Accessing the True Ending – Hollow Knight

A spoiler free guide to unlocking Hollow Knight’s “true ending”.

Introduction

This is a guide meant for players who have finished Hollow Knight one way or another but aren’t sure if they got the “true ending”, so to speak. It will be assuming you’ve experienced at least the basic ending.

So, you’ve just finished Hollow Knight, but the ending left you feeling a bit empty. Isn’t there more to this game? What’s this true ending I keep hearing about? I haven’t completed the game 100%?

This guide will help struggling players achieve the “true ending”.

There will be no spoilers for anything past the first ending of Hollow Knight. I will only be giving hints and pointing you in the right direction. If you’ve achieved any ending, you don’t need to worry.

If you haven’t completed any ending to Hollow Knight, you should do that and then come back. The game makes it very clear what you need to do for the basic ending.

Also, if you haven’t experienced any ending to Hollow Knight and want to save up for the true ending, don’t. There’s really no need. Just get that ending. It’s well worth experiencing and you can always come back to that same save afterwards to get the true ending. It’s also worth noting that if you don’t decide to get the basic ending and only go for the true ending, you’ll be locked out of the basic ending and you’ll miss an achievement.

What now?

Okay, so you just came out of your battle with the Hollow Knight. That ending was a little grim, and probably didn’t feel very satisfying. So, how can we get a better ending?

Well, it’s best to look at what’s left to be done in your save. This is different for each player, so we’ll be tackling the issue step by step and looking at every requirement for the true ending.

World

Have you explored every part of the map yet?

The full map should look like this:

If you haven’t explored every part of the map yet and defeated at least one boss in each area, you should go do that. Queen’s Gardens and Kingdom’s Edge are essential, and also very late-game areas.

Upgrades

Have you gotten every upgrade yet?

This is a tricky one. Defeating the boss in Kingdom’s Edge should give you access to a certain area in the Ancient Basin. There you’ll find an ability that you might have missed.

Essence

Have you awakened the Dream Nail?

You need 1800 essence. This shouldn’t be too difficult. Have you taken care of the whispering roots, the dream warriors and the dream bosses?

The Item

Another tricky one, and probably what most people will be using this guide for.

If you’ve been following my advice up until now, you should probably have something called the White Fragment. If you don’t, it’s found in the Queen’s Gardens. Make sure you’ve defeated the boss.

What you need to do now is check out the area near the stag station in Ancient Basin. Bring your dream nail!

Once that’s taken care of, you should have the full bottom right charm (the Kingsoul).

Now, for the final task. Equip the Kingsoul and pay a visit to the area in Ancient Basin that you unlocked by defeating the boss in Kingdom’s Edge. When you reach a reflection of yourself, use the dream nail.

The Ending

If you’ve been following my advice, you should have unlocked the true ending by now. All that’s left to do is pay a visit to the Black Egg temple. You should notice a minor difference.

Fight the Hollow Knight again. It should be clear what to do from now on. If you’re still struggling, here’s a hint: use your dream nail when the moment is right.

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