How to Find Cornifer in the City of Tears in Hollow Knight

Learn how to find Cornifer in the City of Tears 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, now a kingdom ruined by a supernatural disease. As the Knight journeys through Hallownest, he encounters various characters that will help fully unravel the story in the game.

To fully explore and navigate through Hallownest, the Knight must have the maps for the different areas in the game. The Knight must purchase maps from the humming cartographer Cornifer to obtain them. Cornifer is working on mapping the entirety of Hallownest so he can be found in every area and sell the area’s map to the Knight.

This guide will teach the player how to find Cornifer in the City of Tears!

City of Tears

Cornifer’s location in the City of Tears is next to a bench in the upper middle part of the City of Tears.

The Knight will encounter various enemies in the City of Tears. Still, the Knight will specifically encounter the following enemies on the way to Cornifer: Husk Sentries, Winged Sentries, Leaping Husks, Heavy Sentries, Lance Sentries, a Husk Hornhead, and Wandering Husk.

Before the Knight can find Cornifer in the area, it is recommended that the Knight should have the Mantis Claw ability, which allows the Knight to cling to walls and jump off of them, and the Monarch Wings ability, which allows the Knight to perform a double jump in mid-air, or the Mothwing Cloak ability, which allows the Knight to perform a horizontal dash forward. Finding Cornifer in the City of Tears will be easier with these abilities.

To find Cornifer in the City of Tears, this is what the Knight must do (this is assuming that this is the Knight’s first time in the area):

1. Starting from the Bench in the middle of the western part of the City of Tears, head to the left, drop down the gap, continue to the left, then take the next exit that leads below.
   
2. Next, head to the right, drop down the gap where the Knight will encounter a Husk Sentry, head to the left, ride the elevator, then, on the way down the elevator ride, you will see a metal platform on the right, which the Knight must jump towards.
   
3. Then, head to the right, where the Knight will encounter a Winged Sentry; jump towards the next metal platform on the right, where the Knight will encounter another Husk Sentry. Head to the right, jump towards the small platforms on the right, and head towards the next metal platform above on the right, where the Knight will encounter a leaping Husk (it is worth noting that the Knight can find a Hallownest Seal if you follow the platforms on the left), head to the right, jump towards the next platform on the right where the Knight will encounter another Winged Sentry, then take the large exit on the right. 
   
4. After that, upon entering the next room, the Knight will encounter a Heavy Sentry. Head to the right, jump across the exit that leads downwards, then ride the elevator up just one stop.
   
5. Next, head to the left, where the Knight will encounter another Heavy Sentry and another Husk Sentry. Head up the shaft at the end of the path with the help of the Mantis Claw ability, jump towards the next platform on the right, head the right, jump up towards the next platform above with the help of the Mantis Claw ability or the Monarch Wings ability where the Knight will encounter another Husk Sentry, head to the left, jump up towards the next platform above with the help of the Mantis Claw ability or the Monarch Wings ability where the Knight will encounter a Lance Sentry, then jump up towards the next platform above by heading up the wall on the right using the Mantis Claw ability then jump and use the Mothwing Cloak ability or Monarch Wings ability to get to the next platform.
   
6. Then, head up the wall on the left using the Mantis Claw ability, jump towards the next platform on the right at the top of the wall, head to the right, head up the shaft using the Mantis Claw ability, and then take the exit above.
   
7. Next, jump up the next platform on the left, where the Knight will encounter another Winged Sentry, a Husk Hornhead, and a Wandering Husk below; head up the wall on the left with the help of the Mantis Claw ability, then jump towards the platform on the right near the top of the wall where the Knight will encounter another Lance Sentry.
   
8. The path on the right will be closed, so head up to the platform right above and strike the lever to open it. 
   
9. Afterward, go through the newly opened pathway, drop down the gap, and take the exit at the bottom.
   
10. Then, upon entering the room, there will be another lever, and the lever will be struck to open the three gates below.
    
11. Next, drop down the gap on the left, head to the right, jump across the gap, which is the path of the previous elevator, head to the right, jump up the small platform above on the right, jump up the platform on the left, head up the path with the help of the Mantis Claw ability or the Monarch Wings ability, jump up the platform on the left, ride the elevator up (it is worth noting that there is a Grub on the path of the first stop that a Winged Sentry is guarding), then head to the left where there will be pieces of paper which means that Cornifer is nearby.
    
12. Then, while heading left, the path to continue and back will be closed, and the Knight will encounter a Heavy Sentry. The Knight must first defeat the enemies to continue. After defeating the Heavy Sentry, the Knight will encounter a Winged Sentry and a Husk Sentry. After defeating all enemies, the gates will be opened, and the Knight can continue. 
    
13. After that, head to the left, head up the shaft using the Mantis Claw ability, and then take the exit above.
    
14. Finally, upon entering the next room, you will hear Cornifer humming. Head up by jumping up the small platforms, jump towards the next platform on the right, then head to the right, and the Knight will finally find Cornifer next to a toll machine!

Now that the Knight has found Cornifer, the Knight can purchase the map of the City of Tears for only 90 Geo. 

Related: How to Find Cornifer in Fungal Wastes in Hollow Knight

The Knight can also inspect the toll machine and pay 150 Geo to access a Bench to heal the Knight and save your progress.

After that, the Knight can better navigate the City of Tears area!