The Hive sits behind a breakable wall in the south east of Kingdom's Edge. Inside, the whole area is built from honeycomb: springy orange platforms that bounce you, sticky honey that slows you, and bees that patrol in tight loops. Hivelings respawn quickly and the layout is a vertical spiral, so falling costs you real progress.
There is no Hive map. Cornifer never surveys it and Iselda sells nothing for it, so the interior stays blank no matter how long you spend there. You explore it blind, which is manageable because the Hive is compact and mostly a single loop with side pockets.
Hive Knight waits at the bottom. He is the boss added by the Lifeblood content pack and he is worth exactly 1 percent of the 112, the entire Lifeblood contribution. He charges, jumps, and fires needle volleys from the ceiling, and the arena is small. Beating him drops the Hiveblood charm, which slowly regenerates the last mask you lost. Hiveblood is excellent for long platforming gauntlets like the Path of Pain.
The rest of the Hive holds two grubs, a Mask Shard in an upper chamber, a Whispering Root, and the Hive entrance bench. There is also a shortcut back out to Kingdom's Edge near the bottom once you open it, which saves you from climbing the spiral again.
Be careful with the bees. Hive Soldiers and Hive Guardians both have long attack arcs and the springy floors push you into them. Clearing the Hive with Hiveblood already equipped, on a second visit, is far more pleasant than doing it fresh.
Places inside The Hive
- Hive entrance
- Hive Knight's arena
- Upper honeycomb chambers
Tips
- The Hive has no map. Cornifer never goes there.
- Hive Knight is the Lifeblood pack boss and is worth 1 percent of the 112.
- Hiveblood regenerates your last lost mask after a few seconds out of combat. It is one of the best platforming charms.
- Springy honeycomb platforms bounce you upward. Do not fight on them if you can avoid it.
- Open the lower shortcut back to Kingdom's Edge before you leave.
- Two grubs and a Mask Shard are here. Clear them in the same visit as Hive Knight.
All 9 locations in The Hive
Benches (1)
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Lower Hive
A wax bench deep in the Hive, the only rest before the Hive Knight.
Grubs (2)
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West side of the Hive
Needs Desolate Dive to break through the wax floor and Isma's Tear to pass the acid on the way in.
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East side of the Hive
Super dash across with the Crystal Heart, then use the Monarch Wings or a nail-bounce to land on the platform.
Mask Shards (1)
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Behind a wall in the Hive
Bait a Hive Guardian into charging the cracked wall, then walk through to the shard.
Whispering Roots (1)
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Central Hive
On one of the wax platforms in the middle of the Hive, past the Hive Soldiers.
Charms (1)
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Below the Hive Knight arena, the Hive
Slowly regenerates the most recently lost mask for free, which trivialises spike rooms and the Path of Pain. It sits in the room below the Hive Knight arena, so you have to beat him first.
Bosses (1)
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Hive Knight's chamber, east end of the Hive
A fast bee guardian with a lance charge, a ceiling dive and bee swarms. Bait the lance, dash through it, and never heal while the bees are still in the air. Queen Vespa's enormous corpse hangs in the background of the arena.
Secrets and Lore (2)
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Hive Knight's chamber, east end of the Hive
The giant corpse of the Hive's queen, which hangs in the background of the Hive Knight arena with her lower body in the chamber below. Dream Nail her for a major lore scene about the Hive staying apart from Hallownest.
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West side of the Hive
The last of the three Nightmare flames, hovering among the bee tunnels. Collecting all of them brings the Grimm Troupe ritual to its head.
