Hollow Knight does not gate you with keys. It gates you with movement. Every area you can reach hands you one ability, and that ability is what opens the next area. Follow the chain and the game never blocks you.
This route is built for a first playthrough. It never requires backtracking for something you should have grabbed, and it picks up the shops and upgrades in the order you can afford them.
1. King’s Pass to Dirtmouth
Walk down. Break the loose walls for Geo. Nothing here is missable.
In Dirtmouth, talk to Elderbug, rest on the bench by the well, and go down.
2. Forgotten Crossroads
Unlocks: Vengeful Spirit, the Quill, Sly’s shop.
Buy Cornifer’s map for 30 Geo in the western half. Kill Gruz Mother in the east for a large Geo drop, then go back to Iselda in Dirtmouth and buy the Quill for 120 Geo. From this point your map fills in every time you rest.
Then do the following before you leave:
- Free Sly from the hidden room near the Stag Station. This opens his Dirtmouth shop.
- Find the Grubfather behind a breakable wall in the east and start feeding him grubs.
- Climb to the Ancestral Mound above the central shaft and take Vengeful Spirit, your first spell.
- Beat False Knight in the north west for a Mask Shard.
- Visit Salubra on the southern route and note her four charm notches at 120, 500, 900 and 1400 Geo.
- Open the Crossroads Stag Station.
Skip Brooding Mawlek in the far west for now. He is optional and he will flatten you at base nail.
3. Greenpath
Unlocks: Mothwing Cloak (dash), Great Slash.
Head west. Buy the Greenpath map for 60 Geo. Acid is instant damage, so treat green pools as walls until much later.
Beat Hornet Protector in the west for the Mothwing Cloak. That dash is what makes the rest of the game readable. While you are here:
- Nailmaster Sheo in the Overgrown Mound teaches Great Slash for free.
- The Hunter in the east gives the Hunter’s Journal.
- Free Zote from the Vengefly King.
- Open the Greenpath Stag Station.
Leave the Stone Sanctuary and the Lake of Unn floor for later; both need the Dream Nail.
4. Fungal Wastes
Unlocks: Mantis Claw (wall jump).
South from the Crossroads. Buy the Fungal Wastes map for 75 Geo from Cornifer in the north west.
The priority is the Mantis Village in the south. Fight through it, beat the Mantis Lords, and every mantis in the area turns friendly. The Mantis Claw sits in a chamber above the village and gives you wall cling and wall jump, which changes what “reachable” means for the rest of the run.
Also here: free Bretta in the east, meet Leg Eater for the Fragile charms, and open Queen’s Station.
With the Claw and the Cloak, go back and sweep the Crossroads and Greenpath for anything you could not reach. This is the first proper backtrack and it is worth doing now while the areas are small.
5. Howling Cliffs, optional
Unlocks: Cyclone Slash, Joni’s Blessing.
West out of Dirtmouth or north out of Greenpath. Buy the map for 75 Geo. Nailmaster Mato teaches Cyclone Slash for free and Joni’s Repose holds Joni’s Blessing. Leave Gorb and the Nightmare Lantern until you have the Dream Nail.
6. City of Tears
Unlocks: Desolate Dive, Shade Soul, the Nailsmith, Lemm.
Take the eastern Fungal Wastes route. The Soul Warrior guarding the way drops the City Crest, which opens the gate. Buy the City of Tears map for 90 Geo near the entrance.
Do these in order:
- Find Lemm in the west and sell every relic you are carrying. Wanderer’s Journals are 200 Geo, Hallownest Seals 450, King’s Idols 800, Arcane Eggs 1200.
- Find the Nailsmith and buy the Sharpened Nail for 250 Geo.
- Climb the Soul Sanctum, beat Soul Master for Desolate Dive, and pick up Shade Soul inside. Soul Master fakes his death, so do not leave the arena early.
- Grab the Shopkeeper’s Key from the Pleasure House.
- Open King’s Station and City Storerooms.
7. Crystal Peak
Unlocks: Crystal Heart (super dash), Descending Dark, Deep Focus.
East from the Crossroads or up from the City. Buy the Crystal Peak map for 112 Geo.
Beat the Crystal Guardian at the east end and take the Crystal Heart. Then use Desolate Dive plus the Crystal Heart to reach the Crystallised Mound for Descending Dark. Deep Focus is behind a breakable wall in the west.
Crystal Peak has seven grubs, more than any other area. Clear them in one pass.
8. Resting Grounds
Unlocks: Dream Nail, Howling Wraiths, Dreamgate.
South from Crystal Peak. Buy the map from Iselda for 75 Geo; Cornifer never comes here.
Take the Dream Nail from the Seer in the Spirits’ Glade. This is the hinge of the whole game. The moment you have it:
- All 15 Whispering Roots become collectable.
- All seven Warrior Dreams become fightable.
- The three Dreamer seals become readable.
Grab Howling Wraiths here, and Xero in the Catacombs for easy Essence. At 900 Essence, buy the Dreamgate from the Seer. It is the biggest quality of life purchase in the game.
9. Fog Canyon and Monomon
Unlocks: Dreamer 1 of 3.
The Teacher’s Archives hang off the east side of Fog Canyon. Uumuu cannot be hurt by your nail; bait Quirrel into hitting the core and punish the stun. Dream Nail Monomon afterwards.
The Fog Canyon map costs 150 Geo, joint most expensive in the game. If Geo is tight, skip it.
10. Lurien
Unlocks: Dreamer 2 of 3.
Buy the Elegant Key from Sly for 800 Geo, open the Watcher’s Spire in the City of Tears, beat the Watcher Knights, and Dream Nail Lurien at the top.
11. Royal Waterways
Unlocks: Isma’s Tear (acid swim).
Break through the City floor in the west. Buy the Waterways map for 75 Geo. Beat Dung Defender for Defender’s Crest, and use the Crystal Heart to reach Isma’s Grove at the far west for Isma’s Tear.
Acid stops mattering. Go back and clear every acid-blocked shortcut you noted in Greenpath, the Fungal Wastes and the Archives.
12. Deepnest and Herrah
Unlocks: Dreamer 3 of 3, Tram Pass.
Buy the Lumafly Lantern from Sly for 1800 Geo first. Do not go in without it.
Buy the Deepnest map for 38 Geo; Cornifer is silent here so follow the paper. Equip the Wayward Compass. Work through the Distant Village to the Beast’s Den, beat the spiders, and Dream Nail Herrah. Grab the Pale Ore behind her, fight Nosk for a Mask Shard, and pick up the Tram Pass.
13. Ancient Basin
Unlocks: Monarch Wings (double jump).
Down the Great Lift from the City of Tears. Buy the Ancient Basin map for 112 Geo. Beat Broken Vessel for the Monarch Wings.
Double jump is the last major traversal upgrade. Sweep every area again for ledges you could not reach.
14. Kingdom’s Edge and the Hive
Unlocks: King’s Brand, Dash Slash, Hiveblood.
Out of King’s Station to the east. Buy the Kingdom’s Edge map for 112 Geo. Beat Hornet Sentinel, climb the cliffs, take the King’s Brand. Nailmaster Oro teaches Dash Slash, the last nail art.
The Hive is behind a breakable wall in the south east. Hive Knight drops Hiveblood and is worth 1 percent of the 112.
15. Queen’s Gardens
Unlocks: Queen’s Fragment, Love Key.
Buy the map for 150 Geo. Beat Traitor Lord, then speak to the White Lady for the Queen’s Fragment. Pick up the Love Key, which opens the Tower of Love and the Collector back in the City of Tears with its three grubs.
16. White Palace and the Abyss
Unlocks: King’s Fragment, Kingsoul, Shade Cloak, Abyss Shriek, Void Heart.
Use the King’s Brand at the Palace Grounds to open the White Palace. Take the King’s Fragment from the throne room. Combined with the Queen’s Fragment it becomes the Kingsoul.
Then descend into the Abyss with the Lantern and the Wings. Take the Shade Cloak, Abyss Shriek and Lifeblood Core, and bring the Kingsoul to the Birthplace to make the Void Heart.
17. Clean-up
Everything is now reachable. Sweep for the last grubs, Mask Shards, Vessel Fragments and Pale Ore, finish the Nailsmith’s upgrades, run the three Colosseum trials, do the Grimm Troupe if you started it, and wake the Godseeker in the Junk Pit for Godhome.
Only then go to the Black Egg Temple in the Forgotten Crossroads. With the Void Heart equipped, that door leads to the true ending.
Track the whole thing on the interactive map, and use the 112 percent checklist to see exactly what is left.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I explore in Hollow Knight?
Forgotten Crossroads, Greenpath, Fungal Wastes, City of Tears, Crystal Peak, Resting Grounds, then Fog Canyon, Royal Waterways, Deepnest, Ancient Basin, Kingdom's Edge and the Queen's Gardens. Each step hands you the ability the next one needs.
What should I buy first in Hollow Knight?
The Forgotten Crossroads map from Cornifer for 30 Geo, then the Quill from Iselda for 120 Geo. After that, save for the Lumafly Lantern at 1800 Geo from Sly, because Deepnest and the Abyss are both closed without it.
Where do I go after Greenpath?
The Fungal Wastes, south of the Forgotten Crossroads. The Mantis Claw above the Mantis Village gives you wall jump, which is the single biggest movement upgrade in the game, and beating the Mantis Lords makes the whole area safe to walk through.
Which Dreamer should I do first?
Monomon in the Teacher's Archives at the east of Fog Canyon. Uumuu is a puzzle rather than a damage race, and Fog Canyon is close to areas you have already cleared. Lurien second, once you can afford the 800 Geo Elegant Key, and Herrah last because Deepnest needs the Lantern.
Can I get stuck in Hollow Knight?
Effectively no. There is no permanent soft lock in normal play, and every area has an exit that does not need an ability you do not have. The worst case is a long walk back. Following a route mainly saves time, not the run.
When should I do the Colosseum of Fools?
After the Monarch Wings and at least the Coiled Nail. The Trial of the Warrior is doable earlier at 100 Geo entry, but the Conqueror at 450 and the Fool at 800 both assume a strong build and most of your charm notches.
Do I have to beat the game before going for 112 percent?
No, and it is usually better not to. Beating the Hollow Knight ends the save on that ending. Do everything else first, get the Void Heart, then go to the Black Egg Temple last.