Hollow Knight Boss Discussion - Nosk

[@umukzusgelos4834]

They really were drunk while making Nosks Arena... that aside, isnt it strange that Nosk seems to have an interest in vessels or particular vessel like beings? But why would he keep them as it clearly cannot be for the sake of nourishment as the only thing that remains of a vessel is its shell upon its death... Speaking of death, when Nosk dies even the way he does so is exactly the same to the way our character dies: The void matter turns to thin air and the only thing left is the white shell that cracks and lands on the floor... Nosks body is nearly entirely made of black substance and what seems to be a container of the infection at its center wich, the shell and the leaf cote aside seems to be the only thing that doesnt just disappear upon death but explodes instead... Despite being infected he maintains high intelligence, even playing mind games on others... Could he be trying to gather void to sustain himself? What makes me think that is the fact that his transformation does not seem to have any kind of illusion to it, the only things shifting are his black body and the infected part wich he seems to be able to compress somehow... and that weird trait of turning his face around... Maybe he is closer to the lone vessel then one would believe...

[@PerpetualNoob]

This whole idea is fantastic. Nosk is probably some sort of Void creature. And you raise a great question: what's the point of killing Vessels? Nosk clearly doesn't eat their shells. Is Nosk consuming their Shades? Are the bodies left hanging as trophies? You are right, Nosk clearly possesses some level of intelligence because they trap their pray by messing with their minds. I love your idea that Nosk is a sentient Void creature (possibly even a Vessel) that was infected and rather than becoming mindless, became even more dangerous and almost like a Void vampire, feeding off the Void of other beings. Whoa. Maybe Nosk was more like us than originally thought. :D

[@lorax1274]

They probably aren't Vessels Just empty husks of dead bugs Vessels are made of dead bugs husks of course, but I don't think that's it But I like your theory tho It's quite interesting

[@LaureateLauriat]

It even has the spokes like the ones on Radiance and the Pale King.

[@umukzusgelos4834]

Thanks for that, yeah they may be just ordinary bugs, what made me suspicious of them though were the leave coates some of them have... as that seems to be some kind of ..."uniform" for Vessels (Broken Vessel has one, we have one) and Hornet is a different Story it seems so... but yeah just speculation

[@lorax1274]

Umukzus Gelos Zote and Elderbug also has these coats and they aren't Vessels...

[@carnelobo8496]

"The fact we are that lonely in the world is fairly depressing" That awkward moment when you use Weaversong, Glowing Womb, and the Grimmchild Charm on a regular basis.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Fair enough. But do we really have companionship from those bugs? ;)

[@arcadegamer6216]

Grimmchild? You mean fleeb

[@carnelobo8496]

ArcadeGamer 62 Take that back. *_N O W_*

[@arcadegamer6216]

Carne Lobo *F L E E B*

[@carnelobo8496]

ArcadeGamer 62 Activating Super Autisaiyan 12 KAAAMEEEEE KAAAAAMEEEEEE KAAAAAAAAMEEE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@sprazz8668]

How to beat Nosk: Step 1 hide in a corner Step 2 win Ok we done here

[@PerpetualNoob]

Pretty much. Kind of underwhelming. :)

[@jpowel]

@@TJZ2024 lol terraria reference

[@crazyman7504]

Sprazzmatic it took me 5 min to beat that stupid spider

[@crazyman7504]

Sprazzmatic it took me 5 min to beat that stupid spider

[@thelordscrusaders387]

@@TJZ2024 honestly thanks for the tip

[@jimmyh2137]

0:40 you DO NOT need Monarch wings. You can reach the breakable wall with crystal dash.

[@727silentkiller727]

^^

[@пумпарам]

but boosfight without wings( too hard....

[@FireStar345]

you dont even need that, just the wall jump and the dash

[@jebril]

Didn't have monarch wings, I think I died like 4, 5 times it was a hard boss but never felt impossible to me. He's a bit unpredictable but he can only do so many things and as long as you know the safe locations it's easier. I recommend Dashmaster I think for this to run away from him faster or whatever.

[@shadowlight6084]

You don't actually need too wall jump. I've easily found out that you can easily jump over the nosk and do a downward slice on them in their charge attacks.

[@ocinnico2608]

I find nosk to be one of if not the creepiest boss in the game, and one of the few creatures to actually be pretty scary in real life, I mean stag beetles, praying mantises, and other things are pretty normal, but a tiny vessel looking thing or whatever it transforms to, slowly turning to a skeletal spider, screeching, jumping about a feet to the air, and shooting orange blobs would be wired and kinda scary

[@evagarcia865]

It’s actually based on a real bug. It basically kills a bug and then hides inside of its corpse. It looks just like a perfectly normal bug until you open it up and realize it’s a huge parasite.

[@Katt-ci6gw]

Eva Garcia thank you I have made the decision to spend the rest of my life hiding in the closet screaming XD

[@Katt-ci6gw]

Eva Garcia but that actually is pretty cool.. just... WHY DOES THIS THING EXIST

[@youcan_dew_it]

@@evagarcia865 wow I didn't know our world has actual corpse creepers. Scared me I am.

[@glitch6436]

@@evagarcia865 deathwatch Beetle

[@angel577391]

A quick note though, if you die Nosk gives no warning when he starts attacking so kill your shade as fast as possible or else you'll be run down as soon as you step in the room

[@PerpetualNoob]

That is a very good point. If we've gotta recover our Shade, Nosk doesn't give a crap about it. They do just come straight for us. xD

[@medrash8862]

And even with a soul attack, you’re locked in way before you see your soul!

[@Cuttubus76]

If you have the weaversong charm equipped, you can stay at the far left corner before Nosk knows you are there and the little spiders will draw your soul close to you giving you a fair chance before Nosk charges. I know this because I die a lot.

[@outlookgal3644]

Yup that's what happened to me

[@brownrice9147]

@@PerpetualNoob the man's gotta eat!

[@planterbox]

Recommended charms: *wayward compass*

[@drkspnova]

*steady body*

[@godricktheminecrafted3113]

Maybe longnail

[@quillmorningstar8713]

I would replace it with the charm that gives you spores when you are healing. (Forgot the name of it.)

[@cannedcomanders7750]

Sharp shadow is a good one

[@omegaultramax]

No charms broken nail crystal dash fight me

[@Megaboom-ml2fq]

I remember this I went through blind and actually thought that another vessel was alive I got happy but when dream nailing the bodies it got me worried then when I saw and heard the snapping of bones and nosk came I was petrified I lost right away from fear then coming back with coil nail and quick focus still lost I was too slow then I got the shade cloak and more hp I killed him barley it's a tricky boss quick and deadly this guide helped me a lot to learn the signs and THE SPOT

[@PerpetualNoob]

That's fair. Nosk's build up is so good. They really are terrifying. Good work defeating this monstrous boss. :D

[@boxerheadninja4281]

Tricky? I beat him. The first time literally standing still most of the time, even the false knight was harder than him

[@vikavolt11]

I saw Wambu's Top 10 Scariest Enemies video. Let's just say the build up was ruined

[@amedoro_the_owl]

@@boxerheadninja4281 I died 2/3 to him...

[@amedoro_the_owl]

Like i used jiji to get my shade back i only fighted him cuz i needed the pale ore

[@shaunpalmer2382]

I feel like this boss would be better if he had a larger arena, so you don't just get trucked constantly and don't have to use a cheese spot

[@PerpetualNoob]

Yeah. I think that would have been a little more balanced: give us a bit more space. :)

[@Mike-zx7lq]

Oh man, this fight would be even spookier if Nosk could actually (very!) quickly burrow into and out of a background wall to chase you around, but with the arena being larger and maybe even multi-levelled, each area just containing more horrors from its past slaughter. Actually, maybe that would just be a great boss for an expansion or some very ambitious mod, if that's possible. Something that skitters around, roaring and striking at you from the shadows constantly.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Oh god, yeah. That would be so cool...and terrifying. :D

[@DrPepperforever]

Another fix to just make it more challanging might be to just add spikes on the floor below the platform (like with the mantis lords fight) it would deffinetly add more danger and less cheese

[@medrash8862]

Please don’t give team cherry ideas... I habe died to this boss so many times, and just because of the single reason that I don’t know hoe to get out of Deepnest, and that Nosk locks you in way before you even enter the arena

[@kiwi9065]

Friend : what are You thinking? Me : Thanosk

[@nicholasali3566]

Memolous maximus this is terrifying, and I love it

[@jmiddleton7518]

The infinity ores

[@Gianella-r1t]

Epic coment 😎👍

[@TheClownGod.]

now whit godseeker HORNET NOSK! it flies,the spot is dead.

[@PerpetualNoob]

It's true Ok. Oddly enough, I think Winged Nosk is easier than Nosk without the Spot. Regular Nosk is so much trickier now that I can't hide from the Explosion Attack. xD

[@TheClownGod.]

Nosk:I CAN FLY :D Thy Knight: *it's nailing time.*

[@outlookgal3644]

But doesn't winged nosk have a same attack pattern as a vengeful fly King?

[@planterbox]

The spot isn’t needed for godseeker nosk. Somehow the wings make it easier.

[@outlookgal3644]

@@planterboxit has the same attack pattern as the vengeful fly King

[@BioMetalNeo]

It is likely since the Knight is so empty that Nosk could only use our face to even try to lure us in. Hornet may have been a good choice too but maybe that shows how little he cares about her?

[@PerpetualNoob]

Right? That's what I'm talking about: do we care about nothing? Or do we know nothing? Nosk using an image of us really messes with my head and makes me wonder what's going on inside that tiny, adorable mind of ours! :D

[@nasher99]

Your forgetting something the knight is a vessel even tho he wasnt perfect that may not be because he felt emotion, but for some other unknown reason, but thats just a theory, a game th- *dies*

[@saulmoment4008]

*W I N G E D N O S K*

[@williamchancellor1522]

@@PerpetualNoob i think it's because the knight is a vessel, which were made to be empty and emotionless. And then there's the fact that after he escaped the void once, he left hallownest for a time out in the wasteland beyond the howling cliffs, loosing the mind the pale king gives to the bugs. Just what I think at least, an already empty being that had any memories wiped away

[@TheKnight-xi3xs]

hornet was an enemy at first so it would be a good idea

[@kagat2359]

Yo Im doing a replaythrough with my friend who is playing a different profile on my hollow knight and when she got to Nosk she started screaming her intestines out and I laughed so hard, this video helped me my first time with Nosk and “the spot” was most helpful so I wish to say thank you

[@PerpetualNoob]

Thank you Miko. I'm so happy this guide helped you and I'm happy to hear that your friend enjoyed Nosk's atmosphere. :D

[@yellow4633]

Now introducing The Spot™! Order your The Spot™ today, to make every charm you would usually use USELESS! That's right, with your Very Own The Spot™ you can use whatever charms you like and still be perfectly fine! So what are you waiting for, you Fool™? Order your The Spot™ today! Sponsored by the Colosseum of Fools™. Go to the Colosseum of Fools™ today and prove your worth and become a Fool™.

[@PerpetualNoob]

I love this. :D

[@richardtinsel3365]

Dream nail, the other dream nail charm, defenders crest, spore shroom and long nail

[@RealmsCrossMyths]

I ordered The Spot™ for several vessels, and would like to file false advertising. The Spot™ did not make the charms they normally used useless, but rather, inconsequential. The charms were still very useful, just not needed. (Don't need to edit the original post, I'm just nitpicking for (probably poor) humour.)

[@richardtinsel3365]

I would like to change my comment to long nail, mark of pride, and quick slah

[@ПавелКорешков-ь4г]

Are you planning to expand your business? I'd be the happiest man in the world to have some of The Spot (tm) in Uuma and Watcher Knights arenas.

[@Warkind]

Dude just popped some poor knight's head off.

[@julianalexander4270]

You actually do not need the monarch wings to access the Nosk fight. If you have the crystal heart and mantis claw, you can get to the breakable wall. That is how I first encountered it.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Nifty! Thanks for mentioning this. :) And yes, I know that there have been at least three separate comments now noting this bit of misinformation but I do appreciate y'all adding this information to the video's discussion. Every bit of information helps all of us. :)

[@gajspalt]

The OST for Nosk is one of my favourites in the game, even have it as my ringtone. That visceral, impending danger.. run.. feel it has is superb!

[@alberttrita5858]

I think Nosk has some sort of 4th wall breaking ability and turned into the knight knowing our(the player's) curiosity would draw us in

[@PerpetualNoob]

That's very possible Albert. It certainly would explain why they take the shape of us to lure us in. :)

[@Solibrae]

It also explains why it teases us by appearing in places where the player can see it, but the Knight can't!

[@outlookgal3644]

Oh shit your right

[@Azaelris]

I think its more just a game design aspect. ingame wise if you saw someone irl who looked just like you, youd be interested. Id say the same for the knight.

[@TheAdvertisement]

Take an orange juice shot every time every time he says “the spot”.

[@PerpetualNoob]

It's just that useful. 😆

[@ghostcat8399]

2:51 Nosk: I must go. My alien nightmare bug people need me!

[@Matthew-cd8iv]

"Aight Imma head out"

[@The7thNugget84]

By the audio files Nosk is called "Mimic-spider" so nosk is a spider that can mimic things, cool

[@DracoSlayer]

Nice! I really like Nosk for many reasons, so was glad to see this. One neat little detail I'd also like to highlight is that, if you look to the right of his arena, you can see a vessel without a head, which implies that's how Nosk gets its disguises. Also makes it even more morbid to think he's defacing corpses to lure in others like that. Ugh... Well, whatever the case! Good video. :')

[@PerpetualNoob]

Thanks! And yeah, there is very little about Nosk that isn't either morbid, grotesque, terrifying, or haunting. xD

[@johanneshaukanes4531]

There is an insect in real world that disguise it selfe with dead bodies of insects.

[@justinroux1687]

Wait really

[@lurepp359]

Omg this is exactly what I was thinking

[@DasMessedUp]

the way I see it, the reason the Nosk was only able to pull from our mind the unchanged image of the knight themself, was because the knight truly has no other deep thoughts besides "I am the hollow knight" . which is why we are the perfect vessel to replace the previous holder of that title, and free Hallownest from the infection. With no desires or dreams of greatness, the radiance has no influence on the knight.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Yeah. Makes sense. :)

[@siduxjxhdgzhdjxhxuuxxyhgg1079]

Poor knight. He cant even suicide by giving himself in to the infection

[@myla3632]

Winged nosk: I see hornet, you care about her, AHAHAHAHAH

[@HowToPlat]

I don't think there is a perfect vessel, as with the Flying Nosk, it takes Hornet image. The Knight has some sort of connection with Hornet, which shouldn't be possible if it was the Hollow Knight. The Hollow Knight (Sealed vessel not the knight) gained a connection with the Pale King, which means his role as the seal to the infection failed. If the Knight gained a connection with Hornet, then an ending like Sealed Siblings would not end well for Hallownest, as Hornet would most likely die, and the Knight would have to witness her death. It would end the same, but luckily as Hornet's face is on the seal, she could seen as a dreamer, and if she dies in the eggs, the seal would open and someone could challenge the Knight, but sadly it wouldn't end well without a vessel being the challenger. The only endings that would make Hallownest safe for good is by killing the Radiance from the dream realm, or killing Absolute Radiance in Godhome. The world would be safe from infection and Hallownest could continue to strive. If I made some errors, I apologize as I don't know the full lore yet and just going off current info

[@PerpetualNoob]

No worries. Pretty good theories so far though. 🙂

[@abtl1154]

Holy hell... I have a mouthful to say about this... "thing". Nosk might just be a vessel that went *SO* wrong that the pale king was like: "oh no... just ditch it in the nest. The abyss is too good for this thing". And said vessel ended up being completely consumed my infection and went completely insane and began to... deform. Or this thing might be something created by the radiance itself and made to kill the residents of Hallownest. Maybe it just has that vessel shell as a disguise. If you pay attention, one of the bodies in nosk's lair is missing a head... Witch might be the disguise nosk is wearing... I wonder what herrah would do about such a beast. That thing's stong enough to kill vessels and stalking devouts... And not to mention that it looks like something plucked out of someone's nightmares. And i approve the use of Dreamshield. Why? because that charm is OP. Warm hugs from Brazil.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Ooh! I like this theory. The idea that Nosk is a very failed Vessel experiment or made by the Radiance is pretty cool! :D I like the idea that maybe Nosk was a Vessel that wandered into Deepnest and lost their mind from the sheer terror that is Deepnest so they became like the environment and became a terror themselves. :) Either way, it's true that there is a body missing its head in Nosk's lair. I wonder if that's how Nosk works: they find a victim and then choose from among their previous victims what to wear/look like? I also love that we can kick Nosk's head around after we beat them. That's just some twisted fun. xD I also wonder if Herrah knew of Nosk's existence. If she did, why did she leave Nosk alone? Or worse yet, did she try to kill Nosk and failed? Due to how strong Herrah apparently would be, I'm guessing she either didn't know Nosk existed or was totally cool having a crazy nightmare bug plucking victims out of Deepnest. And yeah, Dreamshield is a really strong charm. I think it'd be so good against Nosk. :D

[@abtl1154]

Or maybe nosk appeared after all of it... After hallownest began to crumble and Herrah becoming a seal/dreamer... Maybe that's why herrah didn't take care of him... Because she wasn't there to do so. Speaking of herrah, what about hornet? Maybe she deliberatly doesn't want to confront him or she doesn't know that nosk is actually there. That is truly an odd creature... If herrah was there this creature's shell/disguise would be lying on the ground once you enter the room... And, most importantly... Why is it protecting a piece of icy-chilly metal? Hmm. Maybe it's somehow attracted to said mineral... Odd. Odd indeed. The beasts of that nest are one thing... However this... Mistake? Weapon? Parasite? Vessel? Who knows what this thing is supposed to be and why to protect the ore... Anyway, these videos that you make are really good. Warm hugs from Brasil.

[@andrewhisey1363]

I like to think nosk is a failed vessel, but instead of going wrong, it escaped to deepnest and died, becoming infested by a corpse creeper, that learned how to lure bugs and mimic them.

[@Thesaurus_Rex]

Something worth noting (that wasn't mentioned) is that Nosk's eruption and rain droplets, unlike pretty much all other droplets, _will_ damage the player while they sit on the ground. This makes avoiding Nosk's charge attack much more risky shortly after either of those attacks, as it becomes a bit of a "the floor is lava" scenario (if you aren't using *THE SPOT* for the fight). Something else worth noting is that I had to take a bit of a break after I found Nosk the first time.

[@PerpetualNoob]

That is a great point. The blobs from Nosk's Rain and Eruption attacks do persist on the ground for a short time and do damage us. Thank you for adding this to the discussion. It's an important point. :D Fair enough. :)

[@ViewtifulGene]

My theory is that Nosk was mimicking the younger Hollow Knight. When you get the Abyss Heart, you get a flashback of yourself climbing from the Abyss just a step behind another Vessel just like you. That other Vess went on to become who we know as the Hollow Knight. The player character has been chasing after the Hollow Knight this time, with only its memory to go by.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Huh. That's a great theory ViewtifulGene. :)

[@Raina111111]

The other Hollow Knight has slightly different horns doesn't it?

[@saulmoment4008]

@@Raina111111 yeah

[@lyosyph]

Thats the young hollow knight you fight in the black egg temple

[@chaloux9419]

Lol when I first fount him we killed each other at the same time (guess us being twins meant we died together)

[@PerpetualNoob]

Ha! Totally in sync. :)

[@CherryTDQ]

We ride together we die together

[@95keat]

You thought it was hollow knight, BUT IT WAS ME, DIO!

[@mattys.3099]

MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA

[@bruhbruh753]

Ah a man of culture

[@walletAbsorber]

@@mattys.3099 stop

[@mattys.3099]

@@walletAbsorber no

[@professionalaccount8012]

New canon: Nosk is forbidden Gusher.

[@scp682.8]

Yo my dude

[@lemonghostly]

I almost died twice from Nosk. But I beat 'em first try like Broken Vessel. -i used the spot-

[@PerpetualNoob]

Good work! :D

[@lemonghostly]

the spot should never be fixed it should remain there... always... \owo/

[@pelieskola5708]

Okay... whats that spot? I have problems with this thing in godhome.

[@saulmoment4008]

@@pelieskola5708 *A S C E N D E D*

[@Mike-zx7lq]

You said that the first time you fought him, you didn't encounter the eruption or rain attacks. Could this perhaps be because those attacks were added in an update? Nosk used to be much easier, consisting pretty much of just the charge and jump attacks. The goo attacks were added later.

[@PerpetualNoob]

It could be. ;) Another Noob pointed out that Nosk got those other attacks after the Hidden Dreams update. I didn't know that at the time of writing the script. xD

[@ManoredRed]

Cheesing the spot does seem like the best strategy, but at the time I didn't notice the spot so I ended up just equipping Joni's blessing and nuking Nosk with spells. The hardest aspect of Nosk is that you have to get close to nail him, but he's so fast that getting close is always dangerous. A spell build minimizes proximity and so makes your life a lot easier.

[@PerpetualNoob]

That's a great strategy. You are right, Nosk is quite dangerous at close range. Well done implementing a spell build. :D

[@keithredacted8154]

Amazing video as always, this probably one of my favorite Hollow Knight series so far :D Also, I discovered Nosk through the Grub Map too which I gotta say was a really smart way of leading you to the hidden boss. Love him! Also his intro gets me every time, speeding up his movement when he starts growing is also a treat to the eyes because of how fluid the animation will be. PS Also thank you for pointing out the fact that the knight had no loved ones. I'm kind of disappointed in myself that I didn't pay attention to that XD Since he will become/ already is the hollow knight, he can't have any connection to anyone. Which is why the first knight failed, he started to look at the King like a father and started loving him, and the King loved him back. I can't help but imagine what if Nosk disguised himself as the king sometimes.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Thank you! I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying the series. :D Yeah, this game has some amazing ways of luring us to all of the hidden nooks and crannies of Hallownest and The Collector's Map is a big method for that. Gotta catch all 'em Grubs! xD Holy hell if Nosk disguised themselves as the King, I would have raced into their lair without any question. The King's got a lot of explaining to do! ;)

[@joshuapatrick682]

Oh don’t worry the “rain attack” has a “spot” too…it’s the leftmost spot of the Arena.

[@notthere83]

Even once you've found it, I've realized that just staying in the spot isn't the right way to go in all of life's situations. ;)

[@PerpetualNoob]

Very true notthere. This fight is very existential that way. ;)

[@imbadatgames435]

yo just so you know, if you dash to the very far right or left and hug the wall on either side, nosk can't hit you with the rain attak

[@PerpetualNoob]

Oh cool! Thanks for letting us know Jeff. :D

[@daleksec5553]

as the knight is "hollow" i dont realy think we have memories... or at least not like others scince vessels are "just" constructs of void... energy? matter?... also the whole thing about vessels in general is that the should have no feelings, memories or dreams as they are designt to be hollow. maby nosk mimik the knight because there are no memories or feeling or former loved ones in our head so it mimiks the only thing it can see

[@PerpetualNoob]

That's a good point. We are supposed to be void of pretty much everything so that is probably why Nosk just looked like us because that is all it found. :)

[@spiritdorkrai5741]

i believe you arent completely hollow until you get the void heart, so that might be half true.

[@saulmoment4008]

He is not completely hollow, that's why he is not chosen to seal the radiance

[@sanstheskeleton679]

@@spiritdorkrai5741 Not true, even with the void heart, you are still not completely hollow Although you did unite the void in order to finally consume the radiance and end the infection once and for all.

[@bedge7782]

@@sanstheskeleton679 better question, why is the knight attracted towards another vessel if hes supposed to be devoid of feelings?

[@shadows124]

"You activated my trap card!" lol

[@Random-rv1rd]

Dude, how does your channel have so low subs, your content is so well done.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying the content! :D

[@alicereid3308]

In Godhome, Nosk assumes the form of Hornet in the final Pantheon. I choose to see it as really sweet, that you finally have someone you’re close to. The description of Winged Nosk even days that Nosk assumed the form of a protector

[@PerpetualNoob]

Fair enough. And that is a very sweet interpretation for Winged Nosk. :)

[@jkapa2]

For all the noobs out there! I beat Nosk with some of the charms people consider the worst, and I'm smiling!! Weaversong + Grubsong lets the little spiders attack Nosk while you gain soul every time they strike. I used Deepfocus so I can heal fast on the blind spot shown in this video. I ran around trying to survive and dodge his attacks, perform a couple of descending darks, next thing I know, Nosk is dead! I even used spore shroom, so every time I healed I'd put in a tiny more damage. hahahah. That's how bad I am at this and I'm loving every second! Great video! Thank you :)

[@SkepticalKookaboora]

Thanks I was too scared to fight nosk

[@PerpetualNoob]

Sounds like a fun build. Well done beating Nosk. 🙂

[@AlbinoAxolotl1993]

So Nosk is basically an Assassin bug (Aka wheel bug).

[@PerpetualNoob]

I had to look up wheel bugs first. But holy cow I think you're exactly right! That's so cool! Thanks for that insight Axol! :D

[@Katherine-uu4lv]

My brother showed me this video because I have trouble with the bosses in Hollow Knight. I don't have thorns of agony yet, so I used weave song, which really helps.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Nice. I'm glad you found something that helped. :)

[@JustAWildSkullKid]

By the way, the left corner of the arena provides shelter against the rain. That's how I ended up cheesing Nosk without using *the spot*.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Oh. Interesting. That's some great information. Thanks for sharing it. 😃

[@JustAWildSkullKid]

@@PerpetualNoob you're welcome!!

[@gabrielmartinon2892]

Him: Desolate Dive and Howling Wraiths are pretty good! Me: You mean descending dark and abyss shriek right?

[@PerpetualNoob]

Even better 🙂

[@knight123x4]

**Studying Nosk's attacks for the boss fight**

[@outlookgal3644]

Same

[@Gianella-r1t]

Same

[@Soooooooooooonicable]

This boss’s build up was awesome and so unexpected. I also really love his theme.

[@PerpetualNoob]

I agree. I freaked the first time I saw Nosk transform. :)

[@baroncosmos]

Nosk was one of the first bosses I ever fought. Base nail, no good charms, dash and crystal heart Only. It took me three hours to beat him because I wasn't good at the game yet.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Whoa. What an intense fight it must have been. Great job persisting and defeating them! :D

[@dalepirofsky3851]

H-How? You can’t get the dash unless you beat hornet... Or get the crystal heart without the dessalant dive, WHICH you get after the soul master, which you can only get after going to the city of tears, WHICH YOU CAN ONLT ENTER after beating false knight.. let alone you can’t even get to greenpath before getting the vengeful Spirit... not to Mention the need to fight mantis lords to get into Deepnest normally... so with this considered, there is only really one way this could be one of your first battles... You aren’t playing on your own file... Edit: NOT TO MENTION you say you had no good charms, and base nail... If so that means you had to completely skip the left side of TCoT because that’s where the nail smith is... the first upgrade doesn’t need a pale ore... and saying you had no decent charms is not believable either... after the false knight you get the Soul catcher. That should help immensely... and you could buy stalwart shell, dash master, longnail, quick focus, steady body, lifeblood heart, and the three fragile charms... and you were able to get thorns of agony, glowing womb, spell twister, Baldur shell, sporeshroom, and possibly grubsong... Edit again: I just don’t see how it can be one of your first considering how many bosses you need to fight... False knight Hornet 1 Mantis lords Soul master And possibly the Gruz mother... That’s five bosses Edit again: just checked, the only way to fall into Deepnest is if you had the mantis claw... so you had to skip that in order to only have gotten into Deepnest without it...

[@PerpetualNoob]

I know I'm answering for Ra here but there are a couple ways to make Nosk one of the first bosses to fight. 1) Don't fight Mantis Lords. We can get into Deepnest another way and if we never think to go down in the Mantis Village, we won't find the Lords anyway. We can get the Mantis Claw and then just go straight to the City of Tears. 2) We don't need Desolate Dive for Crystal Peak. If we don't have Desolate Dive, we do need the Lumafly Lantern instead. Which means defeating Gruz Mother or taking the back route in from Deepnest to the Ancient Basin to the City of Tears to the Resting Ground to the Blue Lake to Salubra to Sly. It can be done. Albeit that doesn't tend to be the typical path many Noobs will take. But it's possible. 3) And such a route, especially if done by someone new to the game, would not provide a ton of Geo for Charms. I mean, most of the Geo would go towards the Lumafly Lantern. So, in effect, Nosk could be our...third boss. If we take some very interesting routes through Hallownest. Holy crap Nosk could be our third boss. Actually, wait, with that route, we don't go into the City of Tears using the City Crest so we could "skip" the False Knight fight meaning Nosk could be our second full boss fight. Okay that's terrifying. And I just blew my own mind. If that's how Ra did it, what an incredibly interesting run. :D

[@anhtule8001]

@@PerpetualNoob you are about the only person who would give him the benefit of the doubt. Im calling him bluff.

[@leonardkajtazi3753]

Drinking game: take a shot every time he says "the spot"

[@idkwhatimdoing5268]

There is a pretty easy way to avoid his rain attack: Stay in the left corner and it won't land on you, just pay attention to Nosk's battle cry and dash away when you hear it

[@PerpetualNoob]

Huh. Cool! Thanks for sharing that. 😃

[@BlankManj5]

That worked for me in the right corner as well.

[@oof0017]

You really deserve more subscribers, because your videos have more quality than the videos of other channels, with millions of views and subscribers.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Thank you so much! I'm happy you're enjoying the content. :D

[@lukasnovella9001]

What if, hear me out, for the first “phase of the fight, Nosk was invincible, but he chased you for like 30 seconds into the arena before you can kill him

[@PerpetualNoob]

That is also another way to make Nosk very frightening. :)

[@paguetty]

Great video man.. thanks for the charm update hope every video was like this one

[@PerpetualNoob]

Thank you Julio. I appreciate your kind words and I'm happy to hear you enjoyed this guide. :)

[@SteeIdancer]

Fun thing I learned recently: With the lifeblood update, Nosk runs up in the ceiling. You can abyss shriek him in the ceiling, absolutely WRECKING him. It's fun.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Yeah, that's what I've been hearing. I really should try that tactic some time. :)

[@Snoopi25]

I attempted this one before watching ur video. It took like 3 or 4 tries until I got the right charm combo that worked for me. I tried to face tank him and it didn't quite work. I tried to work on a spell build, my all time favorite, descending dark, but timing it was kind of a pain. Shade soul worked nicely, but not quite there yet. Then I found my next friend which I haven't really used up until that point, the abyssal shriek. Boy did it hurt Nosk, I downed him SO fast, I was surprised. Wasn't even aware of that spot that you mentioned, but sometimes I ended up there and abyssal shrieked him to death (quite literally). Grubsong, thorns of agony, and spell twister are actually a great counter build. You get hit? thorns of agony hurt them a lot, grubsong gives u some soul, and spell twister helps u cast powerful stuff like descending dark and all that fun stuff.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Very good build and strategy. :)

[@drnumbnuts656]

I like the nosk. It scared the ever loving crap of me when I first bumped into it.

[@chloeelimam3899]

What about Quirrel? He is definitely our friend and we would have probably followed him. I think the shock of seeing our own face in a place that we haven't seen any other vessels is the reason we followed Nosk. Not because we're lonely.

[@PerpetualNoob]

That is very possible that we follow Nosk because we only see ourselves and that is so shocking that we must investigate what this twin is all about. From a gameplay perspective it definitely works. I was so confused to see another one of us that I had to follow them. :) I say the Knight is "lonely" because their own face was the only image Nosk could pull from their memories. That despite us (the players) believing that we are friends with Quirrel (because Quirrel is wonderful), the Knight (from the game's perspective) is in fact, empty of everything but their own image suggesting the Knight doesn't retain memories of anyone else. Which I thought was a lonely existence. Or I am completely misremembering my video and that second paragraph can be ignored. xD

[@eliasdrakopoulos1200]

Maybe the Knight wasn’t lured by nosk but the pale ore that you get after killing him, due to the ore’s being able to improve their nail instinctively?

[@arcadegamer6216]

Just saying, the eruption and rain was added with content pack one

[@shockwave3648]

Anyone wondering about godmaster Radiant/Ascended Nosk? Spamming beams with Grubberfly’s elegy and standing somewhat close to avoid the acid spit attack, remember to rush the fight as much as possible, because eventually you’re gonna get hit by the acid spit attack. The arena is massive so the rain attack isn’t that bad, when he shouts, do a short hop and dash to the opposite direction if you are close to the walls. Good luck with it

[@jack1496]

There is a spot on the other side so when he charges from right to left you can hit him with an up basic then a ranged spell then can dash twice to the other side and be basically unlimitedly invulnerable to all his attacks except the rare times the blob spewing attack hits you and the rain attack, but that can be dodged by staying right in front of the blobs, moving slightly fast so they are spaced out, and waiting until the last one to jump into a space on the ground free of blobs. Also, if you have low enough damage on your nail like I did, the boss fight gets to a point where he constantly throws rain attacks back to back endlessly and only comes down for a second then hops back up, but if you just stay in front of the blobs, when he pops down you can damage him then he will immediately go back up and all you have to do is dash in front of his ceiling dust and stay in front of the blobs and rinse and repeat until he dies. Good luck

[@godricktheminecrafted3113]

0:36 this is not true Mantis claw works perfectly well

[@bradenroberts9411]

Wow, got to you early! You look like you have a lot of potential. Can't wait to see it all!

[@jackdamascus4506]

As someone with arachnophobia I felt like a god when I beat nosk

[@jinx5850]

S a m e

[@Nexils]

I loved the horror-ish build up to this boss and also the The Thing transformation. It was epic, but pretty easy... In the end I just kept standing around in the corner on the left, didn't care if I got hit or not, just healed myself and kept on attacking again.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Yeah. There was so much build up for such a scary fight (which was awesome) and then the fight itself is relatively easy. It's a bit of a let down.

[@Nexils]

It is. And I'm not sure, because you didn't mention it in the video (I think?), but I had the idea that the boss could hurt itself with it's acid related attacks. So I don't even think I actually killed it myself.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Huh. I'll admit I never noticed something like that. It might be possible though. :)

[@Nexils]

I'm not sure, really. It isn't pointed out anywhere (not the wiki at least), so perhaps I was imagining things.

[@rochaj24000]

This boss tripped me up with it's speed. Thanks for the knowledge of the spot!

[@PerpetualNoob]

You're welcome! 😃

[@henrytheanglerfish6290]

It's odd how an indie 2d platformer has one area (and boss) that does a better job at horror than some horror games

[@genralguy5127]

At least nosk uses his mandibles right unlike literally every humanoid bug in the game

[@myla3632]

Haha

[@droggellord]

Thanks so much! You're the best KZbinr ever I met!

[@PerpetualNoob]

Thank you Florax! I am so happy you are enjoying the guides. :D

[@immanuelaj]

Urgh, I was wondering why this boss was so hard. I only had one nail upgrade 6 health, no monarch wings or that shadow dash. It took forever to beat him! The right side of the platform can be used for hiding as well, his charges will go over it, but I think the jumps will still get you.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Oh cool. Thanks for mentioning that. And well done beating them with those low stats. :)

[@joseph1981]

Nosk's hitbox still registers while he does the ceiling attack, so if you double jump near the ceiling and do abyss shriek/howling wraiths, he will take the hits as if he were just a few pixels above your monitor's view range. I dunno if this was an intentional feature, or just Team Cherry not bothering to remove his hitbox code for this phase. Still cool nonetheless! (And very exploitable! :D) (Oh, and sorry for the late comment; just decided to scroll through the videos today and the thought of mentioning it came to me)

[@PerpetualNoob]

Oh that's some nifty information! Thanks Joey! :D

[@hola979]

In the abyss if you strike the black egg with your dream nail you see your own memory of the hollow knight being chosen by the pale king. If nosk does show memories then it could just be the hollow knight we saw

[@PerpetualNoob]

Ah. So you think we're not seeing an image of ourselves but instead an image of the Hollow Knight. Interesting. :)

[@hola979]

Perpetual Noob Yea i think its more interesting to think about it like that not sure if there are any holes in this theory tho

[@PerpetualNoob]

No more holes than the theory that Nosk is seeing us. :) There's a lot that's up to interpretation with this game. :)

[@hola979]

Perpetual Noob Thats one of the reasons we love it!

[@Tuffbugg]

For dodging the rain attacks, spam the walk button in the direction thats farthest away from a dead end, so that you wont have to turn, and have to dodge it. Spamming walk makes you go slower, but still able to outrun the rain.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Cool. Thanks for adding that Tuffbug. :)

[@bananaonsplit858]

Maybe nosk searched us the player instead of our character and saw that seeing someone that looked like our character would interest us and would lure us into its lair. Yeah maybe not.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Could be that instead. It could be a 4th-wall break. Which would be pretty cool. :)

[@kiwi9065]

At near end He spams Rain Attack , triggering Out mental health Also great Slash is good when used in the Spot against the Charge attack

[@xylophone897]

You don't actually need the monarch wings to find Nosk. You can get to the first wall by standing on top of the platform on the top right of the screen at 0:37 and using the super dash.

[@anibalesquiembre6699]

Great editing, mate. Keep going!!

[@a1ex781]

jeez I loved this boss so much, I found this by accident and was so caught off guard, Plus his boss music is amazing

[@DrPepperforever]

I just want you to know that I started your video right as the fight started and finished with about 5mins to spare lmao.

[@PerpetualNoob]

That's awesome Melyssa! :D

[@vikavolt11]

Nosk CAN be hit during the rain attack, I know this since when I refought him in Godhome, a volitile hatchling went up there and landed the finishing blow. Also Nosk should have a dream battle with the only difference being that it's on flat ground

[@PerpetualNoob]

Only flat ground you say? Hmm... And yeah, definitely didn't know that strategy at the time of this guide so I appreciate you adding it to this guide's comments. 🙂 I do mention that tactic in Sly's guide though.

[@2lazyt378]

This boss just adds more nightmare fuel to the horror filled nopefest called deepnest. If you saw a copy of yourself contort horribly into a horrible monster I would be freaked out to.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Yeah. Deepnest is such a scary place without Nosk so why not add such a creature? xD

[@luckylit4488]

NIGHTMARE, NIGHTMARE, NIGHTMARE!

[@PerpetualNoob]

Right? Nosk is easily the scariest boss.

[@HuneeBruh]

See that giant spider thing I forgot the name of in the background? Imagine he used that for his face thing instead. Also I think it’s super clever that he uses a vessel like you, and then the head goes upside down, making the horns look like pincers, or fangs. But still... *spider + nosk = sposk*

[@PerpetualNoob]

Sposk would have been pretty darn scary for sure. :)

[@GeneralJaydonius]

I beat Nosk in 1 try. Might be a little unfair since I have seen videos of Nosk beforehand. But what I WASN'T aware, is the LifeBlood Update adding more moves to Nosk. Nosk is actually one of my favorite bosses. The theme is creepy, the set up was spooky as hell. Sadly he was easy, the time of striking for me was when he used those charge attacks all over. (if he came from the left, hide on the right, and vice versa, strike one early slash as he climbs over you, and a late slash before he is out of your reach past you.) The Jump Attack seemed undodgeable to me, no way of telling if it was targeting me or going at a random rate. But inspite of what the community says, I like Nosk. Maybe the whole idea of shape shifting and psychological weakness is what I find the boss best at.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Well done Jaydonius. Good work beating Nosk in one attempt. Thank you for discussing what worked for you in your victory. :) I also like Nosk's whole look and theme. So creepy. :)

[@Roninpmerz]

I think we gave nosk too much sugar again.

[@gonzoclan9603]

Nosk is a super predator that mimics it's prey before killing it and hanging the meal for later consumption

[@PerpetualNoob]

Ooh! Cool! :D

[@Beppit]

It's really useful to have the Sharp Shadow charm on because when you're in the middle and Nosk uses his dash attack, you can dash through him (if you have Shade Cloak) and still do damage.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Very true. :)

[@andrewhisey1363]

Something I learned is (at least in god home) if you mantis claw up the wall and upstrike, you can actually kill him up there.

[@PerpetualNoob]

It's true. We can damage Nosk when they are in the ceiling. :)

[@thepyukumber9490]

You don’t need the monarch wings because you can superdash from another platform

[@NeoRipshaft]

Nosk is easy to do perfect (not getting hit) and I'm fairly certain it is the intended/expected strategy, given the openings and general difficulty. You use the ledges such that Nosk will charge over you, once he's charged over you get a hit in and move to the other side - when Nosk jumps it's fairly easy to dodge under him and slash him when he lands - when Nosk takes to the ceiling, move out of the way a bit, and once the balls start dropping, dash beneath Nosk through his drops (this is *much* less risky than it seems) Nosk will land on one side or the other most likely, and the floor will still have lava on it, but it's not hard to jump between them and by the time you land the lava towards the safe side of the arena should be dissipated. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

[@JaxzanProditor]

You certainly took this more easily than I did...I died several times before accidentally finding the spot

[@PerpetualNoob]

Fair enough. I can understand. Nosk is one of the few bosses with such a safe place in their arena. I kind of got lucky finding the Spot so quickly. :)

[@baotranhoai4262]

Like and subscribe for you. I beat Nosk but not by following your guide but by practicing a lot due to fearing of losing 3k geo. The doors shut behind and the shadow conveniently prefers to stay inside the arena. It is easier to perform downward slash and casting spells in the air now, after all the crazy maneuverings I practiced with the boss. Now I'm blasted watching this guide.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Well done defeating them and thank you for watching 🙂

[@mat-bu7ms]

ngl I really like the music for nosk, it's super fitting and I just like it a lot

[@PerpetualNoob]

Fair enough 🙂

[@unrelatedisfunny]

The right charge attack can be avoided in the s p o t, all you need is to time a jump and pogo off of Nosk.

[@cataria3903]

sth. that is worth mentioning is, that u can go down to nosk pretty early into the game to get that pale ore. and u can get another pale ore even earlier at the ancient basin and without fighting a boss, u just have a really hard climb back up to do then, but u can get back up without defeating broken vessel and without the tram ticket. (edited correction)

[@PerpetualNoob]

Huh. Interesting. Thanks for mentioning this. That's pretty cool. I've found that Hollow Knight's design is so good that if there is a place we can reach, we can get back out of it...somehow. It's awesome. :D

[@cataria3903]

i actually thought wrong, it was the pale ore in the ancient basin close to the middle tram station, that i got and then it was really really hard getting back up, but it was possible without fighting broken vessel (double jump) or having the tram ticket. yet nosk is still face roll and can be fought super early. maybe u could do a guide on how to get the best easy upgrades on the map, u mention the nail smith, but people don't know how to obtain all that shiny pale ore :D getting nail upgrade nr.3 made things so much easier for me....

[@PerpetualNoob]

That's a good point. I found that upgrading my Nail had the biggest impact on boss fights for me. I'll think about making a video guide for Pale Ore. Thanks for suggesting it. :)

[@rodar4826]

I think that the reason that nose disguises as the knight because the vessels were created to be completely hollow to take in the Radiance and stop the infection, because of this, the only memory the knight has is of itself, as if it were to have other memories, it wouldn't have been completely hollow and discarded into the abyss forever

[@PerpetualNoob]

Sounds plausible. 🙂

[@thatkingdomheartsguy9615]

One my favorite Hollow Knight bosses just because of the amazing build up

[@definitelyaturtle3650]

I saw the other vessel while in deep nest and thought it was a glitch or a secret so I looked it up now here I am

[@corvax8644]

You actually don’t need the monarch wings you can super dash from the ledge on the other side

[@patrickdalton361]

I came towards this boss room on the high of beating the Mantis Lords. I was super lost in the Deepnest because I couldn't find the map maker. I saw the duplicate of me and noped out immediately. I'll have to fight him tomorrow when I have the chance

[@PerpetualNoob]

Good luck Vel. :D

[@sAUFvevo]

lemme correct you on someting, you don't need the monarch wings, you can also super dash from a platform to the right of the wall.

[@PerpetualNoob]

Ohhhh. Thank you for pointing that out. :)