present in the Pantheon of Hallownest:
- Vengefly King x2 (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Gruz Mother (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- False Knight
- Massive Moss Charger
- Hornet (Protector)
- Gorb (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Dung Defender
- Soul Warrior (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Brooding Mawlek (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Brothers Oro and Mato
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Xero (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Crystal Guardian
- Soul Master
- Oblobbles
- Sisters of Battle (Mantis Lords variation)
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Marmu (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Flukemarm
- Broken Vessel
- Galien
- Paintmaster Sheo
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Hive Knight
- Elder Hu
- The Collector (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- God Tamer
- Troupe Master Grimm
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Watcher Knights
- Uumuu (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Winged Nosk
- Great Nailsage Sly
- Hornet (Sentinel)
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Enraged Guardian
- Lost Kin
- No Eyes (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Traitor Lord
- White Defender
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Soul Tyrant
- Markoth (Ascended/Radiant Arena)
- Grey Prince Zote (only appears if he is defeated in the base game)
- Failed Champion
- Nightmare King Grimm
- Hot Spring and Bench
- Pure Vessel
- Absolute Radiance
Tips To Defeat Nightmare King Grimm
Nightmare King Grimm (NKG) is one of the toughest Metroidvania bosses for a variety of reasons. He moves across the arena at the speed of lightning while using incredibly powerful attacks that deal double damage.
You have to play this fight at his pace and not get greedy for too much damage, as a single misstep can completely throw off your momentum in this fight. Here are the best ways to defeat Nightmare King Grimm:
- NKG only has one unique move compared to the regular Grimm fight. This is the flame pillar attack, which is also the attack that leaves him most vulnerable. Quickly get away from the pillars, he summons and uses a couple of Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek to deal massive damage.
- Apart from the flame pillar attack, it’s very hard to get high bursts of damage on NKG. He moves extremely quickly and healing opportunities are quite scarce, except for his stagger and the spike pillar attack.
- All of his moves leave behind a flaming trail that can deal damage. It is very important to keep note of these trails so you don’t end up landing on them and taking massive damage.
- The flaming bats attack now summons more bats, which leaves even less room to dodge efficiently. The best way to deal with this attack is to do a small jump before dashing with the Shade Cloak.
- Other than the aforementioned tips, utilize the same strategies that are needed to defeat regular Grimm for this fight.
Tips To Defeat Absolute Radiance
Absolute Radiance is the final boss of the Pantheon of Hallownest, and she is the toughest of them all. You are bound to fail during your initial runs in the Pantheon of Hallownest. The biggest hurdle is not just the fight, but the number of bosses you will have to get through to even reach this monstrosity of a battle. This can be quite disheartening and an absolute morale crusher.
However, maintaining an unbreakable resilience and tilt-free attitude is the best way to ensure you can take down Absolute Radiance. This fight is all about patience and remaining calm amidst the barrage of attacks. Apart from the most important tip already mentioned, here are some of the tips directly related to the fight that can help you finally take down Absolute Radiance:
- Aim to finish the first two phases of Absolute Radiance without taking too much damage. Since there is very little opportunity to heal in the later stages, it is crucial that you have enough health to deal with the tougher phases of the fight.
- As already mentioned, be extremely patient and always be on the defensive. Do not rush to deal damage as this will only lead to a swift demise. Since Absolute Radiance has a huge hitbox, it is easy to weave in attacks while dodging some of her easier attacks.
- The third phase is the toughest one as you have to maneovure across small platforms while doding Absolute Radiance’s attacks. Try to maximize your usage of Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek during opportune moments to quickly get past this phase.
- Unlike the original Radiance, she has a final phase after climbing to the top. Simply pogo on her and dash away from the homing orbs to defeat the Absolute Radiance.
- Franchise
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Hollow Knight
- Released
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February 24, 2017
- Developer(s)
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Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
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Team Cherry