Hollow Knight Hornet: Lore, Fights & More

Lore Of Hornet

Let’s start this off by stating a fact so that it is not repeated again: Hornet is NOT void. No matter what you hear, all signs indicate towards her not being void.

In Hollow Knight, Hornet is the protector of Greenpath, one of the areas within the underground kingdom of Hallownest. She is a skilled and nimble warrior and is recognizable by her needle-like weapon and a cloak adorned with a distinctive pattern resembling a stinger. 

Hollow Knight Hornet is also the daughter of Herrah the Beast, one of the three Dreamers who maintain a seal on the Black Egg.

Hornet is known for her independent and determined nature. She initially appears in the game as a boss fight, where she challenges the player.

She aims to test your strength and resolve for venturing through this ruined land. After this initial encounter, she plays a recurring role in the game, assisting the player character at various points and dropping hints about the game’s overarching narrative.

Hornet’s backstory and her connection to the Dreamers, the Pale King, and the Radiance are central to the game’s lore. 

In Hollow Knight, Hornet was conceived as part of a bargain her mother made to ally Deepnest with Hallownest. This was in exchange for becoming one of the three Dreamers to seal the Radiance’s infectious light inside of the Black Egg.

Her character represents a link between different elements of the world and culture, and her actions are driven by a desire to protect Hallownest and find her own purpose within the world.

First Encounter With Hornet

The first encounter with Hornet in Hollow Knight is a memorable and challenging boss fight. This encounter takes place in the Greenpath area of the game and serves as a significant moment in the player’s journey.

As you explore the verdant beauty of Greenpath, they stumble upon a chamber bathed in soft, emerald light. Within this tranquil setting, Hornet makes her dramatic entrance. Her silhouette emerges against the backdrop, immediately capturing the player’s attention. The soft, ambient sounds of the forest give way to an intense and haunting musical score, signaling the impending battle.

Hornet’s combat style is characterized by agility and precision. She moves gracefully and swiftly, closing the distance between herself and the player character, the Hollow Knight, with remarkable speed. Her attacks are a testament to her mastery of combat, with lunging strikes, needle throws, and shockwave-creating maneuvers that challenge the player’s reflexes.

To triumph over Hornet, players must decipher her attack patterns and adapt accordingly. Patience and timing are key. When she leaps into the air and launches her needle, players must be prepared to jump and evade. When she charges, it’s a chance to strike, but caution is necessary, as her movements are unpredictable.

An intriguing aspect of the encounter is the dialogue Hornet engages in with the Hollow Knight during the fight. She has distinct audio cues that can help you predict what attack is coming next.

Her words provide tantalizing hints about her role as a protector of Hallownest and her determination to challenge those who seek entry. These cryptic remarks deepen the intrigue surrounding her character and her connection to the game’s overarching narrative.

Move Set

The first time you encounter Hornet, she has a very straightforward strategy. She has a few attacks that she uses, which are tough when you first encounter her but get easier in retrospect.

The main ones are her lunges forward, where she simply dashes forward quickly to try and catch you in her path. The arial version of this dash is actually a jump upwards that stops and dashes diagonally toward your position.

Another move is the nail throw. This one is relatively easy to dodge, but it allows a short window of opportunity to punish Hornet by getting a few hits.

Her final and deadly move is known as Gossamer Storm, where she wraps herself in the web and does not allow you to get close to her. This move is not very dangerous unless you are backed into a corner; then, you will probably get hit by this. Otherwise, this is a good opportunity to heal and get ready to jump back into the fray.

Fighting Strategy

Since you are quite early on in the game, there is not much variety in charm selection, so the only way to beat Hornet is to listen for her audio cues that allow you to predict which moves she is going to throw about before she does. Keep this in mind and turn that volume up.

At the end, Hornet is defeated while also acknowledging your strength and offering cryptic insights, leaving you with a sense of achievement and intrigue as to where we go from here and what lies in the world from here on out.

You also unlock the dash ability after defeating her, which allows you to perform more platforming and expedites your exploration while adding a new depth to the combat of the game that is yet to fully shine, as we will see later in the story.

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Second Encounter With Hornet

The second encounter with Hornet in Hollow Knight, occurring just before obtaining the King’s Brand, marks a significant milestone in the player’s journey through the enigmatic underground kingdom of Hallownest. This encounter takes place in the Kingdom’s Edge area, a stark and desolate region.

Kingdom’s Edge is a striking departure from the vibrant and overgrown Greenpath. Instead, it presents a stark, melancholic landscape characterized by craggy cliffs and a sense of isolation. The transition from the Greenpath to this desolate region heightens the atmosphere of mystery and anticipation surrounding the encounter with Hornet.

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Just as before, Hornet makes her entrance with a dramatic flourish. Her agile movements and the unmistakable sound of her needle slicing through the air make her presence known, creating a sense of anticipation for the upcoming clash.

Hornet has grown even stronger and more adept in combat. Her attacks are more varied and challenging, demanding a higher level of skill and precision from the player. She retains her agility and speed, making it crucial for players to anticipate her moves and react swiftly.

Players must once again study her attack patterns, leveraging their accumulated skills and knowledge from the first encounter. Her swift lunges, needle throws, and aerial maneuvers keep players on their toes.

Move Set

Since this is the second time facing Hornet and much later into the game, she will show you more of a challenge with sped up versions of her base moves, allowing you little time to rest and making your attack windows even shorter.

Her main attack is her lunge forward, where she dashes forward quickly to try and catch you in her path. The arial version of this dash that is actually a jump upwards that stops and dashes diagonally toward your position. This is quite quick, so be wary of this move. So do not get a false sense of security and try to heal since she will punish you by taking a mask off your health bar.

Another move is the nail throw; this one is actually difficult to dodge due to how fast this is, and the window for attack on punishing this move is reduced to around less than a second.

Her Gossamer Storm also makes a comeback where now it has a much larger radius. Given that the arena you are fighting in is quite cramped, this move could spell doom if you are not careful in your movement.

There are also two new attacks which are quite interesting and change the flow of the battle significantly. The first one being a parry that can counter your hits. So even when you think she has a chink in her armor, she quickly swats you away like a fly, more often than not dealing damage alongside this deflection.

The second one is interesting since it begins at around 50% of her health. She begins to coat the arena in summoned spike balls that hang in mid-air using the same web as her Gossamer Storm.

Fighting Strategy

So, the best way to approach this fight is in two ways. Strong but occasional hits or, more often, weak hits.

To discuss the first option, the best thing for this is the breakable strength charm you get from Leg Eater to enhance your nail damage. This also works in tandem with your nail art, which can be useful in staggering her, allowing you time to heal. Throw on a Quick Slash and maybe a Shade Dash with some Longnail to really be decked out.

This method of fighting will take a shorter time to complete the fight, but it’s only for those people who have full confidence in their movement abilities being precise and accurate.

On the other hand, there is another way to approach this fight, and that is with a spell caster build. You will equip charms that increase your soul moves damages and give you more soul per hit. Thus allowing you to safely whittle her down from the comfort of an arena’s length between you at all times.

The best charms to use for this are Shaman Stone to boost your soul moves damage, the Souls Catcher charm since it allows you to accumulate more souls faster. And just for added reassurance, slap on a defensive charm that you would like, except the Defender’s Crest. There is literally no more useless charm than that (maybe except Grimchild, but that’s another topic entirely).

After defeating her, Hornet hints at her purpose and the significance of the King’s Brand, which the player is about to obtain. Her words provide important context for the journey and the player’s role in the unfolding events of Hallownest.

Upon defeating Hornet, you gain access to the pathway where you can obtain the King’s Brand, a key item that grants access to previously inaccessible areas of the world. Most importantly, the Ancient Basin and Abyss. 

Endings and Their Meanings

While considering the endings, we are only going to keep the base game endings, which means we will not include the Godhome DLC endings. There are two to look over, so we will talk about what they include and how they reflect the fate of Hollow Knight Hornet in each one.

Sealed Siblings Ending:

In this ending, the player defeats the Hollow Knight but chooses to take their place by sealing themselves inside the Black Egg, becoming the new vessel to contain the Radiance.

Hornet is then trapped inside the Black Egg and becomes another dreamer with her mask on the gate, similar to the previous dreamer masks we freed to access the Hollow Knight.

Her fate is left unknown as the infection has found a new host, but with Hornet still inside, it may be impossible to get inside the Black Egg again to ever fight the Knight and defeat the Radiance should a new challenger ever arise.

This is considered one of the worst endings since not only are you being imprisoned for eternity, but you also take Hornet with you onto this sinking ship.

Dream No More Ending:

In this ending, the player defeats the Hollow Knight and confronts the Radiance directly by using the Void Heart charm.

After a long and hard-fought battle with the Radiance, you are able to embrace the darkness of the Void and unite it to come against the Radiance.

Upon doing so, you are able to defeat the Radiance and break free of the infection that was plaguing Hallownest. You are found by Hornet, although it would be more accurate to say that your remains are found by her as you are no longer alive.

This ending is considered the best one since you were able to free Hallownest and the Hollow Knight from his suffering by sacrificing yourself.