3 more SOFTLOCKS in Hollow Knight using stall ball!

[@FIREOWLHK]

Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the video! If you have any questions regarding any of the softlocks, reply below and I'll do my best to answer each one. Feel free to join my discord server: discord.gg/MvzvNXguCK Check out daan who recorded part of the intro: kzbin.info/door/6Sln7kWeXR4a46CdisYhHA If you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing :) EDIT 1: Last softlock has already been disproven by daanolav: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3_JdJijgLt1pbc

[@tylers2710]

Sorry, not a question about the softlocks, those were all great :). But I was looking into making some youtube videos with your style of gameplay and text written at the bottom. I was wondering what software you use to edit your videos or if you had any tips on that style. Thanks so much!

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@tylers2710 i use shotcut for my videos :)

[@ghostcheka]

Is there a hard save after city gates close? Why cannot you just quit out?

[@matheuscabral9618]

I didn’t understand how you died to zote

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@matheuscabral9618 oh i just used debug mod to kill myself

[@onlysmiles4949]

If I had to take a guess, Team Cherry probably reused a lot of code between the shade's fireball and the player's, if not identical (for the actual projectile), which includes being able to pogo the shade's fireball

[@FIREOWLHK]

probably yeah

[@gamean5873]

But what reason is there to make it so you could pogo the shade's fireball in the first place?

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@gamean5873 oversight maybe?

[@saniancreations]

@@gamean5873 it could easily be some generic property that most objects have by default. Think about how many things in the game can be pogo'd on. Background objects, the projectiles thrown by both the miners and colosseum fools, enemies, spikes. It's more likely they forgot to turn it OFF rather than purposefully turning it on. Same goes for explosion pogo.

[@lubsbc8065]

@@saniancreations can’t you even pogo explosions? It’s harder to find things you can’t pogo than things you can

[@CalamitasCalliope]

And so the Radiance was allowed to spread freely because the only bug who had any hope of defeating it got stuck in a hole on purpose

[@Jo_962_]

Honestly the best hk creator in existence. They are willing to put in the effort and research for their videos and make amazing content we all love

[@FIREOWLHK]

appreciate it!

[@FuzzyJeffTheory]

Wow the editing and the rawness of dying on spikes and stuff adds so much character to these videos, even with no voiceover. Keep it up!

[@Sokobansolver]

When you're so bored waiting for Silksong that you find ways to trap yourself in Hallownest

[@DavidNancyTom]

I wonder, with this tech, what is the highest possible completion percentage you can achieve while still softlocking yourself out of any ending?

[@FIREOWLHK]

ooh interesting question. ill have a think about this…

[@calvindang7291]

Without downpatching you can get a total of 87% (88% including monomon, see min wallclings) clawless, where you can then go to colo (after wasting all of your essence, or just setting your dreamgate to somewhere you can't escape) to softlock yourself. With downpatching you can get most things; i forget exactly what's unavailable (i know you can't get nosk (+nail4,panth2/4), kingsoul, lurien, elegy; but i'm not sure if anything else is missing), but it's probably around 95-103%. You can also try the junk pit softlock shown before, though without dash/wings/cheart some of the percents are still pretty hard to get. (I think you end up somewhere around 97)

[@randyohm3445]

@@FIREOWLHK It'd be interesting to see a video that gets as much as possible and then softlocks. You could call it the "missed it by THAT much" run. :D

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@randyohm3445 it is a good idea, i’ll probably do it at some point

[@Mekartur]

The editing is on point. I like how you usually choose a standard funny thing to do with the editing on each of your videos. It makes them really entertaining to watch. Also amazing locks, the city of tears is indeed the best because there's so much room to go around but you're still locked :)

[@prockstudios5319]

“And here, we have the hallownest soft lock, where you’re trapped in hallownest and the howling peaks, with no escape…

[@ThatGuyYouKnow23]

For some reason I only thought about how this might allow for escaping previous soft locks, it's cool to see how it probably created a lot more softlocks then it erased

[@FIREOWLHK]

im pretty sure it actually didn’t erase a single softlock

[@geeshta]

@@FIREOWLHK Not even the Ancient Basin bench? Couldn't you just go get Monarch Wings now? Judging by the second softlock in this video, it actually solves the original AB bench softlock you showcased. Or am I missing something?

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@geeshta you need shaman stone for wings

[@ohkoxar]

@@FIREOWLHK technically, you can get to hidden station with it, and there's one fella you can grind geo on. Is it ridiculous to do? Yes, but it's possible

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@ohkoxar how do you get to hidden station without claw or wings?

[@Enderhippo]

For the Colloseum one, couldn't you just immediately drop down into the lower area and then bench? Why do you need to enter a battle?

[@FIREOWLHK]

because i wanted to make the video more interesting by getting murdered by zote lol

[@transcendentalanarchy]

Went to ask this exact question lol

[@gamingalthepal]

Who knew this tech could be used for so much!

[@FIREOWLHK]

it's extremely versatile!

[@drascia]

There's so much work and creativity that goes into softlocking this game. It's absolutely wild. I wonder if any of the softlocks can be 'picked' per se. Like someone in a situation would *technically* not be softlocked, but would have to go to extraordinary measures to get out of the situation.

[@FIREOWLHK]

i don’t think there is but ill think about it!

[@drascia]

@@FIREOWLHK Pikasprey has a lot of Pokémon videos with wild situations like this. That, coupled with your soft locking series here, made me wonder if something in that nature could be done in HK.

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@drascia pikasprey is actually where i got the inspiration to start this series!

[@drascia]

@@FIREOWLHK then you already know 😂 his content is awesome and so is yours!

[@ironrose1656]

Quite a few softlocks can be turned into fun puzzles to escape from if given the right amount of extra stuff

[@gaganzanwar]

Fire Owl in the first second: ‘So it is likely a surprise to no one that Stall Ball opens a ton of new softlocks’ Me: Wait, it does? How am I this stupid?

[@FIREOWLHK]

:gorbbrain:

[@fiendfi7119]

I like how daan decided to do the explanation on the jank spike ledge in white palace

[@unpaintedcanvas]

10:41 That's what you get for trying to kill my beloved transtrans

[@radiantdiamond3701]

Normally I am not much of a commenter, but I just want to let you know that your videos are amazing! Your way of creating and editing is so enjoyable, and makes the 20+ minutes nearly all of your videos have go by in what feels like barely a minute. The time and effort you are willing to put into finding new skips and softlocks... I hope you know how amazing your content is, despite the relatively low view counts (which will change in the future, hopefully :D)

[@FIREOWLHK]

thank you!

[@mvsh]

Hope you grow fast, this definetely deserves more views!

[@Firefly256]

5:39 “worst room” Frog room: am i a joke to you?

[@geckoanims]

Worst room for that route, the room isnt that bad if you have claw

[@FIREOWLHK]

ok but frog room is slightly better because i never run te anyway

[@CurryBean523]

Haven't watched the vid yet but amazing video!!!

[@Orion_1]

Your editing and humor are top notch! Glad i've found this channel 😃

[@marlysalt]

I like how your editing style has gotten better from the last video of yours that I remember watching. You come across as charming thus far and I look forward to more of your creative view.

[@iagolewis2817]

these videos are so well made! I have a few things to say. 1: couldn't you escape the sanctum one by dashing to escape the invisible ceiling? (I mean jump to left ledge, jump off, dash, and then jump again) Or is it the whole thing? 2: that city lock is amazing . 3: Approaching the ruins is such a good song, and after the first stallball video I replayed Will of The Wisps, so hearing that was great. Love your videos!

[@FIREOWLHK]

1. no you cant 2. thanks! someone has already escaped it though :( 3. i agree, it’s a great track

[@Icedonot]

Gonna go softlock some save files since silksong isnt out yet

[@FIREOWLHK]

it is the best timer killer

[@hallow2983]

just saw this video. clicked it at lightning speed.

[@spencerhalverson80]

This game is so deep and it's amazing what you and others have found in it. I hope Silksong has similar movement exploits that allow for more gamebreaking sequence breaks!

[@namesubjecttochange7781]

That kp cutting with cutting the grass made me laugh

[@gabereal9252]

5:15 You Duckling, that's leftside city

[@einstien311]

We’ve got to see a clawless trial of the fool TAS now.

[@FIREOWLHK]

that would be sick

[@T101G]

the no floor section would be hell

[@einstien311]

could maybe use monarch wings and a low damage nail to gain height pogoing of of flying enemies during floorless section maybe need some charms to cast more fireballs just to stall in the air while enemies spawn it's gotta be tas doable right

[@magicalmercy]

Loved the video!

[@tylers2710]

Love your channel!

[@FIREOWLHK]

thank you!

[@hawks-wings]

Hey, little tidbit: you can use longnail to pogo the background statue to get up to goam-mask area in Crossroads. I know, because I’ve tested it.

[@FIREOWLHK]

you can do it without longnail actually but it sucks lol

[@hawks-wings]

@@FIREOWLHK oh lol I always failed without longnail so I thought it was impossible

[@MOPlayzFY2]

the first softlock can be avoided by leaving zote deal with his "prey". *he's the prey*

[@stalins_comically_large_spoon]

unrelated to stallball, but I discovered a bunch of very interesting glitches stemming from one very easy glitch to perform. One of those interesting glitches… is CURRENT PATCH invincibility! It’s not patched after all! I am planning on making a whole video about it now that I have HK on steam and just need to learn to record and maybe edit. (Being on switch made it hard to record.) But if you have any questions ask me! I know it’s not anything for speedruns or challenge runs as far as I know, but it’s extremely interesting. When I discovered them, my first thought was “hey, Fire Owl might like this!” So now I can tell you.

[@teacupanimates]

So much things with soul and a pogo

[@kingkongmalunggay]

Ignoring Elderbug is one thing. But, bullying him now? Enough is enough!

[@VYNAIUS]

Thank you for spelling Glowing Womb correctly

[@FIREOWLHK]

glowig woom

[@tremen151]

The last softlock is actually not a softlock. There are 2 ways to get out of the city fountain room to the right. 1) the hard method, but you can actually die to the spikes on the top left to spawn a shade near the fountain using a max height wings jump. Then shade skip out the right side. 2) the right wall has a veeeery tiny ledge that you can’t stand on, but you can jump off of it when correctly timed, and with just wings you can make it out.

[@FIREOWLHK]

i already mentioned this in the pinned comment

[@tremen151]

​@@FIREOWLHK sorry, missed that, thanks for the reply!

[@astrylleaf]

15:26, *_hey, it's more of a boss than flukemarm!!_*

[@captianstickernoodles6480]

From this video I have no idea how good you are at this game. I'm getting mixed signals.

[@FIREOWLHK]

it really depends which skills you judge. id say im good at skips/labbing/routing and general movement but bosses and stuff not so much

[@Double-Negative]

24:32 I saw skurry get a stallball around there which should be reachable with wings. Idk if it’s enough height to get over the wall though

[@FIREOWLHK]

it was using walljump, not sure if it’s possible without

[@Ascera_exists]

Gotta love how there was Ori music at 10:13

[@Sqouty]

This was very nice softlock

[@21y15]

You should be awarded a place in the hall of god gamers called "the game breaking god of soft-locks" (In fact, I already did that on my channel)

[@FIREOWLHK]

i appreciate being added to the hall of god gamers!

[@21y15]

@@FIREOWLHK I think my only contribution to the hk community was coming up with the idea of using thorns in pvp way back to when the mod was still in early testing. (fire replied to my comment and said I was a genius)

[@chaotic5672]

Fortunately these can all be solved by dream gate but great video

[@FIREOWLHK]

well we don’t get dreamgate for a reason. not to mention you could just place your dreamgate inside the softlock zone

[@chaotic5672]

@@FIREOWLHK you should make a max% clawless video sometime

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@chaotic5672 my discord server has already routed it. it will probably happen sometime in the future :)

[@WalrusOfYourDreams]

honestly, max% clawless is a lot less interesting with stallball. wings make a lot of the cool stuff kind of trivial; shade cloak, lifeblood core, hiveblood, marmu all felt really satisfying to get before but kinda fall flat with wings comparatively

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@WalrusOfYourDreams i agree, but max% no vertical is still a thing

[@keiharris332]

Team Cherry better make this part of their game. Slow down the fireball and let us pogo ride it. Like a 10 second duration fireball. Maybe make new environmental objects that bounce the fireball in different directions to open up new movement options. Basically, this could versatile like the shell from SMW

[@haydenmathews4312]

Hey FireOwl! I love the content! I might have missed it but why does getting a nail upgrade ruin the last softlock? Cuz besides giving the shade more health i dont know how youd get out. Also, if it does ruin it, wouldnt you be able make it to nailsmith if you are left side city softlocked?

[@FIREOWLHK]

nailsmith means getting to left side city which means hitting the switch that blocks up left from right side city which lets you escape the softlock later

[@idonthaveanynameideas6571]

the whole game is a hallownest softlock. it's impossible to leave hallownest

[@phee4174]

what's the music playing during the city of tears section / at 18:00?

[@FIREOWLHK]

approaching the ruins by gareth coker

[@phee4174]

@@FIREOWLHK thanks!

[@seabass3818]

I wonder which poor soul took this route and had to restart their save 😔

[@FIREOWLHK]

i doubt anyone would accidentally do this

[@Icedonot]

Elderbugged ignored 3x in one video? How do I like a video 3 times?

[@lexfurness6510]

“Real gamers subscribe to fire owl”

[@b1tw337]

I know a soft lock! If you play the game, you are stuck in Hallownest.

[@rryt000]

your videos are great, just one question: wouldn’t these be considered hardlocks, since you can usually solve softlocks by quitting out?

[@FIREOWLHK]

technically yes but it's too late to go back :)

[@rryt000]

@@FIREOWLHK lmao fair enough

[@pearltothemoon3493]

I subscribed just to see how many of your videos I could comment on. I haven't watched the video yet, but you tend to make nearly perfect videos, so I have high hopes. Also, I'm doing a steel soul run. Wish me luck! Edit 1: Just finished the Colesseum of Fools, and what if you use fireballs to refresh your double jump? Would that allow for an escape? Otherwise, great video so far. Edit 2: I'm an idiot. Fireball only refreshes mothwing. Soul Sanctum is a better segment. That's a good detail as well. Edit 3: Astounding video, incredible execution. I don't think I have seen a better softlock video of yours, and I have wild levels of respect to you. Good job, man.

[@FIREOWLHK]

good luck!

[@pearltothemoon3493]

@@FIREOWLHK thank you

[@pearltothemoon3493]

@@FIREOWLHK I have claw, and now I'm farming for heart and strength.

[@enderstorm2140]

Yay fireowl posted

[@Jake-sf4bl]

I don’t know about the last soft lock today I was exploring the same part of city of tears and I jumped above an elevator and the started flying through walls and I don’t know how but if replicated you could probably escape the soft lock

[@FIREOWLHK]

daan already escaped it, check the pinned comment

[@oyoplayer]

5:15, yeah this is the "right" side of the city.

[@FIREOWLHK]

oops

[@wahvie2986]

Hearing Ori music with Hollow Knight sound effects was not something I knew I needed in my life What was the music from the beginning of the third section? I feel like I should know it but I don't

[@FIREOWLHK]

approaching the ruins by gareth coker!

[@wahvie2986]

@@FIREOWLHK oh cool! Thank you!

[@wahvie2986]

Awesome, thank you!!

[@Omegaman87272]

why did you need to get the extra health and Nail Upgrade just to make it easier to get through colo?

[@FIREOWLHK]

no to give the shade more health. check out the description

[@rigelstarz6032]

for some reason sharp or normal baldurs stop moving after 1 second of rolling even if i dont move

[@sophier996]

What song is playing during the City of Tears soft lock chapter? It slaps

[@FIREOWLHK]

its approaching the ruins by gareth coker

[@allythefoxie]

what music did you use from the start of the citylock at 16:48?

[@FIREOWLHK]

approaching the ruins by gareth coker

[@astrylleaf]

I... guess you can use that dead vengefly to pogo on it the second time?

[@arachnidadocumentary6159]

why did you need the maskshard in the first one couldnt you just stallball like what you did in the second softlock.

[@FIREOWLHK]

colosseum mostly

[@bela2828]

isma's route doesnt need a nail upgrade/mask anymore

[@FIREOWLHK]

correct

[@cabbage-pickler]

why do you get zote in the first softlock?

[@Iamverykarpy]

Daan speedrunning debunking a softlock 🏃‍♂️

[@rotem6033]

15:48 You didn't fight him at Godhome when grinding pantheons?? Btw amazing video I enjoyed a lot

[@debblez]

wait how did you die to zote he does 0 damage I thought

[@FIREOWLHK]

i used debug mod to kill the knight

[@gabereal9252]

How dare you attack the Trans Tick

[@FIREOWLHK]

i was punished for my crimes

[@andrefdiasc]

I was softlocked in City of tears with no wings(I have dash, claw and The Ball, all wiwhout upgrades, and sites in a bank). How can I escape?

[@FIREOWLHK]

which bench are you at?

[@andrefdiasc]

@@FIREOWLHK I deleted the progress... and restarted in skratch

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@andrefdiasc you definitely could have gotten out of there. don’t forget that you can always save and quit if you haven't benched yet

[@andrefdiasc]

@@FIREOWLHK I was already benched at that moment...

[@andrefdiasc]

In the City of tears

[@rigelstarz6032]

soul sanctum softlock isnt a softlock anymore if you have ANY nail art

[@ironrose1656]

Wallcling in peaks btw, just though i should point it out

[@FIREOWLHK]

thank you ironrose

[@pauljackson3491]

How did you get Zote the Mighty with his Life Ender to end your life? You should be able to get out of the Soul Master's room. I do it then crystal dash to get out quicker. I don't know if claw is needed but wings should work instead.

[@FIREOWLHK]

1. i used debug mod to kill myself 2. how though?

[@LerRhann]

Wait wait wait...in colo, why not just fall down and bench? Also, Zote could actually do damage at one point in time?

[@FIREOWLHK]

zote doesnt do damage, thats just a visual effect i created with debug. if you did this without mods you would just go down and bench :)

[@rody8376]

great video

[@Krillori]

omfg i came back after a few weeks and u went from 1k subs to 4k how

[@gamean5873]

Does the discovery of stall ball means that the classic ancient basin softlock is escapable (at least with a setup that has fireball)?

[@FIREOWLHK]

no, you still need shaman stone

[@gamean5873]

@@FIREOWLHK do you need shaman stone for every stall ball skip?

[@FIREOWLHK]

@@gamean5873 no but you do for wings because of how tall that wall is

[@dragonclaw4159]

The third one isn't necessarily a softlock. If you had a key, you could enter the royal waterways, but that's about all you can do really.

[@FIREOWLHK]

we don’t have a key though and there’s no way to get one so it is a softlock

[@dragonclaw4159]

@@FIREOWLHK sly( admittedly a bit expensive though). While in dirtmouth, you can buy a key from sly during the time in which you can still make progress. If you don't do that though, have fun.

[@HorseEater]

What music did you use for soul sanctum

[@FIREOWLHK]

up the spirit caverns walls by gareth coker

[@HorseEater]

@@FIREOWLHK thanks

[@DrTomb]

How you seeing the colisions

[@sleepdepriveddissonance8557]

the stall ball doesnt make the other softlocks escapable right?

[@FIREOWLHK]

nope!

[@sleepdepriveddissonance8557]

ok great :)

[@nejx8711]

I'm curious, what exactly would count as a hardlock?

[@FIREOWLHK]

technically these are hardlocks but everyone just calls them softlocks lol

[@MaxAttax13]

How I heard it is, a softlock is when you can still move around in the game, attack things, etc but you're stuck somewhere where you can't make any progress. A hardlock is when your save file glitches so every time you load it, it freezes or crashes so it's totally unplayable.

[@pastrylleaf]

...i guess you can pogo dead vengeflies which you pogoed before...

[@The_Hollow_Contranym]

The ending was like stupid but funny

[@matheuscabral9618]

can you beat this game without claw?

[@FIREOWLHK]

no, i made a video on the least amount of wallclings though

[@MonkeShrubb]

Wait, zote doesn’t do any damage though

[@FIREOWLHK]

correct i used debug to kill the player

[@calvindang7291]

(0:38) smh daan curveball is a great name ~~i vote for fireball skip for max confusion though~~ (5:15) i cant believe you made such a huge typo (should be "left") (11:23) what is this voice clip from

[@ekkoet]

It's from getting over it

[@FIREOWLHK]

daan said no to curveball and i support his decision lmao. also the last clip is from getting over it

[@AscendedCup]

Nice ASMR.

[@FIREOWLHK]

timestamp?

[@AscendedCup]

@@FIREOWLHK The first King's Pass

[@nileprimewastaken]

wait how did you die to zote (serious)

[@FIREOWLHK]

i killed myself using debug

[@cornflavorbutpersonal771]

slay

[@VasundharaKanjilalROCKS]

pressing like button for transtiktik

[@fakeangel9641]

👍

[@ekkoet]

I really need to stop watching your videoes without sound. The sound ads so much to the video. It's really cool to see how your editing has improved from when I first subscribed.

[@FIREOWLHK]

i put a lot of effort into the audio though

[@ekkoet]

@@FIREOWLHK I can tell, which is why I should stop watching your videoes without sound.

[@matheuscabral9618]

will you ever voice your videos? The way they are it’s kinda boring specially the longer ones

[@FIREOWLHK]

idk probably not? i’ve developed this editing style that im comfortable with and im not sure if i want to veer too much away from it

[@heidji]

[@FIREOWLHK]

[@DeadAPSS]

You disrespected Elderbug, unsubscribe.

[@ibrahimberwari]

I refuse to like this video cuz u bullied elderbug

[@cheezballz8146]

For the third softlock i believe you need to bench at quirrel first cause otherwise the first thing i would do is quit out to leg eater.

[@FIREOWLHK]

city crest is a hardsave

[@cheezballz8146]

@@FIREOWLHK Ah, I didn't know that.