Hollow Knight: Why The Mantis Lords Fight Works

This video contains Hollow Knight spoilers.
Hollow Knight is an incredibly well-designed game in every way, but one thing that I'm particularly fixated on is the amount of thought that goes into its bosses. This video is an attempt to break down my personal favourite moment in the entire game, and why, despite technically being an optional boss, it does such a good job at feeling like an ingrained part of the overarching story.
Other great Hollow Knight videos:
Game Maker's Toolkit does a fantastic breakdown of the game's level design as part of his series on metroidvanias: • The World Design of Ho...
8-Bit Music Theory's three-parter on Christopher Larkin's incredible soundtrack: • Atmosphere and Motivic...
Mossbag's entire channel, in which he breaks down the dense lore of the game world and its inhabitants: / @mossbag69
And finally, New Frame Plus does a great look at the effect animations and how much they add to the readability of the game and its inputs:
• The Effects Animation ...
All music taken from the Hollow Knight OST by Christopher Larkin
00:00 Intro
01:29 Preamble
04:28 The Setup
10:27 The Fight
14:43 The Payoff
18:05 Conclusion
#hollowknight #gamedesign #bossdesign

[@hippotripo6145]

What gives people feelings of power: - Money -- Fame ----------- Having the entire Mantis Village bow to you

[@ronflex1]

The young mantis doesn't care S L E E P

[@tsukiyunoda]

And then still killing them with pure nail bc you don’t care

[@MinshinReal]

Knowing the release date of silksong

[@tsukiyunoda]

@@MinshinReal true

[@checkmoth6402]

I swear having those super anoying mantises bow to me was the best videogame moment ever. (just dont come near them with dream shield)

[@jasminefoxj]

One thing I also really love about the “challenge” mechanic is that it solidifies that idea that these lords are not only powerful, but aware and concise in their actions. These aren’t some infected shells attacking you because you happened to walk by. These are refined rulers who will respect your choice to either fight or leave them be.

[@invalidusername3399]

Adding on to that is the fact that they bow to you and respect you rather than openly attacking you even once you defeats the Lords. Even the Lords themselves respect you. I like to think when you hit a Mantis Warrior/ Youth during them respecting you, they take it as them challenging you, which is neat

[@xxxdeadasfxck]

@@invalidusername3399 That last line just makes it hurt even more when you kill them :(

[@ismaelsantos5378]

@@xxxdeadasfxck The Mantis are a warrior culture. They live simple, brutal lives. They will bow to you as a sign of respect, but if you want to fight to the death they will do it with gusto, for that is their way of life.

[@kaitokirusama7653]

@@ismaelsantos5378 thats why i finished the hunter journal entry about them so i am not foced to kill more of them to complete the entry of journal.

[@GeneralTurkey]

And when you win they bow and open that door.

[@TheQuilavaQueen]

You forgot about the name of the achievement you get for beating the boss for the first time RESPECT

[@Kirokill1]

Part of the reason why GTA SA is a masterpiece

[@tsukiyunoda]

Forgot the plus 🙄

[@TheRealTact]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZ3WlX16nq9jh6c

[@tubax926]

@@Kirokill1 gives me "this is why leon edwards has the greatest physique of all time" vibes. bro was there 2 years b4 it happened

[@maxwellcampbell3836]

I love how he bows his head to the mantises when they bow to him

[@lizzzylavender]

If you don’t bow to the mantis lords and troupe master Grimm we can’t be friends

[@shirisuchodolsky1376]

@@lizzzylavender what about the nail masters?

[@lizzzylavender]

@@shirisuchodolsky1376 oh of course them too, how could I forget?!

[@swordzanderson5352]

@@lizzzylavender You forgot the nailmasters? You monster

[@Bendytheboi]

I always bow to the characters that bow to me

[@potatoparrot2464]

"And best boy Quirrel" *in the brink of tears* Yes....yes he is...

[@bonelessdoomy6932]

Was*

[@kletra2102]

@@bonelessdoomy6932 STOP :(

[@bonelessdoomy6932]

@@kletra2102 :)

[@XLORYTHEBEST]

I literally cried after reading this ):

[@bonelessdoomy6932]

@@XLORYTHEBEST :)))

[@foxph0rus]

“Or the designers just wanted to hurt you”. Show’s Zote. Yeah that checks out.

[@boreragnarok4522]

He should have shown nkg

[@nonymouswisp8176]

Bapanata octus

[@0-Kirby-0]

@@boreragnarok4522 I'm honestly reassured that people hate him as much as I do. Those two, plus the path of pain and the flower quest are the only content of HK I haven't played myself, and I always felt like I was just too bad for the boss fights.

[@Schilani]

@@0-Kirby-0 Bring the Flower through the Path!

[@0-Kirby-0]

@@Schilani I saw that video, it's madness.

[@razbuten]

great video. wish I woulda made it myself.

[@syamil4157]

Fancy seeing you here

[@fluidcultist2591]

Damn unexpected to see you here! Great video creators attract i guess

[@SentinalSlice]

Did you?

[@lucasquires7511]

please make a hollow knight video!!

[@justsomeguywithtb2953]

@Junior Payton tf? thats awsome

[@xMadSkillzx]

Don't think you mentioned it explicitly but the "challenge" option also cements the mantis as more civilised and honour bound in comparison to the other infected creatures.

[@Oneiroclast]

Another neat thing about Sisters of Battle: if you're going into the Pantheon of Hallownest entirely blind, it catches you completely off guard as you have absolutely no reason to believe the fight is anything other than the standard Mantis Lords fight until the third mantis gets back up at the start of the second phase.

[@OrionoftheStar]

The Sisters of Battle are amazing, I think, because of how simple the fight is. No extra gimmicks, no new attacks--just more of them, and faster. No spells or anything otherwise supernatural--just ludicrous speed and skill with the nail-lance. It really feels like a pure challenge of your abilities as a warrior.

[@syncswitch8497]

You cant access them in the hall of god's until fighting them in the Pantheon of Hallownest

[@cpgautam172]

@@syncswitch8497 if u finish 3 pantheons, u unlock a 3rd new game mode, "godmaster" ( i think), where u are given access to the pantheons with all the charms and upgrades and most importantly all bosses( except abs rad).

[@someguy_namingly]

@@hollowhenry04 They won't be available to challenge in the Hall of Gods unless you've already fought them at least once in the Pantheon of Hallownest, or you're playing in Godseeker mode (if you've unlocked that).

[@MarlonOgbeide]

@@someguy_namingly which you do by the first 3

[@ProNerdy]

Next video title: "Hollow Knight: Why The Massive Moss Charger Works"

[@sofialaya596]

that one scared the shit out of me. to think they're actually smol beasts haha

[@reddarmi8593]

The way it works is quick slash keeping it completely stunned

[@saskiapetersen324]

@@reddarmi8593 Alternately, Grubberflies Elegy.

[@lezanji1884]

you cant have quickslash when you are in greenpath

[@aaronr7826]

Younes Outlaptic • That’s true, initially, but if I’m remembering correctly, the Moss Charger is an optional boss that can be returned to after acquiring the quick slash, and that’s not to mention the added content in the latest DLC.

[@parafaust6201]

"on par with the soul warrior" Me who died on the soul warrior the most: hmm yes

[@benlindquist3302]

I didn't even realize the soul warrior was a boss

[@jimmyh2137]

@@benlindquist3302 it's more like a mini-boss but ended up in Godhome like a real boss... they gave it more HP in Godhome anyway.

[@isaiahrodriguez7356]

SAME

[@Museko]

I also died to Soul Warrior. I died maybe 11 times to him then went on to beat Soul Master on my 2nd try because I didn't know there was a second phase lmao

[@foggyforest2625]

Annoying as hell One of the only bosses that i hate

[@StealthGamer37]

16:20 I remember going into deepnest for the first time more than anything in the game. I am VERY uncomfortable around bugs of any kind, especially arachnids. I wouldn’t say I have arachnophobia, but some degree of fear is there. The constant skittering and noises was legitimately chilling and the weaver’s area when you [SPOILER] ... ... ... sit on the bench and the minions trap and slowly knock you out is the single most genuinely terrified I’ve ever been whilst playing a game. (To be fair, I’ve barely played any horror games as I’m just not too fond of the genre)

[@4P5MC]

Bit late to reply, but as soon as I sat on the bench, I felt something was wrong. I only realised it after watching another playthrough, but you don't heal when you sit. Hearing that little sparkle of health returning was a constant, and combined with the creepiness of the room, it was one of my favourite encounters!

[@MurderousKittyCat]

deepnest is one of my favorite areas purely because of the horror factor and how absolutely terrifying its made out to be. fitting for a ruler known as the beast i think

[@swordzanderson5352]

As a person who knew a lot already before actually playing the game, Deepnest STILL creeped me the hell out, and it makes sense. The game's telling you to GTFO of here and that you're NOT supposed to be here subtly by cranking the horror factor up to a hundred. Not a thousand, sure, but the stark contrast and enemy themes paired with the background skittles are enough to make a lot of us to be on edge.

[@laurelcrown9293]

@@swordzanderson5352 Not to mention that everything about Deepnest’s level design is made to seed paranoia and unsure-ness. The extremely reduced visibility (both in darkness and the sheer amount of foreground clutter), the nests of baby spiders bursting out of nowhere, the surprise dirtcarvers, the surprise weavers, the surprise spike traps, the dead ends, the dead ends with spikes… at every turn you’re punished for letting your guard down. To speak nothing of the tight tunnels inducing a level of claustrophobia and taking away your confidence in your mobility/dodging.

[@swordzanderson5352]

@@laurelcrown9293 And after you're done with Deepnest and know how it works, dirtcarvers still manage one of the most annoying shitheads despite being mechanically easy to avoid.

[@202xArca]

Laughs in "the mantis lords fight scared me too much so I avoided it and instead at some point in the game the floor just broke and I fell into Deepnest completely unprepared"

[@phobics9498]

So you mean to tell me that you either went into Queens garden, somehow, or fell through the fungal core, which requires you to have monarch wings, which requires beating a much harder boss ok

[@202xArca]

@@phobics9498 that's actually exactly what I did lol

[@abreebee]

@@202xArca same here lol. I skipped them because I was scared and didn’t come back until wayyyyy later in the game.

[@10rey72]

@@abreebee hahahhahaha

[@samuellinn]

I didn't even know Mantis Lord existed until much later. I got into deepnest from somewhere else in Fungal Core wayyy after I got Monarch Wing

[@yeethittter1285]

Me: The Mantis tribe respects me! I'm gonna respect them too and not kill any of them. Dream shield: I'm about to end this man's whole career

[@mahdiraisy4342]

also the grimmchild but thats just a kid it doesnt count :/

[@HabitualTeapot]

@@mahdiraisy4342 we do not speak ill of Grimmothy. He is doing his best.

[@definitelyguesser41]

this is just me with the Grimmchild

[@yumiendercat3685]

I got so lonely that i started regarding my dream shield as like my closest friend Until my lil grimmchild came along

[@Kazzildo]

@@yumiendercat3685 I hate him and the noises he makes, specially when I'm trying to hear grubs or Mr. Mushroom

[@ohoxdd1661]

Mezz: *walks through hall of gods showing practically every boss in radiant or ascended* Also Mezz: *skips markoth being only attuned* I know that feeling man

[@peterlaursen5722]

The pain that comes from that boss, dosent even feel good after you win

[@ubel539]

I finished radiant markoth yesterday

[@ubel539]

I also only need soul tyrant, gpz, the obblobles and the radiance to get FULL radiant

[@joshuasujith8016]

@@ubel539 get the golden zote statue in Bretta's basement just before GPZ radiant. I was so immersed in how the fight should be done that I got GPZ radiant third try.

[@ubel539]

@@joshuasujith8016 i already did it. I only need Absolute radiance to have full radiant 😁

[@EvilBard]

I literally whispered “don’t” at the very end and audibly gasped at work a second later. How dare you.

[@benhughes4493]

*“They had us in the first 19 minutes and 10 seconds, not gonna lie.”*

[@supamekvip4198]

Huh?

[@kingeggos6426]

HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND

[@dixiefox7724]

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@kingeggos6426]

MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUUUUDA

[@vukantic1978]

What about the last second

[@theenduriangamer5509]

Mezz: *bows to the mantises in response* Me: Ah, so I'm not the only one who does that.

[@el_goblino413]

It's common courtesy to bow to mantises, Grimm and the nailmasters.

[@mobiuscoreindustries]

Listen, even in the mist of a moth kool-aid induced zombie appocalypse, you can't forget your manners!

[@Arkantolas]

whenever someone bows to you, it's only polite to bow back!

[@eggmma3926]

I also always bow to the grubs when I free them cause they are just too cute (and are some of the few bugs that don’t wanna kill me)

[@lokiijustwannasleep7865]

If you don't bow back you're a monster

[@rikhihundle8815]

One of my favorite things about the fight is how badass it makes you feel when you learn the movesets and get into a good rhythm. While that is usually the case for all bosses in hollow knight for some reason the pace and music really made that feeling hit different with the lords. Boosted my confidence a lot in my playthrough.

[@valadusk6060]

Until you get to Nosk and he literally has no rhythm. I literally felt nothing after I beat him

[@Raidon484]

The Player: "Hah, defeated the first of you! Now, what do you say? Did I impress you?" The Mantis Lords: "Indeed, most impressive. Now, as you are powerful enough to defeat one of us, how about you defeat two at once?" The Player: "Wait a second, what?"

[@michaelatanasio223]

Me: I've seen all that hollow knight can- Video: You can skip the first boss Me: W H A T

[@jakeread9668]

You still have to knock him down once though to allow that shortcut to work.

[@PastelVampire]

Another hk fun fact: in the area of the mantis lords boss battle, in the top left corner, there's a lifeblood cocoon behind a breakable wall! As someone who died alot to the lords, I wish I had known about it sooner,,

[@gorgannan5177]

Yeah, me. I've done 112% runs, 100% steel souls, and at this point thought I knew every secret. I guess the perfect way to hide a secret is put it in a boss room.

[@Dinoman972]

@@jakeread9668 You can enter the City of Tears without the crest, though. It's much less convenient, since you have to get the tram pass in Deepnest and take the tram all the way to Kingdom's Edge, but it can be done.

[@IronDestinyBlaze]

@@Dinoman972 You don't need the tram pass either as you can get to crystal peak when you buy the lantern, and then you can crystal dash to blue lake from the bottom right corner of Forgotten Crossroads.

[@maxieprimo2758]

_[Spoiler for Mantis-Lord-Lore]_ The broken, ruined fourth throne to the right sets up the fourth Mantis Lord (the Traitor Lord). Gotta love that continuity. Also explains why the throne is trashed.

[@tenderbrick]

Oh shit. Thank you for pointing that out!!

[@bellers5086]

I've never noticed that before. You're a legend.

[@Gonchicha]

that's important lore

[@maxieprimo2758]

@- Fishie - That is indeed what I'm pointing out.

[@z.c.4684]

I literally only now noticed it in the vid when I saw the pillar

you forgot about the soundtrack. One of the best in the whole game, and it perfectly fits the fight, making it more exciting and beautiful.

[@jacob8648]

I agree. It is the definition of “boss music” 😌

[@tubax926]

a good candidate against the nightmare grimm music.

[@bencook6411]

"With silksong finally coming out of hibernation..." :) 4 months old :(

[@frozenepsilon5295]

8 months now and still no news.

[@doctabyte5370]

10 months

[@koni5883]

bruh

[@DamageMaximo]

It's coming out before december 2023

[@bumbobaggins]

Seems like the is some spoiled milk in here

[@leonzen2958]

There's one more thing that you get when you defeat the Mantis Lords.... The Steam Achievement - Respect

[@-elcacas_u-2370]

/GTA intensifies

[@trickytreyperfected1482]

I like that one as well as the one for beating Lost Kin. I forgot what it was called though... not freedom, but something similar. Release?

[@looksfineforme9471]

@@trickytreyperfected1482 "release" was for broken vessel and "peace" was for lost kin

[@mantislord3689]

A worthwile achievement, don't you think?

[@TheBonesMalone]

@@mantislord3689 The irony

[@Penumant]

There's something else that I love about the Mantis Lords fight that you touched upon in the moves and mechanics of the fight itself. It's fair. From start to finish all moves are telegraphed so whenever you get hit you know what your mistake was, rather than the game's. A specific move I adore of the Mantis Lords is the varying nail spin attack of the second phase. As a new player you'll probably be healing a lot and need to find windows to use soul to recover health. One of the safest but most threatening windows is when both Mantis Lords throw their nails to the middle of the arena, and they descend right above you... before moving away. The opposite happens with the alternative where you might be tempted to heal as the two nails spin at the edges of the arena, but will inevitably strike and punish a healing player. So you have to learn and understand that the safest place and time to heal in the fight is with two moves looming right over you. This loops back into that strike of confidence. The instigated challenge. The honor. The Mark of Pride. I love this fight.

[@rz112arandomguy8]

Well, it s an unfair fight, but it s in favor of the player

[@cteverything1494]

Unless u use baulder shell

[@fns2071]

Shape of Unn: *Pathetic*

[@colinbrown3775]

I definitely agree on the telegraphed nature of the attacks. I think that visually telegraphing attacks is something that Hollow Knight does better than most similar games. It's relatively simple art style and characters that are very distinct from the background allow for easy visual processing of what's happening. (That being said, all the flashing bright lights in the Enraged Guardian fight make my brain turn off and I get hit constantly.) I don't know about other people's experiences, but the hardest times I'd have in FromSoft games and Hollow Knight is when I just couldn't process what was on screen fast enough to respond. Filtering out all the irrelevant stimuli and responding in time can be rather difficult if you're not experienced and focused. Probably one of the biggest things that someone new to gaming has to learn to do. Hollow knight does this really well, and I think this needs to be discussed more often in relation to difficult games.

[@flamingwheel9926]

I had to learn to quickly heal as soon as I noticed which move it was, then instantly dodging

[@killdyouback]

God, the realization that the Mantis Lords fight evolved into the Sisters of Battle in Godhome just filled me with such inordinate glee. It was my favorite fight before then, and Sisters became my new favorite hands down. I'm not terribly incredible at Hollow Knight, but my goal in play is to someday no hit them (not a huge challenge for some, but it is for me).

[@th3letterE]

No hitting sisters is so much fun ngl

[@HollyWarlock]

most fun i've had so far radianting a boss

[@burntcurlyfryd7729]

As someone who is rather good at the sisters fight, and has radianted them, it’s worth it

[@bryanlane7208]

This is by far my favorite boss fight in any game. This is the fight that taught me to stop mashing buttons and hoping for the best. It's impossible to beat the Mantis Lords like that. But the telegraphing is flawless and made me really slow down and only press a button when I absolutely needed to. The funny thing is this boss(es) is actually pretty easy if you do that. But I needed the lesson they taught me to beat harder bosses with less obvious telegraphing. Not to mention the music is banging, and you just feel so badass when you get the fight down and it looks like you're moving so fast, but it's really not panicky at all.

[@koiminaru1057]

people are like "if they really wanted to team up, the Mantis Lords would have gone all three on you!" but they don't think about it. it works lore-wise too! the mantis lords are a group of bugs who believe in honor, so by going all three on such a small enemy wouldn't be honorable, right? this is just my opinion though.

[@looksfineforme9471]

It makes a lot of sense actually, the first one testing you, to see if you are truly worthy of a challenge. After defeating her, the other two recognize your strength and challenge you with all their might

[@LoreleiBlaine]

there's also the fact that in one of the pantheon boss rushes, they *do* go all three vs you. in the normal game they're not trying to kill you at all costs, they're trying to make you prove you're strong enough to deserve their respect and be allowed access to deepnest.

[@Kharci]

@@LoreleiBlaine welp in godhome some bosses of stronger wills (like hornet and grimm) will recognize the knight. So mantises already know knight's strength. Sorry for my english it's my second language

[@masteranton5660]

@@Kharci *speaks perfectly fluent English as if it were their mother tongue, using comas, apostrophes and periods as well* "Sorry for my english it's my second language"

[@firefi1960]

@@Kharci That's actually because of the "god" power in them. Grimm is an actual god, unlike most of the "Gods" in the DLC. And he, as a full god, recognizes exactly what's happening. "God Seeker...an honor to answer your call!" "How grand a stage!" Whereas Hornet is half-god. Her father being the Pale King, who is a god. And she only vaguely understands the situation. They know this isn't real, it's a dream, but she doesn't fully understand what's going on. "Do you haunt my dreams, little ghost? Or I yours?" "Do they watch us struggle?" The Mantis Lords are not actually gods, as much as I love them, so they have no such ability to know what's going on

[@repenant6514]

I've got to say, I'm very impressed by the quality of the video.

[@TheLuckyDoge]

Same

[@ello-olle]

i agree! An amazing video

[@tiagomatias6667]

same

[@theshadow7428]

Agreed this is the Quality One might expect from a 200k Channel. He is going places and i am here die every Bit :)

[@sebastiendennis2648]

I’m more impressed by the length

[@themockingdragon135]

5:38 I would make one counterpoint: the moss knight of Greenpath that aren't excessively infected. While definitely infected the Moss knights have fairly high tier attack patterns that may take a player a little while to bend their head around, and the infection affects them in a way that differs from the husks (which are reanimated corpses). The moss knights are still alive and thinking, but their thought is influenced by the Radiance and so they attack the Knight. This is somewhat akin to how Elder Hu is described to have been infected. Unaware of it, but still being controlled for it. Plus the moss knights also have their share of lore attached like the mantises due to the knight located at the Lake of Unn, who has unique dream nail dialogue regarding Unn.

[@c0smosage804]

When I went back to Mantis Village to fight the Lords, I already had the Shade Cloak, Shade Spell (or whatever it’s called), and the fixed nail, and the Mothwing Cloak. It was much easier than fighting them right after getting the Mantis Claw, but the sheer level of epicness I felt when I turned and raised my nail to them, and then they bowing to me after recognizing my combat prowess made it the best bossfight I’ve had so far. This was all a day ago, now I’m heading back to the Ancient Basin to try and beat the Lost Kin

[@ricardobr1493]

So...how's it going?

[@thegreatmindgorb8948]

GORB IS PLEASED BY THIS VIDEO.

[@jilloliver6685]

Didnt you headbut a peacock and fuse?

[@thisisahumanlol8255]

@@jilloliver6685 Do not speak ill of the ascended one

[@jilloliver6685]

@@thisisahumanlol8255 i was just told that happed im asking to see if its true

[@sulevjaaniste5394]

All praise our lord and saviour, GORB!

[@thegreatmindgorb8948]

The Senate YES. NOW ASCEND!

[@jonathan9304]

I like how at the begining of the fight they only send one mantis lord because they think that you will not be that strong but after they see you beat the first one and they realize you are serious both of them come at you. That was really cool in my opinion

[@ozanozenir2503]

They shouldnt have fire the 4th one

[@lilacrain3283]

And the way that they don’t actually die, the fight just ends and they bow their heads. It’s like they’re saying “okay, you pass”. It feels like more of a duel than a fight

[@vaccuumhelmet521]

@ozan özenir I don’t think they “fired” him. He wanted to take in the infection to become stronger but his sisters didn’t like his idea. So they kicked him out along with his followers.

[@ozanozenir2503]

Vaccuum Helmet thats literally what firing is

[@ApatheticPyrite]

ozan özenir He kind of betrayed them and it wasn’t a “boss and employee” relationship but a royalty/rebellion amongst a family.

[@Callm3sol]

“Tight combat” *goes to clip of fighting 2 Gruz mothers* me: “Yeah..?”

[@Nyamhk_art]

It's honestly absolutely amazing. I was introduced to Hollow Knight by my boyfriend who's favorite boss is Grimm for the concept and demeanor, and I thought he would probably be my favorite boss too, but man as soon as I fought the Mantis Lords I already knew that they were going to stay my favorite for the rest of the game. When I started playing Hollow Knight I was really, like really bad - getting over the first phase of the Lords alone took me probably more than 10 tries, so I thought I would just rage but their pace and elegance just...it's amazing. Whenever I tell people they're my favorite boss I get laughed at because of how easy they are for non-beginner players, and yes I have beaten them in Radiant as well, but seriously how can you compare seeing them in a Pantheon will all upgrades during a boss rush to seeing them for the first time in context? I'm glad someone was able to put into words all the reasons why I love this boss fight and the care put into everything surrounding it, this was amazing

[@chasenovak6015]

The mantis lords fight is... incredible, to basically summarize my thoughts, it’s not a battle between an overwhelming, mindless force and a small, seemingly insignificant underdog. It’s a dance, a dance between two opponents who see each other, and challenge each other, as equals, and there’s an incredible beauty in that.

[@n4utiius162]

Its probably one of my favorite fights in the game, although their patterns is a bit predictable

[@kaladin783]

I’ve always thought the same of the first hornet fight

[@theblob2937]

And that’s why nkg is also one of my favorite bosses

[@fumeknight9796]

Grimm does that concept better

[@kaladin783]

@@fumeknight9796 I agree, especially nkg

[@michaeltan7625]

Here's some of my own experience with this boss I'd like to share. I foguht this boss pretty early on so it was quite challenging and I died a lot. Going through the mantis village to get back to the arena was also a pain and the mantis killed me repeatedly a few times, causing me to lose all the currency. As I kept dying, I absolutely HATED the mantis. I kept thinking "after I defeat the lords, I'm gonna kill your entire village to farm money". However the ending with the mantis lords bowing, the music and the achievement "Respect" popping up just felt so rewarding (really caught me by surprise). Especially after seeing all the mantis warrior bowing to me as well. It felt so good that my genocidal hatred for the mantis also turned into mutual respect. This is one of my favourite boss fight after nightmare king grimm, just because of this whole set up and payoff (NKG is mostly because it was arguably the most fun fight wise, and I love the aesthetic)

[@PsychoSquadPilot]

In all honesty, I never realised they bowed to me when I beat the Lords. I think it's cause I went straight to deepnest and then the other village. Either that or I murdered them before i noticed the animation lol

[@alexzanderchavez2134]

This was like my 2nd or third boss

[@EvgenLion]

I was ready to delete this game because of mantis . But I'm glad that overcome it . And now it's one of my favorite battle. It's make face to difficulties.

[@france3657]

Don't forget NKG and Mantis lords' soundtracks as well. Other reason why they are great fights

[@mat-bu7ms]

I didn't even hit the lever before leaving to city of tears

[@CraftingMenace]

The mantis lords is one of my favorite bosses ever, for basically every reason said. The twist of going from 1st phase to 2nd, thinking it'd be a new fighting style but both jumping in, was exactly the thoughts going through my head. And dodging them made me feel like an absolute badass. I beat them the first try, but It was still one of my favorite experiences. Now I've beaten every boss except the radiance on Radiant difficulty, so for a real challenge I have to fight the sisters of battle rather that the first lords, so despite not feeling as cool as I did during the fight on reruns, I still love it to bits.

[@marcel7997]

18:07 oh no

[@korok7523]

Haha…. Ha…

[@Tenkai_Knight]

I remember thinking “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could fight all 3 mantis lords?”. The sisters of battle caught be completely off guard in the best way possible!

[@someguy669]

How about the Tribe of Battle kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWirXoubhL1jhtU

[@someguy669]

Tenkai San It’s the Traitor Lord.

[@hellboy19991]

@@Tenkai_Knight How about Gods of Battle, juuuuuuust in case Sisters of Battle weren't quite fast enough yet: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJzXdauwg52MaLc

[@cherri7143]

*music stops* DROSA!

[@Silver-Arm]

That was the thing I wished the most when I first finished the game, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it happening

[@Techhunter_Talon]

5:44 Which the game denotes infected, or infection users, as bleeding orange when hit. Meanwhile, the Mantises bleed white when hit. Meaning they're still of their sane mind and are just a people defending their home from intrusion.

[@JomnCT]

Holy shit I never noticed that. Amazing little detail.

[@alextheconfuddled8983]

*BECAUSE THE MANTIS TRIBE ARE NOT PATHETIC AS TO FALL TO A MOTH. THEY ARE STRONG. THEY ARE POWERFUL. THEY WILL OVERCOME THE INFECTION.*

[@nrran6835]

@@JomnCT Theres also a MASSIVE pile of bodies and spears outside the door from when they defended against the Deepnest horrors

[@DoomerSlice]

Mr SharkMan except for like half of them who just were like “yo” and accepted the infection

[@Rokabur]

It's part of the game lore that the Mantises (Manti?) are resistant to the infection.

[@tidyheidi9143]

I remember in a recent Daryl Talks Games video about Deep Nest, one thing he brought up was the lore implications of what was going on. I mean think about it-the mantis people are pretty strong compared to all the other regular enemies faced at this point, and the Mantis Lords are bonafide badasses. So as the player, it really makes you wonder how terrifying a place has to be for the mantis lords to permanently seal it off with a gate and guard it themselves to keep it contained. If the mantis lords are afraid of whatever is behind that gate, then you should be terrified.

[@spicynips8466]

Sisters of battle is easily my favorite fight in the entire game. Early on i found the lords and it was pretty hard because of the speed but i still got over it by barely having anything at that point. So the feeling of seeing the three sisters stand up at the same time was absolutely amazing, and beating it hitless was probably my highlight of the game.

[@johncameron1935]

I have 100%'d this game, and was today years old when I learned that you can bounce off of the spinning blades.

[@dando541]

not 112%?

[@aguyandsomegames5152]

I’ve got 106 and 102 with a combined 70ish hours and I didn’t find out until today

[@jameslarkin4567]

Bruh in dissapointed

[@ArkainSpawn74]

Took me forever to realize that the height of the mantis on the wall determined how the spinning blade would curve. The amount of times I got hit by it was embarrassing.

[@Kazzildo]

@@ArkainSpawn74 what? really? lol, I had no clue

[@m4cksfx]

4:44 "Even the very first boss can be skipped." HE CAN BE *WHAT*?!

[@ChadtronicFan]

Just so you know, you do have to come back and fight him to progress past a certain point.

[@unununununun7012]

@@ChadtronicFan There's other ways to get into city of tears, and his dream fight isn't necessary to have enough essence to upgrade the dreamnail and open the palace, so you can just ignore him the entire game

[@yel408]

@@unununununun7012 interesting, what happens to him after forgotten crossroads is infected?

[@unununununun7012]

@@yel408 Nothing, he's still there

[@mat-bu7ms]

@@unununununun7012 hah, I didn't know that, so I went back after getting mantis claw to kill him

[@pamelaojeda22]

Ah the Mantis lords! I had such a hard time fighting them the first times, I had to get some upgrades from City of Tears before trying them up again, I still had trouble beating them but when I did it was so satisfying! later on on the hall of gods, I fight them again and I had no trouble, it was so fluid too, I felt like I was dancing with them! lol the music theme and the Mantis having a kind of almost rhythmical pace, just makes the fight so pleasant really (once one learns the pattern that is lol) it's really my favorite boss fight.

[@Lomarcan]

you said exactly what i was thinking about the fight - it is just beautiful, i loved learning the rhythm, it really did feel like a dance. then i recognised your name! i love your art :)

[@ryanimai1850]

I loved the "beat hornet" section. Totally relatable.

[@brendanhall5581]

For me at least, the rematch against her is super easy because the first fight is challenging enough to make it *impossible* to forget how to beat her. Like, after all the trial and error and muscle memory to get through Greenpath, her new tricks in Kingdom's Edge aren't nearly enough to defeat the ingrained reflexes

[@gunaraj2626]

The fight against the Mantis Lords is one of the best in the game. But the musical theme is what gives it all its essence, takes away that unique musical theme, and the fight will not be so great.

[@yeahkeen2905]

Not true. The fight is amazing on its own. It’s not just going to become bad because you turn the music off. The music is icing on the cake.

[@user-np1gs4le2i]

*@Yeah KeeN* The music is the strawberry

[@nullpoint3346]

@@user-np1gs4le2i We clearly have different preferences for cake.

[@user-np1gs4le2i]

*@Quinton Craig* Chocolate?

[@plugshirt1684]

I couldn’t really care for the music in any boss battle because when I go to fight any boss the music it plays gets tuned out so I can focus on the boss itself so this fight could have no music and I would feel the same way about it.

[@stupidclipsinc.2269]

Mezzamine: bows to every mantis through the video. Mezzamine: stands too long near bowing mantis. Me: no. Don't you dare. Destroy your inhuman thoughts in your mind! Mezzamine: haha spell go zwooosh

[@AshFromFire]

One of my biggest regrets was having to kill one more after the fight to finish the hunter's journal

[@gunnarschlichting9886]

Yeahhhh... don't run through the Mantis Village with any summon charms equipped. I had the little spiders guys with me, and they made pretty much every mantis I ran by hostile lol.

[@TheFunPop]

There was one point in later game that I was going through the fungal wastes/village after not having visited in awhile. And I killed two of the bowing mantises by pure defensive instinct. I felt really bad lmao.

[@asheanarchy3987]

Mantis news after Mezz used spell “A man exploded today”

[@nightmare_nessi1893]

What happens when you attack a non hostile Mantis, do they all go back to being hostile?

[@A_Zippy]

I remember beating this boss first try on one hp and having the most amazing rush of 'omg i just won' afterwards. definitely would agree this boss is one of the coolest in the game, and it also goes so well with the music too

[@sythrus]

'With Silksong finally looking to be coming out of hibernation' Almost 4 years ago.

[@NobodyXChallengerYT]

This video is secretly _Grey Prince Zote: How Not to Design a Boss_

[@dudep504]

@Verserer Gred but watcher knights?

[@ExileTwilight]

@@dudep504 As long as you've got the Shade Cloak then Watcher Knights are fine. (and even without, entirely doable). Challenging the first few times sure, but they are one of two bosses guarding the end game.

[@daybreak2127]

@Verserer Gred You can kill one before the fight even starts. Helps get it over faster.

[@yeethittter1285]

Anything becomes worse when you add Zote

[@Supershadow301]

@A Spelling Error I agree! Bosses in Hollow Knight usually tend to stay away from you, unless they're trying to attack you in close combat. Zote doesn't give a fuck irl and runs straight at you, of course his dream version would do the same, except he's buff so it works!

[@baioc]

lmao with Hornet saying "git gud" at 11:41

[@XcouchpotatoX1]

1st time challenging Radiance: That can't be what she's saying....I'm just hearing things 10th time challenging Radiance: GODDAMIT I KNOW!

[@voodooozo3755]

@@XcouchpotatoX1 another great detail by team cherry

[@erynbrooks963]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OMG 😂😂

[@bsigns1935]

I like Hollow knight bosses especially when you finally found the "zen moment" after learning their move sets

[@Inkyink]

It's interesting how you can really do Hollow Knight in any order. See, I'm kind of an idiot, so when exploring Mantis Village I never noticed the lever opening the floor and actually beat the Mantis Lords after two of the dreamers were already dead haha

[@borgertime7279]

The fight with the mantis lords feels more like doing a stabby tango than an actual fight

[@maiasmith5548]

That’s a good thing, right?

[@katsucandy]

I love fighting the mantises for that exact reason, which makes it incredibly ironic that I hate fighting grim when he's literally calling the fight "a dance/performance" lmfao

[@borgertime7279]

@@maiasmith5548 Yes, yes it is

[@nrran6835]

Yes! It plays like Rock paper scissors if you reset to the center of the room each "turn"

[@edwardtoth36]

I gave the 69th like

[@ksanasnow4347]

Personally, this fight had a lot of impact on my Hollow Knight playthrough. I am a noob and suck at games like this but started playing it anyway 'cause my friend really wanted me to try this out. Of course I died a lot. The only things keeping me in this game were beautiful atmospheric art and outstanding music. I already was thinking of quitting (I died in in the Mantis village like 20 times), but my friend told me to at least get to the next boss. And when I got there... I didn't know why, but I loved it. Yeah, I still sucked and made a lot stupid mistakes, but that didn't feel unfair. Every time I died, I knew a reason for it, and kept getting better. This fight was the first one where I started using tactics, not just "hit it until it dies and hope you won't die before it". Thanks to this fight, I am still in this fandom, with the 90 precent finished (I will finish the god home and the white palace, I promise, they're just so hard-) Edit: wow, someone liked that. Glad you enjoyed my rumbling)

[@crazypo0d0g]

I too died countless times with the earlier bosses. It was really frustrating because the trip to the mantis lords was even giving me trouble and I’d come to challenge them a mask or 2 down. But as time went on facing them I noticed myself getting better and better making it that much sweeter when I beat them. I fully fell in love with the game at that point, just amazing.

[@thomasmuenzel3274]

It was the same for me.I don't play soulslike games or roguelike games because I don't have the patience and the nerves for those games.and after a few hours I wasn't sure if I want to keep on playing hk.I loved the style and the music but I hated the backtracking and that you have to start from the last bench when you died.I was fighting the sisters very early in this game.maybe too early.but the awesome battle music and how the fight was designed just brought me back every time I died.and because I always had the feeling that I could beat them.after my victory I knew I would kept playing.the sisters battle and the overwhelming feeling of beating them was the turning point for me, from maybe I quit the game to I wanna see it all.I never was more motivated to play a single player game so much than this game in my life.I spent 90 hours in this game within a month which is very unusual to me.usually I need a month for a shooter campaign to get it through because of lack of motivation.this battle and the game for itself is a masterpiece, simply because it kept me playing and motivated me to play like no game before ever did.

[@iamacatperson7226]

Mantis boss was honestly the best, it is one of the few bosses I’ve faced that I genuinely enjoyed, that didn’t end with me wanting to rip my hair out

[@sebastiandurando2493]

That was my Dark Souls 3 experience, I actually quit at the first boss then I went some weeks later and now it is my favorite game and franchise. These sort of stories are common with people who don't play difficult games.

[@fcodiaz8]

That's a true friend!

[@phhantom3385]

“most annoyin” *laughs in UUMU

[@BLazeWigglytuff]

One word obalobles

[@Kesvalk]

I remember being in complete awe when you challenge them and the knight turns to them and draw his nail. That was, for me, the moment hollow knight solidified itself as game of the year. i remember dying on purpose just to take a screen shot of that scene to use it as wallpaper.

[@dotanarad5892]

yesss, the thing that stood out the most for me about the fight, was the respect the mantis tribe have had for you after proving yourself in battle. As you said, one of the best world-building and fun things I ever encountered in a game. Great video, thank you :) can't wait for silksong as well

[@darnok6407]

But you could also find out that this is a reward for beating them. Because all there writings you find are about how honor is important to them

[@thelexicon7294]

Having gone into Hollow Knight blind, the fight and especially the payoff of this fight caught me so off guard I nearly teared up when I did a 180 from Deepnest to go back and the three lords all bowed. I almost thought I was imagining it. And then to exit into the village and have all these incredibly powerful creatures bow before you... Stunning. I appreciate the immediate gain. I appreciate the skill I acquired and how it prepared me for future boss fights. But the one thing I'll never forget about it is that truly world-building payoff.

[@thesunvortex9008]

And the young ones are just sleeping

[@uftey]

Virgin- “This guy has 3 videos on his channel he probably sucks” Chad- “this guy spends so much time on videos and he makes awesome unique well editing content... if only he had more vids”

[@jojonta2119]

Literally nobody said the first thing

[@uftey]

@@jojonta2119 it’s supposed to be a virgin vs chad meme not what ppl are actually saying

[@jojonta2119]

@@uftey Ah ok

[@Preseptic]

“Now that silk song seems to be finally coming out of hibernation” Ah yes. The optimism of a year ago.

[@mrtyphoon8923]

"With Silksong finally looking to be coming out from hibernation (...)" Those bastards lied to me

[@liamabbott4528]

8 months ago . . . heh

[@mrtyphoon8923]

@@liamabbott4528 don't twist the knife

[@LorenHelgeson]

"Sisters of Battle," the upgraded "God Home" version of this fight, is my favorite boss fight in the entire game. But, as you brought up, there is also the fact that you have to challenge them to start the fight. It really sets up this part of Hollownest as its own world, and that these Mantis Lords are the rulers of their domain. They don't just flat out attack you. They have a sense of fair play. As are the leaders of their people, they have an image to present. And after you've beaten them, they recognize you as a worthy challenger, open the doorway to the next area, and give you a respectful bow. The rest of the mantises in this area likewise leaving you alone - unless you attack them - is another nice touch, and further cements the idea that these three lords are an integral part of their world. Excellent story telling, without a single word of dialogue.

[@riverajustinmarks.]

I really felt bad going through the mantis village with the grimchild charm on because everytime I saw the mantises bow the grimchild immediately attacks them and I'm forced to kill them even though they were peaceful after beating the lords.

[@Mariopwnzu]

They're strong enough to not only defend their home from beasts and the corrupted but to be able to remain uncorrupted themselves which also feeds into them being badasses and their respect being something very worth having

[@greenfroggy333]

What I love about the sisters of battle is that when you first encounter them you are most likely expecting the traditional mantis lords fight, but when you reach the second stage, something is different. I really love the inclusion of the battle cry, as it really sends of a “this was the real fight all along” kind of vibe and it is so sick. It also builds the adrenaline.

[@coolbeans5911]

"with silksong finally looking to be coming out of hibernation" (released July 2020) _sad bapanada noises_

[@unsuspiciousdweller8967]

This is a well constructed video. I'll be sharing this with the rest of my game design class, you provide some valuable insights. Also, the humor is spot on, and you pace it quite well with the rest of the content. Look forward to seeing more from you!

[@OrionoftheStar]

*Enters Deepnest *Stares *Listens **Leaves*

[@RadiantSharaShaymin]

And he catches the mind of the normal player very well, taking 13:20 as an example.

[@brendannowak1820]

“hey a new mantis I wonder if they’re friendly too-OHGOD”

[@marteung]

LOVED your video! Your narration and editing are on point! I also love to watch the gameplay because I realized there are so many details I don't pay attention to while playing myself! Thank you!

[@joshuapatrick682]

Honestly though I picked up the game for the first time in October of last year and Sisters of Battle is my favorite fight in the whole game. I cannot tell you how thrilling it was to manage to radiant them! it's a tough but fair fight that requires deft maneuvering, timing and use spells to get out of the 3 enemy phase asap because that when it's easy to lose track of their rhythm and get bodied, panic and next thing you know you're desperately trying to hang on with one or two masks before you explode.

[@vicannn4223]

Everytime you salute a mantis who is saluting you I get a little bit of happiness in my heart

[@tomaslopez5067]

I love how you can just make a fast zoom in to the ghost's face and make it express a totally different emotion

[@DamageMaximo]

Looks like anime stuff

[@RileyIsntDead]

This is due to context and the player's own emotions. Because The Knight is so hollow and void of emotion, it's very easy for the player to project onto the character, causing that blank face to show emotion. Another one of my favorite things about this game. Fun fact: Untitled Goose Game purposefully did the same thing.

[@RhyHello]

Really great video! The "essay" component was really interesting, and the humor, editing, and humor through editing really pulled it all together

[@proteanalias]

Mantis Lords is my favorite fight by far. It's so cool both mechanically and thematically. Plus, the respect you gain is such a cool touch

[@loris202]

We aren't fighting them, we are dancing with them. This was what i felt every time this battle started.

[@PHAZERVODS]

i swear nothing fills me with the feeling of power and happiness then that little bow and now i refuse to dare hurt the things that once filled me with burning rage in my first encounter

[@David111IsHere]

WHAT AN AMAZING TRANSITION TO PART 3 WOW Wonderful video, well done!

[@Tatodobien]

18:06 "silksong finally coming out of hibernation" that was already 2 years ago and counting

[@SnakesAnimations]

“The game makes a big show of this new area for the player to remember” meanwhile me, who didn’t even notice and fell in by accident

[@lyrablack8621]

Same I didn't notice it was even opened until like my third playthrough, I just wondered why it took so long to open that door

[@soudiepop9757]

RIGHT I was wondering how I was supposed to open the door and I turned the game off for the day, only to come back the next and find out I’m an idiot-

[@kiarawolfe4723]

I actually walked all the way up to the city without even noticing the floor missing in my first playthrough... I came back so long after like oh this is here?

[@zoki4291]

lmao same

[@unnoticed4571]

I just plain forgot to open the door on my first playthrough like an idiot. Fast forward to me traveling through deepnest and coming across a locked door with no way to open it, 30 minutes of searching later I managed to find the lever and open the way to the lords.

[@__nog642]

7:07 Lol the hole is out of the player's view when they flip the switch. I totally missed it, and had to come back to it way later.

[@rz112arandomguy8]

"What the hell happened here ?"

[@DxBALLxD]

Exactly

[@ashikdennis9202]

Me too

[@propulsiongaming3470]

Me to I just left to city

[@edd6101]

Same

[@rotem6033]

Amazing video! It's my favorite boss on the game :) I wished you'd talk about the Traitor Lord's broken chair that was super exiting and mind blowing to understand that for me when I reached Queen's Gardens and also made me understand the hollowest lore through the Mantis tribe's lore

[@NotPixel6360]

This vid was amazing, you earned a sub :) Also I have never had more respect for any boss in the game, you have shown me how amazing this boss’s potential was and how team cherry made it so well, thanks for showing us this

[@OrionoftheStar]

Betcha Hornet has a Mark of Pride.

[@irishargrave5850]

She sure does! It would be a pain to battle all these mantises to visit mommy Herrah if she didn't.

[@mystrallsnowlight]

"Oh a new mantis, i wonder if they friendl- *OH GOD*" I know da feel

[@cannabishornliu6119]

When I first met a Mantis Warrior in the Fungal Waste I fought it was a friendly NPC because they looked so unique at this point... just to got a sharp claw right in the face... After that every new NPC like Leg Eater freaks me out when I see them because I'm not sure at this point if they are friendly! You can say that the Mantis Tribe left a deep inpact on my first play through! XD

[@mizutsune5097]

I feel that as well. Also I instantly attacked the MidWife in deepnest when I first saw her since I was so terrifyed of the place

[@sebastianjimenez5728]

AMAZING video this is one of my favorite parts of hollow knight and ive never thought about it like this now theyre actually EVEN BETTER thanks

[@matanui232]

this video is beautiful and im mad there isnt more hollow knight lore on your channel

[@calligraphy4244]

I didn’t go to the Mantis Lords until like 20 hours into the game... fought soul masters and explored for a bad amount of hours. I had explored the Mantis village but never checked the ground for a giant hole.

[@polarstriker3854]

What really stuck with me about this battle was how elegant it felt. That give and take of dodging and countering that no other battle quite had to the same effect. With most bosses you could get several hits in between their attacks. With the Lords, you get one hit, and only if you are fast enough to take advantage of the brief opening. This fight really just makes you feel badass for completing it. I spent two hours on it and loved every second of the fight. The Watcher Knights on the other hand? Took about as long and hated every second of it. Something about that fight was just frustrating.

[@crowqueenamps]

I have just gotten to the Watcher Knights. I am spending most of the fight screaming, "Damn it, let me heal!" For the Mantis Lords, it soon became apparent where an opening to heal lies and I found it easier to just wait it out to get that opening. Those guys? Nope! Just whip wham bam across my screen!

[@roomtemperature7096]

​@@crowqueenamps me too. I just vengeful spam them and when it's over I don't want to repeat those fight anymore. Mantis lord has this dance-like quality that I enjoy so much, they're hard but I'm enjoying it.

[@crowqueenamps]

@@roomtemperature7096 Yep. I beat Watchers yesterday with luck and the charm that makes tiny spiders (Webweaver I think?). I wanted to spite bile. I finished the second Hornet fight as well. Whenever I messed up on Hornet or the Mantis Lords, I knew that it was either a slip up or a impatience issue on my end. The Watchers just felt cheap to me.

[@dando541]

actually you can get at least two hits on the mantis lords on most of their attacks, and on the dive attack, you can hit them three times with quick slash.

[@polarstriker3854]

@@dando541 Well you see, sir, I am slow and a pussy

[@nycto3488]

“With silksong coming out of hibernation...” *cries in 8 moths later*

[@RPBiohazard]

Loved this video, I was thinking a lot of this myself after noticing how this boss was memorable to me afterwards when a lot of the others I forgot about. It made me really want to use the mark of pride over longnail, even more so than the fact it was just better. It was the part of the game where I went from being frustrated at the lack of benches and constantly dying and losing all my geo and ragequitting, to starting the Mantis Lords fight, dying, and be raring to go for another try. Probably the best part of the game, honestly.

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

There are so many great build ups to bosses in this game. The mantis lords are probably the best, since their defeat impacts the world in such a direct yet nuanced (and also actually helpful) way. That their fight is also amongst the best probably helps too. But some of my other favorite bosses with good build ups are grimm and nosk. When you first meet Grimm your like: "Am I gonna fight him?", but he only gives you his child to feed or whatever, and then you return and your like: "Are we gonna fight now?" And he's like: "Nope, do it again." And then you return and it's like: "Let me guess, I'll need more flames... WHAT?" Grimm isn't really that impactful to the overall world I guess, but I still think his Set Up is very enjoable. Nosk is in somewhat the antithesis of many bosses, who lack build up, yet are great fights, in that he has great build up, but lacks quality fight-wise. The whole, being in deepnest and finding this clone of yourselves, chasing it until those walls close behind you, and then you meet yourself with the corpses hanging in the back, and then his neck snaps and he transforms and he screams... and then the fight kinda falls apart, with it being super easy. But still, the lead up to the boss is spectacular in my opinion.

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

@Verserer Gred are you aware of the safe spot where he can't hit you?

[@hiveamber8156]

Paulito8000 Pretty sure they patched that out?? And it doesn’t work in the pantheons either, there’s no platform at all

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

@@hiveamber8156 in the main game the platform still exist, they just added one (1) additional attack where he can hit you

[@jakeread9668]

@@Paulito-ym4qc My first playthrough Nosk was the hardest boss for me. I guess it's different for everyone. I'm not sure when you fought him but he was hugely buffed a while back.

[@Paulito-ym4qc]

@@jakeread9668 Obviously Difficulty is very subjective, but I never had any real trouble with him, on any patch.

[@rc-fannl7364]

The pacing of the fight is also really nice, especially when you battle the last 2 mantis lords. It's frantic, but not overwhelming. Even though it's two on one, if feels fair.

[@rz112arandomguy8]

"Not overwhelming" ... Kinda

[@rc-fannl7364]

@@rz112arandomguy8 I guess it much depends on if you get into the rhythm of the fight soon enough. It's relatively easy to get some good hits in, the biggest challenge is to dodge the "saucers" correctly, jump when these come low, duck when these come in higher. I had more trouble with the Soul Master and his apprentice.

[@rz112arandomguy8]

@@rc-fannl7364 apprentice ?you mean the strong enemies that are in the soul sanctum ? And what do you mean by ducking ?

[@rc-fannl7364]

@@rz112arandomguy8 I mean the sub-boss in the room with the chair, who you have to fight before being able to progress to the Soul Master. Ducking I mean crouch, so the Mantis flying attack, that scythe/saucer thingy, passes over you.

[@RandoMattz]

i don't know much nor i have played this game but i was watching game design videos while this popped up and the title made me curious...great analysis and top notch humor by the way! a constant thought that i had during the video was how much this fight reminds me of the Abyss Watchers from DS3: you start by fighting only 1 of them but soon another one rises and join the fight, and more and more until you finish the first stage; they all have the same moveset ( telegraphed yet fast and deadly moves) and if i remember correctly they are the only boss in the series that does a polite bow and slowly walks to you instead of mindlessly rushing to end your life as soon as you walk in :)

[@callumia]

i love the first few seconds of the battle - the music, the walls coming down... it’s perfect

[@akai8615]

"or.. y'know... the Sun." it made me laugh so long !

[@lucaslobo8002]

“By far the most obvious entrance to the deep nest”... yo I completely missed that door hahahahahha, I just realized that was a thing way later, after I explored the nest lmao, I was blind af

[@idyl.9127]

this video is incredible. you deserve way more attention, man.

[@pocketlint4182]

Dude that is an amazing video. Everything you touched on was important and well said. There were a few pauses that were kinda awkward in your vocal delivery, but the content and jokes more than made up for it. Seriously well done man. I don't know what other videos you do, but this deserves a sub. I wish you the best bro