Heya guys. Despi your Executive Speculation Officer here. I come today bearing my usual work, along with some bittersweet news.
My winter break is just about over and I'm returning to school next week. It was easier to write these lengthy discussions when I only had work to worry about, but now that I must once again juggle school and work it'll be more difficult to do so.
Don't get me wrong: I love all you guys and wish I could keep having these amazing talks with you, but you know how it is. I'll do my best to keep posting every few weeks or so, but I must now make school and work my main priorities.
And who knows? Perhaps other users equally if not more passionate than I am about Hollow Knight may find the opportunity to have these great conversations. u/Sumwann and u/MolaMolasses are always available to talk lore, and u/Umber0010 has great ideas for gameplay. Be sure to check out some of u/herobrine1q2w's charm posts, as he has many great designs that inspired many of my own. u/DrPumpkinz has also kindly offered feedback on many of my posts, so I must give him a shoutout. And I think there's a u/mossbag guy? Maybe? I don't know. He may or may not have a YouTube channel, but if he does I'm sure it's worth checking out.
But most of all, thanks to everyone who read these and offered their thoughts. If you'd like you can check out some of my older threads. That Abyss one is my personal favorite and has some pretty dope art from 2 guys far more talented than I am.
For the moment, I hope this post about some simple utility charms will suffice. They're just meant to give basic buffs or basic passive abilities, more quality-of-life rather than combat focused.
Unless otherwise noted, all these ideas are mine. Credit is given to any original creators.
Feel free to comment any additional synergies, balance changes, your own designs, or even just cooler titles.
Each entry is organized as
Name - "Description."Explanation of effectsAny synergiesLocation of charmSignificance or purposeNotch cost
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Leap of Faith – “A mysterious spinning totem. Reminds the bearer of a truth they once knew but chose to forget.”
When you die the game will be restored to its last checkpoint. Everything will be reverted to that time including abilities, upgrades, items, relics, maps, opened shortcuts, and Geo. Essence and the Journal will not be affected. When you wake up your Soul flask will be intact and you’ll have as much Geo as you had when you last saved. This charm does not apply with Dream Bosses.
Found in the breakable room floor in the entrance to Crystal Peak.
Meant to be more useful to inexperienced players, this prevents you from losing all your Geo upon death and having to go back to a dangerous area to reclaim it.
1 Notch
Soul Ore – “Glowing stone made from fossils. Turns Geo into Soul.”
Constantly spends Geo to generate Soul at the rate of 2 per second. 1 Geo = 1%.
Soul Ore is not affected by Soul Catcher or Soul Eater. Stacks with Kingsoul.
Brought from Sly for 500 Geo after giving him the Shopkeeper’s Key.
Meant to put a good use to all that Geo in the mid-to-late game.
4 Notches
Peaceful Wonder – “Elevates the spirit with the beauty of the world. Regain Soul outside of combat.”
Beginning 5 seconds after taking or dealing damage, your Soul meter and vessels will refill at a rate of 2%/s. Attacking or getting hit will immediately break this effect, upon which it must cooldown another 5 seconds before returning.
Damage dealt by minions will also break the effect. Dream Wielder boosts the rate to 3% per second. Not affected by Soul Catcher or Soul Eater. Stacks with Kingsoul.
Acquired upon completing the Witness Achievement with Quirrel at the Blue Lake.
Basically a late game charm, this one’s meant to give Soul during those intense platforming challenges or just crisscrossing the map to get the last few 100% requirements. This is not meant to be a combat charm and thus is useless during fights, but at 3 notches it’s not so costly that you’re disadvantaged when meeting the occasional enemy.
3 Notches
Naiad’s Cover – “Silver shell of an Aluba nymph. Conceals its bearer when swimming.”
Whenever you’re swimming in liquid (water, acid, even Void) this will hide you from any enemies lurking near or above.
With Shimmering Lily you’ll be able to heal while submerged.
Dropped from the Aluba flying over the Lake of Unn.
I got this idea while navigating the Royal Waterways pools where Flukefeys and Hwurmps float over. Admittedly that’s the only spot this charm is currently practical in but a future expansion could see it being more useful: choosing stealth over combat when faced with threatening foes.
1 Notch
Guiding Light – “Luminous abdomen of a swift lumafly. Bestows its restless desire for speed upon its bearer.”
An upgrade to Wayward Compass. Grants you a placeable map marker that, used in conjunction with your position marker, illuminates the shortest route to that destination both in-map and in-game as a glowing blue trail. Takes into account current abilities and upgrades such as super-dash or acid immunity, or even opened shortcuts and quick travel like Stagways or lifts.
After buying all maps from Cornifer, Iselda will upgrade the Wayward Compass into this charm.
Even an experienced player could be reminded where certain shortcuts are.
1 Notch
Stoneturner – “A precious geode from the Gilded Thief. Guides its bearer to hidden secrets.”
This basically guides you to secrets in the current room. These can be items, Lifeblood Cocoons, Soul Totems or even lore content. When entering a room with secrets you’ll begin pulsing a golden aura. This pulse will quicken the closer you are to said secrets and will slow as you go further away. If you leave the room the pulse will stop.
Given to you by Lemm after discovering a King’s Idol or an Arcane Egg.
This charm is designed for lore fans, who might appreciate discovering hidden content without having to look up spoilers.
1 Notch
Wyrm’s Sight – “Faint speck of a Wyrm’s power. Grants the bearer a sliver of foresight.”
Increases the duration of all enemy telegraphs by 1 second, both for their attacks and teleports. Applies to bosses as well. You’ll also be able to see hidden enemies like corpse creepers, grub mimics, dirtcarvers, and fool eaters.
Given by Bardoon after acquiring the King’s Brand.
As it is the game does a pretty good job of telegraphing enemy attacks, and there aren’t that many random environmental hazards or camouflaged foes. But it would be interesting if we could predict teleports or certain bosses’ attacks. Soul Tyrant, Nightmare King Grimm, Pure Vessel, and Absolute Radiance come to mind. The developers could also include more random hazards like falling rocks, geysers, or booby traps just so we could have the fun of seeing them coming.
3 Notches
Pathfinder – “Crest of an honored architect. Illuminates weak environmental surfaces.”
Just a simple charm to illuminate breakable walls and ceilings. Indicates floors that would crumble when you walk on them, along with any spikes or pits below them. It also marks nearby stalactites that would otherwise fall on you.
Found in the City of Tears, down in the areas occupied by the wealthy husks.
Might be useful to knock out those secret shortcuts or hidden dangers, especially those in Deepnest.
1 Notch
Ace of Spades – “Broad claws of a mighty cicada warrior. The bearer can dig a safe hole by striking the ground with their nail.”
By down striking the ground, you’ll instantly create a small pit you can hide yourself from most enemies. The pit lasts as long as you’re in it, but will collapse as soon as you climb out. There is a 2 second cooldown after climbing out to dig a new hole. This ability only works on some surfaces and does not work in boss rooms.
Given by Cloth after rescuing her in the Ancient Basin from the Lesser Mawleks and Aspid Hunters.
I thought this would be an interesting ability to have. You might strategize hiding or attacking, turning Hollow Knight into an effective cover-nailed.
2 Notches
Channeled Soul – “A delicate glass apparatus. Links all of the bearer’s Soul vessels together.”
With this charm, your Soul vessels will be “connected” to your main flask so there’s no buffer to heal or cast spells. You’ll be able to cast up to 6 spells or focus up to 6 times in a row. Soul will also be collected into the Soul Vessels at the same rate as the main flask (currently, each nail hit grants 6% Soul when collected into the Soul vessels, contrasting with 11% for the main flask. This charm would make both 11%).
Soul Catcher and Soul Eater boost Soul collection at the normal rate for the Soul vessels rather than the reduced rate.
Found in the Soul Sanctum, in a room containing many Soul caches.
I’m sure someone might find this charm useful.
1 Notch
Resolute – “Fills the bearer with a boundless inner peace. They will not be stunned upon taking damage.”
This charm removes the stun and knockback from enemy attacks only, not environmental hazards. Focus will still be broken. The invincibility frames remain normal.
Granted by defeating a warrior monk deep within Kingdom’s Edge. The monk will challenge us to a duel, and after proving our strength will reward us with this charm in respect.
This is definitely a useful charm to have. The player still must prioritize not getting hit, and the fact that they don’t take knockback might encourage them to disregard their health. BUT Resolute does let an experienced player face-tank enemies and smash attacks with no impediment to their combat skills.
2 Notches
Haunting Regret – “Mark of the Dark Masters. The bearer is cursed to be followed by their regrets wherever they go.”
Your shade will appear in the same room you respawn to after dying. This charm only appears in Glass Soul mode.
Granted by Confessor Jiji after acquiring the King’s Brand. She sees our strength and believes she has a gift that can help us on our journey.
More useful in the mid-to-late game when the player is crisscrossing the entire map for whatever reasons, this charm lets you explore and scout out new areas with relatively little risk. It does count on the player repeatedly dying, so one might be better off with a more effective charm combination or improving their skills.
2 Notches
Aqueous Matrix – “Metal pod containing a viscous translucent fluid. Will occasionally produce rancid eggs.”
Every enemy kill has a 5% chance of producing a rancid egg, which you can sell to Steel Soul Jinn for 800 Geo. This charm only appears in Steel Soul mode.
Granted by Steel Soul Jinn after acquiring the King’s Brand. She respects our growth so far and thinks she can this gift could be useful.
2 Notches
Watcher’s Devotion – “Keen gaze of Lurien the Watcher. Allows the bearer to peer into their enemies, laying bare their strength and weakness.”
This charm will display enemy health as a depleting red bar over their head, along with an accompanying number on top. Bosses will show their health as a fixed number bar at the top of the screen, along with how many hits are needed to stagger them (if applicable).
Acquired upon defeating Lurien in an optional boss fight.
I once heard that Hollow Knight’s simplistic and “ungamely” atmosphere would only be ruined by health bars. That might be true, but being able to see enemy health would greatly allow you to prioritize weak foes and avoid stronger ones, as is the case in basically every other game. Especially with boss fights that throw more than one opponent your way at a time, not just the Watcher Knights but Nailmasters Oro/Mato and Grey Prince Zote. It’d be useful to know if you could finish off an enemy on the other side of the room by just blasting a Shade Soul in their direction or if you should avoid them and focus down another enemy nearby. And especially with bosses, it would be extremely useful to know if you need to concentrate on attacking them or should get ready to heal when they’re staggered.
2 Notches
Mender’s Crest – “Pin from an elusive guild of bugs. Helps its bearer keep a low profile.”
Inspired by u/herobrine1q2w. This makes you invisible to enemies once you sit on a bench and lasts until you attack or take damage. You can still take contact damage and cannot pass through enemies. Damage taken while invisible is doubled.
All charms that do damage in any way will break the invisibility. With Cruel Blow equipped, you’ll do double damage to any enemy with your nail while invisible.
Dropped by the Menderbug in Forgotten Crossroads when you kill him (requires Desolate Dive).
This would be most useful in speedruns or crossing dangerous areas like Deepnest. It would also help in the Delicate Flower quest.
3 Notches
Shapeshifter – “Sinister trait of a wicked being that steals the faces of its prey. The bearer will take the form of their last slain enemy.”
This doesn’t actually change your appearance but rather marks you as a certain type of creature upon killing an enemy, and those types of creatures will ignore you and allow you to pass through. For example, if you kill anything in Deepnest, you will be marked as a “beast” and all the area’s creatures will become passive. Kill any fungal creature and everything in the Fungal Wastes will ignore you. Same for the bees, infected husks, mosskin, etc. You will remain disguised for as long as you don’t attack or take any damage. You do not take contact damage for the type of enemy you’re disguised as, but you do from other types. If your disguise is broken, there is a three second buffer to take on a new one. Since your appearance doesn’t change, there will be a small indicator beneath your Soul meter and health that reminds you what your currently disguised as – beast, husk, fungus, mosskin, bee, etc.
All charms that do damage in any way will break the disguise. With Cruel Blow equipped, you’ll do double damage to any enemy with your nail while disguised
Dropped by Nosk when slain.
This was my idea for shapeshifting in Hollow Knight. It’s certainly more practical and combat effective than Mender’s Crest, at a higher Notch cost.
4 Notches
Assasin’s Cloak – “Shrouds the bearer in the shadows, reducing their profile and hiding them from foes. Indicates the bearer’s current stealth state.”
A curious little charm, this one grants you stealth from enemies when you’re not in their direct line-of-sight, letting you sneak up on them. Their LOS is indicated as a transparent triangle radiating from their eyes. This charm only works on certain foes that have distinct idle/aggressive states: normally they peacefully go about their business, but once having spotted you they close in to attack you. Enemies that do not and are constantly on attack but do not specifically target you (loodles, obbles, deeplings, shadow creepers, amblooms, crawlids, tiktiks, Goams, Garpedes, etc.) are not affected. Enemies thus will be marked with a colored eye above them to indicate their state in regards to your stealth: green (idle and unaware of you), yellow (active but not targeting you), and red (aware of you and seeking you out). Attacking an enemy or entering their LOS breaks your stealth, which returns once the enemy is dead or a while after you’ve exited their LOS.
This is the intended main synergy for Cruel Blow, giving you practical backstab damage.
Bought from Sly for 700 Geo after giving him the Shopkeeper’s Key.
I’m really not sure how practical this charm would be, but some people might like this cloak-and-dagger combo.
2 Notches
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That's my last post for now.
As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you again real soon!
Don't forget to subscribe to Pewdiepie and to r/HollowKnightMemes while you're at it!
Link to my other discussion posts
Submitted January 19, 2019 at 06:14AM by Despi47 http://bit.ly/2FC5o9V
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