Hollow Knight Endgame: 112% Completion and the Final Challenges#

Finishing Hollow Knight’s main story doesn’t mean the adventure is over. Four free updates — Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood and Godmaster — filled Hallownest out with Pantheon gauntlets, the troupe questline, the Hive Knight and the final word on the completion system: Completion caps at 112%. This page breaks down each weighting the way the game counts it, and collects the essentials for the Pantheons, Colosseum and Steel Soul endgame challenges.

The Completion System: Every Weighting Detailed#

Completion is displayed in your save statistics and is the core chase for full-clear players. It covers abilities, spells, boss fights, charms and all the update content, up to 112%. The table below lists each category’s weight and counting rules (for individual items, the in-game stats screen is final):

Category Weights at a Glance#

The 17 Regular Boss Fights#

Each of these 17 boss fights counts 1%; the last one offers two routes and either counts:

The Seven Warrior Graves#

Seven Warrior Graves are scattered across Hallownest. Wake the fallen warrior inside each with the Dream Nail and defeat its dream form for 1% apiece. The seven shades, by their English names:

Charms: 40 of Them, 1% Apiece#

Charms are the largest single category in Completion, 1% per charm acquired. Three special rules to watch while collecting:

• The Kingsoul counts in the charm category; once the story transforms it into the Void Heart, the item still counts as 1% — it isn’t lost because the charm was replaced.
• Fragile charms handed to Divine don’t count toward Completion while she has them; they count again once retrieved.
• Several charms are tied to the Grimm Troupe questline and late-game regions; collection routes are in the charm compendium.

Grimm Troupe Counting Items#

The troupe’s 6% breaks down into six items, two of which echo the boss list above:

Items That Don’t Count#

The following don’t convert into Completion — don’t detour for them:

• Charm Notch expansions
• Grimmchild upgrade stages
• Clearing Steel Soul mode itself
• Achievements unlocked

Completion-Related Achievements#

The Pantheons: Godhome’s Ultimate Gauntlets#

The Godmaster update opened the final region, Godhome. The God Tuner and four Pantheons count 1% each — 5% of Completion combined. A Pantheon is a boss rush with no bench break allowed, and the roster grows with each one: the fourth Pantheon’s finale is the Pure Vessel, and the summit of the whole gauntlet line, the Pantheon of Hallownest, ends with Absolute Radiance. Clearing the Pantheon gauntlet unlocks the “Embrace the Void” ending; if you finish the flower-quest side branch beforehand, you get a different version of that ending.

Before a gauntlet you can also apply four Bindings to raise the challenge: the Charm Binding disables all charms, the Soul Binding lowers your SOUL gauge, the Mask Binding cuts max health and the Nail Binding reduces nail damage. Bindings don’t affect Completion counts — they’re an advanced goal for after your first clear.

For detailed Pantheon strategies and loadouts, see the Pantheon challenge page.

The Grimm Troupe: Ritual or Banishment#

The troupe questline revolves around the Grimmchild charm and flows like this:

1. Light the troupe lantern in Dirtmouth — the troupe’s tent appears at the town’s edge.
2. Enter the tent and speak with Troupe Master Grimm, take the quest and receive the Grimmchild charm.
3. Following the Troupe Master’s guidance, find and light the Grimm Flames scattered across Hallownest, letting Grimmchild consume them and grow stronger.
4. Once all flames are lit, challenge Troupe Master Grimm.
5. After victory comes the choice: complete the ritual and face the final Nightmare King Grimm — or banish the troupe, ending the questline early with Carefree Melody as the alternate reward.

Both routes award their Completion counts (see the table above); the difference is whether you face Nightmare King Grimm, widely considered the hardest boss in the game. Grimmchild’s upgrade stages don’t count toward Completion — no need to linger for them.

Hidden Dreams: Dream Bosses and the Dreamgate#

The Hidden Dreams update added two dream bosses — Grey Prince Zote and White Defender — both dream-empowered versions of existing bosses, refightable repeatedly with Essence rewards on victory. The same update brought the Dreamgate warp spell, letting you fast-travel between explored areas — a huge efficiency boost for late-game full-map collection.

The Colosseum of Fools: Three Trials#

The Colosseum of Fools sits above Kingdom’s Edge; three trials count 1% each, in rising difficulty: Trial of the Warrior, Trial of the Conqueror and Trial of the Fool. Key points:

• Trials advance in continuous waves with no resupply — top off your masks and SOUL before entering.
• Spells clear waves far more efficiently than nail-trading; pairing with spell charms like the Shaman Stone pays off clearly.
• SOUL management is the core skill: keep enough banked for emergency healing before spending it on damage.
• The Trial of the Fool mixes spike terrain with flying waves and no safe landing — the highest demand on platforming and pogo precision; memorizing wave order is the only real answer.
• Failed trials can be retried any time; after a rough wave, break contact immediately, open distance and reset your rhythm.

Steel Soul Mode: One Life in Hallownest#

Steel Soul is a hardcore mode separate from your normal save, with one core rule: death voids the save. The entire adventure must be survived without a single death — every collection and boss fight has to be done in one continuous life. Clearing Steel Soul itself doesn’t count toward Completion, but a 100% clear in this mode unlocks the “Steel Heart” achievement.

Advice for first-timers:

• Get traversal abilities early — Mantis Claw, Monarch Wings, Crystal Heart; mobility is this mode’s survival rate.
• Ranged spell consumption plus Quick Focus healing is far safer than close-range trades.
• Spike-platforming areas like the White Palace are the biggest fail points — enter at full strength and re-try unfamiliar jumps in place.
• Leave any boss you’re not confident about and push other regions first — Steel Soul never rewards gambling.
• The mode doesn’t touch your normal save; learn the flow on a normal file first. More detail on the Steel Soul page.

Recommended Post-Game Order#

After the credits your save persists — return to Dirtmouth and explore freely. Following the order below banks the highest-Completion content first:

1. Backfill abilities and charms across all regions, completing your traversal toolkit to speed up later collection.
2. Farm Essence with the Dream Nail: 1,800 Essence awakens it, 2,400 Essence earns the Seer’s final words — 1% each.
3. Clear the three Colosseum trials (1% each).
4. Push the Grimm Troupe questline (6% total), beating the Hive Knight (1%) along the way.
5. Enter Godhome, clear the four Pantheons and claim the God Tuner (5% total).
6. Finally sweep the remaining charms and shard collectibles, chasing the 112% “Pure Completion” achievement.

Easy-to-Miss Counting Items#

• There are 16 Mask Shards — the ones behind secret side content and hard platforming are the easiest to miss.
• There are 9 Soul Vessel Fragments — some require beating specific bosses or finding hidden passages first.
• Reaching the Pure Nail costs 6 Pale Ore in total — the late ones are the most commonly overlooked.
• Dream Nail Essence requires long-term harvesting of spirits everywhere — awaken it first, then farm in bulk.
• Several of the 40 charms are bound to the Grimm Troupe and Godhome progression — missing them drags both the charm and the update categories at once.

For most players, the road from the credits to 112% is simply walking Hallownest again: every destination is one you’ve already visited — but this time, with every ability, every charm, and one life you must keep alive. The Pantheons and your Steel Soul save will remember every choice you made, and the Seer’s final words at that window will be waiting, after 2,400 Essence.