Hollow Knight - Speedrunner vs. 4 Hunters for TRUE ENDING

[@fireb0rn]

For the full credits, please see the description! **Post-game Discussion (spoilers)** People have been requesting a Speedrunner vs. Hunters True Ending run since this became a series in early 2021. Why did it take so long? Well, there are two reasons: first off, I'm inexperienced at the TE route. Second, I wasn't convinced it would make for a great game without developing the rules and mods further. We needed a lot to be done to make TE with other players even remotely viable, and it turns out we needed just a little a bit more than what we had this game, as there were a few technical issues. Gates were obviously a problem. Due to how multiplayer works and its interactions with our modpack, some gates are closed when they shouldn't be. In these cases, we've always used noclip to allow players to clip past the gates, but in small arenas such as Lost Kin where I'm spamming spells, odds are the player gets hit while they're activating / deactivating noclip to get in. So the hunters understandably opted not to bother doing so, which made some parts awkward. I even did the same at one point. Since this run, I commissioned an additional module for TheHuntIsOn to allow players to simply walk through gates, and a rule that you can only do so when the gates are incorrectly closed, which is a much better solution. People may have also noticed hunters mention skip platforms missing (most notably at Hornet 2), White Palace gates being improperly closed, and Soul Tyrant being inaccessible. I don't know how all of this slipped through my testing. Regardless, it's all been fixed. Huge shoutouts to Korz for taking on the work. Overall, I'm glad we did the run and I think it was *decent* content, but I prefer Any% for sure. True Ending SVH with the ruleset I've built has a couple major problems. First, objectives are scattered throughout a much larger portion of the map, and there are many more of them. The speedrunner can basically go anywhere at any time and make progress, meaning they're virtually impossible to predict. Thus, the strategy simply becomes: see a hunter, go somewhere else. This is why I started toying with the audio hints in the first place, since I knew they would eventually be needed for TE. Turns out, the audio hints still weren't really enough while stags were also in play. Stags absolutely add to the problem of the speedrunner being too difficult to track, but they're sort of necessary to save time. Even with stags, the run took 4.5 hours. Without them, I don't want to imagine, and I probably would have just thrown due to exhaustion at some point, which I almost did anyway. A second problem with TE is that the game generally has to be balanced around its toughest challenges, such as White Palace, dream bosses, Traitor Lord, The Radiance, etc. How to balance hunter power levels versus speedrunner power levels is something we've basically figured out for Any%, because the level of challenge is fairly consistent throughout the run's mid to end game. In True Ending, that level of challenge is present throughout 3/4 of the game, then the final 1/4 is like, twice as hard. By the mid-to-end game, even with +2 masks, the speedrunner is so stacked that it's pretty tough to do much outside of at the places I previously mentioned, like White Palace. I'm still convinced White Palace is basically impossible if the hunters decide not to play nice. In this case, I was able to just stay ahead of them, so it wasn't so bad. In fact, we cut out a lot of White Palace because a lot of it was just basic platforming. Anyway, you can't really balance TE SVH without a ton of weird rules, like "don't do this, this, or this in White Palace", or "be nice to me in the end game", or allowing for deaths in dreams, which is a rule I really didn't like but felt was important given the length of the game and how quickly you can die in certain areas. But that's okay, it was still fun enough. Some improvement to the rules is definitely possible. We're experimenting with a PlayerTrail mod made by TheMathGeek which leaves a visible trail behind the speedrunner, which is configurable to last for different durations. The trail doesn't have a direction which creates a bit more ambiguity. This could definitely be used to balance out rulesets which require the use of stags, because otherwise it's just impossible to track where the speedrunner went. People have always requested trying different win conditions, but TE was by far the most requested. I enjoyed trying it, and *might* revisit it with some of the issues being sorted. It definitely had some good moments, but it also fell a little flat at times. So the direction I see this series taking is moreso with exploring other win conditions (other speedrun categories), randomizers (we just tried one today, it was really neat), and gimmicks (such as superpowers, or using other mods). We're also tentatively organizing a run where other players try being the speedrunner while I'm a hunter, and we see who can get the furthest. Because this series has been kept pretty basic/vanilla for such a long time, and we've just been solidifying the ruleset and improving the experience for players, I think there's still a ton of potential in making fun rules and trying new things. We have a pretty good foundation to work with. I'd also love to see other people try it as well, as all the mods we use are now public. Overall, I'm super proud of where this series is at. And we did it without a single run being scripted. As I mentioned in the video, this has only been possible thanks to all the other people who have been involved over the years: the modders, hunters, editors, and artists who have helped out. I appreciate everyone involved a lot. TL;DR: This isn't the end of the series by any means. There's more to come! That's all. Thank you for reading and for watching!

[@fre3m1nd]

@@fireb0rn great news that there's more to come, love the series

[@Cas-Se78.97]

I don't have any idea how to fix the balancing, but as to the length of the run, what about doing it in multiple sessions? I see how a 4.5 hour (or longer) run could be really draining.

[@GreenStarzGaming]

I cant wait to see more episodes in this series!!!

[@nameless5766]

I love hearing about how much effort you put into balancing these runs and making these videos entertaining. There’s so many different potential runs and configurations to toy with, and I’m always super excited to see what you come up with next.

[@Micru_6]

Maybe the hunters playing a sound 20 seconds after they use a lifeline

[@HelloItsPrisca]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="67">1:07</a>:14 "Someone should probably keep an eye on Black Egg, like just in case." "In case he what, pre-kills Hollow Knight?" PLEASE THIS KILLED ME LMAO

[@TheBluePhoenix008]

People sounded offended but that was lowkey so funny

[@JoannaFalkowska]

You never know, the madlad could actually do it!!

[@itzmonchi]

bruh lmfao

[@SeanARooney]

Fire really pulled off a: "I'm not trapped in here with you, you're trapped in here with me" in the hornet fight.

[@alexluther7416]

Cronster is the GOAT - Likely to predict where Fire is going - Always makes a good fight - Constantly makes tactical calls - Doesn't flood voice chat

[@fireb0rn]

I can confirm that cronster is very scary.

[@janis-0775]

makes the videos so much better

[@incognitoman9420]

i feel fear whenever he is on screen lmao

[@VitaEmerald324]

Imagine cronster and HuntHussle on the hunter team together

[@HeyYouFromThatGame]

​@@VitaEmerald324crankytemplar?

[@iXIS332]

New speedrunner vs. Hunter idea "Speedrun vs. Hunter but all the users have the fire skin"

[@astupidlylongnamethatstoolong]

Speedrunner vs hunter : but everyone has to beat fireb0rn before fireb0rn, and everyone doesnt know who is the real fireb0rn (but there isnt fireb0rn, its just 5 other people using his skin and name)

[@hehefunnyphantom]

Bonus points if they add a concerning amount of people to the game

[@Barnabas-cz7wc]

That’d be hard for the Hunters so fire would have to be weaker somehow

[@Xgmarcos999]

It would be hilarious if you added friendly fire as well.

[@henrynaa9088]

So Hollow Knight Among Us

[@pikamario99]

"Okay we got three of us in the Hornet arena to gang up on him, but we can't get out until he collects dash so hopefully he shows up soon" "I decide to use this time to collect everything I missed in Crossroads"

[@keaganshepherd5945]

*Laughs in Vengful Spirit*

[@benja1378]

I laughed so loud at this 😂😂😂

[@Ghost-bs4yo]

Sounds like something out of saiki

[@liammarston7531]

@@Ghost-bs4yo Yeah you’re right 😆

[@BlueSR]

fireb0rn be like:

[@quinnalino]

indeed.

[@Smile-fi4rr]

True

[@Imperial_Squid]

BlueSR commenting on a fireb0rn video be like:

[@Itsss.Abbiii]

Real

[@MaVerik1727]

Indeed it is

[@PyeFive]

Happy to say that I edited Fire’s first ever SvH true ending run! Everyone involved did such a great job despite the new circumstances. This is such a fun way to play the game, and I can’t wait to see how it develops in the future :)

[@fireb0rn]

Thank you for the excellent work as always Pye!

[@PyeFive]

@@fireb0rn Of course! It’s always a pleasure 🫡

[@CH-wn4le]

Thank you so much Pye! Your editing is great, and the subtitles are a great addition I wish more people would add for things like this. Again, thank you! :D

[@BGFire_YT]

Great job, man. Get ready for way more frequent edits when silksong decides to release itself 😊

[@bartvansliedregt5482]

You are AMAZING

[@beanman9760]

Fireb0rn in 5 years: today I 112% hollow knight in under 5 minutes with 67 hunters chasing me

[@HeyYouFromThatGame]

And silksong is still not released

[@Riley-d5z]

god please NO

[@lifesuckshaveaniceday8951]

@@beanman9760 What no Silksong does to a mfer

[@connorlyons4447]

Lol

[@amandagallentine5884]

112%*

[@hopestoryteller]

the issue with thinking out loud as to where the wild fire might be is that, sometimes, your spitballing ends up being hilariously spot on and you don't realize this until afterwards. always fun to watch these after the fact and see how close we were to winning haha. thanks for having me!

[@fireb0rn]

lmao yeah, that's very true. thanks for playing hope!

[@riffshe20]

Hope pog

[@shilohmagic7173]

makes better content.

[@neckropemancer5416]

@@hopestoryteller yapper

[@dumpsterDeity]

​@@neckropemancer5416 touch some grass

[@Squirrely.]

I'm sorry TWO Speedrunner vs. Hunters in almost the span of ONE WEEK? Fireborn, you spoil us.

[@loleklolwaszje]

BRO IS FINALLY GONNA FIGHT THE SUN

[@Resetium]

@@loleklolwaszje what are we gonna fight the sun?

[@deciduous8862]

​@@Resetiumlibrizzi moment

[@enderboss1438]

@@Resetium *Here comes the sun*

[@epicnightmare5600]

@@enderboss1438 but THE SUN IS A DEADLY LAZER

[@aquaticalateralis]

​@@epicnightmare5600 Not anymore there's a [vessel]

[@kindergartist]

As a newbie hunter, I feel honored to be a part of the first ever SvH TE multiplayer! It was a lot of fun-- I kicked myself so many times watching Fire's POV! Thanks so much for inviting me and shoutout to all the other hunters ❤️

[@datdude888]

To be fair you had a very difficult job

[@Coffeeplease69420]

my guy, you were going up against FIRE. All things considered, that challenge probably levelled up your skill immensely!

[@fireb0rn]

Thank you for playing, kinder!

[@JoannaFalkowska]

Girl, you did great for your first time, that was an exhausting run! I'm sure you'll get better with more practice, I hope you'll return another time : )

[@JameyMcQueen]

​@@Coffeeplease69420 Pretty sure they're not a guy.

[@rollin340]

I honestly never get bored of watching these. The skill on display is insane; not just fire's, but the knowledge and guesses that the hunters can have are so interesting, and at times spot on.

[@hazyglitchx]

Yeah i have watched all of his videos like this entirely bc it never get boring!

[@ThylineTheGay]

constantly impressed at the precise and speedy claw platforming

[@rollin340]

@@ThylineTheGay I've watched so many of fire's flawless movements that it's his misses that stick out to me now. I'm still constantly in awe of how smooth his map traversal is. Then there is me, a player who for an embarrassingly large chunk of the game did not know that pogo-ing was a thing, and thus just went "Ah, can't go here yet huh" for so many areas.

[@hazyglitchx]

@@ThylineTheGay well never stop to be amazed at his skill tbh ;D

[@tomsundaram2981]

I like most about this SvH setup that, since fireb0rn can beat True Radiance and all the other bosses at potentially WR pace, the game here is essentially 4 people "hunting" someone who, at any given time and ability state, is *demonstrably* the hardest "boss" they could face at that part of the game, but he could show up anywhere, at any time, for that part of the game, with no warning, with the people fighting the boss maybe doing so alone entirely. It's literally a constant, moving, adapting, intelligent, growing, and learning boss fight for the Hunters, and for the Runner, it's a constant display of skill at *every moment.* It's like the definition of intense competition providing the occasion for displays of virtuoso perfection, whether in the Hunters when they coordinate and win, or in the Runner when they manage to outmaneuver the Hunters *and* beat the game, no matter how they might intrude on the ordinary way to play the run. If it's done well, and it always seems to be done well with you all, it's just the highest level experience of Hollow Knight gameplay I can imagine. Just very well conceived and well done!

[@MoNiR5112]

This is actually insane, please Team Cherry release Silksong before this man loses it 💀

[@thomaspanxhi4333]

We're gonna have fire fight modded bosses for true ending before silksong

[@Rimuru1]

@@thomaspanxhi4333 + all pantheons too

[@wiggles1521]

Imagine if we ACTUALLY get gta 6 b4 Silksong💀

[@huntsman197]

Three years from now, while we're still waiting for SS to release, this guy's going to release videos like this: "Hollow Knight - Speedrunner vs 6 hunters pantheon 5 hitless"

[@KPantherH]

What no silksong does to a man:

[@bluequills]

YAY ITS OUT had so much fun doing the thumbnail art :DDD this video is insane

[@fireb0rn]

Thanks for your work quills! The art is amazing!

[@Fazr-xy7cg]

The thumb nail is CRAZYYYYY 👍👍👍

[@Xgmarcos999]

@@fireb0rnNext time you should try godhome ending!

[@omegablaze135]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1345">22:25</a> “They’re gonna love the stack.” Correct.

[@mariadanko9419]

Absolutely

[@seven8067]

Cronster is a beast. He was ALWAYS predicting Fire, has good combat skills, is an amazing leader for calls. He also doesn't have to say a lot to MEAN a lot. 100% the MVP there for the hunters

[@PhantasticalPhiasco]

Thank you for inviting me! This was a lot of fun!

[@fireb0rn]

Thanks for playing Phia!

[@rainofmadness8356]

You were so close to killing fire multiple times! Very impressive.

[@PadBoPlays]

i love your voice, have you thought about doing some content yourself? id listen to you read hollow knight lore to sleep to any day and night

[@PhantasticalPhiasco]

@@PadBoPlays Thanks! I have been meaning to make KZbin content at some point. It's a matter of finding the time to learn to edit.

[@PadBoPlays]

@@PhantasticalPhiasco well ill be patiently waiting for the destined day. until then, i sincerely wish you the best in life 💜

[@taioru9376]

"He's done with Lost Kin." "What!?" That was hilarious.

[@batscove]

Cronster was very impressive this round Quote of the day: "He frickin parried me and I talked to hornet!" Quote of the day 2: "Unless he what pre-kills hollow knight?" Quote of the day 3: "I'm waiting secretly at the top" *sniffs* <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="71">1:11</a>:01

[@demomase4957]

"Unless he what pre-kills hollow knight?" is for sure the best quote from this SvH if not from all of them

[@beforegrim]

when they talked to hornet i was dying laughing

[@mhm77887]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="683">11:23</a> It was so cute to see baby Hornet coming in after Fire defeated the big Hornet.

[@voidperson]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1206">20:06</a> "he did not pick up dream nail"

[@alek_mist]

@@voidperson the timing rly coukdn’t be better hahaha

[@undeathghost5627]

"Even if he did im pretty sure that it plays a sound when he does a dream boss..." *Dream Boss Kill sound plays*

[@DabinDonut]

Like I swear sometimes Fire bends the fabric of reality to create the funniest outcome to whatever scenario he happens to be in

[@crown_sovereign8278]

shit i was just bouta comment the same thing when i saw it

[@yasht4376]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="30">0:30</a> The editor finally got his first exposure paycheck!

[@Ryquiche]

"got him" "did you kill him" "no." (30 minutes later) "got him" "did you kill him" "no."

[@mikahraulnor5778]

The amount of game knowledge on the Hunters' part is absolutely crazy. Practically every dream nail sound effect was called for exactly what it was used on. This was incredible!

[@KotikKelTuzada]

They called no eyes when it was gorb

[@mikahraulnor5778]

@KotikKelTuzada "Practically"

[@TheNamesFathom]

I once thought “maybe he’ll get bored enough that he goes for true ending in one of these” but I dismissed that because of how ridiculous it sounds well here we are

[@skitter__]

Big fan of cronsters comms. Quick and accurate with descriptions of locations, which makes sense since he's a 112% runner. I hope I'll be able to team with him one day. GG fire, that was a great game with a lot of close calls!

[@erikm8373]

The cut to the hunters dying to Marmu was brutal

[@kindergartist]

RIP

[@blastlightstar]

why were they even fighting marmu

[@ceruloryx]

@@blastlightstar hunters autochallenge bosses, including dream warriors

[@blastlightstar]

@@ceruloryx ah, gotcha ty

[@dominicarps715]

"Standing in the corner against marmu is generally a good strategy" Marmu - "And I took that personally"

[@abcdef-ms9mb]

fire in 2027: "The hunters are expecting me at Herrah, so I'll sneak in Flower Quest"

[@jaspermol_]

Here are a few ideas to make the stags less OP: -Only be able to use a stag when you have full health -Let the hunters view the map when they see you use a stag -Add a cooldown to using the stag (Although this might lengthen the run even more) -Only be able to travel to dirtmouth (same problem as the previous suggestion) Thanks for this amazing video! I enjoyed it a lot😊

[@fireb0rn]

I appreciate the ideas! Thank you!

[@tkmisere7591]

@@fireb0rn Adding with what he said about dirttmouth travel, allow also for deepnest stag to be used only going out

[@colecube8251]

I kinda almost wish it worked like this: Let's say the speedrunner uses a stag from greenpath to queen's station. This alerts the hunters that the speedrunner used a stag. For 3 minutes the hunters are not allowed to stag to queens station. However, if the greenpath stag menu is opened by a hunter during the 3 minute window, it will show that the speedrunner went to queens station and the hunter will be able to use it to teleport there. This basically makes it so that if the hunter is getting chased they can no longer just dissapear to ANYWHERE on the map, but it also makes it so that hunters can't teleport right next to the speedrunner if they happen to be near a different stag. It basically makes it so that using a stag is the same as a room transition. ofc the problem is this would have to be created with a mod and that might be very difficult to implement.

[@RhettBreinholt]

Always a pleasure ❤ Thanks!

[@fireb0rn]

Thank you Rhett! I appreciate it.

[@jamesmccandless6451]

This is the perfect editing style where its not so fast paced that its overwhelming and leaves information out but its still really engaging even though its over an hour

[@MangaManifaction]

That vertical climb through Abyss after getting voidheart was insane

[@dominikheinz2297]

and the music fit so well to it too :D

[@shroom8189]

That was a fun run to watch, especially the white palace bit. Keep up the fast work! Also regarding stags, I have an idea, basically just group stations and when stag ing announce which group you re going to? Basically lets say dirtmouth crossroads and greenpath stations are group one, so when stag ing to any of these location play bind that just says stag group one or something. That would let hunters split among the stations rather than letting speedrun run away

[@fireb0rn]

I think you might be on to something with the idea! Thanks, shroom!

[@tylerdavis4970]

Or have a unique soundbite for each of the stations that plays. So the hunters know which station he is traveling to but he still gets a bit of head start since they have to wait for the soundbite to play or they can try and guess to cut him off.

[@nicholasphelps8804]

This might not be feasible, but maybe Stags could skip part of the lifeline cooldown? This means you could still pull off a stag-juke, but if you rely on the stags too much it'd make it more likely they could lifeline you at a bad time.

[@slepoi_toliy7299]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="74">1:14</a>:39 imagine how unspeakably epic it would be if Fire died against Radiens one-on-one. That would be INSANE hold on

[@Astehisse]

this is actually the best lore accurate Abyss-climb I've ever seen

[@LumiLune106]

Yooo this was awesome! The confusion of “what’s he dreamnailing now?” Had me dying the whole way through. This was a cool change of pace! I first started watching after I attempted the game myself and was never able to beat anything in city of tears. These videos taught me everything I know about the game and I’ve been enjoying them for years. It’s cool seeing how far the idea has come 😁

[@PlumOrganization]

"do not underestimate how fast the Fire is" <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="427">7:07</a>

[@hardheadbubba8306]

@@PlumOrganization truer words have never been spoken. It’s fascinating watching this level of gameplay.

[@Techmoblad]

Fire Spreads fast around here

[@pierre-mariecaulliez6285]

Seeing him leave hunters in the dust doing the Abyss climb was magic

[@jonathanmathai9269]

The Fire… it grows… it can only grow.

[@Hlast1]

Seeing you rapidly pivot from objective to objective was super fun and cool! Big fan of how many goals you have to achieve True Ending and how dramatically that alters what the hunters have to defend.

[@SolstaceWinters]

I've watched an entire 1 hour and 18 min Hollow Knight Manhunt video, and while it was full of tense situations and some amazing calls, there are only two things worth noting: [1] That "spectacular" ending... [2] and the *_STACK!_*

[@ForumArcade]

The editor's choice of music being the shop theme from Slay the Spire felt right in a way I can't quite put my finger on.

[@hmmmooops]

"We've been doing this for three years now" *turns to dust*

[@nekomirage]

Dang Cronster is the best callout guy we ever saw in video ! Kinder is the most annoying hidden hunter i've ever see xD Hope got a nice hat and the patienceeeeeeee, she should know the wings area so well now. And Phia is just the support, help mates, help cronster to find where fire could be, always join allies super fast... Dang what a team, that was truly a match of all time. (And stacking was the play of all time indeed)

[@dumbinfp7951]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="3583">59:43</a> my favorite Hollow Knight upgrade, the Woke Nail

[@Shalomium21]

Now someone would ask for godhome ending but what we truely want is sealed siblings ending for sure!

[@NoNames-vw3bq]

112% 😈

[@MaskerHollowKnight]

was hoping you would make this video, glad you made it and it turned out amazing!

[@NotRealite]

MASKER?! how does this not have more likes love your channel man !

[@MaskerHollowKnight]

@@NotRealite thanks

[@Zeldrake]

This was super amazing! But I read your description and it took you FOUR AND A HALF HOURS? Geez, no wonder you derped a little at the end there. Maybe this needs to be a two-parter. Amazing stuff! Excellent gameplay augmented by excellent editing, too :D Hats off to the editor, amazing work

[@NimArchivesYT]

I’ve always wanted a fiery bug fight the sun while being chased by colder bugs who want to kill him inside an insane person’s mind

[@ZombieManF]

WOOOOOOOOOOO BABY THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR

[@ameyajain7125]

NO WAYYY HE ACTUALLY DID IT i've been waiting for this sooooo long and im gonna watch it rn even tho its 1am where i am

[@meta4240]

"YouKnowHowLongIveBeenWaitingForThis?"

[@DruciDrawing]

@@meta4240 woooooimamakeanameformyselfhere

[@ShycoWar]

I wonder if there's anything that could be done to make areas like Royal Waterways and The Hive actually matter in SVH. It's kind of a shame that some places just never get to become hunting grounds, and some bosses (hi Ogrim) never get to be part of the fun. Maybe some kind of randomized list of Objectives (mostly optional bosses and/or items) to spice things up a tad? 🤔 As an aside, new drinking game: take a sip every time cronster (Hornet skin), and ONLY cronster, manages to find Fire. Blud was like a master sleuth in this run lol

[@chronocritical4710]

SVH bingo?

[@colecube8251]

yeah in fires pinned comment he said they're going to be going for different endings (but not the in game ones. different speedrun categories. So perhaps there could be an all bosses, max nail upgrade, collo 3 (although that one might not work), etc!

[@Arceusbot]

@@ShycoWar tbh I was expecting him to do white defender instead of lost kin cuz lost kin was so defended. All he had to do was get the 3 dreamers which they stopped defending herrah assuming he had it

[@lomiification]

theyre grrat places to hide, at least

[@MegaLuc3]

I've been waiting for a true ending hunters version ever since these started LETS FREAKING GOOO

[@mrbtiger4838]

Really like the concept of multiple deaths returning. It lets fights keep some tension if you accidentally look at the video bar.

[@ashisharky]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="77">1:17</a>:20 THE YOSHIS ISLAND STAGE CLEAR MUSIC IS KILLING ME LMFAO

[@darknessdevours5827]

I didn't notice it too much in the previous video, but cron is a fucking _menace._ Pretty much every PvP engagement with him, I was in awe of how good he is. Legendary. Also, Hope's laugh is adorable and infectious. :D

[@RareSushi]

I love the multiple times where the hunters are like: He can't be doing this, or he can't have this while it's literally showing fire doing/getting it

[@ItsCforCattail]

YOOO THAT THUMBNAIL ART LOOKS SO GOOD

[@dspzombies7292]

i think a good way to reduce stag confusion would be to only allow travel to an adjacent stag, so if you wanted to go across hollownest you would have to stag multiple time which would clue the hunters in to where you went, while also allowing you to fool them by traveling somewhere then traveling right back to bluff

[@Dorumin]

It's interesting how he never gets thorns despite it not being banned for a while. Spore shroom is stronger which is why it got banned instead, but still

[@Dorumin]

It's always brought up by the hunters too. They fear it

[@irishmonkeycowthe3rd180]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1349">22:29</a>, the stack WAS peak content

[@rhiilo]

That was amazing. On both parts. I have never seen such mastery : map knowledge, timings, combos, pathing, everything was so cool to watch. And the hunters did their job amazingly well. Thank you for sharing such a cool concept.

[@MatthewSkars]

You're spoiling us with the double speedrunner vs. hunters uploads! Honestly some of the content I enjoy the most

[@kuroraiko986]

This might have been my favorite iteration of this to date. A lot more cat and mouse, strategizing, and a lot of hilarious moments. I love this series!

[@SucukluYumurta1]

For a second I thought it was a Hollow Knight Silksong trailer, I think I'm going crazy

[@GabrielCauvin]

For a member of the HK comunity; i'd say your mental health is above average

[@dontmindme8571]

Damn, can't believe Silksong has four void siblings chasing you throughout the entire game for no good reason. Bold addition to the gameplay for sure.

[@authenticbanana9505]

Despite the multitude of balance difficulties, I really enjoyed finally getting a TE hunt. With the marathon that doing one of these is, I'm sure it'll be a while if you ever come back to this, but I think seeing a few more iterations would be really cool. I think playing with some concepts like more hunters (possibly a lot more) with lower health and no friendly fire could help balance how spaced out the objectives are. A system to tell hunters what stag you go to might also help with that aspect, or it could even go so far as to (at some point in progression) allow them to dreamgate to said stag. Overall, it was a great vid, and I'm excited to see what other directions this series can go!

[@xanthousizalith5641]

Fire at the Hornet Fight: I'm not stuck in here with you, you're all stuck in here with ME!

[@DrCobra219]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1348">22:28</a> "The stack was peak content" YES LMAO

[@sodajamm]

Let's gooooooo, grabbing my popcorn rn, this 'bout to be a banger!!!

[@Deathranger999]

This is honestly some of my favorite content on KZbin. Even with the issues this was great fun to watch. I hope this series lasts for many more games. :)

[@SevenRedSuns1296]

I love how he sounds more and more unhinged every speedrunner vs. hunters video

[@Shymain]

this was an absolute blast! i think you got the rules down incredibly well for this objective and you had a really fitting set of opponents. cronster was SO on top of the game and having exactly one hunter who has top notch knowledge and intuition does so much for the balance of the game.

[@quinnalino]

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE, CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS. everyone in this vid is awesome. good job to everyone here. edit: one heart attack later, i am happy

[@user-li3gy2vg6j]

Phia and Cronster chasing you through white palace was so cool. Such a challenging platforming area by itself but having hunters puts it at a whole new level.

[@falstarin3342]

DUDE that's an awesome thumbnail?? quills you did such a good job insane insane insane

[@SammyHodgepodge]

As a member of a comment thread on your 2nd most recend video discussing exactly this, and as someone who theory crafted how this would work in said section, HOLY SHIT FIRE YOU'RE A LEGEND

[@toirmusic]

"[Hope]: the cat was simply so pattable, can you blame me"

[@dragmire3D]

I thought I was more of a fan of the hunters with powers version but this one was particularly great! There are probably things to improve upon but this felt very 'even' and tense throughout the match.

[@henryst-1]

amazing vid as always fire :) super entertaining and dramatic as always. all four of the hunters were super entertaining and skilled too, they added so much to this, truly a star-studded squad

[@calamaria9221]

It's so funny that most of the hunters were just stuck in the Hornet fight room lol

[@Marion_MyAnh]

Great video and editing, thanks fireb0rn and PyeFive! ✨️

[@FinalStar123]

For all intent and purposes, the parts that really draw out the TE run is the essence collecting. Already seen someone suggest have some essence be given by dreamers to prevent having to kill all the dream warriors. Still maybe make it so getting the dreamers lowers the total essence required from other sources maybe split 50/50. I also suggest the return of dreamgates for the hunters due to the vast amount of space they need to cover. Instead of it being a limited 3 time use, make it have the same timer as their lifeline but per hunter instead (Timing this will be on the hunters.)

[@fireb0rn]

Dreamgate for TE isn't a bad idea. Thank you!

[@ihopeyouandicanbefriends]

i dont often watch these crazily advanced HK videos outside of Skurry so it's crazy to see this level of movement and mindgames as a casual player just getting into their first 112% Steel Soul run

[@free_gaza_and_Palestine]

Lowkey the best hollow knight content creator along with Blue and skurry and some couple more

[@Nightmare41919]

Oh hell yeah, I was wondering when this was going to happen

[@Scudpuddle]

that was wild to watch. well done. well done to the hunters too!

[@cainancapko4149]

I was not ready to hear the Sly Cooper background music around <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="67">1:07</a>:00 haha, always fun listening to tracks from my childhood

[@Brainth_1780]

Really fun one! Well played to the Hunters, finding him seemed harder than ever!

[@Normal_person11]

Damn that thumbnail art goes crazy

[@bill0511]

“It’s speed runners versus hunters but I feel that I’m the hunted one” LMAO <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="807">13:27</a>

[@Damascene_]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="936">15:36</a> (this is the End of this segment) Jesus christ that entire segment was a master class in juking people 😅 I like to think of myself as being pretty capable of improvisation and juking people, but then watch these and feel like a pawn in some chess game in comparison LOL

[@Len-o4y]

Just commenting to say that I have, and will continue to enjoy your content! I love the Hollow Knight community and I love its content creators! Congratulations on your success in content creation! That goes for everyone else too! PyeFive, PhantasticalPhiasco, hopetoryteller, kindergartist, cronster, and everyone else who's helped with the creation of your videos and content! I love you all, and hope to see more soon! Thank you guys!❤---A Viewer.

[@Bonterbo]

It would also be funny to do mister Mushroom While being hunted (for all that dont know mister mushroom spawns once you get all 3 dreamers and then you have to find him 8 times)

[@EnderSpy29]

Every time Fire gets to 1 HP in combat his Movement suddenly becomes peak and its so clutch. i was on the edge of my seat for a good portion of the video

[@ninjanate4]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="653">10:53</a> was a big mistake for the hunter. fire ball BBBBRRRRRR

[@CrispyNik]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1207">20:07</a> “he did not pick up dream nail so. . .” Fire: *Picks up dream nail

[@CoastingBy]

Does anyone know the music that starts playing at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="63">1:03</a>:32 and goes on for the rest of the White Palace section? I know the music is in the description but I feel like I searched up every song there twice and couldn't find this specific one- I might just be really bad lol. Also great video, this one was really intense! That white palace section was also my favorite to watch heheh.

[@QJrocks]

Sparks of the Cobalt Sands - Penny's Big Breakaway Dunno why it's not listed in the description, though

[@CoastingBy]

@@QJrocks You're my hero, thanks! Also there were quite a few tracks used, I can only imagine it was just accidentally missed.

[@fahriagung-_.]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="74">1:14</a>:05 the moment be like Fire: "shall challenge you! ra-(diance)" Hunter: *Slashing fire* Fire: "Ouch! Hey, don't distrub me"