Learn how to obtain the Shade Cloak ability in Hollow Knight!
Team Cherry’s Metroidvania action-adventure game, Hollow Knight, follows the journey of a nameless warrior called the Knight as he travels through Hallownest, which is now a kingdom in ruins because of a supernatural disease. As the Knight journeys through Hallownest, he can unlock new abilities, spells, and charms that will help him traverse through different areas of Hallownest and defeat enemies. One of the most useful abilities that the Knight can perform is the Shade Cloak ability.
The Shade Cloak ability is an upgrade to the Mothwing Cloak ability. It allows the Knight to dash through enemies and their attacks so the Knight will not take damage. Aside from that, the Shade Cloak ability will enable the Knight to dash through Shade Gates.
Location
The Shade Cloak ability can be found beyond the Void Sea in the southeasternmost part of The Abyss. It can be obtained by letting the Knight stand on top of the Void fountain on the east end of the room.
Getting to it requires the Knight to have the King’s Brand (as the Knight would not be able to access The Abyss without it), the Monarch Wings ability (to double jump), and the Crystal Heart ability (to fly forward horizontally until the Knight hits a surface).
Be ready to get frustrated because of obstacles to getting the Shade Cloak ability. Even though the Knight does not have to face and fight any boss to obtain this ability, the challenge is the path leading to it. You will be facing a bunch of Void Tendrils and a lot of Siblings in the area. The Siblings are easy to defeat; however, do not underestimate them, as the Knight will not gain Souls from attacking them, so the Knight will not be able to heal if the Knight runs out of Souls.
There will be an area where the Knight must use the Crystal Heart ability to cross; however, as it is filled with Void Tendrils, the Knight must first light up the top of the lighthouse in the area.
To perform the Shade Cloak ability, press the assigned dash button (while the Knight is on the ground or in mid-air) to dash through enemies and their attacks. Using the Shade Cloak ability to dash through most enemies’ projectiles will destroy the projectile.
It is important to note that even though the Knight can dash through enemies and their attacks with the Shade Cloak, environmental dangers will still damage the Knight if you try to dash through them.
The Shade Cloak ability has a small cooldown of around 1.5 seconds, independent of the Mothwing Cloak (normal dash). While the ability is cooling down, pressing the dash button will revert to the Mothwing Cloak (normal dash), which will not dash through enemies and their attacks.
Another thing worth noting is that the Dashmaster Charm only reduces the cooldown of the Mothwing Cloak (normal dash) and will not reduce the cooldown of the Shade Cloak ability.
After obtaining the Shade Cloak, the Knight can now explore more of Hallownest while dodging enemies and their attacks!
