Soul Master

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Soul Master is the boss encounter of the City of Tears in Hollow Knight. This walkthrough covers how to find the Soul Master and how to beat the Soul Master and earn a new Spell.

• Where to Find the Soul Master
• How to Beat the Soul Master
  • Phase One
  • Phase Two
• Soul Master Boss Fight Reward - Spell

To learn how to obtain the variousCollectiblesHollow Knighthas to offer, visit our pages onCharms,Spells,Mask Shards, and more.

Where to Find the Soul Master in Hollow Knight

The Soul Master can be found at the top of the Soul Sanctum in Hollow Knight, a sub-area in the northern section of the City of Tears.

How to Beat the Soul Master in Hollow Knight

Soul Master is a two-phase boss encounter. The foe uses four main attacks, one of which has the potential to include a fake-out animation. To beat the Soul Master in Hollow Knight, you must have constant situational awareness and make decisions quickly to avoid taking damage as the boss moves around the screen.

Phase One

The most straightforward attack Soul Master employs involves floating from one side of the arena to the other. To counter it, jump and dodge, striking a downward blow with the Nail as you pass over. If you have difficulty with the timing (and especially if you are using the Spell Twister, Soul Catcher, and/or Shaman Stone Charms), consider casting Vengeful Spirit as Soul Master approaches, then leaping over the boss.

In a modified version of this attack, the boss will summon four orange orbs that revolve around it as it crosses from one side of the arena to the other. Stay close and keep pace with the boss, dodging the slowly revolving orbs as it moves, and you can deliver several hits with the Nail during this time.

Once it reaches the other side, the boss will vanish, and the orbs will travel back across the screen again, so jump through the orbs as they return to avoid taking damage. If you move to the corner opposite of where the orbs will move, you can spend that moment to heal if needed.

Soul Master will also hover at various points on the screen and cast small homing orbs. To counter this attack, hop over the orb as it approaches and close the gap, attacking as many times as you can before Soul Master teleports away to begin another attack. Casting Vengeful Spirit as you hop over the orb is also a good way to inflict additional damage.

If you're having trouble dodging the orbs, move to the other side of the room as it begins the attack. Jump over the orbs as they draw close. The orbs dissipate when they touch the physical environment. By putting your back against the wall, you can destroy the orbs by jumping over them, forcing them to slam against the wall behind you and disappear.

Soul Master also has a ground-slam attack. This attack is fast and generates two shockwaves, which quickly travel out along the ground in both directions. The boss may also teleport mid-attack to change the location of the strike, so stay on the ground and dash out of the way until the attack actually lands, then jump and dash over the shockwave.

After taking a certain amount of damage, Soul Master will deflate and pause, gasping in midair. This will happen several times throughout the fight and is an excellent time to heal as many Masks of health as you can. If you have time, you may also be able to sneak in an extra attack.

Utilize these strategies and you’ll soon finish Phase One of the encounter. When this happens, Soul Master explodes and leaves a Spell floating in midair. Attempting to claim it causes Soul Master to return, crashing through the floor and initiating Phase Two.

Phase Two

Soul Master will likely begin Phase Two by initiating a flurry of ground slam attacks, back to back. Dodge each one and keep to the middle of the screen so you’ll have room to move in either direction. Unlike in Phase One, the ground attacks in Phase Two do not send out shockwaves. You can dodge without needing to jump.

Note: On occasion, the Soul Master will fake a ground slam, bouncing back up in the air before performing the actual attack. Keep dodging by either jumping or using the Mothwing Cloak ability to dash away.

Stay alive and Soul Master will stop dive-bombing and stop on one side of the screen and begin summoning homing orbs. Use this opportunity to close the gap and land as many attacks as possible. Again, if you're having trouble with this move, put your back to the wall and jump over the orbs to destroy them.

Repeat the process to defeat the Soul Master.

Soul Master Boss Fight Reward

Once you've defeated the Soul Master boss in Hollow Knight, you'll unlock the Desolate Dive Spell as a reward.

Soul Master DefeatedDesolate Dive

With the Soul Master put to rest, your next stop in your Hollow Knight journey is the Royal Waterways.

Up Next: The Royal Waterways

PreviousInto The City Of TearsNextThe Royal Waterways

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Hollow KnightTeam Cherry

Initial Release: Feb 24, 2017

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