Hollow Knight Lifeblood Update Guide: New Boss & Key Changes

The Lifeblood update for Hollow Knight brings several exciting new features, including a brand-new boss fight, several game tweaks, and numerous quality-of-life improvements. This guide covers everything you need to know about the update, including how to find and defeat the new boss, Hive Knight, and highlights the other changes that will enhance your gameplay.

What’s New in the Lifeblood Update?

The Lifeblood update offers some significant changes to Hollow Knight, including:

• New Boss: Hive Knight
• Upgraded Existing Boss: A more challenging version of a familiar boss
• New Custom Map Markers: Players can now personalize their maps for easier navigation.
• Bug Fixes and Performance Tweaks: Improved stability and quality-of-life improvements.
• New Sound Effects and Music: Including a new music track for Hive Knight, composed by Chris Larkin.
• Various Game Balances: Several changes to gameplay mechanics, enemies, and boss encounters.

Additionally, Team Cherry teased that Free Content Pack 3: Gods & Glory is on the horizon, promising even more content in the future!

How to Find and Defeat Hive Knight

The highlight of the Lifeblood update is the Hive Knight, the new boss added to Hollow Knight. Here’s how you can find and defeat this challenging new enemy:

Location: The Hive

Hive Knight can be found in The Hive, which is located near Kingdom’s Edge. The area itself is full of dangerous enemies, including the Hivelings and the Hive Guardians, making it a perilous journey. There are multiple ways to access the Hive, but the easiest is to take the Tram from Royal Waterways.

Once you arrive in the Hive, head right to find the boss room. The path to the boss is littered with bees, so make sure to avoid them while making your way to the fight.

The Hive Knight Boss Fight

The Hive Knight may seem like a challenging fight at first glance, but in reality, it’s relatively easy for players who’ve already completed the main game. The boss has low health, making it more of a test of your dodging and attacking timing rather than your endurance.

• Strategy: Spam attacks to deal damage while avoiding the Hive Knight’s slow-moving projectiles and attacks. The fight mainly revolves around dodging and attacking at the right moments.
• Post-Fight: After defeating the Hive Knight, speak with Hive Queen Vespa at the boss’s corpse to progress the story. You’ll also be able to pick up the Hiveblood Charm by continuing past the arena and going lower into the Hive.

Rewards:

• Hiveblood Charm
• Hive Knight’s lore progression
• Materials for upgrading equipment

Other Key Features and Changes in the Lifeblood Update

In addition to the Hive Knight boss, the Lifeblood update brings a wide range of tweaks and improvements to Hollow Knight. Here are the most notable changes:

New Features:

• Custom Map Markers: You can now place custom markers on your map to highlight points of interest or locations you wish to return to later.
• Extras Menu: Additional content has been added to the Extras menu, making it easier to access various unlockables and bonuses.
• New Sound and Music: The update includes new sound effects and voice acting, along with new music tracks—especially for Hive Knight.
• Now Playable in Japanese: The game now supports the Japanese language, so players can enjoy the game in their preferred language.
• New Aesthetic Menu Styles: You can now change the visual style of the game in the options menu, offering more customization.

Boss Updates:

• Traitor Lord: This boss has been buffed, making it a more challenging fight. Also, the quest involving Traitor Lord has been slightly altered to include a new battle with Cloth.
• Soul Master: The Soul Master’s character model has been made smaller for better visibility during battle.
• The Watcher Knights: The layout of their arena has been rearranged, making the fight slightly more challenging.

Enemy Tweaks:

• Weaverlings: They’ve received a buff, making them tougher to deal with.
• Flukenest Nerf: This charm now costs 3 notches instead of 2, which balances its power.
• Hollow Knight Fire Pillars: These now deal 2 mask damage instead of the previous 1 mask damage.

Other Changes:

• Smoother Room Transitions: Some areas now feature smoother transitions, enhancing the game’s overall flow.
• Bretta and Zote Interaction Changes: The interaction between Bretta and Grey Prince Zote now changes based on the number of candles lit in your game.
• New Sound Effects: The update adds new sounds to make your journey through Hallownest even more immersive.
• Bug Fixes: The update fixes numerous bugs, boosting overall game stability and performance.

For a deeper look at all the changes, we recommend checking out this detailed video by YouTuber Keith Redacted, who covers the new content in the Lifeblood update.

The Lifeblood update is a great addition to Hollow Knight, enhancing the gameplay experience with new challenges, customization options, and various improvements. The Hive Knight boss is an exciting new encounter, and the changes to existing bosses and enemies should make your future adventures in Hallownest even more interesting.

Have you encountered the Hive Knight yet? What do you think about the new features in the update? Share your thoughts in the comments below!