Whether you’re diving into Steel Soul, Pantheon challenges, or just gearing up for a more efficient second run, these advanced Hollow Knight combat tips will help sharpen your reflexes, enhance your strategy, and get the most out of every ability and charm.

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1. Know Your Damage Numbers

Understanding how much damage your abilities deal—and how much health enemies have—can help you build faster and smarter combat strategies:

• Nail Damage starts at 5, with each upgrade adding +4.
  • Examples: Sharpened Nail = 9, Channeled Nail = 13.
• Vengeful Spirit deals 15 base damage, or 20 with Shaman Stone.
• Combos like Nail Hit + Vengeful Spirit deal up to 25 damage, great for mid-tier enemies like Crystal Hunters.

Master these numbers to optimize your damage output and conserve soul.

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2. Dodge Intelligently with Abilities

Dodging is more than just timing—it’s knowing which ability cancels which attack:

• Shade Cloak lets you dash through projectiles (perfect for fights like Radiance).
• Desolate Dive and Descending Dark offer generous i-frames and can be used to bypass AoEs or reposition.
• Boss tip: Use Sharp Shadow to damage Traitor Lord while dodging his attacks.
• Against early threats like Brooding Mawlek, timing heals after predictable moves gives you safe recovery windows.

Refining ability timing will give you a massive edge in high-difficulty fights.

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3. Use the Dream Nail Strategically

The Dream Nail isn’t just for lore—it’s an elite soul farming tool:

• Each hit restores 33 Soul, or 66 with Dream Wielder equipped.
• Works best on slower enemies or multi-phase bosses: Watcher Knights, Uumuu, and Flukemarm are great examples.
• Learn the safe moments to use Dream Nail mid-fight to stay spell-ready.

This keeps your magic flowing and saves time searching for soul totems.

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4. Master Sequence Breaking for Speed and Style

Skipping ahead without intended upgrades adds flexibility and efficiency to your run:

• Pogoing off spikes, lanterns, or enemies can bypass locked progression.
  • Example: Reach the Watcher Knights or Pale Ore without Monarch Wings.
• Crystal Heart Dash allows travel over acid without Isma’s Tear.
• These skips are perfect for speedruns, routing shortcuts, or challenge builds.

Practice these tricks to open up creative pathways in Hallownest.

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5. Tailor Your Charm Loadout to Your Strengths

Your charm setup can define your entire combat flow:

• Nail-focused builds: Use Quick Slash, Long Nail, Soul Catcher, or Unbreakable Strength.
• Spell-heavy builds: Combine Shaman Stone, Soul Eater, and Spell Twister for maximum burst.
• Survivability builds: Consider Grubsong, Quick Focus, and Hiveblood.
  Experiment until you find a synergy that matches your rhythm and reflexes.

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Final Thoughts

Hollow Knight rewards precision, planning, and creativity. With these advanced tips, you’ll turn every ability into an advantage and every encounter into a test of mastery. Whether you’re speedrunning, going for 112%, or tackling the Pantheon of Hallownest—there’s always room to refine your technique.

Stay sharp, stay curious, and may your shade always return.