112 percent is the maximum completion in Hollow Knight with all free content installed. The counter is not a measure of how much of the game you have seen. It counts a specific list of items and ignores some of the biggest collectible sets entirely, which is why players regularly hit 100 percent with 30 grubs still trapped.
The full breakdown
| Category | Items | Percent each | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charms | 36 | 1 | 36 |
| Bosses | 14 | 1 | 14 |
| Equipment | 7 | 2 | 14 |
| Warrior Dreams | 7 | 1 | 7 |
| Spells | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Nail upgrades | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Mask upgrades | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Nail arts | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Soul Vessel upgrades | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Dreamers | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Dream Nail milestones | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Colosseum trials | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Base game total | 100 | ||
| The Grimm Troupe | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Lifeblood | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Godmaster | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Maximum | 112 |
Note the two oddities. Equipment is the only category worth 2 percent per item, so the seven movement items are worth as much as all 14 bosses. And mask and vessel upgrades count per completed upgrade, not per shard or fragment, so three Mask Shards sitting in your inventory are worth nothing.
Charms: 36 percent
The single biggest block. There are 40 charms in the current version of the game; 36 count here and the other four are counted under the Grimm Troupe.
Bought from shops: Gathering Swarm, Stalwart Shell, Wayward Compass, Lifeblood Heart, Steady Body, Heavy Blow, Quick Focus, Longnail, Shaman Stone, Soul Catcher, Spell Twister, Fragile Heart, Fragile Greed, Fragile Strength.
Boss and NPC rewards: Grubsong, Grubberfly’s Elegy, Defender’s Crest, Flukenest, Shape of Unn, Nailmaster’s Glory, Hiveblood, Dream Wielder, Kingsoul which becomes Void Heart.
Found in the world: Baldur Shell, Fury of the Fallen, Lifeblood Core, Thorns of Agony, Mark of Pride, Sharp Shadow, Spore Shroom, Soul Eater, Glowing Womb, Joni’s Blessing, Dashmaster, Quick Slash, Deep Focus.
Fragile Heart, Fragile Greed and Fragile Strength count whether they are intact or broken. They stop counting only while Divine has one for upgrading, so finish those upgrades or do not start them.
Bosses: 14 percent
Broken Vessel, Brooding Mawlek, the Collector, Dung Defender, False Knight, Gruz Mother, Hornet Protector, Hornet Sentinel, the Mantis Lords, Nosk, Soul Master, Traitor Lord, Uumuu, the Watcher Knights.
Five of these are easy to miss because they are off the critical path: Brooding Mawlek in the far west Forgotten Crossroads, Nosk in a side cave in Deepnest, Dung Defender in the Royal Waterways, the Collector in the Tower of Love behind the Love Key, and Traitor Lord in the Queen’s Gardens.
Equipment: 14 percent
Seven items, 2 percent each. Mothwing Cloak from Hornet in Greenpath. Mantis Claw above the Mantis Village in the Fungal Wastes. Crystal Heart at the east end of Crystal Peak. Monarch Wings from Broken Vessel in the Ancient Basin. Shade Cloak in the Abyss. Isma’s Tear in Isma’s Grove in the Royal Waterways. King’s Brand on the cliffs of Kingdom’s Edge.
None of these are missable. All of them are required to reach other things.
Warrior Dreams: 7 percent
Elder Hu in the Fungal Wastes, Galien in Deepnest, Gorb in the Howling Cliffs, Markoth in Kingdom’s Edge, Marmu in the Queen’s Gardens, No Eyes in the Stone Sanctuary in Greenpath, Xero in the Catacombs of the Resting Grounds.
All seven need the Dream Nail. Markoth is generally considered the hardest. See the Warrior Dreams page for locations.
Spells and nail arts: 9 percent
Six spells at 1 percent each: Vengeful Spirit in the Ancestral Mound, Shade Soul in the Soul Sanctum, Desolate Dive from Soul Master, Descending Dark in Crystal Peak, Howling Wraiths in the Resting Grounds, Abyss Shriek in the Abyss.
Three nail arts at 1 percent each, all taught free: Cyclone Slash from Nailmaster Mato in the Howling Cliffs, Great Slash from Nailmaster Sheo in Greenpath, Dash Slash from Nailmaster Oro in Kingdom’s Edge.
Upgrades: 11 percent
Nail, 4 percent. The Nailsmith in the City of Tears charges 250 Geo for the Sharpened Nail, 800 Geo and 1 Pale Ore for the Channelled Nail, 2000 Geo and 2 ore for the Coiled Nail, and 4000 Geo and 3 ore for the Pure Nail. That is 7050 Geo and all six Pale Ore.
Masks, 4 percent. 16 Mask Shards, four per mask.
Soul Vessels, 3 percent. 9 Vessel Fragments, three per vessel.
Dreamers and the Dream Nail: 6 percent
Three Dreamers at 1 percent each: Lurien behind the Watcher Knights, Monomon behind Uumuu, Herrah in the Beast’s Den.
Three Dream Nail milestones at 1 percent each: getting the Dream Nail from the Seer, the Awoken Dream Nail at 1800 Essence, and hearing the Seer’s final words at 2400 Essence. The Essence comes from the 15 Whispering Roots and the seven Warrior Dreams.
Colosseum: 3 percent
Trial of the Warrior at 100 Geo entry, Trial of the Conqueror at 450 Geo, Trial of the Fool at 800 Geo. One percent each. The Colosseum of Fools is in the north west of Kingdom’s Edge.
The content packs: 12 percent
The Grimm Troupe, 6 percent. Start it by Dream Nailing the Nightmare Lantern in the Howling Cliffs. The six points are the Dreamshield, Grimmchild, Sprintmaster and Weaversong charms, defeating Troupe Master Grimm, and then either defeating Nightmare King Grimm or banishing the troupe with Brumm. You get the percent either way, but only one route per save.
Lifeblood, 1 percent. Defeat Hive Knight at the bottom of the Hive.
Godmaster, 5 percent. Wake the Godseeker in the Junk Pit of the Royal Waterways, which needs a Simple Key, and assemble the Godtuner for 1 percent. Then clear the Pantheon of the Master, the Pantheon of the Artist, the Pantheon of the Sage and the Pantheon of the Knight for 1 percent each in Godhome.
What does not count
This is where most confusion comes from. None of the following move the counter:
- Grubs. All 46 are worth zero. Freeing them gives Grubfather rewards and achievements only. See grubs.
- Whispering Roots. Zero percent. They exist to feed the Essence economy.
- Relics. Wanderer’s Journals, Hallownest Seals, King’s Idols and Arcane Eggs are worth 21,650 Geo to Lemm and zero percent.
- Individual Mask Shards and Vessel Fragments. Only completed masks and vessels count.
- Charm notches. All 11 are worth nothing directly.
- Stag Stations. Opening all 11 gives achievements, not percent.
- Hunter’s Journal entries. Zero percent.
- The final bosses. Neither the Hollow Knight nor the Radiance counts.
- Most dream bosses. Lost Kin, Soul Tyrant, Failed Champion, White Defender and Grey Prince Zote are all zero.
- The Pantheon of Hallownest. Zero, despite being the hardest thing in the game.
- The Path of Pain. Zero.
- Endings and achievements. Separate systems entirely.
Steel Soul advice
Steel Soul is permadeath. One death ends the file. The checklist is identical, so the only thing that changes is risk management.
Do everything that is not a fight first. Buy maps, open every Stag Station, collect Mask Shards and Vessel Fragments, free grubs, and sell relics to Lemm. Get to nine masks and three vessels before you take on anything optional.
Get the Pure Nail early. More damage means shorter fights means fewer chances to die. Prioritise the six Pale Ore and the 7050 Geo over almost everything else.
Run defensive charms even if they feel slow. Lifeblood Heart plus Lifeblood Core gives you a large buffer, Quick Focus speeds up healing, and Hiveblood regenerates the mask you lost. Deep Focus plus Quick Focus is a strong combination for a cautious run.
Leave the pantheons for last, and practise them in the Hall of Gods where death costs nothing. There is no Steel Soul restriction on the Hall of Gods, so use it as a free training ground before you enter a pantheon where a single mistake ends the file.
Finally, do not carry Geo you do not need. In Steel Soul there is no Shade recovery, because there is no coming back. Spend it as you earn it.
Use the interactive map to track what you have left, and the beginner route guide if you want an order that sets this up cleanly from the start.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum completion in Hollow Knight?
112 percent, with all three free content packs installed. The base game is 100 percent, the Grimm Troupe adds 6, Lifeblood adds 1 and Godmaster adds 5. There is no way to exceed 112.
Do grubs count toward 112 percent?
No. All 46 grubs are worth zero completion percent. They unlock Grubfather rewards and the Metamorphosis achievement instead. The same applies to Whispering Roots, relics, charm notches and Stag Stations.
Do I need the Pantheon of Hallownest for 112 percent?
No. Only the first four pantheons count, one percent each, plus the Godtuner. The Pantheon of Hallownest is the hardest content in the game and gives no completion percent at all.
Does the Path of Pain count?
No. The Path of Pain in the White Palace gives zero completion percent. It is a lore scene and a personal challenge. You still need the rest of the White Palace for the King's Fragment.
How many charms count toward completion?
36 of the 40. The other four, Dreamshield, Grimmchild, Sprintmaster and Weaversong, came with the Grimm Troupe pack and are counted inside that pack's 6 percent. Fragile charms still count while broken, but not while Divine has one.
Can you get 112 percent in Steel Soul mode?
Yes, and it is the same checklist. The difficulty is that a single death ends the run, so the usual advice is to do everything except the pantheons first, bank a huge Geo reserve, and run defensive charms rather than damage ones.
Does beating the final boss count?
No. Neither the Hollow Knight nor the Radiance is in the 14 bosses that count. You still need to fight them for the endings and achievements, but the counter does not move.
Do the dream bosses count?
Only Nightmare King Grimm, through the Grimm Troupe pack. Lost Kin, Soul Tyrant, Failed Champion, White Defender and Grey Prince Zote give essence and achievements but no completion percent.