The Royal Waterways

The Royal Waterways is a location found below the City of Tears in Hollow Knight. This walkthrough covers how to find the Royal Waterways in Hollow Knight, navigate the new area, and locate the surprisingly smelly boss encounter.

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

• How to Reach the Royal Waterways
  • Where to Find the Soul Master Treasure Chest
  • Grub 1 Location
• How to Get the Royal Waterways Map
• Progress East
  • Mask Shard Location
  • Grub 2 Location

How to Reach the Royal Waterways in Hollow Knight

Now that you have obtained the Desolate Dive Spell, the Crystal Peaks area can be reached. Before that, however, you can use the Simple Key you obtained in the Soul Sanctum to travel through the Royal Waterways and unlock the rest of the City of Tears.

Starting from the Soul Master boss arena, exit via the doorway high on the left wall.

Where to Find the Soul Master Treasure Chest

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

Before continuing with the mission, you should stop and enjoy the fruits of your labors following the defeat of the Soul Sanctum boss. Before dropping down the shaft after leaving the boss room, stop and hop through the hole in the ceiling beforehand.

Climb higher into the room above. If you need it, there is a large Soul Totem in one of the left-hand rooms.

Above the room containing the Soul Totem is the boss chest.

Head left and drop down the shaft.

Continue until you come across a sheet of cracked, white glass on the floor. Position yourself above the glass, jump, and use Desolate Dive to crash through the glass.

How to Use Desolate Dive

Desolate Dive is a Spell that allows you to descend rapidly to the ground from the air, dealing massive AoE (area of effect) damage on landing. To use it, you must be airborne. While in the air, press down and tap the Spell button to activate Desolate Dive. Keep in mind that, as a Spell, it requires Soul to cast.

You’ll land in a pit full of Mistakes, so dispatch them, then Desolate Dive through the next glass fixture in the floor.

Wall jump back up the shaft, taking the first left.

Hallownest Seal Location

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

You can find this Hallownest Seal in a small alcove on the right side of the shaft you reach after using Desolate Dive on the second pane of glass. Hop up the wall of the shaft and enter the alcove on the right-hand side to find the seal.

As you approach the large Soul Totem at the end of the row, the damaged ground will rumble beneath you. Stand above it, then use Desolate Dive to break the ground.

You’ll land in another area filled with Mistakes, so clear them out and climb the platforms on the right. Dash and wall jump to reach the ledge, then hit the lever to open the gate to the area you just left.

Grub 1 Location

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

You may have noticed passing a Grub on the way down to the room filled with Mistakes. Here's how to get it. First, use the lever past the Mistake room to open the gate, leading you back into the room you left. Hop up and return to the hole you created next to the Soul Totem.

Drop into the hole, hugging the left wall. By holding left, you'll be able to land on the ledge in front of the trapped Grub.

Grub 9 - City of Tears

When you're ready, climb the wall right of the lever and exit the room via a doorway at the top.

Pass under the body of Soul Master, past another Soul Totem, and into the next area on the right. Climb to the top of the area, then Desolate Dive through the glass and head right. If you need Soul, shatter the Soul container to the left of the cracked glass.

Desolate Dive through the next glass fixture you see and you’ll arrive in the area where you fought the Soul Warrior mini-boss earlier. Take the elevator to the left. Once you step off, head to the right and take the next elevator down to the bottom. Head right, drop off the ledge, and take the exit at the bottom of the screen.

Continue going down through the building until you reach the shop of Relic Seeker Lemm. If you want, you can now sell any relics you have collected. When you're ready, continue heading down via the elevator nearby.

After reaching the ground floor, leave the elevator and go right. In a few steps, you'll come across a strange mechanism. With the Simple Key you found on your way to Soul Master, and the Lumafly Lantern from Sly’s shop in Dirtmouth (1800 Geo), you are prepared to descend into The Royal Waterways. If you don't have these items, you can return to Dirtmouth and purchase them at Sly's shop (assuming you haven't bought the Simple Key from Sly).

How to Get the Royal Waterways Map - Cornifer Location

To find The Royal Waterways map and Cornifer’s location in Hollow Knight, start by heading left and dropping down as soon as you enter The Royal Waterways, then take the floor exit. If you want to recharge Soul, use the small Soul Totem just above the hole in the floor.

At the end of the drop, you'll see a crude painting of a Bench on the wall. The painting points left, so head in that direction.

Continue following the signs, dropping to the bottom of a shaft. The final Bench painting points toward the floor, where you should see cracks. Use Desolate Dive to bust through the floor.

At the bottom is the Bench. Luckily, the paintings were telling the truth! Take a load off to heal and save your progress.

Head down a narrow passage to the right of the bench and slash the wooden barrier at the end to unlock a shortcut. Next, return to the Bench and wall-jump up the shaft above it to return to the place where you broke through the floor.

Head left, keeping watch for the Belfly hiding on the ceiling. Hop across the elevated platforms until you reach a ledge on the left, where you’ll see one of Cornifer’s signature pieces of paper. Follow the paper trail, which leads you to more rooms.

You'll soon enter a room with gaps in the floor, along with a swarm of inflating Hwurmps, a new, passive enemy. Keep care to stay on the platforms and continue left until you reach the exit on the left side. Grab the Geo chest on your way.

The next room is a large area filled with Hwurmps. All the gates are locked, and they won't open until every last enemy is dead. Take your time and pop all the lazy bugs.

Once all the foes are dead, the gate near the bottom opens, allowing you to progress. Head inside and climb to a lever. Smack it to unlock the gate above.

Use the walls to your left to hop up to the hallway above, where you'll, at last, meet Cornifer. Buy the area map for 75 Geo. Continue to the right and you’ll fall through the weak floor.

The Royal Waterways Map

Head through the exit below Cornifer on the left side and hit the lever to unlock a shortcut between the Royal Waterways and the Fungal Wastes.

Progress East

Now that you have the map, your next step is to locate the area boss. The beast awaits on the eastern side of the Royal Waterways, pretty much opposite to Cornifer's room.

You can head there now, but there are some detours you should make along the way.

Go east until you enter the room to the right of Cornifer. Stop when you reach the first gap in the floor. Look for a scrap of paper on the ledge.

Drop down into the murky water below. Don't worry! No acid or foul-smelling sludge is covering the floor of the room, but you can find a couple of important items.

Mask Shard Location

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

Near Cornifer is a Mask Shard you can acquire. Leave Cornifer's room, going right, and drop into the water in the next room. Swim left until you reach the end. Hop onto the ledge above the water.

Enter the room past the ledge to find the Mask Shard. Leap into the shard to collect it.

Mask Shard 4 - Royal Waterways

Return to the water and continue swimming east. It's a long, slow swim, and enemies will attempt to attack you while you wet your toes.

Enter the next room, which is narrow, dark, and contains some Hwurmps.

Bluggsac 1 Location

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

In the next flooded room, east of Cornifer, is a Bluggsac. The locked gate on the ceiling of the room will open after you kill both Hwurmps. When that's done, jump onto the small, floating platform, then hop and dash to the one to the right. You should have heard the unsettling pulsating by now.

Jump into the left side of the narrow passage above to locate a Bluggsac, a passive enemy type. Destroy it for a Rancid Egg.

Continue swimming east until you reach the next wall to your right, just before the Bench.

Grub 2 Location

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

The second Grub you can find is behind a destructible wall on the right side of the flooded room left of the Bench location. Swim up to the wall, jump to leave the water, and attack the wall until it breaks.

Hop from the water into the room to find the trapped Grub.

Grub 11 - Royal Waterways

Return to the Bench, then head right and stick to the top path. Continue until you reach the far right side. Take care when dealing with the new Flukemon enemies.

These worm-like foes don't go down even after you slice them in half. The top part returns to life and attacks. Soon after, the bottom half grows teeth and does the same. You'll need to kill it three times before it stays dead.

Bluggsac 2 Location

Go To Map

Hallownest Map

The second Bluggsac you can come across in the Royal Waterways is in the tunnels east of the Bench. Leave the Bench, heading right. When you reach a three-way intersection, hop across the gap to enter thecenter tunnel.

Walk a short way until you discover the Bluggsac. Destroy it for a Rancid Egg.

Progress to the right along the top path until you notice the environment beginning to get a bit... gross. Keep in mind that the Royal Waterways was once a mighty sewer.

Continue to the right and head to the floor above via a hole in the ceiling near the end of the room.

At this point, you’ll begin hearing the laughter of one of Hollow Knight’s silliest bosses. Continue along the path and you’ll soon encounter the best-named boss in the game, the Dung Defender.

The Royal Waterways Completed

Up Next: Dung Defender

PreviousSoul MasterNextDung Defender

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Hollow KnightTeam Cherry

Initial Release: Feb 24, 2017

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