Learn how to defeat the Gruz Mother in Hollow Knight!
In the world of Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight, there is an optional mini-boss called Gruz Mother. Early on in the game, although sleeping and exhausted from carrying her children, she must be defeated to unblock the way to an abandoned village.
This guide will teach you how to defeat the Gruz Mother.
Location
Gruz Mother can be found in the southeast part of the Forgotten Crossroads. As mentioned above, beating her would grant the Knight access to an abandoned village wherein you can find Charm Lover Salubra, Sly, and the path to the Resting Grounds.
Moves
When you find the Gruz Mother, she will be sleeping peacefully. The battle will only begin once the Knight attacks her.
Here are the Gruz Mother’s base moves:
- Fly – Gruz’s Mother will aimlessly fly inside the arena and inflict damage once touched.
- Charge – Gruz’s Mother charges straight toward the Knight (for a short distance) and then stops or collides with the floor or a wall.
- Wild Slam – She will repeatedly slam towards the ceiling and then the floor while moving a little bit with every slam, turning back around when reaching a wall.
Strategy
The Gruz Mother can be quite an intimidating creature to fight because of her Wild Slam attack, but she can be very easy to beat because she deals little damage coupled with how easy it is to read her very few moves.
You can evade Gruz Mother’s Wild Slam attack by dodging if you have already obtained the Mothwing Cloak. Suppose you don’t watch for the timing of the attack and move away accordingly. You can stay in a corner, wait for it to come near you, jump and attack it once it slams on the ceiling, then move away. You can also use the Vengeful Spirit spell (if you’ve obtained it already) to attack from a distance.
As for her Charge attack, move away from the attack range to evade it. You can also do a quick attack and run to deal some damage.
Gruz’s Mother is easy to beat with her low health. There is plenty of time to attack as there are many times when she is idle. Attacking her with the Knight’s Old Nail 18 times or a Vengeful Spirit spell six times is enough to defeat her.
Related: How To Get the Quick Slash Charm in Hollow Knight
However, 7-8 Gruzzers will spawn from her body when she dies. Simply attack them as they approach, or use the Vengeful Spirit spell to attack a few of them at once. After this, the gate will open, and you can proceed.
As you progress in the game and get to the Colosseum of Fools, the Knight will get to fight two Gruz Mothers simultaneously, but Gruzzers will not spawn anymore when they die.
Final Thoughts
The key to defeating Gruz Mother is understanding her moves, acting accordingly, and, most importantly, never panicking. She may look intimidating, but remember: she is very easy to defeat with her poor health and damage.
