The Radiance Hollow Knight Guide

The Radiance Hollow Knight Guide

Hallownest, a long-dead kingdom, resuscitated with a combination of sounds and music, finished with a fantastic atmosphere all by Team Cherry. It took this team of four people less than three years to complete the work of art they named Hollow Knight.

Discover the Enigmatic World of Hollow Knight | GOG

Immerse yourself in the hauntingly beautiful world of "Hollow Knight," where every step unveils secrets and challenges waiting to be conquered. With its captivating art style and intricate gameplay, embark on an epic journey filled with mystery, danger, and discovery unlike any other.

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Hollow Knight, the game, consists of several diverse, interconnected places with unique themes. The color tone of each zone hints at how you should feel every time you step into another completely indistinguishable area from the one before, accompanied with melodies that imply that you should be cautious, comfortable, or cheerful about what is next to come.

In this The Radiance Hollow Knight Guide, I will go step by step describing how to complete the Dream No More Hollow Knight ending where you get transported into the dream that the Radiance is imprisoned in and defeat the Radiance, dragging her into the Void and banishing her. As a bonus, after that, I will explain how to get the Embrace The Void Hollow Knight ending where you fight the Absolute Radiance at the Pantheon of Hallownest and the Void entity slashes the Radiance asunder until she explodes into Essence.

“Embrace The Void” ending is a part of the Godmaster DLC, the last of the four free DLCs.

The Journey

hollow knight map

First of all, you need the Dream Nail. You will find it following the Moth in Resting Grounds to the statue of the Dreamers. You will discover Seer there, and he’ll awaken your Dream Nail for 1800 Essence. You now Have the Awoken Dream Nail.

You will find yourself going back and forth a lot, and you will eventually find yourself at Queen’s Gardens and White Palace. In Queen’s Gardens, the White Lady will give you the first half of the charm named Kingsoul, and after clearing out the White Palace, you will find the second half at The Pale King’s body.

The two will automatically combine, and it’ll be ready to equip at the next bench. This charm will unlock four different endings, two of which will lead you to the Radiance. You will then need to make your way to the Abyss and, with the Kingsoul charm equipped, open the entrance to the Birthplace under the Abyss.

Once inside, walk towards the end, where you’ll find an egg. Hit the egg using the Awoken Dream Nail to reveal the memories of The King and transform Kingsoul into Void Heart.

  • Kingsoul, while equipped, will regenerate your soul every two seconds, but it uses up five charm slots. Void Heart is automatically equipped and, as a part of its bearer, can’t be unequipped; it frees up the five charm slots that Kingsoul was occupying. You can ONLY unequip Void Heart when using Charm Binding in the Pantheons.
  • Void Heart renders the Siblings, Void Tendrils, and Shade passive and gives you access to the Pantheon of Hallownest.

The Dreamers

The Dreamers

You will, at this point, have already seen on the map the locations of the three dreamers. You may have already passed them, but you’ll find that this is the easiest part of the process if you didn’t.

For Lurien the Watcher  in the City of Tears, you will need Monarch Wings (double jump – found in the Ancient Basin) to reach him. Use the Dream Nail on him, and he will just sit there and, well, watch.

For Herrah the Beast – in the Beast’s Den in Deepnest, I would recommend visiting Sly in Dirtmouth to purchase a Lumafly Lantern for 1800 geo, and she will also sit out the fight.

For Monomon the Teacher – in Fog Canyon, you will need Shade Cloak if you got here before obtaining the Void Heart. You will need to climb the lighthouse in the Abyss right before the sea to activate the light to suppress the Void Tendrils blocking the Shade Cloak room entrance.

You will also need the Crystal Heart and the Dung Defender’s Crest to access Isma’s Tear from Isma’s Grove in the Royal Waterways. But by this point, you presumably already have everything that you need. There will be a boss fight here, but there is a bench to save.

The fight itself isn’t at all difficult; all you have to do is avoid taking damage until Quirrel comes to give you an opportunity to deal some damage to the boss. After that, you will find Monomon, and you won’t use your Dream Nail; Quirrel will come once again and free the teacher.

The seal in The Temple of the Black Egg is now unlocked.

Dream No More

Once you’ve obtained the Void Heart and beaten the dreamers, you go back to where your journey began. You can now go into the temple in the Forgotten Crossroads, and the infected seal will break open, leaving orange dust.

Enter it, and you will face your first fight against The Hollow Knight. You will have to fight The Hollow Knight every time before getting to the Radiance if you die.

There are four phases of this fight:

  • In the first, The Hollow Knight swings his Nail three times, covering about a quarter of the arena. Along with that, The Hollow Knight lunges at you, slicing through half of the arena. He dodges your attack and parries your attack with your Nail.
  • In the second phase, The Hollow Knight starts jumping and teleporting into the air and slamming straight to the ground causing columns of fire to shoot up. He starts covering three-fourths of the arena with infected blobs starting low and working up, here it’s best to get as far away from him as possible to dodge the blobs easier.
  • In phase three, he starts shooting the blobs everywhere, always standing in the center of the arena. The hollow Knight also starts bouncing three to five times targeting your position. If you’re low on health, you have time to heal while The Hollow Knight stabs himself multiple times; the damage dealt to him during this attack is reduced to 1, regardless of the Nail level.
  • During the last stage of the fight, The Hollow Knight has lost all of his Strength and attempts to swing one more time and falls to his knees.
    The fight is interrupted by Hornet, and this is when you use your dream Nail on him, accessing his mind to fight the Radiance. Missing this moment will result in him healing by 250HP, and the fight will continue with the Knight bouncing mindlessly, around the arena, until his demise.

You will then be transported into another realm with three platforms with the option to challenge the Radiance at the highest one. Here is the moment where your battle begins.

The Radiance’s Attacks

It is essential to remember that all of the Radiance’s attacks deal two masks of damage except the Spike Floor, which deals only one blow of damage. Your health will regenerate after fighting the Hollow Knight, but your soul won’t; keep that in mind.

  • Beam Burst – fires eight beams of light three times spread evenly around the Radiance. Each wave is rotated slightly, but the first and the third one usually end up in the same place.
  • Sword Burst – the Radiance forms twelve swords around her, circling clockwise or counterclockwise. Once the swords are formed, all are launched simultaneously, traveling in the direction they were pointing at, curving slightly the longer they’re traveling.
  • Sword Rain – the Radiance summons a rain of swords formed in groups with large safe spaces in between the swords.
  • Sword Wall – like the previous attack, the Radiance summons swords in the same formation but this time going horizontally.
  • Wall of Light – self-explanatory a wall of light is summoned and travels horizontally in both directions. The best way to dodge this attack is to dash through it using Shade Cloak.
  • Orb – the Radiance spawns homing orbs that disappear three seconds after being spawned or when they hit a surface or you. The orbs can spawn from anywhere and pass through surfaces in the first half-second after they spawn.
  • Spike Floor – The floor starts glowing for a moment before spikes form, covering half or a quarter of the arena on either the left or the right side.
  • Big Beam – the Radiance fires a single beam of light every second and a half, and this attack only occurs in the last stage of the battle.

The Radiance’s Phases

Default Nail range versus Long Nail and Mark of Pride

The fight has five phases. There are a couple of ways to go into it – in terms of charms and your play style. I will give some examples after describing the phases. I highly recommend having the Abyss Shreek, an upgrade to Howling Wraiths ability that you acquire in the Abyss to the left of the entrance into the Birthplace.

If you haven’t already acquired the Howling Wraiths ability, it is found next to the entrance to the Queen’s Gardens in the Overgrown Mound.

The necessary thing to remember is to stay patient and heal only when you’re sure you won’t take damage while doing so.

  • The arena is fully displayed in the first phase, and the Radiance uses every attack except the Spike Floor and the Big Beam. Radiance tends to stay still, and I recommend using the Abyss Shriek to pass this phase in five seconds. You don’t have to be directly below the Radiance to hit her as the Abyss Shriek goes really far out. The phase ends after the Radiance takes 350 damage.
  • In phase two, she starts teleporting from the middle to the left and the right of the arena and adds the Spike Floor cutting your platform by half. In this phase, stick to one side and try to go offense instead of defense while preserving your soul for phase three. This phase ends when she takes 400 damage.
  • In phase three, the Radiance moves to the center and remains there. The Spike Floor now takes up the first and the last fourths of the arena as well, and the Radiance keeps casting Sword Rain until she takes 250 damage which is roughly two Abyss Shrieks. You can start using Abyss Shriek before she even starts the Sword Rain and avoid having to dodge any attacks at all. If you need to heal, this is the time.
  • In the next phase, you’ll have to jump between small platforms above the Void, which deals one hit of damage. The arena is more prominent than in the previous phases. The Radiance doesn’t use Sword Rain, Spike Floor, and Big Beam, and the phase ends when she takes 700 damage. After taking 300 damage, she starts being more precise, meaning you’ll have to go offense again.
  • In the end, phase five, the Radiance will teleport away, and you will have to climb up the platforms avoiding the Big Beam, which is the only attack she uses in this phase. The Void will as well start rising slowly. As you get closer to her, the Big Beam will be more precise, but when you get to the top, you only have to hit her once to end the fight. After that, the Radiance is tied by the Void Tendrils, and the Shade of the Hollow Knight tears open her face allowing you to attack her weak point until she is defeated and thrown into the Void below.

This is the end of your journey. The Hollow Knight, brainwashed, tried to end his life so that you don’t get the chance to face the Hollow Knight Boss, the Radiance, but you succeeded. The Radiance is defeated, and the Hallownest is alleviated from the infection.

The Black Egg vanishes, and the Knight’s shell, broken in half, is seen in the crater. With the end of the Radiance, the siblings are seen finally put to rest.

Defeating the Radiance unlocks the Steel Soul Mode where there is no shade, no reviving, and death is permanent; it also ends the game on that save file.
You also get the Void menu style!

You can, of course, go into this battle like a speedrunner, but I recommend having all nine health masks earned by collecting mask shard pieces, three soul vessels earned by collecting vessel fragment pieces, maximum Nail upgrades, and all eleven charm notches. Here is a list of charms that I think you should consider equipping:

  1. Shaman Stone (notch cost: 3) – bought from Salubra for 220 Geo in the Forgotten Crossroads. It increases spell damage, and as the Radiance is vulnerable to Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek, it comes in very handy in this fight as it increases the damage of the spells named by 50%.
  2. Soul Eater (notch cost: 4) – found in the Resting Grounds, increases the amount of soul gained when using your Nail.
  3. Soul Catcher (notch cost: 2) – found after killing the Elder Baldur also increases the amount of soul gained when using the Nail, but less than the Soul Eater Charm. One Nail strike is almost enough to cast one spell when used with the Soul Catcher.
  4. Spell Twister (notch cost: 2) – reduces the cost of casting spells by almost 30%. It is found in a secret room at the top of the Soul Sanctum.
  5. Fragile Strength (notch cost: 3) – can be bought in Fungal Wastes for 600 Geo. Increases Nail damage by 50% but is dropped upon death. You can give it to Divine, an NPC that has the ability to make breakable charms permanent. She can be found in Dirtmouth.
  6. Unbreakable Strength (notch cost: 3) – the upgraded version of Fragile Strength also deals 50% more Nail damage and costs 15000 Geo to upgrade. Is it a small price to pay for keeping such a powerful charm?
  7. Quick Slash (notch cost: 3) – decreases attack duration and cooldown, significantly increasing the damage dealt per second. Found in front of an enormous corpse known as the “Ancient Nailsmith” in Kingdom’s Edge.
  8. Mark of Pride (notch cost: 3) – increases Nail range by 25%. It is acquired after defeating the Mantis Lords.
  9. Long Nail (notch cost: 2) – last but not least, less powerful than Mark of Pride, but they stack together, giving you a total of +40% Nail range.

Based on your playstyle, you may already have your charm build all set up. Still, in this fight, I recommend going with the magic damage build as you will have plenty of opportunities to deal damage with Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek, but not as many to attack her with the Nail directly.

The safest way is to deal damage with the Nail only to replenish your soul to catch her with the Howling Wraiths/Abyss Shriek.

You can experiment as you probably won’t fight the Radiance once; you undoubtedly fought her already. What I found works the best to deal the most damage in the least amount of time is Shaman Stone, Spell Twister, Unbreakable Strength, and Quick Slash.

If you don’t have Unbreakable Strength, you can swap it for Fragile Strength or be safer, Mark of Pride. This build is almost a sure thing, but making a few adjustments depending on your playstyle might be more beneficial.

The only valuable in-game tip I can give is to lower the in-game music so that you can hear her attacks and be prepared in advance. This one helped me A LOT, especially when she’s off the screen. When she is off the screen, I usually don’t chase her.

This is the easiest and the safest way I found to defeat the Radiance, and I hope this guide helped you get the “Dream No More” ending. You can always comment, leaving questions or suggestions at the bottom to help the community with this fight.

Embrace the Void

hollow knight map

To get this ending, you mustn’t give the Delicate Flower to the Godseeker, and you must reach the Absolute Radiance at the fifth Pantheon at least one time before the door to the Absolute Radiance on the far right opens.

To get to the fifth Pantheon, The Pantheon of Hallownest, you must have the Dream Nail and the Void Heart, and of course, pass through the first four Pantheons.

The Absolute Radiance has one phase more than the Radiance and uses only one attack during the phase.

The phase starts right where the fifth one would end, but instead of having to hit her once, two platforms appear, and the Radiance uses Orb Barrage that fires orbs every two seconds while teleporting from the left of the screen to the right and the middle.

The orbs disappear when they go off the screen, and here I would just avoid them by double jumping and hitting her when I have the chance. When her health runs out, she will stay in the middle of the screen, and one hit will finish her off. Just with that, you will be able to defeat the hardest boss in the game.

This will unlock the “Embrace the Void” ending and unlock Radiance in the Hunter’s Journal if she wasn’t unlocked already.

FAQs

Question: How Do You Get the “Dream No More” Ending in Hollow Knight?

Answer: During the last stage of the fight, The Hollow Knight has lost all of his Strength and attempts to swing one more time and falls to his knees.

The fight is interrupted by Hornet, and this is when you use your dream Nail on him, accessing his mind to fight the Radiance.

Question: How Do You Get the “Embrace The Void” Ending in Hollow Knight?

Answer: To get this ending, you mustn’t give the Delicate Flower to the Godseeker, and you must reach the Absolute Radiance at the fifth Pantheon at least one time before the door to the Absolute Radiance on the far right opens.

To get to the fifth Pantheon, The Pantheon of Hallownest, you must have the Dream Nail and the Void Heart charm, and of course, pass through the first four Pantheons.

Question: How do You Get the Awoken Dream Nail Ending in Hollow Knight?

Answer: First of all, you need the Dream Nail. You will find it following the Moth in Resting Grounds to the statue of the Dreamers. You will discover Seer there, and he’ll awaken your Dream Nail for 1800 Essence. You now Have the Awoken Dream Nail.

Question: Where is Kingsoul in Hollow Knight?

Answer: Queen’s Gardens and White Palace. In Queen’s Gardens, the White Lady will give you the first half of the charm named Kingsoul, and after clearing out the White Palace, you will find the second half at The Pale King’s body. The two will automatically combine, and it’ll be ready to equip at the next bench.

Question: Where is Void Heart Charm in Hollow Knight?

Answer: In the Birthplace under the Abyss. Once inside, walk towards the end, where you’ll find an egg. Hit the egg using the Awoken Dream Nail to reveal the memories of The King and transform Kingsoul into Void Heart.

Question: Where is The Temple of the Black Egg in Hollow Knight?

Answer: In the Forgotten Crossroads.

Question: Where is the Birthplace in Hollow Knight?

Answer: You will then need to make your way to the Abyss and, with the Kingsoul charm equipped, open the entrance to the Birthplace under the Abyss.

Question: Where is the Hollow Knight in Hollow Knight?

Answer: Once you’ve obtained the Void Heart and beaten the dreamers, you go back to where your journey began. You can now go into the temple in the Forgotten Crossroads, and the infected seal will break open, leaving orange dust. Enter it, and you will face your first fight against The Hollow Knight.

Question: Where is the Radiance in Hollow Knight?

Answer: You can now go into the temple in the Forgotten Crossroads, and the infected seal will break open, leaving orange dust. Enter it, and you will face your first fight against The Hollow Knight. You will have to fight The Hollow Knight boss every time before getting to the Radiance if you die.

Question: What is the Best Strategy to Defeat the Radiance in Hollow Knight?

Answer: I highly recommend having the Abyss Shreek, an upgrade to Howling Wraiths ability that you acquire in the Abyss to the left of the entrance to the Birthplace.

If you haven’t already acquired the Howling Wraiths ability, it is found next to the entrance to the Queen’s Gardens in the Overgrown Mound. The necessary thing to remember is to stay patient and heal only when you’re sure you won’t take damage while doing so.

Question: What are the best charms to use for the Radiance in Hollow Knight?

Answer: What I found works the best to deal the most damage in the least amount of time is Shaman Stone, Spell Twister, Unbreakable Strength, and Quick Slash.

If you don’t have Unbreakable Strength, you can swap it for Fragile Strength or be safer, Mark of Pride. This build is almost a sure thing, but making a few adjustments depending on your playstyle might be more beneficial.

Question: What Platforms Is Hollow Knight available on?

Answer: This modern indie classic is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

Conclusion

The game progression in Hollow Knight is incredible. Hollow Knight truly prepares you throughout the whole game for Radiance’s attacks, just as it does with the enemies before every boss fight. Indeed, we can expect an even better experience when Hollow Knight: Silksong comes out in early 2022.

Discover the Enigmatic World of Hollow Knight | GOG

Immerse yourself in the hauntingly beautiful world of "Hollow Knight," where every step unveils secrets and challenges waiting to be conquered. With its captivating art style and intricate gameplay, embark on an epic journey filled with mystery, danger, and discovery unlike any other.

Check Price
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

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