The combat system of Hollow Knight can be terribly unforgiving. To conquer the game's difficulty and make it much easier, one of the best things the player can do is increase their HP. In this game, the health system comes in the form of Masks.
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The more Masks the Knight has, the more hits he'll be able to take before he is sent back to the bench. To increase the number of Masks the player has, they'll need to collect Mask Shards. Ultimately, collecting every Mask Shard in the game will make the player more powerful, and will help them beat the game much more easily.
Collecting four Mask Shards will net the player one Mask. There are 16 Mask Shards in the game, which means the player can gain four Masks. Adding that to the five they already have, collecting every Mask Shard will allow platers to have nine Masks in total.
Players should also note that collecting every Mask Shard in the game is tied to an achievement or trophy. With that in mind, completionists will definitely want to collect all 16 Mask Shards if they want to earn every achievement or trophy.
Sly is a merchant NPC is Hollow Knight, who sells the player all kinds of goods after he is rescued in the Forgotten Crossroads. The player can immediately purchase two Mask Shards from him and another two after giving him the Shopkeeper's Key, an item hidden in Crystal Peak.
Here are the prices for each Mask Shard in his inventory:
- 150 Geo
- 500 Geo
- 800 Geo
- 1500 Geo
The easiest way to earn a Mask Shard in the game is to simply find and free five Grubs. Grubs are scattered throughout Hallownest, and players can determine their presence by the squeaky little noises that they make.
Once the player frees five of them, the player must return to the Grubfather. All they have to do then is wait for him to hand them the Mask Shard.
West of the Forgotten Crossroads, at the lower left of the Ancestral Mound bench, is a hidden Brooding Mawlek boss. This enemy isn't too tough of an opponent, but it can still send the player back to the bench if they're not powerful enough yet or if they're not careful. Once the boss is defeated, the player will receive one Mask Shard.
Another Mask Shard located in the Forgotten Crossroads is in a room just under the only hot spring on the level. This area is filled with Goams for the player to avoid.
Navigate through this area without being hit by the Goams. The player will need to do a bit of platforming and practice timing and precision here to get to the end of the room. The Mask Shard awaits at the end of this area.
Bretta's house in Dirtmouth contains another Mask Shard. However, before players can open Bretta's house, they will need to rescue her in the Fungal Wastes.
Rescuing Bretta will require a little navigation. The entrance to her area is hidden in the room below her. From there, the player will need to work their way up, avoiding spikes along the way, to get to her. Once approached and freed, she will return to Dirtmouth. She'll open her house, giving the player access to the Mask Shard.
Just outside the area's Stag Station, the player will find a room filled with spikes. They must navigate their way up this area, avoiding the spikes in the process, to get to the Queen's Station.
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Once the player reaches the top, the player can immediately spot a Mask Shard. They can then hit a lever here that opens a door back to the outside. The Mantis Claw ability is necessary to reach this shard.
To get the Mask Shard in the Stone Sanctuary, the player will first need to have the Lumafly Lantern in their inventory. They can purchase this item from Sly for 1,800 Geo.
The Mask Shard is hidden in a room next to No Eyes' boss room, which means the player must first defeat this Dream Boss to get the shard. Once the boss is defeated, a path at the top-right corner of the room will open. This path leads to the Mask Shard.
The Royal Waterways area is covered in darkness, so players will need the Lumafly Lantern to navigate the level. Find the Mask Shard left of where Conifer is.
From Conifer's room, players must simply travel left until they reach a room filled with water. There are two openings at the far left: one at the top, and one at the bottom. Head to the bottom one to find the Mask Shard at the end of this section.
Players require the Monarch Wings and the Mantis Claw to get the Mask Shard in Deepnest. Find it on the eastern part of the map, just above of the passage left of the Mantis Lords' boss room.
While the area where the Mask Shard is located lies in Deepnest territory, the only way to reach this room is to drop down from the Fungal Core, a sub-area of the Fungal Waste.
Players can find the Mask Shard in the Hive approximately in the middle of the level. It is situated in a room that the knight can only access after it is broken by a Hive Guardian.
With that in mind, the player must bait a Hive Guardian into breaking the wall left of that area. Once aggroed, the Hive Guardian will repeatedly bounce off walls for a small period of time. The player must make sure that the Hive Guardian hits the wall that leads to the Mask Shard.
In the Crystal Peak, the Enraged Guardian guards another Mask Shard. Reaching the Enraged Guardian's room will require the Monarch Wings. The player will first need to defeat the Crystal Guardian.
Upon defeat, the boss will jump up to the second level and players can fight his second form there. Once defeated, a room left of the arena will open, revealing another Mask Shard.
In Hollow Knight, the player will start to collect Essence after receiving the Dream Nail. They can collect essence by activating Whispering Roots, defeating Warrior Dreams, and beating Dream Bosses.
Once the player collects 1,500 Essence, head back to the Seer. She will reward the player with one Mask Shard.
The Delicate Flower side quest is one of the game's most tedious tasks. The player must deliver a Delicate Flower from the Grey Mourner, located in the Resting Grounds, to the grave of the Traitor's Child in Queen's Garden. They must do this without being hit, and without using a Stag Station.
The easiest way to complete this quest is to open a Dreamgate outside the Grey Mourner's hut. The player must then find a route to the Traitor's Child and travel that route, killing every enemy along the way without sitting on a bench. Then, travel back to the Grey Mourner using the Dreamgate. Players can then get the flower and take the path again, without any enemies to damage them. Be careful, though, as environmental damages will also destroy the flower. Once the quest is complete, the player will earn one Mask Shard.