Hollow Knight: Best Charm Builds & Notch Unlock Locations
The best endgame combat build in Hollow Knight combines Quick Slash, Mark of Pride, Unbreakable Strength, and Steady Body. This combination maximizes melee DPS by eliminating attack knockback, increasing range by 25 percent, and boosting nail damage by 50 percent.
Charms grant passive buffs, change spell behavior, and expand your movement options in Hallownest. Mastering charm loadouts is the single most effective way to turn brutal boss encounters into manageable fights.
What is overcharming and how does it work?
Overcharming allows you to equip a charm that exceeds your total available Charm Notch slots by trying to equip it five times in a row at a bench.
When overcharmed, your knight sparkles with a purple outline. In exchange for exceeding your notch limit, you take double damage from all incoming hits, hazard hazards, and boss attacks.
Overcharming is useful for high-skill players attempting hitless runs, Radiant boss fights in the Hall of Gods, or speedruns where avoiding damage is already mandatory. Avoid overcharming during casual playthroughs or Steel Soul runs.
What are the top charm builds for combat and exploration?
The table below outlines optimized loadouts for specific playstyles across early game, spell builds, and endgame boss rushing.
| Build Focus | Recommended Charms | Total Notches | Core Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pure Melee DPS | Quick Slash, Mark of Pride, Unbreakable Strength, Steady Body | 11 Notches | Maximum nail swing speed and damage with zero recoil |
| Spell Caster | Shaman Stone, Spell Twister, Soul Catcher, Quick Focus | 10 Notches | Increased spell size and damage with reduced Soul costs |
| Boss Survival | Quick Focus, Deep Focus, Grubsong, Longnail | 11 Notches | Double-mask heals during short boss animation openings |
| Map Exploration | Wayward Compass, Gathering Swarm, Dashmaster, Sprintmaster | 5 Notches | Auto-collects Geo, speeds up walking, shows map location |
The Pure Melee Build
Quick Slash reduces your nail attack recovery time, letting you swing almost twice as fast. Unbreakable Strength increases raw physical damage by 50 percent without breaking on death. Note that Unbreakable Strength boosts basic nail hits but does not increase Nail Arts damage. Mark of Pride extends your melee hit distance, allowing you to strike bosses safely outside their hitboxes. Steady Body prevents your character from pushing backward when landing a melee hit, keeping you glued to the target.
The Infinite Spell Burst Build
Shaman Stone boosts Shade Soul damage from 30 to 40 and expands Abyss Shriek coverage area significantly. Combined with Spell Twister, offensive spell costs drop from 33 Soul down to 24 Soul. Note that Spell Twister reduces offensive spell costs only, while Focus healing remains capped at 33 Soul.
Spell DPS vs. Soul Hoarding
Hoarding all your Soul strictly for healing is a common beginner pitfall. Offensive spells deal vastly more damage per second than standard nail strikes. Casting Shade Soul or Abyss Shriek with Shaman Stone equipped shortens boss encounters significantly, reducing the total window in which you can take damage.
Where do you find extra Charm Notches?
You start with 3 Charm Notches and can unlock up to 10 notches in the base game, or 11 total notches with DLC active.
- Salubra Shop (Crossroads): Salubra sells 4 Charm Notches after you collect minimum numbers of charms (requires 5, 10, 18, and 25 charms possessed).
- Fog Canyon: Found in a room requiring Isma's Tear or Shadow Dash, guarded by explosive Oomas.
- Fungal Wastes: Found in the lower section of Fungal Wastes after defeating two Shrumal Ogres.
- Colosseum of Fools: Awarded upon completing the Trial of the Warrior (Trial 1).
- Troupe Master Grimm (DLC): Rewarded upon defeating Troupe Master Grimm in Dirtmouth after summoning the Grimm Troupe.
How does Joni's Blessing math and the Lifeblood Vault work?
Opening the hidden Lifeblood door in the bottom left of The Abyss requires having 15 active Lifeblood masks equipped before stepping onto the pedestal.
Joni's Blessing converts all standard health masks into Lifeblood masks using the formula:
Lifeblood Masks = Floor(Max Health × 1.4) + 1
Due to Unity engine floating-point rounding, base health totals of 5 or 10 masks calculate as 5 × 1.4 = 6.9999 and 10 × 1.4 = 13.9999 under the hood. When converted to an integer, these round down to 6 and 13 before the +1 offset is added, yielding 7 and 14 Lifeblood masks respectively. To reach the 15-mask threshold, combine max health (9 masks), Fragile Heart (+2 masks), and Joni's Blessing, or equip Lifeblood Heart.
Fragile Strength, Fragile Heart, and Fragile Greed break upon death and cost Geo to repair at Leg Eater's shop in Fungal Wastes. Pay Divine in Dirtmouth 15,000 Geo to convert Fragile Strength into Unbreakable Strength so it never breaks again.
Does Compass work in the Colosseum of Fools?
No. Wayward Compass only provides value on the world map. Unequip it before arena trials, pantheons, or boss arenas to free up a notch.
Can I upgrade Leg Eater's charms to Unbreakable in Steel Soul?
Yes. Divine appears in Dirtmouth whenever the Grimm Troupe tent is active, even in Steel Soul mode.
What charms synergize best with Crest of Defender?
Combining Defender's Crest with Spore Shroom creates a toxic gas cloud when healing, while combining it with Flukenest fires a single massive explosive dung volley.