How To Beat the Traitor Lord in Hollow Knight

Learn how to beat the Traitor Lord in Hollow Knight!

Within the dark and haunting rooms of Hallownest, some fearsome bosses stand as a challenge for players. These enemies test the mettle and resilience of even the most seasoned players. Here, we will talk about the Traitor Lord.

Beating the Traitor Lord demands patience, exact timing, and a great comprehension of its attacks. However, there is no need to worry because this guide will discuss beating the Traitor Lord. So, gather your courage, strengthen your nail, and let us unveil the strategies and tactics for defeating this challenging foe in Hollow Knight!

Traitor Lord in Hollow Knight

The Traitor Lord is one of the main bosses in the game. Defeating the Traitor Lord will give the player access to the White Lady, who will give the Knight one-half of the Kingsoul Charm.

The Knight can find the Traitor Lord in a big building near the upper edge of the Queen’s Gardens. Once the Knight arrives at the area, the Mantis Traitors will ambush the Knight. Then, the Traitor Lord drops down from the ceiling.

If the Knight saves Cloth from the Ancient Basin, she will fight alongside the Knight even before the Traitor Lord appears. At the end of the battle, the Traitor Lord will impale Cloth. Even so, she still manages to land one more swing with her club. This will then hit the Traitor Lord on his head to defeat him.

If the Knight defeats the Traitor Lord alone, the Infection breaks through the Traitor Lord and causes him to explode. If Cloth is there and performs the final blow, lesser Infection spurts out the Traitor Lord’s husk, and his face and right horn are smashed.

Read: Hollow Knight: How To Get Wall Jump

According to in-game lore, the Traitor Lord, alongside his sisters, was a leader of the Mantis Tribe who despised the kingdom of Hallownest. Additionally, he objected to the relationship between his daughter and the Grey Mourner because the Grey Mourner was an outsider.

The Traitor Lord and his followers eventually embraced the Infection to become more powerful, so they were expelled from the Mantis Village. They eventually arrived and settled in Queen’s Gardens.

The Traitor Lord and his followers attempted to seize the Queen’s Gardens and drive the White Lady from her sanctuary but were repelled by her defender, the Knight Dryya. After their failure, the Traitor Lord and his followers stayed in the area.

Location

The Knight can find the Traitor Lord inside a slightly narrow room in the top right area of the Queen’s Gardens area. On the way to the Traitor Lord is found, the Knight will have to overcome a couple of platforming challenges. Also, the Knight will have to pass through a Shade Gate.

Requirements

On the way to the Traitor Lord, the Knight must have a few specific abilities. One of those is the Shade Cloak ability. This ability is the upgrade to the Mothwing Cloak ability, enabling the Knight to dash forwards and through enemies and their attacks and Shade Gates.

Another required ability is the Mantis Claw ability. This ability enables the Knight to cling to walls and jump off them. Although not required, it is also recommended that the Knight has the Monarch Wings ability. This ability enables the Knight to jump one more time while in mid-air.

Enemies

While traveling to find the Traitor Lord, the Knight will run into a few enemies. Specifically, the Knight will encounter some Mossflies and Mantis Traitors.

Path to the Traitor Lord

To find the Traitor Lord, the Knight must do the following:

1. Starting from the Queen’s Gardens Stag Station, go to the right to exit the room. Jump across the gap on the right and head up this room. On the way up, the Knight will run into six Mossflies. To head up, Link will have to use the Mantis Claw ability. Again, although not required to reach the top, it would help to use the Monarch Wings’ ability. Also, watch out for the thorny vines while heading to the top. At the top, take the exit in the top right corner.
   
2. After that, jump across the gap on the right and head up the slightly elevated platform on the right. Continue to the right, then jump up the collapsing platforms to reach the solid platform above on the left. Head to the left to exit the room.
   
3. Then, this next part will cover one of the platforming segments. The Monarch Wings ability is also very useful in this area but is not required to overcome the challenge. Dash towards the left using the Monarch Wings or Shade Cloak ability to reach a collapsing platform.
   
4. Quickly jump and dash to another collapsing platform on the left, jump up another collapsing platform above, and then jump towards the platform above on the right. Here, the Knight will find a Soul Totem. From this platform, slightly jump, dash towards the collapsing platform on the left, then jump towards the safe platform on the left.
   
5. Next, drop down towards the collapsing platform below on the left. Drop down another one below on the right, then on another one below on the left. Quickly dash towards the collapsing platform on the left, jump up the two platforms above, then towards the platform on the left.
   
6. After that, jump towards the collapsing platform below on the left and drop down the two platforms below. Dash towards the collapsing platform on the left, then jump towards the wall on the left. Head up the wall using the Mantis Claw ability, then jump towards the platform above on the right. From here, take the exit above.
   
7. In this next room, take the exit directly on the left. Here, the Knight will find a Shade Gate, an impassable constant gust of void. Dash through the Shade Gate using the Shade Cloak ability to pass through.
   
8. Then, head to the left, and the Knight will find the next platforming segment. Jump towards the two collapsing platforms above the thorny vines on the left. Jump towards the safe platform below on the left.
   
9. Jump towards the collapsing platform on the left, jump and dash towards another on the left, and jump up the one above. Quickly jump towards the collapsing platform on the left, then jump up the one above. Jump up the platform on the right and head to the right.
   
10. Next, head up the path above using the Mantis Claw ability. The Knight will then be trapped in the room, and a Mantis Traitor will appear on the right. The Knight must defeat this enemy to continue. If the Knight rescues Cloth in the Ancient Basin, she will appear and kill another Mantis Traitor after the Knight has defeated the previous one. Then, two Mantis Traitors will appear. The Knight must defeat the enemies with or without Cloth to continue.
    
11. Finally, after defeating the enemies, the Traitor Lord drops into the room, and the battle begins!

How to Beat the Traitor Lord in Hollow Knight

Now that the Knight has found the Traitor Lord, it is time to beat him. To do that, the player must know the following:

Moves

The key to beating the Traitor Lord is familiarizing his moves:

• Dash – The Traitor Lord will dash toward the Knight and slice using his claws. The range of this attack takes up about one-third of the entire room. This attack will deal two masks of damage.
  
• Dive – Traitor Lord, like Mantis Traitors, will jump up and dive toward the Knight’s position. This attack is divided into two parts: the first is the jump, and the second is the dive. Both of these parts can deal damage to the Knight. The Knight will get one mask of contact damage during the Traitor Lord’s jump. As for the dive, it will deal two masks of damage. The Traitor Lord will always dive at the same angle of about 45 degrees. This attack covers about 25% of the entire arena. 
  
• Dancing Glaive – This boss simultaneously throws two rotating orange wind-scythes. The wind-scythes move around the arena in different wave patterns. As the wind-scythes travel through the arena, one will move away from the other. This will increase the gap between them. These wind-scythes last roughly three seconds and will deal only one Mask of damage if the Knight is hit by one. Should the Knight be hit by the Traitor Lord’s claws when he launches the wind-scythes, the Knight will receive two Masks of damage. The Traitor Lord will only perform this attack if he is far from the Knight. There are cases where the Traitor Lord will dash away to be able to perform this attack. The Traitor Lord will not perform this attack twice in a row. He will first perform another attack before he can perform this attack again.
  
• Ground Pound – While cooling down after performing an attack, the Traitor Lord may strike the ground using his claw. This will cause a large shockwave that will go in both directions. The height of the shockwaves extends from the room’s floor to the ceiling. These shockwaves move faster than the Knight’s basic speed. If the Knight is too close, the Traitor Lord will dash away and relocate to execute this attack. The Traitor Lord will only use this attack once his HP is depleted to 500 HP. This attack will deal two masks of damage.

Strategy to Beat Traitor Lord in Hollow Knight

If Cloth helps out in the battle against the Traitor Lord, she will attack the boss using her club that deals 15 damage per hit. This can help the Knight a great deal.

It is important to note that the Traitor Lord deals two masks of damage if the Knight gets in contact with the Traitor Lord when he drops in the room at the very beginning of the battle.

The Shade Cloak ability needed to reach the Traitor Lord is very useful because of the slightly low ceiling. With this ability, the Knight can simply dash through the Traitor Lord and his attacks instead of jumping over him. Because of this, it is also recommended to equip the Sharp Shadow Charm.

This charm will allow the Knight to damage enemies equal to the damage of one Nail hit every time the Knight dashes through them. Also, this charm will add to the length of the Shade Cloak ability dashes by 40%. With its increased range and damage, the Sharp Shadow Charm will make the Traitor Lord’s attacks easier to dodge and attack.

The best time to attack the Traitor Lord is in between his attacks. Because of that, it is very important to know how to avoid taking damage from Traitor Lord’s attacks. The Knight can move to the opposite side of the dive to dodge the Traitor Lord’s Dive attack.

Because the Traitor Lord’s shockwaves in the Ground Pound attack reach the ceiling, the only way for the Knight to avoid them is to have invincibility. The Knight can become temporarily invincible while dashing using Shade Cloak or after casting Descending Dark or Desolate Dive Spell.

The Traitor Lord will only perform the Dancing Glaive and Ground Pound attacks if the Knight is too far from him. So, the Traitor Lord will not perform the said attacks as long as the Knight is close to the Traitor Lord.

If the Knight does that, the Traitor Lord will only use the Dash and Dive attacks. As mentioned above, there are still cases where the Traitor Lord will move away just to perform the Dancing Glaive and Ground Pound attack.

Technically, the Knight can jump to the upper right-hand corner of the arena and charge up the Crystal Heart ability to cling to the wall, then stay there until Cloth finishes the work. If Cloth is absent, a companion from a Charm, such as the Glowing Womb Charm, the Grimmchild Charm, or the Weaversong Charm, can help instead. If the Knight does this, only the Dive and Ground Pound attacks are the only ones that can hit the Knight.

Equipping these Charms can help the Knight beat the Traitor Lord:

Conclusion

In Hollow Knight, beating the Traitor Lord requires unwavering commitment and proficiency in fighting. With each attempt, the player can gain crucial knowledge and insight into the behavior of the Traitor Lord. May your victory over the Traitor Lord serve as a tribute to your growth as a skillful Knight as you continue to explore the dark depths of Hallownest!