Hollow Knight the "Pacifist"

Hello everyone. I would like to start a discussion. A discussion about violence, and peace. Life and death. Nail and.... mercy?

We all know very well our usual playthroughs in Hollow Knight. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, countless enemies in our path. Countless death behind us. We travel through Forgotten Crossroads, Greenpath, Fungal Wastes, Crystal Peak and all the vastness of the Hallownest. We go through roads filled with some life, sometimes not very resembling real life, we left leaving even less life. We update the Hunter’s journal. We kill everyone and everything to get that Hunter’s Mark. We make fun of Zote in the Colloseum. We challenge every boss to the battle of life and death (or honour).

But…
What if this wasn’t always the case? I’m here to ask you all a question.
Can the Knight become a pacifist? Can he bring peace to the Hallownest not by a nail, minions and spells but through dialogue and comfort?
Pffft ahahah! Of course not, we all know that. But how close can we get? How many lives do we have to take to finish the game? How many can we spare in pursuit of defeating the infection that plagues Hallownest. I am here to test it!
So, without bothering you with uninteresting introduction:

Hear! Hear! I, the Knight of the name Eklipser, hereby declare that PACIFIST(ish) playthrough of Hollow Knight has been finished!

The minimal amout of lives that is required to finish the game in the simplest matter is exactly 23! All lives were taken in situations of being forced into combat into area where only one being could walk away alive. These are as follow:

3 Aspid Hunters (Intersection in Forgotten Crosroads between hot spring, Cornifer’s room, entrance to Fungal Wastes)
1 Gruzz Mother (In order to unlock Great Nailsage Sly, also a merchant)
7 Gruzzers (Sadly the children of Gruzz Mother bound to die)
2 Baldurs (Vengeful Spirit and Greenpath entrance)
2 Elder Baldurs (For soul to kill 2 Elder Baldurs mentioned above)
1 Moss Knight (Foolishly blocks our way to meeting Hornet)
1 Winged Sentry (Required to open gates in Watcher’s Tower)
1 Great Husk Sentry (Same as above)
1 Uummuu (DO NOT DESPAIR)
3 Dreamers (Rest in eternal peace)
1 The Hollow Knight (I’m sorry… but we all know that only one of us can be The “Hollow” Knight)

If we choose to defeat the infection by destroying it’s very core we are forced to take some more lives. These are as follow:

Previously mentioned 23 beings
6 Traitor Mantises (Battle arena in Queen’s Gardens that block our way forward)
4 Mantis Petras (Same as above)
4 Spiny Husks (Same as above)
1 Traitor Lord (By the Order of true Mantis Lords, I hereby decree thou’m’st’d’ve die!)
1 Radiance (You shall be consumed by the void and let our sibling return to Abyss free of your pain!)

Any other beings that were destroyed during this journey are considered non alive for various reasons. (For example: Watcher Knights, 6 dead husks reanimated for short time by infection butterflies = puppets moved by infection)

*The Knight is not responsible for any death caused by self-inflicted damage due to various reasons, most common one: careless walking/flying into sharp objects, mostly spikes.*

Any suggestions on how to avoid even more enemies and therefore spare their lives would be greatly appriciated to improve current way on achieving pacifist-like journey of The Knight.

Additional notes:

(Simple completion) During this adventure 21 grubs has been saved (although more is possible with non-lethal methods). Total completion was 47%: 7 masks, Sharpened Nail, Vengeful Spirit, Shade Cloak, Mantis Claw, Crystal Heart, Monarch Wings, Dream Nail, Lumafly Lantern, Mark of Pride and Shaman's Stone during final fight. Time almost 4 hours without few minutes.

(“True” completion) 29 saved Grubs, 68%: 8 Masks, 1 soul vessel, Channelled Nail, Vengeful Spirit, Shade Cloak, Mantis Claw, Crystal Heart, Monarch Wings, Awoken Dream Nail, Lumafly Lantern, All Nail Arts, Sharp Shadow, Mark of Pride, Sprinmaster, Steady Body during final Battle. Time: 7 hours 25 minutes.

This is a legitimate run therefore no glitches allowed. Also this is my first attempt at this idea so there is still room for improvement. (For example: I do NOT envy anyone trying to avoid Gruzz Mother to get to Sly by walking in dark areas without a lantern)

"You pathetic scrub!"

- The Hunter's comment on pacifist way of The Knight

Submitted September 20, 2018 at 01:51AM by Eklipser https://ift.tt/2PSE8VN