The Journey to Dirtmouth

This page of the IGN Hollow Knight Walkthrough includes instructions on the opening section of Hollow Knight, which spans the section between starting the game and arriving in Dirtmouth.

• How to Get to Dirtmouth
• Where to Find the Hidden Area
  • Fury of the Fallen Charm Location
• Back On The Critical Path

How to Get to Dirtmouth in Hollow Knight

Note: You can also head left at the beginning to obtain a small Geo cache.

Once you gain control of the Knight, head right through King’s Pass, slashing your way through the gates and dispatching the small beetles until you reach the elevated platforms.

Hidden Geo Deposit Location

For some extra Geo, walk along the floor below the platforms, minding the small enemy, and look for a cache in a hidden room at the bottom of the cliff.

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

Ascend the platforms to the top and continue through the tunnel to the left. Here, you'll discover a spot you can interact with on the wall. Do so to learn about how to collect Soul, spiritual energy you can use to heal or, later, use abilities.

How to Use Soul

Killing enemies fills your Soul reservoir, displayed as a white face mask at the top-left portion of the HUD. Hold B on the Xbox controller, circle on the PlayStation pad, the A button on a Switch controller, or the A key on a keyboard to Focus, allowing you to use Soul to heal injuries. The more Soul you acquire, the more you can heal.

Left of where you learn about Soul is another chamber with more platforms to ascend.

Hidden Geo Deposit Location

Go left across the floor that's left of the Soul tutorial area to find a breakable door. Shatter it with your Nail and ascend the platforms to the top to find a Geo deposit.

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

Ascend the platforms to the top, where you’ll encounter a Lifeblood room. 

Destroy the blue Lifeblood egg and the blue creatures from within to claim several Lifeblood Masks, which grant a temporary health boost.

Leave the Lifeblood room and head right. Slash through the gate and continue. The floor a few steps ahead of you will collapse, so move forward slowly, then jump left to avoid falling.

Now, hugging the left side, drop into the pit and hold the left direction to find an additional Geo cache.

Hidden Geo Deposit Location

Hold left and slide along the left side under the collapsed floor to enter a small chamber with a hidden Geo cache.

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

Continue right. Jump along the elevated platforms to cross the spiked floor, avoiding the falling stalactites. After avoiding the final spike, drop off the right side of the rightmost platform to discover a hidden area. 

If you want to skip the hidden area, scroll to the Back On The Critical Path section.

Where to Find the Hidden Area

The hidden area presents your first real platforming challenge in Hollow Knight. To clear the spikes spanning over the floor, you must use a move called a Nail Jump. Mastering the Nail Jump allows you to pogo over dangerous obstacles like floor spikes and use enemy heads as bounce pads.

How to Nail Jump

To Nail Jump in Hollow Knight, jump and position yourself over an enemy or floor spikes as you descend. Attack downward just before you reach the object to bounce back up. Hold a direction to move while Nail Jumping.

Hollow Knight Lore

Below the area with the spikey floor is another object on the wall you can interact with, this time offering you some mystifying lore.

Nail Jump over the spikes and hop down to find a chest. Slash it to open it and claim your first Charm, the Fury of the Fallen. You cannot equip Charms until you rest on a Bench and open your menu.

Fury of the Fallen Charm Location

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

The Fury of the Fallen Charm is located in the hidden area just past the collapsed floor. Look for the entrance under the cliff to the right of the floating platforms. Use Nail Jump to cross the spiked floor to find a chest with the Charm inside. The Charm increases your damage when your health is close to depleted.

Fury of the Fallen

Now that you have your first Charm, drop off the ledge to the left to pop back out earlier in the area. Proceed through the area again and head up after the spiked pit to continue towards Dirtmouth.

How to Unlock Dirtmouth Vendors

Dirtmouth is a little empty at present. However, as you continue your adventure through Hallownest, you will meet new friends who set up shop in Dirtmouth. Be sure to return to Dirtmouth from time to time to see what's changed and who might have moved in!

SPOILER WARNING!

The next section will have spoilers for which characters become Vendors in Hollow Knight!

During your Hollow Knight journey, the following characters will unlock as Dirtmouth Vendors:

• Sly
• Iselda
• Divine

Where to Find All Dirtmouth Vendors
Vendor	How to Unlock	Map Location
Iselda	Talk to Cornifer in The Forgotten Crossroads	Map Link
Sly	Talk to Sly after defeating the Gruz Mother	Map Link
Divine	Only unlocked by completing The Grimm Troupe quest	Map Link

Back on the Critical Path

Continue on the path until you reach a wooden support, which holds up the stone walkway. Slash at the support to destroy it, ascend to the level above, and continue right towards the great gate.

Once you’ve broken through the gate, jump off the ledge and continue heading to the right until you reach Dirtmouth. Sit on the Bench to heal and save your game. Here, you can also equip Charms.

How to Equip Charms

Once you start collecting Charms, you can equip them via Benches. Sit at a Bench and press the View (or Back) button on an Xbox controller, Share on a PlayStation pad, the minus button on a Switch controller, or the I key to open your Inventory. Scroll to the Charm you wish to equip and do so by pressing A for Xbox, X for PlayStation, B for Switch, or the Z key on a keyboard. Charms require a specific number of slots to equip, and you only have so many slots available at a time. Keep the Charm cost in mind when equipping them. For this example, the newly acquired Fury of the Fallen uses two slots.

When ready, continue to the right and jump down the well to arrive in the Forgotten Crossroads.

The Journey to Dirtmouth Completed

Up Next: The Forgotten Crossroads

PreviousWalkthroughNextThe Forgotten Crossroads

Top Guide Sections

• Walkthrough
• Bosses
• Collectibles
• Items, Equipment, and Upgrades

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