Spells and Abilities | Hollow Knight Wiki

Spells and Abilities in Hollow Knight refer to special skills that The Knight can acquire and use. Spells are powered by the SOUL resource and primarily complement The Knight's offensive and defensive capabilities, while Abilities typically supplement movement and exploration aspects. Both types of skills are important upgrades for The Knight, allowing them to unlock their true potential as they progress through the many trials and tribulations in Hallownest. This page covers all information on Spells and Abilities that can be acquired in Hollow Knight, including their usage, as well as how and where to acquire them.

All Hollow Knight Spells and Abilities

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Hollow Knight Spells

Spells are magical active skills that allow The Knight to conjure projectiles or energy forces to deal damage to Enemies and Bosses, complementing their standard Nail attacks in combat. The Knight also has access to a healing spell to recover from injuries. Some Spells also allow the Knight to unlock new paths for exploring.

SOUL

SOUL is the spiritual energy that flows through most beings in Hallownest. SOUL can be harvested by The Knight by hitting Enemies with the Nail. It is represented on the HUD by a large circular icon depicting a face, which fills up as more SOUL is obtained. This main SOUL Meter can hold a maximum of 99 SOUL and each Spell in Hollow Knight requires 33 SOUL to cast. Spell casting costs can be reduced to 24 SOUL by obtaining and equipping the Spell Twister Charm.

SOUL is primarily obtained by attacking Enemies, but can also be acquired from other sources such as Soul Totems, Hot Springs, as well as the passive abilities granted by certain Charms. See the SOUL page for details on this resource.

SOUL Vessels

SOUL Vessels are upgrades that The Knight can acquire, granting them the ability to store more SOUL than the SOUL Meter will allow. Soul Vessels are acquired by collecting Vessel Fragments. Every three fragments collected will permanently bestow upon The Knight an additional SOUL Vessel. Each Vessel can hold a maximum of 33 SOUL and they are filled when The Knight collects more of this resource while their main SOUL Meter is full. SOUL contained in a vessel is automatically transferred to the main SOUL Meter when it has space to fill. There is a brief delay before this transfer happens, and it will not occur while SOUL is being used such as while The Knight is healing or using other spells.

The Knight can obtain a total of 3 SOUL Vessels throughout their adventure. See the SOUL Vessels page for details and Vessel Fragment locations.

Focus

Focus collected SOUL to repair your shell and heal damage.

Vengeful Spirit

Conjure a spirit that will fly forward and burn foes in its path.

Desolate Dive

Strike the ground with a concentrated force of SOUL. This force can destroy foes or break through fragile structures.

Howling Wraiths

Blast foes with screaming SOUL.

Shade Soul

Conjure a shadow that will fly forward and burn foes in its path.

Descending Dark

Strike the ground with a concentrated force of SOUL and Shadow. This force can destroy foes or break through fragile structures.

Abyss Shriek

Blast foes with screaming SOUL and Shadows.

Hollow Knight Abilities

Abilities are upgrades acquired by collecting certain items which impart various effects that help The Knight traverse and interact with the environment in new ways. These Abilities are the key to gaining access to new pathways and progressing further throughout Hallownest. Many of the Knight's abilities also have combat applications. Unlike Spells, Abilities do not use SOUL or any other resources, but some of them may have short cooldowns or require resetting before being available for use again.

Name	Type	Description	Location/Acquisition
Focus	Spell	Focus collected SOUL to repair your shell and heal damage.	Available by default
Vengeful Spirit	Spell	Conjure a spirit that will fly forward and burn foes in its path.	Given by the Snail Shaman at the Ancestral Mound in the Forgotten Crossroads.
Desolate Dive	Spell	Strike the ground with a concentrated force of SOUL. This force can destroy through fragile structures.	Defeat the Soul Master in the City of Tears.
Howling Wraiths	Spell	Blast foes with screaming SOUL.	Next to the entrance to Queen's Gardens in the Overgrown Mound in Fog Canyon.
Shade Soul	Spell	Conjure a shadow that will fly forward and burn foes in its path.	Purchase the Elegant Key from Sly in Dirtmouth and unlock the door at the Soul Sanctum in the City of Tears.
Descending Dark	Spell	Strike the ground with a concentrated force of SOUL and Shadow. This force can destroy foes or breakthrough fragile structures.	Obtained from the Snail Shaman's corpse at the Crystallised Mound in Crystal Peak.
Abyss Shriek	Spell	Blast foes with screaming SOUL and Shadows.	Use Howling Wraith on the pedestal in the room at the bottom left of The Abyss.
Mothwing Cloak	Ability	Cloak threaded with mothwing strands. Allows the wearer to dash forwards along the ground or through the air.	Defeat Hornet in Greenpath.
Mantis Claw	Ability	Claw carved from bone. Allows the wearer to cling to walls and leap off of them.	Found in the middle-left section of Mantis Village. Requires the Mothwing Cloak to obtain.
Crystal Heart	Ability	The energy core of an old mining golem fashioned around a potent crystal. The crystal's energy can be channeled to launch the bearer forward at dangerous speeds.	Reach the end of the difficult platforming section in the middle-right side of Crystal Peak.
Monarch Wings	Ability	Wings of ethereal matter that shimmer in the darkness. Allows one to jump again in mid-air.	Defeat the Broken Vessel in the Ancient Basin.
Isma's Tear	Ability	Fruit formed from a single hardened tear. Once ingested it provides protection from the searing, acidic pools found in certain parts of Hallownest.	Located in the Royal Waterways. Requires the Crystal Heart to access.
Shade Cloak	Ability	Cloak formed from the substance of the Abyss. Allows the wearer to dash through enemies and their attacks without taking damage.	Found in The Abyss, in the rightmost section after the shadow sea. You have to stand in the shadow fountain and wait until you get the ability.
Dream Nail	Ability	Allows the wielder to cut through the veil between dreams and waking. Can be used to reveal hidden dreams or open gateways. The Dream Nail can collect Essence, remnants of wishes and dreams.	The Dream Nail is acquired in the Resting Grounds by inspecting the Dreamer Statues.
Dreamgate	Ability	Allows the wielder to travel instantly through a dream. Some areas may lack a strong connection to any dream, disallowing use of the Dreamgate.	Talk to the Seer in the Resting Grounds after earning 900 Essence to get the Dreamgate.
Awoken Dream Nail	Ability	Allows the wielder to cut through the veil between dreams and waking. Can be used to reveal hidden dreams or open gateways. The power of the Dream Nail has fully awoken, allowing entry into certain protected memories.	Return to the Seer in the Resting Grounds after acquiring 1,800 Essence.
World Sense	Ability	Allows the player to see their Completion percentage in their inventory and on their save file in the main menu. Also shows the number of enemies encountered and required in the Hunter’s Journal.	Found in the Temple of the Black Egg once it has been opened by killing all three Dreamers.

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