NKG cheese fight (Post Lifeblood)

[@ZeNewk]

Some folks seem to be having trouble with the whole "keep Nail Art prepared; move and jump\dash nigh-simultaneously" thing. I have grown used to it with the following keybind config (not suggesting you adopt it, but perhaps it would help out): Movement - arrows Jump - Spacebar Nail - S Dash - A Quick Cast - Right Ctrl -- Super Dash - D Dream Nail - W Focus - Right Shift Inventory - Num 0 Map - Tab

[@cmgainterboy]

I dont use keyboard so it wont help me 😅

[@tmfdl5399]

same as CRISTICIO 89 here

[@hyd-megido]

its just like Megaman X games, maybe they haven't played games with similar mechanics before. nice vid, this is also how I beat NKG, mine is just a little bit messy and aggressive lol

[@reef9283]

Funny i use controller so i need to hold square and dodge everything without letting go

[@san-low731]

I use Ps4 bro :P

[@thomasg26]

This seems less like cheese, and more like a good strategy

[@ZeNewk]

I really felt that this strat broke the flow of the battle a tad too much (e.g. frantic dance with barely any time for respite). But in retrospec, I think you are right.

[@gu3z185]

@@ZeNewk Is there any reason to not attack during firebats? You literally never get hit as long as you have sharp shadow and you can get off a great slash and a hit.

[@ZeNewk]

@@gu3z185 there are several unexploited opportunities to do extra damage if you're confident in your skills or practised the boss many times, but my plan was to showcase a more safe way to get through this fight, hence the limited player movement to reliable tell where the Grimm would spawn next (in case of firebats should you get get caught in center of arena the boss could attack from either side, especially in Pantheon's more spacious arena).

[@thatonerandoontheinternet2225]

you should, imho, try and get some soul so you can abyss shriek when hes doing fire pillars by just barely edging forward with each pillar. you can downward pogo off of the dash to get a tiny bit of soul, and just save. youre still able to stand still to do this, just time it well and youre fine

[@thatonerandoontheinternet2225]

although tbf it is a bit tricky

[@GrayAvian]

And then there's me, who spams Vengeful Spirit during his pufferfish attack and will literally attack at any opportunity like a hornet on cocaine

[@scuppo]

Desolate dive or abyss Shriek are better for his Pufferfish form

[@waxocelot9395]

Shaw

[@Kurumikuu]

I'm doing the same but with the Abyss Shriek

[@Mr.MixedMedia]

“A hornet on cocaine”😂

[@caydenbrown5654]

More like hornet on cocaine

[@helge5565]

This is just the nail arts build. It’s honestly underrated, because with only the nail arts charm (that uses only 1 notch) you can do similar amount of dmg as fragile strength plus quick blade (6 notches)

[@MAML_]

-at the cost of losing up/downslash and needing to concentrate on the battle and charging nail arts

[@moonkandiie2273]

I have such a hard time using nail arts during such a fast fight- well, most fights

[@jstar3382]

Ohhhh dude I just need to say I beat this without using ANY BS or looking up guides. And it probably took years off my life

[@ZeNewk]

Imo, that really is the best way to beat hollow knight, through sheer perseverance

[@bonzodachimp6897]

It probably was much more satisfying as well tho, knowing that you beat one of the most difficult bosses in the game without any handholding or tips.

[@Phantasmans]

same, it took me a few hours but it payed off and now he's my favourite boss and i can consistently beat him ascended (sometimes overcharmed)

[@shadefire8605]

Or you could, as hornet would say, “git gud!”

[@pacmanly]

Holy shit thank you so much for this. I finally beat him after watching this. Made a few modifications tho. Lifeblood core gives essentially the same number of extra hits as Joni's Blessing for one less charm notch, allowing me to swap soul catcher for unbreakable strength. I found the double great slash during his fire pillars tricky to pull off without getting hit, so I would just hit him with one and then sharp shadow thru him. Also, during his firebats you can close the gap, jump over the first low bat, dash thru the second high bat, and get a great slash and sometimes one regular hit in. One critique about the video itself; the text often wasn't on the screen long enough to read so I often had to pause the video to read your notes. But other than that THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[@ZeNewk]

oh yeah, the timing on captions turned out rather crappy. And yes, your're right about Joni's vs Core, though I'm not sure on Strenght: it does not affect Nail Arts nor Sharp Shadow damage, so if you opt in for those attacks only, you might as well chose some magic boosting or whatnot. Regardless, gg and was happy to help!

[@pacmanly]

@@ZeNewk yeah I realized that after the fact. But I still got an occasional normal lick in after a great slash during his firebats, so at least it wasn't COMPLETELY useless

[@friedrice9848]

U make my efforts to beat him look like a joke

[@herbertisballin]

Here's a few tips 1) Use fragile charms! If you die in a dream they don't break! 2) Switch out soul catcher for fragile heart. It a whole hitpoint!

[@shoda9939]

Or just use lifeblood heart because you’re using jonis blessing anyways

[@highchaplainerebus]

2 whole hitpoints for fragile heart!

[@shoda9939]

@@highchaplainerebus NKG deals 2 mask of damage

[@temporaltoast9692]

You know, I just realized that as bugs, the thing that hallownest’s denizens would be most afraid of and have nightmares about would be fire.

[@sillykitty6031]

And seeing how Grimm is indeed a bat, you would think that would also be a huge fear to the bugs of Hallownest. Cause, ya know... Bats eats bugs :3

[@gu3z185]

@@sillykitty6031 Grimm is probably a vampire moth, as all moths are basically godlike in this game anyway

[@Levixne]

@@sillykitty6031 hes a moth, everything in the games a bug

[@snakes7303]

@@Levixne he has no confirmed bug type

[@highchaplainerebus]

75 percent of damage out of nowhere: mY hItLEsS

[@Heeskane]

I didn't end up using the nail arts or those exact charms but your positioning / dodging helped a lot, really appreciate the video!

[@cmgainterboy]

You made this look so easy... in my Chanel I have a two hours video of the fight with him and even tho I raged quit...

[@ZeNewk]

Oh make no mistake, I had my share of 2-something hours of failures before I figured Grimm out.

[@LinkLoverSeese]

I used these tactics, but with the weavers and glowing womb charms. Plus the sprint master and grub song. FLY MY PRETTIES! FLY! Lol

[@kingbrad6482]

Cute fat boy ?

[@catbio9084]

@@kingbrad6482 w h a t ?

[@negativeiquser5295]

The best strat I've found so far is: weaversong+grubsong for consistent dmg and soul dreamshield for blocking fire bats and consistent dmg mark of pride/unbreakable strength/quick focus

[@yousseftamer4943]

This is literally the strategy I needed for NKG, I already pretty much knew how to avoid the flames-coming-from-floor attack _”Or wall of flames as I call it”_ and his dive attack, and dodge his pufferfish form attack with no problem _”Since it’s simply Troupe Master Grimm but faster”_ and all what I had trouble with was the uppercut and bats... especially the bats, those were tedious, but this video taught how to dodge them with no problem, now I’m certain that I’m going to destroy NKG, just with enough tries

[@waxocelot9395]

I want you to know something, this was the best NKG guide I've seen, I used it, and it finally worked (after some tweaks, I took UB heart instead of soul catcher). I dont like videos often but you fucking earned it!

[@kobarsos82]

Personally, I believe each person needs to experiment and try things and end up with the best strategy that's for them. The guides out there including this one do help, but in almost all cases, something is not for "each player". For example I can't stand spells and nail arts I just fail hard at them, beyond imagination. But above all everyone in this fight must learn to dodge the attacks. What helped me most is to experiment learning "only" to dodge with as max life as possible, I used all 3 charms that give life including but not limited to joni's blessing. This helped me survive more in beginning and thus learn the enemy attacks faster with slower deaths. I used to lose in 5-10 seconds tops (no comment). It took more than 20-30 tries but once I was able to reliably pass the 2nd puffer phase with my low damage (zero charms for damage after all), I figured it was time to switch to a normal setup with more dps. I utilized the hiveblood charm for my healing needs and it worked amazingly well because at that point you are good enough to not be hit constantly every few seconds so its a win win. Hiveblood + sharp shadow (amazing extra damage once you learn how to time it on the enemy dash uppercut attack especially), and unbreakable strength (obvious damage reasons). This is what did it for me. It did not take a lot of tries with hiveblood. It felt from beginning that it's doable. I would like to note that with this strategy I never even used spells apart of an odd heal during his stagger phase. Healing was not really needed hiveblood took care of it thankfully. This is actually a super hard boss to try to heal. I have no idea how people are so good to be able to time even their heals in such an intense fight where every split second can mean loss of 2 life, but for me this was 100% impossible. Yes I am very bad with spells and this includes attack spells, I have to say spells in this game are simply not for me. I wish I could use them better, but it seems like I am simply a nail guy. (lol) Granted, its not like I never tried to use them, I am just so bad at them that all that animation messes up my eye and hand coordination and I always end up doing crap losing life after casting almost anything (yes in most hard bosses that much is true). Unfortunately I don't use nail arts either, its simply too hard for my controls, again messes me up. I would also like to note that for me, the hardest enemy attack to dodge but also get a hit in, was by far the diagonal dash attack. Super fast, doesn't leave room for any error, the fire trail left behind is beyond annoying and in the end the only way I was able to avoid it was just jump or dash away fast enough and then jump and dash in the opposite direction. Under no circumstances was I able to throw a hit in during this phase except very rare cases where I ended up just by luck pogoing on standing grimm before he disappeared. This doesnt always work and can easily be self-hit instead. But who cares I just beat this, and I never thought I could do it! After doing this, hopefully Radiance and the 3rd pantheon at least become also beatable. :D My next goals. ^^

[@Chisilisk]

How many minutes took you to write that? ;-;

[@NekuZX]

"Let's Cheese NKG!" *does the fight normally*

[@Kenseigan]

I can't hold down the button for nail masters glory and dodge at the same time

[@ZeNewk]

Oh, that is unfortunate. Either your keybinds are configured in a certain way or your keyboard has a limit on maximum buttons pressed at once. If it's the latter here is my keyboard config (yeah, learning new config suck..) - Arrows - Movement; S - Nail; A - Dash; Spacebar - Jump; Right Control - Quick Cast; (D - Super Charge; W - Dream Nail; Right Shift - Focus). Also think you can forgo the whole 'keep nail art ready' thing and only charge it when you see pillars preparing

[@alrightytighty1572]

I used a mouse for this scenario. My controls are A left D right Space jump C focus Lclick attack(hold for nail art) Rclick dash Lshift crystal heart Q dream nail E inventory Tab map

[@disappointmentjuice8676]

@@ZeNewk no its just most of us are on a console (switch, PS4, Xbox, etc) and its really hard to press 2 buttons at once on a controller lol

[@yoshi6445]

@@disappointmentjuice8676 I didnt find it hard to keep holding y and use b to jump (I'm on switch)

[@disappointmentjuice8676]

@@yoshi6445 im on switch too. i guess just the way i prefer to hold the controllers kinda fucks with how my fingers have to press buttons? ive never been too good at pressing multiple buttons that are in the same general area at once so it might just be a me problem

[@theveganduolingobird7349]

ok now do radiant NKG no cheese speedrun

[@ojm0317]

I used the positioning technique shown in this video and it helped me avoid damage once I got the hang of it. I play on the Switch version so jumping and using the nail arts was next to impossible. Instead I used a pure nail, unbreakable strength, hive blood, and A LOT of practice. It took me like five or six hours over a period of two weeks to finally beat him.

[@ViTheProtogen]

I usually walk slowly towards grimm during the flame pillars and on the last one do an abyss shriek for a ton of damage

[@caydenbrown5654]

I like how this isn't really a cheese and more of a great strategy so you still get to enjoy fighting nkg

[@ianschultze4636]

I always get caught on his leg when Im falling down from my nail art slash, and then get hit by the fire geyser that spawned under me

[@Exenton]

you could also just hit him with a wraiths spell when you know the fire pillers arnt gonna reach you but if they will just run jump and use a fire ball at grimm

[@DriftingMari]

Would this strategy be viable against regular Grimm? Never mind I cheesed him with abyss shriek

[@jimtsap04]

Lmao same😆

[@gegnabean]

This is so incredibly helpful omg

[@DennGreenIII]

This isn't a cheese strat lol. Also, you will end this fight twice as fast if you abyss shriek him instead of turning around to get the second hit during his flame pillars. Also, if you jump during his fire bats move, hang in the air for a split second, and dash into him, you can hit him twice with good timing and take no damage.

[@Overqualification]

There’s a capped limit to how much damage abyss shriek does consecutively.

[@m4gnu_s]

Thank you, was strugeling with him for 6 hours

[@breadman6839]

I personally played a whole lot more aggressive for example when he does that drill thing I would dash jump pogo him then dash away to avoid his fire trail and during the fire bats I would dash towards him and get around three hits. Charms I used were sharp shadow, shaman stone, unbreakable strength and quick slash

[@rixux122]

thanks man, i beat it first try with this tactic

[@jacopotesta1539]

How can I avoid doing the normal attack before nail arts? It does it automatically for me :(

[@jose-kb6qi]

does anyone else hear the keyboard sound at 2:32 its been bugging me for so long

[@mingy7949]

its not cheesing its just playing extremely passive

[@inferno2143]

bro this isnt a cheese this is just fighting him safely

[@Karv_]

I applied some of the strats like always having a nail art ready and the charm build but I adapted to play differently. For example, I found it a little risky to do to slashes when the laser wall attack was going on, so I did one and sharp shadowed thru him on the last fire wall. For the bats, you can actually jump between in and get 1 great slash and another normal hit if your lucky. Also, as well as sharp shadowing thru grimm when he does the upper cut move, if you have ur nail art charged (which you should have charged through the whole fight), you can dash away from him instead of dashing thru him and great slash him. Finally, from my experience, I usually got hit if I had an art charged when he does the phase change pufferfish attack because there's a chance you could slash instead of jump. The main areas I got hit were the fireballs after the uppercut move, and when I tried to go for a second slash when the firewall move was present. Overall its a more aggressive way to fight nkg but it pays off and is pretty simple after some practice

[@ericduminil]

1000 Thanks! It wasn't easy (you still need to survive at least 3 minutes) but it helped a lot.

[@Abdullah-cr4bg]

Well I was at 75% damage then I died after I was like I'm gonna break my laptop

[@cameliamunoz1728]

Do you even know what cheese means or is ?

[@spamton1996]

The quality of that thumbnail tho

[@ingridwhu7342]

I am far from that boss but I got the shade dash

[@Murasaki_RS]

I know it’s a dream and all but it’s kinda dumb that NKG can bypass your invincibility frames

[@mattfinnish]

I’m not sure you know what “cheese” means. This looked like a legit, no-strat to fight him. Nicely done.

[@vii_artes]

Maybe the grimm is the radiance master LOL

[@lilo_we]

Thist strat was soooo helpful! BIG THANKS! It teached me that less can be so much more. :)

[@brunaseilah]

You are an amazing player!

[@godricktheminecrafted3113]

All bosses are lactose intolerant Because you can easily kill them with cheeses

[@comicallybadpun]

you win the comment section

[@joshveer1138]

This is a cheese? Bro this is strats! Whstchu mean??

[@exiveil4567]

Thank you it worked for me! So helpful! I greatslashed on the bats and I graetslashed then sharp ahadowed through nkg on the pillars. It’s a little safer and easier.

[@RaffleBox]

You made it look so easy..

[@TophMelonLord]

I would have been nice if i had seen this before i spent my whole satudray trying to beat nkg but i beat him.

[@grundall1818]

Lol this is basically using the attack where he does nothing for damage but good guide if you just want to kill him

[@justchillin7274]

Thank you!! Just beat him, ur strat helps keep track of his moves making it a bit easier to control the fight. Darn double damage xD

[@lobsylobs]

this isn't like the abyss shriek cheese from the original fight, i don't think i can do this

[@lobsylobs]

especially since i'm playing on switch

[@kingbrad6482]

You’re a noob don’t play games like this

[@lobsylobs]

@@kingbrad6482 thanks for the very kind message telling me to stop playing hard games because of my skill levels that i want to improve, *king's brand*

[@lobsylobs]

i mean yeah i totally agree with the noob statement but do you think i'm gonna step away from a game i enjoy because i'm bad at it

[@kingbrad6482]

em your welcome man enjoy your life instead of sitting in the room with sweaty pants. King ‘brand’ where did you get this idea from? You seem nice

[@diaserinade7688]

Where is your moon

[@fishfood3518]

Ok man this helped sooo much! Gained a new sub... though u had 31k not 31 :(

[@ZeNewk]

That's great! Oh, there's no need for you to subscribe, it's just one off guide video.

[@fishfood3518]

*coughds in modest*

[@stipeslol]

Dude that fire bat move he does is essentially a free hit if you jump over and abyss cloak through them

[@MrYtp12]

I just learned his moves lol

[@alrightytighty1572]

Found a great way to do this with nail arts. Fire bat attack If he spawns close, dash close to him and get a great slash and then dash back before the attack begins. Then jump over the first bat, dash over the second and get a dash slash in. If he spawns far, just do the second step. Uppercut attack If he is close to you, dash towards him and get a dash slash, then dash back and get a great slash in before he can jump up. If he spawns far, just focus on dodging or getting the 2nd hit in. When he comes down, double jump over him, and do a dash slash or great slash. The increased range will be enough to hit him most of the time. Fire pillar Only stop to hit him once the small flame particle has spawned and is not under you. This makes sure you won’t get hit in the time it takes to to the great slash. Then wall jump off a wall and go in for a dash slash. Big balloon boy attack Just Dodge. Cloak spikes Double jumping gives an extra half second or so of time to move around. It may not seem like much, but it is literally a world of difference. Stagger tips I was using Joni’s blessing so focusing wasn’t an option. Instead, I’d go for an abyssal shriek or a nail art. Charms I’m really bad at dodging, so I was using Joni’s Blessing, Lifeblood heart, Nailmaster’s glory, Grimmchild, and dream wielder. Summary If you want to use nail arts, get every hit that you can in. Overall, very fun boss. Once you get past the salt, it’s a nice experience.

[@penguinscanfly5796]

with bats couldnt you use cyclone slash?

[@Karv_]

you could just dash thru bats and do a great slash/dash slash

[@paper7blanket]

thanks this is the best guide i could find

[@Arisorio]

Wow you made this look easy and not like your heart is beating out of your ears!

[@acidfall3747]

Either im shit or they buffed nkg after this

[@herbertisballin]

Why Wayward Compass? I see a lot of people using it but I don't know why. Edit: Wait never mind it was Nailmasters Glory lol

[@supersonic5644]

AgentAnimations using wayward compass is a meme in the community lol

[@projecteer4498]

He should have put wayward compass and gathering swarm to replace soul catcher, NKG doesn’t have a chance if you have compass on

[@projecteer4498]

#instakill NKG with wayward compass

[@chronoshindou9848]

So basically: Dash Slash OP

[@justchillin7274]

Pretty cheesy,, when i fought grimm troupe he kept jumping all over like if he was soul master, you made it seem way easier to keep track of him

[@hamiltonics]

joni's blessing is more to focus in Spells, can i trade it to the Hive's Blood? Seems better to me

[@ZeNewk]

Regarding Hiveblood, it offers no extra hits and, unless I'm mistaken, the current regen process resets should you get hit again with the regen itself being slow. With that said I don't think you'd get a lot of mileage out of this charm in the NKG fight. Joni's charm's here because it used to provide the most health per notch than any other health charms combo, though it may no longer be true in current patch. Basically equip the best health-boosting charm you have (once you get the hang of it, you won't need the boosted health altogether).

[@veenasacrificedhercup9385]

Cheese length

[@lalokabosu]

jesus christ thank you

[@Nukedude689]

U can also dash slash him when he do the birds attack after jumping above the first one

[@temmiehoi5683]

i tried this and died in 20 seconds

[@ThijmenTheTurkey]

I don’t think you know what a cheese is

[@calebmoffett3872]

This is just how you fight grimm..?? I dont think you know what cheese is

[@NoOneLoL-n8k]

You just made it harder😊

[@MovieSnobNation]

Damn now I kinda regret using the ultra cheese and just extinguishing the flame.

[@DewarGenevieve-e1q]

Clementine Locks

[@leebumph9161]

I had joycon drift so i cant beat nkg whyyyyyyyyyyyy

[@wyvernknight]

no my hitless

[@ryozaki96]

You just fought the boss 100 times, not cheese

[@intentionaldissaster]

he makes it look easier than it is (which is a good thing because it means that he's really goddam good)

[@TheDsim920]

This dosent work for me

[@drawmaster77]

I don't think you know what "cheese" means lol

[@ClarkChuma-h9g]

Deshaun Ports

[@Fabler21]

this is soooooooo slower and harder than a normal strat are you serious lol

[@TheBurningManLives]

Instead of shaman stone use dashmaster as it increases the damage of sharp shadow by 0.5 percent

[@inika3]

fuck this boss. 9/10 times i die before he even turns into a bat for the first time. good guide tho

[@ChocoDachshund]

Same.. I know I'm late, but did u manage to defeat him?

[@inika3]

​@@ChocoDachshund Yeah, I did. It's been so long, so I don't have any specific tips, but I was able to defeat him after trying over and over. Eventually, you become familiar with his moves and you get a little closer to beating him with every attempt. Just don't give up!

[@ChocoDachshund]

@@inika3 thanks so much, been trying pantheon 1 and radiance instead but I think I'm better off beating nkg first

[@RndmGuy98]

Am I the only one who finds Normal Grimms bat attack more annoying than the one of NGK?

[@yusufmussaji4002]

of course right after i beat nkg

[@I_8_your_doorframe]

When I could somehow 1 attempt grimm on my very first time fighting him, I instantly said: *all hell awaits in my nightmares* (Because well, dream nailing him) I couldn't blame myself because i literally asked for NKG Tbh, I just tried spamming sharp shadow, I had shape of unn so i could heal during the fire bats attack, I never used spells besides healing, and I can somehow get to around 75%

[@numskullllll]

no way

[@Kurumikuu]

4:17 i bow to every boss in hollow knight when i finally defeat them lel

[@gigachad9227]

This is not a cheese

[@theshockinglyeloquentdog9945]

this isn't cheese you just gited gud

[@burghleyimeanberdly6513]

I have another strategy: Weaversong, grubsong, glowing womb, def. crest, Lifeblood core (and grimmchild obvs)

[@r1cosito]

I look at this and im like 90 % sure that fighting normally is faster instead of only attacking in like one move.

[@airmanjerm2]

Thx

[@VoltingAround]

Some various days ago I got to beat him after 4 tries, it was not him who made me 16 tries, it was failed champion

[@ucanhnguyenla4650]

Nmk beat da shjt outta me and u make him look easy . Wp

[@harleytheapothecary7849]

I have max health so I used lifeblood core instead of joni's blessing (Still 13 hp but can heal the first 9 and have an extra charm slot) and replaced soul catcher w/ unbreakable strength :)

[@samufrog9304]

Honestly I beat him 2nd try after not playing hollow knight for two years and just stomped him by putting on dash master, sharp shadow, quickslash, longnail, and if you have space, a lifeblood charm